The
trip began on Wednesday, August 14, 2013
at 7:35 p.m. on American Airlines flight 78 from DFW terminal D to London. This was followed by British Airways flight
984 to Berlin after a two hour+ layover at Heathrow (LHR), which was crowded
and which required a lot of walking. I was lucky to catch an airport
transporter for part of the transfer between terminals 3 and 5. I arrived in Berlin on time Thursday, August 15 at 4:35 p.m. and
was met at the gate by a Grand Circle Tours representative. I was the last of the 37 tour members to
arrive, and only had about 2 hours of sleep on the planes in the preceding 40
odd hours. We met our Tour Director,
Tomas Brabec (more later) who gave us an orientation followed by an introductory
dinner at the Berlin Grand Wyndham, a beautiful and ultra modern hotel.
German currency is the euro, about
$1.35 per euro. Gasoline costs $8.00
plus per gallon. Germany is the
wealthiest country in Europe with a standard of living comparable to the
U.S. Per capita GDP is $39,700 vs
$50,700 in U.S. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html
On Friday, August 16 we took a bus and walking tour of Berlin in the
morning. Danuta (from Poland) was our
bus driver; Alex was our guide. Weather
was clear and sunny and high 80’s at mid day.
We started east of what was the Berlin wall and stopped at several
places along the wall, on both the eastern and western sides. We walked through the Brandenburg Gate from
east to west and ultimately motored over to the Check Point Charlie area. I had been in this area in 1962 at the height
of the Berlin crisis and saw U.S. and Soviet tanks facing each other across the
checkpoint. At that time in 1962, we had
just driven into Berlin from Denmark.
Back to this tour, we stopped at the Haulocast Memorial comprised of monlithic concrete
blocks, and saw various sites representative of modern Berlin. My impressions were that Berlin is a wealthy,
cosmpolitan city that, in its reintegrated form, has regained its role as the
capitol of modern Germany. I was
surpised at the large number if bicycles being used on the streets (reminiscent
of Holland in the 1960’s). I was also struck with the very concious attention
to cleanliness and the environment.
On the afternoon of Friday, August 16 we visited Potsdam, where we walked over the
Glienicke Bridge, better known as the “Bridge of Spies” during the Cold
War. We then visited the Cecilienhof
Palace where Stalin, Truman, and Churchill met to determine how to deal with a
defeated Germany. We also walked through the gardens at Sanssouci Park. We had dinner at the Sanssouci Restaurant,
which featured an excellent rouladen.
Gisela would have been impressed.
I telephoned Joan via Magic-Jack later at the hotel.
The
next day, Saturday, August 17, we
travelled from Berlin to Warsaw by train, leaving about 8 a.m., and arriving at
3:30 p.m. Tomas and GCT handled
boarding, luggage and other logistics for 37 people with alacrity and
considerable aplomb. The train itself
was modern, fast and efficient. Weather
was sunny, warm, about 80 degrees. First
impressions of Poland were that the Polish countryside was flat, with power
windmills, farms, little towns, etc. It
could have been Pennsylvania or Ohio. Flora/fauna were similar to New England –
corn, vegetables, white birches, cattle, and sheep.
I
had a nice discussion with Tomas Brabec, our tour director, mainly in English,
but also in some limited Polish. I also
listened to an interchange between Tomas and a pretty Polish young woman who
boarded the train at one of the Polish towns.
Tomas is happily married with 2 boys, so I tweaked him a bit about
flirting (not really) with the Polish gal.
Tomas lives just north of Prague and works restoring antiquities for the
Czech National Historic Office, has a small farm, and does 2-3 tours a year for
GCT. He had some interesting commentary
on The European Union and its effects on countries, small business, etc.
I
couldn’t help but note that as we disembarked in Warsaw from our train from
Berlin, a train marked for Moscow was waiting on the opposite track. Not at all like times past, certainly not 70
years ago.
After
arriving and orientation at the Warsaw Westin Hotel, we had a fixed dinner at
the Folk Gospoda Restaurant near the hotel – not particularly Polish fare, but
they had pierogi on the menu.
I
later called several people in the U.S. with the Magic Jack. (Scully, Delinski Arthur).
I also watched a little of the Red Sox – Yankees game and the Cowboys
game on my laptop using the Dish Anywhere software.
Poland
is a member of the European Union and NATO, but they are not yet on the Euro.
