Grey haired nomads' Guestbook



6th July 2012

Travellers tales...
Wonderful blogs as ever! Just back from Hungarian hols with Ellen and baby Dotty, sun-filled and relaxing. I visited Poland 2 years ago. Also went to Krakow, thence to the salt mines at Wielicska, pron. Vee-el-ich-ka! From there, like you, to Auschwitz, whose actual Polish name is Oswiecim, I didn't at first realise that they were one and the same, as my Polish friend naturally referred to the place by the second name. Your comments echo mine, I found the visit devastatingly moving, one I can never forget. More poignant as Andrew's father's first wife, being Jewish, was taken from their home town of Tolna, in Hungary, by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz with her young daughter. I felt their presence in those buildings. No doubt you read that the majority of Jewish people murdered were in fact Hungarians... Strange to return to Birkenau and see all those tourist buses, maybe their memories are indelible too. Hope to catch up some time soon, love from Esther x
29th June 2012

Eternal confusion Latvia/Lithuania
Since ages (about 1970) we get letters with address like 'Estonian Academia of Music/ Wilnius/ Latvia' so it's NOT a surprise to read still today'in the Zemaitija National Park. The office was closed, despite a notice on the window to say it was open. Shame that.'Zemaitija is Lithuania! Shame that! Thanks for photos - live, alive, with life.
30th June 2012

Eternal confusion!
Thank you for pointing out my error. Borders tend to become somewhat blurred as we travel! I have now put matters right - though it would probably take a Latvian of Lithuanian to notice my huge mistake. We were aware of Balticum's claim to fame. Are you from around those parts? Thank you once again. David
27th June 2012
Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley
Last September my wife and I drove down the Valley on our way to Knoxville Tn and I must say we would go back in a heartbeat(warm up the Mastercard and Passport and away we go..lol) this is in my humble opinion the greatest car drive in Eastern North America the roads are great, people very friendly all in all wonerfull and for two Canadian's with wonderlust this drive sure cures it..lol
27th June 2012
Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley
I quite agree Stephen - though I do have a hankering for the hills of New England too. We live on the borders of Suffolk/Norfolk, England, but I guess we could claim a little bit of Canadian as we were married in Huntsville Ontario back in 1988 - and plan to return for our 25th next year! David - the back half of the grey-haired-nomads!
25th June 2012

Cuddling!
Hi Doug, Thanks for your comment! Good to know someone reads my ramblings. I guess I'm a lucky guy; my wife and I love all the things: travel, photography, wildlife, gardening, golf (she's a lower ahndicap player) writing, hiking.....and cuddling? We don't get time to be bored! David
25th June 2012

Everyone should go to visit Auschwitz
hello both of you - I'm glad to see that you are still traveling - even if you are taking in one of the most heart wrenching places on earth. I visited Dachau last year and felt sickened and sad. There was a hollow in my chest when I left - I'll never forget that visit and I think everyone should go to one of those camps to feel something distant but very close. tracey
24th June 2012

Keep on Truckin
Hi David and Janice. Following your moves, interestingly you are in Poland same time as the Euros - was this good planning on your part. Take care both of you. Barry
23rd June 2012

Great
Hi David & Janice, just love reading your narations of your trips - just sounds like David is talking to us. Not a lot of bird photos this trip though - did you just not see many? Glad to see you are both well. Love Clive and Margaret
25th June 2012

Where are the birds!
Hi Clive and Margaret, How wonderful to hear from you! We do think of you from time-to-time and hope you and the family are all well and enjoying life. Sorry about the lack of birdy pictures. They weren'y particularly cooperative but we did get to see more than 180 different species in the eight weeks of our travels - not bad for us amateurs I guess. Still hoping our paths might cross again some day. David
23rd June 2012

Love the trip!
We also visited Birkenau and Auschwitz when we visited Krakow and we can never forget. We also visited the salt mines and took a day trip to the ski resort at Zakapone with its Christmas fairy lights. Certainly a contrast of experiences. Like reading about yours.
23rd June 2012

