Summing Up from Oakland Part Two

Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this, I sure have been running around. I mentioned that I wanted to mention environmental issues in Europe. This may take a while, but here we go. In some ways, Europe is way ahead of the U.S. The public transit is wonderful. I mentioned the easy accessibility that cyclists have to trolleys in Freiburg, Germany and elsewhere. There seems to be a conscious attempt to increase people's ability to get around without cars. We thought the high speed trains we took were great. It seems like Europeans feel these get less and less practical with time.. this is partly due to cuts in funding. We know how that is. I am a great fan of Amtrak, but it demands more funding. Kate told me recently that some Republicans want to cut government subsidies for food service on Amtrak... this would be bad. We do need to get more info. here. Germany in particular seems to be trying to take a leading role in alternative energy. Freiburg, again is a center of research on solar technology. There was a recent article about how Germany has determined that much fossil fuel based electricity is more expensive than energy that comes from alternative sources, and will phase it out. Again, I really need to get more details here, but it sounds positive. Marina, our host in Paris told me that she is in touch with environmental educators in Greece. Apparently these folks have strong networks throughout Europe; they feel that environmental educators in the U.S. isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. This frustrates me, since I really would like to work in other countries at some point. I am hoping Marina will put me in touch with this person; I would like to be in touch with her about a project I have worked on for several years. With that in mind, I will email Marina tomorrow! Not all vegetarians are environmentally aware, but there are ecological sides to the practice of avoiding or eliminating meat from one's diet. We had no trouble finding very good veggie food in Europe. Some of the stores in small German town sold vegetarian schnitzel! Wales had many restaurants with veggie options... this surprised me a little, we were in some fairly isolated places. Of course, we were quite pleased! We're told it is harder to find veggie food in Spain and Eastern Europe, but we hope to find out for ourselves one day. So Europe is pretty ecologically savvy in many ways. One thing I would miss is the presence of wild places. England and Ireland in particular have experienced a lot of deforestation. It's part of Irish folklore that the British cut forests heavily to get wood for their navy. I am sure this is true, but there is evidence that early Irish agriculture also let to the loss of the island's once huge wild woodlands. Botanists have determined that the soil in the bogs that cover much of Ireland's agricultural fields is made from decomposed forest material. Ireland and Wales are beautiful, as I said, and I hope to revisit and explore them some more. The Snowdonia Mountains in Wales are wondrous! But there are largely agricultural lands. The main species we discovered in both places was... sheep. Yes, they are endearing... but definitely not native wildlife!! Again, I am told that Eastern Europe has its share of undeveloped places. The Alps are wild... they are home to bears and wolves, or so we heard. The Black Forest also demands more exploration. Of course, there is the question of what the term "wildlands" means. This is a huge debate among naturalists right now. The old style defenders of wilderness as purely undeveloped landscape are still around. Some question the idea of wilderness, saying that it is a myth that there are places where people have never lived. They also state that ecosystems are constantly changing, and the idea of pristine, eternal wilderness is an illusion. Many of these people go so far as to say that wildness exists everywhere. THey comment that a garden, a river that has been navigated by people for centuries, a field where people once settled is as "wild" as an undeveloped place if natural process are continuing to function without human management. Others claim that since people are a prime part of nature, the earth only deserves consideration so far as people have used it, lived on it, told stories and sang about it. We are the central species to these researchers, and our needs are primary. Well... I agree that people are part of the natural world, and that we can find wildness in our neighborhoods, on farms, even in cities. I have taught this for years, and have strongly promoted the idea that urban kids can find nature in their surroundings. But I am also a strong lover of undeveloped wild places. These areas are generally richer in biodiversity than areas close to human settlements. Why should plants, animals, and other creatures not have places where they can move about and survive free from our interference? We are part of the natural world, not its center. We can appreciate the positive and negative sides of human history in a region at the same time as appreciating the wildness there. Long digression, I know. The point is that there are many people in Europe who are working to educate others about wild places in their communities, and to preserve the relatively small truly wild places that remain. I am very interested in George Monbiot's ideas about rewilding, which basically means that wild places should be allowed to develop in their own ways without interference or management. Kate has read his book, I plan to get to it soon. In other words... there is much left to explore. We plan to take the attitude that this trip was just an introduction. Ok... enough for now, it's bed time. I will leave you with three thoughts: 1)I am very curious to find out who has been reading this. I know it's hard to post comments on the Blog, so please send me an email and let me know who you are! pgb@igc.org 2) I am seriously thinking of starting a natural history blog... I will get the word out if and when I do. 3)Yes, I plan to get some photos up; maybe Kate will too. I will ask her. It is so late that the community radio station is playing something called Music for Airport Furniture. Good night. PGB

