adventure, BeNeLux, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, YouTube

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part five)

Tuesday, March 24th, was to be our last full day in Brussels. We decided to visit the Atomium on that day, a place we missed during our 2008 visit. I knew nothing about the Atomium, but I had seen pictures of it and thought it was really cool looking. So we did very basic research, and after breakfast, decided to make our way to the structure, which was initially built for the 1958 World’s Far in Brussels.

While we were having breakfast, I noticed the bees carved on the door to the restaurant. And when Bill wasn’t looking, I decided I didn’t want a piece of bacon and slipped it on his place. I told him the “Speck Fairy” (Speck is the German word for bacon) had visited him. 🤭

We decided to use Brussels’ metro system to get to the Atomium. It took some time to get there that way, and it required changing trains. This is where things got a little annoying. We spent some time waiting on the wrong track at the station where we changed trains. Getting to the right track involved going up and down stairs, which isn’t as easy for me as it used to be. Nevertheless, we did finally make it on the correct metro line, and got to the Atomium in the mid morning. Below are a few photos from downtown Brussels, in the area where we picked up the metro.

The complex where the Atomium is located is a huge exhibition venue. There are several things to do there, like visit a planetarium and see Mini-Europe, a unique theme park near the structure. The Atomium is easily seen from the metro as it pulls into the Heizel stop. But once you get off the train, you have a ten to fifteen minute walk to the exhibit. And if you haven’t booked tickets online, you’ll need to get them from the ticket counter, which is in a separate building.

Once you get your tickets, you go into the Atomium and wait for the elevator to the top, where you can observe Brussels. It was a little hazy on the day of our visit, but I still managed to get some photos. The elevator operator, who spoke French and English, told us that when the elevator was installed in 1958, it was the fastest in Europe. It’s no longer the fastest, but it was still an impressive, if pretty crowded, ride to the top of this very cool looking iconic structure, which stands 335 feet (102 meters) tall, and is currently one of Belgium’s tallest structures. There’s also a restaurant at the top of the Atomium. We weren’t tempted to eat there, although maybe it would have been fun.

*Mini Europe from the top of the Atomium.*

When you finish gazing at Brussels, you go back to the bottom of the Atomium, and take an escalator to the next level, where there’s more information about the structure’s history. There are a lot of interesting exhibits in this part of the Atomium, which explain the history of the structure. It served as the main pavilion of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58). The Atomium was designed by André Waterkeyn and the architects André and Jean Polak. Meant as a tribute to scientific progress, it also symbolized Belgian engineering skills in the 1950s.

The Atomium depicts an iron unit cell. It was only supposed to last through the 1958 World’s Fair, but was so popular that it was left standing. It was fully refurbished from 2004-06, after it had been closed because it had fallen into disrepair. The nine orbs were once covered in aluminium, but were replaced with stainless steel, which doesn’t lose its shine.

Once you finish on the museum level, it’s time to see the exhibition, which I thought was very, very cool. It involves lights, music, and watching in awe as the creativity of artists, engineers, and musicians come to fruition and put on a great show for the senses. I recorded a few minutes of the show– up and down the escalators, and a fragment of the actual light shows that were designed for the current exhibition. This is really just a tiny taste of how very cool the Atomium actually is…

This was a surprisingly fascinating place.

I hadn’t known what to expect when we planned to go to the Atomium. I just thought it looked like an interesting place to visit. I had no idea that there would be a light and music show. I really enjoyed that part of the experience. All it required was sitting back and relaxing, enjoying the incredible vision brought together by very creative geniuses. It blew me away! Below are some still photos from the light show, which was done in three of the spheres. The others appeared to be used for booking business meetings and other revenue generating purposes.

Once we were finished visiting the Atomium, we had to go through the gift shop to leave, so we picked up a few more presents for the grandchildren. We had opted not to have our picture taken when we entered the Atomium, so we didn’t have to deal with that horror. I hate it when I visit a place, and they immediately ambush me and want to take my picture, which I’m then supposed to purchase. I don’t like having my photo taken, especially by people who don’t know me and manage to catch all my chins and muffin top. Bill also hates it when random people want to take his photo.

I did laugh at the cashier in the gift shop, who yelled in French at some kids who were horse playing on the escalator on the way up to the exhibits. He really got his point across, especially with the expression on his face, and the sternness of his French. I’m not even sure if the teens were from Belgium, but they sure got the message!

There are public restrooms in the Atomium, but Bill neglected to visit one before we left. Fortunately, there was a public toilet outside of the Atomium– one of those gross ones available all through Europe. I’ve learned the Belgian public toilets, especially on the side of the road, can be particularly horrifying. Nevertheless, Bill decided to brave it, and swung wide of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who had set up their display next to the potty. We ran into a number of JWs during this visit to Belgium and France!

Below are a few more Atomium photos, mostly taken with the artsy setting on my fancy Canon digital camera…

We decided to head back to downtown Brussels for lunch. There are a few places where one might find food near the Atomium, including the restaurant at the top, and a snack bar on the grounds. But we were in the mood for something a bit more satisfying. What we ended up finding turned out to be that and much more… Our journey back to the city involved changing trains, and once again, Bill got us on the wrong track. 🤨 Consequently, I was a little annoyed when we arrived at our destination.

When we got off the metro in the familiar surroundings of downtown Brussels, we started looking around for a place to have lunch. Nothing seemed to really jump out at us as an ideal place. We crossed the street, and Bill spotted a brasserie called La Lunette. The place actually gets pretty terrible reviews on TripAdvisor, so I’m glad I didn’t look at them before we visited. Otherwise, I would have missed out on meeting our waiter, who happened to be from… YEREVAN, ARMENIA!

When we entered La Lunette, he immediately greeted us, and sat us at a table right by the window, which gave us a nice view of the patio. They were running a special. If you chose one of the daily menu items, they’d throw in dessert. Since we hadn’t had any dessert in Brussels, and we weren’t in a hurry, I decided to order the cheeseburger, which was one of the daily “plat du jour” items. Bill opted for pasta, which wasn’t one of the specials, but the waiter, who spoke excellent, unaccented English, said he’d throw in the dessert for him, anyway.

While we were waiting for lunch, the waiter mentioned that he was Armenian. I perked up and told him about how I’d lived in Yerevan from 1995-97, while teaching English as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He was shocked, because that time in Armenia was very difficult. It was during an energy crisis, so there was a shortage of electricity and running water. It was also just after the Soviet Union fell apart.

The waiter probably wasn’t born during the time I lived in his homeland, but he knew all about it… and he was absolutely delighted when I spoke in his mother tongue to him! He said it made his day! I’m sure he doesn’t get a lot of guests who can speak a word of Armenian, especially blonde ones. At first, he thought we were Germans, because we said we lived there. I guess I can take that as a compliment. I’m no longer an obvious American, I guess.

