Christmas in Texas, 2007
I celebrated Christmas in Texas again this year--only the second time in over 20 years. But this time was a bit different from last year. I made the effort to make it a real Christmas. I took out all my decorations for the first time in years. I was surprised to find ones I had forgotten, including several that Arne had given me over the years. I also put up a tree for the first time in years. I lost a few of my decorations when Arne's half-brothers inherited everything when he died. Fortunately, however, I had kept my most important ones here in Texas and did not lose them. Related to the tree, I had to make an important decision. I've always had a live tree in the past. I love the smell of them and the tradition. But when I went to look for trees, it wasn't easy to find one I liked. There are fewer live trees available these days. And the one I liked the most had such a huge trunk on it that I would have never been able to find a tree stand that would let me set it in water and keep it fresh through the season. Therefore, I gave in and bought an artificial tree. Fortunately, I found a very good one, and everyone has to approach it and feel of it to see if it is artificial or real. I like that aspect.
Christmas has had three main parts for me. First, there was a BIG baking day when i made Danish butter cookies the way I have in Copenhagen for years. I made two kinds that day--klejner, the butter cookie with cardamon which is twisted and deep-fried and reminds people a bit of a doughnut, and Finskbrød, the butter cookie that is just butter, sugar, and flour with a topping of chopped nuts and pearl sugar. Actually, however, I renamed the one I made this year as Texanskbrød, since I used chopped pecans (the Texas state nut) instead of the traditional chopped almonds that are used on Finskbrød. A few days later, I tried to make kokoskranse, a wreath-shaped butter cookie with coconut added. Unfortunately, it flopped in terms of what it should have been, but I ended up with some very tasty flat cookies that are much like coconut macaroons which are another favorite of mine.
Dec. 24 is the day I have traditionally celebrated Christmas for years, since that is when the Danes celebrate it. This year, I decided to make a Christmas dinner. It was my first time ever to do such a thing. All my Christmas dinners in the past have been made either by my mother or by Arne's sister and members of her family. I choose a menu based on Texas tradition and kept it simple--baked turkey, cornmeal dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. It was quite delicious if I do say so myself. I had it with wine. For dessert, I had the Danish butter cookies with a glass of eggnog. UMMMM!
Arne and I had a tradition of having a big breakfast and opening our presents to each other on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and I am trying to carry that tradition forward. In the late hours of the morning, I made two small open-faced sandwiches with smoked salmon topped with dill and ground pepper. Then I ate from a platter of four kinds of cold cuts (Canadian baken, thinly sliced dried ham, salami, and another salami-like cold cut from Italy), two kinds of cheeses, crusty bread, butter, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, butter, cranberry sauce, etc. I had snaps (Brøndums)and a beer.
After the breakfast, I opened my gifts for the year. I got a movie gift card from my friend Merryl which allows me to my local theater which shows foreign and independent films and a variety of gifts from my sister Sue--a jar of Harry and David Pepper and Onion Relish, a box of Belgian Chocolate Cups, and two red pillows to go on my new gray sofa which is expected to arrive in the next 3-4 weeks.
Following that, I finished my Christmas celebrations by having coffee with desserts--Danish cookies, chocolate truffles, and a slice of cinnamon coffee cake. Tripple UMMM!
I have uploaded photos from Christmas 2007 onto a new flickr.com account. You may go there to see my decorations, my baking, my Christmas meals, etc. The address is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdrum
Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope we all have a great 2008!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Catching Up after Traveling for 5 Months
Oct. 1-Present, 2007--San Antonio
It's now been 9 days that I have been back in San Antonio. They have been filled with chores related to dealing with problems and catching up on things:
1. I took the car to have the air conditioning repaired. It had started giving me problems just a few days before I departed on my trip.
2. I took the car to have the sunroof adjusted and its drain holes cleaned out. It had gotten out of alignment and was leaving a small gap where water was coming in. That water wasn't draining as it should and was runing down into the floorboard where the carpeting was soaking it up.
3. I tried to install new software/hardware on my computer, and it apparently changed some settings so that the machine would never completely load all its software. Zone Alarm in particular would not load, yet it kept recyling through the process of trying to load. That slowed the computer down to the point where I couldn't do anything. I uninstalled the software/hardware, but that did not change the settings back. I tried deleting Zone Alarm, but it couldn't be deleted because it was an active program (spending every moment the computer was on trying to open itself over and over again). I tried to reset the system settings to a date prior to the date when I installed the software/hardware, but the computer is just too slow to complete such a major task. I returned the software/hardware to the store and will probably have to get a repairman to work on the computer.
4. I went through 5 months of mail. I matched credit card receipts to credit card statements. I balanced my checkbook and put all the entries into it related to the automatic payments I have set up for all of my monthly accounts. I read back issues of magazines and newsletters from organizations.
5. I thoroughly cleaned my two toilets. The water in the bowls had completely dried up while I was gone, so that meant that I could use the cleaner full-strength to get rid of the calcium build-up (which is significant in San Antonio since our water comes from underground limestone caves). They are now both so smooth and shiny inside!
6. I went shopping for basic supplies (and for a few non-necessities such as cookies, cakes, etc.) for eating and to replace items I needed that were lost with my stolen suitcase.
7. I went to my insurance company and filed a claim for the stolen suitcase and the items inside it (a surprisingly high amount of $1800+) for a 21-inch mostly full suitcase. Fortunately, I had removed some things (including the gift items I had bought in Taiwan and India)and left them in Copenhagen, or the claim would have been even higher. When I get paid by them, I have to take the check and start buying everything (suitcase, sandals, travel pants, shorts, shirts, underwear, socks, windbreaker/raincoat, binoculars, flashlight, travel alarm clock, universal stopper [Don't laugh, Torben], battery charger for camera, battery for camera, memory cards for camera, usb camera card reader, international plug/electricity converter kit, chain and lock to lock suitcase in overnight trains and in hotels, suitcase locks, etc., etc., etc. The list was about 4 pages long when I wrote it up with links to indicate the replacement cost of them.
8. I bought a new laptop computer to have one that works for now. I will still get my desktop repaired and then will try to use it as a server so I can move the laptop around within the apartment and even as far away as the pool area.
9. I dusted and cleaned the floors inside the apartment.
10. I repaired my dishwasher when it wouldn't operate after being still for so long.
11. I went to the nearby bus station to get my senior citizen's pass, since I turned 62 while I was gone traveling. It will allow me to take local buses for 25 cents per trip with 1 free transfer for changing buses between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., for 50 cents at other times M-F, and for free on Saturdays and Sundays. I plan to start going downtown regularly by bus to attend concerts, eat lunch, etc.
But, it hasn't all been work. I spent 12 hours downtown on Friday. I ate lunch at MK Davis Restaurant, went to an organ concert at lunchtime at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, stopped at the library for a while, went by the insurance company, walked along the river, went for happy hour at Mexican Manhattan ($1 off drinks and free taco and tamale buffet with a seat on the edge of the patio overlooking the river), went to First Friday (a street fair along a street with lots of galleries who schedule their new shows to begin on the first Friday of each month) in Southtown, and saw "Mama Mia" at the Majestic Theater. The weather was great, I got lots of walking for exercise, and all of my activities were fun!
Last night (Tuesday), Merryl and I had free tickets to be a part of a focus group to preview a new movie at the Silverado Theater that is opening in two weeks--Dan in Real Life. (Note: The link will only work until Touchstone has a new movie coming out, then it will be necessary to go to another page to find the trailer for it.) It's a funny film that is much funnier than most romantic comedies have been in the past few years.
Life is slowly getting back to normal now. I am beginning to feel mostly caught up on critical things. It will be a while still before I get my complete backlog, but my list of things that need to be done is always growing and, therefore, keeping me behind constantly even when I have been here at home for months.
Final Spending Update for 2007 Travels: I traveled 140 days this year and spent $4611.05 for an average of $32.93 per day. That includes my dental expenses in Thailand and the purchase of 6 air tickets (two in India and four in Indonesia) via low-cost airlines. That does NOT include my around-the-world air ticket which cost about $3600. Add that into the picture, and I spent approximately $8200 with a daily average of $59. Even at that, as I have always said, I SAVE money when I travel. That's a monthly expense of only about $1800!
Oct. 1-Present, 2007--San Antonio
It's now been 9 days that I have been back in San Antonio. They have been filled with chores related to dealing with problems and catching up on things:
1. I took the car to have the air conditioning repaired. It had started giving me problems just a few days before I departed on my trip.
2. I took the car to have the sunroof adjusted and its drain holes cleaned out. It had gotten out of alignment and was leaving a small gap where water was coming in. That water wasn't draining as it should and was runing down into the floorboard where the carpeting was soaking it up.
3. I tried to install new software/hardware on my computer, and it apparently changed some settings so that the machine would never completely load all its software. Zone Alarm in particular would not load, yet it kept recyling through the process of trying to load. That slowed the computer down to the point where I couldn't do anything. I uninstalled the software/hardware, but that did not change the settings back. I tried deleting Zone Alarm, but it couldn't be deleted because it was an active program (spending every moment the computer was on trying to open itself over and over again). I tried to reset the system settings to a date prior to the date when I installed the software/hardware, but the computer is just too slow to complete such a major task. I returned the software/hardware to the store and will probably have to get a repairman to work on the computer.
4. I went through 5 months of mail. I matched credit card receipts to credit card statements. I balanced my checkbook and put all the entries into it related to the automatic payments I have set up for all of my monthly accounts. I read back issues of magazines and newsletters from organizations.
5. I thoroughly cleaned my two toilets. The water in the bowls had completely dried up while I was gone, so that meant that I could use the cleaner full-strength to get rid of the calcium build-up (which is significant in San Antonio since our water comes from underground limestone caves). They are now both so smooth and shiny inside!
6. I went shopping for basic supplies (and for a few non-necessities such as cookies, cakes, etc.) for eating and to replace items I needed that were lost with my stolen suitcase.
7. I went to my insurance company and filed a claim for the stolen suitcase and the items inside it (a surprisingly high amount of $1800+) for a 21-inch mostly full suitcase. Fortunately, I had removed some things (including the gift items I had bought in Taiwan and India)and left them in Copenhagen, or the claim would have been even higher. When I get paid by them, I have to take the check and start buying everything (suitcase, sandals, travel pants, shorts, shirts, underwear, socks, windbreaker/raincoat, binoculars, flashlight, travel alarm clock, universal stopper [Don't laugh, Torben], battery charger for camera, battery for camera, memory cards for camera, usb camera card reader, international plug/electricity converter kit, chain and lock to lock suitcase in overnight trains and in hotels, suitcase locks, etc., etc., etc. The list was about 4 pages long when I wrote it up with links to indicate the replacement cost of them.
8. I bought a new laptop computer to have one that works for now. I will still get my desktop repaired and then will try to use it as a server so I can move the laptop around within the apartment and even as far away as the pool area.
9. I dusted and cleaned the floors inside the apartment.
10. I repaired my dishwasher when it wouldn't operate after being still for so long.
11. I went to the nearby bus station to get my senior citizen's pass, since I turned 62 while I was gone traveling. It will allow me to take local buses for 25 cents per trip with 1 free transfer for changing buses between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., for 50 cents at other times M-F, and for free on Saturdays and Sundays. I plan to start going downtown regularly by bus to attend concerts, eat lunch, etc.
But, it hasn't all been work. I spent 12 hours downtown on Friday. I ate lunch at MK Davis Restaurant, went to an organ concert at lunchtime at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, stopped at the library for a while, went by the insurance company, walked along the river, went for happy hour at Mexican Manhattan ($1 off drinks and free taco and tamale buffet with a seat on the edge of the patio overlooking the river), went to First Friday (a street fair along a street with lots of galleries who schedule their new shows to begin on the first Friday of each month) in Southtown, and saw "Mama Mia" at the Majestic Theater. The weather was great, I got lots of walking for exercise, and all of my activities were fun!
Last night (Tuesday), Merryl and I had free tickets to be a part of a focus group to preview a new movie at the Silverado Theater that is opening in two weeks--Dan in Real Life. (Note: The link will only work until Touchstone has a new movie coming out, then it will be necessary to go to another page to find the trailer for it.) It's a funny film that is much funnier than most romantic comedies have been in the past few years.
Life is slowly getting back to normal now. I am beginning to feel mostly caught up on critical things. It will be a while still before I get my complete backlog, but my list of things that need to be done is always growing and, therefore, keeping me behind constantly even when I have been here at home for months.
Final Spending Update for 2007 Travels: I traveled 140 days this year and spent $4611.05 for an average of $32.93 per day. That includes my dental expenses in Thailand and the purchase of 6 air tickets (two in India and four in Indonesia) via low-cost airlines. That does NOT include my around-the-world air ticket which cost about $3600. Add that into the picture, and I spent approximately $8200 with a daily average of $59. Even at that, as I have always said, I SAVE money when I travel. That's a monthly expense of only about $1800!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Returning Home
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007--Lancaster County, PA
It's another nice spring day. We all went on an outing to a local nursery where we ate hotdogs and the children participated in activities. They had pumpkin painting and scarecrow making activities among others. Here, many of the homes have stalks of corn tied to their porch posts, have scarecrows on the porches, and have pumpkins either in the yard, on the porch, or in flower boxes. They are really celebrating the harvest season, and the decorations will be appropriate for Halloween later in the month, too.
Jack and I went walking in the early afternoon. I couldn't believe he wanted to do so. And once we got started, he kept saying he wanted to go further for me to see certain things. I was amazed at how far we walked. Later we measured it in a car because he was so proud of going so far. It was 2.3 miles!
Jack and I drove to Delaware. I had only been through it on a train before, so it was fun to get out and see the countryside and to see Newark, the city that is the home of the University of Delaware. It is only about an hour from Lancaster County and involves 3 states going there--Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. On the way, we encountered the Amish out in their buggies and a few of them walking. The men were all wearing their black suits, black ties, and black hats completed with bright colored shirts--purple or green. Newark is a wonder example of a college town--not too big nor too small. The campus is just a block behind the main street and actually spreads across the main street on one end. Main Street is lined with restaurants and cafes with outdoor tables. We went into a gelato place and had an ice cream cone.
In the evening, we went down the street 1 1/2 blocks to the Sugar Bowl, the local college hangout that is managed by Jack's and Drew's son Kyle. They have strombolis, pizzas, cheese steaks, etc. Jack and I each had a stromboli. We ordered the regular (vs. the large), but I think Kyle must have made us the large. I could barely finish it all. It was good, though. Drew had a pizza.
Monday, Oct. 1, 2007--Harrisburg to San Antonio
I went out early in the morning for donuts and the newspaper. Millersville is such an easy place to explore on foot. Everything is really within walking distance. And downtown Lancaster is only 3 miles away which is walking distance for me.
Drew and Kyle drove me to the airport in Harrisburg, since Jack had left for a meeting at the International Reading Association office in Newark where we had been the day before. It was an easy drive, and I enjoyed seeing the countryside on the way. I was surprised when we arrived at the airport to have them point out the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant and tell me that it was Three Mile Island, the place that had a limited meltdown a few years ago. I knew about TMI, but I really didn't know where it was. It is just by the airport.
The Harrisburg airport operates a lounge for all silver and gold members of frequent flyer clubs of the airlines serving the airport. I went in there and had a complimentary soft drink and read the New York Times. It is a conservative area, and all the other men in there were watching Fox News. I wonder if they noticed I was reading such a liberal newspaper?
My flight to Dulles was short and easy. Then I had another wait of several hours for my flight to San Antonio. I read more newspapers, I watched people, I walked up and down the terminal for exercise, and I finally went to a sandwich place and got an Italian sandwich on focacio bread, since the airline doesn't serve food on the San Antonio flight. Just before boarding, I was watching a man work on his computer creating a painting. He had a large sketchpad attached via a usb port and would draw on the pad, and it would show up on the computer screen. I don't know if he started the picture from scratch or was altering one that he had imported from elsewhere, but it was fun to see his equipment and what he was doing.
The flight to San Antonio went well again, but it seems long at 3 1/2 hours. Anyway, my luggage came quickly, and my sister picked me up just 7-8 minutes after I went outside. I was back home again a few minutes after that for the first time in over 4 1/2 months.
Note: I will write another update with final spending info and notes about my first week home in a day or two.
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007--Lancaster County, PA
It's another nice spring day. We all went on an outing to a local nursery where we ate hotdogs and the children participated in activities. They had pumpkin painting and scarecrow making activities among others. Here, many of the homes have stalks of corn tied to their porch posts, have scarecrows on the porches, and have pumpkins either in the yard, on the porch, or in flower boxes. They are really celebrating the harvest season, and the decorations will be appropriate for Halloween later in the month, too.
Jack and I went walking in the early afternoon. I couldn't believe he wanted to do so. And once we got started, he kept saying he wanted to go further for me to see certain things. I was amazed at how far we walked. Later we measured it in a car because he was so proud of going so far. It was 2.3 miles!
Jack and I drove to Delaware. I had only been through it on a train before, so it was fun to get out and see the countryside and to see Newark, the city that is the home of the University of Delaware. It is only about an hour from Lancaster County and involves 3 states going there--Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. On the way, we encountered the Amish out in their buggies and a few of them walking. The men were all wearing their black suits, black ties, and black hats completed with bright colored shirts--purple or green. Newark is a wonder example of a college town--not too big nor too small. The campus is just a block behind the main street and actually spreads across the main street on one end. Main Street is lined with restaurants and cafes with outdoor tables. We went into a gelato place and had an ice cream cone.
In the evening, we went down the street 1 1/2 blocks to the Sugar Bowl, the local college hangout that is managed by Jack's and Drew's son Kyle. They have strombolis, pizzas, cheese steaks, etc. Jack and I each had a stromboli. We ordered the regular (vs. the large), but I think Kyle must have made us the large. I could barely finish it all. It was good, though. Drew had a pizza.
Monday, Oct. 1, 2007--Harrisburg to San Antonio
I went out early in the morning for donuts and the newspaper. Millersville is such an easy place to explore on foot. Everything is really within walking distance. And downtown Lancaster is only 3 miles away which is walking distance for me.
