http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/jbschafer/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from jbschafer en-us Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:58:09 +0000 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:58:09 +0000 I am constantly amazed to discover that some of the most beautiful locations in the world are some of the most underrated or unadvertised. Pictured Rock National Lakeshore stretching from Munising to Grand Marais Michigan is a perfect example of this idea. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Michigan/Pictured-Rocks-National-Lakeshore/blog-426759.html Get your mind out of the gutter.Yesterday we talked about two of the traditional foods of Wisconsin cheese and beer. Today we talk about one of the traditional foods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan pasties.Pasties rhymes with nasty not hasty are an enigma for a lot of people. Amy was in the lobby of our hotel one day on the trip and another guest came in and asked about why so many peop http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Michigan/Escanaba/blog-426706.html In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink it here...If there isnrsquot beer in heaven than Wisconsin is NOT heaven because there is plenty of beer here. And those of you who know me KNOW that I really hate to take a trip of any kind without sampling the local beer and better yet touring the local breweries.Monroe Wisconsin our stop for the first night features a large brewery tha http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wisconsin/New-Glarus/blog-426528.html What's the FIRST thing you think of when you think of Wisconsin Well ok Dang Packers was my first thought too. But AFTER that Right. CHEESE.We spent our first night in Monroe Wisconsin which is the county seat of Green County Wisconsin which happens to be considered the Little Switzerland area of Wisconsin. Driving around the county it does have a vaguely Swiss feel to it if you do http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wisconsin/Monroe/blog-423026.html I have to admit I had a little Willie Nelson running through my head the last couple of hours. You see after nearly three years off my family and I have started off on the classic great American roadtrip. Yes Amy and I packed the three kids Margaret 8 Caroline 5 and James 21 months into the van this morning and have headed out for a 17 day adventure.Ok we might not be covering the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wisconsin/blog-422466.html It will be after Motherrsquos day when most of you read this blog but know that I was thinking of all of our mothers out there today. This is clearly an American holiday not followed in Russia.This morning started as a beautiful day. After breakfast we departed for a 40 minute bus drive out of downtown St. Petersburg to the Russian village ldquosuburbrdquo of Gotchina. Here there is a pal http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-158233.html Saturday was our first full day in St. Petersburg and a chance to do some sight seeing both formally and informally as well as simply rest.Breakfast was at 900 followed by a bus tour of historical St. Petersburg. The day began overcast and rather cool but the trip was nice to get a feel for how things are laid out so that we were more comfortable later on when we venture out on our own. We start http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-158231.html No I didn't do my Maria interpretive dance today but I am not more than 30 minutes from where Amy did hers in 1999.I think I may have just had my favorite day on this trip. I know that both Mom and Katie would have enjoyed it and I think Amy would have even liked it. For the first time in three weeks I actually had a chance to get away from the middle of a town and enjoy the quiet of nature. No http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Trentino-Alto-Adige/Bolzano/blog-163894.html Well my trip has finally come to an end. It felt a little bit like the season finale of The Amazing Race. When I landed in Cedar Rapids yesterday and cleared security I kept looking for Phil Keoghan to greet me with a large check but he wasn't there. However I was greeted by three beautiful ladies who were cheering just as loud as the crowd of eliminated contestents would have had it bee http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Iowa/Cedar-Falls/blog-166798.html The last three days have been very nice slow days. In fact the days have been so slow it isn't worth writing up each day individually so I will lump them together here.I have had a chance to simply hang out with Kris Thom and family and see a little bit of daily life in Germany. Well ok. To be completely fair I am not sure that Kris and Thom represent native Germany since they live in Ar http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Wiesbaden/blog-166793.html Ok so today's post isn't actually being written FROM Lorsch Germany. However this small town along the Rhine river plays an important part in today's activities and my cultural excursion for the day.The day started with an opportunity to attend Justin's teeball game followed by a nice walk down to the Wiesbaden Kurpark the generic name given to German parks where the mineral baths are tra http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Lorsch/blog-165102.html Well after more than three weeks of traveling occasionally with colleagues and often by myself I have landed back in Germany and was greeted by family My cousin Kris McFall Salo and her family. After a lot of time in hotel rooms and English conversations that were limited to work related issues it was nice last night after getting here almost 9 hours from the time I left the hotel until K http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Wiesbaden/blog-164594.html So the hotel that my hosts have arranged for me to stay at is a very nice hotel. It is probably nicer than I would normally stay at when traveling on my own. It is certainly nicer than almost any place I can think of staying when traveling Europe with mom and dad in the past. Having said that it was close to the train station it is close to the campus and they arranged for a discounted ra http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Trentino-Alto-Adige/Bolzano/blog-163400.html Ah Italy. It is nice to be somewhere where I feel more comfortable. I joked before that I always question whether I would want to live in places I visit. THIS is a place I could live for a little while.I love this town. It is many of the things that I missed in Russia along with some things I didnrsquot even notice until I got here. People are friendly. They smile and greet you as you wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Trentino-Alto-Adige/Bolzano/blog-163095.html I have a lot of empathy for the Steve Martin character from the movie in the title of this blog. Like his character I have taken a BUNCH of transportation options today in my effort to get from Moscow to BolzanoBozen Italy. Letrsquos see. In order they wereCar plane bus bus plane bus bus train and a seemingly long hike from the train station with my suitcase on my back.From the ti http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Trentino-Alto-Adige/Bolzano/blog-163091.html Well it is my final day in Moscow and in fact my final day in Russia after fifteen and a half days. Today I did the last thing on my list of musts for Moscow visit Lenin. And like many things in Russia it wasn't without it's harrowing moments.It turns out that Lenin's Masoleum is only open a limited number of dayshours each week. The last times I was in the area I either just missed it http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-162308.html Two things happened after I posted the earlier message today that has given me just that much more faith and respect for Russia. They are tiny things but since I had expressed negativity in the earlier post I will make sure that I present some positive things as well.First riding the subway is an incredibly rude experience although it is in Washington DC as well and I can only assume not muc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Saint-Petersburg/blog-163089.html Today was another long day of walking. I am going to be disappointed if I donrsquot come home a few pounds lighter given the increased amount of exercise that I am getting and what SEEMS like a decreased amount of food although not necessarily calories I suppose. I was on my own for the first of two days today and I thought that I would just go walking. I had a good map and a general plan bu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-162302.html Ok I only have two and a half minutes left on this computer before it locks me out. However just wanted to post I am alive and well and have several longer posts ready to upload when I can get more computer access. Remarkably time in Moscow has been hard to find. This cafe is no where near my hotel but we stumbled across it while being tourists it is just across Red Square from the Kremlin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-161676.html Today was a day without my hosts as a matter of fact so is every day for the rest of this stay. They didnrsquot set much up for me in Moscow for some reason. In the morning I met one of the faculty members from the University of Iowa who is traveling with us and we decided to get adventurous. We took the subway out to the Western suburbs and walked about a mile to ldquoVictory Parkrdquo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/Northwest/Moscow/blog-162300.html