GARNISH ISLAND

GARDEN PARADISE  

Garnish, a small island of 37 acres in County Cork, Ireland, was a most pleasant surprise. Glengariff meaning rugged glen, is tucked between the Caha Mountains and Bantry Bay and is where we boarded a small boat for the ten-minute ride to Garnish. The tide was half out so Harbor Seals were sunning and resting all over the rocks in the harbor. Garnish, the near island, is also called Ilnacullin, island of holly. The use of Ilnacullin distinguishes this beautiful tropical island paradise from another Garnish Island in County Kerry.

The island was originally used by the British as a defense against a Napoleonic invasion. A Martello Tower, thought to be the first in Ireland, is located at the highest point of the island.

In 1910 Annan Bryce bought the island and hired Harold Peto as the architect and garden designer. The Gulf Stream moderates the weather so sub-tropical plants thrive. The island is known to horticulturists around the world. It is a lovely subtropical island garden of beauty. The warm wet climate is perfect for growing such plants. The average rainfall 73 inches

Rhododendrons line the shore paths that revealed beautiful views of inlets, loughs and lounging seals. The walled garden, 100-meters long, contains many fine plants and shrubs with a Clock Tower in the western corner of the garden.

An Italian tearoom borders the southwest lawn of the formal Italian garden with its steps, terraces and pool. An avenue of Italian Cypress trees leads to the Grecian Temple The Caha Mountains are a magnificent backdrop to the Temple.

Except for the tower and tea house, no buildings are visible. Work sheds and storage areas are all hidden among the shrubbery and trees. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time wandering all the gardens and enjoying the beautiful tropical atmosphere. The colors of the garden rotate with the seasons.

The island was bequeathed to the Irish people in 1953, and is cared for by the Office of Public Works

The mild climate has turned Glengarriff into a winter resort town, and as a result craft chops abound as well as boatmen soliciting business

STOCKHOMN

SPECTACULAR CITY HALL   

One of the most spectacular buildings in Stockholm, Sweden is the elegant City Hall, Stadshuset. The 395’ high brick tower is topped with three crowns. There are three explanations for the crowns. They represent the three tribes that inhabited Sweden; they represent the three wise men; and they represent Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the three Scandinavian countries.

In 1923 eight million bricks went into making one of Europe’s finest public buildings. The brick work is 3- D in some places and is some of the finest brick masonry I’ve ever seen. More like a palace than a City Hall, each room is finer than the previous one.

The Blue Room, 1911, used for Nobel Prize presentations, was finished in 1923 with interruptions of WW I. The cost was estimated to be 6 million crowns, but actually cost 18 million crowns. All materials are from Sweden. The staircase steps are wide enough and shallow enough so Nobel winners can glide down them. There is a 10,000-pipe organ in the room and 1360 people can be seated for dinner.

The Parliament Room has high ceilings with wooden beams that represent the Viking past. The roof is V shaped. The doors are beautiful carved ones. The original Parliament had 100 members, 14 of whom were women. The women had their own red velvet room to confer in, while men would go off to the ‘smoking room’. Today there are 54 women in the 101 member parliament. There are 20 provinces in Stockholm. Members are elected for four years.

The tower is popular for weddings. The open ceiling has glass between it and the wall. Next to the tower is a room built specially to house several beautiful French tapestries.

The Prince Gallery is a long hall with large windows. On the wall opposite the windows a prince painted the reflection in pastel of what is seen out each window so everyone seated in the room would be looking at the same view. The windows were inset with top to bottom granite-type reliefs. In effect they framed the huge windows. They are beautiful and each one different.

The Three Crown Room contains 19 million 1/4 -inch pieces of glass and gold mosaic chips. The designs, done and completed in three years by a 27 year old, depict Sweden’s history. The entire walls are covered. The big eyes of the people were the artist’s desire. Its glitter is earth shattering and there are 200 color shades. About 30 tiles disappear each year, the majority of them on Nobel Prize night.