I can’t say I loved the cheeseburger, mainly because they had mixed in greens with the meat. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since that’s a common thing in Armenia, and the waiter said the owner of the restaurant is also Armenian. However, the desserts were absolutely delicious! I had carrot cake, and Bill had a different cake– He just brought them out; we didn’t choose them. I probably wouldn’t have ordered carrot cake on my own, but I really enjoyed the piece I had at La Lunette! I wouldn’t be surprised if the waiter knew my former student Stepan’s daughter, Susi, who has been studying in Belgium.

*The patio… I think this is a place where a lot of people stop for a quick drink.*

After lunch, we walked the two blocks back to the hotel for a rest. Then later, we went out for one last visit to a bar… A La Mort Subite. This historic place is another bar we visited for the first time in 2008, just after seeing Zane Lamprey highlight it on Three Sheets. It was pretty quiet when we went there in 2008, but it was busy on the evening of March 24th. It turned out to be the perfect place to enjoy our last night in Brussels.

We chose a battered table on the right side of the bar room. It gave me a good view of the locals, enjoying after work libations and light food. I decided to have Quiche Lorraine, while Bill went with a sandwich. We enjoyed a couple of the bar’s own brews, while taking in the historic, yet cozy beauty of this classic bar that dates from 1910.

*It was just around the corner from our hotel!*

I enjoyed our waiter, who was one of the younger servers, but appeared to be approaching middle age. He was unflappable and slightly sullen as he brought beers and food to the people who had stopped by. I finally saw him crack a smile when Bill gave him a tip.

We left A La Mort Subite at a reasonable hour, as we had to rise on Wednesday morning and prepare for our onward journey to Paris! I’ll write about that journey in the next post.

BeNeLux, booze tourism, Brussels, YouTube

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026 (part three)

Featured photo is from the Toone Bar… which is also a historic puppet theater.

Sunday morning, Bill and I woke up, got dressed, and had breakfast in the hotel lobby. We were under the impression that we’d be having breakfast in the lobby all week, since the receptionist had told us the restaurant was under renovation. But it turned out the lounge breakfast was only to occur on Sunday. I was glad of that, since it wasn’t an ideal location.

Because we got there at 8:00 AM, there wasn’t a lot of seating in the lounge. We ended up sitting at a very low table, right next to the drink station. Bill fought with the Nespresso type coffee machine, which wasn’t properly set up. We got the side eye from a European couple, who happened to be at breakfast on three out of the four mornings we were at the hotel. I did fall in love with the marvelous pastries, though… It’s good that I don’t have access to them every day!

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around and see what we could find in Brussels. It didn’t take us long before we wound up at the Belgian Beer World. This fantastic and very modern museum is in a huge, beautiful, surprisingly ornate building. We thought maybe the museum would be one tenant in the massive location, but it took up the entire edifice, with a cafe, brasserie, rooftop bar, and interactive exhibits on several floors.

We happened to be there at 10:30 AM, which was when the museum opened for the day. And, we were also the first ones to explore the museum on that Sunday morning. Tickets were 21,50€ for adults, but because Bill is 61 years old, he got a senior discount, and only had to pay 19,50€. He took it with good humor!

Below are a few photos from the walk to the Beer World, which was very close to Le Fleur de Ville, our hotel. One thing I love about Belgium is the quirky, and sometimes a bit off-color humor that is often on display there. They don’t take themselves too seriously!

*These kinds of comical murals are on a number of buildings around Brussels.*

And below are a few outside photos of the massive Belgian Beer World, which is an impressive place to explore Belgium’s national drink. As a beer lover, I can confirm it’s a fun place to visit, even for children. There are lots of interactive and multimedia exhibits there, presented in several languages.

We walked up the steps and into the massive foyer… I got more photos of the very ornate interior of this building, called La Bourse… This was just the first floor! Until 1996, this historic building was home to Belgium’s financial markets. Now, it’s been renovated to house a fun and fascinating museum dedicated to beer! What could be a better use for such a grand address? 🤭 La Bourse was designed by the Belgian architect, Léon-Pierre Suys between 1868 and 1873. It is now thought to be “a true marvel of 19th century neoclassical style.”

According to the Beer World’s Web site: La Bourse was the site of heroic action: during the First World War, the Bourse district of the city was the epicenter of the clandestine press, a symbol of the Belgian resistance against the occupier.

Besides housing Belgian Beer World, it also serves as a place for hosting temporary exhibits and events. Below are a few photos of the interior:

After we got our tickets to the museum, we climbed up some steps, and took a journey into Belgian beer and the history surrounding it. Below is a photo dump of all the pictures I got at this place, which entertained us for a good while. We learned that beer, at least back in the days before sanitation, was quite literally a lifesaver!

At this point, we had the chance to taste a couple of Belgian styles. We had a brown beer and a lambic… and once again, I ran into someone who badly needed a breath mint. Fortunately, that was the last occurrence of shocking halitosis on this trip.

After tasting the beer, we climbed another flight of stairs and encountered a truly funny exhibit… The Yeast Theatre! This exhibit involved sitting in a closed theatre, as if we were in a glass of beer, and an animated yeast told us the story of fermentation. I even got some video of it! The show happens continuously every ten minutes or so. You go in and sit down; the doors close, and then the fun begins.

Learning about Belgian beer production through a fun exhibit.

After the Yeast Theatre, there’s more to see in the museum, until it’s time to choose which beer you want to sample in the rooftop bar…

A short video showing how we were recommended “free” beers to try in the rooftop bar…

There were several of these interactive virtual barkeep people, “helping” us decide which beer to try.

After we got coasters with the names of the beers that were suggested for our tastes (we both got the same suggestions), we went to the rooftop bar. This was a great culmination after spending the morning learning about Belgian beers. I had a Blanche de Brussels Rosee, which is one I’d never tried before. Bill’s choice was a bit more run of the mill, although I can’t remember which beer he chose. He did say it was kind of ordinary, which is too bad.

We could have stayed and purchased more beer, if we’d wanted to. They offer “flights” at the museum. But we decided to move on and find some lunch. I got some more photos of the bar and the rooftop terrace, which offered lovely views of Brussels. It was a nice day, with just slightly chilly temperatures. We also could have visited the Archeo Site under La Bourse, Bruxella 1238, which unfortunately, we completely forgot about after trying the beer. I wish we’d remembered to check it out. Maybe we’ll get there next time, if we manage another Brussels visit. I’d definitely be up for another trip to Belgian Beer World.

I had noticed that a bar that we visited in 2008, at the Theatre Royal de Toone, was not going to be open on Monday or Tuesday. I definitely wanted to go there again, since we had such a memorable experience the last time we visited Brussels. So we left the Belgian Beer World, and had lunch at a place called Bier Central Brussels. Once again, I had croquettes, which I think kind of put me over the edge. I love them in small doses, though. Bill had sausage with mashed potatoes and bacon… a Belgian version of “bangers and mash”, if you like.

