Salzburg & Munich

We left Croatia feeling happy that we took the few days to check it out.  We would go back to explore farther south than we were able to get; it is a beautiful and fascinating area of the world.

View from the Castle in Salzburg

However, our time was running out, as our flight from Frankfurt to Denver was already booked.  Hustling back to catch it, we stopped for a couple nights in Austria, outside Salzburg.  What a treat! 

Our Airbnb apartment was one of the best; one we will remember fondly for a long time.  It occupied the lower floor of a home at the end of a country lane…the very last  house.  Next door was a huge farm perched on the hills.  Nothing but fields, hills and mountains in sight.  (We could almost imagine Maria singing on top of one of them.) The glory of watching the sun set in that breathtaking panorama amidst quiet stillness will stay with us always.

Platz where we watched the Magic Flute, Castle above

Our hosts were a wonderful, interesting couple retired from being a psychologist and university professor.  We liked them both very much.  Our first evening there they invited us to share wine in the little gazebo they had built on the property.  It felt like being in the glass gazebo out of “The Sound of Music” with the gorgeous surrounding hills.  No rain or falling in love, but a lovely setting.  The four of us seemed to be very compatible and it was an evening of wine and camaraderie.

We toured Salzburg, particularly the castle, which was very interesting and in the evening attended the outdoor cinema showing of one of the operas performed at the Salzburg Festival last year.  (The Festival was on while we were there, but getting tickets was an impossibility, both because it was sold out, and even if it weren’t, way too pricey for us.).  

What a nice experience to sit beneath the castle on the cliffs above and enjoy The Magic Flute on film with a bunch of other people munching an outdoor picnic.  Only had to tell the young girls behind us to stop their nonstop chatter once.  Fortunately they got up and left; not interested; don’t know why they came.

Ilsa, Manfred, Sue & Larry

We left this idyllic odyssey and drove on to Munich, where we were welcomed, as usual by dear Manfred and dear Ilsa.  As always, they treated us like royalty.  

Manfred took us to a typical Bavarian “white wurst” meal at a local farm:  long tables lined up, beer for all; lots of chatter and delicious homemade wurst—must be eaten the day it is made.  So delicious and such a neat experience.  On another day, we all went to a Palitinate Wine Festival--where the wine flowed freely.

We visited the beautiful lake where Ilsa and Manfred spend time.  As he said, why would you go anywhere when you have this kind of beauty in your own backyard.

At a Palitinate Wine Festival in Munich

We had some great German meals at home and in restaurants; saw more of the Bavarian area and got to spend time with Sabina and her two adorable daughters, Anna and Caroline.  As usual, we were so happy to spend the time.

We set out for Frankfurt to turn in the car (praying that they wouldn’t make us pay for the scratches we got in the front by scraping a stone wall in Italy—they didn’t; the beauty of leasing is that their insurance covers such stuff).  A stop in Rothenburg, Germay's best preserved walled town, for lunch brought yet more fascinating sights (see below).  We caught our flight (which we just made due to confusion in the airport and bad signage) and headed home.  Weary but happy as our European sojourn ended.

Sue & Manfred, cousins
 What a wonderful time we had from the send off in New Orleans, to the cruise, to the trip through Spain, our fantastic return to beloved Italy, touring another part of the world we were curious about and sharing parts of it with family and friends.  We are so lucky.  Perhaps we are not saving the world, but we are certainly experiencing it.  Who knows, it may lead to something worthwhile.  Right now it is our way of life and will be so until it isn’t.

Horseless Carriage in Rothenburg

Rothenburg's Rathaus

Typical architecture

Old carved door in Rothenburg

Slovenia & Croatia

Our AirBnB in Kopar

Although we have been back in Denver since early August  events, illness, and procrastination have kept us from posting to the blog until now, but we have been working on several posts to bring it up to date.  Here's the first.

After a great three week stay in Verona, we left on July 25th to spend a few days in Slovenia, Croatia and Austria before returning to Germany and catching our flight home from Frankfurt.

Slovenia coastline

Our first stop was Kopar, Slovenia--just four hours from Verona. The AirBnB apartment was out in the country, but the GPS got us pretty close, and with just a little help from a Slovenian farmer we were able to find it without getting completely lost.