I’ve never seen a public building like Stockholm’s beautiful City Hall.

COCO CABS

A WHAT?

I was lucky to get to Cuba a month before President Bush cut off all travel to the island country. Our Havana hotel was right on the Malecon—a busy street we’d call the waterfront boulevard. We had wonderful views of the ocean, but we also had a terrific viewing position to watch all the well known 40s and 50s automobiles of my youth. Mingled among all these wonderful old cars were the cutest little yellow coco cabs.

I had been alerted to the coco cabs by a friend, so it was on top of my list to see and ride. Coco cabs are small, yellow, fiber-glass, open vehicles with a small gas engine. The top curves to cover the driver and two passengers who sit in the back. These 3-wheel ‘taxis’ are seen all over the city and the average fee for a ride to about anywhere was three dollars, US.

The coco cab is described many ways. A hollowed out coconut. Like a hat of ancient Hawaiian royalty. A circle with a bite taken out of it. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. You can decide how to describe them. They’re cute as can be and a lot of fun to ride. They look like they’d be slow, but they actually are pretty fast and zip in and out of traffic with no problems.

One evening we were returning to the hotel after a concert. The ocean was raging throwing huge amounts of water on the Malecon as the waves broke on the seawall. You could say our coco cab was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enough water splashed onto us to short out the engine. The driver tried and tried to restart the engine but finally ended up pushing the cab. We could see the hotel less than a block away so we paid him and walked to the hotel.

After visiting a museum in Remidos I was examining the pedicab which was our transportation in that Cuban city. After figuring out the bit different break, I asked the driver of our pedicab if I could peddle it back to the bus. He didn’t hesitate and jumped in the backseat with my traveling buddy. I mounted the bike and peddled off in the middle of our pedicab caravan. It was an easy bike ride and fun for me. I guess it caused quite a stir as everyone came out their front door to watch us. I have no idea what they were saying among themselves. I was having a good time!

INTERESTING CURIOSITIES

FUN TRIVIA

Pack Horse Bridges

While hiking in England we walked over the 400 year old Slater’s pack-horse bridge. These beautifully arched bridges over becks (small streams) are very narrow. There are many of these quaint 300-400 year-old bridges in good condition still standing in England.

Arched lumber was laid and anchored over the stream. A key stone was placed on the center top, then rocks were laid to the edges. When the wood was removed the rocks locked themselves in place. The pack horse bridges we passed over were very narrow requiring single file so it was hard to imagine a horse dragging a cart ---2 wheels vs. 4 on a wagon--- passing over them. These bridges are so sturdy I wonder if they could even be torn down.

Stile Gate
This is not really a gate, but a built-in mechanism to climb over a stone wall. We climbed over a few of them in England. We were told they were ancient stiles using cantilevered stones as steps. Large stones are left protruding out of the wall to be used as steps. A one shoe-wide hole in the top of the wall is used to place your foot and pivot to climb down the cantilevered stones on the other side to reach the ground. The first time maneuvering these stiles  was a bit of a challenge.

Coffee Shops and Cafés
In Amsterdam, Holland you might like to know that a coffee house and a café are not the same thing. You drink coffee in a café. You can legally buy up to 5 grams of pot in a coffee shop/house, but not drink coffee there.

A Bar
In Italy a bar is a sidewalk sandwich shop. One stands at a small round table, often surrounding a support pole, to eat a sandwich. By the way Italy seems to be totally unaware that we like condiments on our sandwiches. A piece of bread, slice of cheese and meat just needs a bit more to taste really good. Individual packets of mustard, ketchup, mayo and relish go with me on my next trip to Italy!

In the old ancient walled city of York, England, a bar is a gate and a gate is a bar. How’s that for confusing when seeking directions?

ANCIENT SOCAIL CLUB

THE ORDER OF GOOD CHEER

The Port Royal settlement in Nova Scotia, Canada was reconstructed in 1939 by the Canadian government from Champlain’s descriptions and engravings.