Drew and Kyle drove me to the airport in Harrisburg, since Jack had left for a meeting at the International Reading Association office in Newark where we had been the day before. It was an easy drive, and I enjoyed seeing the countryside on the way. I was surprised when we arrived at the airport to have them point out the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant and tell me that it was Three Mile Island, the place that had a limited meltdown a few years ago. I knew about TMI, but I really didn't know where it was. It is just by the airport.
The Harrisburg airport operates a lounge for all silver and gold members of frequent flyer clubs of the airlines serving the airport. I went in there and had a complimentary soft drink and read the New York Times. It is a conservative area, and all the other men in there were watching Fox News. I wonder if they noticed I was reading such a liberal newspaper?
My flight to Dulles was short and easy. Then I had another wait of several hours for my flight to San Antonio. I read more newspapers, I watched people, I walked up and down the terminal for exercise, and I finally went to a sandwich place and got an Italian sandwich on focacio bread, since the airline doesn't serve food on the San Antonio flight. Just before boarding, I was watching a man work on his computer creating a painting. He had a large sketchpad attached via a usb port and would draw on the pad, and it would show up on the computer screen. I don't know if he started the picture from scratch or was altering one that he had imported from elsewhere, but it was fun to see his equipment and what he was doing.
The flight to San Antonio went well again, but it seems long at 3 1/2 hours. Anyway, my luggage came quickly, and my sister picked me up just 7-8 minutes after I went outside. I was back home again a few minutes after that for the first time in over 4 1/2 months.
Note: I will write another update with final spending info and notes about my first week home in a day or two.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Autumn Weekend in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Spending Update for Lativa/Estonia: I spent $544.81 over 14 days in the Baltic States for an average of $38.92 per day. When I left there, I had spent $4524.34 over 129 days (including the purchase of 6 airline tickets--4 in Indonesia and 2 in India) for an average of $35.07 per day since departing Texas.
Friday, Sept. 28, 2007--Lancaster County, PA
I met Jack and Drew's family except for one daughter-in-law today. They are a nice group. The youngest, their grandson Jack, is one year old this week and is a real delight. He is one of the happiest children I have ever known. He smiles all the time, he never fusses if something is taken from him, etc. Their granddaughter is in kindergarten and is quite mature for her age. It shows in the level of conversations she has. Both sons are nice and work in the food business; therefore, they have interests that appeal to me. Kyle lives here in the house where Jack and Drew have an apartment is quite charming. He's the father of Little Jack. Jeff seems a little more serious, but has a sense of humor that shows in his ability to pull of jokes on the family. Kyle's wife has done lots of nice decorating in the house and created a fantastic castle-like birthday cake for Little Jack's birthday.
Jack and Drew's home here is just across the street from the university where he used to teach--Millersville University. We went through the campus. It is a beautiful one with lots of big trees, a nice lake with swans and ducks, and some wonderful old buildings. We toured the oldest building which has been restored nicely to serve as the office of the president of the school. Later, we also went by the education building and visited with some of Jack's former colleagues.
We went to downtown Lancaster to visit the market. It is held on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday of each week in a nice market building in the center of town. We wandered up and down the aisles seeing all the delicious items available. Because there have been immigrants from various countries settle here, there was a nice variety of eithnic foods available. Some of the stalls were run by Amish families. We decided to eat there. It was a sunny day, and a table was available outside in the sunshine. I bought us pieces of quiche and some red lentil salad. Jack got us drinks. Afterwards, I went back in to an Amish bakery and bought us long johns (long strip donuts with frosting on top) to eat for dessert.
There are many shops downtown for tourists. They sell gift and decorative items mainly. Drew and I went through some of those. She bought a purse in one shop. Just seeing an active downtown area was a delight. And nearby are neighborhoods that are undergoing renewal--areas with townhouses and old two-story private homes.
We toured through the city, then Jack and I went to Wheatland, the home of James Buchanan, the president of the U.S. just before Lincoln. It was a good, long tour with detailed descriptions of the items in the home and of the presidency.
In the evening, we had a casserole cooked by Kyle's wife Mandy. It was a Mexican lasagna with layers of tortillas, cheese, etc., and some nice spicy salsa inside. Jack made margaritas, my first ones to have in 4 1/2 months. Later, we had ice cream for dessert which was topped with chocolate syrup and crumbled chocolate chunk cookies.
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007--Lancaster County, PA
Although the official date was earlier in the week, a party was held today to celebrate Little Jack's first birthday. It was in the afternoon, so Jack and I went out exploring in the morning. We went to Strousburg to see the train museum and the general store, to the outlet mall to buy Jack some belts, and to a garden store to buy some flowers. The train museum is huge and nice. It's the home of Thomas, the engine that has become famous through stories, movies, etc. We arrived just as a trainload of people were pulling off for a trip to a nearby town. The garden store was attached to an interesting local supermarket with lots of special items available--prepared soups, nice bakery products such as apple dumplings and sticky buns, etc.
The family and some friends came for the party. We had dips, salad, quiche, and birthday cake. I got to meet Jeff's wife who is working and going to school and, therefore, is quite busy. We took photos and enjoyed ourselves all afternoon. We never needed dinner, because the party food just continued to serve us as dinner food, too.
I was tired in the evening. I'm still adjusting to the time change. I went to bed before 10:00 p.m.
Spending Update for Lativa/Estonia: I spent $544.81 over 14 days in the Baltic States for an average of $38.92 per day. When I left there, I had spent $4524.34 over 129 days (including the purchase of 6 airline tickets--4 in Indonesia and 2 in India) for an average of $35.07 per day since departing Texas.
Friday, Sept. 28, 2007--Lancaster County, PA
I met Jack and Drew's family except for one daughter-in-law today. They are a nice group. The youngest, their grandson Jack, is one year old this week and is a real delight. He is one of the happiest children I have ever known. He smiles all the time, he never fusses if something is taken from him, etc. Their granddaughter is in kindergarten and is quite mature for her age. It shows in the level of conversations she has. Both sons are nice and work in the food business; therefore, they have interests that appeal to me. Kyle lives here in the house where Jack and Drew have an apartment is quite charming. He's the father of Little Jack. Jeff seems a little more serious, but has a sense of humor that shows in his ability to pull of jokes on the family. Kyle's wife has done lots of nice decorating in the house and created a fantastic castle-like birthday cake for Little Jack's birthday.
Jack and Drew's home here is just across the street from the university where he used to teach--Millersville University. We went through the campus. It is a beautiful one with lots of big trees, a nice lake with swans and ducks, and some wonderful old buildings. We toured the oldest building which has been restored nicely to serve as the office of the president of the school. Later, we also went by the education building and visited with some of Jack's former colleagues.
We went to downtown Lancaster to visit the market. It is held on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday of each week in a nice market building in the center of town. We wandered up and down the aisles seeing all the delicious items available. Because there have been immigrants from various countries settle here, there was a nice variety of eithnic foods available. Some of the stalls were run by Amish families. We decided to eat there. It was a sunny day, and a table was available outside in the sunshine. I bought us pieces of quiche and some red lentil salad. Jack got us drinks. Afterwards, I went back in to an Amish bakery and bought us long johns (long strip donuts with frosting on top) to eat for dessert.
There are many shops downtown for tourists. They sell gift and decorative items mainly. Drew and I went through some of those. She bought a purse in one shop. Just seeing an active downtown area was a delight. And nearby are neighborhoods that are undergoing renewal--areas with townhouses and old two-story private homes.
We toured through the city, then Jack and I went to Wheatland, the home of James Buchanan, the president of the U.S. just before Lincoln. It was a good, long tour with detailed descriptions of the items in the home and of the presidency.
In the evening, we had a casserole cooked by Kyle's wife Mandy. It was a Mexican lasagna with layers of tortillas, cheese, etc., and some nice spicy salsa inside. Jack made margaritas, my first ones to have in 4 1/2 months. Later, we had ice cream for dessert which was topped with chocolate syrup and crumbled chocolate chunk cookies.
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007--Lancaster County, PA
Although the official date was earlier in the week, a party was held today to celebrate Little Jack's first birthday. It was in the afternoon, so Jack and I went out exploring in the morning. We went to Strousburg to see the train museum and the general store, to the outlet mall to buy Jack some belts, and to a garden store to buy some flowers. The train museum is huge and nice. It's the home of Thomas, the engine that has become famous through stories, movies, etc. We arrived just as a trainload of people were pulling off for a trip to a nearby town. The garden store was attached to an interesting local supermarket with lots of special items available--prepared soups, nice bakery products such as apple dumplings and sticky buns, etc.
The family and some friends came for the party. We had dips, salad, quiche, and birthday cake. I got to meet Jeff's wife who is working and going to school and, therefore, is quite busy. We took photos and enjoyed ourselves all afternoon. We never needed dinner, because the party food just continued to serve us as dinner food, too.
I was tired in the evening. I'm still adjusting to the time change. I went to bed before 10:00 p.m.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Back in the Old USA
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007--Copenhagen
Jens and Robert invited Grethe and me to lunch. Then early in the morning, Kurt called and asked us if we could join him for lunch. He had been downtown for some physical therapy. We explained that we already had the other plans, so he asked us when we were arrive there. When we said, "1:00," he said, then come by my place for a drink and a little visit before (since his apartment is just two buildings away from Jens' and Robert's. Therefore, today became a day of partying and saying goodbye.
The weather was great and Sue wanted to go to Royal Copenhagen's nearby factory store on her way to visit the guys, so we walked. She shopped for several items to give to people as gifts. Then we were at Kurt's at noon. It was actually a warm day, and we sat out on his balcony and visited. He opened a bottle of champagne and put out a tray with chips (two kinds of potato chips and some banana chips). We had a wonderful time just chatting for an hour.
At 1:00, we arrived at Jens' and Robert's, and another bottle of Champagne was opened! We again, sat on the balcony and chatted and drank. Later, we had our lunch in the kitchen at the table there which was much cozier than sitting at the dining table. Jens had prepared three different kinds of seafood smoerrebroed (Danish open-faced sandwiches) for us. We started with one with shrimps, then had one with salmon, and finally had one with fish fillet. Like most Danish meals, it lasted for a long time as we chatted between courses. Grethe and I didn't get up from the table and leave until after 16:00.
We discussed whether Jens and Robert would return to Texas this winter. They came for 2+ months last year. It is undecided. Robert hates to make the long flight. But Texas is cheaper than going anywhere in Europe for the winter. Also, they feel cut off from getting around on their own the way they would like to do when they are in Texas. Robert suggested that Jens go there for 2 weeks when Nurse Grethe comes next March or April while he goes to Paris himself. But.... We will just have to see what happens.
The evening was one of packing and relaxing. Fortunately, I had an old suitcase in storage at Nurse Grethe's apartment with some winter clothes in it that I need if I go there when traveling. But I no longer plan to be there in the winter (only the late summer/early fall) and don't really need a heavy coat or wool shirts there anymore. So I packed most of my things I had left after my luggage being stolen and most of what I had stored at her place into the suitcase to bring back to the U.S. I left only a small gym bag there with a sweater, a bathrobe, lounging pants, and a few other items there and brought the rest home. I also included some books Robert had given me, some gifts I had bought to bring back to the US, etc. So I returned with a full and heavy suitcase as if there had been no robbery at all.
Grethe cooked us biksemad for dinner. That's Danish for hash. It is onions, potatoes, and chopped leftover meat cooked in butter in the fry pan. Usually one eats it with worchestershire sauce and a fried egg on top. It is one of my favorite Danish quick meals, and it was great. We had salad with the hash, and then we had coffee and Danish pastry for dessert. We were both off to bed around 21:00, and she was to knock on my door and awaken me at 5:30 as she was leaving for work the next morning.
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007--Copenhagen to Frankfurt to Philadelphia to Harrisburg
Grethe knocked at 5:30, and I got up to give her a goodbye hug. Then I prepared for a LONG day of traveling. I was clean and out of her apartment by just a few minutes after 6:00, and I was at the airport at 7:15. They checked my luggage all the way through and gave me my boarding passes for there and for Frankfurt. They said I would have to get the Harrisburg boarding pass when I got to Philadelphia. My suitcase was rather heavy due to the books, but nothing was said about its weight.
The first of the travel problems began in Copenhagen. As I was afraid might happen, my flight from Copenhagen to Frankfurt was canceled due to SAS's shortage of planes which is due to all their prop-jets being grounded. It was a 45-minute delay before we were put on another plane, and it was quite a mess with them sending us first to a second gate, and finally to a third one! And after all that hassle, SAS still did nothing to ease the frustration. They still charged 3 Euros for a bottle of water or a cup of coffee on the flight; SAS doesn't even give free water on their European flights!!
In spite of the delay in Copenhagen and rain and only two runways being open in Frankfurt, we got into Frankfurt in time for me to connect to my Lufthansa flight to Philadelphia. I had to first go through immigration and security there, and we boarded probably just 5-10 minutes after I got to the gate. The flight was long, but it was fine. I had plenty of leg room. There was no limit on drinks (as there is on SAS for internatioal economy flights now). My seatmate was a friendly, nice American woman originally from Turkey, and we visited a bit. I watched the film Oceans Thirteen which I had not seen yet.
There were more transportation problems in Philadelphia. I boarded my plane and we pulled from the gate and stopped. We sat there for 1 1/2 hours. They told us the problem was a line of thunderstorms between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, that seems to have just been an excuse that would put the problems on God's shoulders (Act of God) rather than that of U.S. Airways. The real problem seems to be that traffic was backed up to leave Philadelphia and that it would have cost U.S. Airways a fortune in fuel costs to wait in line behind 40+ planes before being allowed to take off. Being honest about it would have also cost U.S. Airways meal vouchers and hotel rooms for people they could not accommodate on later flights.
I called Jack and Drew who were waiting for me at the airport at Harrisburg and told them that I had been put on wait lists for the next two flights to Harrisburg. Of course, if weather really were a factor, those flights might be canceled, too. I checked to see if the airport had limousine service to Lancaster County as an alternative, but they don't. I asked when would be the first flight I could get a guaranteed seat on for Harrisburg, and they said it would be tomorrow night at 18:55! Finally, they made an announcement that they were trying to arrange ground transportation for people going to Harrisburg, so I joined a group at Gate F2 waiting for that. We waited an hour. Then at 9:15, a man came and said he had 12 open seats on the 9:30 Harrisburg flight. We were all skeptical. The weather front still hadn't come through, so if it was a factor in the cancelation, would we repeat sitting on the runway and having our flight canceled if we tried that routing? Finally, we decided to take a chance. There were more than 12 of us waiting, however. I was the oldest, but I was the first one to make it to Gate F14 for a seat!! And, in support of my theory, the flight took off and we never encountered a line of thunderstorms!! U.S. Airways seems to be an immoral airline that will lie rather than take responsibility on their shoulders for problems they create!
Even stranger was that my luggage was already in Harrisburg when we arrived. How did it get there? The only possibility was that it was put on an earlier flight as soon as I left customs even though airlines are not supposed to do that. They should put the luggage on the same flight as the passenger for security reasons!
Related to immigration and customs in Philadelphia, that went like a dream. They have a huge hall that is modern and has plenty of work stations for processing the crowds. I was through it all in about 25 minutes. One reason I routed myself through Philadelphia is that I swore last year I would NEVER go through immigration and customs at Washington Dulles again until they get their new facilities built. There, it was congested and slow with everyone letting the process get on their nerves and with many people missing connecting flights because of it.
Jack and Drew were at the Harrisburg airport when we arrived. We collected my bag and drove back to their third home in Millersville in Lancaster County. Then we sat up visiting for a couple of hours. I gave me some gifts I had brought for them--a wool cap from Kashmir for Jack, a small pill box from Taiwan for Drew, and a box of chocolates from Riga and two pillow covers from Kashmir for the two of them. Then it was time to get some rest. When I went to bed, it was 25 hours since Grethe had knocked on my door in the morning to get me up!
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007--Copenhagen
Jens and Robert invited Grethe and me to lunch. Then early in the morning, Kurt called and asked us if we could join him for lunch. He had been downtown for some physical therapy. We explained that we already had the other plans, so he asked us when we were arrive there. When we said, "1:00," he said, then come by my place for a drink and a little visit before (since his apartment is just two buildings away from Jens' and Robert's. Therefore, today became a day of partying and saying goodbye.
The weather was great and Sue wanted to go to Royal Copenhagen's nearby factory store on her way to visit the guys, so we walked. She shopped for several items to give to people as gifts. Then we were at Kurt's at noon. It was actually a warm day, and we sat out on his balcony and visited. He opened a bottle of champagne and put out a tray with chips (two kinds of potato chips and some banana chips). We had a wonderful time just chatting for an hour.
At 1:00, we arrived at Jens' and Robert's, and another bottle of Champagne was opened! We again, sat on the balcony and chatted and drank. Later, we had our lunch in the kitchen at the table there which was much cozier than sitting at the dining table. Jens had prepared three different kinds of seafood smoerrebroed (Danish open-faced sandwiches) for us. We started with one with shrimps, then had one with salmon, and finally had one with fish fillet. Like most Danish meals, it lasted for a long time as we chatted between courses. Grethe and I didn't get up from the table and leave until after 16:00.
We discussed whether Jens and Robert would return to Texas this winter. They came for 2+ months last year. It is undecided. Robert hates to make the long flight. But Texas is cheaper than going anywhere in Europe for the winter. Also, they feel cut off from getting around on their own the way they would like to do when they are in Texas. Robert suggested that Jens go there for 2 weeks when Nurse Grethe comes next March or April while he goes to Paris himself. But.... We will just have to see what happens.
The evening was one of packing and relaxing. Fortunately, I had an old suitcase in storage at Nurse Grethe's apartment with some winter clothes in it that I need if I go there when traveling. But I no longer plan to be there in the winter (only the late summer/early fall) and don't really need a heavy coat or wool shirts there anymore. So I packed most of my things I had left after my luggage being stolen and most of what I had stored at her place into the suitcase to bring back to the U.S. I left only a small gym bag there with a sweater, a bathrobe, lounging pants, and a few other items there and brought the rest home. I also included some books Robert had given me, some gifts I had bought to bring back to the US, etc. So I returned with a full and heavy suitcase as if there had been no robbery at all.