Polish currency is the zloty, or Pln (pronounced zwoty). About 3.3 zloty/$. Gasoline costs $7.00 plus per gallon. Per capita GDP is $20,900. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html
During
the warm (85 degree) morning of Sunday,
August 18 we did a
half-day Warsaw city tour with guide Phillip. The Nazis destroyed nearly 90% of Warsaw during
the early 1940’s in a systematic attempt to eradicate the city from existence. Much of Warsaw has now been pride fully restored
from Nazi (and Soviet) predations. Original
structures & materials were used when possible and supplemented with new
building materials. The Polish are very conscious of what the Nazis and Soviets
did to their country and people. They are still negative about Russia after 24
years, but are more positive toward wealthy Germany (their major trading
partner) after 70 years. (Follow the money). They still get gas and oil supplies from
Russia, so they are not too overtly negative about Russia, but they joined NATO
as soon as they could after the normalization from Communism. Belarus and Ukraine now border Poland on the
east rather than Russia (Poland still borders a small part of Russia to the
north). Warsaw now has 1.8 million people with
3.5 million in the metro area. Warsaw
in 1939 had 1.2 million people including 360,000 Jews. It now has 2000 Jews, with 22,000 Jews in all
of Poland.
Included in our tour was the historic reconstructed
Old Town, surrounded by 14th and 15th-century walls and located on the left
bank of the Vistula, the "Queen of Polish Rivers”. Next was the Royal Road, from Lazienki Park
to the Royal Palace and Heroes of the Ghetto Memorial, a large but simple slab
of dark granite in the heart of the World War II Jewish ghetto. We also visited several other commemorative
sites, namely monuments to Marszalek Pilsudski and Frederik Chopin.
Many Polish families and people were out enjoying the warm summer Sunday weather. Lunch consisted of pretty good pierogi at a
side street restaurant and a kielbasa that was more like a German wurst, than
Polish kielbasa. I started walking back
to the Westin hotel, but got tired and took a cab for Pln 12 (about $3.00).
Our
home cooked dinner was at a bed and breakfast operated by a Polish family about 20 km
West of Warsaw. Our hosts were Alicja
& Bogdan Krolasik, and son Tom. The dinner consisted of Rosu, golobki, etc., (chicken
soup, stuffed cabbage for you Philistines), and great intellectual conversation
with 25 year old pre-doc ( law/history), Tom, on Polish history & current orientation in
Europe. When someone in our group asked
how the Polish people managed to remain Polish and Catholic after nearly a
century of Nazi and Soviet occupation, I gave an example of Polish resolve by
telling the story of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams, Massachusetts. The parishioners in Adams would not heed the
bishop’s ruling to close down the church
in late 2008, and instead held a “vigil” or sit-in for nearly three years while
they appealed (in numerous stages) to the Vatican. They won the appeal, and the church is now open
and still celebrates Mass. http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1870454_1822866,00.html
Call it stubbornness or Polish resolve, but
the story illustrates the Polish psyche.
Poland was carved up by its neighbors and did not exist during several
stages of its history, including the Nazi/Soviet partition in the 1940’s. It was part of Austria/Hungary earlier in the
20th century. None of that
mattered. Whatever the government or
lack thereof, one cannot tell a Pole that he is not Polish, or Catholic, or
part of the Polish nation – no matter what.
On
Monday August 19, we had a meeting
with Adam Kowalewski, the son of an Polish Catholic Auschwitz survivor, who
related the story of his father Jerzey, who was
scheduled to talk to us, but who died in late July, 2013. Jerzey, the father was born in 1923. He was incarcerated in Auschwitz,
Gross-Rosen, and Dachau. After the war
he went to England where he worked in
the printing trade, and then to Argentina where he met young Evita Peron. He found his mother in Warsaw through the Red
Cross and returned to communist Poland.
Jerzey Fought against Nazis & communists. He knew English, French,
Italian, German, Spanish, and Polish and worked as a relatively low level
translator under communism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLJW3MNTmSI
The
weather continued fair, but a little cooler.
In the afternoon, I went to the top of the Soviet "wedding
cake" building with our East Indian sub group. This is a massive building featuring
Soviet art & architecture with good views of Warsaw. We combined with some young tourists from
Estonia to get a group entry fee.
I
later had pierogi and dessert at the Folk Gospoda Restaurant.