Summing up from Oakland Part One

First of all, gang, sorry about all the typos especially in recent days. Keyboards in many European countries are quite different from the one in the US (especially in France, where they are downright bizarre!!!) and when one is tired from a full day, as well as racing the time deadline in an Internet café, typos come easily Europe, Europe - what do I say? In many ways, these countries have deep, civilized cultures. People are very friendly and polite, less so in the big cities, but they are kindhearted there, too. This includes people in Germany who would talk to us in German on the street or in stores, then crack up. What could we do but nod dumbly and think, "I'll bet you just told a great joke!" Maybe the experience of having a long lasting culture, along with the horrific experiences such as WW11, has helped thoughtful people gain a deep tolerance and kindness. Note that I said thoughtful people; there is certainly a dark side to Europe. We watched a TV interview with a Chinese woman who had been born in Ireland; she described the racism she faced. I was stunned by the amount of anti- Nazi graffiti we found in small German towns. Our Air B&B host in London has a German background; she mentioned that some young German men who are feeling the impact of the ongoing recession are blaming immigrants, and reviving this hideous ideology. I certainly wish them the worst in this effort; Hitler was a curse to everyone, including my people (Germans). There is also an ongoing prejudice towards the Roma (Gypsy) people everywhere we went. The immigration situation seems chaotic. I think I mentioned the African and Middle Eastern men we saw selling products on the street in Venice. Some were selling this silly putty stuff; you drop it on a board, it blobs up into a ball. Others sold these glow stick helicopter toys; one evening in St. Mark's Square, Kate was repeatedly approached by men who tried to hand her a rose ... we knew they would have wanted big bucks. We would run into four or five guys doing this work within a hundred feet of each other. People told us that immigrants from many places can get into Italy easily via its long coast line. We wondered how these men survived in expensive Venice... I wanted to talk with them, but why should they take time out from their work to do this? It also seemed that it would be easy for immigration authorities to catch them when they are so present. We did see one group of African men who were selling imitation expensive purses running quickly down the street, seeming to want to escape from someone. Then there was the guy in the gladiator costume who practically insisted I get my photo taken with him by the Coliseum (again, there would have been money involved; I talked my way out of the situation. He was Italian, actually, but you get the point.) Economics is truly one of my weak points, but I can see how the recession is having an ongoing and deepening impact everywhere we went. Ireland was in an economic boom on our last visit (2006); its now hurting a lot. We were walking on a beach near Sligo one day when we encountered some men playing the ancient Irish sport of Hurling... they have long poles with cups at the end, and they use these cups to catch the balls they have hurled. Kate asked one guy if they have professional teams, and he said, "No, we don't have enough money here." Many people, young people especially, have left Ireland because of a lack of opportunities. All countries are feeling the crunch; Germany, which is the most affluent country we visited is experiencing increasing stratification. Our Air B&B host in Freiburg told us the middle class is shrinking... sound familiar? Gentrification is also growing especially in the cities. We told our Paris host that we found a nice café that had great coffee and pastries. She commented that this is a sign of gentrification in the Belleville area - traditionally Paris cafes serve coffee OR pastries, but not both. I am not sure of how all this will work out. I mentioned the huge labor demonstration we watched the day we left Rome. Beyond that, people told us, "We take summers off from politics in Europe." We will watch these situations closely in days to come. People ask for money on the street everywhere, including young women who apparently wear their only dressy set of clothes to beg in front of the big cathedrals. People told us these were people who didn't want to get government benefits for one reason or another, or who supplement them by panhandling... but this requires some investigation - it might be situational. You do have to watch out for pickpockets. One day in Paris we were approached by young women who wanted us to sign a petition for something like the Federation of Deaf and Dumb. We declined, and a French woman approached us immediately and told us to be careful. She claimed they were a network of pickpockets; one will get your wallet while you sign the petition. Based on other conversations and observations, we believe her. There is a confusing situation where people from European Union countries can move to others that are more affluent, and get welfare benefits. We heard in Ireland that people were coming from Eastern European countries to benefit from the social safety net there. Apparently those countries are worse off than even Ireland. We heard the same story in England and France, although the people we talked with were actually fairly tolerant. Our Paris host commented, "What can you do when people don't have food?" That is the dark side, which must be mentioned and faced. I hope it comes through that we love Europe, and want to spend much more time there. The beauty is everywhere, and I am massively taken by countries that respect poets and writers as much as many Europeans do. Oh yes, even though people sometimes gripe about certain inefficiencies in their health care systems, they know they are light years ahead of where we are in the U.S., and would not take our system for anything. I wish we could replace it, too. And while traffic can be a problem, especially in cities (you take your life in your hands anytime you step off a curb in Rome!), the public transit systems are way better than anything we have here. I think the US should copy the public transit/bike transit system in Freiburg, which is the best we have seen! Enough for now. I need to do more summing up, especially about the environment. And yes, we will get photos up. Ciao!

We are fine in Pittsburgh, aka da 'Burgh.

Sorry not to post in such a long time. We are in Pittsburgh, and have been very busy with family here. I will just do a check in and post summing up thoughts re. Europe. We will be home in Oakland, Ca. in a couple of days, and yes, will see about getting some photos on the site. There is much I can say about Pittsburgh, my home town. It's a beautiful city, really - the hills are wooded, the rivers are recovering since the steel mills closed several decades ago. We have kayaked in the Allegheny River on other trips and seen egrets and herons there. The feeling is very central/eastern European - German, Polish, Russian - a great place to get perogies and sauerkraut. There are also quite a few people from Italian and Irish backgrounds, and a large African American population. Many houses are brick, with porches and awnings. It is a more picturesque place than many people think! We have, again, been busy with family and haven't visited our favorite stomping grounds on this trip, but I will mention a few. The Carnegie Institute is a fine natural history museum with a world class dinosaur exhibit. The National Aviary specializes in conserving wild birds from around the world, and has captive release programs (where endangered birds are raised there and released in their own habitats.) The Andy Warhol museum is a trip (yes, he is from da 'Burgh!), and we like the interactive history exhibit. This is a great walking city, lots of nice neighborhoods to wander through. We did get out to a German lunch with my cousin Betsy the other day, and will meet other relatives for some Italian food shortly. I could say much more, but wanted to let everybody know we are well. We will check in sometime after we get home in a couple of days, and will get some photos up. See yinz. Ps, "Yinz" is Pittsburgh-ese for the plural form of "You."

The trouble with travel...

... is that trips end. Last year, as we were leaving Central America, I quoted Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss). He said something to the effect of don't feel sad when great experiences come to an end, be happy that they occurred. Very good advice, but still... we need to return to Europe, we barely scratched the surface. Dublin is a good city. We walked through Phoenix Park, a very nice urban green space today. There are supposedly red deer funing around in the park. We didn't see any, but all animals do what they want. We also wandered through the miedeval section of town. There are two very old cathedrals there. Both charge admission, so we only looked from the outside. The story as I understand it is that Christ's Church dates from the 11th century. It was built my Irish monks, and was oriented to their independant, free thinking spirit. I believe St. Patrick's, from the 12th centure, was built by British priests who focused more on adhering to doctrines that came from Rome, and focusing less on freethought. The area around these two churches is beautiful - ancient houses and buildings. Irish row houses here have doors that are painted different colors:one might be red, another blue, another yellow, etc. The houses look pretty similar, but the doors are distinctive. We also found an environmental education network for Ireland, I do plan to check their website in depth. We will miss many places... tomorrow we fly to Pittsburgh, Pa., where I have family. We get in late, and will stay in a hotel near the airport. We'll be at my brother's house starting Wednesday until the next Tuesday. Expect some summing up thoughts from there. And yes, we will get photos up... we haven't been at computers where we could do this. I will let folks know when the photos are up. Europe rocks!!!

