Moien. (That is hello in Luxembourgish.)
After blogging last night, I had a cigar in the hotel bar which doing a crossword and enjoying a glass of wine. It was a perfect way to end the day.
What is not perfect is that I woke up sick! Sore throat and sniffles. That’s what I get for going 48 hours without sleep and spending 14 hours on airplanes.
This morning I sampled the many delights at the hotel’s breakfast. The only thing missing from the array of treats was dessert.
I am off to explore.
Addi. (that’s goodbye)
Luxembourg
I have arrived in Luxembourg!
The flights (Vancouver to Toronto, Toronto to Zurich, and Zurich to Luxembourg City) were all very pleasant. There were no hassles, no irritations, just many hours of relaxation.
I arrived in Luxembourg City at 9 or 10 this morning. (Note: Luxembourg is 9 hours ahead of Vancouver Time). The only problem was…my bag decided to take a later flight. No problem though, as the airline delivered it to my hotel about 10 hours later.
A few comments about Luxembourg generally. Most people have been perplexed or even irritated by my decision to come here on vacation, as they wondered why I wouldn’t go somewhere else. All i can say is that I knew shamefully little about this diminutive country, but some preliminary investigation intrigued me.
For your own edification, here are some useful facts:
-Yes, it is a country.
-Yes, there really is a language called “Luxembourgish”.
-The country is 2586 km2 and has a population of 486,006.
-It had the highest per capita GDP in the world, has a near 100% literacy rate and makes most of its money in banking.
-It is 90% Roman Catholic (which explains the constant church bells.)
-The National Dish is called Gaardebounen smoked pork neck served with broad beans, potatos, and bacon.
-They make wine and chocolate and some odd looking liqueurs.
-It is one of the most forested countries in Europe and is home to deer, wolves, wild boar and an impressive collection of birds.
-They have two flags.
-It is the only Grand Duchy in the world. (I don’t know why this is a big deal, but they are very proud of it.)
First impressions: Luxembourg is very green with a patchwork farmland and puffy forests visible from the airplane. The were so many shades of green and gold and “yellow ocher” in the trees that it resembled a Bob Ross painting.
I caught the bus into the city, which cost €1.5 and took about 10 minutes. The city is quaint and beautiful. It looks more like a ‘real” city than, say Tallinn, but it is very charming. There are many squares lined with the requisite cafes and cobblestone streets leading to churches and museums. Winding though the middle of the city is a narrow and deep ravine, which is reachable either by steep stairs or an elevator. At the bottom of the ravine is a serene forested park area along the banks of a river (scarcely, more than a trickle, really, but that call it a river.) The park is so beautiful and is full of bird song and that delightful smell that i shall simply call ”forresty”.
I am staying at the Hotel Grand Cravat which is lousy with “faded elegance” (to borrow from a previous post). The common areas are lovely, but my room is nothing special; it is however, very clean and stocked with all the amenities. The lack of charm in my room however is more than remedied by the hotel bar which is exceedingly gentlemanly and civilized, with leather chairs, stately draperies and painting of men in doublets and impressive moustaches. The best part? It is cigar friendly! Apparently you can smoke in any bar or cafe as long as they are not serving food. Huzzah!
Anyway, I spent the day exploring and becoming comfortable navigating around the circuitous streets. As it is Sunday today, all the of the shops were closed, but the churches and cafes were busy. I will not list every place I visited, but there were a couple of churches, some squares and I walked through the Petrusse Valley (the aforementioned ravine). I also visited the Bock Casemates, which are 17 km of tunnels carved into the rock walls of the ravine, built in the 17th C for defensive purposes. Betty Lou, you would have been both claustrophobic and suffering from vertigo. I, however, enjoyed it.
I also visited the Museum of the History of the City of Luxembourg because they had a fascinating exhibit on murder and manslaughter. It was gruesome and academic and partly interactive. They even had a jar of prisoners’ fingers! It thought it was neat.
I had Indian food for dinner (thank god for curry or I would surely starve in Europe).
More observations: There are many happy looking dogs of medium to large sizes. It is very clean. Although there are 3 national languages, most people I overhear are speaking French. I am relying on French with the odd mis-pronounced word of Luxembourgish thrown in for effect. People are serious but very nice. Bicycles are everywhere (no helmets, of course.)
Like I said, it was a quiet Sunday, so I will get a better sense of things tomorrow.
d
Boa Noite
We are back in Lisbon.
