adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part three)

After we checked in at Hilton Istanbul Maslak, a porter helped us with our bags and showed us to room 1711. There was a bank of four elevators in the hotel lobby, and to call one, you must punch your floor number on a large keypad. But the keypad is only there on the lobby floor. All of the other floors just have the usual up and down buttons. I’m not sure why the fancy keypad was necessary. Maybe it was an attempt to make the hotel look more upscale.

Room 1711

The porter punched 17 on the keypad for us, and then showed us that we had to use our keycards to get the elevator to work. He explained the hotel’s services, which included a spa, a full scale restaurant, a lobby bar, 24 room service, and even a high end jewelry store. Bill shook his hand and palmed him a tip, and then we took a look at our room…

*I liked the rainfall shower. It was very nice!*

One thing this hotel room had, that none of the others I’ve ever stayed in have had, was a toilet that had a little spigot on the back of it. When you flush the toilet, the spigot squirts out cold water in a bidet fashion. The toilet also had a tap next to it that could turn on the spigot without flushing, causing it to shoot water at varying pressures. One thing the tap didn’t have was temperature control, which meant that sitting on the toilet while it flushed was going to result in cold water squirting in your asshole. It’s not possible to turn off the spigot– or, at least I never found a way to do that. Consequently, if you are not sitting on the commode as it flushes, water might splash out from the little spigot. I made a YouTube video to show my readers exactly what I mean…

Shrinkage city! Actually, I did use the bidet function once, and it wasn’t so bad, even with the chilly water. But then, I don’t have a dick.

The room also had a minibar, which had everything from overpriced liquor and snacks, to a pair of socks and a condom. I usually take a photo of the minibar, but didn’t bother to on this trip. Bill explored it and told me all about the contents. I actually liked the art in the room, which I thought was rather thought provoking, although the drab brown color scheme was a bit depressing.

The bed was basically okay, although the mattress was a bit firmer than I’m used to. We used the air conditioning at night, since it was rather warm in Istanbul while we were there. We never turned on the flatscreen TV. I meant to, just to see what was on the telly, but I decided I’d rather just use my computer for entertainment.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the hotel’s restaurant, Zaxi. It’s buffet style, and there is a guy there who makes eggs to order. I probably should have tried an omelet, but I never bothered. There were many choices in the buffet, although I didn’t think the food was especially tasty. It was certainly adequate, and even pleasing in some instances. I liked the halva they offered– a thick, satisfying sesame seed creation. They also had a huge range of Turkish cheeses, which Bill loved. There were plenty of vegetables, breads, and the usual chafing dishes with scrambled and boiled eggs, sausages, and other sides. Of course, there weren’t any pork products offered.

*Check out the generic World Market style art on the walls. We could have been anywhere besides Istanbul.*

The one thing that stuck out to me the most about eating in the restaurant was the weird music they played. I noticed they had a loop of bossa nova styled pop songs from the 1980s. Some of the retooled songs were truly strange, and they played them over and over throughout our stay. Are you seriously ready for a Bossa Nova rendition of “Like A Virgin” or “Beat It”?

I did like a few of the songs enough to Shazam them, but there were a few that were just ridiculous. I’m sure most people don’t pay attention to background music, but I am a musician, so I always notice it. I guess I’m just glad it wasn’t Muzak.

The spa

After breakfast, Bill went to his conference. The location was close enough that Bill and his buddies were able to walk there. I went back to bed, since I was a bit jet lagged. Then, at around 11:00 or so, I decided to go to the spa. I’ve heard that the spa at the Hilton Istanbul Maslak is not owned by the hotel. I’m not sure where the truth lies… but I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Years ago, I wrote a post about how, if you go to a pool in France, you have to wear Speedos and a swimming cap. I’ve since learned that this policy is in effect in some other European (or Asian) countries besides France. And, as it turns out, at least at this particular Turkish pool, you have to wear a swimming cap to use it. This is supposedly for hygiene reasons. They don’t want hair getting caught in the pool filters.

I don’t own a swimming cap. I probably could have purchased one at the spa, but the lady who told me about the policy was not clear about it. She did say that I could use the Jacuzzi without a cap, and there appeared to be another warm shallow pool that I probably could have used. I didn’t bother, though. I was just there to give housekeeping a chance to clean the room. I also don’t know if the powers that be who run this pool also require men to wear Speedos, like they do in France and apparently other countries in Europe.

I sat down on one of the loungers in the spa, which was mostly vacant the whole time I was there. I was a bit dismayed by how worn and stained the cushions were on the loungers. One of them had broken strings at the end of the cushion, so when I sat on it, the cushion shifted. I moved to a different lounger because of that.

And there were also no towels put out for guest use. So, the spa was a bust, which was a real bummer. Yeah, I could have bought a swimming cap, but I didn’t want to go swimming badly enough to try to stuff my hair into one.

After a couple of dry hours at the pool, I went back to the room, and was happy to see it had been cleaned. I decided to do some writing and wait for Bill to come back from his first day at his conference. I know I could have gone out and walked around the neighborhood, but I correctly assumed there wasn’t a lot for tourists to see there. There’s a mosque nearby, and I think an art gallery, but there weren’t really any decent sidewalks. The area is very crowded and not particularly interesting, unless you want to look at skyscrapers and dodge other people. So I stayed in the hotel and waited… and I took a few photos of the sunset… Too bad the windows were a little dirty.

Dinner at Zaxi

And then, for dinner, we tried the hotel restaurant, which was still playing that weird Bossa Nova music from the 80s. I had a beef rib, while Bill had roasted salmon with cauliflower puree. For a starter, we shared shrimps with a dip that I can no longer identify… I remember thinking the food was pretty good. We both enjoyed Bomonte lagers, a Turkish beer that was light and refreshing. And we also had dessert– profiteroles for me, and a warm lemon pistachio tart for Bill.