In Rovinj

We only spent three days in Slovenia and certainly didn't get to explore the country in depth, but one thing that struck us during our visit is how completely different--both physically and culturally--the Slovenians are from the Italians. They were very hospitable and welcoming, but you cannot help noticing that they are not nearly as sophisticated as their Italian neighbors, although only a few kilometers and an invisible border separate them.

While in Slovenia, we took the opportunity to make a brief sortie into Croatia, with our destination being Rovinj (or Revigno in Italian).  The drive through the Istrian countryside was pretty unexciting.  We had hoped that the coastal road would take us along a scenic seaside, but for nearly two hours we barely glimpsed the sea.

Rovinj is situated on a small peninsula and has little parking, especially for visitors, so everyone has to park outside the city and walk the last kilometer or two, which we did.  As we left the parking lot, the skies opened, and everyone we passed on our walk into town was soaked to the skin, but, for once, we were prepared and our slickers and umbrellas kept us dry.

Sue selecting cheese at a man's doorstep

Rovinj was worth getting wet for, though; what a beautiful little gem of a town.  Described by some as the most Italian of all Croatian cities, it certainly reminded us of many of the Italian towns we have visited over the years, but it was very special in its own way.

As we walked into the town, Sue discovered a man who sold the most incredible truffle cheese.  She liked him immediately and in the course of just a few minutes they bonded. When she had the idea to ask him for a restaurant recommendation,  he directed us to his friend's tiny restaurant just a short distance down the street.

Dining at Dricastel

We had one of the best meals ever.  The restaurant, Driocastel, could have held no more than 20 customers, but we were the only guests. Between our basic Italian and the proprietor's halting English, we managed to communicate.  Her story is extraordinary: twenty years earlier, she had fled the fighting and wasteland of Zagreb and established this business in Rovinj. She made us feel so welcome and appreciated and the food she served was fantastic, especially the seafood risoto.

Rescue of Saint Euphemia's Sarcophagus 

We fell in love with the story of Saint Euphemia,  the city's patron saint, whose casket seems to have floated from Asia Minor and washed ashore at this Croatian seaside town.  She is thought to protect both residents of and visitors to Rovinj. Her casket rests in the cathedral at the town's highest point which affords a lovely view of  the town and the Adriatic.

View of the Adriatic from the Cathedral

We were able to spend only a few hours in Rovinj, but thought it one of the sweetest and most picturesque places we have visited, and we would really recommend it to anyone visiting Slovenia or the Istrian peninsula of Croatia.

Veneto Adventures, Part II

Two other venues we explored in the Veneto were Lake Garda and Valpolicella.  Everyone has heard of Lake Como, thanks to George Clooney, but many Italians told us to "skip it" and go to Lake Garda instead, and so we did.

Our first trip to the lake was a short day trip drive where we ended up in the little peninsular town of Sirmione.  We parked, strolled through a lovely park and found our way to the preserved castle gate at the peninsula's point.  We passed through the gate and throngs of tourists (not our favorite company, though we, too, share the label) swarmed the area.

Julie, Ian & Sue 

The lake itself is gorgeous and we enjoyed sitting on a bench listening to a street musician play some lovely tunes on her guitar. As in most places, our fondest memory will be of food.

We stumbled upon a lake-side restaurant with tables scattered on a lawn and enjoyed a wonderful fish concoction while watching a toddler, almost Charlie's age, amble about playing with his grandma.  We got a bit homesick.

Ian & Julie on the Gondola

Our second trip to Lake Garda needs to be prefaced with another story.  While attending the opera "Carmen" in Verona, we got to talking to a dear English couple, Julie and Ian, who were sitting beside us and were very excited to be seeing their first opera ever.

They were in Verona only for the evening as they were staying at Lake Garda.  We chatted before the performance, shared our blankets, as it became quite chilly that night, and planned to meet the next day at the lake.

Julie had been to the lake several times and was familiar with the best things to see and do.  She suggested we take the gondola or tram to the top of the mountain in Malcesine and have lunch at one of the alpine restaurants, to which we readily agreed.  When we met them the next day, it was clear that in Malcesine, as with most lakeside towns, the number of tourists is large and parking is a challenge.