Tuesday, August
20
saw us travelling from Warsaw to Krakow (about 350 miles) with a mid-day stop
at Czestochowa
(Jasna Gora). Rain developed and we had
light rain most of the day with temperatures in the 70’s. Road stops were made every two hours or so,
mainly at McStops – McDonalds on the road with free bathrooms. Tomas gave us a dissertation on EU bureaucracy and life in modern Europe as we
travelled. Side note: most of the Polish
gas stations are run by Orlen, the private capital successor to the communist
state oil company. There are a few BP
and Shell stations, but I did not see any Exxon or Chevron stations (nor in
Czech Republic or Hungary). Gasoline
cost is a little over $7.00 per gallon.
Also, Tomas related that ethanol from corn is not used in gasoline in
the EU. Instead they add ethanol and
bio-mass fuel to diesel. LPG (propane)
is less than half price (about PLN 2.20/liter rather than PLN 5.60)
We
visited the church at Czestochowa
which houses the Black Madonna a Byzantine painting of the Virgin Mary that is
housed in the hilltop Jasna Gora Monastery. The portrait, which is attributed
to St. Luke, has several levels of significance to the Polish people. It became
the eternal symbol of Polish nationalism in the 17th century when a small band
of soldiers and monks successfully defended the sanctuary against a Swedish
assault. Additionally, the portrait is
said to have miraculous powers. The slashes on her cheeks are believed to have
been wrought by a would-be thief who became enraged during his attempted theft
when the painting mysteriously grew heavier and heavier, forcing him to leave
it behind. When we were there, people
were walking on their knees to approach the icon of the Black Madonna. Vandals threw paint at the icon in December,
2012, so it was protected by a silvery screen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Madonna
We had lunch on the way at a nice Polish restaurant,
and got to Krakow in the rain in the late afternoon. We had kluski (noodles) with tomato sauce for
dinner, and listened and danced to a Southern Polish folk band at the Radisson
Blu Krakow hotel.
We
had a lecture first thing on Wednesday, August
21, on the age of Copernicus by Professora Pankowska? Of Krakow University. In the fifteenth century, the
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus studied at the University of Krakow, fostering a
love of science, mathematics, and philosophy that would help to fuel his
subsequent revolutionary scientific breakthroughs. Also covered were the sculptor, Veit Stoss;
the humanist, Bouno Costi? ; and the medieval queen, St. Kinga.
We then did a bus and walking tour to explore Krakow's
seven centuries of architecture, cathedrals, churches, and sacred art. Krakow survived World War II with little
damage, and the city center stands today much as it did during its medieval
days. We visited Vawel Castle, and Market
Square, the center of city life for more than 700 years with its elegant plaza
ringed with churches and regal medieval buildings. We also walked through the Old Jewish quarter
of Kazimierz. We visited Oskar
Schindler’s factory museum, which is a
tribute to Schindler, the Jews he saved, and to Steven Spielberg’s movie
“Schindler’s List”. A lot of walking!
In the afternoon of Wednesday, August 21, we visited the Wieliczka salt mines—working mines
that have been in operation for more than seven centuries, producing about 700
tons of pure salt per day. There are
more than 2,000 caverns on nine main levels—breathtaking chambers, galleries,
and salt lakes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine . We took a
functioning mine elevator partway down, and walked a further 435 steps to the
bottom. This was definitely a challenge,
but worth it, to my legs, hips, knees, back.
I had pierogi for dinner at a restaurant near the salt mine. I slept well for 8 hours that evening. Weather on the 21st was cloudy,
threatening rain, but not rainy.
Temperature in the mid 70’s.
On
Thursday, August 22 we visited
Auschwitz (Oswiecim, pronounced “oss
vien chiem”) and Birkenau (Brzezinka),
also known as Auschwitz 2, about 1 ½ hours west of Krakow. We watched an orientation film on the bus by
Lech Piotrowski about the concentration camps.
Our tour guide in the camps was Gabriella a young Polish college
graduate. We observed the sorting areas,
gassing “showers”, crematoria, and medical laboratories that I had previously
read about. I had seen the concentration
camp, Dachau, outside of Munich, in 1967, but I had never seen anything on the
scale of these two extermination camps.