Grethe cooked us biksemad for dinner. That's Danish for hash. It is onions, potatoes, and chopped leftover meat cooked in butter in the fry pan. Usually one eats it with worchestershire sauce and a fried egg on top. It is one of my favorite Danish quick meals, and it was great. We had salad with the hash, and then we had coffee and Danish pastry for dessert. We were both off to bed around 21:00, and she was to knock on my door and awaken me at 5:30 as she was leaving for work the next morning.
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007--Copenhagen to Frankfurt to Philadelphia to Harrisburg
Grethe knocked at 5:30, and I got up to give her a goodbye hug. Then I prepared for a LONG day of traveling. I was clean and out of her apartment by just a few minutes after 6:00, and I was at the airport at 7:15. They checked my luggage all the way through and gave me my boarding passes for there and for Frankfurt. They said I would have to get the Harrisburg boarding pass when I got to Philadelphia. My suitcase was rather heavy due to the books, but nothing was said about its weight.
The first of the travel problems began in Copenhagen. As I was afraid might happen, my flight from Copenhagen to Frankfurt was canceled due to SAS's shortage of planes which is due to all their prop-jets being grounded. It was a 45-minute delay before we were put on another plane, and it was quite a mess with them sending us first to a second gate, and finally to a third one! And after all that hassle, SAS still did nothing to ease the frustration. They still charged 3 Euros for a bottle of water or a cup of coffee on the flight; SAS doesn't even give free water on their European flights!!
In spite of the delay in Copenhagen and rain and only two runways being open in Frankfurt, we got into Frankfurt in time for me to connect to my Lufthansa flight to Philadelphia. I had to first go through immigration and security there, and we boarded probably just 5-10 minutes after I got to the gate. The flight was long, but it was fine. I had plenty of leg room. There was no limit on drinks (as there is on SAS for internatioal economy flights now). My seatmate was a friendly, nice American woman originally from Turkey, and we visited a bit. I watched the film Oceans Thirteen which I had not seen yet.
There were more transportation problems in Philadelphia. I boarded my plane and we pulled from the gate and stopped. We sat there for 1 1/2 hours. They told us the problem was a line of thunderstorms between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, that seems to have just been an excuse that would put the problems on God's shoulders (Act of God) rather than that of U.S. Airways. The real problem seems to be that traffic was backed up to leave Philadelphia and that it would have cost U.S. Airways a fortune in fuel costs to wait in line behind 40+ planes before being allowed to take off. Being honest about it would have also cost U.S. Airways meal vouchers and hotel rooms for people they could not accommodate on later flights.
I called Jack and Drew who were waiting for me at the airport at Harrisburg and told them that I had been put on wait lists for the next two flights to Harrisburg. Of course, if weather really were a factor, those flights might be canceled, too. I checked to see if the airport had limousine service to Lancaster County as an alternative, but they don't. I asked when would be the first flight I could get a guaranteed seat on for Harrisburg, and they said it would be tomorrow night at 18:55! Finally, they made an announcement that they were trying to arrange ground transportation for people going to Harrisburg, so I joined a group at Gate F2 waiting for that. We waited an hour. Then at 9:15, a man came and said he had 12 open seats on the 9:30 Harrisburg flight. We were all skeptical. The weather front still hadn't come through, so if it was a factor in the cancelation, would we repeat sitting on the runway and having our flight canceled if we tried that routing? Finally, we decided to take a chance. There were more than 12 of us waiting, however. I was the oldest, but I was the first one to make it to Gate F14 for a seat!! And, in support of my theory, the flight took off and we never encountered a line of thunderstorms!! U.S. Airways seems to be an immoral airline that will lie rather than take responsibility on their shoulders for problems they create!
Even stranger was that my luggage was already in Harrisburg when we arrived. How did it get there? The only possibility was that it was put on an earlier flight as soon as I left customs even though airlines are not supposed to do that. They should put the luggage on the same flight as the passenger for security reasons!
Related to immigration and customs in Philadelphia, that went like a dream. They have a huge hall that is modern and has plenty of work stations for processing the crowds. I was through it all in about 25 minutes. One reason I routed myself through Philadelphia is that I swore last year I would NEVER go through immigration and customs at Washington Dulles again until they get their new facilities built. There, it was congested and slow with everyone letting the process get on their nerves and with many people missing connecting flights because of it.
Jack and Drew were at the Harrisburg airport when we arrived. We collected my bag and drove back to their third home in Millersville in Lancaster County. Then we sat up visiting for a couple of hours. I gave me some gifts I had brought for them--a wool cap from Kashmir for Jack, a small pill box from Taiwan for Drew, and a box of chocolates from Riga and two pillow covers from Kashmir for the two of them. Then it was time to get some rest. When I went to bed, it was 25 hours since Grethe had knocked on my door in the morning to get me up!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Returning to Copenhagen
Monday, Sept. 24, 2007--Riga to Copenhagen
I can hear my landlady moving around this morning. Normally she has been quieter. I am sure she is happy that I am leaving and maybe making noise to rush me! But I have an afternoon flight and am in no rush. I will leave around 9:30 to run some errands I still need to do before leaving town.
It's another clear, sunny day. In general, I have been lucky on this trip. A few days were quite cool. The last 2-3 days have been almost warm, however! There was light rain only during portions of 2-3 of the 14 days. Overall, that's good for this part of the world.
I stopped at the tourist office to use their computer. It's nice that they have it as a free service for tourists. And when I go early in the day or late in the day, I never have to worry about someone else already being there or coming in and rushing me to finish. I also got information related to several places I needed to go to finish my business here.
I stopped at the post office, went shopping for a dinner gift to take to Jens and Robert tonight, stopped at my neighborhood eatery for one last time, and changed the remainder of my Lavian money back into dollars.
I had a surprise at the restaurant. When I have gone there in the evenings, it has been rather quiet. Well, today for lunch, there was a crowd. I'm not the only one who appreciates the value of their food! There were at least 10 people in line in front of me, and soon after I got in line another 5 people lined up behind me. I had their macaroni dish today. This time, it was made with olive oil, leeks and ground beef. Umm.
I took the local bus to the airport. I had plenty of time, and my only luggage (since my suitcase was stolen 10 days ago) was a plastic bag with my two extra shirts, my toiletries, and my books. The flight left on time and was fine. But then my connecting flight in Stockholm was delayed. SAS had to ground all their prop-jets (which I'm surprised they are still using anyway rather than switching to regional jets) a few days ago due to two accidents related to collapsing landing gear. They have a shortage of planes without the prop-jets, so we had to wait for a plane that had finished a flight to Malmø to come up there and pick us up. That got me to Copenhagen 40 minutes later than scheduled.
Jens and Robert had invited me to dinner, so I rushed to get to their place. I had hoped to be there by 19:00. But the delayed flight meant that I didn't arrive there until 19:30. But they had cooked a meal that could stay warm on the cookstove until I arrived (a mixture of tomatoes, sausages, chunks of meat, etc., served over a mixture of white and wild rice). I had dinner with them and Claus and talked about what had been happening here in town and about my trip. It was good to be with friends again.
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007--Copenhagen
I went to see my friend Old Grethe today. She is now 84 years old, but she has always been fresh and active. I was surprised to observe that her health has deteriorated since I was here in December. For the first time, she was not as alert as usual, and she had some physcial problems. Besides a pain in the back she had never mentioned to me before that now makes her moan with pain as she sits down or gets up, she was having dizzy spells that made her uneven on her feet. She told me that she has such days occasionally and that she was sorry that today was one of those days. I was just sorry to learn that this has become something that is now normal for her even if it is only occasionally. She also seemed to have trouble concentrating and kept drifting into Danish as she talked (which I could mostly follow). That was new, too, since she can speak English quite well normally.
I had told Grethe that I would bring sandwiches for our lunch as I did when I saw her last December. She has macular degeneration and cannot see to cook anymore. If she does cook, it is by feel and it is totally exhausting for her, she said. I stopped at a small shop around the corner and bought 6 pieces of smørrebrød, Danish open-faced sandwiches--two with shrimp and sliced boiled egg; two with roast beef, horseradish, and sauce; and two with tomato and potato slices. She thanked me over and over for bringing the sandwiches and told me how happy it made her to have food brought in and to not have to make food.
I stopped at the store and bought the fixings for burgers on my way back to Nurse Grethe's apartment. She has been on a tour of Normandie for 10 days and was returning by bus today. She likes me to make her burgers each time I am here, so I told her I would have them ready to make for her tonight. She arrived at 19:30, and we spent the evening enjoying burgers, chips, and beer and telling each other about our holidays.
Monday, Sept. 24, 2007--Riga to Copenhagen
I can hear my landlady moving around this morning. Normally she has been quieter. I am sure she is happy that I am leaving and maybe making noise to rush me! But I have an afternoon flight and am in no rush. I will leave around 9:30 to run some errands I still need to do before leaving town.
It's another clear, sunny day. In general, I have been lucky on this trip. A few days were quite cool. The last 2-3 days have been almost warm, however! There was light rain only during portions of 2-3 of the 14 days. Overall, that's good for this part of the world.
I stopped at the tourist office to use their computer. It's nice that they have it as a free service for tourists. And when I go early in the day or late in the day, I never have to worry about someone else already being there or coming in and rushing me to finish. I also got information related to several places I needed to go to finish my business here.
I stopped at the post office, went shopping for a dinner gift to take to Jens and Robert tonight, stopped at my neighborhood eatery for one last time, and changed the remainder of my Lavian money back into dollars.
I had a surprise at the restaurant. When I have gone there in the evenings, it has been rather quiet. Well, today for lunch, there was a crowd. I'm not the only one who appreciates the value of their food! There were at least 10 people in line in front of me, and soon after I got in line another 5 people lined up behind me. I had their macaroni dish today. This time, it was made with olive oil, leeks and ground beef. Umm.
I took the local bus to the airport. I had plenty of time, and my only luggage (since my suitcase was stolen 10 days ago) was a plastic bag with my two extra shirts, my toiletries, and my books. The flight left on time and was fine. But then my connecting flight in Stockholm was delayed. SAS had to ground all their prop-jets (which I'm surprised they are still using anyway rather than switching to regional jets) a few days ago due to two accidents related to collapsing landing gear. They have a shortage of planes without the prop-jets, so we had to wait for a plane that had finished a flight to Malmø to come up there and pick us up. That got me to Copenhagen 40 minutes later than scheduled.
Jens and Robert had invited me to dinner, so I rushed to get to their place. I had hoped to be there by 19:00. But the delayed flight meant that I didn't arrive there until 19:30. But they had cooked a meal that could stay warm on the cookstove until I arrived (a mixture of tomatoes, sausages, chunks of meat, etc., served over a mixture of white and wild rice). I had dinner with them and Claus and talked about what had been happening here in town and about my trip. It was good to be with friends again.
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007--Copenhagen
I went to see my friend Old Grethe today. She is now 84 years old, but she has always been fresh and active. I was surprised to observe that her health has deteriorated since I was here in December. For the first time, she was not as alert as usual, and she had some physcial problems. Besides a pain in the back she had never mentioned to me before that now makes her moan with pain as she sits down or gets up, she was having dizzy spells that made her uneven on her feet. She told me that she has such days occasionally and that she was sorry that today was one of those days. I was just sorry to learn that this has become something that is now normal for her even if it is only occasionally. She also seemed to have trouble concentrating and kept drifting into Danish as she talked (which I could mostly follow). That was new, too, since she can speak English quite well normally.
I had told Grethe that I would bring sandwiches for our lunch as I did when I saw her last December. She has macular degeneration and cannot see to cook anymore. If she does cook, it is by feel and it is totally exhausting for her, she said. I stopped at a small shop around the corner and bought 6 pieces of smørrebrød, Danish open-faced sandwiches--two with shrimp and sliced boiled egg; two with roast beef, horseradish, and sauce; and two with tomato and potato slices. She thanked me over and over for bringing the sandwiches and told me how happy it made her to have food brought in and to not have to make food.
I stopped at the store and bought the fixings for burgers on my way back to Nurse Grethe's apartment. She has been on a tour of Normandie for 10 days and was returning by bus today. She likes me to make her burgers each time I am here, so I told her I would have them ready to make for her tonight. She arrived at 19:30, and we spent the evening enjoying burgers, chips, and beer and telling each other about our holidays.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Last Days in Riga
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007--Riga & Jurmala
I bought another book--The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I knew I would need it after tonight. I'm reading more here due to spending most evenings in my room without a TV.
There are casinos everywhere here in Latvia and in Estonia. It's been a surprise to see how many. They tend to be the size of small supermarkets. And they are located just 3-4 blocks apart. I don't know if it is locals or tourists who go to them, but they must have customers. Two of the former Internet cafes I tried to find are casinos now. They all have dark curtains so that no one can see inside the building. Posters on the windows say things like, "Gaminator." Inside, there are lots of flashing machines and the strong smell of smoke. (I opened a door just to see).
Today, I took the train to Jurmala, a beach resort area 20 km (12 miles) from Riga. It used to be one of the most popular vacation spots for Russians, since their travel was limited to within the Soviet Union and since Riga is not that far from either St. Petersburg or Moscow. The beach goes for a long distance and is lined with a string of small villages. The organization works well--the beach, then a wooded area, then streets with homes, then the highway with businesses, followed by the railroad track and stations. I got off at one station and wandered through that village and the next two villages. I went to the beach at two locations. But mostly I enjoyed seeing the homes--individual houses mostly built of wood and often 100-150 years old or so. Many have been restored. They have lots of glass and wooden lattice work between the glass panels. Many tourists were there. I sat with ladies from Norway on the train on the way out and with men from Finland on the way back. I ate some brown bread and ham leftover from last night as my lunch while sitting on the beach. Then I bought an ice cream cone as I wandered through the biggest town which has a nice pedestrianized main street with small shops and restaurants.
I returned to my local place near my room for dinner. It is so good that I am hesitant to go elsewhere. I had tasty goulasch over what I guess was a form of gruel. It is some grain that has been cooked somewhat like oatmeal or beans. I've seen many people eating it here, and it was good with the goulasch. I drank a dark beer (.5 liter). The meal with the beer cost only $6.84.
I've got extra cash. I just withdrew too much when I first got money here in Latvia. Somehow in the next 1 1/2 days, I must spend $80 or cash some of it back into dollars. I've only been spending $10-15 per day in general.
Traffic is a problem here in Latvia. There are LONG lines of cars backed up for street lights--sometimes for several blocks. When they turn onto a street with no traffic, the drivers tend to go wild by speeding down the street at unsafe speeds. I read that they have the highest accident rate of any country in the EU. I can see why.
I also read that inflation here is about 10% per year. That's high. Even since I arrived here, the dollar has gone up in value although it is falling everywhere else. That's because inflation is eating away at the Latvian currency faster than the dollar is falling. No wonder the prices here are so much higher than the guidebook said. It's a combination of the EU effect and inflation. They had planned to adopt the Euro next year, but they can't. There are rules that regulate that--something like 5 years have to pass with inflation under 3% before a country can adopt the Euro and then they are penalized for every year after that that the inflation goes above 3%. Latvia is a long way from meeting the rules. They are now estimating that it will be 2011 before they will adopt the Euro. That won't work. They will need far more years if they must first get inflation down and then keep it down for 5 years in a row.
Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007--Riga
It is another sunny day like yesterday. We've had perfect weather for the outings I had planned for the weekend. Today's outing was to the Outdoor Museum--a wooded area on the outskirts of town where they have brought historical buildings from all areas of Latvia. They have them clustered according to villages of different areas, so that one can see a couple of houses and their outhouses, a windmill, a church, etc., that would have been together in one area in the past. I wandered through the woods seeing the houses. I stopped and rested where there was a stage with Latvian music being played. I went past the stalls selling Latvian honey and other treats. The houses had flower beds and trees in the yards like they would have had in their original locations, too. I took a couple of apples off trees in the lawns and ate them. I had been wanting to do that on my whole trip. They were delicious and nice and crispy. One of the churches had a man inside playing the organ, so I sat for a while and listened to his music. It was a nice outing.
I stopped at a restaurant on my way out to the museum and ate lunch--chicken cutlet with potatoes that had been boiled, then sliced, then fried in butter. It was delicious. In the evening, I tried to go back to my local place and it was closed for the day! Instead, I went to a Lido restaurant, a group of restaurants that the guidebooks say have typical Latvian food. I ate shishkebab with rice and a beer. Well, it wasn't as good as the food at my local place, and it was more expensive. I may go back to my local place for lunch tomorrow before I have to head to the airport. I want to enjoy their good food one last time!
I managed to avoid the landlady today. She isn't really so bad. I just have the impression that she would prefer not having me there. When we do see each other she smiles and says hello in a friendly way. But I was still glad not to encounter her today. Tomorrow morning will be the last time I have to see her.
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007--Riga & Jurmala
I bought another book--The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I knew I would need it after tonight. I'm reading more here due to spending most evenings in my room without a TV.
There are casinos everywhere here in Latvia and in Estonia. It's been a surprise to see how many. They tend to be the size of small supermarkets. And they are located just 3-4 blocks apart. I don't know if it is locals or tourists who go to them, but they must have customers. Two of the former Internet cafes I tried to find are casinos now. They all have dark curtains so that no one can see inside the building. Posters on the windows say things like, "Gaminator." Inside, there are lots of flashing machines and the strong smell of smoke. (I opened a door just to see).
Today, I took the train to Jurmala, a beach resort area 20 km (12 miles) from Riga. It used to be one of the most popular vacation spots for Russians, since their travel was limited to within the Soviet Union and since Riga is not that far from either St. Petersburg or Moscow. The beach goes for a long distance and is lined with a string of small villages. The organization works well--the beach, then a wooded area, then streets with homes, then the highway with businesses, followed by the railroad track and stations. I got off at one station and wandered through that village and the next two villages. I went to the beach at two locations. But mostly I enjoyed seeing the homes--individual houses mostly built of wood and often 100-150 years old or so. Many have been restored. They have lots of glass and wooden lattice work between the glass panels. Many tourists were there. I sat with ladies from Norway on the train on the way out and with men from Finland on the way back. I ate some brown bread and ham leftover from last night as my lunch while sitting on the beach. Then I bought an ice cream cone as I wandered through the biggest town which has a nice pedestrianized main street with small shops and restaurants.
