Featured photo is of Bratislava Castle. I took the photo in late March 2015.
It’s that time again. Bill has the first 13 days of October off, while he’ll be doing a lot of business travel in September and November. We’re going to take the opportunity to go some places and, hopefully, enjoy a nice rest.
I think we’ve made up our minds to go to Slovakia… but I haven’t yet booked anything. Until I book something, that idea is subject to change. I was considering another trip to Austria, mainly because I want to go to a relaxing spa hotel. But I also want to go to a place I haven’t yet seen much of, and Slovakia fits the bill.
Actually, I have been to Slovakia before. I spent several nights in Zilina back in 1997, when I was meeting my friends Chris and Dawn for part of my train trip through Europe after my stint in the Peace Corps. Chris was getting some computer training at the university in that town, so I met them there while he finished his last couple of days. I took the train to Zilina via Bratislava, having arrived from Vienna.
Bill and I also visited Bratislava for a day back in the spring of 2015. It was a fun day, and I would have liked to have stayed overnight and done some shopping. I noticed they had a lot of cool art for sale there, as well as excellent beers.
Since then, we haven’t been back to Slovakia, and based on what I’ve found while researching, there’s a lot to see there. So… that is probably where we’ll end up going, because Bill wants to go somewhere with mountains and trees.
I had been thinking about maybe going to Malta, since we haven’t been, and October would probably be a good time for it. But I think we have too much time for a Malta trip, and Malta isn’t exactly known for having forests. Maybe we’ll go there in the winter.
The beauty of a trip to Slovakia is that we can stop in the Czech Republic either there or back, or we could go to Poland… Poland and the Czech Republic are also great places to buy art. Maybe we could even visit Auschwitz. I know that would be depressing, but I think it’s important to go there, especially given what’s happening in the United States right now.
Slovakia has a lot of things we like… like waterfalls, fall colors, castles, and wine. The wine is kind of sweet, though.
Anyway… I think today, I’m going to shop for accommodations. Once I figure things out, I’ll update here. Again… this isn’t yet set in stone. I might decide to just bag it and go to Austria, which has what we want, along with some really great looking hotels. We’ll see what happens.
We had absolutely gorgeous weather last night, so Bill and I decided to go to the wine stand. It was our first one in a long while. We were sick in mid June, and then we were in Switzerland. I think the one before our sickness we missed because Bill was in Spain, and I hadn’t wanted to attend the wine stand alone.
We sat in the corner, where we usually sit, waiting for people to show up for the event. Bill got me a Riesling, and himself a Graubürgunder. I think the stand was hosted by a local winery.
Below are some photos I took. We talked to our American neighbors, and I told one of them about my Peace Corps experience in Armenia. She said she’d always wanted to join the Peace Corps, but feared it might not be possible, because her partner is in the military. I explained that military members can join, as long as they aren’t involved in intel… and even if they are, I believe that after some time, they can join if they wish. I actually think the two of them would be great Volunteers, if they were ever inclined to join. But, of course, that all depends on if Trump ruins the Peace Corps with one of his horrific policies.
We also met a man who had a beautiful dog named Stella. Stella is an Australian Shepherd and Border Collie mix. She was very friendly to us. I think I won her over with many butt scratches.
The sausages they were selling actually looked really good last night. We probably should have had one.
Sweet Stella!I love what they did with this bottle.
It was nice to go to the wine stand again, even if I did have to pee like a racehorse at the end. I think tomorrow, there’s going to be a flea market, and the wine stand will be open again.
Hopefully, this week, there won’t be any fires to put out. I think Bill has bought some ribs for our modest July 4th celebration, here at home. I don’t see it as celebrating America’s birthday so much as having a reason to cook some awesome ribs. 😋
It’s crazy that it was so hot last week, and today, it’s just 80 degrees. Last night, it was 76, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I’d love to see this weather stick around, if only because maybe my ankles will stop being so swollen.
Those of you who regularly read this blog might know that I spent 27 months living in Yerevan, Armenia, where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I was there from June 1995-August 1997, and the first half of my time there was during a severe energy crisis. Although I would be lying if I said I loved every minute of my time as an “A3” Peace Corps Volunteer (meaning I was in the third group to go there after the program started in December 1992), I am now left with lots of nostalgia. I still remember some of the language, and I have developed an appreciation for Armenian food, wine, and culture.
Last week, Facebook sent me a random ad for a restaurant in downtown Wiesbaden called La Bohème. This beautiful eatery, named for an opera by Giacomo Puccini, specializes in Armenian and Georgian food. I was excited to see that, as I had no idea that Wiesbaden had a proper Armenian restaurant. I have seen some Georgian places, but none that were really Armenian. I told Bill and about La Bohème, and today, we decided to visit.
This restaurant is located on Taunusstrasse, which runs along the perimeter of the old town. We parked our car in the Kurhaus Parkplatz, and then it was an easy and pleasant ten minute walk to the restaurant.
Wiesbaden’s hot spring!
When we walked into the restaurant, there were only two tables occupied. We took a spot by the wall, and the waiter, who spoke perfect English apologized that they only had German menus. As we’d say in Armenia, հարց չկա– (harts ch’ka, or no problem). We ordered our usual water with gas, and a lovely Georgian Mukuzani wine.
