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.

NEW ZEALAND

Pity the place is so far away, otherwise, it would be perfect. On the other hand, if it was closer, it would lose much of what makes it so perfect.
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The west coast of the south island of New Zealand is as beautiful as any place on earth. You think you have died and gone to heaven. But the north island is nothing to throw away, either.
On the north island, we stayed at a place near Lake Taupo- the same place where Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip stayed when they made the Grand Tour a few years ago. In fact I was in the same bed the Queen was in. Get your mind out of the gutter. Same bed. Not at the same time!
You’d think being in a wheelchair would keep you from enjoying such a place, but the maitre d’ came up with a neat suggestion: He would book us an afternoon sail on the lake. We could fish (neither of us ever had), and the crew would cook whatever we caught for dinner. Just to be on the safe side, he packed us a full picnic basket and a bottle of wine. You know, just in case.
He need not have worried. We caught several fish. The captain and his mate filleted them for us, and then cooked them over a small barbie they had on board.
Best darn seafood we ever had!
And we really appreciated being cared for by someone who could not only “think outside the box”, but was willing to go the extra distance required to meet the needs of a physically challenged person.

KENYA

In Central Africa sits Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, the source of the water that forms the Nile River. Clustered around this enormous lake are four nations: Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya.Tanzania and Kenya share a common border in an area famously known as the Serengeti Plain. In July and August, the grass is exhausted in the southern part of the Plain, the part located in Tanzania. Thus the animals who have been feeding there now migrate north to Kenya. Millions of Wildebeest make this migration, along with Zebra (and numerous predators who prefer to eat the zebra and wildebeest rather than grass). We flew from Entebbe, Uganda to Nairobi, the capitol of Kenya. Transferring from the International Airport to a smaller, regional airport, we pushed and pulled ourselves into a single engine, four seater plane, and headed out for the bush camp we would occupy while in Kenya.Flying at no time above 6000 feet, most of the time much lower, we watched as hundreds and hundreds of miles passed beneath us. Most of the land was parched and absent vegetation, but where there was water, green spread out as far as the moisture permitted. Then more parched land.The bush camp is located on the Maasai Mara preserve, part of the great Serengeti system.We had three, especially noteworthy experiences while in the Mara:1) Many of the Maasai, world renown warriors, are nomadic, traveling with their tents, families and animal herds, following the food supply. Many, however, have set up permanent villages, and preserve the same lifestyle in all other respects. They build their homes inside a ring of sticks around their village, bringing their animals inside the ring at night to protect them from predators. This is successful to a degree, but loss of animals is a regular event.

MOROCCO

We had been on an extended venture in Spain, then took a short flight across the Mediterranean, landing in Casablanca. I am not quite sure what we expected, but Casablanca is a thriving, bustling place much more modern than we had anticipated.
Didn’t see Humphrey Bogart, so we left, headed to Marrakech.
We stayed at La Mamunia, actually right where Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, stayed. He was an avid painter, and used to set up his easel in the tranquil gardens surrounding the hotel.
The place is sumptuous, and the Old World service is impeccable. Costumed staff nearly swarmed over us as we arrived, and we needed them all, as the place has steps and (at that time) no ramps. They merely carried us in, and we were set.
We unpacked, then left to go into the city. What a difference! Within mere minutes, we were transported from this luxurious, modern hotel to a place of a different time and culture. A place where the past thousand years or so has changed little or nothing.
For whatever else, Marrakech is known for its famous market, centered around the town square, Jemaa l-Fna. The square is ugly, it is dirty, and it is phenomenal! There are snake charmers, exotic foods, noise, heat, delectable odors (and some NOT so delectable). But what is really smashing is that from this vast open space, you can wander off into the interior of the markets, strolling carefree and undirected along the covered streets, known as suugs.

