I won’t let the vertical terrain intimidate me!
3 May 2022
My first trekking day along the Cinque Terre went from Will Wheaton’s “No, no, Hell no!” to “I think I can, I think I can” before reaching a resounding “Eureka” much as the Donner Party must have felt when reaching the West after a hungry winter in the Sierras.
(more…)2-3 May 2022
One can ride a bus, train or ferry; I chose to ride the ferry from La Spezia to Riomaggiore. To say arriving at the Cinque Terre by ferry is spectacular is a vast understatement.
(more…)29 April – 1 May 2022
La Spezia – southernmost entry to the famed Cinque Terre: it has taken me three years and three tries but I have finally arrived. No rush, no stress, no problem. Hopefully. Covid has not chosen to disappear but I have chosen to take back control and live within the parameters of a world at war against both a deadly virus and a murdering Russian autocrat.
Masked, vaxed to the max, armed with my CDC record and the ability to exercise common sense, I am eager to explore and hike the Cinque Terre. Not for the usual “tourist day trip” but for the next two weeks. Italian scenery, food and la dolce vita!
(more…)26-28 April 2022
I have visited Pisa on several occasions, most often not further than its famed Leaning Tower. It wasn’t until I wandered into some of its smaller, quieter streets that I discovered Pisa’s charm. I determined to return and spend more time exploring something other than its Piazza del Duomo.
(more…)26 September 2021
Travel is muscle memory. At least it was. Much has changed because of Covid. I can’t utilize all the little perks of travel that once made the experience faster, easier and more pleasant. However, as I wrote earlier, travel may not be as easy but all the protections and requirements put in place are definitely worth the effort.
One no longer travels without:
(more…)22 September 2021
I can’t help it. When eating a delicious slice of pork shoulder, my server thought I was leaving the best part, the layer of crispy fat. “Das ist gut” she points out. Yes it is, I agree, but I have a desire to keep my arteries open a few more years.
So, as I sit in the Frankfurt Airport, perusing Paulaner’s German menu for “soul food,” I cannot pass on the Gegrillte Schweinshaxe as a further threat to my blood flow. Grilled pork knuckles are just too tempting to pass up. I love sauerkraut and just for the fine dining experience, I add a side of buttered Swabian noodles. “Takes half an hour, is okay?” Yes, actually it is perfect. I laze over my Hefeweizen and think of what a great “freedom” trip this has been.
(more…)19 September 2021
“ I may not meet a Brockmann cousin….” I previously wrote.
Among my family’s papers were four mysterious envelopes addressed by my grandmother Dora Brockmann to Brockmanns in Germany. One of those envelopes was addressed to Chris Brockmann, Bülts St. 11 in Celle. It was thought that he was a nephew.
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