*Ahhh… the Duchesse… one of my favorites!*

After lunch, we headed for the Toone Bar…

If you’re thinking we drink a lot of beer, you’re right. Ordinarily, we probably would not have followed our beer soaked lunch with a visit to a bar, but I really wanted to visit the Toone Bar, which I discovered very much by accident in 2008. I remember we had taken a day trip to Bruges, and came back to the city, looking for something to do on our last day in Brussels. We were walking around, dodging the restaurant row barkers, when just at the right time, I looked to my left, and saw this sign…

*One of two entrances to the Toone Bar and marionette theater, circa 2008.*

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you might know that I love to explore alleys and alcoves. I’ve found some of our most memorable and quirky restaurants, bars, and shops that way. The Toone Theatre is a historic site in Brussels, but in 2008, I found it completely by chance. It seemed like no one else knew about it, either, because it was fairly empty on that Sunday afternoon. I remember enjoying several beers there, while the barkeep played awesome 60s and 70s era rock music. I also remember someone smoking in there during our visit. In 2026, that is no longer allowed!

I wanted to visit the bar again, but didn’t remember exactly where it was. So I used the GPS function on my phone, which was kind of worthless. We did eventually find our way to the bar, although this time, we entered through the other side from where we entered in 2008. I got lots of pictures, and we drank several beers. Unfortunately, the music wasn’t as good this time, and it was definitely not deserted… But the beers were still excellent, and the ambiance was just as quirky and fun!

Here’s a big photo dump… One thing to know about this bar is that the toilets are up some old steps. You get to the men’s room before the ladies’ room, and it reeks a bit of stale urine. One of the ladies’ stalls is extremely small and narrow, though long. The other is not as narrow, but a bit shorter. I hope one day, we can go back to this bar and actually watch one of the marionette shows! It is, after all, a puppet theater, first and foremost!

As you might have suspected, by the time we were finished at the Toone Bar, I was a bit loaded. We decided to go back to the hotel so we could process the Belgian beers. On our way there, we walked through The Grand Place. Unfortunately, this was where I wiped out on loose cobblestone. A shocked waiter witnessed my spill, which resulted in a twisted ankle and sprained finger, both of which are mostly healed now… I wrote about my fall in my main blog. If you are really interested in reading my thoughts right after it happened, you can click here for the story when it was fresh.

*People were lined up at this bakery, which was selling wonderful breads.*

After my fall, I was understandably in kind of a bad mood. We ate dinner in our hotel room, which we picked up from a Syrian restaurant just across the street from Le Fleur de Ville.

*Sometimes it’s handy to book a suite… I drank Coke at dinner time!*

That about does it for our very “beery” Sunday in Brussels. In the next part, I’ll write about our visit to Mannekin Pis, the Friet Museum, and the Chocolate Museum, as well as a restaurant called Drug Opera. You don’t want to miss that, 😏, so stay tuned!

Baden-Württemberg, short breaks, YouTube

A winter break in Waiblingen… Dinner at Bachofer! (part three)

Featured photo was my favorite of the courses we enjoyed at Bachofer.

One of the reasons I chose to book at Bachofer is because of their restaurant, which has a Michelin star. Bill is more interested in the Michelin distinction than I am. My tastes tend to be more boring than his are. But, I always aim to please Bill when I look for places to visit, and I knew he’d appreciate the Asian inspired cuisine at Bachofer. It was easy to reserve a table there on the OpenTable app, which is also a plus. I would highly recommend reserving if you are inspired to dine at Bachofer, as the restaurant seats just 45 people and there is room for only ten people at the bar. It’s a popular place, and they had a full house on a Wednesday night in January!

We enjoyed a nice booth by the front door, and I could hear some of the music on the sound system. I immediately recognized one instrumental that gets used a lot in YouTuber Trek Trendy’s luxury travel videos. 😉 I know not everyone knows who Trek Trendy is, and I’ll be honest, I find him pretty annoying (he obviously channels the late Robin Leach)… But I’ve seen a bunch of his travel videos, and he uses the same music in most of them. So I did have a chuckle when I heard one of his background music choices at Bachofer.

We were immediately offered the house aperitif, which we got gratis, because we were hotel guests. The wait staff also brought out wasabi nuts and regular nuts. On Wednesday night, the staff was pushing the restaurant’s tasting menu, which is up to eight courses. There is also an a la carte menu available, but we decided to have six courses with a wine pairing. For the most part, I liked the tasting menu fine, although there were a few little hiccups and one big offensive BELCH at the end of the service. I’ll get to that in a minute, though. First, here are a few preliminary photos…

I was a little surprised by the wasabi nuts. While I don’t mind them at all, it does seem a little beneath a restaurant with a Michelin star. But then, what do I know? I did enjoy the aperitif, which was very refreshing.

At Bachofer, they put up a little stand on your table, and with each course, they present a little card that lists what you’re eating. I mostly liked that touch, although there were a couple of bungles during our service. I mentioned we ordered six courses, but we actually got seven. There were a couple of times when the wrong card was brought out for the wrong wine. I had mentioned that I didn’t want anything with mushrooms or truffles, but as you will find out, that got a little messed up as service went on. I actually skipped a couple of courses because one had actual mushrooms in it, and one just looked alarmingly like a mushroom (but actually wasn’t). Below are photos of the amuse, which I did really enjoy. Especially the soup!

And below are photos with the rest of the impressive meal, which was mostly fish based. The wine pairings were interesting, and I appreciated that the sommelier (same guy who checked us into our room) offered some information about each wine. Most of the wines were whites, though there was one red and one course that featured Japanese beer. And again, a couple of times, cards were presented for courses we didn’t have.

*This was the bread course, which included picked vegetables and pastrami.*

I was sorry not to be able to try the beef, and I don’t know why they brought it out, since I told them I didn’t want fungus. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, we actually ordered six courses, but we ended up with seven… But then came the biggest surprise of the night… Dessert!

Dessert was a two part affair. The first part, which involved fruit and sorbet, was fine for me… I also enjoyed the Zen garden. But then came the second part, which I didn’t eat. As you can see, it’s a mushroom! And, as someone who has a phobia of mushrooms, this was pretty horrifying for me. I truly do appreciate the creative and artistic merit of the Matsutake styled dessert “mushroom”, but I couldn’t eat it. They might as well have presented me with a cake fashioned like a human baby. Bill ate my portion and said the top was chocolate mousse, but the stalk was kind of savory and “mustardy”, which sounds very strange to me.

