What good are plans if not to be changed?

Eight days since my last blog, and oh my, what changes have occurred.  What good are plans if not to be changed.  God laughing and all of that.  My original plan was to return to the states on August 6th, three whole months in Europe.  However, now I'm coming home July 4th.  There will be fireworks for me, parades, parties in all the neighborhoods...but wait, you say those events aren't for my return.  Silly you.  Of course they are.  It is a 17 hour trip, through several significant time zones, from Frankfurt to Washington Dulles, then from there to Colorado Springs.  I get in at 6:30 PM, but that will be 2AM in the time I'm used to living in.  They have not perfected time-travel, it is still quite hard on the mind and body.  It will take me a couple of days of sleeping weird hours, stumbling around the house, going back to bed.  Fuzzy brain and all.  

Tonight Steffi and I are going to Aqua Fitness, aerobics in a pool, I love it.  And today I will go on another walk of about 4 miles I think.  I know the secret ways through the middle of Old Frankfurt, and love to walk there. I cross the Bridge with Locks, go into the Romer Platz, a few more blocks to Hauptwache, then along a street to the Tor, or Tower, where there's a Subway.  They have wraps there, tortillas in Germany.  I usually rest halfway through where the Purvian Pan Pipe players are, sometimes get a frapachino from Starbucks (yes, they are everywhere and that's a good thing, ordering a coffee, even a latte, sometimes turns out to be an expresso, so dark and bitter one can not even drink it).  Steffi is much braver than I am when it comes to drinking coffee.  Last weekend we went to a gigantic flea market along the river, where I bought a new suitcase from a man from the Middle East who got is masters from the University of Nebraska. He spoke great English. The wheels on my old one broke, so we've been hunting for a new one.  I also bought a colorful necklace which I'm thinking of wearing home.  To go with the fireworks.

There's a lot of building going on here, high rises everywhere.  There are tall featherless birds disguised as building cranes all across the horizon.  They all have a light on top so planes don't fly into them at night, I think of it as an eye that never closes.  bye for now. 

Newgrange Ireland photos

Newgrange in background with white quarty stone facade.

Threshhold stone with spirals and chevrons, at the entrance to the Passage.  Note transom window above doorway.

Spirals and chevrons on threshhold stone.

Entrance to the passage with tramson window often called the 'roof box' where the Winter Solstice light enters and shines down the passage into the chamber.

Exterior of Newgrange, white quarty  and river rock.  

Interior of passage with spiral carvings on the walls.  Photos are not allowed inside, Steffi used the brochure.  Very clever.

Me and Steffi outside Newgrange entrance. About 12 folks are allowed in a one time, only with a guide. 

Winter Solstice light entering the passage toward the interior chamber.  Actually a photo from the brochure.  No pictures allowed inside(except for making the brochures).  It is considered a sacred site.

Train to Dublin and to see Newgrange

We left Galway at 6:30AM on the train to Dublin.  Very nice train ride, arrived in Dublin 9:00 and left on the Newgrange tour with Mary Gibbons (her tour is in the Lonely Planet guide although we found it online) for Newgrange.  Through more very rocky terrain with low stone fences but fewer than we had been seeing.  We drove through the Boyne River Valley, site of famous battles and lush landscape.  Newgrange is a passage tomb built around 3200 BC, older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids.  It is aligned so that the rising sun on the Winter Solstice shines through a tramsom window over the entrance and shines deep into the passage way and onto the far back wall.  Over the passage and chamber is a dirt and stone mound 250 feet across and 40 feet high, with grass growing on the top area. The entrance can be sealed by a stone door and after it's initial use, it was closed up and the entrance overgrown hiding it from intruders for thousands of years.  There is a huge threshold stone carved with spirals and triangles, quite an acomplishment for the supposed stone-age people who made it. When it was built, there were no metal tools, so all of the carvings and shaping of stones had to be done with stones, wood, antlers, etc. The entrance passage is about 60 feet long, narrow and low.  We had to carryy our backpacks at floor level so as not to damage the wall carvings, shoulder our way along, turning sideways sometimes. Once inside the chamber, there are three side alcoves with carvings, usually spirals.  The chamber is probably six feet by 8 feet.  They shut off the lights and illiminated the passage to show how the Winter Solstice sunlight would appear.  Pretty dramatic.  Of course, Dec 21 has to be a sunny day, but I think the light enters from Dec 19 to Dec 23, so more days possible of dawn light.  I am sure that eventually they won't let people enter to passage and chamber, but at this time, it is possible, and it is incredible.  I thought I had to pick between Galway and Dublin, so I picked Galway. It's quieter and cleaner than Dublin, and I wanted to see the Cliffs.  But I got to go to Dublin anyway and see Newgrange.  I think it is a more important site than the cliffs.  Stfffi said it was so close (only 1.5 hours away by train) and not too expensive, so we went.  Fabulous!!! In this area there are over 40 passage tombs, two close by, and as large.  Others scattered and smaller.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher. Second tour in Ireland.

