CHAIN BRIDGE

An Interesting History     

In Budapest, Hungary, the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, built in 1849, was the first permanent bridge over the Danube River.

In the 1800s Count Szechenyi went to London where he was living the life of a playboy. When his father died, he went home for the funeral, but because the Danube was frozen, he could not get across the river and was unable to attend his father’s funeral.

 This experience so upset him that it changed his life. He remained home in Budapest and became one of the leading figures in the city during the last half of the 19^th century.  The pontoon bridge prior to the chain bridge had to be removed when ships passed, and it also was at the mercy of storms. A Scotsman, Adam Clark, was   commissioned to come to Budapest to oversee the massive construction project of building a permanent bridge across the river. Clark liked the city so much, he remained there for the rest of his life.

During WW II, 80% of the city was bombed.  Still the Nazis blew up all the bridges before retreating from the city. The Chain Bridge was the first bridge rebuilt after the war. It reopened in November 1949, exactly one hundred years after the first opening. Two years after the war ended, all the bridges in the city across the Danube had been rebuilt.

SITKA, ALASKA

 A Charming Historic Town

Once the capitol of Russian America, Sitka is a charming small town at the northern end of most Inland Passage cruise destinations. It has a fascinating history and plenty to see and do, other than shopping, to fill your day. All major sites in this walkable city can be covered . Like all small cities along the Inland Passageway, Sitka exhibits magnificent scenery.

Two things I wanted my grandchildren to see were St. Michael’s, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the New Archangel Dancers, and I wanted to hike a bit in the National Forest.

Although I visited several Russian Orthodox churches in Russia I still learned a couple of things from the knowledgeable docent. He explained the three-bar Russian cross.
I had never seen or known about a riza, an exact replica of an icon done in 3-D shiny metal. Only body parts are left uncovered. The removable riza gives a glittery view of the icon while protecting it.
During the 1966 fire, people fled to the church to carry out the 16^th century icons, a 400-pound chandelier and the heavy oak entrance doors.
The U.S. Metropolitan, similar to a Catholic Cardinal, was due to arrive at noon. We made it back to the church to witness his unpretentious arrival.

The New Archangel Dancers perform authentic Russian dances at Centennial Hall. None of the female dancers is a professional nor of Russian heritage. They dance for exercise, fun and to keep Sitka’s Russian heritage alive though dance. As I admired their agility, I wished I could squat and kick at the same time!

It’s a short walk to Castle Hill and the 92 steps up to the site where Russia passed Alaska to the United States. There is nothing left of Baranof’s castle and the fort is little more than a wall, a cannon and an American flag.  Across the street, on the old Russian parade grounds, is Pioneer House, a home for the indigent to live. Once free, there now is a sliding payment scale. The home is similar to our old Soldier and Sailor Homes.

Walking the mile-long totem loop-trail in the Tongass National Forest was a delight. We studied the 28 totems and paused at the site of the 1804 Russian-Tlingit battle.

Strolling back along

Lincoln Street

—the main street—we photographed St. Peter’s by the Sea, the Russian Bishop’s house, the oldest house in Sitka, and some park statuary before stopping at a hatchery.

The Sheldon Jackson Museum was a real jewel of a find. The first concrete building in Sitka, 1895, houses Indian artifacts and history of six native Alaskan tribes. Mary Bear was on site making Christmas decorations from seal skin and elk. She showed and explained an otter head belt that is traditionally given to a girl at menses.

Each city along the Inland Passage has something different to offer, but Sitka is probably my favorite city.

HOMBREW

THEY CAN BE POTENT

            

Although I have never experienced any American moonshine, I have experienced home brew concoctions in several places as I’ve traveled around the world.

           

In Budapest we were welcomed with an aperitif glass filled with a liquid called puszta. It was explained, “Puszta is used to welcome a friend and is made with white Tokay wine, apricot brandy and bitters. It is usually homemade.” What a nice welcome and although not much of a drinker I did enjoy the drink.

           

In Bulgaria the brandy-like drink is called rakiu and definitely should be sipped.  In Romania the home brew is a plum brandy. For some reason home brews always seem pretty potent to me.

In Davos, Switzerland I had a cherry-brandy that was really really strong. Its strength certainly could be compared to the strong grape-brandy I was handed in Croatia.

          

  In Finland, we were offered Lakka, a cloudberry liqueur schnapps. I thought it was very good. A cloudberry  looks something like a raspberry, but is salmon-orange in color and its bumps are larger.