Nicely done
Hi. I appreciated the work you put into your travel blog. It was fun to read and your photos are very nicely done. Great job. Thanks for sharing. I love the photo of the two of you, sort of cuddling. Inspiring to see a couple travelling happily thru life together.
23rd June 2012

I have enjoyed reading about your travels...
and look forward to covering much of the same territory in a couple years. I will definitely include Auschwitz even if it brings me to tears. Unfortunately, we continue to forget with recurring episodes of genocide, with Syria the current case. The World/UN doesn't seem capable of standing up to the murderers. When and where is your next trip?
23rd June 2012

connecting
Thank you David and Jan. Beautiful. Tom and Lex
6th June 2012

from Waseosa
Great to see you on the road again. Fun to read and informative too. We are preparing our yard for a wedding this summer (a niece) ....brings back wonderful memories of another wedding. Keep in touch. Love, Tom and Lexi
5th June 2012

2013 travels
Dear Janice & David, We feel we're travelling with you again, through your descriptive blog. We seem to be working harder than ever with Burke as our boss, but should get a month in Europe during your summer next year. We have you in our sights for some birding and boating. What & when would you suggest? Much love, Jan & Trevor
5th June 2012

Keep on birding
Tiddleywinks does not seem to be your style. Sorry about your run of bad luck. Thankfully you are safe. That must have been a lot of rain. Thanks for a lot of great information.
5th June 2012

Here's mud in your eye!
Cheers! The birds may be lacking but the interesting blogs are still there. Steer clear of Warsaw on Friday - football war between Poland and Greece!
3rd June 2012

Diamond Jubilee weekend
Hello there, Found your blog most interesting. Surprised to read that you met up with your Aussie friends, whom we also met, we believe. Good to read about all the wild flowers, birds and interesting buildings. We wonder how you manage re the language at these remote places. Yesterday Dick played in the Champagne breakfast Texas Scramble which teed off at 6 am. Good weather and enjoyable golf. Most importante - a faultless breakfast. I've been enjoying the garden, especially when the weather was so good. The runner beans are looking healthy as is everything else. Now for D.Jub. weekend the rain has returned. Celebrations abound as does the bunting. Off to France on Thursday. Can't wait. Enjoy Poland Warm wishes. Dick & Laura
3rd June 2012

Looks like you're having fun.
Hi David and Janice. I just heard today that some friends of mine (we did an Aus/UK house swap a few years ago) are currently travelling through Sweden in their motorhome. They are heading for Finland in June and Estonia after that. You might bump into them at a campsite. Their names are Lynn and Jim. Say hello if you meet them. Stranger things have happened in my travels.
25th May 2012

Travelogue much appreciated
As always I travel with you through your blog. Places I will probably never visit are now in my mind. Others I may visit because of your excellent descriptions. Keep the wheels turning
25th June 2012

Travelogue!
Hi Marjorie, It's a while - May 25th in fact, since you posted a message for us on our blog. My most sincere apologies for not replying sooner, but we're just back home to normality, whatever that is, and decent wi-fi. I'm plannig to ask Tom and Lexi if we could borrow their garden for an hour or two on the 8th August next year, 2013, as it will be....... wait for it - 25 years since we were married there! Are you still interested in a house swap? We would expect to be across the pond for five or six weeks, visiting friends in the Finger Lakes in upper New York and Tom and Lexi and all our other friends in Huntsville. I have yet to check the cost of travel insurance to the USA and Canada of course! You would be welcome to 'borrow' our house for that time - come a little earlier too, to get settled in. We don't live in the most convenient of places, but the roads here are good and we're not far from Stansted airport for cheap travel to the Continent. I'll mail Tom in a day or two, so this is between you and me for the moment. Just a thought. Love and best wishes, David - and ther lovely Janice
25th May 2012

Yet another good read...
...and the next is eagerly awaited. Oh, and history has been made today - we're both on TravelBlog's front page at the same time!
25th May 2012

Nice blog, nice writing! I will use this as a resource whenever I go to Estonia!

Tot: 1.088s; Tpl: 0.008s; cc: 23; qc: 25; dbt: 1.0425s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb