TRAVIA---4

KGB Hangout

When in Moscow, Russia, we toured the KGB museum. Afterward we ate lunch at the Sword and Shield, the old KGB restaurant a block away. The décor was interesting, the walls were covered with KGB agent portraits, and the food excellent. It was a piece of history.

Chinese Train Ride

When in China we had occasion to take an overnight train from Beijing to Xian. Fortunately only two of us had to share a four bed compartment. The beds were little more than a wooden platform with a skimpy thin mattress. Talk about hard! I was so happy to see daylight. The train was new, having been in service only a few weeks. One good thing was the excellent thermos bottle. A large thermos of hot water was placed in out cabin just before we got under way, about 8:00 PM. The next morning the water was still hot enough to make a fairly decent cup of coffee! I looked all over China to find a thermos to buy---without success.

London’s Parks

The acres of lovely green parks are often referred to as the ‘lungs of London’. Originally many of the parks were monarchy hunting grounds. Now the green islands, in an ocean of stone and brick, are public parks which give a feel of spaciousness to the city. The crown retains title to 5,684 acres of London’s Royal Parks but the public enjoys them as much as it does the 7300 acres of the public parks. The Greater London Council administers this splendid park system.

In addition many squares and commons, usually two acres or less, are maintained by the 32 boroughs. The English love their gardens.

Mirogoj Cemetery

This cemetery in the heart of Zagreb, Croatia is a lovely quiet area where many residents come to get away from the busy city. All religions are buried here. The cemetery is large and is bordered on the front by large long arcades. These arcades provide quite a collection of sculptures. Cupolas along the arcade are topped with the religious design of each religion housed within that section. A conventional cemetery was beyond the arcades.

The unusual cemetery was a very lovely landscaped quiet place that provided a lot of shade. It was easy to understand why people might take a respite here.

Ice and my Foot

  My foot had been out of a cast only two weeks when I took off for a hiking trip in England’s Lake District. After the first couple of days the people at reception knew to have a bag of ice ready for me on my return, so I could ice a swollen foot.

While I propped myself up on the bed and elevated my foot, we had a before-dinner glass of wine in our room. The first ice went into our wine glasses and then the rest went on my foot. Something about priorities, right?

Each morning the swelling was gone, so the boots went back on and off I went to hike more of the lovely countryside.

Fantastic Salt Mine

The Wieliczka salt mine in Poland is 700 years old and is still an active mine. An elevator took us down 1100 feet and then we walked 420 steps down on a well lit and wide path. All along the walkway are little rooms containing various salt sculptures. The large chapel with its 39-foot ceiling was the highlight. Over a 30 year period 20,000 tons of salt were removed from this room. Everything in the room: chandeliers, altar, showcases and sculptures were carved from salt. The floor even looked like flagstone. It was mesmerizing and absolutely gorgeous!