Seated on wooden benches at tables in the “meeting room”, the docent caught us eyeing the pewter tableware and said, “The pewter plates and mugs once used by the settlers contained 60% lead!”

I wonder what contribution that had on the life span centuries ago.

Grabbing a beaver tail and top hat, the young docent continued, “The prized fur in the 1600s was beaver tail. The pelts were shaved, then pounded and pressed to produce a felt that was used to make hats all around the world.

“Because of the long harsh winters Champlain established the Order of Good Cheer---the oldest social club in North America. Two or three times a week a member of the settlement was responsible for providing food and entertainment for the entire settlement of 35-40 men. This not only lifted the men’s spirits, but also provided a better diet, lessening illness. The addition of seafood---dolphin and seal, both high in vitamin C---prevented scurvy.”

The docent continued, “In those days Europeans were short, averaging just a bit over five feet, with an average lifespan of 35-40 years. Chief Membertou was over six-foot tall and was 100 years old! What was the difference? Well one was that the Indians bathed several times a week compared to the Europeans bathing only once a quarter---if it was necessary. That might have had something to do with it.”

I bet their clothes could stand all by themselves when they did take them off.

I was interested in the period dress of the college students working as docents for the summer.  Black felt, linen lined, knee-length pants were reminiscent of the knickers worn in the 1920-30s. A vest topped long-sleeve homespun white shirts.Wooden shoes, called sabot in French, were worn over knee-high woolen stockings.

When the Frenchmen would get angry at something they sometimes would take off their sabot (wooden shoe) and throw it into the cogwheel fouling things up, thus comes the word sabotage.

What a neat way for these young people to learn their history!

SOME IMPRESSIONS OF CHINA

Many Surprises

On the long airplane flight home from China I had plenty of time to contemplate about the trip and made a list of some of those things I found interesting or a surprise. There is no such thing as a small city in China, small might mean two million people. Even villages would be like a small US city.

The hawkers at all tourist sites in mainland China were annoying as they were in your face and just would not accept no. We were an oddity once we got outside Beijing. But even in Beijing one of our gals with long natural blond hair was asked numerous times to have her picture taken. It seems visiting Chinese from rural areas just were not used to seeing Caucasians.

I marvel over the fact that I managed to successfully use chopsticks eating all my meals with them, never needing to ask for a fork. Food was wonderful everywhere. Bottled water was easily available.

I also was amazed at the lack of western bathrooms. (I suspect there are a lot more now after the Olympics)

We saw no pregnant women in the big cities, but did see an occasional one in the rural areas. We did not see long hair on men. Children were almost always with grandparents. Split pants on toddles were pretty cute.

English was spoken a lot less than the literature indicated. However, it was not a problem.

Traffic was terrible everywhere. Cars went very fast and just dared a pedestrian to get in their way. In Hong Kong they did stop immediately when the light changed. Cars were small. Pickup trucks were very rare. Except in Chongqing bicycles were numerous angling for space on the road with all the automobiles. Many trishaws or tricycles were seen. In the country very primitive means of transportation and farming exist.

Tipping was expected everywhere. There was no such thing as a set price for anything---unless one was in an upscale department store, and then I’m not sure the price wasn’t negotiable even there. Bargaining is a way of life.

Airports were new, clean and nice. Cell phones were everywhere. Skyscrapers are creating new skylines. Buildings were going up everywhere. A huge grocery store in Beijing was a complete surprise with its escalators and three floors. Most often we were served warm wet towels in restaurants and in some places experienced automatic sensored hand-washing machines on entering.

Pet animals were seldom seen. Apparently it is expensive to license a dog. In rural areas we saw occasional dogs and cats. Birds were common pets in the cities.

Western dress was the norm. We saw virtually no ‘native’ dress, and on occasion that we did see any it was ceremonial.

There are many ways to spell the same word or place. The vastness of ancient sites was difficult to comprehend. They are soooo big. Interesting metal sculptures were all over the country. Billboards in the big cities had English added and some of the translations were really funny.