must be quick

Time at the Internet cafe is running out. Lovely bus/train ride across Wales today, we passed mountains, forests, towns with stone houses and bridges, and more. Wales demands a return. We are in Dublin, we took an Irish ferry from Holyhead in Wales. Kind of amazing... a huge ship with bars, restaurants, a theatre, and much more. We are in Dublin feeling sad now, but planning on one more adventure tomorrow.I'll check in then.

we love Wales

This is a gorgeous area. Very high peaks,wonderful trauls to follow, fields of wildflowers, and many, many sheep. We hiked in an area today where we got great views of the high peaks of Snowdonia, and wound up by a lovely lake. It sure was hot! This is not pristine country... Britain and Ireland have long been deforested. But the mountains are fantastic. There are efforts to reforest this area, I plan to follow this. People are very friendly here. We missed a bus back to our lodge, but people who we had talked with gave us a ride to a nearby town, and folks there helped us find a taxi. Many people here speak Welsh. It seems like there are movements for autonomy, but I do not know if things have ever been as intense as in England. We hope to comeback and investigate. On to Dublin tomorrow for the flight back to the States on Tuesday. I will post again tomorow or Monday.

Interesting times in London

Interesting that our best  experiences in London have involved natural history. There was George Monbiot the other night. Today we went to the London Wetlands Center. It operates a vast  restored wetland in the southern part of London. There were huge numbers of water birds. A few were familiar, but most were species we do not know. Very beautiful creatures. They are also protecting otters, and trying to restore populations of aquatic voles. We were both quite impressed with the work they are doing, and I plan to keep in touch. There is an article in this!

We are rushing again tonight, so I am being brief. London is a very interesting city, I have a feeling we will pass through here again in some ways. There are hidden treasures, like the one we found today. We leave tomorrow for 2 days in Wales, I think we will have internet access from there. If not, expect to hear from us Sunday as we prepare to fly across the pond. Be well, all.

London is a collage

I think all of humanity must pass through here. We are staying in a Turkish neighborhood, and have probably heard every possible language while walking down the streets. This is a neighborhood of neat, brick rowhouses. Businesses include Turkish restaurants, Turkish groceries and nut stores, a Bulgarian restaurant, Chinese restaurants, a number of dental surgery offices (I do not know why), stores where you can get many things for a pound (about $1.30), stores where you can get incredibly elaborate cakes, etc. It is a very friendly and safe area, people really watch out for each other.

Today we visited the British Museum. Astonishing, it has collections of many ancient art works from the Romans, Etruscans, other pre- Roman cultures in Italy, Roman Britain, Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia... all very beautiful stuff, with good descriptions of the history. I got to handle a silver plate from Roman britain, a love letter someone wrote on some wood, and an 8,000 year old axe. We also saw the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian room, but people had crowded around it so much we couldn't get a close look. But everything else was groovy.

One think about London is it isn't a walking city like Paris is, and like Rome sort of is. The big historical buildings are certainly awesome, but they are seperated by lots of urban space, complete with massive traffic and very polluted air. They really need pedestrian walkways here. Also, the Tower, Westminster Abbey, Parliament all cost 20 pounds (about $30/) There is supposedly an admission charge for St. Paul's Cathedral, but nobody asked for it when we went in. Definetly an impressive cathedral, quite different from the Baroque ones we saw in Italy and the Romanesque ones in Germany. Oh yes, it really is fun to be at the base of Big Ben when it chimes the hour.

I hope to add more tomorrow. Meantime, I will just comment that one side of the 10 pound note has a picture of Charles Darwin and a hummingbird. These people are with it! And, oh yes, can somebody PLEASE tell me how I can stop singing "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" to myself/

Quick note from London

First impressions: a city more of brick buildings than of high ones with terraces and shuttered windows. Paris is multicultural too, but more in the Belleville district than in the Lfet Bank, Isle de la Citie, etc. In London, every neighbourhood we have passed through so far appears to be multicultural. Life is quite tough here, our Air B&B host was telling us about problems renters have, proposed cuts to health care and social services, etc.

Tonight we heard George Monbiot speak. He is one of our favourite environmental writers, and presented a very interesting presentation on re-wilding. This is a call for allowing nature to take its course in wile ecosystems, rather than trying to manage their operations. The issues are quite complex, to find out more about him see www.georgemonbiot.com.I believe that is the website,
let me know if it doesn't work.

Just a note to say we are still alive and quite well... expect more.

Paris is hot...

...and lovely. This will be quick, we are rushing. The Grqnd Hall of Evolution qt the Nqturql History Museum is bequtifully done, with interactive exhibits, films, qnd more. They need someone who cqn trqnslqte things into ,English, who can that be? Pere lachasse cemetqry, where many fqmous folk qre buried is fascinqting too. Someone left a can of beer qt Jim Morrisons grave. The most movong part includes memorials to the French Resistance, qnd the concentration camps. We walked through Belleville, the very multicultural part of Paris. Many Africans and Middme East folks are here... this is also the current place of street art, community gardens, food coops, ane community organizing.

Paris is wonderful, but demands visits in cooler weather. Tomorrow we are off to  London. We plan to heqr the environmental writer George Monbiot speak tomorrow night and may not be able to post until Wednesday... see you then.

Nous allon bien en Paris

We are fine, no worries. We had an awful time finding good computersin Strasbourg. But the city itself is gorgeous. This region has been contested betzeen Germany and France forever, it has officially been part of France for some time. This is the Alsace region. The town is surrounded by rivers, including the Rhine.  It They are crossed by countless arched bridges. The architecture is a mixture of French and German, and the buildings wind along the river banks, dancing.We visited q nice urban park where crqnes were nssting on platforms built for them. Mozart did a lot of concerts here, and this is where Marie Antoinette entered France to marry Louis XVI. We wandered into a restaurant the first night and would up having the regional specialty, tart flambe. They bake toppings on wonderful flatbread. Kates zwas chicken tarragon, mine was a mixture of potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes with cheese, herbs, and mustqrd. Very fine... and very different from pizza. This town needs a closer look!

