Why have a German reunion in Salt Lake City? In 1969, I traveled to Kiel, Germany, for a “junior year abroad” at the Christian-Albrechts University. I ended up staying out of the US for three and a half years, during which time, besides living in Germany, I spent significant time in Sweden, Afghanistan, and India. I returned home at the end of 1972, after the Vietnam draft had been abolished...
Chinese opera is a long-established unique Chinese cultural expression. The stage and costumes are over-the-top. The music is stunning...for non-Chinese an acquired taste.
Pandas are China's cultural symbol of its diplomatic efforts to promote peace through cultural exchanges. The US has hosted pandas on loan for many years, as well as pandas loaned to other countries. They are so cute. But we must remember that they are a species of bear. They are not aggressive. But they can be dangerous under certain circumstances.
Columbus, Georgia, is the place I spent the first two decades of life, where I attended public school. But my real "ties to the land", my "roots", are actually to the forty-acre "country place" over the stateline in Alabama across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus. It's somewhat bittersweet to visit the place, since the memories of my departed parents are everywhere. But there's still a smell, a legacy, a longing to hold onto the past, that I feel every time I visit, which is only once or twice a year.
Susan and I were privileged to spend ten days in Bali. Several days were spent traveling several hours from Ubud, our home base, to famous temples popular with tourists like us. We didn't see all of Bali. But the places we were able to visit yielded many interesting photos.
The city of Hue is located approximately in the middle of Vietnam and was the seat of royal power from the 19th and into the 20th centuries. There were thirteen kings who reigned from Hue. Many of the ancient structures were destroyed during the Vietnam-American War, which have since been restored. The photos show scenes from the Imperial Palace as well as the three hundred-year-old Buddhist pagoda.
The city of Hue is located approximately in the middle of Vietnam and was the seat of royal power from the 19th and into the 20th centuries. There were thirteen kings who reigned from Hue. Many of the ancient structures were destroyed during the Vietnam-American War, which have since been restored. The photos show scenes from the Imperial Palace as well as the three hundred-year-old Buddhist pagoda.
Corfu and Albania face each other across a narrow channel. Ferries carry tourists back and forth from Corfu several times a day. Albania is perhaps the least-developed country for tourism in all of Europe. For many years Albania was the poorest country in Europe. Prices are half the costs in Corfu. This makes Albania attractive for tourists. The Albanian landscape is very mountainous, so the tourist industry is promoting the country’s undisturbed natural attractions for adventure tourists.
Once again as I arrive in Europe, I’m overwhelmed with the long rich awareness of history and the rich culture. This is the first time I’ve visited Portugal. Susan and I are traveling with our friends and regular travel companions, Bill and Linn, from Georgia...
Our recent Viking River Cruise was a quick visit to five countries in six days, including Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, as well as the embarkation and disembarkation cities, Bucharest, Romania, and Budapest, Hungary. In each port, we would load onto buses and be shown the city or the countryside. Such a compressed trip can turn into a blur when trying to remember the details. This blog will be an attempt to summarize my most vivid memories. . .
