Ukraine

Many central and eastern European countries are the result of wars, treaties and alliances formed over the centuries since the fall of the Roman Empire. When the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics disintegrated in 1991, Ukraine declared itself free and independent. Despite such declarations, remnants of the old history die hard, as the symbols above suggest. Sevastopol was the main naval base for the Soviet Navy in the Black Sea, and remains an important naval base today.
The second city we visited is Yalta, site of the famous meeting between Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and US President Franklin Roosevelt, which took place very near the end of World War II.
While on our way to the meeting place, we passed this most unusual churchNestled in a pine forest, what appears as a small church is really quite a large edifice. The majority of the structure is down below the mountain top, so cleverly placed within its environment that you could easily miss this place if you blinked while driving past.
But it is neither Yalta nor Sevastopol that stays in my mind. The place I shall never forget is Odessa.

SWITZERLAND

We were staying in St. Moritz, the world famous ski resort for the rich and famous jet set. Strange, because we were neither rich and famous nor members of the jet set- and we don’t ski! No, we were there because it is on the way to a place in the Italian Dolomites where the beguiling Anri woodcarvings are made.We had started to collect these charming sculptures a few years earlier, and Nancy wanted to see how they were produced. I called the main number in Italy, transatlantic from my office in D.C., and asked if we might visit them. When they heard Nancy was in a wheelchair, they flat out refused, concerned she might get injured somehow and that being Americans, we would (naturally) sue them for damages.
I assured them this was not the case, and when I explained about her surviving multiple strokes, and that I was essentially into doing anything I could to increase her enjoyment of life, they were quite taken by such commitment and granted us permission to tour their workshops.
Thus we headed out from our Swiss hotel, headed for Bressanone, Italy.
The roads through the Swiss Alps are well maintained, clearly marked, have ample protection at mountain curves, and are easy to travel. But when you get to Italy, everything I told you about the Alpine Swiss roads is absent in the Italian Alps! The roads are somehow narrower, the curves have no metal retaining barriers, and the drop off the side seems further down and infinitely more dangerous.
As we came down around one sharp curve, driving on the inside lane, that is, the lane against the mountainside, a large tour bus was coming up the mountain in the outside lane. I pulled over as far as I could and stopped, allowing the bus to pass.
The bus passed by me so close I could have sworn the paint on our car was bubbling from the heat of the nearness of it. As it passed by, I glanced up, looking into the bus, and was impressed by the calm expression on the faces of the passengers inside it.
What they could not see, but what was clearly visible in my side view mirror was that the outside rear wheels of the bus were partially off the edge of the road, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet down the gorge should the bus lose another inch of roadway beneath it.
I was shaking when the bus finally pulled clear around me and I sat there for quite a few minutes before I summoned the courage to continue on.
We had a most delightful time at the Anri wood works- they could not have been more gracious and accommodating, and Nancy could not have been happier.
We stayed longer than I had planned, and as we left Bressanone to return to St. Moritz, it was late in the afternoon.
As mentioned earlier, the roads in Italy are not marked nearly as well as they are in Switzerland, and as a result, I took a wrong turn and ended up going through the wrong mountain pass. Since all the roads do not interconnect, I was forced to turn around and go all the way back to where I could make the correct turn to get back to Switzerland. This mistake cost me two hours of daylight and much more energy than I could afford to spend.
Light was fading fast, and the thought of driving through the Alps at night did not thrill me. In my desperation to get back before nightfall, I kept driving, even though Nancy was getting hungry and both of us needed a bathroom stop.
Once we reached the Swiss border and began our descent, I felt relieved enough that I pulled over at the first little inn we came upon. It was way past our bedtime, and, I think, past the bedtime of the innkeeper and his family. Never-the-less, they welcomed us, fixed up some hot tea, and brought us a huge, steaming bowl of cheese fondue, the best we have ever eaten, before or since.