After dinner, we tried the lobby bar. I think the manager was trying to make small talk, because Bill told me that when I went to the restroom, the guy asked Bill if I was his wife. I’m sure he sees a lot of men in the bar either alone, or with female colleagues. It’s not so common to bring a spouse. I can kind of understand why…

We tried a Turkish red wine. The one we originally ordered wasn’t in stock, which was kind of a blessing, because it was priced at over $100 (in Turkish lira). What we had was much cheaper, and not too bad… although after we enjoyed it, I wondered what the more expensive one was like.

*This wasn’t bad once it opened up a little…*

That about does it for Tuesday in Maslak. Stay tuned for the next post!

C.G. Jung, short breaks

Four nights of “Sonne” in Switzerland… (part three)

We woke to partly cloudy skies on Friday morning. I had been thinking maybe we could go somewhere outside of the city, but those hopes were dashed when Bill made an appointment to have his second interview with one of the analysts on his committee. Not that I was disappointed… It put him a step closer to completing the application process.

We went down to breakfast and chose a table by the wall. The day before, a guy had sat in the chair right behind mine in the dining room. He kind of slammed into me while I was finishing up. I was determined not to let that happen again, so I sat on a bench against the wall, facing away from the mirror that offered unwelcome reflections of people eating. Seriously… why put mirrors in a dining room? Who wants to see themselves chowing down? 😃 Not me.

We saw the slender, dark haired lady we had talked to the day before. She came in as we were finishing and waved hello to us. We also saw a family with a toddler aged boy and the most beautiful male German Shorthaired Pointer. The dog was very sweet, but his owner seemed a bit uptight. I noticed when the dog moved, he didn’t put weight on one of his forelegs. He held it up and hobbled on three legs. But he was otherwise very bright and beautiful, with a gorgeous shiny coat. He was also pretty well behaved.

After breakfast, Bill and I made our way to the train station. He had purchased two first class tickets for us to go a couple of stops, then get on the tram, which is not as fancy, but would take us straight to the analyst’s office near the Opera House in Seefeld. As we waited for the train, I looked up at someone’s balcony overlooking the tracks. They had big plants on the balcony, maybe to make it look more inviting as an outdoor space. I couldn’t help but think I’d hate to live by railroad tracks. I did that in South Carolina, and it got old pretty fast!

The train came and we made our way into the city. The analyst, a guy I’ll call J.J., shares his office space with another therapist. As we were walking into his building, a lady with a dog came out. We later found out that she’d had to bring the dog with her to her session. I immediately liked J.J. for accommodating his client’s dog!

I waited for Bill while he had his interview, sitting in a rather uncomfortable straight backed chair. I passed the time with games and reading my latest book, which is about Alexei Navalny. It’s a fascinating book, but a bit depressing. I have to take it in short stints. I look forward to finishing it.

When Bill was finished, he came out of J.J.’s office with a huge smile on his face. I knew the session had gone well. He told me that J.J. had said he would make a “fantastic” analyst! I don’t think that was flattering bullshit, either. I have always thought Bill would be good in such a role. He’s a natural healer, a kind, caring person, and a good listener. Maybe it’s time for a change in direction. I know that eventually, it will be time for him to do something new.

We decided to have lunch at a place called Brasserie Schiller, which is a bustling restaurant by the Opera House. The place was full of patrons, but we managed to score a table. Our waitress was a friendly older woman with a lot of personality. She struck me as a worldly type of person who would be a lot of fun to hang out with outside of work. She seemed like the type of person who swears a lot, enjoys a drink, and probably smokes, too.

We were in a celebratory mood, so we had a nice big lunch… I had entrecote (rib eye steak). Bill had venison. We skipped the starters, because we wanted dessert. That was a consistent theme during this trip! For dessert, I had chocolate mousse, and Bill had a lemon tart.

*They put my steak in a pan with sauce and kept it on this burner.*

Our lunch was very luxurious and leisurely, and we were among the last patrons to leave before the pause. Our waitress told us she had to set up for a special event that evening. I looked outside and saw that it looked like they were setting up a stage for some kind of festival. We paid her and got out of her hair. Having been a waitress myself, I understand the pain!

Instead of taking the tram and train back to the hotel, we decided to take one of the shuttle boats. It took quite a bit longer, but we had the benefit of lake views and watching people… I also watched a spider make its way down from the ceiling, spinning its silk just behind Bill’s head. He doesn’t like spiders, so I smirked when I told him there was a spider climbing down its silk. The lady sitting at the table next to us seemed horrified as she looked for it.

*A gymnast shows off her moves… I think they were Ukrainian.*

When we got back to the hotel, it was late afternoon. I laid down on the bed for a rest, and soon fell fast asleep. I think I was out for about two hours. We were so full from lunch that we skipped dinner and went to the bar, instead. A group of Americans were in there, being pretty loud… But that didn’t stop us from enjoying the bartender, cocktails, and the bar that looked like the bow of a boat. To be honest, I would have preferred beer, but besides an unremarkable Helles on draft, they only had Erding Weissbier in bottles, and I didn’t want that. Our ex landlady is from Erding, and I didn’t want to be reminded of her.

I also got some nice images of the sunset. Lake Zürich is like an ever changing canvas.

Saturday was our one day with no plans. I will write about that in the next post.

holidays, Luxury, Sundays

A little Swiss serenity: I made waves by taking off my jacket… part five

Featured photo was taken in the Historical Museum.

Sunday morning, Bill and I decided to try the breakfast at Les Trois Rois. When we stay in hotels, we usually go ahead and book breakfast, even when it’s expensive. I didn’t do that for our trip to Basel, mainly because I didn’t see the option to do so until we’d already booked our stay. Now that we’ve been to the hotel, I’m kind of glad that we didn’t include breakfast in our nightly rate. I believe you do get a break on the price if you pre-book breakfast. When I look at the hotel’s Web site, I see that the rate for a room with breakfast is 45 francs more per night, while if you just go there without pre-booking, it’s 55 francs per person.