I returned to my local place near my room for dinner. It is so good that I am hesitant to go elsewhere. I had tasty goulasch over what I guess was a form of gruel. It is some grain that has been cooked somewhat like oatmeal or beans. I've seen many people eating it here, and it was good with the goulasch. I drank a dark beer (.5 liter). The meal with the beer cost only $6.84.
I've got extra cash. I just withdrew too much when I first got money here in Latvia. Somehow in the next 1 1/2 days, I must spend $80 or cash some of it back into dollars. I've only been spending $10-15 per day in general.
Traffic is a problem here in Latvia. There are LONG lines of cars backed up for street lights--sometimes for several blocks. When they turn onto a street with no traffic, the drivers tend to go wild by speeding down the street at unsafe speeds. I read that they have the highest accident rate of any country in the EU. I can see why.
I also read that inflation here is about 10% per year. That's high. Even since I arrived here, the dollar has gone up in value although it is falling everywhere else. That's because inflation is eating away at the Latvian currency faster than the dollar is falling. No wonder the prices here are so much higher than the guidebook said. It's a combination of the EU effect and inflation. They had planned to adopt the Euro next year, but they can't. There are rules that regulate that--something like 5 years have to pass with inflation under 3% before a country can adopt the Euro and then they are penalized for every year after that that the inflation goes above 3%. Latvia is a long way from meeting the rules. They are now estimating that it will be 2011 before they will adopt the Euro. That won't work. They will need far more years if they must first get inflation down and then keep it down for 5 years in a row.
Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007--Riga
It is another sunny day like yesterday. We've had perfect weather for the outings I had planned for the weekend. Today's outing was to the Outdoor Museum--a wooded area on the outskirts of town where they have brought historical buildings from all areas of Latvia. They have them clustered according to villages of different areas, so that one can see a couple of houses and their outhouses, a windmill, a church, etc., that would have been together in one area in the past. I wandered through the woods seeing the houses. I stopped and rested where there was a stage with Latvian music being played. I went past the stalls selling Latvian honey and other treats. The houses had flower beds and trees in the yards like they would have had in their original locations, too. I took a couple of apples off trees in the lawns and ate them. I had been wanting to do that on my whole trip. They were delicious and nice and crispy. One of the churches had a man inside playing the organ, so I sat for a while and listened to his music. It was a nice outing.
I stopped at a restaurant on my way out to the museum and ate lunch--chicken cutlet with potatoes that had been boiled, then sliced, then fried in butter. It was delicious. In the evening, I tried to go back to my local place and it was closed for the day! Instead, I went to a Lido restaurant, a group of restaurants that the guidebooks say have typical Latvian food. I ate shishkebab with rice and a beer. Well, it wasn't as good as the food at my local place, and it was more expensive. I may go back to my local place for lunch tomorrow before I have to head to the airport. I want to enjoy their good food one last time!
I managed to avoid the landlady today. She isn't really so bad. I just have the impression that she would prefer not having me there. When we do see each other she smiles and says hello in a friendly way. But I was still glad not to encounter her today. Tomorrow morning will be the last time I have to see her.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Cold, but Nice Days
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007--Riga
Tallinn is a far nicer city than Riga, I think. Riga is definitely bigger--about twice the size. And Riga has many nice buildings. But the Old Town of Tallinn is older and more consistantly from the same period. The Old Town in Riga is a mixture of buildings from different periods. Also, Tallinn is far better restored, both in the Old Town and the outer areas, than Riga is. To me, the best part of Riga is the outer ring of streets about 6 blocks wide that exists just beyond the Old Town and where its outer walls were. Most of the buildings there were built at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s in the jugendstil (art nouveau) style of architecture. That tends to make Riga special. But its Old Town is much like old towns anywhere with its mixture of different buildings from different periods (although there are fewer modern buildings). The reason the Old Town is considered special is the same for any old city with a special center: It was poor for so long that people could not afford to tear down the old to build new. That's why Tallinn, Riga, Prague, and other cities are so special today. If a city wants to be special like that, it has to stay poor for several decades or centuries. The Miami Beach area was able to do it by being poor just for about 40-50 years. But usually it takes longer.
The place I am staying is the least nice of all the places I have stayed on this trip to the Baltics. It's an old soviet-style apartment--creaky wooden parquet floors, wallpaper that is strange in design and old and faded, carpets hanging on the walls, lacy see-through curtains covering all the windows, a toilet and bathroom with old fixtures and old tile walls and floors, etc. Also, the apartment is rather cluttered with lots of old, not especially nice furniture. Although the landlady seems to be a cleanness freak, the bath could use a very good cleaning, I think.
It is cold and windy here. It is much like winter weather in Texas. It's probably normal for here for this time of year. I am wearing layers to keep warm, and my hands still stay cold much of the time when I am out walking to explore the city.
I went to the huge Central Market this morning. It is housed in 5 huge old zepelin hangars that were brought in from another place after being abandoned. Of course, the market, like most markets, has spread far beyond these hangars onto the streets and into other buildings. But it is one of the biggest markets I have ever visited. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they also have small restaurants within the market where one can eat a meal. I bought a vegetarian pizza and ate it. Then I had two pastry balls covered in coconut for dessert.
A light rain started as I walked through the Old Town, so I stopped to visit the Occupation Museum. It covers the years when the Soviet Union, then Germany, then the Soviet Union again occupied Latvia from the early 1940s through the early 1990s. It was an interesting museum with very detailed descriptions of what happened during the years.
The rain had stopped by the time I left the museum, so I followed a self-guided tour route for the Old Town. Much of it I had already seen by wandering, but following the route made sure that I knew what each building was and that I saw some that I had passed without really noticing them. Also, it took me through some areas I had not yet visited.
On my way back to my area of town, I went by the Freedom Monument. It is their main monument in Latvia. It is a woman with her arms up in the air and the tips of her hands supporting three golden stars. I think it is rather nice.
I found another big market near my neighborhood and wandered through it. I noticed lots of mushrooms for sale. It's mushroom season here. I saw a woman in her yard one morning in Sigulda who had already filled a bucket with mushrooms and many more were still growing under her trees. Then the day I took the train to Riga from there, many people got off at a stop in the woods and entered them with baskets, buckets, etc., on their way to search for mushrooms they could pick up and either eat at home or sale. It reminded me of pecan season in November in Texas when people go out to pick up pecans that are falling from the trees.
I ate dinner at a local place where I had eaten last night, too. Last night, I had a macaroni dish with pieces of pork and leeks cooked in butter and mixed with the macaroni. Tonight, I had a meatball with boiled potatoes and a cabbage dish. Their food is very tasy, and the woman is nice about the fact I cannot speak her language.
Friday, Sept. 21, 2007--Riga
I finished reading The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1 1/2 to 2 stars out of 4) and Dubliners by James Joyce (3 1/2 stars out of 4). Therefore, I stopped at a book store and bought another book to begin reading. I am reading more here because I spend a lot of time in my room at night with no TV.
My landlady likes the money from guests, but I can tell she doesn't really like having guests. She isn't very friendly (except in a forced way), she seems bothered by things being used or brought into the apartment, she seems to worry about hot water being used, etc. I tend to avoid her, and she tends to avoid me, however. I am happy with that, and I am sure she is happier that way.
I went to a few streets in one area of the jugendstil buildings here in town. It is where all the tours go to see the best, most extravagant examples of that style of architecture. They really are fantastic buildings. One architect seems to be responsible for the best of the best. On one long block, he had designed all but one of the buildings. That is the not-to-be-missed street--Alberta iela. The facades are so ornate and fun to see. I took pictures of the buildings. They were the first pictures I have taken since my luggage was stolen. I wanted to save my battery strength for here. It's too bad I had to skip taking pictures in other places like Tartu, Cesis, and Sigulda, though.
I returned to the Central Market for lunch. I had a plate with meat patties, potatoes, and slaw. Then I went walking behind the market. There is a tall building that is in the same style as the skyscraper in Moscow that is the home of the University of Moscow. I wanted to see that up close. What was more interesting, however, was the entire neighborhood. Not because it was nice, but because it is so neglected. It is a VERY poor section of town. I don't think that the change to a free-market economy and joining the European Union has helped much there, since it still looks like a part of the Soviet Union. At least 98% of the buildings still are gray with metal roofs that are rusting. Restoration has not touched the area much.
I bought food to eat in the room for the night, since it was starting to sprinkle. I just didn't want to go to the room and go back out for two reasons: 1) I didn't want to go out in the rain. 2) I didn't want to face the landlady more than necessary. I was lucky to get inside without her seeing me. I know she would have been curious about my bag of food and would have been displeased about my bringing it into the apartment. Anyway, that's life!
Note: I am using a free computer at the tourist office, and there is no way to open a second screen to search and make links to terms I have used. Those of you who are interested, I would recommond that you go to Google and search using the following terms (not forgetting to search both under the web and under images):
Riga Old Town
Riga Central Market
Riga jugendstil
Alberta iela Riga
Occupation Museum Riga
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007--Riga
Tallinn is a far nicer city than Riga, I think. Riga is definitely bigger--about twice the size. And Riga has many nice buildings. But the Old Town of Tallinn is older and more consistantly from the same period. The Old Town in Riga is a mixture of buildings from different periods. Also, Tallinn is far better restored, both in the Old Town and the outer areas, than Riga is. To me, the best part of Riga is the outer ring of streets about 6 blocks wide that exists just beyond the Old Town and where its outer walls were. Most of the buildings there were built at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s in the jugendstil (art nouveau) style of architecture. That tends to make Riga special. But its Old Town is much like old towns anywhere with its mixture of different buildings from different periods (although there are fewer modern buildings). The reason the Old Town is considered special is the same for any old city with a special center: It was poor for so long that people could not afford to tear down the old to build new. That's why Tallinn, Riga, Prague, and other cities are so special today. If a city wants to be special like that, it has to stay poor for several decades or centuries. The Miami Beach area was able to do it by being poor just for about 40-50 years. But usually it takes longer.
The place I am staying is the least nice of all the places I have stayed on this trip to the Baltics. It's an old soviet-style apartment--creaky wooden parquet floors, wallpaper that is strange in design and old and faded, carpets hanging on the walls, lacy see-through curtains covering all the windows, a toilet and bathroom with old fixtures and old tile walls and floors, etc. Also, the apartment is rather cluttered with lots of old, not especially nice furniture. Although the landlady seems to be a cleanness freak, the bath could use a very good cleaning, I think.
It is cold and windy here. It is much like winter weather in Texas. It's probably normal for here for this time of year. I am wearing layers to keep warm, and my hands still stay cold much of the time when I am out walking to explore the city.
I went to the huge Central Market this morning. It is housed in 5 huge old zepelin hangars that were brought in from another place after being abandoned. Of course, the market, like most markets, has spread far beyond these hangars onto the streets and into other buildings. But it is one of the biggest markets I have ever visited. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they also have small restaurants within the market where one can eat a meal. I bought a vegetarian pizza and ate it. Then I had two pastry balls covered in coconut for dessert.
A light rain started as I walked through the Old Town, so I stopped to visit the Occupation Museum. It covers the years when the Soviet Union, then Germany, then the Soviet Union again occupied Latvia from the early 1940s through the early 1990s. It was an interesting museum with very detailed descriptions of what happened during the years.
The rain had stopped by the time I left the museum, so I followed a self-guided tour route for the Old Town. Much of it I had already seen by wandering, but following the route made sure that I knew what each building was and that I saw some that I had passed without really noticing them. Also, it took me through some areas I had not yet visited.
On my way back to my area of town, I went by the Freedom Monument. It is their main monument in Latvia. It is a woman with her arms up in the air and the tips of her hands supporting three golden stars. I think it is rather nice.
I found another big market near my neighborhood and wandered through it. I noticed lots of mushrooms for sale. It's mushroom season here. I saw a woman in her yard one morning in Sigulda who had already filled a bucket with mushrooms and many more were still growing under her trees. Then the day I took the train to Riga from there, many people got off at a stop in the woods and entered them with baskets, buckets, etc., on their way to search for mushrooms they could pick up and either eat at home or sale. It reminded me of pecan season in November in Texas when people go out to pick up pecans that are falling from the trees.
I ate dinner at a local place where I had eaten last night, too. Last night, I had a macaroni dish with pieces of pork and leeks cooked in butter and mixed with the macaroni. Tonight, I had a meatball with boiled potatoes and a cabbage dish. Their food is very tasy, and the woman is nice about the fact I cannot speak her language.
Friday, Sept. 21, 2007--Riga
I finished reading The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1 1/2 to 2 stars out of 4) and Dubliners by James Joyce (3 1/2 stars out of 4). Therefore, I stopped at a book store and bought another book to begin reading. I am reading more here because I spend a lot of time in my room at night with no TV.
My landlady likes the money from guests, but I can tell she doesn't really like having guests. She isn't very friendly (except in a forced way), she seems bothered by things being used or brought into the apartment, she seems to worry about hot water being used, etc. I tend to avoid her, and she tends to avoid me, however. I am happy with that, and I am sure she is happier that way.
I went to a few streets in one area of the jugendstil buildings here in town. It is where all the tours go to see the best, most extravagant examples of that style of architecture. They really are fantastic buildings. One architect seems to be responsible for the best of the best. On one long block, he had designed all but one of the buildings. That is the not-to-be-missed street--Alberta iela. The facades are so ornate and fun to see. I took pictures of the buildings. They were the first pictures I have taken since my luggage was stolen. I wanted to save my battery strength for here. It's too bad I had to skip taking pictures in other places like Tartu, Cesis, and Sigulda, though.
I returned to the Central Market for lunch. I had a plate with meat patties, potatoes, and slaw. Then I went walking behind the market. There is a tall building that is in the same style as the skyscraper in Moscow that is the home of the University of Moscow. I wanted to see that up close. What was more interesting, however, was the entire neighborhood. Not because it was nice, but because it is so neglected. It is a VERY poor section of town. I don't think that the change to a free-market economy and joining the European Union has helped much there, since it still looks like a part of the Soviet Union. At least 98% of the buildings still are gray with metal roofs that are rusting. Restoration has not touched the area much.
I bought food to eat in the room for the night, since it was starting to sprinkle. I just didn't want to go to the room and go back out for two reasons: 1) I didn't want to go out in the rain. 2) I didn't want to face the landlady more than necessary. I was lucky to get inside without her seeing me. I know she would have been curious about my bag of food and would have been displeased about my bringing it into the apartment. Anyway, that's life!
Note: I am using a free computer at the tourist office, and there is no way to open a second screen to search and make links to terms I have used. Those of you who are interested, I would recommond that you go to Google and search using the following terms (not forgetting to search both under the web and under images):
Riga Old Town
Riga Central Market
Riga jugendstil
Alberta iela Riga
Occupation Museum Riga
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Gauja National Park
Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007--Sigulda, Latvia
It's ånother beautiful day. It is perfect for hiking in the national park. And I slept so well last night that I am very rested and ready to go.
I followed a loop trail through the woods. It started at what I thought would be a castle. Instead it was a castle "mound." I went down, down, down from there on my way to Artists' Hill. It being a hill, I had to go up, up, up to get to it. From both the castle mound and the hill, I had great views across the treetops to REAL castles and vistas of trees in autumnal colors. Fortunately, Artist's Hill turned out to be a POINT. That means there was no down, down, down followed by up, up, up. I just stayed up walking back through the woods toward town again.
There are many nice, new homes in Segulda. In fact, they are HUGE homes--American size! I wonder where the money comes from for those? Could it be EU money? If so, have they gotten it legally or illegally?
I ate meat balls, potatoes, and creamed carrots and peas for lunchy with apple juice. I ate at a bistro in one of the supermarkets where I could see everything and just point for what I wanted. That made it so easy!
After a short rest, I walked across the river to the north side of the park. It is more peaceful and quiet there, since the town is all on the south side. I followed a trail that took me by two caves and beside two lakes. The caves are considered big tourist attractions, but there really isn't much to see. They are just holes in the side of the rock. One has graffiti from the 1600s, though. It also had a man playing a flute for money, and the sound was quite nice. I sat on a bench by a lake where there was a swan and some ducks and read from one of my books. Then I headed back toward town.
I encountered two men who asked me the time. I am sure they saw my guidebook in my hand and figured I was a tourist. I am guessing that maybe they suspected I would show them my watch knowing that I could not tell them the time, and I bet they planned to try to steal it. I always carry a cheap watch that only costs about $8 at Wal-mart. When the guy saw the time (the watch), he turned and said something to the other guy--maybe that it isn't worth trying to steal. Then he started giving me a sob story. He pointed out indentations on each side of his head and said it was due to torture. He said that his parents were murdered by terrorists and that he is now responsible for his 92-year-old grandmother. He said a pension has been approved but would not start coming for 28 days. Then, of course, he asked if I could help. My standard reply to a story like that is that I have heard such stories before and that it is better if they go to a church or some charity organization that helps people temporarily. Then I walked away.
I went back to the same bistro for dinner and had chicken cutlet, mashed potatoes, and gravy along with another apple juice. I barely got back to my room before the thunderstorms began. They lasted most of the night.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007--Sigulda to Riga
I awoke early, so I got ready and left for an early train. I caught the one at 8:11 and was in Riga before 9:30. I had no problem finding the apartment building where I had reserved a room. Unfortunately, the lady was not at home. She had given me the code for the front door, so I sat on the stairs and read. I figured she would come home at noon if not before. Sure enough, she arrived about 12:15. Since it was raining outside, I didn't mind sitting on the stairs and reading as I waited.
There was a discrepency with the price of the room. My receipt showed that I owned her only °54.50 Euros, and she had a receipt from someone else showing it should be 76 Euros. She kept wanting me to pay, and I insisted that we call the office. When we called, she was told that her receipt was wrong and that mine was right. That saved me about $38. Through the experience and observing her related to other matters, however, I can tell that she is very particular about how things are done. It may be a long 5 days staying with her.
