Blogs from Europe - page 5

12 MART 2024 SALI Teoman ın dediği gibi "Bugün benim Doğum günüm".. 78 koca yılı devirip 80 lik olma yolunda zorunlu adım olan 79 yaşına giriyorum.. Dünden oldukça yorulmuşuz biraz geç kalktık ..Kahvelerimizi ihmal etmeden bir şeyler atıştırdık ve yola çıktık .. Yağmur berdevam ..Glaciere den istikamet Les Invalides.. Bu noktadan itibaren artık tipik Paris turisti olduk … Paris şehrinin özlü sözü Latince şunu diyor : "Fluctuat nec mergitur" yani "Sallanır ama batmaz" (Fransızca: « Il est battu par les flots sans être submergé »). Bizdeki “hacıyatmaz “ diyebilirsiniz… Şehrin armasındaki gemiyi ,yani “Scilicet” i anlatmak için kullanılır. Bu gemi, Ortaçağ'da şehri yöneten güçlü "Gemiciler" (Nautes) ya da "Su tüccarları"nın kurduğu birliği sembolize eder. Şehrin koruyucusu, 5. yüzyılda Attila'yı şehr... read more

Gondolas, Rodelbahns and Ski Bikes March 11 & 12, 2024 We both woke up looking at each other, what time is it. We both slept hard after yesterday. Kirsten fixes breakfast while I’m checking emails and texts we received over night. With today’s technology you can run, but you can’t hide. After breakfast, Kirsten has picked out two mountains with Gondolas we can ride and walk to restaurants. My eyes get as big as silver dollars, and she says it’s ok, it won’t be like yesterday... I promise. So, we’re heading back to the mountain pass, and we drive up this narrow road; up and up we go. Finally, we get to the restaurant, and it’s closed. We get out, walk around and I slip and almost fall on the ice. I bounced like a rubber ... read more

Chat Ham /Chath Am - we pondered on the pronounciation of the town on the Medway. Of course it is Chat Ham we said . But being Welsh the th could be pronounced slightly differently . Did a Man of Kent say it one way and a Kentish man the other ? That was the chat over a large meal in the restaurant attached to the Premier Inn. A meal of fish and chips and a steak and ale pie for me. Sadly no brocolli and I was looking forward to that . A pudding rounded it off . A large glass , scoop of ice cream , Cadburys buttons , lots of cream and a dousing of chocolate sauce . We slept well . For a Premier Inn it was quiet , the bed hard ... read more

So when is a city not a city? An old definition of a city was a place with a cathedral . The more modern definition is a place with a sizeable population . Not historical but more around the way our country is growing in population . What were once towns can now be designated a city if the monarch allows it . Our own town Wrexham was moved to city status last year . The largest town in North Wales it more than deserved the honour but it was not well liked by many in the town . Many harked back to the market status of the town . The markets had gone years ago . They harked on about the Wrexham of the past with the shops full . Again long gone. The cry ... read more

Cruising around the Bodensee...... March 7 & 8, 2024 Kirsten is up before me, as always. She come in the room making noise to no avail. Finally, she gives me a shove and I come out of bed like something just grabbed me. WHAT!!!!!! Good morning my love, I made you a German breakfast, as she hurries back into the kitchen. I get up and dress, head into the kitchen and yes, awaiting me is the perfect breakfast, rolls, cheese, meats, and soft-boiled eggs. After filling my face, we are out the door heading toward the Bodensee, big lake, where the Rhine River begins. That’s what the WiKi says. Did I mention it’s raining.... Our first stop is Insel Mainau. A botanical island located on the Bodensee, imagine Bok Tower being an island. Kirsten parks and ... read more