ITALY

What a traveler’s treasure! It is almost impossible not to find someplace to fall in love with in Italy. Even if you arrive in a grumpy mood, swearing to yourself that you are going to have a lousy time, you will fail, because Italy just creeps into your mind, and you are soon overtaken by the “wonderfulness” of the place, the people, the culture, and the food.
We had been in Rome for nearly a week. It was the last Sunday of the month, time for us to depart and go north. I had purchased train tickets leaving the station around mid-afternoon, and we had a few hours to spare. We decided to go to the Vatican.
Leaving our luggage at the hotel, we went outside and hailed a cab, instructing him to take us to the Sistine Chapel.
“On the last Sunday of the month! Are you crazy”, the cab driver blurted out? “Today is the last Sunday of the month. Today the Vatican is ‘No Charge’, and everyone comes in free. It is an insane place to be on the last Sunday of the month”.
He must have grumbled that phrase, “last Sunday of the month”, at least a half dozen more times under his breath as we drove on. He did make it a point to say this in English, just so there was no chance we would misunderstand his disapproval of what we were doing.
Approaching the entrance to the Sistine Chapel, we passed what had to be several thousand people already lined up waiting to enter. We pulled right up to the front. Fortunately, there was a ramp and special access for the disabled, and we went right in.
Just inside was a foyer with a small room off to the side. In this room one could hire an official guide for a tour, and we were fortunate that there was a guide available. He was an older gentleman, with a cane, sitting alone, reading the Sunday papers. He was so absorbed in the paper it was almost a shame to interrupt him, but I did anyway.
I asked, and he replied he was available for hire. He told us his hourly rate, and we agreed to engage him for the next few hours.
Leaving his paper on the table, he walked in front of us, leading the way through the throng of people crowded into the narrow passageways. When the crush of people became too great, he would reach out with his cane and literally beat on the backs or heads of people in front of us, shouting, “Prego, PREGO! Let us pass”.
He took a series of shortcuts and back switches, up and down elevators clearly marked, “Not for Public Use”, arriving finally at the Sistine Chapel. He led us in, still beating on heads, until we were in the middle of the room. Then he stopped. “Look up to the ceiling”, he commanded, “and see the work of the master”. And he proceeded to give us nothing short of a doctoral dissertation explaining everything about the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

GREECE

We think it is great fun occasionally to “climb into a time machine” and get away from the present time. Easiest way to do this is to get lost in ancient civilizations, and if you are to do that, one of the absolute best places to do so is Greece . Language, law, philosophy, athletic contests, dramatic plays- so many things in our daily lives- all had their origins in ancient Greece. And what is so neat about it is that so much of that antiquity is still there today, as is their influence on our lives..

GIBRALTAR

I could talk about the tax havens and shelters of Gibraltar- or of its military importance because of its strategic location at the mouth of the Mediterranean, but for us, especially Nancy, it is all about the dolphins and whales you can see off the coasts of Gibraltar.
As an interesting aside, one of our guides told us that the marine group we watched off the coast includes dolphins, whales, and porpoises, but NOT seals and walruses. Naturally, we wanted to know what was the difference?
“Well,” he said, “walrus and seals come onto land to give birth to their young. Dolphins, whales, and porpoises never come to shore. They spend their entire life in the water. It’s one of those little facts that will make you seem outstandingly intelligent if you mention it in conversation.”
We hope you are duly impressed...
Another little fact he dropped on us puts whale-watching in a whole new perspective. Most people agree whales are large, but how large is that?
In some cases, he said, they may grow to be 120ft long- that’s nearly half a football field in length, and may weigh up to 190 tons. In comparison, the Boeing B747 airliner weighs 150 tons (300,000 pounds!) when empty.

GERMANY

I shall tell a story about Germany that some may find offensive. But throughout this site, I have written what we have done, what we have seen, what we felt, and have incorporated the strongest of our impressions and memories into this work.
We had been invited to participate in the International Federation of Dentistry’s meeting to be held in Berlin. I did not want to go, as I continue to this day to be repulsed by the destruction of so many millions of people during the Nazi era. I know I should “get over it”, but so far, try as I have, I cannot.
In an effort to show our friends I truly was trying to put things behind me, I accepted the offer to go to the conference, and we flew to Berlin. We stayed in a spectacular hotel along the Kurfurstendamm, a hotel that was the model for all handicapped/accessible hotels to be built in Europe.