Kir, originated in French cafes mid 19th century, is a popular drink in many places. It was further popularized by Felix Kir after World War II when he, as  mayor of Dijon, served the drink to promote his region's fine wines, and the name Kir has been associated with the drink ever since. There are many variations, but generally kir is made with a 1:9 ratio of white wine, often Chablis, and cassis. I’m not sure how the restaurant owner in Nice, France made his kir but I found it pretty potent.

            

When asked if I drink these various drinks, I respond, “After one sip I generally can find someone close by or at my table who is happy to finish it  for me so I don’t appear rude by not drinking it. There was one exception though, and that was the home-brew vodka made by the 80-year-old grandmother in Uglich, Russia. She had a magic touch and her vodka was very good.”

           

I’ll no doubt run into other drinks as I continue to travel and I’ll be game to at least give them a sip.

A FUN EVENING

A  MEDIEVAL  BANQUET

Sometimes when visiting a place there are just certain things that one must do---even if they are touristy. In County Clare, Ireland costumed knights greeted us as we entered Bunratty Castle.The main hall was decorated with large elk horns and 15-16^th century tapestries. In days of old, large chests would have stated the bride’s birth date and displayed the groom’s or lord’s crest.

           

A handsome charming knight handed us a glass of mead as he explained, “Mead is a honey wine that has been popular since the 15^h century. Made from honey it was thought to be a bit of an aphrodisiac. The bridal couple would drink a glass every evening for one moon, or one month, thus the term honeymoon.”

          

  I liked the drink and securing a refill was no problem. (However, after returning home and buying some mead at the local liquor store, it was a disappointment.  It was  nowhere as delicious as the fresh mead we’d imbibed in Ireland.)

           

We were given only a knife as a eating utensil. Of course it didn’t take us long to realize that this would have been the only eating utensil in medieval times. And this evening this is where we were.

Dinner started with a delicious potato-leek soup. That was easy to eat! All we had to do was pick up the bowl and drink the soup. Spare ribs followed the soup and of course ribs are considered finger food. After devouring the yummy ribs we made good use of the finger bowls on the table.

The half chicken that followed was accompanied with potatoes, carrots and broccoli, all manageable with a knife. It reminded me of using  chop sticks  making eating a slower pace than what most Americans are used to. The pace allowed for wonderful conversation and funny comments with our dinner partners.

Come dessert time and they took pity on us and served us a spoon to eat the strawberry mousse. A perfect ending to a great meal.  The food was excellent, but the wine served with dinner left a lot to be desired.

 The after dinner entertainment was exceptional. The singers had marvelous voices and both the harpist and fiddle player were outstanding.  It was a fun evening and a great way to bring our stay in County Clare to an end.

THE ANCIENT HUTONG

Sadly Disappearing

Hutong is a Mongolian word meaning little street. Hutongs, old residential neighborhoods, contain acres of low, flat-roofed buildings that are crisscrossed by narrow lanes. They are also known as courtyard house. As a family grew a room would be added reducing the courtyard area. Houses face east to west to catch the breezes. These ancient neighborhoods are endangered as they are being torn down and replaced with high rise apartments. However, twenty hutongs have been designated as historical sites and will be preserved. I’m glad I was able to visit Beijing, China before the 700-year old neighborhoods are gone.

The streets are laid out in a symmetrical pattern from the center of the neighborhood. The doors are square compared to the drum doors in the Forbidden City. High thresholds keep out dragons and the higher the threshold the higher the rank of the person living in the house.

The wonderful aromas of food cooking  stimulated our gastric juices just as we entered the home of one of the residents. The pretty courtyard was a surprise and impressive. The residence we visited was 100 years old, had nine rooms, a western toilet and had been in the family for four generations. After a dumpling-making demonstration we had a chance to try our hand at that craft. We enjoyed a great meal while talking with our hosts.

After lunch we walked a short distance to visit a 90-year-old woman who had her feet bound at age five. The 1000-year-old custom of foot binding was outlawed in 1911, but was practiced in rural areas for some time afterward. Foot binding first started with concubines in the imperial court and spread to the city, then to rural areas. Tiny feet showed high class, and the thinking was that wealthy women would have servants to address their needs. Bound feet limited a woman’s mobility, therefore, keeping her under male control. Unable to walk long distances a woman was unlikely to get into trouble. The procedure of curling the toes under so they eventually grew into the foot was painful. The lady was charming and with some translating it was fun to talk to her.