In a restaurant after a toast is made everyone bangs lightly on the glass turntable with his glass. A tipped teapot lid is a signal that more tea is needed.

In Hong Kong the city is full of reflecting glass skyscrapers. There are very few junks left in Victoria Harbor. The sampans are all motorized and pretty much a tourist attraction any more. Rickshaws in the city have disappeared. The subway system in Hong Kong was spotless; we used it with ease.

INNOVATIVE USE OF A PLASTIC BAG

FANTA IN A BAG

While were travelling on Costa Rica’s Independence Day we stopped in some small town to watch the local parade.

“I can’t believe how little some of the children are. They can’t be more than five or six. Look how well they march.” I remarked to my son.

He answered, “They must start music very young in the schools. These little ones are doing remarkably well playing their instruments.”

We stood watching the parade until it was over. Returning to our van one of the gals was thirsty so stopped in the equivalent of a 7-11 or Speedy stop.

She found a bottle of Fanta orange drink. When she paid for it the clerk asked, “Do you want a bag?” He spoke English so there was no misunderstanding him.

She kind of shrugged answering, “Okay.”

The clerk cracked the bottle for her and then proceeded to pour the drink into a plastic bag. He inserted a straw, gathered the bag at the top and handed it over the counter to her. How lucky she was that the bag didn’t leak!

We ran into her walking down the street a few minutes later. She and her husband were still laughing. They stopped long enough to tell us what had happened. Then I told them, “I have had to stay in a store and drink a soda in a couple of places where sodas are still only sold in glass bottles. And I’ve had a bottle emptied in a glass where the bottle never left the hand of the waitress.”

“Like you wanted to steal the bottle and take it home?”

“I guess so. They just never knew I only travel with a 22-inch roll-on and have no room for such nonsense.”

I’ve never had the experience of drinking soda from a bag, but I admit that since this incident, I never see a bottle of Fanta that this story doesn’t flash across my mind.

MONTE CARLO, MONACO

 BRING MONEY

The French call it a connish. We would call the narrow winding asphalt roadway with its hairpin curves simply a coastal road. Not doing the driving afforded me the opportunity to enjoy the marvelous views of the sparking Mediterranean below where boats and yachts were anchored in the coves. I’d be willing to bet that the people fortunate enough to live in the homes climbing up the steep hillsides take the spectacular scenery and views for granted as they see and live them every day.



The  Famous Monte Carlo

I always thought of the rock as Gibraltar, but from Nice, France we headed to Monaco, that tiny principality ruled by the Grimaldi family. We joined the crowd in front of the palace to watch the changing of the guard at 11:55 AM. Of course the guards change several times a day, but the band and all the hoopla takes place at noon.

It was a short walk from the palace to the church where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were married and are buried. This church has a special ‘royal entrance’. However, we entered through the regular doors and joined the short line to walk around to the back of the altar to view the royal grave sites.

Jacques Cousteau’s yellow submarine, near the entrance of the aquarium that he was associated with for many years, is a popular photo stop.

Flowers were gorgeous everywhere and the parks quiet, shady and lovely. It was an interesting visit, but I think I would rather quickly develop a case of rock fever .

Monaco is probably as well known for its famous casino, Monte Carlo, as it is for being the small principality that borders France. It was a short 10 minute ride to Monte Carlo, a very small area of Monaco. To enter Monte Carlo casino one must check cameras, show your passport and pay a 10 euro ($15) admission fee. I questioned our guide about the difference between Monte Carlo and the American casino only a few meters away. His answer, “The games are European.” That didn’t tell me much, but as one who can barely cope with a slot machine, I figured I’d never make it playing foreign games with French instructions. I really was only interested in seeing it.