The sun kept coming out and then rain returning. I tried to go out to explore, but soon rain came again. I ate while out--meat with boiled potatoes and mushroom sauce. But I spent most of the afternoon in the room. It is now evening, and I have walked into town. I will try to go to a concert at the cathedral tonight on its organ which is the 4th largest in the world and was the largest when it was installed.
Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007--Sigulda, Latvia
It's ånother beautiful day. It is perfect for hiking in the national park. And I slept so well last night that I am very rested and ready to go.
I followed a loop trail through the woods. It started at what I thought would be a castle. Instead it was a castle "mound." I went down, down, down from there on my way to Artists' Hill. It being a hill, I had to go up, up, up to get to it. From both the castle mound and the hill, I had great views across the treetops to REAL castles and vistas of trees in autumnal colors. Fortunately, Artist's Hill turned out to be a POINT. That means there was no down, down, down followed by up, up, up. I just stayed up walking back through the woods toward town again.
There are many nice, new homes in Segulda. In fact, they are HUGE homes--American size! I wonder where the money comes from for those? Could it be EU money? If so, have they gotten it legally or illegally?
I ate meat balls, potatoes, and creamed carrots and peas for lunchy with apple juice. I ate at a bistro in one of the supermarkets where I could see everything and just point for what I wanted. That made it so easy!
After a short rest, I walked across the river to the north side of the park. It is more peaceful and quiet there, since the town is all on the south side. I followed a trail that took me by two caves and beside two lakes. The caves are considered big tourist attractions, but there really isn't much to see. They are just holes in the side of the rock. One has graffiti from the 1600s, though. It also had a man playing a flute for money, and the sound was quite nice. I sat on a bench by a lake where there was a swan and some ducks and read from one of my books. Then I headed back toward town.
I encountered two men who asked me the time. I am sure they saw my guidebook in my hand and figured I was a tourist. I am guessing that maybe they suspected I would show them my watch knowing that I could not tell them the time, and I bet they planned to try to steal it. I always carry a cheap watch that only costs about $8 at Wal-mart. When the guy saw the time (the watch), he turned and said something to the other guy--maybe that it isn't worth trying to steal. Then he started giving me a sob story. He pointed out indentations on each side of his head and said it was due to torture. He said that his parents were murdered by terrorists and that he is now responsible for his 92-year-old grandmother. He said a pension has been approved but would not start coming for 28 days. Then, of course, he asked if I could help. My standard reply to a story like that is that I have heard such stories before and that it is better if they go to a church or some charity organization that helps people temporarily. Then I walked away.
I went back to the same bistro for dinner and had chicken cutlet, mashed potatoes, and gravy along with another apple juice. I barely got back to my room before the thunderstorms began. They lasted most of the night.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007--Sigulda to Riga
I awoke early, so I got ready and left for an early train. I caught the one at 8:11 and was in Riga before 9:30. I had no problem finding the apartment building where I had reserved a room. Unfortunately, the lady was not at home. She had given me the code for the front door, so I sat on the stairs and read. I figured she would come home at noon if not before. Sure enough, she arrived about 12:15. Since it was raining outside, I didn't mind sitting on the stairs and reading as I waited.
There was a discrepency with the price of the room. My receipt showed that I owned her only °54.50 Euros, and she had a receipt from someone else showing it should be 76 Euros. She kept wanting me to pay, and I insisted that we call the office. When we called, she was told that her receipt was wrong and that mine was right. That saved me about $38. Through the experience and observing her related to other matters, however, I can tell that she is very particular about how things are done. It may be a long 5 days staying with her.
The sun kept coming out and then rain returning. I tried to go out to explore, but soon rain came again. I ate while out--meat with boiled potatoes and mushroom sauce. But I spent most of the afternoon in the room. It is now evening, and I have walked into town. I will try to go to a concert at the cathedral tonight on its organ which is the 4th largest in the world and was the largest when it was installed.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Enjoying Tartu and Latvia
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007--Tartu (Continued)
I ate a sandwich like the ones I had read about here--juicy with sour cream and other ingredients. It was called a burger kebabiga and had roasted chicken and pork in it along with tomatoes, onions, the sour cream, and a red salsa. It was on a big bun. Ummm!!
I gave myself two treats. I bought some dental floss although it costs 6 times as much here as it does in the U.S. I just could not stand going without flossing. I also bought a box of chocolate truffles. They are nice and creamy. Unfortunately, they are a bit too sweet. Too bad.
I am trying to get by without buying many things that cannot be taken onto my flight back to Copenhagen next week. I am using soap to shave rather than buying shaving cream. I am also using the soap as a shampoo rather than buying a bottle. I bought the smallest tube of toothpaste, since it is under the 50 ml limit. Unfortunately, it tastes HORRIBLE--a bit like bubble gum. I have to drink water to get the taste out of my mouth after brushing.
Tartu has a nice market building. It is clean and bright. And there are nice food products for sale in it. It is too bad that markets here do not have restaurants in them the way markets in many countries do. I would enjoy going to the market to eat a cheap local meal.
Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007--Tartu
I awoke to one of my recurring dreams this morning--one where I was supervising a student teacher and had forgotten about him. It was late in the semester, and I had only visited him once. When I went to see him this time, he was not doing well. He had not even tried teaching full time on his own. I hate dreams like that.
It is a nice, sunny day. The wind is blowing though, and it is cold. Earlier in the day, there were some off and on showers, but they ended and the sun has shown most of the day.
I had a bad experience when I left the room this morning. I walked toward the song park (where they have national singing competitions) which is near my room. On the pathway, I found a man crumpled up. He was dressed well and I could hear his music player going. So he probably had been out jogging or walking. I did not try to talk to him, since I cannot speak Estonian. Instead, I rushed to a nearby building where I saw a woman outside. I started to tell her about him, and she responded that the police had already been called. I walked away and watched for the police. Finally, they came in an ambulance, but I had already walked several blocks and they were traveling at normal speed without a siren. I hope that man survived. He probably had either a heart attack or a stroke.
I had 300 krooni left to spend today which is my last day in Estonia. That is a little less than $30. I went to Humana, a used clothing store I had seen, and looked at shirts. I bought two 100% cotton shirts (one still with its original paper tags) for only $5.25 each. That will get me by until I return to Denmark where I have other clothes that I keep stored there. Later in the day, I also bought a pair of socks at a sporting goods store.
I went to the Estonian National Museum. It is so nice. Everything on exhibit was of high quality. And they had long, detailed explanations in English related to everything. I felt I really learned a lot by going through there.
The museum is at the back of the hill in the center of town. It was already past lunchtime when I left, and I wanted to return to the Student Cafe at the university. So I walked through the area of the university on the hillside to get there. It is so nice. It has REAL university atmosphere. It ought to, since the campus is 375 years old!
I ate lasagna and salad and drank apple juice at the cafe. It was good, but the lasagna was a bit salty, I think. I remained thirsty the rest of the day.
I spent most of the rest of my money on pastries, boxes of juices, and other snacks. Then I went toward my room as rain began again. It stopped, though, as I was passing the botanical gardens, so I went into there. They were delightful. There were more flowering plants there than I think I have ever seen at a similar garden before. I wandered through their entire block square grounds enjoying the colors and the smells. Then I headed out toward home and it started raining again.
I am reading two novels at the same time. That is not normal for me. I usually like to concentrate on only one at a time. But The Pilgrimš Progress is too detailed and takes a lot of thinking. It is written in series of events, so it is easy to stop after any one of them. Dubliners is a collection of short stories, so it is easy to read them one at a time, too. So I go from the heavy to the light reading, back and forth and back again.
Monday, Sept. 17, 2007--Tartu, Estonia, to Valmeira, Cēsis, and Segulda, Latvia
When I left early this morning, it was raining. By the time I arrived in Valmeira, it had stopped and the sun was coming out. The day ended up being one of the best I have had here--sunny and rather warm.
I had two worries this morning: Would I have any problem at the border? Would my bank card work in the ATM when I got to Valmeira and needed Latvian money? The first was a worry because there is only one crossing where international tourists are processed, and I was not sure if the bus would pass there. I got even more worried when we pulled into the middle of the border town. But we only stopped to let passengers off and then pulled out and went northward to the country crossing where I could go through with everyone else. In Valmiera, the card worked fine. I had been told it would, but one never knows if a mistake will happen when they change things (and they changed my card so that called-in uses could not occur).
My problem that eventually came was unexpected. When I got to Cēsis, they had no listings of private rooms. My choices were to stay in a dormitory at a hostel for $16-20 per night or to stay in the cheapest hotel at $50 per night. There was nothing between those. I decided to leave the city and go on to Segunda where I had already planned to spend the next night anyway.
First, I walked through Cēsis. It is an OLD town. And it seems even more old than it might because it has not been improved much. It still looks, I would guess, much like it did when Latvia was part of the USSR. I do not know what Latvia has done with their EU funding, but they have not done what Estonia did with theirs. In Estonia, they have restored everything, put in new streets and sidewalks, etc. One street in Cēsis had been paved with flat bricks, but a big trench had been dug down the middle of the entire street at some point and then filled in with rubble. The other streets were old cobblestone streets that had more dirt than they did cobblestones. The buildings were gray for the most part. Even the window displays looked a lot like the old communist window displays used to look.
There are other differences I have seen in Estonia and Latvia. The highways in Latvia are rough and not newly paved as in Estonia. The people in Estonia are more stylish looking than here in Latvia where people still tend to look like Soviet peasants to a great extent. The teenagers here in Latvia seem to be more menacing looking to me than the ones in Estonia did. In other words, Estonia is the more progressive country.
Now in terms of prices, both countries are ADVANCED. Like most countries joining the EU, they have had prices go up dramatically. My guidebook was printed 4 years ago which means it was written about 5 years ago. Hotel prices are 5 times today the price that my guidebook quotes. Other prices are higher, too. Could salaries have gone up so much also?
I was lucky to get a private room in a home with an elderly lady here in Segulda. I have spent the afternoon wandering after a disappointing luncheon. I was told a dish was chicken and could not tell much because of the dark mushroomy-like sauce over it. When I bought it, I found it was chicken livers. These Latvians, according to my guidebook, love their offals and their organs. Anyway, I ate it although I would have preferred something else. Then I went on my way to enjoy the town and the area. This is the headquarters for Gauja National Park. The town is rather open and spread out. The park includes a river in a deep valley. It is autumn here, so the trees are starting to turn color. Some are already a bright red, yellow, or orange, so it is beautiful when there is an oversight that lets me see for a long distance. There are castles here, too. This was the dividing line between lands that were given to knights and retained by the church. Each built their own castle. I sat inside the ruins of one today as I looked across the river and woods to another that has been restored.
I will stay here tomorrow and explore the park. Then I will head to Riga on Wednesday.
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007--Tartu (Continued)
I ate a sandwich like the ones I had read about here--juicy with sour cream and other ingredients. It was called a burger kebabiga and had roasted chicken and pork in it along with tomatoes, onions, the sour cream, and a red salsa. It was on a big bun. Ummm!!
I gave myself two treats. I bought some dental floss although it costs 6 times as much here as it does in the U.S. I just could not stand going without flossing. I also bought a box of chocolate truffles. They are nice and creamy. Unfortunately, they are a bit too sweet. Too bad.
I am trying to get by without buying many things that cannot be taken onto my flight back to Copenhagen next week. I am using soap to shave rather than buying shaving cream. I am also using the soap as a shampoo rather than buying a bottle. I bought the smallest tube of toothpaste, since it is under the 50 ml limit. Unfortunately, it tastes HORRIBLE--a bit like bubble gum. I have to drink water to get the taste out of my mouth after brushing.
Tartu has a nice market building. It is clean and bright. And there are nice food products for sale in it. It is too bad that markets here do not have restaurants in them the way markets in many countries do. I would enjoy going to the market to eat a cheap local meal.
Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007--Tartu
I awoke to one of my recurring dreams this morning--one where I was supervising a student teacher and had forgotten about him. It was late in the semester, and I had only visited him once. When I went to see him this time, he was not doing well. He had not even tried teaching full time on his own. I hate dreams like that.
It is a nice, sunny day. The wind is blowing though, and it is cold. Earlier in the day, there were some off and on showers, but they ended and the sun has shown most of the day.
I had a bad experience when I left the room this morning. I walked toward the song park (where they have national singing competitions) which is near my room. On the pathway, I found a man crumpled up. He was dressed well and I could hear his music player going. So he probably had been out jogging or walking. I did not try to talk to him, since I cannot speak Estonian. Instead, I rushed to a nearby building where I saw a woman outside. I started to tell her about him, and she responded that the police had already been called. I walked away and watched for the police. Finally, they came in an ambulance, but I had already walked several blocks and they were traveling at normal speed without a siren. I hope that man survived. He probably had either a heart attack or a stroke.
I had 300 krooni left to spend today which is my last day in Estonia. That is a little less than $30. I went to Humana, a used clothing store I had seen, and looked at shirts. I bought two 100% cotton shirts (one still with its original paper tags) for only $5.25 each. That will get me by until I return to Denmark where I have other clothes that I keep stored there. Later in the day, I also bought a pair of socks at a sporting goods store.
I went to the Estonian National Museum. It is so nice. Everything on exhibit was of high quality. And they had long, detailed explanations in English related to everything. I felt I really learned a lot by going through there.
The museum is at the back of the hill in the center of town. It was already past lunchtime when I left, and I wanted to return to the Student Cafe at the university. So I walked through the area of the university on the hillside to get there. It is so nice. It has REAL university atmosphere. It ought to, since the campus is 375 years old!
I ate lasagna and salad and drank apple juice at the cafe. It was good, but the lasagna was a bit salty, I think. I remained thirsty the rest of the day.
I spent most of the rest of my money on pastries, boxes of juices, and other snacks. Then I went toward my room as rain began again. It stopped, though, as I was passing the botanical gardens, so I went into there. They were delightful. There were more flowering plants there than I think I have ever seen at a similar garden before. I wandered through their entire block square grounds enjoying the colors and the smells. Then I headed out toward home and it started raining again.
I am reading two novels at the same time. That is not normal for me. I usually like to concentrate on only one at a time. But The Pilgrimš Progress is too detailed and takes a lot of thinking. It is written in series of events, so it is easy to stop after any one of them. Dubliners is a collection of short stories, so it is easy to read them one at a time, too. So I go from the heavy to the light reading, back and forth and back again.
Monday, Sept. 17, 2007--Tartu, Estonia, to Valmeira, Cēsis, and Segulda, Latvia
When I left early this morning, it was raining. By the time I arrived in Valmeira, it had stopped and the sun was coming out. The day ended up being one of the best I have had here--sunny and rather warm.
I had two worries this morning: Would I have any problem at the border? Would my bank card work in the ATM when I got to Valmeira and needed Latvian money? The first was a worry because there is only one crossing where international tourists are processed, and I was not sure if the bus would pass there. I got even more worried when we pulled into the middle of the border town. But we only stopped to let passengers off and then pulled out and went northward to the country crossing where I could go through with everyone else. In Valmiera, the card worked fine. I had been told it would, but one never knows if a mistake will happen when they change things (and they changed my card so that called-in uses could not occur).
My problem that eventually came was unexpected. When I got to Cēsis, they had no listings of private rooms. My choices were to stay in a dormitory at a hostel for $16-20 per night or to stay in the cheapest hotel at $50 per night. There was nothing between those. I decided to leave the city and go on to Segunda where I had already planned to spend the next night anyway.
First, I walked through Cēsis. It is an OLD town. And it seems even more old than it might because it has not been improved much. It still looks, I would guess, much like it did when Latvia was part of the USSR. I do not know what Latvia has done with their EU funding, but they have not done what Estonia did with theirs. In Estonia, they have restored everything, put in new streets and sidewalks, etc. One street in Cēsis had been paved with flat bricks, but a big trench had been dug down the middle of the entire street at some point and then filled in with rubble. The other streets were old cobblestone streets that had more dirt than they did cobblestones. The buildings were gray for the most part. Even the window displays looked a lot like the old communist window displays used to look.
There are other differences I have seen in Estonia and Latvia. The highways in Latvia are rough and not newly paved as in Estonia. The people in Estonia are more stylish looking than here in Latvia where people still tend to look like Soviet peasants to a great extent. The teenagers here in Latvia seem to be more menacing looking to me than the ones in Estonia did. In other words, Estonia is the more progressive country.
Now in terms of prices, both countries are ADVANCED. Like most countries joining the EU, they have had prices go up dramatically. My guidebook was printed 4 years ago which means it was written about 5 years ago. Hotel prices are 5 times today the price that my guidebook quotes. Other prices are higher, too. Could salaries have gone up so much also?
I was lucky to get a private room in a home with an elderly lady here in Segulda. I have spent the afternoon wandering after a disappointing luncheon. I was told a dish was chicken and could not tell much because of the dark mushroomy-like sauce over it. When I bought it, I found it was chicken livers. These Latvians, according to my guidebook, love their offals and their organs. Anyway, I ate it although I would have preferred something else. Then I went on my way to enjoy the town and the area. This is the headquarters for Gauja National Park. The town is rather open and spread out. The park includes a river in a deep valley. It is autumn here, so the trees are starting to turn color. Some are already a bright red, yellow, or orange, so it is beautiful when there is an oversight that lets me see for a long distance. There are castles here, too. This was the dividing line between lands that were given to knights and retained by the church. Each built their own castle. I sat inside the ruins of one today as I looked across the river and woods to another that has been restored.