It is difficult to comment with some measure
of equanimity on the horror elicited by these extermination camps. The Nazis created an industry concerned with
killing people that they considered “undesirable”. Not just Jews: also Poles, Gypsies,
Communists, homosexuals, cripples. This
is an extracted list:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006050806108
5.1–6.0
million Jews, including 3.0–3.5 million Polish Jews
1.8 –1.9 million non-Jewish Poles (includes all those killed in executions or those that died in prisons, labor, and concentration camps, as well as civilians killed in the 1939 invasion and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising)
500,000–1.2 million Serbs killed by Croat Nazis
200,000–800,000 Roma & Sinti
200,000–300,000 people with disabilities
80,000–200,000 Freemasons [23]
100,000 communists
10,000–25,000 homosexual men
2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
1.8 –1.9 million non-Jewish Poles (includes all those killed in executions or those that died in prisons, labor, and concentration camps, as well as civilians killed in the 1939 invasion and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising)
500,000–1.2 million Serbs killed by Croat Nazis
200,000–800,000 Roma & Sinti
200,000–300,000 people with disabilities
80,000–200,000 Freemasons [23]
100,000 communists
10,000–25,000 homosexual men
2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
The
following groups of people were also killed by the Nazi regime, but there is
little evidence that the Nazis planned to systematically target them for
genocide as was the case for the groups above.
3.5–6 million other Slavic civilians
2.5–4 million Soviet POWs
1–1.5 million political dissidents
Additionally, the Nazis' allies, the UstaÅ¡a regime in Croatia conducted its own campaign of mass extermination against the Serbs in the areas which it controlled, resulting in the deaths of at least 330,000–390,000 Serbs.
3.5–6 million other Slavic civilians
2.5–4 million Soviet POWs
1–1.5 million political dissidents
Additionally, the Nazis' allies, the UstaÅ¡a regime in Croatia conducted its own campaign of mass extermination against the Serbs in the areas which it controlled, resulting in the deaths of at least 330,000–390,000 Serbs.
The Nazis engineered the camps to kill more
efficiently and to make use of all of the raw materials resulting from this
slaughter – hair, teeth, skin, clothing, eye glasses, etc. Nothing was wasted
in this efficient Nazi endeavor.
I take care to use Nazi, rather than German
in this discussion. By “Nazi” is meant
specifically the National Socialist German Workers' Party government dictatorship headed by Adolph Hitler and in
power in Germany from 1934 into 1945.
A horror even more sociologically relevant
than the killing industry and the extermination camps is the fact that this
happened in Germany, which is a fount of western values. This is the country that gave us Beethoven,
Mozart, Kant, Goethe; and on and on. The
fact that a modern western country like Germany could come under the influence
of the group of Nazi megalomaniacs headed by Hitler is beyond belief. We certainly should never forget.
It was encouraging to see that many young
people were in the crowds visiting the camps.
I believe that this is extremely important. It’s fine for us older folks who were alive
during WWII and for us mavens of historical knowledge to remember these
horrors, but the younger generation needs to know what happened and to prevent
such a thing ever happening again.
Later, back in Krakow, we had another, more
extensive tour of the Jewish Kazimirez area. Walked back to the hotel, and I later had a sausage dinner from a
street vendor. Not the best kielbasa,
but passable.
Friday August 23. We did a
full-day tour to Zakopane, 70 miles south of Krakow, a lovely town in the
foothills of the Tatra Mountains, which are 20% in Poland and 80% in
Slovakia. On the way there, Tomas told
us the saga of his bull Edward’s escape and capture. Zakopane and the Tatras were first mentioned as a winter recreational
area in 1605. The maximum height in the
Tatras is 9000 ft. Our maximum height
today was 3700 ft. The ride through the
area was quite reminiscent of the Berkshires.
This is a major area for winter sports, particularly
for ski jumping. It rains or snows in this
area 265 days a year. Zakopane offered a
look into the richness of Polish folk culture, as well as some of the region's
most striking wooden architecture. We
toured the town known as the “winter capital of Poland and the local market. We also visited an Old Catholic cemetery
dating back to the 14th century.
We ate at a local restaurant, listened to the unique “gorale” or
mountaineer music and danced with some of the entertainers. We then had a horse-drawn carriage ride, and
later had a kielbasa roast organized by Tomas. I later talked
to Joan, Craig from Krakow via Magic Jack.
On Saturday,
August 24th, we travelled from Krakow to Prague, about 340 miles,
stopping en route in the Czech city of Olomouc for lunch (Moravia
Restaurant). We also toured the central
square with its distinctive Holy Trinity monument commemorating the end of the
18th century plague. On the
bus, we watched the "Little
Mole" Czech cartoon, a non-verbal staple for Czech children. We stopped at a BP border station where I
changed EU 10 and my remaining Polish paper money into Czech Koruna. (about 20 czk/$). Passports were not required
since Poland and The Czech Republic are both members of the 26 country Shengen zone
which allows free border passage.
Gasoline is about czk 37, or about $7.63/gal.
