Category: Uncategorized
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Swiss-ful Thinking
Poste No. 5. Bienvenue en France (Colmar) Le 6 Septembre, 2023. This morning, our GPS got us from Zürich to Colmar in an hour and a half. After checking into the Hotel Mercure Unterlinden, out to find lunch. They have an interesting way of serving salad in this town, i.e., by depositing pieces of toasted…
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Swiss-ful Thinking
Post No. 4. (Gemütlich) Sein in Stein September 5, 2023 Translated roughly, “Be happy in Stein,” referring to Stein-am-Rhein, today’s adventure. Drove off this morning and headed first to the Rheinfall (Rhine waterfall), northeast of Zürich, near the above-mentioned town of Stein-am-Rhein. The waterfall was formed by tectonic shifts during the last ice age (about…
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Swiss-ful Thinking
Post No. 3. Luzern September 4, 2023 Today was our first real “vacation day.” We picked up our rental car at Sixt about a block away, turned out to be a Ford Focus automatic, instead of a Peugeot manual, but hey, you gotta be flexible on vacay. In going to the garage to get the…
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Swiss-ful Thinking
Post No. 2 (part 2) : Downtown Zürich September 3, 2023 (later) Awoke still somewhat jet-lagged. But figured out how to use the Nespresso machine and the toaster. When it’s toasted, Zopf, the local challah/brioche, is damned fine with strawberry jam. Needed to go online to find out how to get to the Zürich CBD.…
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Swiss-ful Thinking
Post No. 2: Arrival in Zürich September 2-3, 2023 Well, kudos to “Bunny:” The seats on the TAP flight went totally flat. Which gets us 2-3 hours of fitful sleep before we landed in Lisbon, where it was about 6 am local time and about 1 am for your body. Melatonin gummies did help (thanks,…
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Swiss-ful Thinking
August 30, 2023: Prelude, Auftakt, Preludio Sorry, I couldn’t find the Romansh word for “Prelude.” And that’s the next-to-last time I’m putting notes in three-part harmony to accommodate Switzerland’s three major languages. When we last left Stef and Stan, they were returning from Southeast Asia (described in a previous series of blogs: Bali, Borneo and…
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Poland: Back in the Shtetl Again.
Post No. 6. Kraków (Part 2) May 11, 2023 We had this morning free of East-West Tour experiences. Some of the folks went to the Salt Mines, but I opted for the “Walkative!” tour of “Jewish Kraków.” Met up with our tour guide, Krzysztof, at the Stara Synagoga (“Old Synagogue”) at Szeroka St. #24. The…
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Poland: Back in the Shtetl Again.
Post No. 5. Kraków and Auschwitz May 10, 2023 This morning saw us on a tour of Wawel Hill and the Royal Cathedral. This was the place where Polish kings were crowned and buried. Can’t remember how many impressive crypts we saw, including those of Wladislaw Jagiełło and his first wife, Jadwiga (who was originally…
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Poland: Back in the Shtetl Again.
Post No. 4. South to Częstochowa, Zakopane, and Kraków. May 8, 2023. Forgot to mention one item from Sunday. Before heading to Chocolate Land, we attended a piano recital in the Old Town. A Bolivian-Polish pianist named Mauricio Silva played some Chopin waltzes, mazurkas, and a polonaise. Very good; he played much better than I…
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Poland: Back in the Shtetl Again.
Post No. 3. Warsaw. May 8, 2023. Glad I was able to solve the problem of the photos (whew). Today, we got the full Warsaw treatment. Up and out by bus to Royal Łazienski Park. By the way, the Polish “Ł” is pronounced as a “W,” so it sounds like “Wazienski Park.” There they have…
Something to Declare 