Les Trois Rois also has a Sunday brunch that runs from 11:30 PM until 3:00 PM. The brunch was fully booked on Sunday, but if we had chosen to do it, it would have cost 155 francs per person.

The breakfast includes a buffet, juices, champagne, hot drinks, and made to order egg dishes and other breakfast staples. It was pretty busy in the Brewery restaurant, where breakfast is served, when we arrived. Bill had Eggs Benedict, and I had Eggs Norsk, which was basically Eggs Benedict, but with smoked salmon instead of bacon.

After breakfast, we decided to walk around Basel some more. We went across the bridge nearest the hotel, which took us to a seedier part of the city. At one point, I looked down and noticed pictographs on the pavement. It looked like a woman standing next to a streetlamp… A prostitute! And lo and behold, upon looking up prostitutes in Basel, I discovered that yes, indeed, we had found Basel’s Red Light district! Prostitution has been legal and regulated in Switzerland since 1942, but street hustling is supposed to be illegal. In 2016, city officials in Basel made areas where prostitutes are allowed to stand, um… offering their wares. Before I noticed the pictograph, we did see a few ladies in the street, chatting up men and sort of loitering near what appeared to be seedy bars… for Switzerland, anyway.

After a few minutes of walking through the Red Light District, we decided to go back across the bridge and up a hill. We wandered around, passing buildings belonging to the local university, until we wound up in the Münsterplatz. This is a big plaza where the Basler Münster is. We happened to be there just as church was letting out, so we didn’t have the chance to go inside for a look, but I did hear some lovely organ music that I picked up on video, along with my heavy breathing. I also got some photos of the area, which is one of the oldest public squares in Basel.

We rounded a corner and soon found ourselves near the Basel Historical Museum. I needed to pee, so that was a sign we needed to visit the museum. I’m not sorry we visited, as the museum is pretty awesome and extensive, and once you get to the bottom of it, you will, in fact, find a public restroom. But something surprising happened when we went inside.

First, we bought our tickets, which were half price, because we had a Basel Card. The tickets were good for two other museums within walking distance and could be used for up to seven days after purchase. We didn’t get a chance to visit the other two museums, one of which was a music museum. If we ever go back to Basel, we’ll have to make a point of seeing those places.

I took in the vast, beautiful building, that was clearly once a place of worship. Then I realized I was hot. I wore my heavy coat, and had been walking around. I decided to take it off. When I did that, I was immediately accosted by a security guard. The man came up to me and said that in the museum, I had two choices– I could either wear my coat or put it in a locker. Then he went on to politely explain that they had 800 year old artifacts there, and somehow, if I’m carrying my coat instead of wearing it, that puts their priceless artifacts at risk.

I must have looked annoyed, confused, and perhaps even angry, because the guy just kept going on while I stood there listening to him, considering what I wanted to do. As he continued to explain… unnecessarily, I might add… I finally said in a rather peevish tone of voice, “It’s alright. It’s not a problem.” I put the coat in a locker, but was then quite pissed off, not because I minded putting my coat in a locker, but because the guy kept going on and on about it, as if merely removing my jacket was offensive to him. All they needed to do was suggest it when we bought the tickets, not lecture me in the middle of the museum for daring to take off my coat because I was sweating.

That confrontation kind of put a damper on the visit, but at least I got the chance to pee. I’m glad we did go there, too, because it is an interesting museum with a lot to see. One could spend hours in there. We also managed to pick up some gifts for Bill’s grandchildren and co-workers, and a book on phobias and manias for me. In fairness to the guard, he was not impolite. In fact, it was like he was trying very hard not to offend, but in the process of doing that, managed to be offensive by acting as if I didn’t understand his request. He could have just requested that I put the coat in the locker without the unrequested explanation and that would have been much less irritating.

*Just outside of the museum. It reminded me of Antwerp, Belgium.*

After we visited the museum, we realized it was close to lunchtime. So we went across the street to a Swiss beerhall type restaurant called Braunen Mutz. This was a very casual place that offered a lot of local favorites like fondue and raclette, but also had things like meatloaf, sausages, and fried fish. In fact, I had fried perch and frites, while Bill had the meatloaf. We enjoyed several locally produced beers, too. We got a kick out of the little Swiss flags on every dish. It wasn’t the most amazing food we’ve ever had, but it was comforting and tasty, and we got service with a smile. I see by reviews on TripAdvisor that not everyone enjoys the experience as much as we did…

I told my German friend, Susanne, that the little flags were very National Lampoon’s European Vacation…

Bwahahahahaha… I’m sure the food was better than TV dinners!

After lunch, we walked around some more, finally running into some impressive buskers who were playing a mean version of “Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis Presley. I got Bill to leave them a tip.

I love buskers!

Then we headed back to the hotel to rest a bit and digest… and then enjoy a little more time in the bar, where I got a dirty look because I was trying to watch a video without sound, but didn’t realize the volume was turned up. I’m afraid my eyes probably expressed how I felt about that. Below are some more photos, including some of the lovely bar at Les Trois Rois. I noticed what appeared to be a few ladies posing in front of the fireplace. I don’t know if they were guests, or had just gone there to have a drink and be “seen”.

*The bar at Les Trois Rois is a great place for gin and tonics.*

We missed turn down service again, because we decided to watch some TV and relax on our final night in Basel. I will sum up our ride back to Germany in the next post!

Bars, BeNeLux, churches, supermarkets

A Wednesday in Mons… (part three)

Wednesday morning in Mons started much like Tuesday did. Bill and I got up and went to breakfast, ate the same mediocre chow, and kissed each other goodbye. I went back to bed for awhile, and then got up for a walk around Mons. We had some rare sunshine on Wednesday, so that was a nice thing.