Malcesine Castle

After driving here and there where there was supposed to be parking, and almost parking where we would surely have been ticketed, we lucked out and secured a space (the last one available) in the underground lot at the base of the funicular.  Beware, drivers in Europe--driving and finding parking can be most frustrating experiences.

Lake Garda at Malcesine

We all got our tickets and, thanks to Julie, positioned ourselves in the rotating funicular to get the best views as we ascended.

What a gorgeous panorama!  We were able to see much of the lake and surrounding mountains and it was fun to see the town become smaller and smaller as we rose higher and higher.

Malcesine

At the top were sheep and cows, and, even horses.  The views were spectacular but the temperature had dropped significantly at that height, and the sky held ominous dark clouds.  We chose a restaurant and sat outside--at first.

Soon, however, we opted to retreat indoors as a huge cloud moved towards us threatening to engulf us.  We all had a great Austrian themed meal with lots of good beer and sausage.  When we saw the staff of the restaurant begin to rush to bring in outdoor furniture, we decided that maybe we should head back to the funicular.

The threatening cloud

Good idea, but late execution--there was a long line.  We took our place and waited quite a while, getting soaked in the rain that began a few minutes later.  Fortunately we always have a sarong in our back pack and were able to use it as a rain shield.

Down below at lake's edge, the sun was shining, it was warm and beautiful.  On top of the mountain it was cloudy, cold and rainy.  A true Alpine experience for us.

View of Garda from above

When we reached lake level, we walked around the town, took a very interesting tour of the local castle and had perhaps the best gelato ever (Gelateria Cento Per Cento).  We were sad to say goodbye to Julie and Ian, as we had had such a nice time with them, but bid farewell and drove back to Verona. They live in England's Lake Country, and we hope to visit them someday; they made it sound so beautiful and enchanting.

Valpolicella:  A most wonderful day.  In 2013, Erin participated in a yoga retreat which was held in the vineyard/guest house of the aunt of Erin's friend, Miles. Erin was enchanted by the setting and its proprietor, Lucia, and had urged us to visit. Somehow, we never found the time to make the short trip to Valpolicella until the day before we were scheduled to leave Italy. We are so happy that we made the effort, got to meet Lucia, and to see Villa Monteleone.

Antony and Lucia Raimondi came to Valpolicella about 14 years ago with the dream of creating their own vineyard and guest house, Villa Monteleone. Even though Antony passed away a few short years later, Lucia has continued to run the guest house and, perhaps what's more impressive, to operate the vineyard and produce award winning wines.

She welcomed us with open arms, showed us her lovely home and introduced us to her winery.  We passed a couple of hours listening to Lucia, marveling at her story and pluck, and, of course, drinking some of her delicious wine. As we were leaving (naturally with some of her wine!), she invited us back, and we hope that we will be able to visit her again--she is an impressive and gracious lady and the setting is fantastic.

Larry, Lucia & Sue

Veneto Vignettes

Being in Verona provided us a perfect place to see other parts of the Veneto, and our three weeks in Romeo and Juliette's hometown gave us enough time to see a number of interesting places, including Venice, Padua, Valpolicella, and Lake Garda.

Maya & Sandra

When last we visited Venice, we vowed not to return--far too touristy and overpriced, but at the urging of our AIRbnb host, Sonia, and being only an hour's train ride away, we decided to make another visit, and we were glad we did.

We shared our visit with an Israeli mother and daughter, Sandra and Maya, whom we met while dining at an Indian restaurant in Verona. They had never visited Venice and we were delighted to introduce them.

Grand Canal in Venice

Rick Steves says that the best way to start one's visit to Venice is to take the slow vaporetto (water bus) up the Grand Canal, and so we did.  The Grand Canal is lined with beautiful, centuries-old homes and palazzi.

On a lovely, sunny summer's day, the ride from the Santa Lucia train station to Saint Mark's Square is almost magical.  Once we arrived at Saint Mark's, it was clear that the crazy Venetian tourist season was in full bore, so we quickly hopped on another vaporetto heading to Murano, one of Venice's smaller outlying islands.