It was no big deal. I was plenty full and didn’t need the extra calories, and of course they didn’t know about my phobia, so I can’t hold them responsible for that. But it was a little bit disappointing to be served a “mushroom” at the end of the meal, because as you might know, I love desserts… if only because desserts are usually about 99 percent guaranteed to be fungus free! Maybe I could get therapy for this “problem”, but at 53 years of age, I figure it’s a lost cause. Besides, it kind of makes me more of an interesting person. On the other hand, it’s also something insensitive clods tend to find hilarious. 🙄

Our dinner at Bachofer was around 400 euros or so… once we included the tip. It was mostly worth it. The fish courses were especially nice, as they were extremely fresh, and the flavors were exciting. I can certainly see why Bachofer has merited a Michelin star. However, I do think the service left some room for improvement. If we eat there again, perhaps we’ll try ordering from the menu, so I might avoid being traumatized. 🤭

We got back to the room at about 11:00 PM, which was a late night or us. It was a good thing we didn’t have to travel far from the restaurant! Next, I’ll write about Thursday’s visit to Stuttgart. Stay tuned!

anecdotes, YouTube

TripAdvisor asked me if I was paid for a review…

AI featured image today…

I had an interesting experience last week, after I reviewed our recent stay at Hilton Istanbul Maslak on TripAdvisor.com. I wrote a very detailed review about our stay and included pictures. I gave the hotel at four star rating, although if I’m honest, maybe it should have been more like 3.5 stars. A couple of hours later, I got this message from TripAdvisor, with the subject line “One more question about Hilton Istanbul Maslak”.

I have been reviewing hotels on TripAdvisor since 2008. At this writing, I’ve written 210 reviews and gotten 314 helpful votes from the community. All you have to do is read the review and notice the many details of it, and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not a fake review. I took the two question survey, anyway. Basically, they asked me if I’d been compensated in any way for my review of the property. I responded that I hadn’t, and that was that. This was the first time I’ve ever gotten such a survey from TripAdvisor. I was surprised and a little puzzled by it.

Now, I suspect anyone who reviews that particular hotel gets this survey, which really doesn’t offer any incentive for being honest. TripAdvisor claims that they don’t “tolerate” fake reviews, which is why they sent the survey. But what’s to stop someone from lying? Especially if they get payment or some other reward for writing a review? It’s not like the person who got paid $10 for a review is going to be honest about it so the review gets removed.

Today, I went back to see if any new reviews had been posted since mine, which I wrote about a week ago. Right now, I count eleven reviews ahead of mine. Ten are very new reviews, and one is the hotel’s “favorite” review, a five star rating from someone in Frankfurt, posted last June. I notice that most of the new reviews are very short, lack detail, and come from people who have never before posted on TripAdvisor and appear to live in or near Istanbul. I notice a couple of them specifically mention a certain employee.

I decided to investigate further, and found some people on Reddit discussing this issue. Some had mentioned that Hilton rewards people for being called out in reviews. Others mentioned that the TripAdvisor rating is of paramount importance to Hilton hotel managers. Here’s a Medium post in which a writer claims that TripAdvisor has basically become a scam.

I know I probably shouldn’t be surprised about this. It seems like most things that start out pretty good eventually turn to shit, as businesses decide that money is the most important thing. But this is the first time I’ve noticed how very obvious the so-called fake reviews are… and it was TripAdvisor itself that pointed it out to me by sending me that bullshit “survey”.

I do still think TripAdvisor is useful. I always make a point of reading the reviews that aren’t five star and consider those over the super short five star ratings. Hilton Istanbul Maslak is a very nice hotel, but I don’t think it rates the inflated 4.8 stars it currently has. There are some obvious drawbacks to staying there that travelers should know about. Moreover, sometimes a good one star review can be extremely entertaining reading and draw more readers to a site.

I always put my true opinions about the places I stay in my travel blog. I know not everyone cares to read the blog, but I’m just pointing out that the information is out there. I’m sure I’m not the only one who writes honest reviews, either. It’s a shame that the hotel industry doesn’t consider that real information is useful to them, and helps them find consumers who will be happy with what they offer. And it’s a shame that TripAdvisor is not being honest about their pledge not to tolerate fake reviews.

I write my reviews in the spirit of how I used to review things on Epinions.com, which really was a site where people posted their honest (and usually very well-written) opinions. It’s too bad that site went under. It was truly valuable. I also met some great people there and made money, not because I got paid by people to promote their products, but because I earned ad revenue from people who hit the site to get honest information.

I also think YouTube can be a good source of information. There are some good content creators out there who really do a great job in showing what you get for your money. Currently, one of my favorites is Walk With Me Tim, who stays in different types of properties all over the world.

Anyway… this is just something I noticed today. I realize it’s been a problem for awhile, but this was the first time it affected me, personally. Be careful out there!

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye, YouTube

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part five)

At last, it was finally Thursday, the day I knew Bill would be finishing work early, and we could go to Taksim and see a more tourist friendly area of Istanbul. My friend Elaine and I stayed in Taksim when we visited Istanbul in 1996. We spent our first night in Aksaray, which is on the Asian side of Istanbul. That was where our bus from Armenia dropped us off, and we were too exhausted to look for a hotel on the European side. Then, after a night of rest, we moved to Taksim, which is a bit more modern. I didn’t know any of this when Elaine and I went there. She had done the research.

I remembered Taksim, and told Bill we should head there on Thursday. If anything, I could see Istiklal Avenue– the big shopping street I spent a lot of time on, back in 1996. I have a photo from our visit in 1996… and now I have one from 2025. I will post them both, so you can see the differences 29 years away makes! For now, here’s a 35 second video I made of life on Istiklal Avenue. It’s VERY busy… And yet, it was also so familiar, as Elaine and I stayed at Hotel Avrupa, cheap lodging not too far from this bustling area when we visited in 1996. I wish Bill and I could have stayed there last week, because it is a much better area for seeing the city.

I was hoping to catch the ice cream vendor teasing kids, but I wasn’t lucky enough… Now we have a reason to go back.

Bill got back to the hotel at around noon. We made our way to the metro station, which was a short walk from the Hilton Istanbul Maslak. Once again, I was struck by how crowded the area was, as the station teemed with people and noise. I am pretty sure Elaine and I used the metro when we visited Istanbul in 1996, but my mind has probably blanked out actual memories of it.

It’s super easy to use the metro in Istanbul. It’s clean and cheap. In fact, even the ticket machine is easy to use, with an English option that talks to you with a empathetic sounding female American voice, reassuring you that your purchase has been successful. Bill bought us tickets good for three rides. I think it cost the Turkish Lira equivalent of about $4. Below are a couple of photos I took in the metro station while Bill was getting his bearings.

The train we got on was pretty full. We stood for the entire journey to Taksim, which was about six stops away. I got a kick out of the signs stuck to the windows, letting riders know that manspreading is not allowed!

*Make room for others by keeping your legs closed!*

Once we got to Taksim, I heard the familiar sounds of a busker, who was skillfully playing a qanun. I didn’t manage to get a clip of him, but below is a video of someone playing a qanun beautifully in an Istanbul metro station.