The sunny weather led me to the Belfry of Mons, which I hadn’t known anything about before our arrival. My German friend had mentioned it to me, but I thought it was in the church on the main drag. Not so… this is a tower that you can pay 9 euros to ascend. It even has an elevator that will take you most of the way up. I didn’t want to go up the tower without Bill, so I decided to put off a visit. Of course, on Friday, when Bill was free, it was cloudy again. Shucks. Well, maybe we can visit again and go up the tower then. I did read reviews of the Belfry and they indicated that at no point are visitors able to take in views outside.

I kept walking and wound up at another church… one that was even more beautiful to me than St. Elisabeth’s. Sainte Waudru Collegiate Church is a very impressive gothic church that dates from the 15th century. It’s currently undergoing some refurbishment, but it’s open for visitors. I was feeling prayerful again, so I sat for awhile and took in the awesome beauty inspired by faith in God. I even lit a few candles, although I’m not Catholic. It helped lightened my purse. Who knows? Maybe God heard my pleas… er prayers… Someday, I’m going to make a video of all of the beautiful churches we’ve seen since we’ve been in Europe.

Below are some photos from Wednesday’s walk…

After a couple of hours of walking, it was soon lunchtime. I thought about where I might like to have lunch, but then realized I needed to go to the grocery store for some hair conditioner. The shampoo in the hotel was irritating my scalp and drying out my hair.

So I walked to the Delhaize, which looked very familiar to me with its lion logo. You see, I am from the southeastern United States– Virginia to be precise– and there, we had many Food Lion stores. Food Lion used to be called Food Town, but in 1983, they changed the name. Well… as I research this blog post, I have discovered that Food Lion is, in fact, owned by Delhaize, and has been since 1974. Aha!

I never liked shopping at Food Lion, although I will admit that it’s been quite some time since my last visit. To me, it was always a very no frills grocery store with bright lighting that was too sterile for my eyes. Of course, when you’re broke, as I was when I was single and for a good portion of my marriage, it’s a good place to get groceries. But I have alway preferred shopping at fancier places. I see that Ahold Delhaize also owns Giant, which is a store I used to go to a lot when I lived in the northern Virginia area.

Anyway, Delhaize is a Belgian company, and they have Delhaize stores in Belgium. I didn’t find shopping there to be like going to Food Lion, except for the lion logo. The lighting wasn’t as harsh, for one thing. When I went into the store, I noticed that it was very busy, as a lot of students from the high school were there getting lunch. That’s what I decided to do, too. I bought some sushi, sparkling water, and a beer– a Kwak Rouge, which is a kriek (cherry lambic). Then I got some conditioner and deodorant, since I couldn’t find the deodorant I thought I’d packed. I actually did pack deodorant, but it was buried deeply in the recesses of my Red Oxx bag. I had a brief moment of disorientation as the Delhaize payment system involves putting cash and change in a machine, rather than giving it to a cashier.

I went back to the hotel and had lunch as I watched Little House on the Prairie in French. The sushi wasn’t great, but it got me through the afternoon. Then I did some reading and napping as I waited for Bill to come back after his conference. Later, we went out to dinner at a little Tunisian place called the La Petite Couscoussiere. We noticed it on our first night in Mons, and it was consistently busy. Fortunately, they had room for us on that Wednesday night. I know Bill loves going to ethnic restaurants.

Below are some photos from our visit to the little Tunisian place… I’ve actually been to Tunisia, but it was over New Year’s 1977/78. I have fond memories of our visit to Sousse, when I was a little blonde five year old. The Tunisians spoiled me with candy and fruit! I’d love to visit there again, now that I’m blonde again.

We enjoyed the Tunisian place, except for the fact that the woman sitting behind me was a bit drunk. She hung her purse on the back of my chair and kept staggering around. At one point, she hugged a woman at another table. I assume they knew each other, although she was clearly tipsy. I didn’t notice it, because my back was to her, but Bill said she was sitting with two guys. One appeared to be her date. The other appeared to be a friend of the guy, and it was clear that he was a bit annoyed with her. So was I. Hang your purse on your own chair, lady!

After dinner, we visited a bar called Le Central for a nightcap… We just had one, though, because it was clear the barkeep was wanting to close up as he pulled all the shades an hour before the posted closing time. It was no big deal, since Thursday was a work day, anyway.

After our nightcap, we walked back to the hotel for another night of rest. The next day, we would discover a great local spot for dinner… and hear a very obnoxious American guy embarrass us among Belgians. Stay tuned for the next installment.

adventure, Champagne Bucket trips, Iceland

Our first Icelandic adventure: Geyser blowing at Hotel Geysir, and SUNSHINE at last! (part eight)

At the end of the day on Monday, Bill, Ivar, and I arrived at Hotel Geysir, a family run hotel that opened in 2019. Ivar did not stay at this hotel with us. I got the sense that it was pretty expensive. However, of the five hotels we stayed in, I think it was probably the most luxurious. The room we stayed in, a deluxe double, was huge by Icelandic standards. There was a little balcony, plenty of outlets for our electronics, and a super comfortable bed.

The bathroom didn’t have a shower; instead it had a large tub with a sprayer. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn on the water (you press buttons instead of turning knobs). Once I figured it out, I didn’t mind the tub. It was plenty big and deep.

Below are a few shots of the room and bathroom…

*I would have liked to have taken the bed home with me. It was very comfortable.*

Below are a few photos I should have put in part seven, but I forgot. If you notice the caption of the photos with the people in them, I was immediately reminded of convicts in the USA cleaning up the roadsides. We had to explain that to Ivar, who didn’t know we had that in the States. But actually, they weren’t convicts. They were just people about to go riding, and most of them wore blaze orange rain gear.