The Burren, slabs of limestone with cracks.  goes on for miles.

I actually these are the cliffs on Inis Mor, not the Cliffs of Moher. 

Castle ruins.  

The Portal Tomb called The Doman.  Built over 5000 years ago.

The Burren from another view.

The Cliffs of Moher. Takes your breath away.  Stunning.  

Tour to the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

The day after going to the Inis Mor island, we took a 10 hour tour on a bus (this was the beginning of my 'bus butt', to the Cliffs of Moher.  These cliffs are over 700 feet high, sheer rock walls going into the sea.  The paths along the tops of the cliffs are fenced with either chain link of slabs of rock over 3 feet high, to keep people from the edges which are crumbling and falling into the Atlantic.  Sixteen people fell off (or jumped off) the cliffs last year, and so far, 6 this year. Suicide is a big problem in Ireland.  There are signs saying if you need someone to talk to, there's a number to call.  That was scary. The cliffs stretch over 5 miles along the Atlantic.  The sound track to the Cliffs are sea gulls, crying.  they sound like hurt puppies.  On the way to the Cliffs, we went through the Burren, a large area of flat limestone slabs, criss-crossed by cracks.  It's like pavement, and stretches for miles and miles.  In that area are 90 tombs, dolman monuments, and ring forts .  In all the cracks, grasses and flower grow, so while you'd think it would be bare, it's actaually quite colorful.  We also stopped at the ruins of Dunguaire Castle, a portal tomb called The Dolman, the High Crosses at Kilfenora and we ate a good lunch at a tour stop. These cliffs have been featured in several movies, Ryan's Daughter, Princess Bride and Harry Poter and the Half-Blood Prince.  Even at low tide, there's no beach to walk along like they did in Ryan's Daughter.  They are the most popular tourist attraction in Ireland, and the reason I wanted to go to West Ireland, basing ourselves in Galway.  I had to choose between seeing the cliffs or Newgrange, near Dublin, but as you'll see in the next blog, we got to Newgrange anyway.  Even though it was a long day, lots of hours on the bus, and such, it was very much worth it.  I would go again in a heartbeat.  Photos in next blog.

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Ferry to Inis Mor, top level

Stone wall, they are everywhere.  

ruins on Inis Mor, of course everything is made of stone.

Outside of the stone fort, Dun Aonghasa, built in 2000 BC by the Celts

cliffs on Inis Mor, 300 feet hight, only fence at the cliffs 

Steffi sitting near the edge of the cliffs, very carefully

looking the other way along the cliffs

Aran Islands off Ireland first tour

Off the west coast of Galway are the Aran Islands, a chain of three small islands.  Our first tour was to Inis Mor, the largest of the three.  First a 40 min bus ride to the ferry docks. then a ferry took us from Galway Bay to Inis Mor.  The island is 9 miles long and 2 miles wide made of barren limestone rock, population about 800.  It is one of the rockiest places I've ever seen.  The fields are cleared by stacking the rocks into low fences, and there are millions of them.  Everywhere you look, dark green fields surrounded by rock fences.  The older fences are covered in vines and low shrubs. They raise sheep and cattle.  We stopped at Dun Aonghasa for a couple of hours, and walked up (very up) to the top of the cliffs where a spectaclar semi circular celtic stone fort sits overlooking the Atlantis.  It's made of black stacked stones.  The cliffs are even more spectacular, over 300 feet high, rugged, beautiful.  There are no fences or baricades to block a person at the edge of the cliffs, so we edged our way to a safe distance and watched the surf break against the cliffs. It was breathtaking.  This fort is thought to be one of the oldest in Ireland, and was probably built in a D shape closer to the cliffs, but that part has fallen into the sea.  It's now a huge half circle of dry stones, with stairs, walkways and an open arena in the center.  Around the back side are concentric circles of stacked stone.  Very impressive and worth the strenous climb up there.  We also saw from a distance the Lighthouse.  And the Seven Churches ruins although there are only two churches with partial walls still standing.  We think churches were built on the ruins of other churches, seven in all.  Gaelic or Irish is still spoken here, and all signs are in both Gaelic and English.  In fact, in all of Ireland, all signs are in both languages, and all public announcements on the trains are in both languages.  It's not a Latin based language, and it's not intuitive. Almost none of the words in English come from Gaelic.  People come to the islands to study the Irish language, and there are summer schools just for that purpose.  At the bus stop to return to the ferry are several nice shops, and the one with stone carvings was visited by Aidan Quinn an hour or so before we got there.  We looked for him on the 5PM ferry, but either he had an excellent disguise or he took the puddle jumper for 49 Euro back to the mainland.  Weather was beautiful, no rain, dramatic clouds over the ocean, bright sunlight.