The
Czech Republic comprises Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Tomas related that Bohemia and Poland fought
wars in the 15th century because Jan Hus’ Protestant reformation resulted
in Bohemia becoming Protestant while Poland was Catholic. These are known as the Hussite wars. Note that this was 100 years before Martin
Luther’s Protestant reformation in Germany.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussite_Wars
After arriving in Prague, we congregated for a drink
at the Diplomat Hotel and Tomas took us for a walk to a nearby subway stop and
showed us how the subway system works.
On
Sunday, August 25 Tomas first gave a
very succinct presentation on Czech history from the 13th century,
through various wars and upheavals to Vaclev Havel’s “Velvet Revolution” and
later the “Velvet Divorce” of The Czech Republic and Slovakia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_Czechoslovakia
We
then did a bus and walking tour of Prague with Jana as our guide. We walked up to Prague castle and visited St
Vitus and St Wenceslaus Cathedrals and St Georges church. We saw palaces, churches, and museums in this
“City of a Hundred Spires.” We walked to
the Old Town Square and stopped by the Astronomical Clock. It began to rain fairly heavily, and after
some conversation with a couple from England, I took a cab back to the hotel
rather than riding the subway. The cab
cost $15 because traffic was heavy. I
started out to attend a Methodist Church service, but thought better of it
because of the rain and timing, and stayed at the hotel and exercised
instead. We later had a great dinner
with Czech folk entertainment –including a dulcimer and various weird musical
instruments like a “farting goat”, etc.
There must have been 300 people in the restaurant.
On
Monday, August 26 we did a walkabout
of the Old City with Tomas in the morning and then the Charles Bridge in the
early afternoon. I rode the subway back
to the hotel with several others.
Later
in the afternoon and evening, we toured Sychrov Castle, about 60 miles
northeast of Prague, and later had dinner at the Orangery, a restaurant on the
castle grounds. This was less like a
castle, and more like a royal palace. (Not
ABC Another Bloody Castle). This was the
opulent estate of the French Rohan family, who bought a dilapidated old fort in
the early 1800’s, and created a palatial residence in the Czech (then Bohemian)
countryside. Before the tour, we had an
organ recital on an organ dating back to the 12th century.
The
interior and grounds of Sychrov can only be described as magnificent. Versailles, south of Paris comes to
mind. The interior of the palace exudes a
tasteful opulence from the 18th and early 19th century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sychrov_Castle
We
travelled to Budapest from Prague on Tuesday
, August 27th, (about 300 miles), stopping in Bratislava, the
capital of Slovakia for lunch and a brief walkabout of the old town with
Tomas. Bratislava has a history dating
back to Celtic and Roman times, and though relatively small, is replete with
medieval art and architecture. There was
mixed rain, clouds and sun during the trip and we saw a lot of the Czech and
Slovak country side. Gasoline in The
Czech Republic is the equivalent of $7.60 /gal.
None of
group had any Hungarian Forints at an unscheduled pee stop. Several of us international criminals slipped
under the turnstiles to access the restroom.
Ahhh, what a relief it was!
In Budapest,
Tomas gave us an orientation and a walking tour of the area near the Courtyard
by Marriott Hotel. I converted about $50
of Czech Korunas to Hungarian Forints (hf 225/$).
On
Wednesday morning , August 28 we heard a Discovery Series discussion of Hungary’s Political
Past & Present, led by a professor from Budapest University (mechanical engineer). The weather was first rainy, then turned nice.
We then embarked on a bus and walking tour of Hungary’s capital, situated on
both sides of the Danube River. In Buda,
on the right bank of the Danube, we saw a panorama of the entire city. We then
crossed over the Danube bridges and saw how the Parliament Building dominates Pest,
on the other side of the river. We saw Heroes
Square, Holy Trinity Church, Elisabeth Bridge, Matthias Church and many other
examples of art and architecture from gothic times through modern. We stopped at the central market for lunch
(spiced sausages and bread), then I returned to the hotel for an afternoon of
relaxation.
After a snack for dinner at the hotel, I joined the
group for a nighttime Danube River cruise which lasted for about 1 ½ hours.
On
Thursday, August 29th I
got departure details in the morning. I
skipped the impromptu city walk and planned to do Szentendre by bus later. I went at 10 am but the bus was gone. It left at 9:45. I stayed at the hotel, exercised, researched
and bought cameras on line.
Some
Hungarian - Egg a Sheg a dray – cheers
or na zdrowe . Yo regelt kovinok, yo
estep kovinok – good morning, good day.
We
had a farewell dinner at a wine cellar with multiple wine courses for most of
the group. There was Hungarian singing
and dancing and a good time was had by all.