So what can I say about Paris that has not been said? I love this town, that is a big compliment from someone who is not a city person.  But in summer it is hot, has bad air, and is overrun with tourists. Knowing this we planned a short stop this trip. We do expect to pass through here again.

The Left Bank is fascinating, but tourist city. We had dinner in the Latin Quarter, which is bequtiful, but jammed. What would Sartre say? ¨Hell is other people.¨When you are jammed in an alley in the heat, that makes sense.

We walked by the Seine, out of the tourist district, and found real Parisian gatherings. Parisians love picnics. We found jamming musicians, and places where people were getting salsa,tango, and other dance lessons.
We made our way to the Natural History Museum, which we may visit tomorrow. There is a statue of ¨"one of the giants of evolutionary biology... Jean Baptiste Lamarck.¨Agreed, no argument, but this may be a touch of French nationalism, saying he was as smart as that Darwin dude. We also visited an Arab cultural center, which was very interesting.

There are still book sellers by the Seine, and musicians on Left Bank streets. Shakespeare and Company is a great; though crowded bookstore, home of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, etc. You must see Notre Dame at least once. And you must experience the Paris Metro at least once... you dont know chaos until you do.

More tomorrow. Pardon typos, French keyboards are bizarre.

WE LOVE FREIBURG!!!

This area has been a true treasure. Freiburg is a beautiful city that dates back to at least the 1300s. Our German is non existant, so it has been difficult to get information about history and culture, but the old town, with wilding streets and very old houses is very German, and very beautiful. Germany gets a bad rap as the place of Hitler, but it is also the homeland of Beethoven, Herman Hesse, Hannah Arendt, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Ranier Maria Rilke, the White Rose and other resistance movements against the Nazis, and many other great folks. It is also home to the ancestors of a writer-naturalist you all know. We wandered all over town yesterday. The cathedral here is my favorite of the ones we have seen in Europe. Our wanderings took us along the edge of the Black Forest to a nice neighborhood where we visited a botanical garden. They had giant sequoias and coast redwoods!!!

Freiburg is a true eco city. Public transit is amaying, and there are bike and pedestrian lanes everywhere. It is also a center of the solar industry. This place demands a closer look.

Today we took a train out of town to hike in the Black Forest. We made a mistake of sitting in first class seats with second class tickets. The official who checked our tickets wanted to fine us 40 Euros each for this mistake. He was a real toughie, and would have done well in the SS, but we managed to talk our way out of the fine.

The Black Forest is unbelievable. We hiked thwough a canzon of oaks, maples, firs, alders, and infonite ferns. We passed by a stream that crashed over a mile long series of cascades. Incredible. We stopped at a small guest house on the edge of the forest, they have teriffic apricot cheesecake!

Leaving Germany is sad, it demands more time and a deeper look. We also need to speak some German... this has been a barrier, to say the least at connecting with people. But we are finding most Germans to be very warm and generous... more time here is needed.

Tomorrow we will head for Strousburg, France - this is the beginning of a slow loop towards Dublin and the flight back to the U.S.  Much more to come. Oh yes, we have many pictures and will post some when we have a computer where we can download them. Guten tag!!!

ALIVE AND WELL IN FREIBURG

Alright, we have regular access again. We would have needed to use our AIR BnB host´s office computer, which we didn´t want to do long term. The one Internet cafe was also a casino, full of cigarette smoke. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
Beyond that, tShielklingen was wonderful. It is a small German town, workaday kind of place - very interesting to me with my German background.  The people of Germany, contrary to rumor, are very welcoming and friendly. nly problem is our knowledge of German is limited to Guten Tag, Ja, Denke, etc., so when people stopped and talked with us on the street we were really not able to respond. Frustrating, we need a class in German before returning.

We were in the Swalbian Alb region, a place of folling, heavily forested hills that resembles my native Pennsylvania... I have heard that many German immigrants settled there because of this resemblance.
Of course we hiked long distances through these bird song filled forests. Wildflowers were everywhere, along with timy frogs, orange/gold slugs, and pure white snails.

On our first day the hike took us through the nearby town of Hausen, a picturesque farming town. There was a fire department benefit going on, complete with a brass band. It was a good contact with Germany - the onlz#y sad thing about Hausen was a cemetary where all the gravestones were for 20 something men who died in 1944. There was a lot of anti Nazi graffiti in this region, with good reason... I hope they are not trying to reestablish themselves.

After the hike yesterday we spontaneously jumped on a bus to the neighboring town of Hutton. This was a lovely town, close to the rolling hills and thick forests. But people told us we couldnot get back to Shielklingen that day. After a lot of talking, laughing and gesturingwith a woman who lived near the train station, we determined there was one train we could get a train in 20 minutes. It cut our time in this area short, but it seemed like a good idea to take it.

Mark, our host told us we saw about 1% of what is available. There are castles, caves, and many miles of forest. We hope to return. We are now in Freiburg, a beautiful city where we are staying literally a short walk from the Black Forest. More to come.

Oh yes, we drink lightly, but can report that Italian wine and German beer are as good as you have heard.

Rain today

It was raining this morning, and the highlands where we wre yesterday were clouded over. We had a fairly slow day (needed, I think). In the morning we went to the anthropology museum where there is a really interesting exhibit about the Iceman, including the dude himself. He was found mummified in the mountains near here in 1991, and it has since been determined he was murdered in the mountains 4 to 5,000 years ago. Scientists are still working on details of his story and there is a lot that will never be known conclusively. No one knows if he was a trader, a shaman, or what kind of person he was. Lots of interesting conjecture based on his clothes and objects he carried. It is pretty much concluded that he died in a fight, but the details will  never be known.

As I mentioned, this area, South Tyrolia  is a mixture of Austrian and Italian cultures. Italy acquired it after WWI. The differences in architecture are very striking. The old district is on one side of the river, and looks very Austrian: slanting dark roofs over white houses, alcoves that form towers with weather vanes on top, etc. Lots of character and charm. Mussolini tried stressed Italian culture around the 1930s; there is a district that he built for Italian immigrants across the river. The buildings are block like and rather scary, with some interesting art. One wall carving shows Prometheus trying to stare down the eagle. All this reflects on Mussolinis fascism, of course, and not on the Italian people.