Then, we shared hummus with lavash, and xhorovatz (grilled meat). I had pork and Bill had lamb. I was very impressed by the food. It was beautifully prepared and presented. I was wondering where this place had been all my life!
This xhorovatz were outstanding! We both opted for the potatoes, and the dish came with drilled peppers and Armenian salad with pomegranate seeds.
The funny thing is, I never had hummus in Armenia. I didn’t eat in many restaurants because I couldn’t afford it, and there weren’t that many, anyway, during my time in Yerevan. By the time I left in 1997, more places were opening. Now, there are MANY good restaurants in Armenia.
After the main courses, we had dessert, but ended up taking most of it home. We were well satisfied by the Armenian dishes. Besides, the desserts were not as good as the starter and main courses were.
We finished up with a snifter of Ararat Vaspurakan 15 year old brandy for me, and an Armenian “Moka” for Bill, which just means coffee made in a moka pot. He read his future in the coffee grounds, which he said showed Western Europe. Personally, I thought they looked more like a dog.
Well, this looks more doglike from a different angle.
All told, we spent about 135 euros, and came home with leftover dessert. We both really enjoyed our visit and I think we’ll happily dine at La Bohème again. The food was excellent, and a nice change of pace. The prices were very fair. And the waiters were patient with me when I spoke Armenian. I’m better at speaking Armenian than German, although there was no need to speak either language, as they all spoke great English! Europe really does put us to shame when it comes to learning foreign languages!
Obviously, I highly recommend this restaurant. We’ll be back!
About. two weeks ago, Bill came home from work looking a bit flustered. You see, he was supposed to go to Bavaria last week, for yet another business trip. But then, at the very last minute, the trip went from four nights in Bavaria to four nights in Istanbul, Turkey (or Türkiye). And since Bill is a super good guy who knows I’d been wanting to go back to Istanbul again after a 29 year absence, he invited me to go along with him.
There was, of course, the usual catch. Since his company was paying for the hotel, we had to stay at one within a certain price range. We also had to be at a place that was in the area where Bill was going to be working, which was in the financial district of Istanbul called Maslak.
We had a choice of a few hotels and ended up at the Hilton Istanbul Maslak, which is a lot more comfortable than where I stayed the first time I went to Istanbul. However, it’s a good 13 kilometers from the old town, and the traffic in Istanbul is absolutely horrifying. They do have buses and a metro, but they’re pretty crowded. On the other hand, taking public transportation might be more expeditious than using a cab. The traffic is stupidly bad in Istanbul!
I went to Istanbul in 1996, when I had just turned 24 years old. My friend Elaine and I, having finished our first years as Peace Corps Volunteers in the Republic of Armenia, decided to visit Turkey and Bulgaria by bus. It was quite an adventure. I’ve written about that trip on more than one occasion. It was not an easy vacation, but I learned and grew a lot from it. Just getting to Istanbul by bus took three days straight, with no breaks! We had to go through Georgia to get there, and spent a very long time sitting at the Turkish border.
This trip to Istanbul, by contrast, was much easier and more luxurious. I flew business class on Turkish Airlines, while Bill was in economy (company rules). I’ve got to say, having flown Lufthansa business class a bunch of times, Turkish Airlines has got it all over Lufthansa. I’ll write more about that in the coming days.
Perhaps this visit to Türkiye didn’t require me to stretch quite as much as my trip in 1996 did! Nevertheless, I did learn some new things. So, although this series is not likely to be as full of photos as my series usually are, I think I’ve got some new things to share. I hope you’ll join me as I write up our quick jaunt to Istanbul. I didn’t do as much as I would have wanted to do, but I think now that he’s been to Turkey and seen it for himself, Bill can be persuaded to go back. I hope I can get him to visit Cappadocia. We’ll see…
Anyway, I’ll probably get cranked up with this series tomorrow. Tonight, I’ve got some chores to get done. See you then!
On Monday morning, we packed everything up in our bags and headed down to breakfast. I wanted to sit in the bar area, because they had chairs in their that better accommodated my ass. We were gently persuaded to sit in the restaurant, though, with a view of the tower. I didn’t want to sit in the restaurant, because I didn’t like being near the buffet and listening to other people’s chatter… and I didn’t like the chairs. There was a loud couple behind us who were cluing us in on the mundane intricacies of their lives. And… well, it didn’t “sit” well with me to be herded into the restaurant area, especially at the Grand Hotel Vilnius.
I have a feeling the server was hoping to minimize the areas that got “dirty”. I used to be a server, too. But then, there were people sitting in the bar area anyway, because there weren’t enough tables in the restaurant to accommodate everyone. I wished she’d just let us sit where we wanted to sit, so I didn’t have to leave with a less than positive impression.
Then, the same server who had brought me a birthday treat (not the one who herded us into the restaurant) came over to say hello and encouraged us to try a couple of items from the brand new breakfast menu.
Bill had Crepes Suzette and I had sour cream pancakes with forest berries.
Once we were finished with breakfast, we hung out in the room for about an hour, then checked out. A cabbie took us to the airport. A friend of mine from Gloucester, Virginia happened to be flying from Helsinki to Reykjavik. She warned me that security was very tight for some reason, but we didn’t have any issues. It was no time before we were checking our bags and headed to the business class lounge.