*At first, I thought these were convicts getting ready to clean up the roadside…*

After we checked into the hotel, and I got cleaned up in the tub, we went to the bar area to enjoy a drink or two before dinner. I was kind of enjoying the piano music they were playing, no doubt from Spotify. I kept Shazaming it. Ivar told us that the hotel had been built around an old school house, which we could see from the restaurant. I got a couple of photos of it at breakfast.

The restaurant was pretty crowded and busy, and we were seated at a “couch”, with two tables in front of it. I don’t usually like these kinds of set ups, because they can be awkward and weird. Indeed, the hostess tried to seat another couple next to us and they quickly moved. I don’t think it was necessarily because we offended. Based on what happened next, it looked like maybe the table rocked. They fixed that and seated a single man next to us.

Bill had his chance to try lamb, while I went with the sole. Both dishes were very good, although it was more than I could possibly eat. Sole is also kind of hard to eat because it has a lot of bones. I noticed one American woman sitting near us who actually needed a tutorial on how to eat fish on the bone. But anyway, below are some photos…

After dinner, we decided to have dessert drinks instead of dessert. The bar area was much quieter, plus the bartender was very personable. She turned out to be from Liepaja, Latvia, a place we visited last summer. I noticed that a lot of people from Latvia work in Iceland. I also noticed quite a few from other eastern European countries, but Latvian workers really stood out. I would imagine that the climate is fairly easy for them to get used to, although maybe Latvia is a little bit less hostile in the winter? I honestly don’t know.

I had a Lemon Cheesecake cocktail, and Bill had a drink named after a waterfall… And apparently, one of us had a beer… LOL…

*The Lemon Cheesecake drink was delicious!*

The next morning, we got up bright and early, only to find that there was no electricity. Ivar told us that there was none in his hotel either, and for some reason, that happens in the area near the geyser on some occasions. We were wondering if breakfast would be affected when the lights suddenly came back on, and when we went back to the restaurant to eat, everything was all set up. Ivar was there, too, as his hotel didn’t offer breakfast. I guess he just paid for it at Hotel Geysir, which has a very generous buffet that even includes cava. I made mimosas for Bill and me…

Hotel Geysir is located right across the street from Strokkur Geysir, one of the world’s most powerful geysirs (spelled “geysers” by us English speakers). I had never seen a geyser in person before our visit to Iceland, and as it turned out, the area around the dormant”big” geyser at this site was closed and, according to Ivar, is no longer as exciting as it once was. But that was okay, as the so-called “little geyser” was plenty impressive… Below is a video I made showing the geyser going off, and our guide explaining it to us.

The ending is the best…

I also took some still photos of the area around the geysers… As you can see, pickpockets have become a problem at this site. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of crowds there during our visit.

*The big geyser, which used to be larger than the one I videoed, was closed during our visit. Ivar said it is dormant, anyway.*

I was going to write up the whole day in this post, but it’s getting kind of late and I’m still pretty tired from COVID. We also did a lot, and visited several awesome waterfalls that require making videos and posting many photos. So I’m going to stop with this, and resume tomorrow with more sunshine and waterfalls! See you then!

art, Bars, Champagne Bucket trips, churches, Iceland

Our first Icelandic adventure: A day in Reykjavik! (part three)

Whenever we travel with the intention of cruising or touring, I like to schedule free time that allows us to explore on our own. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not that good at group tours. I like to look at things at my own pace and wander, as this means I might find things I wouldn’t have ordinarily found. However, I know that doing things on my own can mean that I will miss out on “important” stuff.

For instance, when Bill and I went to Bulgaria in June, I had wanted to see caves that I had read about before our journey. Unfortunately, I got sick and needed a day in bed, which significantly cut down on our time to see things. Consequently, we missed out on the caves. Maybe if we’d hired a guide, I would have hauled my ass out of bed.

For our trip to Iceland, I knew I’d want to have a look at Reykjavik before we left the city for more rural locales. We asked Iceland Luxury Tours to give us Fridays off, which they happily did for us. Bill and I spent the day getting the lay of the land, visiting museums, and drinking local beers.

The first morning in Iceland, we went down to the buffet breakfast offered at the hotel and found ourselves a table in the bustling restaurant. I immediately noticed a very busy “mama bear” type, trying to get her family ready for an excursion. She had two bored looking teenagers with her, both of whom had their noses buried in their phones. I kept hearing her address one of them– “Colby”– which she said over and over again in imperative language. She ordered them to hurry up and finish breakfast. She ordered them to go to the bathroom. She ordered them to get ready for the trip. Soon enough, “Dad” showed up to let them know that their driver was there for them. Another woman– maybe the mom’s sister, based on her looks– came over to help mom herd the teens out of the restaurant.

Once again, I was struck by how very loud Americans are compared to Europeans. I used to be a lot louder than I am now, but changed my ways after years of living here. A lot of times, people think Bill and I are Germans. Then they hear us speak. Maybe I should try to trip them up by wearing Jack Wolfskin clothes and moving my wedding ring to my right hand.

After breakfast, we headed out into the city… which really feels more like a big village, compared to other European cities. The weather was rainy and windy, but not very cold. A large group of Americans were behind us, making me feel kind of nervous. I don’t like it when any big group is right behind me, but the loud talking was making me feel more on edge. I decided to turn left, off the main drag, and head in another direction. Very soon, we found ourselves standing at the entrance of a very interesting museum…

The Icelandic Phallological Museum is a museum dedicated to the penis. The museum was founded in 1997 by a retired teacher named Sigurður Hjartarson. Hjartarson’s fascination with all things penis related began when he was a child and someone gave him a cattle whip made out of a bull’s penis. From there, he collected all sorts of specimens from a variety of different animals, to include human beings. The museum also features art– sculptures, paintings, and other items that are related to his interests.