There are separatist movements active now. One faction wants the region to be autonomous in Italy; another wants South Tyrolia to be an independent country. We also saw a flier that talked about discrimination against Italians, and opposed the separatist movements. I do not have a clue how this will play out.

It was still raining in the afternoon. We did walk along the river, took a nice side trail where we say a castle and a beautiful waterfall. We leave tomorrow for Shellklingen Germany in the Swabian Alps. We will be there three days. I am not sure if we will have an internet connection. We will try to post, but will write from
the next town in four days if not before.
Ciao, Italia, it has been an adventure!

Dolomites!

Today we took a goldala into the high country near Bolzano, and hiked towards the Dolomites, a range in the Italian Alps. ASTOUNDING!!! These are high mountains, sometimes rounded, other times craggy that reminded me of breakers that were suddenly changed from water into rock. Some of the mountains (which are about Sierra Nevada size) are tall and thin, like stone icicicles. There are glacial valleys and streams everywhere, and thicker forests than we have seen since leaving California. We will get pix up, I promise!!!

There was once an inland sea here, with sediments of quartz that were formed in volcanoes about 200 million years ago. The sediments were elevated when the African and Eurasian plates collided. The Alps are actually still rising, but erosion is wearing them down faster than they are being elevated. The Dolomites also contain
formations from ancient coral reefs. There are also strange formations called the Pyramids. They look like tall  thin rocks with boulders on top. All the information we have seen is in Italian or German. As close as I can figure, basalt boulders settled on sandstone formations. Rain eroded the sandstone, but the boulders sheltered small areas, producing the pyramids. Strange but interesting if true.

There are marmots in the mountains, along with deer, badgers, weesles, and (apparently) wolves.
We heard many songbirds. Buttercups, red poppies, wild roses and many other flowers are everywhere. The rain may keep us out of the mountains tomorrow, but who knows?

This area belonged to Austria until WW!, when Italy aquired it. The architecture and culture are more Austrian than  Italian for the most part. My background is German as well as Irish, so I am getting excited as we get closer to Germany. Today we hiked through a village where I rediscovered my passion for apple strudle. How could I ever forget apple strudle? More to come tomorrow.. guten tag!

Wrapping up Venice... and ALPS!!!

Hi all, I can post more about Venice quickly. It is an incredibly beautiful city, beyond expectations--- old stone an concrete houses by the canals, arched bridges, labyrinth like alleys leading all over town. Getting somewhere is an adventure in itself. You never know what beauty or surprise you will stumble on.

St, Mark's Plaza, the main square, is astoundingly beautiful. The cathedral is based on the Eastern Orthadox plan for churches. Venice traded with the Byzantine Empire, and got the idea there. The Plaza is stampeded with tourists, and with expensive stores: expensive ties, shirts, purses, jewelry, masks, watches, the Disney store... BASTA!! I wandered through the cathedral quickly, and was totally impressed. Other than that, we stayed out of tourist areas as much as possible.

The backstreets of Venice are full of surprises. There are 60,000 people here (and more than a million tourists each year, most of them in the summer it appears). Still, this is more work a day Italy than you would think. We enjoyed walking through neighborhoods, and discovered co-op groceries, communal pharmacies, and plazas where people gather. Amazingly enough, we also stumbled on an office for the Italian Communist party. The corner of the building where this is housed includes an altar to Jesus with fresh flowers. I could speculate, but won't unless I get more information.

The Jewish ghetto is a  fascinating place to visit. There are bakeries, kosher restaurants, places where you can get mennorahs and other religious/cultural objects. You can also see the area where people were gathered in 1943 and 44 to be sent to the German camps. There are some gutwrenching depictions of this. The ghetto was created in the 1400s, and Jews were not allowed to leave between dusk and morning. Napolean, of app people knocked the gates down when he occupied Rome. Today was a light hearted day, we watched a group of neighborhood kids throwing water balloons at each other.

We also stumbled on the Museum of Everything, a roving museum, based in London and Moscow that highlights work by unknown artists. The current exhibit features work by an Italian artist who was tricked into fighting on Franco's side in the Spanish Civil War. He came back with a condition we would now call PTSD, and became an artist, showing the things he experienced very creatively. His work resembles old cave paintings, but a close look reveals strong impacts.

The International Art Exhibit is going on, countries and artistic movements have pavillions displaying art from their cultures. The Mexican pavillion has a strange device that changes electromagnetic energy in the surroundings to music. Rumanian Pavillion offers a funny online quiz that tests how you respond to reality shows, artificial meat, computer games and other types of fake culture. The Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei designed some representation of his life, in prison with total round the clock surveillance. Our favorite exhibit was called ReEnvisioning Utopia, and it encouriages artists to try bring a sense od creativity and imagination to daily discourse and reality.

Very nice pizza last night, and yes, Italian wine is all its cracked up to be. Venice is beautiful, but there is a sadness from the crowds and their impact on the communities here. Also, there are many men, apparently middle Eastern imigrants who spend their days selling this weird silly putty mexture and glow sticks toy helicopters. How would somens life turn out that way?

So now we are in Bolzano, in the Alps. The train ride from Venice was astounding. We are surrounded by mountains. This area apparently part of Austria fir a while, but is now oart of Italy. I do not know the history but will look it up.SHould get going, I will check in some more.
Paul


We are now in Bolzano, in the Alps.

Have to be quick

The computer in our B&B in Venice is broken, and internet cafes are expensive, so this will be quick. Venice, is romantic, beautiful, blissfully free of cars, full of surprises, full of tourists and expensive shops. The main square, St. Marks, is spectacular and stampeded with tourists. We have spent most of our time on back streets, discovered some very interesting art exhibits. It is interesting, this is a tourist town but also has quite a bit of work a day Italy. I will provide details later, the rate for this computer is rising rapidly. Definetly come here, but be willing to explore back streets, you will find some wonderful surprises.