The American casino is totally Vegas where the lights inside are blinding. We walked in, circled the area and walked out. At the sidewalk café we visited with friends and when I saw that a 12 oz bottle of chilled cola was going to set me back twelve dollars, I decided I really didn’t need it. Two scoops of ice cream with a dab of whip cream and a tiny wafer served in a dish was $22---I didn’t need that either. So, I guess the rule is if you go to Monte Carlo take money!

FABULOUS PALACE

WURZBURG PALACE

We’d met our local docent, Victoria, at the Residenz, the Prince-Bishop’s palace in the center of the city. Prince-Bishops ruled here for 4-5 centuries, but they lived in the fortress overlooking the city. When the bishops decided they wanted out of the fortress they built this baroque Residenz in 1720-44.

We were told, “This is the last and finest baroque castle in Germany. The castle shows unity and design unusual in such large structures.”

Upon entering, we faced a beautiful grand stairway leading to the upper floor. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, our animated guide told us, “In Maria Teresa's day you would walk upstairs with your back  straight and head  held high while slightly looking down your nose. You grasped your skirt with the right hand while your left hand is bent at the elbow with the little finger in the air. Then you walked up the stairs without looking down.”

Jan and I decided to give it a try. The steps were wide to accommodate a large foot and with only about a five-inch rise, the steps were very easy to navigate. We pretty much led the pack and I‘m sure the stodgy passengers behind us thought we were crazy. We made it all the way up the long, wide staircase without tripping or missing a step, but Jan couldn’t stop giggling---all the way to the top.

The rails of the grand stairway were decorated with statuary and lanterns. The palace is typically ornate baroque, with each room being more cluttered that the previous one.

At the top of the stairs the docent continued, “During WW II 90% of the city was destroyed when in March 1945, in fifteen minutes, 380,000 fire bombs were dropped on Wurzburg. The main part of the palace survived, but the wings were destroyed. The palace has 342 rooms, a church for the Bishop and lovely gardens. The ceiling fresco in this hallway is the largest in the world. Painted in just 13 months it depicts the four continents as they were known at that time. On one side is Europe, Africa on another, and Asia and North America on the other sides.” (She kept referring to North America as the United States.)

The main room is done in rococo, which personally I found very gaudy---baroque gone mad. The ceilings were beautiful and we were told the plaster master used no molds to create any of the design. At the time of our visit some of the ceilings were undergoing repair and renovation. We viewed Flemish tapestries and porcelain corner stoves.

In the bedroom she pointed out vents in the fireplace next to a small door saying, “Vials of perfume could be placed here and then the aroma would be blown into the room when there was a fire. Remember centuries ago people very seldom bathed. Sandalwood fans also served the purpose of disguising body order.” She passed around an old fan and amazingly the sweet scent still lingered.

As she was standing by a very pretty chest she told us, “Before indoor plumbing the bishops had toilet stewards who literally carried around the chamber pot. But as time went on,”---at this point she opened the lid of the cabinet and folded out the front panels to a reveal a commode chair. What a surprise! And the seat was padded at that.

In the mirror room, which had been completely rebuilt, there were 600 panes of glass, all painted in the reverse technique. She said, “It took eight years to restore this room so this room is only 16 years old. It was a real learning process for the artists to learn and perfect the reverse painting. Using the gold was a real challenge for them also.” Just beyond the ropes in this room was a lovely inlaid card table. She added, “The bishops liked to play cards, and with all these mirrors you can be assured they seldom lost a game.” She then demonstrated how cards could be seen from just about every angle. Even the ceiling was mirrored.

As we finished touring the palace we moved on to the chapel which was originally intended only for the bishop and his guests. However, today regular Sunday services, open to the public, are held. Saturdays are popular days for weddings.

Our animated guide made this a fun visit. Since I’ve visited so many colonial homes, castles and palaces, I always look for something new and different. This was a well worth visit, and I saw several things I had never seen before.

SOME NEW RULES

Another Bike Trip

After being fitted for our bikes, we always had a safety briefing where we were informed of specific rules for the country we were biking in.