The narrow streets cannot accommodate anything larger than bicycle trishaws which are run exclusively by hutong residents. The drivers rotate like taxi cabs do at airports.

A STRANGE DISMISSAL

THANK YOU, BYE!
In Switzerland we all took a book along for the nearly all-day ride on the Glacier Express from Davos to Interlaken. However, the scenery was so spectacular on the world’s slowest express that none of us ever opened our book! The full trainride runs from St. Moritz to Zermatt, Switzerland.

It was an extraordinary engineering feat to build this railroad with its 91 tunnels and 291 bridges. It was a little scary to look out the window at an approaching curve and see nothing but a bridge suspended over a gorge. After awhile it became a familiar sight. As we climbed up to the pass at 6668-feet the train went so slow that I thought it might stop. Oh, no, I don’t want to roll down backwards!

The train tracks switchback between alpine valleys and mountain passes. The scenery is fantabulous and it’s got to be the most scenic train ride in the world! Oohs and ashs peppered our conversation.

At noontime the steward came to our car to inform us that it was our time for dinner in the dining car. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch complete with wine and dessert served on linen covered tables and with real silverware and linen napkins. We continued to enjoy the scenery as we dined.

Engrossed in our good time it took us a minute or two to understand our waiter as he stood at the end of the table repeating, “Thank you, bye. Thank you, bye. Thank you, bye.”

Eventually we realized our dining hour had come to an end. With a smile and a thank you to the waiter, we got up and left the dining car.

TRAINS, SUBWAYS AND SUCH

Modes of Transportation

Traveling around the world has involved many different types of conveyances including subways, metros, undergrounds—whatever they are called where ever one is. When in Paris we hopped on the metro to go to Versailles. As we approached the transfer station to catch the train that would take us to our destination we made our way to the exit door and as the train stopped we waited for the door to open. It did not. Just as I was thinking about how slow the door was, a young man in the seat nearest to the door reached over and pushed down the lever or door handle.

Surprised we turned simultaneously saying thank you. Standing on the platform as the train pulled out we looked at each other and I asked, “Do you feel as stupid as I do?”

“You betcha!”

We were fast learners and had no further problems in France with the train or metro doors!


What's a Rotair?
In Switzerland, after getting tickets at the Titlis rail station we boarded gondolas. Half way up the mountain we transferred from the small gondolas to a large standup gondola for the ride to the next platform. Finally we transferred into the Rotair, the world’s only rotating gondola. Also a large standup gondola the floor  rotates 360 degrees in minutes. It was pretty impressive and when we came out of the clouds the gondola was filled with a chorus of oohs and aahs. The magnificent views were awesome!

At the top of this glacier people were playing in the snow, and of course we joined them and was surprised to find it was not as cold as one would think.

Many more transportation stories later.

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.

THE CURIOUS KILT

All About Kilts
I, for one, love the kilt and thoroughly enjoyed a visit to a kilt maker in Inverness, Scotland where I learned that over 3000 tartans are divided into three groups: clan tartans, army tartans, and city tartans. Today there are also tartans that can be worn by anyone. Often businesses design their own tartan. The advent of color TV made dress tartans very popular. Ancient tartans are very dark because of the lack and availability of dyes. All tartans are plaids, but not all plaids are tartans. A tartan has the same pattern of colors and strips, no matter from what direction it is viewed.

Originally tartan referred specifically to a mantle of cloth draped over the back and shoulder. Kilts can be traced back to 1471. Clans developed special dying and weaving techniques with colors and patterns. The craft of dying with various plants and bark was raised to an art form and was a source of pride to the clan. Tartans came into fashion during Queen Victoria’s time when Albert wore a kilt and made all things Scottish popular.

Originally the kilt was called a faelmor (sounds like filimore) and was simply a blanket of unwashed wool. Wrapped around the waist it formed a covering. With part of it tossed over the shoulder a pouch-purse could be formed in the front chest, and wrapped a different way it formed a knapsack in back for carrying articles. At night the faelmor substituted for a blanket.

A kilt uses eight yards of fabric and is specially measured and handmade. Kilts have 27-29 pleats in the back. After pleating, the fabric is cut away about four inches down from the top to allow for a facing and to reduce the bulk around the waist. The kilt just covers the knee. The straps and buckle are the last things attached before pressing. It takes 8-10 hours to make a kilt and 3-5 years of training before a kilt maker is left on her own.