The lounge was nice enough, although I got the hell out of there as quickly as possible when a woman came near me with a bad cough and talked about how she’d been sick. Sorry… I’m not wanting to get sick before tomorrow’s journey to Zurich! I did get to try a local hefeweizen before we took off.
Our flight to Frankfurt was pretty full, but uneventful. The ticket scanner malfunctioned as I was trying to board, but it worked out when they used a different one. We had decent food on the flight– shrimp for me, and asparagus and feta for Bill. And I noticed the purser, though not as generous as the lady with the cool glasses on our flight over, was very kind faced and service oriented.
Below are some photos…
One last Lithuanian beer.This was surprisingly good. Lufthansa has pretty good food.Bill liked his dish, too.Ahhh… Frankfurt.
Once we landed a very polite, but clueless, little kid pushed to the front of the aircraft to use the lavatory. He wanted to pass me, but apparently didn’t notice that I had nowhere to go, and was trapped in the aisle. Bill managed to shift, and I made enough space for the little shit to go do his business.
Then we got off the plane and went to get our bags… always the worst part of any flight through Frankfurt. It’s a large airport and doesn’t have a train, so you walk your ass off. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you need the exercise. Obviously, I do.
It seemed like many people were on their way to other destinations, so very few people were waiting for bags. We picked ours up quickly and then got a cab back to Breckenheim. This time, the cab driver wasn’t very chatty in different languages.
I really liked our time in Vilnius. I was impressed with how beautiful and clean the city is, the excellent food, the friendly and funny people, and the very nice temperatures for June. I’d definitely go back. I’m especially happy that I visited the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. That is a very interesting and important museum.
It still blows my mind that Lithuania had a Peace Corps program. It’s a very nice country… I’d say it probably could have been called a “Posh Corps” country, even back in the early 00s.
The very last post will be my ten things I learned post, which I’ll try to do tomorrow morning, before we head off to Die Schweiz. See you there!
The featured photo is of a cell that was once used in the KGB detention facility. That facility has now turned into the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights in Vilnius.
You might be wondering how a proposed trip to Paris, France turned into a trip to the former Soviet Union. Bill had asked me months ago where I wanted to celebrate my birthday. He said maybe it was time we visited Paris again. Our last visit there, and first time visiting Paris together, was in May 2009.
I like Paris fine, and truly have been wanting to go there again. At first, I was all for the idea. But then I started thinking about the crowds. June is the beginning of the high tourist season in Europe, and people from other countries are currently swarming the most popular European cities. So then I started thinking of other places I’ve never been and want to see. We did a champagne bucket draw, and it came down to the Loire Valley in France (which I did visit in September 1997) and Vilnius. We flipped a coin and Vilnius won.
So, we arranged for five nights in Lithuania’s capital. I was excited about it, because we have already been to Latvia and Estonia, the other two Baltic countries. I was eager to see what the largest one would be like. Then I started reading about Vilnius, which people described as a “gem” of a city. I remembered a couple of really nice people from Lithuania who were working on SeaDream I, a gorgeous mega yacht Bill and I have sailed on three times. And, as an informal Soviet Union history buff, I was curious to go to another former republic from that failed regime.
Now that I’ve been to Lithuania, I’ve come away from the experience deeply moved and newly educated. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I heard a lot about the Soviet Union. Not knowing the history behind it, I assumed that the countries within it were “happy” to be in the Soviet Union. What can I say? I was an ignorant child, and didn’t have the greatest critical thinking skills. We weren’t necessarily taught about the Soviet Union’s history when I was in school. We were just taught that the “commies” were “bad”. It didn’t help that we had right wing movies like Red Dawn promoting stereotypes and propagandizing. Red Dawn came out when I was 12, and it was the very first PG-13 movie. Of course I watched it, and was seduced by its ignorant scaremongering messages.
Eleven years after I saw Red Dawn for the first time, I moved to the former Soviet Union to work for 27 months. I never thought I’d ever visit the former Soviet Union, let alone live there. I went to Armenia, which is not at all like Lithuania, except for the fact that it was also a Soviet country. The Armenian attitude toward Russia seemed to be somewhat more grateful, as Armenians were being threatened by Turks.
Armenians definitely don’t seem to have the same attitude about Russia that Lithuania and other Baltic countries have. Maybe that’s changed since Russia basically abandoned Armenia when Azerbaijan, another former Soviet republic, basically evicted Armenians for Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, part of Azerbaijan that is historically Armenian.
My time in Armenia didn’t inform me that not all of the former Soviet republics appreciated Russia. My much briefer time in the Baltic countries has taught me that, indeed, the Soviet Union was an extremely vast country with many different peoples, divergent attitudes, religions, languages, cultural traditions, and mores… and no, they certainly weren’t all “happy” to be Soviets.
I did have a basic understanding of this concept before we traveled to Lithuania, but the idea was definitely driven home when I visited museums and churches and looked around the city of Vilnius. Just seeing all of the pro-Ukraine flags, as well as this huge sign atop of a high rise building, was a big clue about how many Lithuanians feel about Russia. (I won’t say all Lithuanians, because I don’t actually know if they all feel like that…)
Putin is definitely not widely esteemed in Vilnius…
Once we had decided to visit Lithuania, I set about making plans. It wasn’t easy, because our trusty dog hotel staff was on vacation when the decision was made. We had to wait for them to come back to work before I could book plane tickets and get the hotel reserved. But once they were back to work and confirmed the dogs were welcome, I booked us five nights in a deluxe room with a balcony at the Grand Hotel Vilnius, Curio Collection by Hilton.