I don’t actually like looking at penises myself, but I’m kind of obnoxious. I could never pass up the chance to visit a museum dedicated to dicks, even if I’m not really interested in looking at them. I have to admit, the Phallological Museum was interesting and educational. I got a bunch of photos, and was almost tempted to buy a t-shirt. It wasn’t a terrible place to spend an hour, although our guide later told us that he’d never been to the museum. He said the founder was racist and against women’s rights. I don’t know how true that is… but that’s what our guide told us. Anyway, we didn’t know that before our visit. Even if we did know about it, we probably would have still visited. Below are some photos from our visit to the world’s only museum dedicated to penises…

*People were allowed to write on this white board…*

After we visited the phallological museum, Bill and I walked around a bit, until we wound up at the Harpa Concert Hall, a state of the art music venue that houses the Icelandic Symphony and Opera. The Harpa Concert Hall also includes exhibits, shops, restaurants, and even a very nice children’s area. Bill was going to visit the restroom, but he lacked Icelandic coins. Actually, he probably could have used his credit or debit card; Iceland is pretty much cashless nowadays. As we were about to leave the building, I noticed a place with a bunch of egg shaped chairs. It was a “virtual reality tour”, using special virtual reality glasses.

On a whim, we decided to try the Saga VR tour. I had never used virtual reality glasses before, but I had seen them offered by Apple. Using the glasses, we could watch short films about the different regions of Iceland as if we were there. The chairs were designed to offered a 360 degree experience with sort of a private feeling. While we didn’t experience all of the really cool stuff featured in the films, the virtual reality tour did kind of whet our appetites for our guided visit to Iceland’s hinterlands. The videos were made with drones and the whole thing took less than 15 minutes, but it was still kind of an interesting experience for us. I also got a few photos…

*The ceiling of the Harpa Concert Hall.*

After we finished our VR tour, we walked back into the wind and rain, passing by the SH Vega, a brand new luxury cruise ship by Swan Hellenic, as well as the Windstar Star Pride, a ship that used to be owned by Seabourn. I’m actually kind of interested in the SH Vega. I might have to read up on that ship. I took a few more photos from the harbor area…

Finally, we found our way to the Reykjavik Art Museum Hafnarhús, one of three related art museums in the city. The ticket we purchased was good at all three museums, but we only had time to go to one, which wasn’t all that large, but did include some fascinating exhibits. I especially enjoyed one called Flood (Flóð), done by an artist named Jónsi. The exhibit is a spatial, scent, and sound sculpture. We spent some time in there, listening to the sounds, smelling the scent, and walking on what felt like sand.

Cool!

There were also other thought provoking exhibits at the museum. Naturally, I took photos!

Part of another exhibit in the art museum.

*This exhibit was about seasonal affective disorder.*

It was about lunchtime when we left the art museum. We walked around a bit, in search of food that was appealing. Instead, we ended up at an Irish pub called The Dubliner… supposedly the first one in Reykjavik. We had a round of beer…

But then we moved on, since The Dubliner didn’t appear to have food available. After walking around a bit, we found ourselves at an interesting bar called Lemmy. We really enjoyed Lemmy, as the bartender was super friendly, and they had a bunch of beers on tap. They also played great music. But something odd was happening during our visit. There was a film crew there, making a movie in one of the bathrooms. They had put a toilet in the dining area… I didn’t get a close look at it, but Bill said they’d fixed the toilet to look like someone had used it and didn’t flush. The crew was there during most of our visit, which probably lasted longer than it should have.

Lemmy did have food, although the menu was very limited. I ordered chicken wings, but they were too spicy and messy for me. I didn’t enjoy them. Bill had nachos that were marginally better than my wings were. The music and beer, though… that was all top notch! You can see the heavily graffitied bathrooms in the photo. I guess that was why they were filming in there.

*Maybe we should have done the walking tour…*

After lunch, we walked to the other side of the city and ventured toward Hallgrímskirkja, an iconic Lutheran church that was opened in Reykjavik in 1986. We took the Rainbow Street (in honor of Reykjavik Pride) to get there, mainly so I could take photos. On the day of our first visit, the inside of the church was closed because a bishop was visiting. Because the weather was poor, we decided not to go up the tower on that day. We did go up a week later. I’ll provide information on that experience when I get to that post. For now, here are more photos.

After all of that activity and walking, we decided to go back to the hotel. It was so dark and dreary outside, we decided to just stay in and enjoy the evening in our room. At one point, Bill went out and bought us slices of Sbarro Pizza from a grocery store and soft drinks, since one must go to a liquor store to buy booze. The Sbarro pizza was kind of a treat. I used to enjoy Sbarro a lot when I was younger, but now that malls are disappearing in the USA, so is that pizza. But you can still get it in Iceland. Go figure!

I know we should have had dinner somewhere, but I have to ease into activity… Besides, the next morning, we would be starting our tour with Iceland Luxury Tours. More on that in the next post!

Champagne Bucket trips, Iceland

A very quick check in from Reykjavik…

Hi folks… We’ve just spent our second night in Reykjavik, Iceland. This morning, our driver from Iceland Luxury Tours will be picking us up and taking us south, where we will visit a nature preserve and a waterfall, I think…

So far, the weather here has been chilly and windy. We made good use of the time, though, by visiting a museum dedicated to penises. Then we took a virtual tour of Iceland with cool headsets. We walked around the harbor, where we saw the Windstar Pride and a new ship called the SH Vega, which I will be checking out when we get home.

We toured the art museum– one of three related in the city, then had a beer at the city’s oldest Irish pub. After that, we went looking for lunch and ended up at another pub, where they were using one of the toilets for filming a movie. There was a literal toilet by the door when we entered the establishment! More on that when I blog about this trip!

We then took a walked on the rainbow street and visited the famous church that I can’t yet name… Again, more details when I write a proper blog entry.