Glass blowing demo

Murano,  is like Venice in miniature, including canals, bridges and stately homes. It is famous for its blown glass--and there are certainly hundreds of shops on the island selling it, ranging in price from $10 tourist trinkets (our price range) to $20K or $30K  art works.

Touring Murano

Canal in Murano

After a while you do get overwhelmed by all the displayed glass works, but it was a pleasant place to pass an afternoon and shop for gifts. As it is not quite as overrun with tourists as the rest of Venice, it's a good introduction. After a couple of hours, Sandra and Maya decided to venture back over to Venice itself, while we opted to continue exploring Murano--agreeing to meet up at the train station for the return to Verona.

Late in the afternoon, we took the boat back to Venice, and had an early dinner in the Saint Zaccaria area, dining on white wine and a shared dish of mussels and clams in marinara sauce at the Hotel Restaurant Savoia and Jolanda. Clearly geared for the tourist trade, they still manage to serve wonderful Italian food. With a gelato from a stand near the train station, we ended up our surprisingly pleasant trip to Venice.

Another one-day excursion took us to Padua, which is located between Verona and Venice.  We had planned to take the train there, as we had to Venice, but arriving at the train station in a pouring rain storm and unable to find a parking place, we decided to drive.  Five minutes outside of town, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and when we arrived in Padua we found parking, with very little trouble.

Kiss of Judas--One of the Giotto Frescoes

Padua, or as they say Padova, was once a rich and independent city state and today is home to one of Italy's largest universities.

During our short one day visit, we clearly missed a lot of its interesting sights and treasures, but we were fortunate enough to see the Scrovegni Chapel and its stunning 14th century frescoes by Giotto.

To preserve these early renaissance masterpieces, you can visit the chapel in small groups and then only for twenty minutes at a time. We were blown away!

We would compare the impact to seeing the Sistine Chapel, but you are with 30 not 300 people and the visit is one of quiet awe, not the cattle car chaos of the Vatican.

Twenty minutes doesn't seem like enough time, but it allows you to look at all of the frescoes and marvel at the true mastery of Giotto, who is said to have altered the style of painting human figures which became a huge step in art and prefaced the Italian Renaissance.  It was a once in a life time event for us, and we were glad we had not let ourselves be deterred by a rain storm and fear of lack of parking.

Marble relief at St. Anthony's Tomb

Not Saint Anthony

We finished our time in Padua with a tour of the Basilica of Saint Anthony,   one of Italy's most venerated saints. The Basilica and his tomb are visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually, looking for his blessing and intercession.  It was humbling to see pilgrims, many clutching photos, touching the tomb and presumably asking the saint to protect/bless lost loved ones.

Fresco in St. Anthony's Basilica

None of the art works approached the impact of the Giotto frescoes, but we enjoyed our visit to this very spiritual and peaceful place.

Sue took a picture of Larry (above) while waiting to see the Giotto frescoes.  Who knew he might have been a model for one of the pictured saints?

Verona: Home of the Laughing Saint

At the Arena for Un Ballo

 Last time we were in Italy, we had hoped to travel and see parts of the country other than Tuscany--but somehow, we never acted on those good intentions. Life was just too good in Tuscany.

This time we deliberately planned our trip so that we would see and stay in another region of Italy--more specifically, the Veneto, the area around Venice.  Once again relying on AirBnB, we found a tiny but comfortable studio in Verona, a smaller and less touristy town than Venice.

We are 15 minutes outside Verona centro, but it is easy to take a bus to main square, Piazza Bra.  The highlight(s) of our visit have been attending the operas performed in Verona's ancient Roman Arena.  We have seen four and a concert featuring Placido Domingo.  Placido's show was a disappointment  (rained out at intermission--which didn't bother us except for getting soaked to the skin waiting for a cab), but we thoroughly enjoyed the "spectaculos," of  Turandot, Carmen, Aida, and Un Ballo in Maschera.  Because the Arena's stage is so huge, the productions are very elaborate, often with two or three hundred people in gorgeous costumes singing and dancing across the stage, not to mention horses, fireworks...well, a spectacle.

Verona's Arean 

The Arena was first built in the 3rd Century and once held as many as 20,000 for games and other performances. Now renovated and updated, it makes for a wonderful, if usually very warm, summer evening.  We sit at the very top, sneak in food and drink (which is verboten), read the libretto on our iPhone and grab binoculars when the action on stage gets dramatic and/or particularly stunning.