It had been years since I last stayed at a Hilton. I think I chose it because of the location, the fact that it had a pool and hot tub (which I sadly didn’t get to use), and because Bill collects Hilton Honors points. I am a member of Hilton Honors, too, but I had never actually collected any points. When we’ve stayed in Hilton hotels before, it was because Bill did the booking. Then I did some reading and figured Bill wouldn’t be able to get points unless he booked straight from Hilton, which was much more expensive than booking the hotel and flights through Expedia (where I also have a lot of loyalty points). So the booking was under my name.
I also booked business class flights on Lufthansa, because we can afford it, and I prefer to travel in comfort. Business class on flights within Europe isn’t all that special. You get access to the lounge, expedited security screening, a meal and drinks, and no one sits in the middle seat of your row. You also get “priority” baggage handling, and checked bags are included in the price. But the seats on the plane are no different than what you get in economy. You just don’t have to worry about offending a stranger who might be sitting next to you, or vice versa. To be honest, that’s really the number one reason why I try to book business class when I fly.
Once all of that was booked, we waited for the big day– June 18th. I was stoked, but kind of wondering what we were in for… I do love what little I’ve seen of Estonia and Latvia. This break would be a longer look. I was thinking maybe we’d be ambitious and take day trips or something. We didn’t end up doing any day trips, and yet it was still a very educational visit. More on that in the next parts…
Featured photo is of Frankfurt as we descended into the city this afternoon.
I had a great time turning 53 in Vilnius, Lithuania. This was the fifth former Soviet country I have visited, the others being: Armenia, Georgia, Latvia, and Estonia. Of course, if you’ve followed me for any length of time, you might know that I lived in Armenia for 27 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1995-97. I didn’t get a great look at Georgia, Estonia, or Latvia, as I just passed through Georgia on a bus in 1996 and Bill and I visited Tallin, Estonia twice, and Riga and Liepaja, Latvia once each on cruises.
Our visit to Vilnius was a comprehensive and full five night affair, and boy was I impressed with the place. Lithuania was once a Peace Corps country, as were Latvia and Estonia. Their programs ended in 2002. I could hardly believe how upscale Lithuania felt and appeared. It’s hard to imagine that it once hosted Peace Corps Volunteers! Of course, when I visited Armenia in 2023, I was surprised by how far it’s come, too, although it doesn’t look quite as clean and spiffy as Lithuania does… at least not yet.
Anyway, I will be doing my usual series for our trip, which was fairly busy. We didn’t do much on my birthday, because it was pouring rain all day, and because my muscles were extremely sore from climbing the Cathedral Bell Tower. But it still managed to be a memorable birthday for me, as Bill and I enjoyed lots of beers at a really cool pub.
I think I’ll start the series tomorrow morning. I’m kind of tired from our travel today. But I have lots of pictures and stories to share, so I hope a few readers will tune in… For now, here are a few photos…
One thing I learned is that Lithuanians are people of great faith… and I found their faith hopeful and uplifting in these troubling times. Aside from that, Vilnius is literally a cool city. The weather was actually chilly a couple of days. I had to wear a sweater on my birthday! We also enjoyed a lot of really good food. I was surprised by how fresh and delicious everything was. We even tried the famous “Pink Soup”.
So, hopefully tomorrow, I’ll get started on my latest series, and maybe get it finished before this Saturday, when we head to Zurich/Kusnacht, Switzerland for eight nights! For now, I need to relax for a bit and regroup. Traveling is tiring.
A couple of months ago, I got an email from the founder of the Recovery from Mormonism (RfM) messageboard, Eric K. I was surprised to hear from him, since although I had frequented that board for over 20 years, we had never really had many exchanges on his Web site. One thing we do have in common is music. Eric plays woodwinds in a number of bands.
Eric’s email was to inform me that he and his wife, Kathy, were coming to Germany for three weeks. He wanted to know if Bill and I would like to meet up with them for dinner. During their trip, they were going to be visiting Mainz and Frankfurt, two cities near where we live. The funny thing is, I haven’t been hanging out much on the RfM board much lately. Neither has Eric, since he handed over control of RfM to a trusted associate a few years ago.
I always experience a little bit of anxiety when it comes to meeting new people. I have the kind of personality that people seem to love or hate. Bill is much better at making neutral first impressions than I am. Nevertheless, I owe RfM a great debt, because that Web site helped me understand the religion Bill joined with his ex wife back in 1997. Bill ultimately resigned from the LDS church in 2006, four years after we married.
I grew up Presbyterian, a very mainstream Calvinist church, often populated by people of Scottish or Scots-Irish descent (that’s definitely me). When I met Bill, I knew next to nothing about the LDS church… and I didn’t understand why he was a bit panicked when he found out that I had talked to LDS missionaries one day when he was at work, back in 2002. Bill was a member of the church, but it was because of his ex wife’s influence. I didn’t know it then, but he was on his way out of Mormonism, and had started to think of it as a cult. So when I talked to the missionaries, he was afraid they would try to get him back to church.
The RfM board was a place where we could share our story and connect with people who were in a similar situation. It was a place to read about some of the significant issues people face when they leave highly controlling/restrictive religions. It was also a great place for finding music, books, and even some new online friends. We decided that we wanted to meet the man who created that online community in November 1995, which is still going almost thirty years later.
Bill and I met Eric and Kathy last night after a couple of days of trading emails trying to come up with plans. Unbeknownst to us, yesterday there was a huge gay pride celebration in Frankfurt. It happened to be going on right by where Eric and Kathy were staying. Originally, we were going to visit them today, but the restaurant they wanted to go to is closed today. So we decided to brave the pandemonium of the gay pride celebration. I’m really glad we did that, because not only was the restaurant a winner, but it was really cool to be walking around the gay pride party with three ex Mormons.
We met Eric and Kathy at their hotel at 4:30 PM, had a drink in the hotel’s tapas bar as we introduced ourselves. Then we went to Quattro, a really nice Italian restaurant next to their hotel. Eric said they’d gone to that restaurant a couple of nights earlier and enjoyed the food and service very much. After our dinner last night, Bill and I can echo their positive sentiments about Quattro. It has a small indoor dining room, but there’s also a very cool outdoor terrace with what appeared to be a retractible roof. We had 5:00 reservations, so it wasn’t that busy when we arrived, but by the time we left, it was packed with gay pride revelers!
Below are some photos of the food we enjoyed at Quattro. Bill and I shared a dorade fish– which was one of their specials. We also ordered an antipasto platter for two, which we all shared. It was a good call to get the antipasto for two, and share it among the four of us. More would have been too much! And of course, there was dessert!
The antipasto had burrata, octopus, squid, vitello tonnato, scampi, Parma ham with cantaloupe, beef carpaccio, and smoked salmon. Eric and Kathy each had pasta dishes– spaghetti for him, and ravioli for her. Our dorade came with broccoli and a boiled potato. We had two bottles of white wine and sparkling water– I loved that they were water compatible with us, too! A lot of Americans prefer still water.
For dessert, Bill had lemon sorbet. I had panna cotta with a berry compote. Eric and Kathy shared a chocolate souffle with ice cream. I think the total bill for the four of us was about 300 euros, which the men split.
What I really enjoyed about last night’s dinner, aside from the food and ambiance, was the natural and free flowing conversation. We weren’t awkward at all! It turned out that we had a lot of similar views about the topics that tend to divide people– religion and politics. Eric and Kathy have two adult children, and their son is a veteran. Their daughter has made them grandparents. Eric, Kathy, and Bill are all LDS converts. I have never been LDS, but I did serve in the Peace Corps. Eric did a Mormon mission in Finland. And Bill has a daughter who has made him a grandfather four times over, so they were able to talk about the grandchildren and share pictures.
After dinner, we walked around the gay pride festival. I took a bunch of photos. We could have probably spent a little more time walking around the festival, but it was very crowded and a bit warm. Also, we were clearly not with the crowd, because we were dressed very conservatively! Still, how cool is it that three ex Mormons were getting to know each other at a gay pride event? There was a time when the three of them would never have gone to that event because of the religion.
I was surprised by this establishment’s name.Look closely at this photo…These signs were at the Democrats Abroad booth. I am signed up with that organization…They send emails and texts, and even call me, to remind me to vote…We drove my Mini, so I was able to get some good photos of Frankfurt’s skyline. It’s the only German city with true skyscrapers.Gay pride was everywhere!
Bill’s daughter is still LDS, but according to her, the church is getting somewhat more liberal these days. They’ve lessened some of the time commitments required of members, and softened some of their stances on certain issues. Still, I can’t imagine that a lot of active church members would have wanted to mingle at a gay pride festival, where there were all kinds of crazy get ups, lots of smoking and drinking, and people wearing t-shirts with foul language on them. I could easily worn my new t-shirt that says “Fuck off!” on it. No one would have batted an eye!
After we walked around the gay pride event, we went back to the hotel lobby and chatted a bit more. We learned about how risky and scary it was to leave the LDS church, particularly at a time when widespread use of the Internet was still in its infancy. It occurred to me that there’s good to be found in almost every situation. I mean, if it weren’t for Bill’s ex wife demanding that they convert to the LDS church, I probably never would have met Eric and Kathy. I never would have had a reason to hang out on RfM.
It’s possible that I would have found RfM because I was curious, and maybe I would have even hung around for awhile. But it was because the LDS church directly affected us that I stayed on that site for such a long time… and if I hadn’t done that, it’s unlikely that we would have had last night’s experience. And while I don’t know if we’ll have the opportunity to mingle with Eric and Kathy again, it really was a pleasure meeting them and experiencing that side of Frankfurt together!
Even if I had never met Bill, my life has been unexpectedly touched by Mormonism. I knew a LDS couple in Armenia, as they were part of my Peace Corps group. They were the first Mormons I ever got to know well. And then my mom’s alma mater, Southern Seminary in Buena Vista, Virginia, was purchased by LDS businesspeople, who turned it into a Mormon influenced university. The influx of Mormons has changed Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, which happens to be where both of my parents grew up. And then I went on to marry a Latter-day Saint, who then resigned… but still has ties to the church because of his daughters.
Anyway… we really enjoyed last night. I even suggested Frank Scaheffer, one of my favorite authors, to Eric and Kathy. I think they could really relate to his story. Schaeffer was raised by famous American evangelical missionaries in Switzerland. He didn’t learn to read until he was about eleven years old and was groomed to take over his parents’ ministry. Instead, he became an atheist and best selling author and filmmaker. He’s written wonderful novels, but he’s also written some excellent non-fiction books.
Frank Schaeffer also has a son who joined the Marines, a world that was totally foreign to Schaeffer. He wrote some excellent books about that experience and changed his mind about the military. Kathy had also lamented her son’s decision to join the military, but then came to accept it, as Frank Schaeffer did with his son.
I discovered Schaeffer about twenty years ago, when I used to hang out on a messageboard for people who had attended (and many had been expelled from) Pensacola Christian College, an extremely conservative Christian college in Florida. It’s so strict it makes Bob Jones University look liberal. I found some of the posters there surprisingly well read and brave. One of the posters mentioned Schaeffer, and how his novels were the only ones he’d found that really got the experience of growing up fundie right. I’m not sure if that observation is still true, but I was curious enough to read Schaeffer’s trilogy of novels about Calvin Becker– clearly based on his real life experiences in Switzerland. They were funny and poignant, and I became a fan.
I do love it when we can make connections offline with people we meet on the Internet. I’m really glad we took a chance, and met the couple behind the legendary RfM messageboard. It’s mind boggling how many people RfM has helped, and lives Eric has helped improve, by starting that resource. I am very grateful for that, and for last night’s amazing fellowship!
Well… that about does it for today’s post. I’m not sure what we’ll do today. The wine festival is going on, but we’re just as likely to stay home and enjoy a nice afternoon in our backyard. Or maybe we’ll hit a Biergarten… or do something else. It’s so nice to have Bill home again.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention this earlier in the post, but we did see some crazy pedestrian stunts yesterday. One guy was juggling in the middle of a busy intersection while we were waiting for a light. A woman was in an adjacent intersection hula hooping. They were no doubt hoping for tips.
Then, on the way out of Frankfurt, Bill got stressed out trying to navigate the city. A strung out looking woman appeared to be kicked out of a cab in the middle of the street. She lingered in traffic, motioning to Bill, as if she wanted money. The top was down on the Mini, and I found myself yelling “Get out of the way!” at her… Thankfully, she heeded my command! Bill guesses she didn’t have enough money to pay for the cab ride and was hoping to raise some euros. Hope she didn’t get hit by a car.
Featured photo is an aerial view of Sofia, Bulgaria, as we approached courtesy of our Lufthansa flight…
It’s time, once again, for me to write a series about our latest travel adventures. This past trip was short, but very meaningful to me. We visited Sofia, Bulgaria, a place that has stuck in my memories since my first visit, back in 1996. Now… to be frank, it was never my life’s ambition to visit Bulgaria.
As I have explained in other blog posts, I initially visited Bulgaria in 1996, because I was accompanying my friend and Peace Corps colleague, Elaine, on a vacation to Turkey and Bulgaria. I actually had no money for a vacation, so Elaine was kind enough to lend me some cash so I could go with her on our big trip. We traveled via bus from Armenia, which made for big adventures, lots of exhaustion, and many memories that will never be lost.
Armenia was not, and is still not, the easiest country to travel from by land, especially for Americans. The country is surrounded by enemies of Armenia or the United States. In the 90s, flying out of Yerevan was very expensive, kind of scary, and inconvenient. So, as someone who was broke and not particularly travel savvy in the 90s, my choices were pretty limited. In the 90s, lot of us Armenia Peace Corps Volunteers did go to Turkey and Bulgaria. I don’t know if that’s still true today. Today’s Volunteers have more choices when it comes to transportation than we did.
When I went to Bulgaria in 1996, I had just turned 24 years old, and the Iron Curtain had only very recently fallen. Consequently, Sofia was still very “Eastern bloc”. I remember it as “nicer” than Yerevan was, in terms of how the city looked and what was available. Bulgaria wasn’t part of the Soviet Union, after all. But it was still very much emerging from communism, and I don’t remember a lot of businesses or English speakers. I also remember that it was common to see people nodding to say “no”, and shaking their head to say “yes”. While I’m sure this is still a thing in Bulgaria, especially in the countryside, I didn’t see it during this trip as I did in 1996.
In 1996, there was only ONE McDonald’s in Sofia. It was in the center of the city. I used it as a landmark when I took a taxi from some remote part of the city where I’d wandered. The cab driver didn’t speak English, and I don’t speak Bulgarian, but by God, we knew McDonald’s, and that was a good place to meet the guy who was hosting us. Today, that trick wouldn’t work, as Sofia is now littered with McDonald’s restaurants. However, I noticed that almost everyone we spoke to spoke almost perfect English!
Bill went to Sofia in 2008, but he was there for an Army function. Because he was working, he didn’t have much time to check out the city. He brought home an Orthodox icon, which was coupled with the painting I bought on my one trip to Sofia in 1996. Bill said he noticed things were different this visit, too, although maybe the difference wasn’t as striking to him as it was for me.
How did we decide to visit Sofia? It was courtesy of our trusty champagne bucket, which we use when we can’t decide on where to go. This time, we took cities that were offered by Lufthansa’s “surprise flights” option, similar to Eurowings’ (formerly Germanwings) “blind booking” idea, which we’ve done several times.
Instead of booking a surprise flight, and risking weird flight times that would make it hard to board Noyzi reasonably, we just put the city names in the bucket. Initially, Bill drew Dubrovnik, a place I would love to see someday. However, in June, we figured it would be completely overrun with tourists such as ourselves. When Bill made a second draw, Sofia won. So we went to Sofia, from June 7-11. Now, I’m going to write about what happened. I hope you’ll follow along. This series will probably be a short one, since we were only there for a few days, and I spent one of them in bed. More on that later.
Although most of my photos from my Peace Corps days are in storage, I do have a few from that time, including some from Bulgaria. I will try to remember to share them in the coming posts, so readers might get a view of how things have changed… Stay tuned.
We’ve finally reached the end of my Armenian series. What an amazing trip it was! Bill says it was one of the best trips we’ve done together, and we didn’t even go to many of the really cool ancient places for which Armenia is famous. Instead, we met people I knew years ago, saw places where I used to live, ate good food and drank wine, listened to great live music, and enjoyed being somewhere other than continental Europe, for a change. I almost hated to leave!
Bill arranged for a van to pick us up at 2:30 AM, giving us plenty of time for our 5:05 AM non-stop flight to Frankfurt on Lufthansa. We didn’t really need a van, but the guy at the front desk warned Bill that it might be best to order one if we had a lot of luggage. So, there we were– two of us with four bags between us. The driver looked at us and said, “That’s it?” For this, we paid a fare of 17,000 drams. He was a good driver, though, so Bill gave him 20,000 drams and told him to keep the change. The driver was happy, and wished us a pleasant flight.
We went up to the Lufthansa baggage drop, and the woman at the counter eyed the portfolio Bill presented and said she thought it should go in oversize baggage. I asked if it was absolutely necessary, and she asked a colleague, who said it was fine for the portfolio to go through the normal luggage queue. So, with our bags dropped, and our tickets printed, we headed to security. This is where things got a bit traumatic.
I was shocked to see these cartons of cigarettes…Just about every Armenian man smokes. I’m not sure these over the top warnings work. But they are very amusing to see!
I mentioned in my first post in this series that I got groped by an aggressive female security officer. I’m not exactly sure what her problem was, but my problem was that there was a woman holding everybody up, because she had a baby stroller that she was struggling to fold. Instead of stepping aside to deal with the stroller, she was in front of the metal detector, blocking everyone’s egress. I don’t know about you, but when it’s about 3:30 AM, and I haven’t had any coffee, I’m not the friendliest person in the world. But I wasn’t complaining. I wasn’t saying anything or causing a scene. I probably just looked a bit annoyed.
I had gotten out of the habit of flying, thanks to COVID. And I live where advanced security screening is in place. Nowadays, travelers coming through Frankfurt don’t have to take off watches and the like. But Yerevan only has a metal detector. It doesn’t have a scanner. I forgot to take off my watch, and the metal detector went off. The security officer started frisking me, then noticed the watch. I had to put it in a bin and go through the detector again. The thing went off again, probably because there was metal in my shoes and my bra. She started her aggressive frisking, ordering me to put my arms out again and snapping, “I haven’t finished with you yet!” as she ran her hands over my stomach and between my legs. I was getting a bit pissed off, and felt rather violated.
Then she started speaking Russian to me, and I looked her in the eyes and said, very calmly and seriously, in English, “I don’t speak Russian.”
In retrospect, maybe I should have said that in Armenian, which I could have done. It probably would have really disarmed her. But English did the trick. She backed off immediately, and I got my stuff and got out of there. I don’t know if she was truly done harassing me, or if she’d thought I was Russian and was taking out collective Armenian hostility toward me… someone she might have thought was from Russia. In any case, while I understand that security screening at airports is very important, that woman’s hostile demeanor and lack of courtesy didn’t leave me with a great impression. Fortunately, most of the other people I ran into during our trip made up for her inappropriate and obnoxious attitude.
Yerevan’s updated airport is pretty nice, and it has a decent duty free shop that everyone has to walk through on their way into the secure gate area. We looked around for the business class lounge, which it turns out is upstairs. There’s an elevator in the duty free shop, or stairs for those who prefer them. The lounge is for business class or higher travelers using any airline. Those who are waiting there can enjoy snacks and beverages… coffee machines with Russian instructions, beer, wine, sparkling water, and the like. Bill and I had some coffee while we waited. The restrooms have showers in them, and only one toilet. I guess if you need a shower, you can lock the door, and all the other travelers would be out of luck.
A must in an Armenian airport.Even my morning man, Bill, was a bit over it at that hour…Jermuk tastes better than it used to. We drank a lot of it, as well as Bjni.
Bill saw a sign that our flight was boarding, even though it was ahead of the time noted on our tickets. Not wanting to miss Lufthansa’s one weekly flight to Frankfurt, we went down to the gate, where a whole bunch of people were waiting. There were some cute girls in sweats who were wide awake, practicing what appeared to be cheers. I didn’t know Armenia had cheerleaders, and maybe that’s not what they were. But they looked like cheerleaders, and their early morning pep was both amusing and a little irritating.