I will stay here tomorrow and explore the park. Then I will head to Riga on Wednesday.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Good News from Bank
Friday, Sept. 14, 2007 (Continued) and Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007--Tartu, Estonia
I had photocopies of my credit cards in my suitcase. They were old ones that had been made of previous cards rather than my present ones. American Express wanted to cancel their card and send me a new one, but I didn´t plan on using it anyway due to the fact that they place an added fee of about 3% on foreign transactions. The same (with a slightly lower extra fee) is true of Chase MasterCard, so they put it on hold. My two main cards I use are VISA cards from a credit union in Corpus Christi. As usual, they came through for me. I use their cards because they do not add an extra fee for foreign transactions (which is the rightful thing to do since VISA already charges a 1% fee for making the foreign exchange on each transaction). Anyway, I got an e-mail from the lady at the credit union this (Saturday) morning saying she had put a hold on transactions that are keyed into a machine by a second party using the 4-digit authorization code on the back of the card (like companies do when one calls to make a purchase long-distance using a card), but she left the actual cards active so I can use them to make direct withdrawals and purchases. What a relief! That saves me a lot of worry. Although I have some U.S. cash and some travelerś checques on me, it is difficult to find foreign exchange offices in anything but the largest cities today.
An interesting side post related to contacting the credit card companies is the trouble I had trying to get them via their phone numbers printed on the backs of the cards. American Express worked perfectly. I called their number collect. Although they had an automated answering service, the first thing it said was, `We accept collect calls.´ The ATT operated let it continue. The VISA collect number was okay for making a collect call, but their automated response system was taking too long before saying they would accept collect calls, and ATT cut them off. I wrote an e-mail to the nice lady who helps me with those cards at the credit union, and she provided the PERFECT service I outlined in the above paragraph. The Chase number it said to call collect was an 800 number. Well, 800 numbers cannot be called collect and do not work from outside the U.S. Doesn´t Chase know this? Doesn´t someone check. I ended up writing my sister and asking her to call them for me from her home.
I faced two immediate problems on Friday: Problem 1) I couldn´t try to use the credit cards to get cash, so I had to plan to live on the Estonian money I currently had in my pocket (due to the fact that this is a small town without currency exchange desks). Fortunately, that looked okay, but I quickly planned a budget based on what I knew I would need for paying for my room and for my bus to Latvia on Monday. What was left was what I had for buying necessities and eating. Problem 2) I was planning to take the bus from here to Valmeira in Latvia on Monday morning. That is also a small town that likely has only ATM machines and not an exchange service, and I would need money immediately to purchase an onward bus ticket to Cesis. If my cards didn´t remain active, I would probably have to go all the way to Riga by bus, exchange cash there, and then backtrack to Cesis by bus. (My room in Riga is already reserved for the 19th-24th, so I would need to backtrack immediately. Those two problems kept dwelling on my mind as I waited until I could read my mail today (Saturday). Fortunately, all is well now that I can use my card at an ATM in Valmeira on Monday and can even use it here if I need more cash now!
I started listing the items that were in my suitcase. I then went to the police station to file a loss statement with them. It was a strange experience. The main police station was locked, so I had to go to the jail further down the road. No one there spoke English, but they understood what I wanted to do. When I filled out the paperwork, they didn´t have a copy machine there, so I had to do it again to have a copy for myself. Among the lost items were my camera battery charger, a camera battery, 4 camera memory chips (fortunately unused on this trip since I have been putting all my photos on my new 1 GB chip I bought in Alaska), binoculars, a flashlight, a bicycle chain and lock for locking down my suitcase, a travel alarm clock, a Swiss army knife, haircutting scissors, electricity adaptor-converter kit, clothes, toiletries, emergency medical supplies, novels, etc. The replacement value for all of it will be between $1500-2000.
Yesterday (Friday), I ate lunch at a student cafe which had a buffet. Everything is sold by the weight. I got meatballs, rice with vegetables, and a salad. The meatballs were great. The rice was rather tasteless. The salad was fine. I drank apple juice.
In the evening, I went to the market and bought brown bread, cheese, meat, yogurt, peanuts, and a beer for dinner. Because I didn´t know for sure how tight money would become (still waiting to hear if I could use my credit card for more cash), I ate only 1/3 of what I bought so that it would last me for two more nights. Today, I can splurge a little!
Knowing I needed to keep my mind of things and also needed something to keep me occupied at night or during bad weather until Monday when I will leave here, I stopped at a used book store and bought two classics. One, Pilgrimś Progress by John Bunyon, I probably read when I was in school, but that was long ago. The other, Dubliners by James Joyce, is one I have not read and will be the first book by him that I have read. I started reading it last night and am thoroughly enjoying it.
Although yesterday was sunny all day, today there are clouds and some drizzle. I will find a place for lunch and will go back to my room for part of the afternoon to read, I think. I´ve seen a bit of Tartu as I have gone from place to place, but it is hard to concentrate on enjoying it. It is an old university town with lots of young people. It would probably be a very enjoyable place if I could just relax and get my mind off the stolen suitcase.
Friday, Sept. 14, 2007 (Continued) and Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007--Tartu, Estonia
I had photocopies of my credit cards in my suitcase. They were old ones that had been made of previous cards rather than my present ones. American Express wanted to cancel their card and send me a new one, but I didn´t plan on using it anyway due to the fact that they place an added fee of about 3% on foreign transactions. The same (with a slightly lower extra fee) is true of Chase MasterCard, so they put it on hold. My two main cards I use are VISA cards from a credit union in Corpus Christi. As usual, they came through for me. I use their cards because they do not add an extra fee for foreign transactions (which is the rightful thing to do since VISA already charges a 1% fee for making the foreign exchange on each transaction). Anyway, I got an e-mail from the lady at the credit union this (Saturday) morning saying she had put a hold on transactions that are keyed into a machine by a second party using the 4-digit authorization code on the back of the card (like companies do when one calls to make a purchase long-distance using a card), but she left the actual cards active so I can use them to make direct withdrawals and purchases. What a relief! That saves me a lot of worry. Although I have some U.S. cash and some travelerś checques on me, it is difficult to find foreign exchange offices in anything but the largest cities today.
An interesting side post related to contacting the credit card companies is the trouble I had trying to get them via their phone numbers printed on the backs of the cards. American Express worked perfectly. I called their number collect. Although they had an automated answering service, the first thing it said was, `We accept collect calls.´ The ATT operated let it continue. The VISA collect number was okay for making a collect call, but their automated response system was taking too long before saying they would accept collect calls, and ATT cut them off. I wrote an e-mail to the nice lady who helps me with those cards at the credit union, and she provided the PERFECT service I outlined in the above paragraph. The Chase number it said to call collect was an 800 number. Well, 800 numbers cannot be called collect and do not work from outside the U.S. Doesn´t Chase know this? Doesn´t someone check. I ended up writing my sister and asking her to call them for me from her home.
I faced two immediate problems on Friday: Problem 1) I couldn´t try to use the credit cards to get cash, so I had to plan to live on the Estonian money I currently had in my pocket (due to the fact that this is a small town without currency exchange desks). Fortunately, that looked okay, but I quickly planned a budget based on what I knew I would need for paying for my room and for my bus to Latvia on Monday. What was left was what I had for buying necessities and eating. Problem 2) I was planning to take the bus from here to Valmeira in Latvia on Monday morning. That is also a small town that likely has only ATM machines and not an exchange service, and I would need money immediately to purchase an onward bus ticket to Cesis. If my cards didn´t remain active, I would probably have to go all the way to Riga by bus, exchange cash there, and then backtrack to Cesis by bus. (My room in Riga is already reserved for the 19th-24th, so I would need to backtrack immediately. Those two problems kept dwelling on my mind as I waited until I could read my mail today (Saturday). Fortunately, all is well now that I can use my card at an ATM in Valmeira on Monday and can even use it here if I need more cash now!
I started listing the items that were in my suitcase. I then went to the police station to file a loss statement with them. It was a strange experience. The main police station was locked, so I had to go to the jail further down the road. No one there spoke English, but they understood what I wanted to do. When I filled out the paperwork, they didn´t have a copy machine there, so I had to do it again to have a copy for myself. Among the lost items were my camera battery charger, a camera battery, 4 camera memory chips (fortunately unused on this trip since I have been putting all my photos on my new 1 GB chip I bought in Alaska), binoculars, a flashlight, a bicycle chain and lock for locking down my suitcase, a travel alarm clock, a Swiss army knife, haircutting scissors, electricity adaptor-converter kit, clothes, toiletries, emergency medical supplies, novels, etc. The replacement value for all of it will be between $1500-2000.
Yesterday (Friday), I ate lunch at a student cafe which had a buffet. Everything is sold by the weight. I got meatballs, rice with vegetables, and a salad. The meatballs were great. The rice was rather tasteless. The salad was fine. I drank apple juice.
In the evening, I went to the market and bought brown bread, cheese, meat, yogurt, peanuts, and a beer for dinner. Because I didn´t know for sure how tight money would become (still waiting to hear if I could use my credit card for more cash), I ate only 1/3 of what I bought so that it would last me for two more nights. Today, I can splurge a little!
Knowing I needed to keep my mind of things and also needed something to keep me occupied at night or during bad weather until Monday when I will leave here, I stopped at a used book store and bought two classics. One, Pilgrimś Progress by John Bunyon, I probably read when I was in school, but that was long ago. The other, Dubliners by James Joyce, is one I have not read and will be the first book by him that I have read. I started reading it last night and am thoroughly enjoying it.
Although yesterday was sunny all day, today there are clouds and some drizzle. I will find a place for lunch and will go back to my room for part of the afternoon to read, I think. I´ve seen a bit of Tartu as I have gone from place to place, but it is hard to concentrate on enjoying it. It is an old university town with lots of young people. It would probably be a very enjoyable place if I could just relax and get my mind off the stolen suitcase.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Luggage Stolen
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007--Tallinn
I left the room late, because lunch doesn´t start until noon at restaurants here. I stopped at a cyber cafe to pass some more time. They are expensive here compared to most places in the world.
I ate at a place called EATS. It is a dumpling and donut place. They have a special of the day which I wanted to try, but it wasn´t ready yet at 12:30. So I got a bowl and put three kinds of dumplings in it and four kinds of sauces. The price is by the weight. They were not nearly as good as the dumplings I had in India, but they were passable. The sauces helped. Then I got a plate and put two cake donuts on it and covered them with caramel sauce and powdered sugar. UMMM! They were hot and crispy and so good. They reminded me of the ones my mother used to make for me for breakfast when I was young.
I booked my room for here for one more night and also booked a room for five nights in Riga. This service is cheaper than booking in hotels. In fact, the room in Riga is even cheaper than the room here in Tallinn.
There were light showers off and on today. When one came, I returned to the room for a while. Then I went out in the late afternoon. I went to the hilltop to take more photos and to go inside a couple of churches--the Alexander Nevski Cathedral (orthodox) and the Cathedral of St. Mary (catholic). The former is a beautiful building with lots of onion domes on top and has been completely restored recently. The latter is well worn and rather simple.
When the rain began again, I stopped at the store for some self-catering supplies and went back to my room. I watched Rear Window, the Alfred Hitchcock film, on TV. I hadn´t seen it since it first came out in the 1950s. I ate a flat break (somewhat like Turkish bread) with cheese and salami.
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007--Tallinn
This is my last day here. It is sunny, but breezy. Itś also rather cold. I´m wearing both my pullover and my raincoat to keep warm.
I awoke with a recurring nightmare--that I had been given false money when getting an exchange or getting change from a purchase. I have that dream quite often.
I walked out to a suburban area that has nice homes. In fact, it has a home built for Peter the Great. It is in the same style as his palace in St. Petersurg. It is much smaller, though. It is now an art museum, so I also toured the exhibits. Since his home was there, many wealthy people built their own big homes near his. I walked the streets taking photos wherever I went. I also walked further out to the statue on the waterfront where all the brides and grooms go to have their photos taken here. Then I went further to the song competition grounds where the Song Revolution took place. (Thatś when they sang patriotic songs to reinforce their desire for freedom from the USSR. Later, they got it.)
I had lunch in a basement restaurant with vaulted ceiling, murals on the walls, and lots of atmosphere. I had a cutlet with salad, mashed potatoes, and sauce. The cutlet was rather red in the middle (processed meat?) and had some gristle, too, so I was a bit disappointed. To make me feel better, I returned to EATS and had 3 more donuts for dessert.
Friday, Sept. 14, 2007--Tallinn to Tartu
Well, disaster happened this morning. I went to the bus station to catch my bus. The driver opened the bay, and I placed my bag in it along with some others who had been waiting. I should have pushed my bag back further, and I should have watched the compartment from inside the bus. But I didn´t. When we got to Tartu on the non-stop service, the bag was not there. Another bag was unclaimed and had some junk in it. My guess is that someone noticed I was about the same size and made the exchange to get my clothes. He got a few other things that I will miss, but mostly it was basic travel items. The biggest problem is that I had photocopies of my credit cards in the bag, so I have had to contact the companies about that. Contacting them has not been easy. Only American Express was available by phone. Chase had an 800 number to call collect, and those kinds of numbers cannot be accessed from outside the U.S. VISA had too long a recorded message for ATT to wait for collect response. Anyway, I´ve used othber means to contact them.
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007--Tallinn
I left the room late, because lunch doesn´t start until noon at restaurants here. I stopped at a cyber cafe to pass some more time. They are expensive here compared to most places in the world.
I ate at a place called EATS. It is a dumpling and donut place. They have a special of the day which I wanted to try, but it wasn´t ready yet at 12:30. So I got a bowl and put three kinds of dumplings in it and four kinds of sauces. The price is by the weight. They were not nearly as good as the dumplings I had in India, but they were passable. The sauces helped. Then I got a plate and put two cake donuts on it and covered them with caramel sauce and powdered sugar. UMMM! They were hot and crispy and so good. They reminded me of the ones my mother used to make for me for breakfast when I was young.
I booked my room for here for one more night and also booked a room for five nights in Riga. This service is cheaper than booking in hotels. In fact, the room in Riga is even cheaper than the room here in Tallinn.
There were light showers off and on today. When one came, I returned to the room for a while. Then I went out in the late afternoon. I went to the hilltop to take more photos and to go inside a couple of churches--the Alexander Nevski Cathedral (orthodox) and the Cathedral of St. Mary (catholic). The former is a beautiful building with lots of onion domes on top and has been completely restored recently. The latter is well worn and rather simple.
When the rain began again, I stopped at the store for some self-catering supplies and went back to my room. I watched Rear Window, the Alfred Hitchcock film, on TV. I hadn´t seen it since it first came out in the 1950s. I ate a flat break (somewhat like Turkish bread) with cheese and salami.
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007--Tallinn
This is my last day here. It is sunny, but breezy. Itś also rather cold. I´m wearing both my pullover and my raincoat to keep warm.
I awoke with a recurring nightmare--that I had been given false money when getting an exchange or getting change from a purchase. I have that dream quite often.
I walked out to a suburban area that has nice homes. In fact, it has a home built for Peter the Great. It is in the same style as his palace in St. Petersurg. It is much smaller, though. It is now an art museum, so I also toured the exhibits. Since his home was there, many wealthy people built their own big homes near his. I walked the streets taking photos wherever I went. I also walked further out to the statue on the waterfront where all the brides and grooms go to have their photos taken here. Then I went further to the song competition grounds where the Song Revolution took place. (Thatś when they sang patriotic songs to reinforce their desire for freedom from the USSR. Later, they got it.)
I had lunch in a basement restaurant with vaulted ceiling, murals on the walls, and lots of atmosphere. I had a cutlet with salad, mashed potatoes, and sauce. The cutlet was rather red in the middle (processed meat?) and had some gristle, too, so I was a bit disappointed. To make me feel better, I returned to EATS and had 3 more donuts for dessert.
Friday, Sept. 14, 2007--Tallinn to Tartu
Well, disaster happened this morning. I went to the bus station to catch my bus. The driver opened the bay, and I placed my bag in it along with some others who had been waiting. I should have pushed my bag back further, and I should have watched the compartment from inside the bus. But I didn´t. When we got to Tartu on the non-stop service, the bag was not there. Another bag was unclaimed and had some junk in it. My guess is that someone noticed I was about the same size and made the exchange to get my clothes. He got a few other things that I will miss, but mostly it was basic travel items. The biggest problem is that I had photocopies of my credit cards in the bag, so I have had to contact the companies about that. Contacting them has not been easy. Only American Express was available by phone. Chase had an 800 number to call collect, and those kinds of numbers cannot be accessed from outside the U.S. VISA had too long a recorded message for ATT to wait for collect response. Anyway, I´ve used othber means to contact them.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tallin, Estonia
Monday, Sept 10, 2007--Copenhagen to Tallinn
My flight wasn't until 11:30, so I had plenty of time to get to the airport. I left the apartment around 9:30. At the central station downtown where I changed trains, I met a nice young couple from Poland. They were on their way to Turkey for a holiday there. We visited while we waited for the train, then we sat together on the way to the airport. They were excited about their trip. I'm sure that traveling throughout Europe is still rather special for people from Poland, since they were so poor for so long and then had to wait so much longer for their economy to meet the standards for admission to the EU. This was a thoroughly modern couple, however, with their own car they drove to Copenhagen and then with a paid holiday of two weeks in Alanya.
It was raining in Copenhagen, so many flights (including mine) were delayed. But I still made it to Stockholm to make my connecting flight. Stockholm's airport was almost like a ghost town--even more empty than the one in Munich which I considered to be very quiet for its size.
I was lucky to find sunshine when I arrived in Tallinn. The airport here is very small. Going through immigration and customs was fast and simple. The money machine only gave me large bills (each worth about $40), so I was afraid to try to pay on the bus for that. Also, I had read it was only 3 km to the center of town. With the good weather and the fact I had been sitting all day, I decided to walk into town. Along the way I was able to see the sights I would miss otherwise. One of the first things I noticed was all the Scandinavian brand names (Hansa Bank, Nordea Bank, Stat Oil, etc.) that are here. The city is clean with new streets and sidewalks (probably thanks to the EU).
