Blogs from Europe - page 8
May 24th 2012
Motorhome News from Estonia Sunday 20th May 2012 I was just four years old at the outbreak of WWII. My memories of those years are somewhat vague after all that time; the fearful whine of sirens, school lessons in dark underground shelters, the drone of German aircraft overhead, the bombed out house with the lampshade on top as I walked to school, watching the VI 'buzz-bomb' gliding past the front door, our Anderson shelter, shrapnel through the front-room window, evacuation to Birmingham when the V2's started to fall around London and the VE Day street party by the local concrete-shelter. But World War II didn't end there for some. The Red Army returned to Estonia in September 1944 forcing Germany's Nazi troops to surrender, leaving the country under the dark cloud of Soviet domination once again. ... read more
May 24th 2012
Good day again today! Only pitfall was my discovery that wearing a 40lb backpack on your sunburned shoulders/neck is an unfortunate experience. Ah well, it’s my own wrong doing. Took a morning train back to Cardiff, where I’ll be spending the next few days. Ride was less than 2 hours, so I just read most of the way. Once in Cardiff, I was pleasantly surprised to see the city is quite charming for its size – certainly not a concrete jungle. There seems to be a garden around every other corner, and I love the houses covered in vines and such... it’s a fairytale-feel. I wandered around the City Centre for a bit – took note of some stores I’ll come back for. I then came across a group of about 12 older ladies... they were ... read more
May 24th 2012
OK - I know. You've been missing the dulcet tones of text from afar. Well instead of going into detail, I'll give you a summary. I heard a sigh of relief - come on, own up! Actually I have blogged a few times but this site keeps cutting the blogs offor deleting them - I'm not a happy camper with this blog site. Click on 'Next Entry' in case it shows you more. I've also upload a a 'miniature effect' 5 second video (fun). So I think I last blogged from Istanbul. It seems an eon ago. I took a two-day trip to Cappadocia in Central Anatolia (saw a few Anatolian shepherd puppies). Took a couple of day-tours, not usually my bag but I'd dashed off to Cappadocia - Land of beautiful horses - on a ... read more
May 24th 2012
Wow, so, a lot has gone on since the last blog. Where to begin... Last day of Rome, this past Tuesday, was spent at the Colloseum and surrounding ruins. Amazingly, to us, Rome's weather is more horrrid than houston's! What had begun as a sunny day instantly became a stormy nightmare the moment we stepped out of the house. It was pouring, so we quickly dove into the Colloseum and chose a pretty good tour. It was incredible to us all to see the famous arena. Afterwards, we had a slightly less impressive tour of the ruins of Ceaser's house and the old Forum. Our tour guide was... Interesting. He was quite passionate about somethings, such as the pronunciation of the Palatine hill, PAl-ah-teen, by the way, never pal-an-tine. It only got worse when the man ... read more
May 24th 2012
Hello world ! Present location is on board the las Palmas - Huelva ferry about one hour out of Las Palmas. The Wifi here on board seems to have a problem so it will be a while before this goes live. This morning was an early start with my alarm going off at 05.30 , not really my time of the morning ! After a quick shower I went down to the always amazing breakfast in the Santa Catalina. This morning I had the whole room to myself and enjoyed a nice slow start to the day. I am still not really on holiday because I tend to think in time bites. Fifteen minutes to eat,ten to pack and ten to get to harbor , etc. I look forward to the feeling of not being tied ... read more
May 24th 2012
OK - I know. You've been missing the dulcet tones of text from afar. Well instead of going into detail, I'll give you a summary. I heard a sigh of relief - come on, own up! So I think I last blogged from Istanbul. It seems an eon ago. I took a two-day trip to Cappadocia in Central Anatolia (saw a few Anatolian shepherd puppies). Took a couple of day-tours, not usually my bag but I'd dashed off to Cappadocia - Land of beautiful horses - on a whim so I didn't organise any independent travel. Covered a few places of interest incuding the underground city where persecuted Christians used to live; the caves cut into the eroded sandstone under the basalt lava. Escaping Christians used to live here when the Romans came through. Underground churches ... read more
A report from Steve Volstad on the Camp project
Published: May 24th 2012Europe » Russia » Volga » Ulyanovsk
May 24th 2012
Hi Glenn, I just had a good talk with Rob on the phone. He asked, as I also asked today, to make sure you guys bring a lot of 100% deet bug spray, as the mosquitoes are so bad this year. They've already gone completely through some of the smaller bottles, and the Russian stuff just doesn't cut it. They got both bathroom floors poured today. The hallway, lobby and entryway tomorrow. A bunch of the windows got put in today also, and they're making quick progress on the dry wall in the other bedrooms. There are 7 people from Misha Gutz's church in Chelyabinsk, and 4-5 from Dima's church in Talyatti. Speaking of Talyatti. When Rick and I were out in Uly. in March, S. Gutz got a call that a member of Dima's church ... read more
May 24th 2012
It was a dark and stormy night. Seriously. I stepped out of Vienna International Airport around 8pm on Tuesday, May 22nd into a quickly darkening sky obscured by darker clouds. Fortunately I got to head underground almost immediately into a warren of tunnels crisscrossing the city with almost no distinguishable pattern. But which tunnel to travel down? Oh, hey. There's only one. Let's hope I pick the right direction. Success! Now I'm at Vien Mitte, one of the central subway (S-Bahn) stations in downtown Vienna (Wien). I know that the train departing from Wien to Villach leaves from Wien Meidling station. So let's head that way. The hostel I looked up is nearby and said I could take the S1, 2, or 3 lines to Wien Meidling. Except none of them actually seem to go there. ... read more
May 24th 2012
It has been a week since my parents have been back from their trip to Croatia. They really enjoyed it. But, most importantly of all, the place that they were staying when they got back had a BBQ. That was a treat! We bought some ground beef and made up some hamburger patties with onions. They were so good that I had to eat 3 burgers. The last time that we had a BBQ was the end of July 2011. It is safe to say that we will be doing a lot of BBQs when we get back this summer. The thought of it just makes my mouth water. Also, what added to the charm of the BBQ was the place where my parents were staying. It was in a little village in France called "Les ... read more
DAY 11 - PARIS-NICE-MONACO
Published: May 25th 2012Europe » France » Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur » Nice
May 24th 2012
Reg was up early at 0445 and cooked me an omelette for breakfast before I left at 0550. He really is a wonderful host and I've felt very spoiled. I walked to Corvisart Metro and disembarked at Denfert-Rochereau, walked about 50m to the Orlybus. It's important to remember to keep enough coins for small tickets, anything under €10. I checked in at Air France and had time for a coffee and pastry before departure. Unfortunately, Paris was all fog so I couldn't see anything - perhaps the return flight will be better for a view from above. I took a taxi from Nice airport, about €30 to the Hotel Floride on Boulevard Cimiez, a residential area of Nice, set high on a hill overlooking Nice Centre. I met Stephane, the owner, on arrival and he invited ... read more