Our Danish guide started by saying, “When making a left turn in Denmark be sure to square your corners—don’t cut them. Traffic lights turn green, yellow, red, but they also turn red, yellow, green, and there are no right turns on red.

"At many intersections large white triangles, called shark’s teeth, are painted across the street that must yield, and one must yield to all traffic. At especially dangerous intersections a big red cross is painted to remind you that not everyone obeys the signs.

"Traffic entering a traffic circle must yield to all traffic already in the circle and everyone must yield to bikers who follow a blue path painted on the outer edge of the circle. Traffic circle turn offs are particularly dangerous.”

Denmark is a land of bikers, everyone rides them, kids, adults, nuns, couriers, and in all sorts of dress including business suits and female business wear.

I noticed that biking shorts were seen only on foreigners. Danes didn’t seem to wear them. I couldn’t believe I huffed and puffed up the many hills while Danes passed me leisurely peddling away while carrying on a conversation with a friend. That’s what practice does for you!

There are 160 miles of bike paths in Copenhagen and every day 60,000 bikers enter the capital city. There are also 1700 city bikes and 125 stands for them. For 25 Krona one can use the bike all day and when it is returned to any city stand the 25 Krona is returned.

We had ferried among many islands and biked on the islands of Sealand, Fuen, Areo, Langland, Lolland, and Falster over paved paths, streets, gravel, through forests, through many wheat fields, along the sea, and up and down lots of hills.

Biking Denmark was leisurely and being my second bike trip I was a lot better prepared. We saw and visited a lot of interesting things. It was a fun trip. We’ll talk more about the country another day.

A FASCINATING PLACE

THE NOBEL PEACE CENTER

The Nobel Peace Center, opened in June 2005, is housed in the old renovated 1872 western railroad station. Overlooking the harbor in Oslo, Norway, it is close to City Hall.

The center has several interesting interactive displays with loads of information. The exhibits use film, digital communication and interactive displays from the state of the art tech world. The wall paper in one room had tiny pictures of the winners in different colors. If this had not been pointed out it would have escaped me, as it looked just like some sort of a print. One can learn about various Nobel winners and their activities as well as the remarkable life of Alfred Nobel.

Norway and Sweden were one country during Nobel’s lifetime., so the peace prize is presented in Oslo, in accordance of Nobel’s will. The other Nobel prizes are presented in Stockholm, Sweden.

Five people sit on the committee. The first prize was awarded in 1901. There are three components to the prize: ten million Swedish kroners, a diploma, and a Nobel medal.

The other Nobel categories include literature, physics, chemistry, and medicine. Over the years fourteen women have won. Fifteen prizes have been awarded to organizations, two to the American Red Cross in both WW I and WW II.

Alfred Nobel made a fortune in dynamite, in a business started by his father in Stockholm. He also developed smokeless gunpowder and held 300 patents. He had 20 factories around the world. He was well read and loved literature. He never married and had no children.

A good visit to this center could easily occupy a half day. It was a fascinating and interesting visit.

UNIQUE PLACE

POLAR BEAR JAIL

Churchill, Manitoba, Canada is the place most people go to see polar bears.
Bears are not allowed in town and when one, usually a juvenile who hasn’t yet learned the rules, does wander into town, he is captured and sent to polar bear jail to wait for Hudson Bay to freeze over.

Just before the season arrives bear traps are set out on the perimeter of town, and then checked every few hours. When a bear ventures into a trap, he is tranquilized and moved to polar bear jail. When the water freezes, he is transported to the bay and released. Jail can accommodate 27 bears, including several mothers and cubs.
Polar bear jail, located north of town at the old airport, occupies a large Quonset hut left from a WW II SAC base. At that time the base had 450 buildings and 3000 personnel. Most of the buildings have been torn down.

The old fire house, now houses oil spill equipment. The 9250-foot runway is always kept cleared, so in an emergency the largest of jets could land there. For us frequent flyers it’s kind of nice to know that in the middle of nowhere there is a safe emergency landing area.