I had no problem finding the office that had reserved me a room. I paid and got directions to walk there. It, too, was not far. I was a little worried as I approached the building, because it was one of several Soviet-style apartment buildings that were falling apart (as they usually did from Day 1 of completion). But when I got a good view of mine, it had been remodeled. The end of the building had smooth concrete painted green instead of the old rusting concrete panels that were coming loose on the other buildings. It also had new window frames throughout. Then when I entered the apartment, I got a pleasant surprise; the entire interior was remodeled with wooden floors, new doors, completely new bath and kitchen facilities, etc. It is owned by a woman who is apparently a widow. She rents out the room to supplement her pension, I imagine. She doesn't speak much English, so we haven't really communicated beyond the basics. My room is clean and nice with a big bed, a sofa, a tv with cable, a table and chair, a window looking out to trees, and a small balcony. The toilet and bath (separate rooms) are both entered from just outside my room. I feel I have almost complete privacy.
It was only about 18:00, so I walked to the Old Town. It is as fantastic as I had heard. Most of it was built in the 1300s and 1400s. It has cobblestone streets and it has both lower, flat sections and one up on a hillside with winding streets leading to it. Old churches are everywhere with either tall, straight spires or collections of large onion domes. There are fancy shops, quaint restaurants, etc. And it is so quiet. Few cars venture through the area making it as close to a pedestrian zone as a center of town can be without being specifically designated as one.
I had read there were inexpensive restaurants that serve local food (vs. more international food) near the train station, so I walked there. I found some of the places, but I also found a supermarket. I decided to buy items and eat in my room in the evenings and to eat out for lunch each day. I bought sliced ham, sliced cheese, sliced brown bread, a bottle of wine, and a package of mixed peanuts, raisins, and currents.
Back at the room, I watched BBC and ate a couple of small sandwiches in my room. The meal was fine and enjoyable. I scanned the other channels. There are many Russian ones along with ones from Finland and other former Soviet states. Only a few channels have English with Estonian subtitles. Most have overlaid dubbing (where you can hear the English in the background as they speak the Estonian over it). It's not possible to really hear the English, so those channels do not work for me.
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007--Tallinn
I went back to the Old Town. I stopped at two tourist offices trying to get an answer to my most important question: Can I go from Tartu here in Estonia to Cesis in Latvia via a bus that will cross the border where I can process through as an international tourist. So far, I have no answer. I will have to wait again until I get to Tartu. The only thing my guidebook says is that international tourists must go 5 km outside the border towns to go across. And in terms of buses, it only talks about going from Tallinn to Riga.
It was another sunny day. That made it easy for me to explore. I took quite a few photos, too. But it isn't easy getting photos in the Old Town. The streets are so narrow and twist and wind while the buildings can be so large. Often, it is impossible to be far enough from the building to get a good photo of it. And the shadows cast by the nearby buildings also create problems with getting a good photo. The best thing to do is to come here in person and walk the streets. It is a real delight. Although Tallinn is smaller than Prague, it seems to me that there is much more to see here in terms of the Old Town being more complete and larger.
I went to a place with a soup buffet for lunch. Although the sun is out, it is rather cool, so soup sounded good when I read about this place in my guidebook. They had six kinds of soup. It was a serve-yourself place. I tried the Cuban (beans, pork, vegetables), the pea, the red beat (a form of borscht with onions, carrots, beats, and sausages), and the apple-currant which was cold and sweet. I had two bowls of the red beet. It was my favorite. Along with the soup, there were warm, multi-grain rolls with butter and sour cream and parsley to add to the soup. It was good and filling.
The luncheon spot was near the port which is very active with ferries and cruise ships. Many people come here for day trips from Finland. Near the port are many liquor stores, so I guess alcohol is much cheaper here than it is in Finland. I saw most people coming and going from the ferries with rolling carts which they apparently bring with them for making their purchases.
Later, I found a big market just beside my apartment building. I was surprised to find it, since I had read nothing about it and had not seen it when I arrived. It is back behind buildings and does not face any major street. It was probably the main shopping area in Soviet times for all those things that could not be bought in communist shops. Today, it has cheaper and fresher items than can be found in the supermarkets. Many of the root vegetables (such as carrots and potatoes) still had moist dirt sticking to them.
I returned to my room about 14:30 feeling very tired. I fell into a deep sleep for about 1 1/2 hours! I forced myself up and out of the apartment again around 17:00. I wandered some of the fringes of downtown--around the old walls of the city. I found many interesting Soviet buildings. If they can be brought up to modern standards, I think the dramatic styles (verticle entrances several stories high, turreted entrances with spires on top, etc.) can be a further attraction for the city. Some have already been restored because of being taken over by international concerns.
I bought a big cinnamon pastry to take back to my room. For dinner, I finished the ham, cheese, wine, and bread that I bought the night before. The cinnamon pastry made a great finish for the night.
Monday, Sept 10, 2007--Copenhagen to Tallinn
My flight wasn't until 11:30, so I had plenty of time to get to the airport. I left the apartment around 9:30. At the central station downtown where I changed trains, I met a nice young couple from Poland. They were on their way to Turkey for a holiday there. We visited while we waited for the train, then we sat together on the way to the airport. They were excited about their trip. I'm sure that traveling throughout Europe is still rather special for people from Poland, since they were so poor for so long and then had to wait so much longer for their economy to meet the standards for admission to the EU. This was a thoroughly modern couple, however, with their own car they drove to Copenhagen and then with a paid holiday of two weeks in Alanya.
It was raining in Copenhagen, so many flights (including mine) were delayed. But I still made it to Stockholm to make my connecting flight. Stockholm's airport was almost like a ghost town--even more empty than the one in Munich which I considered to be very quiet for its size.
I was lucky to find sunshine when I arrived in Tallinn. The airport here is very small. Going through immigration and customs was fast and simple. The money machine only gave me large bills (each worth about $40), so I was afraid to try to pay on the bus for that. Also, I had read it was only 3 km to the center of town. With the good weather and the fact I had been sitting all day, I decided to walk into town. Along the way I was able to see the sights I would miss otherwise. One of the first things I noticed was all the Scandinavian brand names (Hansa Bank, Nordea Bank, Stat Oil, etc.) that are here. The city is clean with new streets and sidewalks (probably thanks to the EU).
I had no problem finding the office that had reserved me a room. I paid and got directions to walk there. It, too, was not far. I was a little worried as I approached the building, because it was one of several Soviet-style apartment buildings that were falling apart (as they usually did from Day 1 of completion). But when I got a good view of mine, it had been remodeled. The end of the building had smooth concrete painted green instead of the old rusting concrete panels that were coming loose on the other buildings. It also had new window frames throughout. Then when I entered the apartment, I got a pleasant surprise; the entire interior was remodeled with wooden floors, new doors, completely new bath and kitchen facilities, etc. It is owned by a woman who is apparently a widow. She rents out the room to supplement her pension, I imagine. She doesn't speak much English, so we haven't really communicated beyond the basics. My room is clean and nice with a big bed, a sofa, a tv with cable, a table and chair, a window looking out to trees, and a small balcony. The toilet and bath (separate rooms) are both entered from just outside my room. I feel I have almost complete privacy.
It was only about 18:00, so I walked to the Old Town. It is as fantastic as I had heard. Most of it was built in the 1300s and 1400s. It has cobblestone streets and it has both lower, flat sections and one up on a hillside with winding streets leading to it. Old churches are everywhere with either tall, straight spires or collections of large onion domes. There are fancy shops, quaint restaurants, etc. And it is so quiet. Few cars venture through the area making it as close to a pedestrian zone as a center of town can be without being specifically designated as one.
I had read there were inexpensive restaurants that serve local food (vs. more international food) near the train station, so I walked there. I found some of the places, but I also found a supermarket. I decided to buy items and eat in my room in the evenings and to eat out for lunch each day. I bought sliced ham, sliced cheese, sliced brown bread, a bottle of wine, and a package of mixed peanuts, raisins, and currents.
Back at the room, I watched BBC and ate a couple of small sandwiches in my room. The meal was fine and enjoyable. I scanned the other channels. There are many Russian ones along with ones from Finland and other former Soviet states. Only a few channels have English with Estonian subtitles. Most have overlaid dubbing (where you can hear the English in the background as they speak the Estonian over it). It's not possible to really hear the English, so those channels do not work for me.
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007--Tallinn
I went back to the Old Town. I stopped at two tourist offices trying to get an answer to my most important question: Can I go from Tartu here in Estonia to Cesis in Latvia via a bus that will cross the border where I can process through as an international tourist. So far, I have no answer. I will have to wait again until I get to Tartu. The only thing my guidebook says is that international tourists must go 5 km outside the border towns to go across. And in terms of buses, it only talks about going from Tallinn to Riga.
It was another sunny day. That made it easy for me to explore. I took quite a few photos, too. But it isn't easy getting photos in the Old Town. The streets are so narrow and twist and wind while the buildings can be so large. Often, it is impossible to be far enough from the building to get a good photo of it. And the shadows cast by the nearby buildings also create problems with getting a good photo. The best thing to do is to come here in person and walk the streets. It is a real delight. Although Tallinn is smaller than Prague, it seems to me that there is much more to see here in terms of the Old Town being more complete and larger.
I went to a place with a soup buffet for lunch. Although the sun is out, it is rather cool, so soup sounded good when I read about this place in my guidebook. They had six kinds of soup. It was a serve-yourself place. I tried the Cuban (beans, pork, vegetables), the pea, the red beat (a form of borscht with onions, carrots, beats, and sausages), and the apple-currant which was cold and sweet. I had two bowls of the red beet. It was my favorite. Along with the soup, there were warm, multi-grain rolls with butter and sour cream and parsley to add to the soup. It was good and filling.
The luncheon spot was near the port which is very active with ferries and cruise ships. Many people come here for day trips from Finland. Near the port are many liquor stores, so I guess alcohol is much cheaper here than it is in Finland. I saw most people coming and going from the ferries with rolling carts which they apparently bring with them for making their purchases.
Later, I found a big market just beside my apartment building. I was surprised to find it, since I had read nothing about it and had not seen it when I arrived. It is back behind buildings and does not face any major street. It was probably the main shopping area in Soviet times for all those things that could not be bought in communist shops. Today, it has cheaper and fresher items than can be found in the supermarkets. Many of the root vegetables (such as carrots and potatoes) still had moist dirt sticking to them.
I returned to my room about 14:30 feeling very tired. I fell into a deep sleep for about 1 1/2 hours! I forced myself up and out of the apartment again around 17:00. I wandered some of the fringes of downtown--around the old walls of the city. I found many interesting Soviet buildings. If they can be brought up to modern standards, I think the dramatic styles (verticle entrances several stories high, turreted entrances with spires on top, etc.) can be a further attraction for the city. Some have already been restored because of being taken over by international concerns.
I bought a big cinnamon pastry to take back to my room. For dinner, I finished the ham, cheese, wine, and bread that I bought the night before. The cinnamon pastry made a great finish for the night.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Sunny Copenhagen Days
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007--Copenhagen (Continued)
Met Arvind and Carit at Carit's workplace at 18:00 and rode with them to the summer house at Farum. It was a beautiful day with sunshine. I had only been to the new summer house location in the winter before, so it was nice to be there and see it with the grass being thick and green and the flowers blooming.
Evy and Arvind had their small guest house ready for me. It is only about 4 spuare meters (about 4 square yards), but it is so nice. There is a lounge chair in one corner, a small table, and a single bed. The bed had a nice fluffy comfortor on it. There are small windows with curtains that can be pulled. The floor is carpeted. Staying there is like staying in a doll house!
We had dinner with Gitte and Carit. They served grilled pork chops, grilled steak, grilled mushrooms, grilled asparagus, and a leafy salad with dressing. It was delicious. We had red wine. But I quickly became dehydrated and moved to drinking water and orange-flavored drink. Sascha, Gitte's and Carit's daughter, and her boyfriend Christian came to visit after having dinner with his parents. We all had ice cream and cookies while they were there. Sascha has just started to university this year and was telling me about her courses and the program at the university.
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2007--Copenhagen
I remained at the summer house through mid-afternoon. Evy put out all the ingredients for us to have a do-it-yourself smørrebrød luncheon. There were red herrings, curry herrings, pickled herrings, smoked salmon, wild boar salami, Italian salami, boiled eggs, sliced tomatoes, various cheeses, etc. We had the usual beers and aquavit to accompany it all.
Evy baked a lemon cream sponge cake. We took it to the neighbors' summer house and had coffee and dessert with them. Then it was time for me to head back to town. Gitte and Carit gave me a ride to the train station where I took the H Train back to Grethe's.
Jens and Robert had Grethe and me to dinner in the evening along with Torben and Erik, two friends I had not seen since Arne's death. We had a long, casual evening of visiting. Jens showed us their newly remodeled bathroom and their new glass-enclosed balcony. Then he served champagne for our arrival drink. For dinner, we started with shrimp cocktails (shrimp, caviar, and a spicy sauce) and white wine. Then we had roast lamb with potato salad and red wine for the main course. For dessert we had three kinds of cheeses with crackers, grapes, and another red wine. Later, gin and tonics were offered. It was a great dinner, but I am not used to so much alcohol after having traveled in Islamic countries for so many months where alcohol is not normally served. I had to quit drinking early in the evening; I just couldn't keep up!
Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007--Copenhagen
It's another sunny, pretty day. I hope this weather will hold out while I am traveling in Estonia and Latvia. I leave tomorrow for two weeks there. But I expect their will be showers and cool weather during much of my trip.
Morten and Helle, Grethe's brother and his wife, came here for breakfast this morning. They have just returned from a week at a summer house on a small island north of Jutland. They showed us the photos of their summer house on the Internet and told us about their interactions with the local people there during the week.
Grethe and I have spent the rest of the day relaxing. She goes back to work tomorrow. And I need to reorganize my things for traveling to the Baltic States. It's nice to have nothing special to do. There are leftovers from dinner a few nights ago, so Grethe will make one of my favorite dishes for dinner--biksemad (a form of hash). Tomorrow morning we will each go our separate ways and won't see each other until I am back from the Baltics and she is back from her vacation to Normandy.
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007--Copenhagen (Continued)
Met Arvind and Carit at Carit's workplace at 18:00 and rode with them to the summer house at Farum. It was a beautiful day with sunshine. I had only been to the new summer house location in the winter before, so it was nice to be there and see it with the grass being thick and green and the flowers blooming.
Evy and Arvind had their small guest house ready for me. It is only about 4 spuare meters (about 4 square yards), but it is so nice. There is a lounge chair in one corner, a small table, and a single bed. The bed had a nice fluffy comfortor on it. There are small windows with curtains that can be pulled. The floor is carpeted. Staying there is like staying in a doll house!
We had dinner with Gitte and Carit. They served grilled pork chops, grilled steak, grilled mushrooms, grilled asparagus, and a leafy salad with dressing. It was delicious. We had red wine. But I quickly became dehydrated and moved to drinking water and orange-flavored drink. Sascha, Gitte's and Carit's daughter, and her boyfriend Christian came to visit after having dinner with his parents. We all had ice cream and cookies while they were there. Sascha has just started to university this year and was telling me about her courses and the program at the university.
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2007--Copenhagen
I remained at the summer house through mid-afternoon. Evy put out all the ingredients for us to have a do-it-yourself smørrebrød luncheon. There were red herrings, curry herrings, pickled herrings, smoked salmon, wild boar salami, Italian salami, boiled eggs, sliced tomatoes, various cheeses, etc. We had the usual beers and aquavit to accompany it all.
Evy baked a lemon cream sponge cake. We took it to the neighbors' summer house and had coffee and dessert with them. Then it was time for me to head back to town. Gitte and Carit gave me a ride to the train station where I took the H Train back to Grethe's.
Jens and Robert had Grethe and me to dinner in the evening along with Torben and Erik, two friends I had not seen since Arne's death. We had a long, casual evening of visiting. Jens showed us their newly remodeled bathroom and their new glass-enclosed balcony. Then he served champagne for our arrival drink. For dinner, we started with shrimp cocktails (shrimp, caviar, and a spicy sauce) and white wine. Then we had roast lamb with potato salad and red wine for the main course. For dessert we had three kinds of cheeses with crackers, grapes, and another red wine. Later, gin and tonics were offered. It was a great dinner, but I am not used to so much alcohol after having traveled in Islamic countries for so many months where alcohol is not normally served. I had to quit drinking early in the evening; I just couldn't keep up!
Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007--Copenhagen
It's another sunny, pretty day. I hope this weather will hold out while I am traveling in Estonia and Latvia. I leave tomorrow for two weeks there. But I expect their will be showers and cool weather during much of my trip.
Morten and Helle, Grethe's brother and his wife, came here for breakfast this morning. They have just returned from a week at a summer house on a small island north of Jutland. They showed us the photos of their summer house on the Internet and told us about their interactions with the local people there during the week.
Grethe and I have spent the rest of the day relaxing. She goes back to work tomorrow. And I need to reorganize my things for traveling to the Baltic States. It's nice to have nothing special to do. There are leftovers from dinner a few nights ago, so Grethe will make one of my favorite dishes for dinner--biksemad (a form of hash). Tomorrow morning we will each go our separate ways and won't see each other until I am back from the Baltics and she is back from her vacation to Normandy.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Back in Copenhagen
Spending Updates: It's been a while since I reported on spending, so I will provide updates for my last three stops:
Bangkok--I spent $362.21 (not including my new around-the-world plane ticket but including my dental expenses of $62) over the 7 days I was in Bangkok for an average of $51.75 per day.
India--I spent $841.15 (including two air tickets) over the 28 days I was in India for an average of $30.04 per day.
Berlin--I spent $87.12 over the 3 days I was in Berlin for an average of $29.04 per day. Note that I stayed with a friend and, therefore, had no housing expenses.
Since Leaving Texas--I have traveled for 111 days since leaving Texas and have spent $4030.27 (including 6 extra air tickets) for an average cost of $36.31 per day.
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007--Berlin to Copenhagen
I have only been sleeping about 7 1/2 hours per night since arriving in Europe. It's partially due to the time change, I guess. That's still a rather fast adjustment, but I wish I could get more rest.
This morning was rather relaxed. Dieter and I had breakfast in his apartment, and I slowly repacked and got everything ready for traveling. Finally, about 11:15, we left his apartment for the airport. He just dropped me off at the curb rather than dealing with parking and fees. I quickly found my way to the checkin counters and got my boarding pass.