Within the fortress walls were many shops which, curiously, all seemed to sell linens. There were also a couple of cafes and Portuguese restaurants. (If i never see another olive again, it may be too soon.) And of course there were a few small churches. On our first day there we explored this area. On the second day we went to Spain.
Spain lies just across the river and is accessible by means of a bridge built in 1886 and designed by Gustave Eiffel himself. It took us just less than 15 minutes to make the journey. The town on the other side is Tui. Don´t ask me how to pronounce it. At first glance it is a depressing roadside town, best glimpsed from a passing car, but if one heads towards the river there is a beautiful little town, 5 or 6 hundred years old and centred around a large cathedral. We walked through the steeply winding streets and had a coffee. (You can smoke inside there, something that is not possible in Portugal.) After about 5 hours of blind exploration, we returned home, had dinner and watched the sky darken from our hotel room.
Today we took the train back to Lisbon; a pleasant journey that took about 6 hours. We spent out last evening having dinner and taking one final walk around the castle.
We have an early and long trip home tomorrow via Frankfurt and Calgary (two cities not often mentioned together).
We will be in Vancouver Sunday evening.
d & b
Rio Douro
Let us assure you that we are not suffering when it comes to breakfast. All of our hotels have had excellent breakfast offerings (complete with dessert), and the hotel in Porto has been no exception. Oh yeah, and the food is free, which is quite remarkable, when you consider how inexpensive these lodgings are (relative to North America).
So, after eating, we went walking in the sunshine, which was lovely – particularly considering we awoke to rain. We visited the imposing Se Cathedral and numerous other churches, which are always wonderful. We never tire of them, and apparently nor do the Portuguese, as there always seems to be a mass underway. We are not yet converts.
We strolled across the impressive bridge spanning the Douro – i forget the name of the bridge, there are 5 of them, but only one is impressive. The bridge was designed by an unnamed assistant to Gustave Eiffel.
Having worked up an appetite, we had the most glorious long lunch on the river front, sitting in the sunshine, snacking on olives, and seafood (Betty Lou) and smoking a cigar (me) all the while being serenaded by a lively duo on the accordion & guitar. It was perfect.
Not wanting to leave the river, we took an hour long cruise down the river.
We capped off the evening with hot chocolate and truffles at a super stylish and beautiful hotel, like something out of Wallpaper magazine. Very glamorous.
Today we were sort of out of things to do. We visited a few more churches and took a tour of the Palacio de Bolsa, which was once the stock exchange and commercial centre. It was very beautiful.
After a decadent afternoon nap we were on our way to tea when we stumbled across a group of university students dressed in their black suits & capes playing Portuguese music on the street (accordions, various stringed instruments, drums, etc). Very delightful. Even without anything planned we always manage to find entertainment and delights.
We will be catching an early morning train to Valença do Minho, the last stop as we wander north.
d & b
Chicken from the Sky
Good morning, all.
It it 8am on Thursday morning and i am at the hotel, using their computer while they set up another delicious breakfast. I really am very happy with this place. It is delightful and everyone here is so nice.
Ok, so when i last wrote i was heading off in search of food and nargile. I found both. I had dinner by myself but then moved to a different place (one i had been to before or my favorite little street) for smoking. I immediately sat with a group of 3 South Africans (living in London); a woman, her husband and his brother, all about my age. We had a grand time and spent about 4 hours there just hanging out. We then went to a rooftop patio on top of a hostel. It had the most delightful breeze (probably a good view as well, but it was dark). It was terrific. We then went for a bit of a walk before i returned home at 1am.
The next morning i went to Topkapi Palace, which is a palace, but definitely a Turkish one; not at all like the European ones, except that it was lavish. The best part of the Harem, which was decadently decorated. The only downside was that it was a bit crowded with annoying tour groups, although there were far less that at Versailles.
I then enjoyed a coffee in an attempt to wake up, but it didn’t work, so i went “home” for a nap instead. In the afternoon i walked across the Galata Bridge to the North shore of Istanbul which is quite hilly. I went up the Galate Tower, a medieval structure which afforded excellent views of the city, but wasn’t really worth the 10 Lira charge. I meandered my way over to the Istanbul Modern Art Museum (hey, the acronym for that is “imam”. Weird.). I really enjoyed the museum. It is a new institution and is indeed quite modern. I must admit, however that the installation piece by European artists were on the whole better than the paintings by Turkish artists, but even those had their merits. There was this amazing installation called “False Ceiling” which was all done with books, which i loved.