Piazza Bra

We have gradually gotten to know and enjoy Verona. We like walking through the streets and piazzas.  Its center, Piazza Bra, includes the Arena, a small park, some impressive 17th- and 18th-century public buildings, and lots of restaurants, cafes, and gelaterias.  Evening passeggiato (walk-about on certain streets, chatting and window shopping--a custom we wish Americans would adopt)  is such a nice way to wrap up the day's activities.

Before and after the opera, the square is full of opera-goers--some in full evening dress and others, like us, in typical tourist garb, shorts and a T-shirt.  Italians are a beautiful people, and we see many lovely women and handsome men along with gorgeous little children.

When we get tired of walking, touring or shopping, we always reward ourselves with a gelato.  Who knew there could be so many gelaterias and that they could all have so many different flavors or that the gelato itself could vary so much? We could probably be here a year and not hit all of the stands and certainly not sample all of the flavors.

Costume for Don Gionvanni

We have had two very rewarding, but different museum experiences.  On our first day in the city, we stumbled upon an art exhibition featuring the hometown painter, Paulo Veronese. This was the first time so many of his paintings had been brought together, from museums and collections all over the world. Inclusive, but not overwhelming, it was an enchanting exhibit and a great introduction to Verona and to an artist we really didn't know very well, but will now never forget.

Just this week, our last, we finally got to the Opera Museum, which we thought we would be able to breeze through in half an hour, only to find ourselves fascinated and entertained for nearly three hours by the exhibits about opera and especially its impact on Verona.

The costume and set design exhibits were fantastic as was the use of technology to highlight and display original scores and librettos.  In one exhibit we were able to hear three different sopranos singing the aria, "Un Bel Di," from Madam Butterfly, and follow along in the holograph of Puccini's original score, with the computer showing you each of the notes as it was sung.  Amazing!

Every Italian city and town has an old church or many old churches, usually filled with painting, sculpture and other art, and Verona is no exception. What we found interesting and to some extent different about Verona's churches were the incredible number of frescoes and murals they contain, how intimate they seem, how well preserved some are and, surprisingly, how little security there seems to be.

San Zeno

Our favorite, perhaps, is the Basilica of San Zeno--Verona's patron saint. This lovely romanesque church, besides being the resting place for the "laughing saint" as he is sometimes called, offers some incredibly beautiful frescoes. Many of them are at eye level allowing you to walk up and view them close at hand.  Some have been there since the 13th century.

Weighed down with one's sins

San Zeno may be our favorite, also, as it is very close to our apartment, making it a very easy drive.  We are able to join neighborhood families during the cool of the evening and people watch. One of our favorite restaurants, Il Elefante Blu, is in Piazza Pazza (Crazy Square), just a few steps away. A non-Italian restaurant and thus providing a nice break from pasta, it features south Indian and Ceylonese cuisine.

As our time here comes to a close, we have only one regret.  Just a couple of days ago we discovered that we could have rented bikes for the entire time we have been here--that would have made the city center even more accessible and our forays easier to manage; perhaps next time!

Istanbul with Erin

 We had not seen our daughter, Erin, since last August when she left for her yearlong State Department assignment in Pakistan.  It has been a long, grueling and difficult stint for her, and we had missed seeing her, so we were very happy to meet up again in Istanbul, Turkey.

We were last in Turkey in 2000, and many things have changed.  Turkey has grown and prospered economically. Istanbul seems a first world city to us, and certainly is a lot more expensive than we remembered. Many more women seem to be covered and dressed quite conservatively, yet many Turks seem to be quite casual about their religion as well. And like so many places we have visited recently, it seems to be overrun with tourists.

The difference in the tourists is quite marked however; there are far more people from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa than you might see in a piazza in Rome or the Prado in Madrid. It was quite interesting also to see the number of Muslim women and their varied costumes, veils, and scarves. We often tried to pick out where they might be from, based on their clothing.

We arrived just as Ramadan began; this annual Muslim celebration involves fasting from dawn to dusk for thirty days. Although some Turks seem to fast and pray, many go about their business as well. Tourists as well are not expected to observe Ramadan fortunately.