FRANCE

We were driving through France from North to South, stopping at select cities and towns along the way. When we reached the Loire Valley, we detoured for several days, as we were in no hurry to reach Spain. The first town we arrived at is a place whose name I never did learn to pronounce, and since it is in French, I have actually forgotten it.Must tell you about an experience there:
I awoke very early in the morning, perhaps 4:30AM, and certainly no later than 5. Nancy was sleeping, and there was no good reason to get her up at that hour. I dressed and left the little cottage we were staying in, taking my camera with me.
The main house on the estate was dark- no one up, so I strolled around the place to get a sense of the layout. When we had arrived the night before, it was very late in the afternoon, and we were tired. We had unpacked, gone to dinner as soon as it was served, then gone directly to bed. I don’t recall what we ate, but it was delicious, I’m sure.
Now, although it was still dark, my eyes adjusted to the dim light and I was able to make out buildings, statues and other objects around me. I could determine, for example, that the main house (chateaux) stood atop a high hill, the grounds rolling away from it down to the Loire River quite far below.
It was beginning to get light and I could see flowers around me, some in formal gardens, but many more just growing wild. There was a moderately wooded area nearby, and I entered into it, following a well worn path through the trees and underbrush.
Not far into this forest, I came to a spot so lovely my heart nearly stopped, and I paused to take it all in. There was an old, rotting bench near a huge tree. The aroma of wild cyclamen perfumed the air and the flowers themselves were all around me- thousands and thousands of them.
As I stood there, alone in the early morning, with the cool air, the scent of the flowers, no sound to distract me, the sun came up, and shafts of light broke gently through the tops of the trees.
I started taking pictures, realizing how the play of light shafts changed the entire feeling of that magical place, not in an eerie way, rather in a wondrous, inviting way. I was, for those few moments, transported to a different time and place, not of this earth, but of some parallel universe, away from stress, worries, anxieties of the earth I had come from mere seconds ago.
The best of the pictures I took that morning is the final shot in our travel book, actually the back page of the book. The caption is a quote from what I felt at that moment- that G_D was literally with me, inviting me to sit on the bench and chat...

ENGLAND

One of the funniest experiences we have had in our travels is to stand off to the side and watch tourists, especially children, stand in front of these guards and try to make them laugh or change their expression. Kids will make faces, "moon" the guards, any silly thing you can think of, but these guys do not flinch!
We first started traveling abroad in 1981. The first country we visited was England, and I was smitten with an overwhelming desire to be British! Their customs, their heritage, their history all appealed to me so much, and I was in heaven.
That first trip, we explored what the English call endearingly call The Potteries, a collection of six small towns around Stoke-on-Trent. It is here that are clustered the producers of the finest china and pottery in the world. Such revered names as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Doulton. As we toured through all the different companies, it was Nancy’s turn to be in heaven!
While we were there, Royal Doulton was completing an order for a china service for two hundred people, bought by one of the sheiks of some oil producing country in the middle east. It may be my memory playing tricks, but I recall the soup tureen being so large, you could stand up in it! We asked the guide about its cost, but she said she could not reveal such information.
Neat story, but here is how our first trip outside the United States came to be:
One morning while driving to the office, we heard Barbara Streisand singing “Memory”. We learned it was one of the highlights from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stunning new musical, “CATS”, which had just opened in London..
Had to see it! I called the theatre transatlantic and made our reservations for the best stalls available.
The night of the performance, we left the hotel early and walked to Covent Gardens. Had dinner in some little café down a flight of stairs (this was 6 years before Nancy’s strokes), had a Waldorf salad, then left for the theatre- a walk of about 15 or 20 minutes.

