A GOOD GLASS OF ICE TEA

How I Miss My Ice Tea When Traveling

When biking from Munich to Vienna we laid over a day in Linz. After a lecture on Austrian history and economy in the morning we were bused up a long steep hill to Maunthausen concentration camp. (More on that another day) I was sure glad we didn’t have to bike up that hill.

In the afternoon we did a walking tour of the city. We walked the town square and viewed the town hall where Hitler, in 1938, announced his 1000 year empire plan, then passed by the house Mozart lived in while he wrote the Linz Opera. We hiked the hill to visit the museum in the castle.

Late afternoon when we got back to the hotel I was dying for a nice big glass of ice tea, something unheard of in most of Europe. After entering the hotel I went directly to the bar and asked, “May I buy a cup of hot tea?”

“Certainly,” the young bartender replied.

After being given my tea I requested, “Now, may I have the largest container you have full of ice?”

“Really?” the surprised bartender questioned, as he gave me a strange look.

“Please. And may I take this all up to my room? I will return everything to you when I come down to dinner.”

And that is how I got my one and only delicious glass of ice tea on the entire trip. No doubt, I was probably labeled, ‘a crazy American’. But did I care? I’d had my fill of chilled juice and water. Barely chilled sodas just don’t do it for me, so I’d forgone them. Most of the world just doesn’t know that ice tea is the national drink of Texas!

ALASKA FLAG HISTORY

The Alaskan Flag

I’m sure all state flags have a story and history, but I found the story behind the Alaska flag an interesting one.

In 1927 the Alaskan American Legion decided the state should have a flag and opened a contest to school children. John Bell Benson (Benny), a 13-year old 7th grader living in an orphanage in Seward, Alaska, won the contest.

He explained his design: the blue background represents the sky and the for-get-me-not flower. The eight gold stars represent the gold rush and big dipper as the great bear, a source of great strength. The lone star in the upper right hand corner represents the North Star for the future of Alaska and the northern most state.

He was awarded a gold watch with his flag design engraved on it and $1000 toward a trip to Washington, DC to present the flag to President Coolidge. However, the trip never took place due to the president’s commitments, so the money was applied to a college fund for Benny.

There are several memorials to Benny around the state---streets named Benson, a school and statuary.