One of the most interesting things that we did during our stay in Istanbul was to attend a performance of the "Whirling Dervishes." The Dervishes are members of the Sufi Muslim sect and part of their worship consists of whirling or turning in circles many times a minute to the accompaniment of musicians and singers chanting from the Koran.

It is hard to explain, but mesmerizing to watch.  Since it is part of a religious performance, no photographs are permitted and you are asked not to clap after the performance. We left the performance very calm and serene.

 Delighting in being with Erin, we seldom managed to visit more than one tourist sight a day. Our second day, though, we took a really great, two and one half hour boat ride along the Bosphorus.

Istanbul is home to perhaps 20 million. It straddles Europe and Asia, stretching 150 kilometers East to West and half that north to south. Many beautiful homes line the Bosphorus, so many that you wonder to yourself, "where do the poor live?"

Our one stop on the cruise was to visit the 600 year old Rumeli Fortress, built by the Sultan
Mehmet in 1452 to aid in the capture of Constantinople for the Ottoman Empire, something he accomplished in a few short months in 1454.

We stayed in the Old City, in the Esans Hotel, just a short walking distance from the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. The Esans is new and quite small with just eight rooms, but we were treated liked honored guests by all of the staff.  Every where we went in Istanbul, people were so nice and welcoming.

With so few foreign tourists being able to speak Turkish, many, many of the Turks speak and understand some English.  Again and again, we asked how to say hello and thank you, but never seemed to master even those rudimentary phrases.  Waiters, tour guides, and shop keepers, on the other hand, always seemed eager to practice their English, and often wanted to know where we were from. Many have friends and family members in the States.


The Blue Mosque, which is nearly 500 years old, is huge; its interior is covered in blue tiles and suffused with blue light streaming through Venetian glass window. Other than that, it is quite austere, but revered by many Muslims.

It is closed to tourists five times each day as it continues to be used for prayer and services. We all had to take off our shoes, and Sue and Erin had to cover their heads with a scarf--provided by the Mosque to all women who show up without them.

The Hagia Sophia dates from the 6th Century and served as a  Greek Orthodox cathedral for nearly a thousand years before being converted to a mosque in the 15th century.  Today it is a museum.

Like the Blue Mosque, which it faces across the Sultan Ahmed Square, it is huge, but it was much more elaborately decorated and, for us, more interesting.  Many of its icons and paintings were plastered over in times past, but some have been uncovered and are now being restored.  The ones we were able to see, although not fully restored, are hauntingly beautiful.

There is so much to see and do in Istanbul, and, in truth, we did very little.  Mostly we just wanted to relax and enjoy being with Erin, which we did.

Long lunches and dinners in small cafes and roof top restaurants were the norm.  We liked especially the mixed hors d'oeuvres plates (always asking for extra stuffed grape leaves) and the lamb and seafood.

Catching up on all that has happened this past year always gave us something to talk about.  It has been a difficult year for Erin in Pakistan; the security situation is often difficult and much of the time she can only go between work and home.

 Fortunately, we were never hurried and had plenty of time to talk and relax.  We especially enjoyed sitting on rooftop terraces, many of them with nice views of the Bosphorus and harbor.


The Turkish people love cats apparently, and everywhere we walked in the old city we seemed to encounter them, which Erin, our cat lover, really liked.

She often took time to pet and visit, while pining away for her own cat, Diego, whom she adopted while she was in Mexico City but had to leave behind in Washington, DC with a friend. Even though the cats seem to roam the city streets at will, most are very tame and well fed and often quite oblivious to us humans.

It was fun walking in the streets and alleys, looking into the shops and even venturing into some.  We would probably have gone into more, especially the carpet shops. The carpets are wonderfully beautiful works of art and craftsmanship, and just invite to be touched and admired, but once you entered a shop, you were all too often hounded and pressured, so it was not easy or pleasant to browse as much as we wanted.

But even while the Turkish merchant is trying to make the hard sell, he is always smiling and pleasant and inviting you to come back as you leave.

And go back we may someday: Turkey is a delightful mixture of exotic and familiar, and Istanbul is a cosmopolitan European city, still with a touch of the mysterious Orient.