I wanted to mention that at the concert in Florence in the town square, the night of the Marathon, there was a symphony orchestra that suddenly broke into ... the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the  Ugly". I am not kidding.

We are ready for the mountains, Alps tomorrow! I will write from there when I find a computer. We will be in the town of Balzano. Ciao.

Heart of the Renaissance

People lived in the Florence region in Rman times, Mars was their protector. Christian travelers from Greece arrived here around 200.After that, John the Baptist became the patron saint - they like strong protectors! They are celebrating John the Baptist.s feast day. YLast night, we found the Florence Marathon. Hundreds of runners sped through town. Wwe stood on a bridge over the river Arno at sunset. A band was playing as the runners streamed by towards the finish line. The super moon shone over the River Arno, and a planet shone over the western part of the river, above the sunset and mountains. I really have to work on getting a description of this moment, where everything in the world seemed present.

This town is astounding. We wandered today, through a Jewish neighborhood where the synagogue still hs bayonet marks from Fascist days. We walked into a basilica where we found the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante and Galileo - òMachiavelli is around too, but we didn not find him. We wandered the Hills above town- unbelievable views of Florence, its Towers, domes, and very old houses following the river banks. I will work on a better description, and will get some pix up. We thought about Museums, but the lines were ridiculous. You see plenty of Renaissance art wandering about (including the city itself.)

Florence began as a textile manufacturing center, and gradually became affluent during the late middle ages after surviving the plague. The Medicci family (pardon me if my spelling is off, I am hurrying) becan as a proletariate clan, but got rich as bankers. Florence was in throry a republic, but the Mediccis were in charge of purse strings and got their way. They were big partons of the arts and sciences. Savonarello (sp?) got power briefly, and would hold Bonfires of the Vanities on the main plaza. He encouraged the penitent to bring their artwork and books to burn - the vanity of the heart and intellect, I guess. The Renaissance continued after he lost power and the Mediccis returned to power.

We want to come back here, there is much to explore. On to Venice Tomorrow... I will check in from there.

Firenze!

First of all, as we were leaving Rome today a huge march came by Termini (the transit hum). I have no idea of what it was, it may have been public workers. I'll see what we can find out.

Train ride to Florence (Firenze) was beautiful - farms, forestsw, mountains, ricers: Tuscany. Florence itself is really beautiful. It is cooler, and while it.s crowded, it feels less frantic than Rome. This is the home of the Renaissance, and there is art everywhere. We found a fabulous collection of sculpture in a public spot today. The main catherdal is huge Beyond belief. Its outside walls boast many panels with frescoes, the interior of the dome also has elaborate paintings, although we could not get close enough to look. We visited another Church that has existed since the 8th century. It has served as a combination Church/market/ grainery, although mainly a Church in recent centuries. There are statues of the leaders of old time guilds on its outside wall, - bankers, traders, etc. The river and its bridges are beautiful - one bridge has houses where people live.

My  Renaissance history is coming back to me a bit. I need to read more. I believe Florence was considered decadent by the very religious. A monk named Savoranelo seized power and established a strict theocracy during the Renaissance. He was overthrown (and burnt at the stake.) After his fall, Machiavelli and Others worked for a republic, but people welcomed the Medicis back into power.. not a democratic move. I have read that this is one of the factors that led to Machiavelli's cynicism and focus on how a strong leader can keep power.

We have more exploring to do Tomorrow, and I will try to do some research. happy Saturday, happy Solstice, and watch for the super moon tonight. Ciao.

How do I describe today?

I have to try to be brief, and to describe as much as I can of an overwhelming day. This may come as a series of disconnected images, but I will have to write more details as I have time.

Today in Rome

It is hot, crowded, way too much traffic. Tourists around the coliseum as if they are attacking it. Guys in gladiator costumes, one approaches me in a a friendly but aggressive way, trying to have our pic taken. I know from reading he will ask for a lot of money and beg off, he shrugs. Coliseum is awesome, we peak in but do not pay admission, too many tourists. Same with the Forum, but there is a point where you can see the whole scene... astonishingly beautiful. Walked up to the Capital Hill, where we could look out over the city... more domed churches and monuments than I can describe, and tourists. Astonishing view. I gather this was a center of Roman power which fell into disrepair after the Empire collapsed, then was restored by a Renaissance pope, and more so after Italian unification in the late 1800s. Mussolini had a hand in this, too,

Wandering through the area...  plazas that have fountains with complex statues, winding alleys of all colors - some dating to Middle Ages. Pantheon: built as a temple to all Roman gods around 20 BC, restored as a Christian church around 700, and it is still a church. Domed structure supported by pillars, some original, Opening at top of the dome lets sunlight in, and it acts as a solar clock.

Passed through neighborhoods famous for being in "La Dolce Via" and "The Bicycle Thief". Feeling exhausted by 4, made our way to the Tiber River, and walked on a hiking path that passed ruins of an ancient port. There are weird ducks in this river that turn backwards and let the current carry them downstream, I have never seen a bird do that. Excellent dinner of ricotta and spinach ravioli in an egg and nutmeg sauce. Now we are home, hot, tired, and astounded.

Rome is fantastic, but Rick Steves (the budget travel guy) mentions that first time visitors sometimes find two days to be enough. This seems to be true for us. We do hope to come back for a deeper look one day... but not in summer!!!

Tomorrow we leave for Florence, I will try to check in tomorrow evening.

Roma!!

We are fine, all - Gmail blocked our access from Italy for a day, hopefully I have cleared that up. Rome is energetic, passionate, fascinating, crowded and HOT!!! It was in the 90s yesterday, and probably will be today. Rick Steves says 2 days of Rome is great for your first visit - that is what we get on this trip. It is chaotic, but quite interesting.

Yesteray we visited the Vatican Museums. Astonishing. Whatever your beliefs and feelings, these places are a must see. The collection of ancient Roman art alone makes this visit worthwhile. Some of the huge murals and tapestries of Biblical stories and Church history are amazing. I am struck by the color and detail, the enourmous number of people, definetly individuals in each painting. The energy depicted is amazing. I am no art historian, but this reminded me of some of the detailed paintings we once saw in Nepal and Japan. It seems to me that the Renaissance masters knew about Asian art, but I do need to check on this. I know there was a big emphasis on humanism, presenting each person as an individual and focusing on human interactions.