So far, I haven’t found food that I’ve really loved. But I did have a piece of pizza from Sbarro last night. Haven’t had one of those in many years, but I was a big Sbarro fan when I used to go to malls in the United States. Apparently, they have a presence in Iceland. McDonald’s, on the other hand, doesn’t have a single restaurant here. Or so I’ve read. I hope to find some good fish in our next location.

We’ve run into a bunch of our countrymen, too… Apparently, we all had the same idea about visiting Iceland this time of year.

Anyway… so far, so cool. Here are a few photos!

There’s more to come!

Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe

Onward into Czechia… part four of our 2023 Czech tour!

At last, we arrived at the day I’d been eagerly anticipating, Tuesday, October 3rd. One of the reasons we decided to visit the Czech Republic is because October 3rd isn’t a holiday there. German holidays are great if you’re German, because you get a day off work. But if you’re not German, it usually means a lot of things are closed. Our hotel was closed, after all. They said it was due to a lack of staff, and I believe that’s true. But I also think it was because of German Unity Day, which is, of course, a big deal and should be celebrated.

I’m old enough to remember when there were two Germanys. I even wrote about East and West Germany when I was in the sixth grade, having been shocked to find out that the country was then divided. What can I say? We had no Internet in those days, so I spent a lot of time playing outside instead of surfing the Web, learning new things about the world. I don’t know that today’s kids have it better than we did in the 1980s, but they sure do seem to be more articulate and world savvy.

Of course, forty years ago, when I was eleven years old, I had no way of knowing that in just six years, the Berlin Wall would start to crumble. Bill was actually in Germany when it happened, and every time we go to the Czech Republic, he tells me at least once about how he used to guard the German border and mess with the sometimes female Czech border guards. 😉

We packed up our bags, enjoyed the leftover croissants and juice, and Bill got some cappuccinos to go from the bakery. Once we were all set, we loaded up the car and dropped the room key in the mailbox, where the proprietors had told us to leave it. I was kind of glad to be on the way to Czechia, although overall, we enjoyed Hotel La Casa. The people who run the hotel are very nice. I hope they get some new colleagues soon, so they can get back to being fully functioning.

Our drive to Cesky Krumlov would take several fun filled hours. I can’t say that the drive was particularly exciting, although it was quite pretty in some areas. Bill and I are pretty familiar with the German part of the drive, since the beginning of it is the same way one would go to Austria, Slovenia, Italy, or other points southeast from Stuttgart. We broke up the trip by stopping at a pretty awesome truck stop, where I had a really delicious chicken burger and Bill had a Pfännle, which is hard to describe. Luckily, I have photos.

After lunch, we were back on the Autobahn. We had no need to stop at a Rastplatz, because Bill had gotten an electronic “vignette” for the car. This is a cool new thing the Czechs are doing, making it possible to pay to use their highways without having to put stickers on the car. I hope the rest of Europe follows suit. He had pre-paid for the electronic vignette to last for our full time in Czechia– about a week or so.

The countryside on the way to Cesky Krumlov was as beautiful as I remembered it, as the roads were as loaded with potholes. There’s a definite drop off in road quality as one exits Germany. Here in Germany, we have constant road construction projects, but very few shitty roads. In Czechia, it seemed the opposite was true. Our route took us through some scenic areas, albeit with a few aggressive drivers on our tail. Below are some photos I took of the landscape as we headed east toward our destination.

I had pretty vague memories of Cesky Krumlov, as the last time we were there was on my birthday in 2008. It happened to be during their Five Petalled Rose Festival, and everyone was dressed in medieval garb. They had medieval games, too. I seem to remember we parked in a dirt lot near the town after visiting the old town of nearby Cesky Budjovice, where Czech Bud is made. I remember climbing the castle tower, seeing the bears, and noticing how pretty the town was.

Arriving there in 2023 was surprising, as they had parking lots designed for tourists and busses. We had booked two nights at the delightful Monastery Garden, a small lodge near the castle gate. The manager had helpfully sent me instructions on where to park and how to find the place. Unfortunately, we had a lot of trouble finding “P2”, the parking area where we were instructed to park. We finally ended up parking at the bus station and walking into the town to find the Monastery Garden, which we did after about twenty or thirty minutes of searching. Below are a few first looks of the beautiful town of Cesky Krumlov.

As we were checking in, Bill realized that one of his colleagues was also there. They had just spent a week working together in Bavaria. She had her aunt, uncle, and mom with her, and I got the sense that maybe she was delighted to see us. Bill called her by name as I went to get us checked in by the very friendly and English speaking receptionist.

Cesky Krumlov is a very charming medieval town, recognized by UNESCO. Very limited driving is allowed in the town, and you have to pay a fee to legally do so, even just to drop off luggage. Bill paid for the permit to drive into the town, but ended up just parking in P2, once he found it, and trucking in our luggage. Poor guy. He’s such a mensch.

*Monastery Garden in Cesky Krumlov is a wonderful place to stay.*

We booked Room 6, which was one of their “Signature Suites”. It was a very large room, beautifully decorated, with a very cool looking armoire with a door that opened into the bathroom. The bathroom had a clawfoot tub, with a handheld shower sprayer. The place also had an “honesty bar” in the lobby, where guests could help themselves to food and beverages and just report what they had the next day. The lobby is also where they serve their incredible breakfasts that are as beautifully presented as they are delicious. Below are some photos from Room 6.

After we settled in, we started trying to plug in our various electronics. This was when we realized that using a typical adapter doesn’t work in the Czech Republic. Every outlet has a metal post that sticks up. Fortunately, I have a bunch of electronics with European specs, making it possible for Bill to connect his phone and get charged via my laptop computer. The whole time we were traveling, he kept saying he wanted to stop in an electronics store and find a new adapter. He never did, though.