For all I know, this was the same guy I heard…

I wish I could have taken a moment to listen longer to the busker, but the station was very crowded and busy, and we were kind of pushed out of there. Besides, I wanted to see if Taksim was how I remembered it. Below are some photos…

*I did remember the many people selling corn on the cob in Istanbul!*

By the time we walked around a bit in Taksim, I was pretty hungry. I paused for just a second near a restaurant and suddenly found myself being harassed by a very aggressive barker. He kept trying to talk to me, trying to entice me to his restaurant. He begged, “Lady, lady… speak to me. Which language?” He tried German, Spanish, English, and French. I cast a dour look at him and walked away. I don’t like it when random people aggressively accost me, trying to score business. It’s a sure sign what they’re selling is likely to suck.

A couple of minutes later, I stopped at another restaurant called Wama’s. They had a large, colorful menu that offered all kinds of food– everything from pasta to tacos! And when I approached, the proprietor was calm and welcoming, so we went in and enjoyed a lovely meal. I had a crispy chicken salad with apples, beets, corn, greens, and tomatoes, and Bill had beef kofre with fries, hummus, and yogurt. My salad was huge and excellent, while Bill said his beef was good, but a little bit “processed”, like it came from a preformed patty. Still, it was a nice lunch. I washed mine down with orange juice, while Bill had a ginger lemonade. I really like the many fruit juices one can enjoy in Turkey!

*This cat was sitting in the outdoor area. Istanbul has many well fed feral cats! Some of them are very friendly.*

I went upstairs to use the ladies room and was amused to find that there was a prayer room offered. Actually, many of the places we visited had prayer rooms, including our hotel. On the airplane, there was even an arrow on the entertainment system pointing in the direction of Mecca. I didn’t see an arrow in our hotel room, as I did when we stayed at the Jumeirah Hotel in Frankfurt (which is now a Marriott), but Bill said it might have been in one of the bed stand drawers.

After lunch, we decided to visit the Church of Sant’Antonio da Padova on Istiklal Avenue. I got some photos of the inside, which was full of people doing the same. I’m sure this church was there in 1996, but I swear I don’t remember it…

We decided to head back the other way down the avenue, as I wanted to change directions and walk toward the Bosphorus Strait, which divides the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, as well as the Black Sea from the Sea of Marmara. I thought I remembered the way, and I kind of did… but we still ended up in a part of town that was unfamiliar. Below are some more photos of the big shopping street, as well as a comparison of views from 1996 and 2025…

1996 vs 2025… I wasn’t standing in exactly the same spot last week, but if you look closely, you can see some of the same buildings. Wendy’s hasn’t been in Turkey since 1998!

Once we got to the end of Istiklal Avenue, we turned right, and walked almost all the way down a street, passing signs for the Aga Hamami, which is the oldest hamam in Istanbul. It was constructed in 1454! My back was killing me, so I kind of wished we could pay a visit. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time. As we were walking, the Taksim area faded into a residential area, and we were going downhill on uneven pavement. My back was really aching and I was getting a little tired and cranky.

I told Bill that we should plan to take a taxi back to the hotel. He was a bit dismayed, but I said that unless we found a metro station close to where we ended up, I was probably going to run out of steam. I couldn’t see us walking back to the Taksim station, which was by that point a few miles away! So he reluctantly agreed, as I passed him the many euros he gave me the last time he had to go TDY without me. I never spend all the money he gives me for groceries when he goes out of town, and I usually end up giving it all back to him! 🤭 Then I said we could keep walking if he wanted, because there was a lot more to see…

We followed a couple of Turkish guys into a complex that was some kind of museum for the arts, where we got a view of the Galata Tower. But then we were on a very busy street that led to an even busier street near the museum of modern art and the cruise port. That area was definitely very posh and not at all like Maslak! It was near the museum where I found a much needed park bench. It was good that we found that, not just because my back needed a rest, but also because we were soon in for a really interesting spectacle.

I heard the sounds of many birds, which mostly turned out to be seagulls. A man was feeding them, and hundreds of the hungry birds converged on the square near the museum and mosque. It was fascinating to watch, as seagulls played tug of war over food, and a couple of cats tried to get in on the action! Another man, who was off camera, was literally feeding other birds by hand. I got some video footage and a lot of photos, only a few of which I shared below.

Seagulls going crazy over food!

We finally got bored with the birds and decided to walk closer to the water. We passed the very expensive Peninsula Hotel Istanbul, which I noticed also had a metal detector and x-ray scanner in the lobby. Then I heard an infectious percussive beat. Some young man was busking, playing a mean rhythm while other men fished, and people walked around… I noticed he was making lots of lira from appreciative tourists.

He’s got some talent!

I got some photos of the Bosphorus Strait, noticing that across the water, there was a whole lot more of Istanbul to see… and sadly, my middle aged body wasn’t having it. We noticed a taxi stand near the cruise port, and decided to head toward there. It was a good thing, too, because Bill was starting to feel the urge to whiz…

When Bill asked a cabbie how much the ride to Maslak was going to be, he said 35 euros. For some reason, the cabbies prefer euros to Turkish money… 😉 (of course I know why– it’s a more stable currency). We started the rush hour ride back to Maslak. It was about 13 kilometers, but it took an hour! The metro probably would have been faster, but we would have had to walk to one, which would have taken time and energy we couldn’t spare. The cab ride turned out to be fortuitous, because I got more photos, and the cabbie entertained us by using Google Translate to communicate. He didn’t speak English, so he typed his Turkish comments into Google and showed us the translations. It was pretty funny!

The cab ride also gave me a perspective of just how loud, crowded, and busy Istanbul really is. It’s a HUGE city, bustling with energy and action, and unless you have a lot of time and stamina, it’s hard to really do it justice. But the cab ride ended up being more expensive, because we were in traffic for so long. Bill gave the guy 60 euros, when all was said and done… and yes, that is probably more than he needed to, but we felt sorry for the cab driver. It was a long way from the cruise port, and we basically crawled back in very heavy gridlock traffic! I’m sure he missed out on easier fares.

Once we got back to the hotel for our last night, we decided to have one more drink at the bar. I noticed they’d put up even more Christmas decorations and fenced off the big tree in the foyer. I also got a kick out of the fake presents that were kind of poorly wrapped. I don’t know much about Turkish customs, but I do remember giving my former Armenian student a birthday gift. He was amused because I had wrapped it in pretty paper. I don’t know that gift wrapping is a “thing” that part of the world. Since most Turks are Muslims, I’m sure it’s not there, either.

As I enjoyed a Hendricks gin and tonic, properly garnished with cucumber, one of Bill’s colleagues showed up. We were talking about other parts of Turkey we’d seen. Bill hasn’t been to those parts yet, but I’ll bet he’ll get the chance. Now that he’s been there, I think he would like to go back. He did tell me that it would have been permissible to stay in a different part of Istanbul, so if we’d been able to find a hotel in his budget in Taksim, we could have stayed there. That’s good to know, in case we get the chance to go back there.