I made the long walk bank to Sultanahmet (the area where i am staying), stopping for baklava on the way). I had dinner and smoked the nargile for about 4 hours, by myself this time.
Today i plan to take a cruise on the ferry up the Bosphorous.
Oh, yesterday when i was sitting outside enjoying my coffee something fell from the sky and nearly hit me. What was it? A chicken’s head! I gasped in horror. The waiter removed it for me, chuckling at my disgust. I assume it was either a cat or a bird that dropped it and that it was not some sort of weather phenomenon, but it was disturbing nevertheless.
One more thing, if you plan on coming to Istanbul and you smoke cigars, bring them with you. I ran out and i can’t find so much as a cigarillo here.
Final Destination: Florida
Greetings from South Florida!
After 12 hours of travel (3 flights + layovers) i arrived at the underwhelming Fort Lauderdale airport – underwhelming that is until i saw a blonde vision in active sportswear: my sister (and her faithful companion, Giovanni). My flights, while long, where supremely relaxing. I read, completed a sunday NY times crossword and listened to Company, Sweeney Todd and My Fair Lady on the ipod.
I got in late, so Dawn just drove me to her new residence in the schmancy gated community known simply as “The Resort”, complete with 3 swimming pools, gym, hot tub, tennis courts and security guards (no need to pack heat here).
We watched “Final Destination 3” (creative, gory death scenes) and retired.
Today she was busy teaching classes, so i spent about ten hours on South Beach. “Bliss” would not be too strong a word to describe my mood as I strolled beneath the palms in the uber-humid Florida weather. I smoked three cigars over espresso and salad, went shopping and visit some old haunts, like the South Florida Art Gallery. Little changes here (I even saw some of the same colorful homeless people I recall from when I lived here – if you have to be homeless, this is the place to do it). My favorite cigar lounge has closed, but there are countless other satisfying venues in which to enjoy a double corona, so I am not too broken up about it.
As I was on my own today, I had many interesting conversations with people. One fellow, at the Hustler store sighed fondly when I said I was from Canada. “I’ve never seen snow”, he said. He told me he grew up in Fort Lauderdale and moved to Miami and has never been anywhere else. Ever.
At dinner, on Lincoln Road at World Resources (i had a fabulous Thai curry) I chatted for about an hour with a family and their friends who are 7th generation Floridians from Ocala – super rural Florida with horses and citrus farms. They had crazy fake-sounding southern drawls and told me all about how they love to go hunting for turkeys and hogs, except they pronounced it “howgs”. It seems that it takes a surprising amount of cunning and ingenuity to outsmart a turkey. I also learned all about Florida gun laws and it seems that it is quite legal to carry a gun with you at all times (except in court, at football games and in clubs), provided that said gun is in plain sight. (You can carry a concealed weapon, but you have to take a four hour course to qualify.) So if you want to drive with your 45, you have leave it in your lap, not tucked under your shirt.
Anyway, I had a fantastic day. When I come here, I can’t remember why I ever left. The beach, the weather, trees filled with coconuts and green parrots are so seductive. Like I said, it is bliss.
Now I am back at Dawn’s place and we are going to watch a horror movie about a killer ventriloquist’s dummy.
Enough rambling.
Good night.
d
Home from Amsterdam
We are home…at least I am. Betty Lou will return to Summerland tomorrow.
The last leg of our journey took us back to where we began: Amsterdam. We didn’t do much with the evening (dinner & bed), but had a lovely day today (at least I think it was today…it feels like yesterday).
We visited the Anne Frank house/museum, which was very moving and certainly worth a visit. After that we walked along the canal to the flower market, had a bit of lunch and returned to the airport.
The flight (10 hours, I think) went by remarkably quickly, considering that neither of us slept.
And now we are back. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but then again, I am so tired I cannot really evaluate my feelings about anything.
It was an excellent trip and neither of us could have asked for anything better.
Thank you again for taking the time to read about our adventures.
Dale & Betty Lou North
Afternoon in the Town & A Night at the Opera
Another day in Tallinn. Walked around the town some more. We went to the St. Nicholas Church – a medieval structure that has been repeatedly rebuilt following fires and bombing by the Nazis. It was quite lovely; very simple.
We also went to an old monastery – the oldest structure in the city supposedly. It was beautiful.