The Sistine Chapel is overwhelming!! Again, this is a MUST SEE when you are in Rome. My dad, who was an art and history enthusiast but not a believer, always told me I had to see it, and I felt like he was with us. It is a fascinating depiction of the Catholic world view circa 1500. The famous panels of the creation of the world, the creation of Adam, and the expulsion from the Garden are at the center of the vaulted ceiling. Other parts of the chapel have biblical scenes, and there are portraits of popes. Michelangelo was comissioned to paint this during the Reformation as a statement of papal authority, opposing Martin Luther's ideas. There is one scene where Moses and Aaron are confronting rebelluous Israelites, and Aaron is wearing a papal miter (tall hat), meaning that papal authority has existed since ancient times. There is n altar at the front of the chapal; behind that, there is a huge and practically surreal mural showing the Final Judgement. The colors and energy are astonishing... again, see it, whatever your beliefs.

Pissa is fabulous in Rome. The crust is thin and delicate, and the sauce is different from in the States, although I can't really explain how. The gelato is also fabulous - I don't really know which flavors we had, but they were wonderful. We'll have more. And yes, people here are as dramatic as you'd think!

Today we do the Caesar Shuffle - Coliseum and other old ruins. Tomorrow we are off to Florence, I will check in from there in the evenng if Gmail doesn't block me. Ciao!

Fill for me the parting glass

Old Clancy Brother's song. We're off to Rome tomorrow. Ireland, we'll surely miss ye, but plan seriously to come back. It feels like we've been here for months...

Things have been phenomenal since last post. We found a wonderful hiking trail along the river in Sligo yesterday evening, wandered through wetlands towards the mountains. Astonishing. It was like a hike into a wonderland... amazing that tourist office didn't seem to know about it. It is also a biketrail that we plan to follow one fine day.

Today we visited Lough (Lake) Glen Car, and Glen Car Falls. We hiked with an outdoor group, very knowledgeable folks. The lake is in a glaciated valley. The glacier supported the limestone mountains for many years; when the glacier retreated, some of the mountains collapsed, leaving peaks with very unusual shapes. Many are wildly angular, high green peaks rising above forested slopes. One resembled the Rock of Gibralter. Amazing place. We hiked high into the mountains, to a boggy area where we saw several skylarks hovering and singing  above the mountains. The higher country was boggy. Farmers have always dug up peat, which they dry and burn for warmth. Some are now using heavy equipment which is causing ecological damage to the bogs.

Ireland is not a  heavily forested island, although it's said that once forests were so thick a squirrel could cross Ireland without leaving the trees.  Our guide told us the British cut down many trees for shipbuilding. Spagnum moss, which soaks up lots of water, caused the demise of many others. Forests that are here have been planted for timber; there have been efforts to reforest Ireland; this move is gaining much support. The government is talking about selling some forests to Swedish logging companies, but this is meeting lots of disagreement.

Our guide also showed us a spot where he once discovered a hideout four IRA militants once used. This was after the partition of Ireland (1920s I believe). Part of the nationalist movement thought that a settlement where England kept the northern counties was the best they could get. This actually led to a civil war between this faction and those who thought the North should also be independant of England.  A rebellous priest, who also supported the more militant faction also hid in this area for a while. An old woman would bring him food once a week, and he would hear her confession. I do need to get more details on Irish history.

Glen Car Falls is astoundingly beautiful, very tall and very misty. Yeats described it as an entrance to the faerie world; again, much of his writing was based in local mythology. Yes, I know I keep talking about Yeats, but you can't turn a corner here without finding a reference to him. I love that... a culture that honors its poets.

We rode back to Sligo in a taxi. The driver gave us some sobering information. Ireland is reeling from the recession, with a current unemployment rate of 14%.  The health care system is hurting, and people are finding that their houses are worth far less than they paid. They don't expect a recovery for 30 years or so, and their economic fate is very tied to the rest of the European Union's.

Life here is not easy, and the history is bitter. But - we love Ireland, I hope I have given you ideas about why. On to Rome. Tomorrow is a travel day, I will try to post again on Thursday.

Sligo and surroundings

One frustrating thing about Ireland is bus transit is surprisingly lacking, and it is hard to get to outlying areas without a car. We really don't want to rent one... people drive on the wrong side of the road here, and somewhat erratically. We enjoyed biking around Westport, and thought about it here, but we would be on busy roads... again, with folks driving on the wrong side. But we are going to take a guided hike in a more remote place yesterday, looking forward to it.

Today we took a nice hike along the coast. The beaches and mountains here are really wonderful. There is one huge mountain where the mythical Queen Mauve is supposed to be buried. There is a complex legend about her, I believe it has something to do with her stealing cattle from a friend of the warrior Cuchelaine, leading to a chaotic turn of events. People here have long associated specific places with particular stories. This had a big influence on Yeats' poetry 100 years ago. I need to look more deeply into Irish folklore, and into Yeats' life..he was a true character.

One interesting thing is that today, kind of a whim, we wandered into an Irish genealogy center. The guy there gave me some tips on researching my grandmother Karl's background... she was my mother's mom. We actually know very little about her background, and finding out more is a definite longshot, but I am more curious since I talked with this guy. We think she was brought from Ireland as a young child many years ago.

One more thing, is that today we saw guys playing a game called Hurl on the beach. They were hitting a ball to each other with paddles. Kate asked one of them, "Do you have professional teams?"

"No," he chuckled, matter-of factly, "We don't have the money." That comment reveals a lot of things.

Way too much but here we go...

I couldn't get to this site from the Newport computer last night... so much to report. Yesterday we rode bikes along the Great Western Greenway, 38 km from Achille Island to Westport. Amazingly beautiful ride with views of the Atlantic and offshore islands. We looked across a bay to Crough Patrick, a mountain where St. Patrick once fasted for 30 days. There were also grassy fields full of foxgloves, buttercups, rhodadendrums, daisies and many more wildflowers. Sheep were everywhere, baa-ing at us as we rode. We crossed many streams, and saw higher mountains to the east... watch for pix, we'll let you know.