SPAIN

For all its great history and impact on events in Europe and the New World of America, we had a very difficult time in Spain. They open their shops in the morning, close them in the middle of the day for siesta (nap), then re- open them late in the afternoon, closing around 7 or 8PM.
For details of an extensive, multi-country adventure across Europe, Click Here (Link to Chapter 14 of Disabled Travelers Guide to the World under construction).ur routines were totally out of synch with the Spanish. I usually let Nancy sleep late in the mornings, as she, like many physically challenged people, needs a lot of rest. I would get her up and out of the hotels by around noon, just an hour or so before siesta. Then we would kill some time meandering around until the shops re- opened, by which time we were both tired and ready to call it a day.This would be about 6PM, which is when we normally eat dinner. The Spanish, however, eat late, and dinner at the better restaurants is not served until 9 or 10PM, which is past our bedtime. It was frustrating.
On our first trip there, we went to Pamplona. As an undergraduate, I majored in English (with a double minor in science and chemistry), and once took a course on the writings of Ernest Hemingway. We spent a lot of time on one of his most famous works, The Sun Also Rises.
One of the central plots is about bullfighting, and much of the story takes place in Pamplona, site of the famous “running of the bulls”.
If you have not heard of the running of the bulls, I’ll explain:
Each year at the start of the bullfighting season, the bulls are let loose to run through the streets of Pamplona. These streets are quite narrow, with little maneuvering room except straight ahead. A crowd of young men, in a wacky display of macho and bravado, runs ahead of the bulls, tempting fate not to get trampled under their hooves or gored on their horns.
As you would guess, there have been a number of fatalities in this yearly ritual, but it continues on anyway. To read about the ‘running’ in Hemingway’s book does not really convey the pure danger and craziness of this activity. When you stand on the corner and think about a large group of men being chased by a bull whose horns take up half the width of the street, you wonder that any of them walks away and lives to tell about their participation in the event.
The outstanding memory from the second trip to Spain is of a cathedral in Toledo. Inside it is an absolutely incomparable altarpiece, made of gold Columbus brought back from the New World. You get the feeling of closeness to a monumental historical event- almost as if you had sailed with Columbus yourself. Many people we know say they get this same kind of close feeling when they visit the battlefields of the American Civil War, especially Gettysburg.

SINGAPORE

Having heard that Singapore is a shoppers’ paradise, Nancy could hardly wait to “hit the streets” and go shopping along Orchard Road. But it was not what we expected: All along the road are high rise office buildings, the first few floors of which are shops. You can do the few shops on the ground floor, but to continue, you must take an elevator. Because each building has so many shops- and there is no way to know what is in each, the shopping experience is very detached. It is not at all like browsing along Las Ramblas in Barcelona, or along the Champs Elysees in Paris. It turned out to be less fun than shopping Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles.What proved to be the most enjoyable experience was an afternoon spent at Sentosa Island, a lovely resort/park area crammed full of ‘do-able’ activities. There are several ways to get to this place: for the physically challenged, especially those in wheelchairs, they recommend taking the ferry, but the most scenic and spectacular way is to take the cable car across the harbor. This provides outstanding views of the city below you, and is a most pleasant interlude in itself.
Unfortunately, there are a number of stairs at the end of the ride, and it was necessary for me to go hunting a few lads who could carry Nan up the stairs in her wheelchair. But we did it, and none of the fellows who helped us, both on arrival and on departure, would take any money. If anything, two of the young men thanked us for letting them help!

SCOTLAND

Every year in August, the Scots hold a city-wide festival in Edinburgh, the capitol. There are special musical events, arts and film are represented; artisans and street performers abound, and there is a large crafts fair at the foot of Edinburgh Castle where hand made objects of good quality are in abundance..
But one event is totally awesome, and literally towers over all else. It is known as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and it features the performance of military bands, drill teams, and specialty performers from all over the world, capped off by a thrilling fireworks display.
Edinburgh Castle sits brooding atop Castle Rock, overlooking the city below. There has been some kind of fortification on that site since before recorded history, and it has been the sight of many battles between warring factions in the area. Interestingly enough, for all its gore-spattered history, the castle has only been taken twice in battle, both times by Scots.
The Military Tattoo is held nightly on the Esplanade (parade grounds) of Edinburgh Castle, and it is the most amazing, spectacular show of skills unlike anything else you have ever seen. It is truly One-of-a-Kind. So great has become its reputation that tickets for the following year go on sale immediately at the conclusion of this year’s show, and they are sold out quickly. The better hotels are also booked well in advance.
The special needs traveler has to plan even further ahead, because there just are not that many facilities available at any time, much less during the month of the festival. As a result, I had completed booking arrangements virtually a full year in advance of going to Scotland.
We stayed at the plush Balmoral Hotel, and it was through the good efforts of the hotel’s head concierge that we acquired two of the best seats in the Esplanade. The concierge told me there might be some difficulty getting Nancy up the stairs into the seats, but he had a son who, with the company of several of his mates, would gladly help Nancy up the stairs for the price of a few pints of beer. Unfortunately, that plan fell through, and we left for the Tattoo without a firm plan in place to get us into our seats. But we took a chance and headed for the Castle.
It was a clear and cool night. The concierge had arranged for special car transport up the hill to the castle, and the car came as close as possible but had to stop short as the crowd was so dense the driver was concerned someone would get run over.
When we entered the parade grounds, I looked up and saw where we were to sit, and I started to worry how we would manage. Oh, me of little faith!
As I was pondering what to do, a small detachment of police and Scots Guardsmen came over, all in their best dress uniforms, all spit and polish, silver sabers shining, leather shoes and belts gleaming. While several of them went in front of us to clear a way through the crowd, the remaining six formed a phalanx around Nan’s wheelchair.
In unison, they lifted her and carried her up the stairs in military cadence, never missing a beat, and set her down- front row and center- where, I am told, the Queen’s box is set up should Her Majesty desire to see the show.