Bill’s co-worker said he was going to take an early flight back to Germany. He reminded me of the traffic woes, so I told Bill that we should probably leave the hotel several hours before we needed to board the plane. After the crawl back to the hotel on Thursday, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to be safe. Because as much as I enjoyed our trip to Turkey, I was ready to go home to Germany and see my dogs!

One more post ought to do it for the blow by blow, and then I’ll do my ten things I learned post. Stay tuned!

YouTube

The Eismann cameth…

Featured photo is a screenshot of a video made by someone comparing the two grocery delivery services…

Here in Germany, some people like to order from food companies that sell frozen dishes. One of the best known companies that does this is called Bofrost. Back in January 2015, mere months after we had moved back to Germany, I got a visit from a Bofrost salesman. At the time, we were living in Jettingen, which is in Böblingen and the state of Baden-Württemberg.

The Bofrost guy had a catalog with him and he wanted my phone number, which I didn’t know offhand. We’d only been back in Germany for a few months at that point, and I truly didn’t know my number. He got all pissed off and left. Later, the former tenant, who later tried to screw us over, left this comment on my blog post:

Ha! I am the previous tenant. I’m 98% sure that guy came around when I lived there too. I took the catologue and then proceeded to give him a fake phone number. I’m probably the cause for his rudeness.

I think maybe I’ve gotten another visit from Bofrost people. I’ve definitely seen their trucks. I might have been interested in ordering from them, if not for the unpleasant memories of how that salesman acted, and the former tenant, who was stalking and harassing me before she ultimately took her own life.

Yesterday, at about four o’clock in the afternoon, the doorbell rang again. I answered it, and another man launched into a rapid fire German spiel. I stopped him and said, “I don’t understand…” although I knew he was there to sell me shit. Then I noticed the branding on the catalog in his hand. It was from Eismann, which is either a competitor or contemporary of Bofrost’s. I don’t know if or how they are related, only that they offer similar services. And I’ve seen Bofrost in our neighborhood, as well as Eismann.

The guy wanted my phone number in exchange for a catalog. Suddenly, I was reminded of former tenant taking a fake number and a catalog, and how the Bofrost guy took it out on me. I told the dude I wasn’t interested, although I did it in a very polite way. He said that was fine and headed for my landlord’s house.

Isn’t it funny how something like a former tenant stalker can affect us in such weird ways? 🤔 🤭 I am truly sorry she felt so desperate and was so unhappy with her life that she made the tragic choices she did. But I was pretty scarred by what she did to me, personally… and all because, evidently, she didn’t like me, and was “bonding” with the ex landlady, who also didn’t like me. What a weird and toxic situation that was… What a shame it had to happen.

I’m glad it’s over now. I wish that it had never happened. And I fear that from now on, random encounters by the Eismann guy or his Bofrost brethren, may trigger me similarly. Of course, my triggered reaction isn’t his fault. I’m sure the products are great. But after our fiasco experience with Hello Fresh, I think I’ll give grocery services as a whole a pass. I’d rather just go to the grocery store.

In German… but I figured I’d better link the video if I’m ripping off my featured photo from them.

By the way, tonight we are going to Pizarro Fine Dining again, where we will drop a load of euros and not eat anything from the Rewe… My German friend says Eismann products are available at the grocery store, anyway. Don’t know why I need to give a salesman my phone number to get their stuff. They’re online, too.

Eastern Europe, Hungary, YouTube

Back to Budapest- Power walking, live music, and spontaneous singing… part three

Monday morning, Bill and I got up and had breakfast. The D8 Hotel has a pretty decent spread, with lots of breads, fruits, cereal, some hot items, cold cuts, juices, hot tea, coffee, and even some sweets. After we fueled up, Bill went off to work. The first day, he walked about twenty minutes to get to the conference location, but then he figured out the tram system and took that.

I went back to the room and did some writing. Then I put on shorts and a t-shirt and headed out to explore Budapest on my own. The first thing I did was cross the Chain Bridge, which is probably the most famous of Budapest’s many bridges across the Danube. I didn’t really have a clear plan in mind for where I was going. I thought I’d just walk far enough to get some good pictures of the Parliament building. It’s hard to get them on the Pest side, because the building is huge, and it’s not possible to get far enough away to get the whole thing in a photo. So here’s a batch of photos from that initial goal:

And below are a couple of photos from 2009… Check out the differences! There were a LOT more boats in the river in 2025, than the same time of year in 2009.

Once I got my photos, I looked up and saw Margaret Bridge, which was closed the first time we visited Budapest in 2009. The below photo was taken in 2009.

*This was taken in 2009. The bridge was CLOSED!*

I decided I wanted to visit Margaret Island again. Even though the bridge was closed in 2009, it was still possible to go to the island. It just involved walking around construction and climbing stairs. In 2025, the bridge was fully functioning, complete with trams. In retrospect, I should have taken the tram, but I decided to walk… and walk I did, for a few miles. I did stop for park bench rests and photo ops. It was hot. My back hurt. My thighs were chafing. I was sweating a lot. But I kept going, heading for that bridge… wondering if I was actually going to venture into Margaret Island, too…

And then I climbed up the steps to the bridge and started to cross it. I got to the middle, where trams going either direction stop and let people off to go to the island. I decided to rest on the marble bench near the crosswalk. I will not soon forget the feeling of cool marble against my thighs. It was a brief moment of exquisite heaven, as I contemplated whether or not I had enough steam to explore the island, knowing I was also going to have to walk back to the hotel.

Finally, I decided to go for it…

*This is where you cross to go to the island. I was sitting on the cool bench, gathering steam.*

I immediately recognized the big sculpture, which I saw in 2009…

Then I started walking, realizing I could use a whiz… But I didn’t have any change, and all I saw was a pay toilet. I figured it was probably pretty gross, too. There are restaurants and bars on Margaret Island, but I hate going to such places alone, so I just walked around and took photos and rest breaks.

I also made a short video. If you watch this, I recommend not missing the end, as that’s where you can see the “singing fountain.” There’s also a random lady with her dog in the video. Lots of people were letting their dogs run on Margaret Island, and plenty of people were jogging, biking, or riding in rented pedal propelled carts. Margaret Island is a unique and beautiful part of Budapest. It’s absolutely worth visiting. I’m glad I forced myself to make the effort, even though it was hot; I was tired; and I am out of shape (but not as out of shape as some people might assume by looking at me).

That fountain was very inviting… But I maintained discipline and didn’t jump in.

I decided that I didn’t feel like trying to eat on Margaret Island, so I left it, thinking maybe Bill and I could visit it together later in the week. Unfortunately, we never did get back there. But below are a few photos from our 2009 visit.

I made my way back to the bridge and headed back to the hotel.