We were lucky enough to be in Westport for the Folk and Bluegrass Festival. We heard two very fine bluegrass bands, one in a hotel and the other in a pub. Irish people love bluegrass... I have heard there are strong connections between traditional Irish music and bluegrass. You can hear it in the melodies, riffs, bittersweet feeling, place based lyrics. I want to do more research on this. And yes, Guinness is better in Ireland!!

Today we are in Sligo, a beautiful small city. This place apparently goes back to the 5th century. It has an amazing history. It was raided and razed in the 1600s by the British; I am guessing this was during Oliver Cromwell's rule, he was cruel to Ireland. It is a very beautiful and artistic town now, surrounded by mountains and lakes, which we will visit. This is William Butler Yeats' territory. We walked by the Yeats center tonight and were invited to an art opening. The featured woman did beautiful paintings of cityscapes with rain. We'll be here a few days, maybe long enough to find "...the silver apples of the moon
and the golden apples of the sun."
Those lines are from "The Song of Wandering Aengus", by Yeats.

Irish Rain

Westboro is a colorful town near the coast, and we are told it rains a lot here. Definetly true today! We weren't sure if we would find much to do today, but we stopped by a local bike shop to make reservations for a long ride we want to do tomorrow. The owner was a friendly bloke, and we asked what we could do here in the rain. He offered to loan us bikes today so we could do a fairly short ride to a historical house in the countryside. Interesting place, it was built by descendants of the Pirate Queen,   Grace O' Malley. She was the 16th century daughter of a chieftan, and a good enough sailor that she was able to be a powerful force on the west coast of Ireland. She also fought the British, and managed to negotiate with Queen Elizabeth without winding up in the Tower. Most of her descendants, the Brownes, supported rebellions in the 18th and 19th centuries, although one black sheep supported the British. I want to read more of the history soon. Ireland is great, but struggling with economic conditions. 600,000 people have left since 2006. We were last here that year, and there was an economic boom, but everyone we talked to said it wouldn't last. Still, I am amazed by the good humor and generosity of the people here, considering what they have gone through and are going through. Stay tuned, more to come.

Here we go again...

Many folks know we are in Europe for the next few weeks. In case you don't, this will be a quick post from Galway, Ireland. This is a beauutiful and very interesting city. It is somewhat touristy - there are ruins that go back to the 11th century; one old wall has a shopping center built around it with no word of explaination of the history. Lots of shops, bistros, etc. But much beneath the surface. Many old buildings, real sense of history. A lovely river and several canals pass through town. I would like to do a birding walk; so far, we have figured out black headed gulls, swans, swallows; there are many others, including some lovely singers. The canal walks are dominated by a huge, green domed cathedral. Last night we heard a string orchestra from Michigan that played Irish jigs, a spiritual, Ramones type rock and roll, jazz, etc. Amazing! I am quickly in love with Ireland after a day here, we are pretty sure my grandmother Karl came from here (her life is something of a mystery). Part of me says "I wanna come home!" We'd be reasonably close to Germany, my other country of origin. But there are more than a few dark sides. I picked up a book of Irish history, which I know is bitter today, and Kate got one on the impact of the recession and austerity on Ireland. You will see references. I can see spending extended time in Galway someday; I have to stop because we need to catch a bus up the coast to West Port soon. Much more to come!

Taking a break between rambling sessions...

We're back in Oakland. We took a train down from Portland yesterday. We passed through the most spectacular part of the trip, the Cascades, after dark, but we will see them in the light on our next trip. Trains are the way to travel... comfortable, spacious, and with an opportunity to walk about. A train embraces you at night, carries you through the Kerouacian darkness, past houses where people are in the kitchen at  3 AM - a mystery we;ll never have the answer to. And where are those lonely cars going at 3 AM?  When the sun rises,  coloring the horizon with paralell bands of multiple colors, it's like a tall musical chord with thousands of notes.

So... we gained many insights into what to do with our future on this ramble. No specific plans yet, but directions. The rambling will continue, watch for notification.

Portland

Yesterday we visited Bridge Meadows, an intergenerational living project where seniors and families of adopted kids share an apt. complex, and all are involved in helping the kids. This is extremely appealing, but the waiting list is years long. Something to think about.

Portland is a fine town, funky and creative as the Bay Area was once upon a time (before the Dot Com invasion, for example.) Smaller and more relaxed, too, and full of parks where wildlife abounds. yesterday we hiked through a park where douglas fir, ponderosa pines, Oregon ash, and many other stands of native trees thrive. A wetland was home to many ducks, including the somewhat elusive hooded mergansers. We heard a pilleated woodpecker pounding on a tree, but couldn't spot it. These are the big woodpeckers, their pounding sounds more like single strokes than other woodpeckers' rapid rat-a tat.

There are funky cafes and threatres and cafes here, teriffic book stores, many interesting projects, and a generally friendly feel to the town. We will pass through here again in some form.

What is an ecovillage?

We're staying at coho Ecovillage, outside of Corvalis, Oregon, to investigate the question of whether we might want to live this way at any point. It's fascinating and complex, many issues we have to ponder. An ecovillage is something like a co-housing project, with more of an ecological focus. This one is on a nice plot of land near town, and near the Williamette River. The area is very bikable, and there are busses.

This is a multi-generational community, with many kids (who like my stories.) Yesterday there was a potluck, where everyone provided home made soup or bread (we brought bread.) Very nice dinner aith good folks, the chocolate truffles were also yummy. The people come from a wide range of backgrounds... teachers, scientists, dancers, retired folks, and many more. We are about to go to a community meeting to see how they deal with sticky issues... far too much to explain here. It will give us more to ponder.

Corvalis is a sweet town, we have passed through here before and like it quite a bit. A very literate, eco oriented place in between the Cascade Mts. and the coast. In winter, huge flocks of Brandt's geese circle the town. Again, though, there are many issues we need to ponder and investigate about life here.
Tomorrow we will head from Portland, where we will look at another community and hopefully meet an old friend. More to come.