Finding the book, Codex, that I've been looking for since I got to Germany

You may recall in an early blog, my luck at finding The Magician King by Lev Grossman at the Frankfurt main train station, and ordering later, at a small local bookstore, his other two books, The Magicians and The Codex, his first book.  The Magicians came in the next day.  More than a month goes by, I go to the bookstore every few days, The Codex is still on order.  We leave for Ireland.  On one of the first days in Galway, we are walking along the street where all the musicians play, and there are a lot of bars and restaurants, and shops.  Some high end shops, a book store, some cheap trinket shops for souveniers.  We go into the book store, I ask if they have The Codex, no, but they can order it, 10 days or so to get it in.  I say no thanks, we're traveling.  We go in and out of the trinket stores full of baseball caps, key chains, post cards, plastic jewelry, bins of tumbled stones, I'm sure you know the sort of stores they are.  And they're tiny.  But we finally go into a larger one that has big tables piled high with books.  They are the publisher's slush books.  Of course we always look at the books.  I'm across the store from Steffi, and she calls me.  Mom, what's the name of the book you're looking for?  She fills in the answer, The Codex.  I say yes, still busy with postcards.  She says, well, I think this is it.  I go over to her.  There on the table are probably ten or so copies of The Codex, normally 5.99 Euros, marked down to 3.99 Euros.  I almost cry.  There's my book.  I have an urge to buy them all, but refrain and just take one.  Another 'who would have ever thought'.  I read the book while we were in Ireland.  Very good, I loved it.  Of course, when I got back to Frankfurt and went into the local bookstore, The Codex had come in while I was gone, and I felt obligated to buy it.  12.Euros.  So now I have two copies.  Life is good.  I am happy.

Galway photos day one

Sitting outside at Corrib Village.  It didn't rain on us one time in Ireland. Lots of sun.  

Glaway is on a huge bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.  Lots of water. Lots of clouds, no rain.

On the first tour. someplace.

Dinner first night.  Great Italian restaurant with candles in Glaway.  

Park art in Eyre Square, Galway, where all the city buses come and go from. 

Wall art in Galway on the side of a building. No name, no artist was named either. 

The Corrib River, a rushing wide body of water, emptying in the sea.  There are life bouys all along the river with instructions not to steal them, or someone may drown.  

First of Irish Blogs

You may have wondered what I've been doing since my last post June 4th....well, we left on the 9th for Ireland and came back on the 14th.  I have now what I call 'bus butt' when means all those hours on the tour buses has taken its toll.  The bus seats are narrow and hard, just not shaped like I am. Today, I walked along the Main River to work out the kinks.  It's overcast, will probably rain later.  There are hundreds of ducks along the walking path, parent ducks and baby ducks, and a few swans who think they are foster parents of some of the ducklings.  The swans will attack and hiss, and so will some of the mother ducks.  I took my straw hat and when they run at me, I bat at them with my hat.  I was looking for one of the many Saturday flea markets, but wasn't successful in finding one.  It will take several blogs to cover Ireland.  But as a recap in this one, we flew Ryan Air which was only 40 Euro each round trip, but they charge a lot if you check any luggage so we each took a backpack for 5 days of traveling.  The trip was easy both ways.  Once in Ireland, we landed at Knock Airport, sort of in the middle of the Island and in the middle of nowhere, we took a bus to Galway.  A 1.5 hour trip.  Not bad.  In Galway, we stayed at a Youth Hostle called Carrib Village.  The river that runs through Glaway is the Carrib River.  We took the bus out to the Village.  Our room was on the second floor, clean and spare as it is a college dorm room.  Shared bath, kitchen and lounge down the hall with a t.v.  Steffi watched the soccor games on it when she could.  I think Germany is doing well in the playoffs.

We started our tours on day two.  Three tours in three days, rested on day 4 and came home on day 5.  More later.  Photos on separate page.

Paris June 2012

Just a picture that I like from someplace where we ate.

The bus to Paris.  It's early in the AM.

Me and our host, Mariella.

The Eiffel Tower and the Seine River. 

The Golden Flame. 