By the time I got back to the hotel, it was after 1:00 PM, and I was burning up. I’m sure I was a sight to see, after walking over 6 miles in the summer heat. I went to the bar and ordered a large lager, which tasted wonderful. Then I went back to the room and took a shower and a long nap. I was kind of proud of myself for managing to walk that much. There was a time when it was a lot easier for me than it is now.

Bill got back to the hotel a few hours later. I was a bit “hangry”, because I didn’t eat lunch. This is when we ended up having dinner at a rather mediocre touristy restaurant called Panorama Terasz, that turned out to be kind of special. I wrote the story of our evening meal and my decision to burst into song here. I don’t want to rehash it too much, since this post is already pretty long. But, suffice to say, when we got there, I was in a cranky mood. When I left, I was all smiles. And below is a video of our time at the restaurant, although there is no clip of my spontaneous songburst.

Here, you can hear the band play, along with a bunch of merry Brits who were also keen to sing along. Budapest is a wonderful city for music lovers!

An added benefit at eating at this restaurant is that we had a great view of the river, and I got some great shots of the sun going down and the lit up attractions along the river. Then, on our way back to our room, we noticed an unusual public toilet. I got a few photos of the outside, and we promised ourselves we’d check it out before leaving the city. We did, and I’ll include photos in a later post.

Well, that about does it for today’s post about Budapest. Stay tuned for the next installment, which I’ll probably write tomorrow.

castles, Hessen, Military, YouTube

Friedberg, Hessen… where Elvis Presley did his Army duty…

But surprisingly enough, that’s not why Bill and I visited there yesterday…

One might think Americans would be teeming in a town where famous fellow American, and the so-called “King of Rock n’ Roll”, Elvis Presley has such a strong connection. After all, this town has two intersections Elvis Presley inspired walk-don’t walk lights (since December 2018), an Elvis Presley Platz (completed in November 2014), and a statue of the man!

But no… we didn’t notice any American Elvis pilgrims during our brief visit to Friedberg. In fact, we weren’t even there for him, ourselves. I had heard of the German town where Presley is celebrated, and had meant to visit in years past. However, by the time we actually laid eyes on Friedberg, I had forgotten all about Elvis’s Army connection to my adopted “home” country for 13 years of my life. It wasn’t until we were driving into Friedberg that Bill mentioned Elvis and his stint living in Bad Nauheim, a nearby town where he’d rented a villa, so he could do his military service in Friedberg. It was during his German stint that he also met his wife, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.

So what the hell were we doing in Friedberg, if not to worship “the King”?

A few days ago, someone in a Facebook group dedicated to the German state of Hessen posted some pictures of Adolfsturm, a medieval tower that dates from 1347. I love a good tower challenge, especially when the views at the top are particularly rewarding. Adolfsturm is also very charming, as is the castle complex where it is located.

We’d never been to Friedberg before, and it is the capital of the Wetteraukreis district of Hessen. And since we didn’t have anything better to do yesterday, and the weather was pretty much perfect– partly cloudy, breezy, and only about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, we decided it would be a good day to climb Adolfsturm and get some photos. Of course, there’d also be lunch and people watching.

Friedberg is maybe a 40 minute drive from where Bill and I live. From 1956 until 2007, it was the home of Ray Barracks, which was a U.S. Army installation and, indeed, where Elvis did his patriotic duty for America. One of Bill’s co-workers once lived and worked near Friedberg, before it was “BRAC’d” (a victim of base realignment and closure) in 2007. In fact, Ray Barracks closed a month before Bill and I arrived in Germany the first time, back in September 2007, when he was still serving in the Army.

So, given all of that, you’d think we would have visited this charming town before yesterday. Alas, yesterday was indeed our first time ever there, but hopefully, we will be able to go back, and I can get some photos of all of the Elvis Presley shit. After we climbed the tower, I had completely forgotten about Elvis, and wanted to get home and take a shower! 🚿

I think the pandemic really stifled our desire to get out and explore as much as we used to. We’re only just now getting our mojo back. I also don’t have as many readers as I once did, so that sort of takes away the self-imposed pressure I put on myself when we lived near Stuttgart.

Here’s the story of how our visit went…

Bill and I left our house at a little after 11:00 AM. In the car, we had a deep discussion about our time in Germany thus far. As I lamented about how our previous rental experience vastly contrasts with our current one, and how disappointing it was that we had to leave the Stuttgart area on a sour note, we noticed an idiot driving a car with a full horse trailer cut off at least two cars with Dutch license plates.

As we approached Friedberg, we passed a rest area with a curious looking observation tower. Then I noticed that from the tower on the side of the Autobahn, one can easily see Frankfurt’s familiar skyline, the only one of its kind in Germany. Someday, we’ll have to stop there and take pictures while Bill gets gas for the car.

As we drove into Friedberg, Bill mentioned Elvis, and I looked him up on my phone. I was still reading about him when we pulled into a mostly empty parking garage, and walked toward the main drag… Below are some photos from the walk into the happening part of town. I love the house in the first picture. It’s so cute!

As we got closer to the Stadtkirche Friedberg, I noticed an unhoused person sleeping under a thick red cover, sheltered by the church’s facade. I guess if one must be homeless, the church is a good place to find some rest. The Stadtkirche Friedberg dates from the mid 13th century. It is the only surviving church of Friedberg’s seven medieval churches. I was immediately impressed by its beauty, and of course, I took lots of pictures!

After a brief visit to Friedberg’s marvelous city church, we started walking down the main drag toward the Castle of Friedberg’s grounds. But first, we decided to have lunch. We stopped at a charming German restaurant called Die Dunkel. It was such a nice day, everybody was sitting outside. Bill went in and asked, in German, for two places, and the bartender, who appeared to be of Indian descent and, as it turned out, spoke perfect English, misunderstood and thought he was ordering beer. She brought out the unordered Pils beers, and we were momentarily confused, but I said, “Never mind. We’ll drink them.” Problem solved!

Bill and I both had salads. His had falafel in it, while mine had grilled chicken breast. And, of course, we drank beer and people watched. One guy had on a t-shirt Bill liked. It looked like the Walt Disney logo, but actually said “Malt Whiskey”. He laughed and pointed it out to me. I turned around, and the guy noticed us noticing. He smiled and showed it off, then bowed. We had a good laugh at that! Friedberg seems to be a place where people are friendly and relatively happy. I also noticed a lot of Muslims there, which isn’t a statement on anything other than the town seems to enjoy a diverse community.

At one point, a young couple with a baby sat next to us. I was enjoying watching their teamwork handling the baby, who looked like perhaps she was about 6 or 7 months old. She was quiet and content, playing with a spoon, while her parents ate. Then her mom breastfed her at the table. No one batted an eye. In fact, Bill didn’t even notice. Isn’t it nice that women in Germany can feed their babies without getting the side-eye from chauvinistic jerks who can’t understand that breasts serve a function other than turning them on?