Finally, once we got the electronics sorted, we headed out in search of dinner. I believe this might have been the only night. we went to a restaurant for dinner, which surprised me. I guess we’re just getting old. In the evenings, we were usually not hungry and too tired to go out for an evening repast. So we’d watch TV, drink wine, and eat snacks. It probably saved us money and calories, to some extent.

The place we visited was called Papa’s, and it served very typical heavy Czech fare. I had a duck leg with gravy and heavy dumplings. Bill had pork with a mustard sauce and dumplings. We both had beer. The food was pretty filling. I can never eat more than one dumpling, at most, but they usually give you at least two. I think there were four on the dishes we ordered! We were too full to consider having dessert, so after we ate, we walked around a bit more and stopped at a bar called Apotheka, which used to be an apothecary (druggist). There, we had several interesting designer cocktails. It was a nice way to cap off the evening, even if we did drop quite a few Czech crowns there.

One of the cocktails I ordered…

When we got back to where we were staying, Bill’s colleague and family members were at the big breakfast table playing cards. We stopped to chat with them for a few minutes, but I got the sense we were crashing a private party from the older folk. Bill’s colleague, by contrast, seemed eager to chat with us some more. I can’t say I blame her! As much as I love my family, the idea of traveling with them makes me a bit weak in the knees. I might do okay with my mom, if she was more up to traveling. She’s pretty low maintenance.

Anyway, aside from a rather adventurous “shower” in the fancy bathtub, everything was in order for our night’s slumber. We went to bed and rested up for our big, active day in Cesky Krumlov.

And a few more photos from the bar area in our hotel…

We’re staying in a “design hotel”, so naturally, things are designer here. We decided to skip dinner and just have drinks. You can get some very good cocktails at Nobis Hotel, for a hefty price…

The bartender was a bit negligent at first, but he woke up when he caught a look from Bill. He was an excellent barkeep and made great drinks, but he was doing a lot of bullshitting with the three ladies at the bar. He seems pretty young, though, so I guess he’ll grow up. 😉

*I hated these kinds of lanterns when we had them in our Jettingen house…*

That was basically our dinner, since we had a big lunch. Tomorrow’s lunch will probably be on the Splendor! We leave the hotel promptly at 11:00 AM.

anecdotes, memories

Arran is everywhere…

We had good weather yesterday, so Bill and I decided to go to Wiesbaden for lunch. I had a few places in mind where I’d like to go, but they were all pretty crowded. We ended up at Scotch N’ Soda, which is an Irish pub that is popular with the American community in Wiesbaden. In retrospect, I realize there’s another Irish pub near there that we have never visited. Maybe we should have gone there… but we were destined to go to the place we knew from prior visits.

One reason we like Scotch N’ Soda, besides the fact that they have a lot of scotches, is that they don’t take a midday pause. We have a tendency to get started late on the weekends, especially on Saturdays. But as it turned out, we were well within the bounds of the lunch hours when we arrived. A lot of people were sitting outside, because it was relatively warm and sunny. We went inside, where there were several tables available.

Bill ordered us a round of beers, and I looked up and noticed a reminder of Arran… We have twice been to the distillery that makes Arran Malt whisky, and it’s a good product. We didn’t have any yesterday, but it was a reminder that our dog, Arran, will always be popping up in unexpected places.

Lots of people were watching rugby on the televisions while Bill and I enjoyed comfort food. He had cottage pie, and I had fish ‘n chips with mushy peas. I actually got the small portion (one piece of fish)– they also offer medium and large. I couldn’t finish it. In fact, we didn’t even eat dinner last night. Say what you want about British and Irish food, it does stick to the ribs!

Before we got to Scotch N’ Soda, we walked around Wiesbaden a bit. I noticed something I’d never seen before. There’s a really cool city model near the main drag. Four years, we’ve been living here, and we never saw it before yesterday.

*This was constructed in 2010 and even has Braille translation. I’m always struck by how pretty the city of Wiesbaden is. It’s so graceful and genteel, compared to Stuttgart.*

And no visit to Wiesbaden would be complete without a photo of the Evangelical Market Church in downtown Wiesbaden. It is such an imposing and beautiful structure. Every time I see it, it takes my breath away.

To see this huge, majestic church in person is an experience. It always makes me feel small and insignificant. Maybe that’s the point… to remind Christians of the vastness of God. I’m not particularly religious, but I can appreciate that sentiment.

Well, it’s our first weekend without Arran… and we do miss him. This is the first time since 2002 that we haven’t had a beagle in the family. Noyzi is a wonderful dog and we love him very much, but he’s definitely different on many levels. It’s hard to get used to not having a warm doggy body on the bed with us. Noyzi probably would oblige, but he’s really too big to share the bed, even though it’s a king.

On the other hand, there are some things about Arran I won’t miss… like the fact that he was never 100 percent housetrained. He was good about 90 percent of the time, but we had to watch him, especially at night or in the early morning. Sometimes he had a habit of relieving himself on my rugs, rather than telling us he needed to go outside.

On Friday morning, Arran actually DID alert me, even though he could barely walk, and he did his business outside. But as recently as a couple of weeks ago, I found a big wet spot in his favorite place. Noyzi, on the other hand, almost never goes potty in the house. He’s always been like that, even when we first got him. It’s a definite plus!

I don’t know if or when we’ll get another beagle. We do love them… but they can be rascals, and they require a lot of diligence to make sure they don’t get into trouble. On the other hand, they’re cute, snuggly, friendly, and hilarious. And they’re also not quite as common in Germany as they are in the southern United States. I have noticed they’re much more popular here now than they used to be, though.

I suspect our next dog could be another Eastern European or Balkan immigrant… and smaller than Noyzi is. We shall see. For now, I think we’re going to enjoy having a little more freedom. It’s time to start planning a vacation. I definitely need one, and this blog needs some fresh material. So stay tuned for that.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

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