Category Travel

Roman Reflections

Pope Francis died on Monday. Not being Roman Catholic, his death didn’t impact me emotionally, but it brought back memories of 2018, when I heard him speak in St Peter’s Square. It was Easter Sunday morning, the annual Urbe et Orbe (City and the World) sermon, kind of like an American State of the Union […]

Feeling Breathless

I’d say no musical instruments were harmed in creating this sculpture, but they were. At least they weren’t currently being used.. “Breathless” is the creation of British artist Cornelia Parker. When I saw it in 2024, it was hanging in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. These surplus horns, acquired from the British Legion and the […]

Reminder of the Past

The guidebook says there is nothing to see. I guess it is a little outdated. My wife has been visiting Lippstadt, Germany, since her childhood. She knew there had once been a synagogue, but had never visited. This time she walked right by. The guidebook said what was once a synagogue was behind some garage […]

Flashback Food

On Fridays during 2024 we have ben looking back at previous posts from the same date. This is the last Friday this year, and I am not sure if we will do that again in 2025 – next year seems so far away. This one is from December 27, 2017. No, I didn’t eat this […]

Carpet Flashback

There are only a few shopping days left until Christmas, so on this Flashback Friday I though it appropriate to return to a post from December 13, 2016 and a shopping experience I had in Istanbul. I attended a workshop where the speaker recounted how she bought a carpet on a trip to Istanbul. She […]

Man The Lifeboats!

I know the title should have been “Person The Lifeboats” but it doesn’t flow off the tongue the same way. Rest assured I wasn’t trying to be sexist. It is Flashback Friday though, so we don’t we head back to what was posted here on December 6, 2014. I was flabbergasted at the words of […]

A Walking Flashback

It was the sign on the hill that got me chuckling. I’ve never been to Hollywood, but I have seen the iconic sign in movies, print and television (and yes I know it was originally a real estate ad). So when I saw the sign for Brasov I had to wonder what image the Romanian […]

Remembering An Era

It seems like only a week ago was Flashback Friday, where we revisit a post from this date a number of years ago. Today we look at October 11, 2014. I am old enough to remember the big coal-fired train engines. They were just being phased out in favour of diesel when I was a […]

No Longer Flying

Welcome to Flashback Friday and a post from October 4, 2014. I looked to see if Elbonia was still an option, but alas the airline ceased operations in 2022 I didn’t have the guts to check the box. Discretion in this case was the better part of valor, as you will see as you read […]

Another Munster Visit

It is one of those iconic churches, a huge draw for tourists in downtown Freiburg. I hadn’t planned on going inside, but the organ music drew me in. The Munster is a dark place – you really shouid visit it on a sunny day. I don’t think i have ever managed that, but this particular […]