CANADA

It is easy for Americans to take our Northern neighbor for granted because it is so close. The cities along the border with the United States are very much like those you left back home, and there are times you definitely don’t feel as though you are in a “foreign country”.
But Canada is a huge place, and if you get away from the major cities, you will know you are certainly in a place different from what we call home. There are many tempting possibilities for travel, so don't take it for granted.
One of the most enjoyable experiences we have had was prompted by a Discovery Channel broadcast about the Polar Bears in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Getting there was a bit more complicated for us than usual, but well worth the effort.
On arrival, we settled in, unpacked, then went outside. Saw this in the sky as we were walking to a nearby restaurant, and though we can laugh at it now, truth is, it was kind of scary because we had never seen such a thing before. It was freezing cold outside, and I was having trouble setting up the camera with gloves on. I put the camera on a small tripod, set it wide open for a 2 minute exposure, and caught this shot of the Aurora Borealis.

BURMA

Drugs, elephant tusks, gorilla paws, rhinoceros horn- anything you want to buy- if you know the right people and have the money.
We crossed over into Myanmar from Thailand, nervously excited by being in The Golden Triangle, fabled location of all things illicit.
The marketplace was teeming with people. The stalls offered all manner of goods to purchase, especially American branded cigarettes, but you could also buy old pots and pans, electrical parts, denim jeans, 45 records, and native artifacts.
My eye was caught by one vendor who was openly selling tiger skins. Though they commanded what would have been a fortune in local currency, paying with American dollars would buy you a pelt for not that much money.
Although the sale of endangered animal parts and skins violates world conventions, Myanmar does its own thing, helped by an elaborate system of bribes and kickbacks that seem to be so interwoven into its economy that it will never be eliminated.
While it is sanctioned by the authorities to sell tiger skins in Burma, it is not sanctioned to take photographs of such items being sold! If caught, one risks certain confiscation of camera and equipment, a heavy fine, and perhaps even a term in a local jail.
The hair on the back of my neck was standing up, and my skin was tingling as I put my finger on the shutter release of my camera...

BELGIUM

Belgium is famous for its lace and chocolates. We were in enchanting Brugges, a most delightful, walled, Mediaeval town, arguably the loveliest in Europe It has become such a tourist attraction that today, they limit the number of tour busses and the number of tourists who can enter the town.
Meandering through the crowded streets one Sunday afternoon, we came upon a series of street vendors, selling a variety of wares along the sidewalk.
Nearly next door to a shop extolling the virtues of its chocolate, made to the specifications of a centuries-old, closely guarded family recipe dating back to the 1600's, a young girl of no more than 14 or 15 years had set up a small card table. On it, she had spread out some chocolates she had just made in her kitchen, a few doors up from the fancy shop. We stopped to chat with her, and she was most interested to learn how we had been able to get to Brugges with a wheelchair. As we were talking, she offered us a sampling of her chocolates.
We had NEVER tasted anything as delicious in our lives! We bought a small bag of 6 pieces for what would have been a couple of dollars, whereas in the shop next door, the confections were nowhere near as tasty- and about 10 times the cost!
We know the competition for who makes the best chocolate is fierce everywhere in the world. The Swiss think theirs is the best. The Americans think either Ghiardelli's or Hershey's is the best. The English think Thornton's is supreme. They are all wrong- that young girl beats them all!

AUSTRIA

Had an appointment to see some bankers on the Ringstrasse in Vienna. The bank put us up in a 17th century building that had originally been someone’s palace. Boy, we could get used to living like that!
One afternoon, when some plans fell through because we were physically unable to get into another tourist site, we decided to just stroll around Vienna. We passed this memorial to Johannes Strauss, the Waltz King. I remarked to my wife I had never seen such a statue. Usually they are copper, weathered to a soft green patina, and covered with pigeon droppings. This one was pristine, with a large planter of fresh flowers in front of it.
A local person overheard our conversation, and came over to tell us the story of how that statue had been rescued by a wealthy Japanese businessman, a lover of Strauss’ music, who forked over a few hundred thousand dollars to restore it- on the condition it was gilded. Ever the thrifty Europeans, the city fathers accepted his check- and gilded the statue as required. It is a joke to everyone who lives there, and Strauss would probably be embarrassed if he were to see it now, because it is so over-the-top to the usual memorials.
This same local person told us that just a few blocks further on there was a park at which free concerts were presented on a regular basis throughout the summer months. And he told us there was one such concert scheduled for that very afternoon. Following his directions, we went, and as we neared the entrance, we could hear the strains of a Strauss waltz. Continuing on, we entered the amphitheater where the Vienna Orchestra was presenting an entire afternoon of Strauss’ music