We had more coffees and snacks and then walked atop the remaining portion of the city wall, which afforded us beautiful views of the town and its red rooftops. The wall walk also allowed access to four towers, which one reached by climbing perilous, spiral stone staircases, which were dark and guarded by territorial pigeons.
We had lunch in the town square. It is beautiful and sunny today, but the odd gust of cold wind reminded us that we are in fact quite far north. After lunch/dinner Betty Lou joined me in a visit to the cigar lounge I found on our first day here. It was wonderfully relaxing.
Strolling along we stumbled upon a row of artisans selling their wares – mostly of the knitted variety. I purchased a lovely linen sweater and scarf. Finally something new to wear! (my existing outfit is growing a bit stale).
This evening we shall attend an opera at the national opera house. It will be a production of La Traviata, which neither of us have seen, but we both enjoy the music.
Time for us to go ready ourselves for the evening’s events.
Tomorrow we are off to Helsinki on a 3:30 ferry.
Until tomorrow,
dale & lou
Leaving Leningrad
We have had a fantastic last day in Russia. The sun has been shining all day.
Our first stop was the Aleksander Nevsky Monstery. It was Sunday morning so the church was full of worshippers. We joined in…for about 10 minutes. That was enough to enjoy the voices raised in song – as it is an orthodox service, there is no sitting, which is why we didn’t stay longer, plus, we had to go in search of a certain gentleman we had been eager to find. That’s right…Dostoevsky.
After wandering amongst the fallen and overgrown tombstones we realized we were in the wrong cemetery, and made our way to the far tidier plot which houses the famous graves. We found Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and others. We were quite pleased.
From there we hopped on the metro to visit the Chesma Cathedral, where Rasputin laid in state after his murder. A stranger church I have never seen. It is pretty and pink, like a cupcake.
We then zipped back downtown to take in the Russian Museum, which had an exhaustive collection of Russian Art, the early 20th century works being my favorites (i.e. Kandinsky). The museum is housed in the former Mikhailovsky palace and is quite impressive.
To close the day we went to the Grand Hotel Europe – bar none the most elegant hotel in the city. We sat in the uber elegant and refined hotel lounge which doubles as a cigar lounge of sorts. We were there for nearly three hours. I had two cigars and vodkas to match. Betty Lou sipped fruity non-alcoholic cocktails and we nibbled on a fine platter of fruit and cheese. It was a perfect way to close our trip.
We are now going back to our room to prepare for our train trip; we leave at 7 am, so it will be an early day.
We both agree that our trip to Russia has been as wonderful and inspiring as we had imagined. Hopefully Estonia will be equally rewarding.
Thank you again for checking in on us.
For the final time,
Da svidanya,
Dale & Betty Lou
Tackling the Hermitage
We awoke to more miserable weather today, which persisted until only a few hours ago. Now it is gorgeous – patio weather. I do not recall if I have mentioned it previously, but the daylight part of the day is so long here. I don’t know what time the sun rises, as we have yet to see this occur (which as many of you will know, is rare for us), but it is up very early and the sky is still light at 10pm. As summer approaches, the days will get even longer, until there is only a few hours of darkness each day.
Ok, enough of those trite observations and on to others.
Today we tackled the Hermitage. It is one of the largest museums in the world and is housed in former palaces of Peter & Catherine (the Great[s]). The building is spectacular – one glittering ballroom and throne room after another and each room hung with art from around the globe: everything from classical portraits & religious art to Picasso and Matisse. After awhile it is overwhelming to be in the presence of so much beauty.
Following the day we wound our way back to The Idiot. We both agreed that a finer mixture of atmosphere and food could not be found. We ate mountains of delicious vegetarian Russian food (yes, it does exist – and nary a potato to be found). I had a little vodka and tea, B had a beverage and we worked on a New York Times Crossword and I wrote postcards while enjoying a cigar. We passed nearly three hours in this blissful manner.
A note in cigar prices (although I don’t know if any of my smoking buddies are reading this): Non-Cuban cigars are very expensive, but Cuban cigars are roughly half the price of what they are in Canada. I am in heaven.
We are now meandering our way back to the room for what we hope will be an earlier night. I have several things to accomplish (i.e. sights to see) before leaving Saint Petersburg, but I have not yet decided what we shall do tomorrow. Perhaps I shall let Betty Lou in on the decision making process….
Alright, that’s it.
So long, farewell…
dale & blou