The plane to Copenhagen was a prop-jet. I haven't flown one of those for years (I guess since they were replaced by regional jets in Corpus Christi about 10 years ago.) But it is only a short hop and wasn't really an inconvenience. As usual with SAS now, there were charges for everything (including water) onboard. I think the man sitting beside me was surprised when he ordered a Diet Coke and was asked after it was served how he would like to pay for it. If so, he must have been doubly surprised when told that the charge for small can (about 150 ml) would be 3 Euros (a little over $4 U.S.)!
As we landed and I entered the terminal building, there was a bit of a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get each time I return to Copenhagen since Arne's death. I can recall how exciting it always was to anticipate seeing and being with him again, and the fact that he is no longer here just knaws at me.
It was too early to head to Nurse Grethe's apartment, so I sat in the fresh air outside the terminal building and read the local newspaper. Then I caught a train. I arrived at her apartment at 15:30, and she was here to greet me. She had already been here an hour working on preparations for the dinner party she was having in the evening.
Five other friends (Kurt, Finn, Jens, Robert, and Claus) were invited to join us for dinner. They all arrived around 18:30 bringing two beautiful bouquets of flowers, a bottle of gin, and a bottle of wine. We all had gin and tonics and visited while snacking on vegetable chips and nuts. Eventually, we made it to the table for a very Danish meal--roast pork with crispy skin, boiled potatoes with brown sauce, salad, and wine. Later, we polished it off with fragilité, a layered pastry filled with caramel-flavored cream, and coffee. By the time everyone left, we were all too full, yet happy.
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007--Copenhagen
Grethe and I had a lazy morning at home today. She had the day off work. We had a breakfast and visited at the table. She went to run some errands, and I got my things that are stored in her basement when I am not here. After lunch, we went walking. We went through the two nearby cemeteries--one where her former partner Anders is buried and the other where Arne is buried. We then walked through Frederiksberg Have (a park) to Frederiksberg Center where she bought a ticket to go to the cinema and I went to the library to read the newspaper.
I am going to visit Arne's family at their summer house tonight. I must leave soon to catch my ride. I'll be there overnight and return here tomorrow afternoon.
Spending Updates: It's been a while since I reported on spending, so I will provide updates for my last three stops:
Bangkok--I spent $362.21 (not including my new around-the-world plane ticket but including my dental expenses of $62) over the 7 days I was in Bangkok for an average of $51.75 per day.
India--I spent $841.15 (including two air tickets) over the 28 days I was in India for an average of $30.04 per day.
Berlin--I spent $87.12 over the 3 days I was in Berlin for an average of $29.04 per day. Note that I stayed with a friend and, therefore, had no housing expenses.
Since Leaving Texas--I have traveled for 111 days since leaving Texas and have spent $4030.27 (including 6 extra air tickets) for an average cost of $36.31 per day.
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007--Berlin to Copenhagen
I have only been sleeping about 7 1/2 hours per night since arriving in Europe. It's partially due to the time change, I guess. That's still a rather fast adjustment, but I wish I could get more rest.
This morning was rather relaxed. Dieter and I had breakfast in his apartment, and I slowly repacked and got everything ready for traveling. Finally, about 11:15, we left his apartment for the airport. He just dropped me off at the curb rather than dealing with parking and fees. I quickly found my way to the checkin counters and got my boarding pass.
The plane to Copenhagen was a prop-jet. I haven't flown one of those for years (I guess since they were replaced by regional jets in Corpus Christi about 10 years ago.) But it is only a short hop and wasn't really an inconvenience. As usual with SAS now, there were charges for everything (including water) onboard. I think the man sitting beside me was surprised when he ordered a Diet Coke and was asked after it was served how he would like to pay for it. If so, he must have been doubly surprised when told that the charge for small can (about 150 ml) would be 3 Euros (a little over $4 U.S.)!
As we landed and I entered the terminal building, there was a bit of a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get each time I return to Copenhagen since Arne's death. I can recall how exciting it always was to anticipate seeing and being with him again, and the fact that he is no longer here just knaws at me.
It was too early to head to Nurse Grethe's apartment, so I sat in the fresh air outside the terminal building and read the local newspaper. Then I caught a train. I arrived at her apartment at 15:30, and she was here to greet me. She had already been here an hour working on preparations for the dinner party she was having in the evening.
Five other friends (Kurt, Finn, Jens, Robert, and Claus) were invited to join us for dinner. They all arrived around 18:30 bringing two beautiful bouquets of flowers, a bottle of gin, and a bottle of wine. We all had gin and tonics and visited while snacking on vegetable chips and nuts. Eventually, we made it to the table for a very Danish meal--roast pork with crispy skin, boiled potatoes with brown sauce, salad, and wine. Later, we polished it off with fragilité, a layered pastry filled with caramel-flavored cream, and coffee. By the time everyone left, we were all too full, yet happy.
Friday, Sept. 7, 2007--Copenhagen
Grethe and I had a lazy morning at home today. She had the day off work. We had a breakfast and visited at the table. She went to run some errands, and I got my things that are stored in her basement when I am not here. After lunch, we went walking. We went through the two nearby cemeteries--one where her former partner Anders is buried and the other where Arne is buried. We then walked through Frederiksberg Have (a park) to Frederiksberg Center where she bought a ticket to go to the cinema and I went to the library to read the newspaper.
I am going to visit Arne's family at their summer house tonight. I must leave soon to catch my ride. I'll be there overnight and return here tomorrow afternoon.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Nice Days in Berlin
Tuesdaz, Sept. 4, 2007--Berlin
Berlin seems so clean and quiet, especially after being in India for a month. And the cars and their drivers are so curtious and considerate of pedestrians! It is such a change from where I have been lately.
It is cool here, and there have been showers during part of the day. But Dieter and I still went out and explored the city. We started with breakfast with other friends and friends of theirs. Detlef, whom I have known as long as I have known Dieter, was there. So were three others. They are all pensionists who meet for breakfast about twice a week. We had the small breakfast plate which wasn´t so small. It had several slices of cheese, several slices of meat, two big multi-grain rolls, a soft-boiled egg, butter, and jam. I had a cup of coffee with it. It was a morning of good food and good conversation.
Dieter and I walked through two neighborhoods during the afternoon. We went first to Kreuzberg which is predominantly a Turkish neighborhood. There was a street market there which they have two times a week. It had many stalls selling food, clothing, toys, etc. When it started to rain, we stopped into a Turkish restaurant and had a drink along with a mezza plate (variety of small snacks served with a basket of bread).
From there, we went to a neighborhood around Rosenberg Platz in the former East Berlin to see how it has been changing as the buildings have been restored, new small shops have moved onto the streets, etc. It was a pleasant area that is populated by many young people. Such improvements have made Berlin a much nicer city than it used to be.
We stayed inside in the evening and had cold cuts and brown bread for dinner. Dieter showed me the photos from his visit to Brazil last winter. We also did some planning for an around-the-world trip he may take in two years.
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007--Berlin
We ate breakfast here at the apartment this morning. Dieter boiled some eggs for us and put out cold cuts. I went across the street to get some fresh multi-grain breads for us to eat and a sweet pastry for afterwards.
We walked through the fancier shopping areas of town and met Detlef outside KaDeWe Department Store. (If you go to the link, be sure to check out the food halls on the 6th floor.) Then the three of us went exploring in nearby neighborhoods. Today was sunny. The air was cool, but it was warm in the sunshine. It was a good day, therefore, to explore the city. We stopped at a nice coffee house and had a drink before Detlef had to leave us to take care of some business.
Dieter and I went to a nice park where we met another friend of his named Horst. The park had a beautiful flower garden. It also had a section that is a wine garden. A hut there is used to sell wine by the glass or the bottle. Each month a different winery sells its products there as a form of advertisement so that people can become familiar with which wines they like. Many people bring picnic meals from home to spread out on the tables (including tablecloths, flowers, etc., along with the food items) and buy wine from the hut to have with their food. It was a very pleasant setting and a nice idea for providing a pleasant atmosphere for people to enjoy themselves at the park. Why do U.S. cities have to outlaw the drinking of wine and other alcoholic beverages in parks? Anyway, Dieter, Horst, and I visited while drinking two glasses of wine each and having some cheese as a snack with the drinks.
Dieter has gone to the Wednesday-night services at his church. When he returns around 20:30, we will go out to dinner. Then it will be time to call it a night. Tomorrow, after we have breakfast, it will be time for me to go to the airport for my flight to Copenhagen.
Tuesdaz, Sept. 4, 2007--Berlin
Berlin seems so clean and quiet, especially after being in India for a month. And the cars and their drivers are so curtious and considerate of pedestrians! It is such a change from where I have been lately.
It is cool here, and there have been showers during part of the day. But Dieter and I still went out and explored the city. We started with breakfast with other friends and friends of theirs. Detlef, whom I have known as long as I have known Dieter, was there. So were three others. They are all pensionists who meet for breakfast about twice a week. We had the small breakfast plate which wasn´t so small. It had several slices of cheese, several slices of meat, two big multi-grain rolls, a soft-boiled egg, butter, and jam. I had a cup of coffee with it. It was a morning of good food and good conversation.
Dieter and I walked through two neighborhoods during the afternoon. We went first to Kreuzberg which is predominantly a Turkish neighborhood. There was a street market there which they have two times a week. It had many stalls selling food, clothing, toys, etc. When it started to rain, we stopped into a Turkish restaurant and had a drink along with a mezza plate (variety of small snacks served with a basket of bread).
From there, we went to a neighborhood around Rosenberg Platz in the former East Berlin to see how it has been changing as the buildings have been restored, new small shops have moved onto the streets, etc. It was a pleasant area that is populated by many young people. Such improvements have made Berlin a much nicer city than it used to be.
We stayed inside in the evening and had cold cuts and brown bread for dinner. Dieter showed me the photos from his visit to Brazil last winter. We also did some planning for an around-the-world trip he may take in two years.
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007--Berlin
We ate breakfast here at the apartment this morning. Dieter boiled some eggs for us and put out cold cuts. I went across the street to get some fresh multi-grain breads for us to eat and a sweet pastry for afterwards.
We walked through the fancier shopping areas of town and met Detlef outside KaDeWe Department Store. (If you go to the link, be sure to check out the food halls on the 6th floor.) Then the three of us went exploring in nearby neighborhoods. Today was sunny. The air was cool, but it was warm in the sunshine. It was a good day, therefore, to explore the city. We stopped at a nice coffee house and had a drink before Detlef had to leave us to take care of some business.
Dieter and I went to a nice park where we met another friend of his named Horst. The park had a beautiful flower garden. It also had a section that is a wine garden. A hut there is used to sell wine by the glass or the bottle. Each month a different winery sells its products there as a form of advertisement so that people can become familiar with which wines they like. Many people bring picnic meals from home to spread out on the tables (including tablecloths, flowers, etc., along with the food items) and buy wine from the hut to have with their food. It was a very pleasant setting and a nice idea for providing a pleasant atmosphere for people to enjoy themselves at the park. Why do U.S. cities have to outlaw the drinking of wine and other alcoholic beverages in parks? Anyway, Dieter, Horst, and I visited while drinking two glasses of wine each and having some cheese as a snack with the drinks.
Dieter has gone to the Wednesday-night services at his church. When he returns around 20:30, we will go out to dinner. Then it will be time to call it a night. Tomorrow, after we have breakfast, it will be time for me to go to the airport for my flight to Copenhagen.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Contrasting Germany with India
Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007--New Delhi (Continued)
Well, I took a final walk around the center of Delhi today, and I had the old shit-on-the-shoe trick tried on me. People use some kind of process to project a liquid which then expands and solidifies to look like shit. It must be a bit like the long-distance bug sprays as far as allowing for an accurate long-distance shot at the shoe. Then they point it out to you and want to clean it for you. Well, I know the trick (and even had it tried on me once before in Delhi). As usual, I told them to stay away. When they tried to say, "But you have something on your shoe," I responded, "Yes, and I am going to leave it there all day so people can see what happens to tourists in your town." Later, in my room, I cleaned it off. It wasn´t easy, however. I had to use a knife to scrape it off and then clean it with a brush and water.
I ate a late western breakfast today at a Tibetan restaurant by my hotel. It was good--better made than most of the similar breakfasts I have had here and cheaper.
I stayed inside the room most of the day watching TV and just waiting for the time to pass. I went back out in the evening and had a spicy Indian dinner at a place I had liked before. This time I had peas in a masala sauce with paneer cheese and ate it with naan.
Monday, Sept. 3, 2007--New Delhi to Berlin via Munich
My sleep was interruped several times by loud talking in the hallway. International flights mostly arrive and leave in the middle of the night here. So guests come to see rooms at 2:30 in the morning and guests check out at such strange hours, too. When I awoke around 4:15, I couldn´t go back to see. I finally got up and got ready for heading to the airport.
Check-in, security check, and customs were a nightmare. The airport is just too small to handle it all. There are only 9 gates for 20,000,000 passengers a year. Corpus Christi has 7 gates for only 1,000,000 passengers! Another problem was disorganization. For instance, there were two lines for security with one being longer than the other. Well, the long line was funneled to only one set of scanners and x-ray machines, whereas the shorter line was funneled to two sets! It doesn´t take much of a brain to figure out that should be changed, but don´t expect anyone in authority to step up and deal with the problem; the Indian way is to leave things as they are and not worry about them.
Fortunately, I was upgraded to business class for this long flight. This was the second long flight since I left (of only two long flights) that this has happened, so I have been lucky. I sat in luxury in a fully-reclining seat and watched movies I could start at my leisure. It was still a long flight, though. I was so glad by the time we got to Munich and I could exit the plane and stretch my legs walking through the terminal.
I actually had too long in Munich. There were two earlier flights I could have taken. But I scheduled the later flight to make sure I had no problems with my connection. Since our flight arrived early, I had 4 hours to wait. It´s a nice airport without much traffic, so it was quiet with lots of places to sit. I read a couple of newspapers and a magazine. I went by the ticket counter to look for my friend Wolfgang who I think now works at the airport ticket counter, but I never saw him. Eventually, my flight took off.
Dieter was outside the gate waiting for me in Berlin. They have an interesting system with the luggage carousel being right at the gate. My bag had zippers coming apart in two places, but everything was still there. They are repairable zippers, so I just opened and closed them to get everything back in order.
The gifts I brought Dieter were not a big hit. It is very difficult to find good gifts for people in India. But I did my best. He lives in a very nice neighborhood--one where many diplomats and government leaders live. And he has a nice neighborhood shopping area just outside his front door. We went walking through the neighborhood and talked along the way. Then we stopped at a restaurant. I had German food, and it was nice for a change--wienerschnitzel with mushroom sauce, fries, and salad. We had apple juice mixed with sparling water to drink. I will be here until Thursday when I head to Copenhagen.
Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007--New Delhi (Continued)
Well, I took a final walk around the center of Delhi today, and I had the old shit-on-the-shoe trick tried on me. People use some kind of process to project a liquid which then expands and solidifies to look like shit. It must be a bit like the long-distance bug sprays as far as allowing for an accurate long-distance shot at the shoe. Then they point it out to you and want to clean it for you. Well, I know the trick (and even had it tried on me once before in Delhi). As usual, I told them to stay away. When they tried to say, "But you have something on your shoe," I responded, "Yes, and I am going to leave it there all day so people can see what happens to tourists in your town." Later, in my room, I cleaned it off. It wasn´t easy, however. I had to use a knife to scrape it off and then clean it with a brush and water.
I ate a late western breakfast today at a Tibetan restaurant by my hotel. It was good--better made than most of the similar breakfasts I have had here and cheaper.
I stayed inside the room most of the day watching TV and just waiting for the time to pass. I went back out in the evening and had a spicy Indian dinner at a place I had liked before. This time I had peas in a masala sauce with paneer cheese and ate it with naan.
Monday, Sept. 3, 2007--New Delhi to Berlin via Munich
My sleep was interruped several times by loud talking in the hallway. International flights mostly arrive and leave in the middle of the night here. So guests come to see rooms at 2:30 in the morning and guests check out at such strange hours, too. When I awoke around 4:15, I couldn´t go back to see. I finally got up and got ready for heading to the airport.
Check-in, security check, and customs were a nightmare. The airport is just too small to handle it all. There are only 9 gates for 20,000,000 passengers a year. Corpus Christi has 7 gates for only 1,000,000 passengers! Another problem was disorganization. For instance, there were two lines for security with one being longer than the other. Well, the long line was funneled to only one set of scanners and x-ray machines, whereas the shorter line was funneled to two sets! It doesn´t take much of a brain to figure out that should be changed, but don´t expect anyone in authority to step up and deal with the problem; the Indian way is to leave things as they are and not worry about them.
Fortunately, I was upgraded to business class for this long flight. This was the second long flight since I left (of only two long flights) that this has happened, so I have been lucky. I sat in luxury in a fully-reclining seat and watched movies I could start at my leisure. It was still a long flight, though. I was so glad by the time we got to Munich and I could exit the plane and stretch my legs walking through the terminal.
I actually had too long in Munich. There were two earlier flights I could have taken. But I scheduled the later flight to make sure I had no problems with my connection. Since our flight arrived early, I had 4 hours to wait. It´s a nice airport without much traffic, so it was quiet with lots of places to sit. I read a couple of newspapers and a magazine. I went by the ticket counter to look for my friend Wolfgang who I think now works at the airport ticket counter, but I never saw him. Eventually, my flight took off.
Dieter was outside the gate waiting for me in Berlin. They have an interesting system with the luggage carousel being right at the gate. My bag had zippers coming apart in two places, but everything was still there. They are repairable zippers, so I just opened and closed them to get everything back in order.
The gifts I brought Dieter were not a big hit. It is very difficult to find good gifts for people in India. But I did my best. He lives in a very nice neighborhood--one where many diplomats and government leaders live. And he has a nice neighborhood shopping area just outside his front door. We went walking through the neighborhood and talked along the way. Then we stopped at a restaurant. I had German food, and it was nice for a change--wienerschnitzel with mushroom sauce, fries, and salad. We had apple juice mixed with sparling water to drink. I will be here until Thursday when I head to Copenhagen.
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