AUSTRALIA

I am an opera buff, and had long wanted to visit the famous Opera House in Sydney Harbor. When we decided to go “Down Under”, I pre arranged to attend a performance of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”, one of my favorites. We sat in the 5th row, center. Best seats in the house. And I couldn't’t hear!
The acoustics are as bad as the place is beautiful. Seems they were way over budget before they even finished the exterior of the building, so by the time they got to the interior of the place, with a new architect hired to replace the original guy who couldn't’t stay in budget, they were forced to compromise on the acoustical baffling inside the hall itself.It isn't just the Opera House that is architecturally striking- Sydney Harbor makes a gorgeous setting for any building!
There is a lot to see and do on the coasts of Australia, but very little in between. In the Sydney area, we went to a wildlife preserve where Nancy, who is naturally taken to animals, was totally captivated by this small Koala bear cub.

ANTARCTICA

Of all the places we have visited, this one is perhaps the most special for us. My wife calls it the “Magical Place”. It is unlike anywhere else on Earth and thus it is impossible to compare it to any place you have ever been before.
When we first started to plan this trip, no one we spoke to could understand why we wanted to go there. “After all, it is cold, uninteresting landscape, monochrome white color. Nothing interesting lives there and there is nothing interesting to see or do there. Right?” WRONG!!
You don't have anything in your past experience to serve as a frame of reference for this place. Your concept of "huge" is irrelevant here. You cannot wrap your mind around the wonder how anything can survive in this environment.
If nothing else, the serenity of this vast continent is nearly overwhelming. Think of it; no fast food restaurants anywhere. No shopping malls- because, by International agreement, no commercialization of any kind is permitted. Less pollution than you will find anywhere else in the world, which permits you to look up into the sky and see more stars than you can possibly comprehend!
If that was not enough, there are a whole series of initiations, customs and rites of passage associated with landing in the Antarctic

CHINA

There is a quality you feel throughout China which is best described by the word, muscularity. It doesn’t matter if you are in the big cities or in the “boonies”- you are aware of an underlying pride and power everywhere you go. We were first aware of it in Shanghai, just before it was due to be turned over to the Chinese by the British.Everywhere we went in Shanghai there was construction. Workers swarming over bamboo scaffolds put up around buildings being built all over the city. It was infectious; you could feel it permeating everything around you.
Even in the countryside, massive housing projects were being put up, bringing electricity to the fortunate ones who would soon be moving from huts with dirt floors into the 20th and 21st Centuries.

INDIA

When we planned our Indian itinerary, it was necessary for us to spend some time in Delhi. I surprised her by setting up a tour of Bollywood, the Indian version of what they do in California.
Similar to Hollywood, the Indian film industry is centered in Delhi, but unlike Hollywood, the industry is scattered all over the vast city. The studios are in one quadrant, the costume departments in another quadrant, post production in yet a different quadrant. So we got to see a good deal of Delhi, driving from one area to the other.Not even on the worst day in Rome, legendary for its traffic jams and impatient drivers, have we experienced traffic like it is in India. It’s almost as though millions and millions of Indians have cars- and all of them were on the same road we were on, going exactly where we were going- and at the same time as we. Congestion to the MAX. Weaving in and out, making their own lanes, horns honking incessantly. I told Nan if I heard one more horn honk, I was going to go out of my mind.
There is a “flip side” to this story, because there are millions and millions of Indians who do not own cars. In fact, they own little to nothing at all. They live on the street- literally on the street- some with no cover to shelter them at all. Those slightly better off live in cardboard boxes, and the “top of the line” in this society live in shacks thrown together with whatever materials they can scrounge up.
Think of it: Millions of people living with no electricity, no water, no toilets, little food, no employment, no privacy, no security

Alaska Travel And Tourism

There are many options available for sightseeing in Alaska during cruise ship travel with tourism operators offering glacier boat tours and helicopter flightseeing just to name a few.
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