I gave Tomas $US100 and Artur, our Polish bus driver, about $30 in US$
and Forints.
Friday August
30
was for travelling back to Dallas from Budapest. I got up at 4:45 am, left the hotel at about 6 am. Decided
to check a second bag and that was a mistake.
It cost me GBP 65, or about $100.
I’ll know better next time. I
arrived in London (LHR) at about 10 am local.
One slight glitch is that the overhead bin on the British Airways Airbus
Industrie A320 stuck and the handle broke off.
Thankfully a good Samaritan with long arms retrieved my back pack for
me. I walked a long way, all in terminal
3, with multiple security checks. My
seat, 44c was in an empty row of seats, so I slept 3-4 hours comfortably on the
way home. They served a total of 3
meals/snacks. There were long line at
Immigration and Customs in Dallas, but they moved fast, and Maxine met me at
the gate and drove me home. I unpacked
partially and later had a bite with Arthur and Phyllis.
Things
I learned and comments on the trip
1.)
I
packed too much. One pair of jeans and
one pair of dressy slacks would have been enough. I had two of each. Six or seven changes of clothes (shirts,
socks, under wear), one dressy jacket, and one utility jacket would
suffice. Be prepared to wash changes of
clothes out every day unless you want spend hundreds on hotel laundry ($3-4
each for a tee shirt and under shorts, as an example). Pack a sweater to layer and some light rain
wear, hat and a light folding umbrella.
Europe can get rainy and chilly.
2.)
I
cannot recommend highly enough the Grand
Circle Tour organization. Accommodations
and food were superb throughout the 16
day trip. The staff, guides, drivers etc
were all great. Our Tour Director, Tomas
Brabec from The Czech Republic was beyond excellent. Not only was he accomplished and efficient in
organizing all aspects of this complex 16 day trip for 37 diverse and complex
Americans, his overall knowledge and personal attention to individual needs and
foibles went way beyond the pale. Bravo!
Tomas.
3.)
For
you modern “techies”, you don’t have to lose connectivity while in Europe. However, don’t just leave your smart phone or
pad device open, or you’ll generate substantial roaming charges. Leave it on “airplane mode” when not using
it. What I did was pre-buy an AT&T
International data plan for $30 for 120mb, and an international message plan
for $10 for 50 messages. I later
exceeded the 120mb so I extended to 300mb for $60. So my extra cost was $70 total, and this
allowed me to Google web sites on an ad hoc basis, and to instant message back
and forth to people in the U.S. Please
note that most places in Europe are 3G, not 4G, so access is a little slow, but
certainly adequate. Concerning Wi-Fi and
broadband connectivity in hotels, pretty much all are free in the lobby. Some are free, and some charge $10-15 per day
for Wi-Fi in the room. To me, it’s worth
$15/day to have 24 hour access in the room.
– Different strokes….
4.)
I took a laptop with me. This was not at all onerous. I carried it separately on and off the bus
and left it in the hotel room the rest of the time. A maid at the Westin or Marriott is not
likely to steal a laptop, or they would not have a job. For the extra cautious, all hotels have safes
in the rooms, and a laptop will fit in the most of them.
5.)
Having
a laptop and a simple telephone hand set allowed me to call any number in the
U.S. from Europe as a local call using
Magic Jack. It worked perfectly. Skype also works better on a laptop than on
an IPhone. Some people brought
tablets. If the tablet has a USB port, a
Magic Jack would probably work.
6.)
Have
small change of the country available if you need to pee. Many places, public and private, charge the
equivalent of about U.S. 50 cents for access to the bathrooms. This needs to be in local coinage.
7.)
I
thought I was in good shape from exercising at the YMCA for 1-1/2 hours every
day. I found that I was not in that
great a shape for walking. Walking a lot
nearly every day, a lot of it over old, cobbled streets was a little
difficult. It did not curtail my
activities with the rest of the group, but it was uncomfortable at times. One of the smartest buys I made for this trip
was collapsible cane with a small folding seat.
I used this quite a lot to rest and “take the weight off”.
8.)
I
took about 1000 pictures with my little 5 year old Sony DSC-W310 camera,
supplemented by my IPhone 5 camera.
Although I got great results, limitations in dark settings and with
motion became apparent. Consequently, I
researched and ordered two more modern cameras, a Panasonic DMC-G5KK digital
SLR camera, and a Sony Cybershot DSC-WX70BDL, a more modern point and shoot
camera..
No comments:
Post a Comment