Paris 1st trip

Who would have ever thought that at this time of my life, I would be in Paris.  But, here I was, standing on the banks of the Seine River, with the Eiffel Tower behind me.  We had gone to the Church of the Sacred Heart, up 100+ steps, and then down some narrow cobbled streets to Montmart.  There were artists outside painting, and many pieces of art displayed.  I bought post cards instead of 100Euro paintings.  When we first arrived in Paris, we went to the top of the 59 story building called Tour Maine-Montparnasse.  The tower building is 689' high and is mostly offices, the restaurant closed for renovations on the 56th floor.  From the top we could see all of Paris in all directions.  Stunning.  Beneath the tower are the catacombs, we didn't see them. We saw the Arch de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees, the Sacred Heart Church and Montmarte.  We drove by the Louvre and the Moulin Rouge Caberet.  When we go back, we'll go into the Louvre but there wasn't time this trip.  Of course we saw the Eiffel Tower, and as it got dark, the tower was lighted.  Beautiful.  One of the most memorable parts of the trip, which one might think is a simple part, is that Steffi and I sat on a bench in the middle of a busy intersetion in a small cement park where the Flame of Liberty is.  It is a copy of the flame at the Statue of Liberty, covered in copper. It' been there a long time and  it's positioned near the bridge at the exit of the Pont de L'Alma tunnel, where Princess Diana died.  It's probably exactly over site in the tunnel since it's set back from the edge.  There are writings with Sharpies about Diana & Dodi's death and the date.  This has become the unofficial memorial to Princess Diana and was covered with flowers after her death.  There are still flowers being placed there.  We sat there probably aan hour, it was peaceful in spite of all the traffic. There was a boat trip down the Seine, and we were there as it got dark and the lights of Paris came to life.  It's beautiful.  So even though there's horrible traffic, and crowds of people everyplace, there's no place like it in the world.  Who would have ever thought.....the city where Picasso, Cocteau, Pound, Ernst, Diego Rivera, Rousseau, Miro, Degas, Beckett, Matisse, Modigliani, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, and yes, Hull, has been.  Photos in separate blog.

The gift on Monday

We have one movie channel on t.v here in English.  Today, they showed An American in Paris with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.  What are the chances of that?  Although I've seen the movie several times, having never been to Paris, the settings and scenes have never been very significant, but since our trip to Paris, I now recognize the  Church of the Sacred Heart, the steps up to it, the Montmartre where the artists paint and show their work, and I've actually stood in some of the same scenes that are in the movie.  There wasn't even a day's lapse between getting back from Paris, and seeing the movie.  Pretty amazing gift. Life is good. Thanks.

Trier on Friday June 1st 2012

This is the Porta Nigra, the fourth story is to the other side.

Oldest bridge in Germany built by the Romans. The supports of stone still support vehicle traffic.

The underground area beneath the arena of the amphitheater. All of the ground is covered with water.  The wood is the actual wood used by the Romans, reinforced with bolts in modern times. 

The arena of the amphitheater.  More steps. 

Trier on Friday

On Thursday evening we drove to Bernkassel on the Mosel River, where Steffi has friends that do a bus trip to Paris on Sat.  So we went a day early, to go to the town of Trier in Germany.  The area is German wine country with vineyards on every possible square inch of land, and up some very steep hillsides.   It was a beautiful drive along the Mosel River to Trier, which is the oldest city in Germany, occupied by the Romans since 16 BC, but actually settled by the Asserians as early as 2000BC.  There is a gigantic Roman gate called Porta Nigre, or Black Gate.  It's like a small castle with four floors, and a huge arch entrance, courtyard and galleries.  We climbed to the top floor.  More steps.  The stones are almost black because of its age and the environment discoloration.  We took the double-decker, hop on hop off, bus around the city to get a general impression and see as much as possible, which included a boat ride on the Mossel River.  We went to the amphitheater, built by the Romans for gladitator battles and the traditional Christian fights with lions, who were then eaten by the victors which were always the lions.  Under the amphitheater is a huge cavern, wooden walkways over a lot of water which seeps in.  Very spooky and great at the same time.  On the boat trip, we ate lunch, lovely. Then back into town to see the Church of the Holy Robe, a magnificent building said to contain the relics of the robe worn by Jesus before his death.  The robe is not on display and we couldn't get into the area where it's kept.  But the church is beautiful.  Back to Bernkassel for dinner with our hosts.  Their house was built in the 1700's, three stories high and narrow.  We slept in the attic, more stairs.  But it was wonderful.  The next morning we left with our hosts for Paris.  Photos of Trier in separate blog.