SURPRISES

                                            New Things Here and There

• In Germany I saw the tallest lupines I’ve ever seen. They came in all colors and seemed to be a garden favorite. Quite different from our Texas bluebonnets.

• In the Bahamas Cable Beach was a beach with no name until 1907 when it became the starting point for laying the trans-Atlantic cable to Florida that connected the island to the US mainland.

• In Croatia a linden tree is always near a church so people can sit under it to contemplate and solve problems. The tree has a heart shaped leaf and is a symbol of hospitality. The linden tree is the Croatia’s national tree. Tea is sometimes brewed from the leaves. In Belgium the linden tree is severely cut back each year. 
   
• In Belgium bell towers have a clock on all four sides---this is also true in other places.
• Scotland has 2 million sheep—two for every person in the country.
• It is possible to exchange money in at the post office and may be the cheapest place to do so.
  
  
• In Switzerland many stairs lead to a ravine tunnel elevator that took us to another stairway leading to Trummelbach Falls where the noise was deafening—the noise of 20,000 liters of water per second cascading down the mountain!. It was a damp and slippery walk up to the falls that are glacier fed from the Mts. Eiger, Monch and Junfrau. The sight was spectacular and difficult to capture on film and because of the noise it was impossible to carry on a conversation.
   
• Dutch auctions start high and go down, opposite of most auctions.

Small villages in Holland have hand operated draw bridges.

Dutch people are friendly and have a great sense of humor.

• In York, England streets are called gates from the Viking word. So gates are bars and streets are gates---confusing! I’ve seen many ancient city gates in my travels but York had the most extensive and different gates still intact. Bootham Bar is the defensible bastion for the north road. Micklegate Bar on the south was traditionally the entrance for monarchy, and the place where traitor’s heads were displayed. Monk Bar, the last bar built, is the tallest and has kept the portcullis (iron grating) in working order. It has a couple of levels and each one is defendable. On the street level is a tax door, as everything entering the city was taxed. Walmgate Bar is the only town gate in England to have preserved its barbican, a funnel-like approach forcing attackers to bunch together.

• We walked a good part of the  ancient three-mile  wall surrounding the inner city of York. The population inside the walled city is 2000, the city’s population reaches 60,000 and greater York approaches 150,000.

SOME STRANGE TRADITIONS--OR NOT

                         Mostly Down Under  Traditions  

  Parts of Europe do some strange trimming to their linden trees. I’ve seen this several places and am always in awe, but it was most prominent in Belgium. Maybe it was just the right time of the year. The Linden tree is   deciduous so the trimming seemed severe and was most obvious. The linden tree is a decorative fragrant tree that can be long lived and grow big. It appears that the severely trimmed trees are meant to be kept medium height so they can be trimmed each year. The best answer I could ever get anywhere was, “It’s a European thing.”

  In the days of the English witch hunts the thumbs of a supposed witch was tied to her big toes before being thrown into the water, river or whatever. If she floated she was guilty and if she sank she was innocent—either way she was dead.

         

  Pierre Cardin described The Queen Victoria Building (QVC) as the most beautiful shopping centre in the world. Built in 1898 and occupying an entire city block the building is an outstanding example of Byzantine architecture. It was built to replace the original Sydney Markets. Remodeled in the 1930s it has housed a concert hall, City Library, and municipal offices. Refurbished in 1984 it now accommodates more than 200 shops. With a series of domes and domelets and exquisite stained glass windows along with extensive wood paneling the building has retained the turn-of-the-century charm. When in Sydney, Australia the QVC should be on your to see list.

            

    If you’ve been where sugar grows you may know that sugarcane is cut once a year and then regrows. After the third cutting the fields are burned and the remains plowed under.  Beans are then planted to replace the nitrogen to the soil, and then the next year sugarcane is planted to start the cycle over again.

            Australia’s Vegemite is made at the very end of the sugar process.

           

 The story was framed in our Sydney, Australia hotel room. The second part of the building was built of sandstone with Georgian flattened brick arches over the windows. Built as six terrace houses, it was known as Scarlett’s Cottages. Scarlett was a well-known lady of the night who lived and died in the area.

            Scarlett was Eric’s one true love, but although in a moment of thoughtlessness she declared her love for him, she did not mean it. However, Eric died before learning of Scarlett’s lie. It is well known that to this day Eric wanders the halls and rooms of the cottages searching and calling for Scarlett, who had met an untimely and tragic death. On occasion Eric has appeared in front of unknowing hotel staff members, questioning them of Scarlett’s whereabouts.

   We were staying in a haunted hotel! However, none of us ran into Eric’s ghost during our stay.

A really clean modern restroom:

 Our van driver detoured into Ashburton to show us an ultra modern restroom. The clean public unisex toilets were all push button. A button was pushed to close the door. Another button was pushed to dispense the TP. The toilet flushed only when the sensor activated soap and faucet were in use! Another button opened the door.

  A sign warns that at 9 minutes you will be given a warning and at 10 minutes the door will automatically open--- best that you be finished with your business! Really a very neat system. We again saw the same system at Queenstown, New Zealand Botanical Gardens.