I liked Die Dunkel. The service was friendly; the food was good; the beer was cold; and I noticed a lot of locals were enjoying each other’s company there. It seems like the kind of place where friends can meet up for a drink and then hang out… and that’s actually what I noticed some people doing. The main drag has lots of trees and is very pleasant. It reminded me a little of when Bill and I used to live in Fredericksburg, Virginia, back when we first got married. Friedberg is actually prettier, though.

After lunch, we walked to the castle grounds. There’s a large, impressive gate there, as well as what used to be a moat. Behind the gate there is a gymnasium (school for smart teenagers who plan to attend university), the castle itself, St. George Fountain, and of course, Adolfsturm. Friedberg Castle dates from the 12th century, and has a long, rich history. According to its official Web site:

With its 3.9 hectares, Friedberg Castle is one of the larger castle complexes in Germany. But it is not only the extent of its grounds, which have retained the closed character of a medieval fortified complex, that makes it stand out. For many centuries, it also occupied an exceptional legal position.

From the 12th century until 1806, the castle, which had been built before 1180 to protect the Wetterau, was the centre of a unique Burgraviate. From 1431 onwards, it was the only castle with a small territory subject to the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire alone; its cooperative constitution was another special feature.

I don’t think it’s possible to tour the castle itself, but St. George Fountain is in front of it, and the tower is a short walk away. And as we approached Adolfsturm, I paused to take a few photos. It really is a pretty tower, and it only costs 2 euros (1 euro for children under 6) to climb it. It’s open from 2-6 PM on weekends and holidays, from the beginning of April until the end of October.

Somehow, I didn’t manage to get photos of the Friedberg Castle itself! I was too fixated on the tower, which dates from 1347, and had its turrets added in the late 19th century.

To access the tower, you pay the guy minding the “Kasse”, then climb up some steps that lead to just below the midpoint of the tower. When you enter the tower itself, you will see a barred door that has a sign that reads “Verlies” (which means “dungeon” in German– specifically a cell in a tower or castle). After we climbed the tower, we saw that people went down to the bottom of it, but neither Bill nor I wanted to go down to investigate, because it would mean climbing back up, and we were already getting sore! I figured there would be other people’s photos on the Internet, and I was right about that. Another reason why we skipped the dungeon was because I really needed to pee. There is a free toilet on the backside of the tower. It’s not the cleanest, but it was a most welcome sight after our climb!

*The parking garage had a free toilet, as it’s part of the “Nette Toilette” program.*

Anyway, here are some photos from our climb, which really wasn’t too bad at all. It was a lot less terrifying than the Cathedral Tower in Vilnius was. I am less sore today, too. The tower is about 54 meters high, and offers two open vantage points. There are a couple of enclosed floors where the weapons used to be aimed. You can stop for a rest there on your way up.

When we got to the first outdoor observation area, I was impressed with the view. I looked up at the steep ladders going higher and wondered if I needed to bother with them. Bill and I debated for a couple of minutes, and then I said, “Well, if we don’t go up there, we might regret it. And if we do, then we’ll never have to climb this particular tower again!” So, we went for it, and the view was worth it. At the top, there are signs showing how far away certain landmarks are, that, on a clear day, are easily visible from the tower.

We decided to walk through the lovely castle grounds to make our way back to the car. We stopped for a moment to take in the views and admire the beautiful wildflowers. The park around the tower has rules: Dogs, alcoholic beverages, and grilling is NOT allowed. And if the weather is inclement, the park may have reduced hours or be closed.

On the way out of town, Bill was stopped by some guy who was looking for Western Union services. He said in his best German that we were “Auslanders”. I got a kick out of the sign at a beer bar, which I wouldn’t have minded stopping at, if we’d had the time…

We got back to the car, and I gratefully reached for my purse, which I’d left inside. I badly needed some Carmex for my lips, which were drying out. As we drove out of Friedberg, we passed the church and what appeared to be a minor fender bender. A distressed looking woman was shaking her head while a young female cop wrote a ticket. A young male cop was smiling as he leaned by the window of the vehicle ahead of the distressed woman’s van. It looked like a very minor accident, but the woman was obviously upset, nonetheless.

*Just past where the fender bender took plac*e…

And then, Bill turned left on the main drag, and I finally saw the Elvis Presley traffic lights and an information panel about Elvis! I realized we should have extended our stay by a half hour or so, so I could have gotten some photos. Oh well. Now, we have a reason to return to this very pleasant town, so close to where we live!

Below is a video about Elvis in Friedberg. It’s in German, but you can see the “Elvis Presley Platz”.

The King lives on in Friedberg… and helps save lives.

Funny stories, videos, YouTube

Bill’s very FRENCH dining experience circa 2017…

I have already written about this incident in my travel blog, and if you do a search, you can read the whole story of our trip to St. Marcelin-de-Cray and how Bill ate chitlins there. But I decided to make a video version of the story this morning, so here’s a link to that for the interested…

I hope to make new memories next month, when we go on our next trips…

This was pretty funny when it happened. Luckily, Bill is a good sport.

anecdotes, videos, YouTube

Interesting video from the Soviet era…

If you’ve read my main blog, you may know that I was once a Peace Corps Volunteer in the former Soviet Union. From 1995-97, I worked as a teacher at a school in the Republic of Armenia. The job itself was pretty tough for a lot of reasons. I think teaching is difficult, but trying to teach in Armenia was, for me, pretty chaotic. A lot of times, I didn’t even know which class I would be teaching. Sometimes my classes would be cancelled or reassigned and I would find out the day of. I did have some good students, though, who were well-behaved and smart.

Last night, while messing around on YouTube, I found this video that was listed as a “tribute” to Soviet style education…

What strikes me about this video is that all the kids are dressed the same. In Armenia, a lot of kids would come to school in black and white on the first day. Maybe a couple of them had red kerchiefs kind of like what they would have worn as Young Pioneers. After the first day of school, they dressed as they pleased.

The next thing that strikes me is how old this video looks. It was from 1981, when I would have been 8 or 9 years old. I know that was a long time ago, but it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago to me!

I appreciate the musical numbers. I used music a lot in my classes, though I don’t remember my pupils being this well-behaved or singing as well as the teachers and students in this video.

Finally, it just strikes me as weird that for the first 19 years old my life, the Soviet Union existed and seemed like such a huge threat to the United States. And then I actually lived in the former Soviet Union and realized that it was mostly a big facade.

I would not trade my time in the Peace Corps, even though parts of the experience sucked. My time as a PCV changed my life in positive ways. But this video is far removed from my experiences in the former Soviet Union. I can’t imagine that things changed that much from 1991 until 1995, when I started teaching kids English. I also learned through this experience that teaching is not my forte.

ETA… check out this bizarre relic from the Soviet era. The same guy in the above video is in the one.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Category Archives: YouTube