There are strict rules for wearing a kilt; however, there are no rules for how women can wear a tartan.

The purse-like sporran is worn in the front of the kilt. The number and kind of tassels on the sporran identifies the regiment.

Wine Stories

A COUPLE WINE STORIES

Normally in Europe drinks are not included with your meal. One even pays for water and 95% of the time it will be bottled water. When I was biking Bordeaux, France we had the company boss biking along with us. Every evening we were served wine with our meal. The fellows were not at all shy about raising an empty bottle to be replaced. The wine flowed the whole trip. We assumed all the neat boutique hotels were saying thank you to the boss for his business. Although in a region where wine was plentiful and reasonable, some would say cheap, it was nice to be the beneficiary of their generosity.

Tug of the Cork
Late in the afternoon of the first day in Warsaw we walked a couple of blocks to a local store to buy bottled water in large containers. While there we also bought a bottle of wine.
It took both Jan and me to open that bottle of wine. It was the year before 9/11 and the changes that event brought to travel. I had packed my handy dandy Swiss army knife, but wished I had packed my good cork screw. I was afraid that I would ruin the cork.

It was a struggle, but with each of us pulling in a different direction, with Jan holding the bottle at its base and my pulling in the opposite direction on the corkscrew, we eventually popped the cork.
Jan remarked, “Hey we didn’t even get cork pieces in the bottle.”

We even had ice in the room which was a plus as I really like my wine cold.

After tasting the wine I said, “For a $2.50 bottle of wine, this isn’t bad.”

We celebrated out arrival in Poland and the start of three weeks in Eastern Europe.

Watering the Vineyard
We had dinner one evening in the Hungarian countryside at a winery.

Dinner was very good, but the wines from this award winning vintner left a lot to be desired for my palate. This was a surprise as we had drunk some very good Hungarian wines. We were seated on a large wrap-around porch at the edge of the vineyard. Fortunately I was seated at the rail which gave me easy access to the plants that I watered with each successive glass of wine that came my way.

The gal pouring the varieties of wine held a handled glass container with a 30” long spout which she covered with her finger to stop the flow of wine as she move from glass to glass.. We did note that a few more rules would apply to this process in the states. Even though I did not indulge in more than tasting the wines, it was a fun and different evening.

In the Czech Republic we visited a Mozart museum where we also had the privilege to attend a private concert. After the concert we were given a glass of champagne and had a chance to wander the lovely manicured grounds. I’m not much of a champagne drinker so after a sip or two I watered the lawn. I needed to be sober to climb the hill and touch that concrete table where Mozart sat while he composed Don Giovanni in 1787.

I have several wine and many ice stories which I’ll eventually relate to you my readers.

An Island State

TASMANIA HIGHLIGHTS

Tasmania is the only island state of Australia’s seven states. We had an early morning flight from Sydney to Hobart, Tasmania’s capitol. The population of a half million occupies one of its four cities. Much of the island is impenetrable rain forest and unexplored. The entire Tasmanian aboriginal population was wiped out 73 years after the first Europeans arrived. The last, a female, of the 6000 full-blooded aborigines died in 1876.

Our first stop was at the lovely botanical gardens. Azaleas and rhododendrons were in bloom and simply gorgeous, the blooms the largest I’ve ever seen. In the true English tradition, the gardens were well kept, spacious, and filled with both native and imported plants. The park just got prettier and prettier as we walked along. There were ponds, bridges, specialty gardens, flower gardens in bloom, and green lawns. There were many benches where one could sit and rest, contemplate, whatever. Colorful Eastern Rosellas were flying around everywhere. We all wanted to spend more time in the peaceful gardens.

At Hobart's waterfront stands Salamanca, a series of old warehouses. Built in 1930, they stored apples, corn, and wheat for export. At one time there was a jam factory in the building. The area was easy walking distance from our hotel. Warm sandstone buildings line the uncrowded waterfront. Once abandoned, now the area is filled with trendy restaurants, sidewalk cafes, stores, and art studios.

While in Tasmania we stayed at Lenna of Hobart, a stately mansion located on a hill in the heart of historic Battery Point. Well located, it was easy walking distance to the city center. The mansion had a widow’s walk, and since I’d never been on one, we walked up a stair-ladder and was amazed at the fantastic view it offered. The area was encased in glass panels, including the roof and it was quite warm inside. One couldn’t help but think about how many women might have watched for their man to come home from the sea.