It took forever for our flight to start boarding. In fact, we didn’t start boarding until some time after the listed boarding time. And business class passengers were boarded later. I guess they were loading the back of the aircraft first, which makes sense. I don’t know why people are so eager to get on the plane, anyway. I think most folks just want to get the whole ordeal over with, nowadays. Flying isn’t the luxe experience it once was.
Bill and I were in the third row. As soon as we sat down, an American guy took the seat behind me. He was sitting with a British guy who kept calling him “my brother”. They didn’t know each other before they were seated in the same row, but boy, did they act like they were buddies. The two of them immediately launched into a loud and obnoxious conversation about where they lived (both in England, near or in London), what they did for a living (retired orthopedic surgeon who supposedly worked with US military special ops, and a presenter for the BBC), what kind of luxury cars they drove or hoped to own (don’t remember that part), and how they get their news (American dude preferred reading the news to watching TV, because TV news is too biased). It went on for awhile, and I was worried I was going to have to listen to them blather for five hours.
Meanwhile, the lady sitting in front of me appeared to be Armenian. She had a pretty girl with her who looked to be about 13 or so. The pretty girl went alone to the back of the aircraft, while (mom?) sat down in front of me. I caught her casting a furtive look at the two chatterboxes behind Bill and me, who were continuing to run their mouths about their luxurious lifestyles in England. We were all in on their conversation, whether we wanted to be or not! I asked Bill if he had any earbuds, since I didn’t bring my headphones with me. He misunderstood and pulled out ear plugs. Fortunately, he also had earbuds, and I tested them to see if they’d work on my tablet. They did, and I heaved a sigh of relief, although I hate wearing earbuds. They are usually too big for my ears and don’t stay in well.
We took off, and the lady in front of me immediately reclined. I didn’t mind it, though, because I had plenty of space in front of me. I’m short, anyway, so there’s usually ample leg room for me. Once we were in the air, I had to pee really badly. But the pilot kept the seatbelt light on for ages. Bill finally got up after about an hour or so, and asked when they were going to turn off the light so I could go to the bathroom. The flight attendants said it would only be a few more minutes. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the back. A woman came up to speak to the flight attendants, and they went to the back to see what was wrong.
A few minutes later, the seatbelt light finally went off, and with a groan of immense gratitude, I went to relieve myself. Meanwhile, the flight attendants were asking for medical personnel to come forward. The guy behind me got up, as did an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor from Wales. There were many Welsh people in Yerevan during our visit, because of football. I’m guessing that’s why the ENT doctor was there. Bill and I were a little afraid the flight might need to be diverted, since the flight attendants seemed so concerned.
But then a few minutes later, the ortho guy sat down again, and told his new British friend that there was a lady back there who had neglected to take her medication and was having some kind of medical issue related to that. He went on a little more about the woman, then said that he’d let the ENT doctor from Wales handle the emergency, since he’d retired from medicine in ’08. He didn’t look old enough to retire, but based on what he was loudly telling everyone in business class, he had done very well for himself and was now living a life of leisure. Anyway, he did mention that the woman would be alright. So much for healthcare privacy, but there is no HIPAA in the friendly skies. 😉
Then the American “doctor man” started talking about the wonders of Georgian brandies and his visit to the Genocide Memorial, as if he knew what he was talking about. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes… but in my defense, it was very early in the morning; I was still a bit traumatized by the aggressive frisking; and I’d already been listening to those two guys ramble on for over an hour.
Finally, the flight attendants served breakfast. We had a choice between sweet and savory. I chose sweet, and Bill chose savory. It was too dark to take a photo, although I don’t remember the food being inedible. I usually stick with a roll and some water or orange juice, anyway.
We landed in Frankfurt at about 7:00 AM. When we went through passport control, I was confronted with a handsome young German guy in a uniform. He was markedly more pleasant than the Armenian officials had been. He started leafing through my passport and said, “How long have you been in Germany?”
I said, “About nine years.” Bill was standing behind me, rolling his eyes.
“Do you have a residency permit?” the guy asked with a surprisingly flirtatious smile.
“I have a SOFA card in the back of the passport.” I responded.
The guy found it, noted that it wasn’t expired, and sent me on my way. When it was Bill’s turn, he said, “That’s my wife.” The guy stamped his passport and let him go.
It always amazes me when border control guards are confronted by Americans who are very casual about approaching them. They don’t see a residency permit, and ask how long we’ve been here. We tell them “SOFA City, sweetheart…” They roll their eyes and let us go. Wouldn’t you eventually just look for the SOFA card before asking about a residency card?
SOFA, for those who don’t know, stands for “Status of Forces Agreement”. It’s basically like a special residency card for Americans who work for the US government or military, as well as their families. It allows us unlimited entrance and exit privileges from our host countries, as well as legal residency, and some other privileges. But it’s not quite the same thing as a German residency card.
We made our way to the baggage carousel. I noticed there weren’t too many people there, which probably means a lot of people were on their way to the USA or England… or maybe somewhere else in continental Europe. Having flown to Yerevan from the USA before, I didn’t envy them. But I would rather fly from Yerevan to the USA than the other way around. It gets earlier when you go west, so you don’t tend to feel so disoriented.
When I flew back to the USA after my Peace Corps assignment, I had been traveling by train around Europe for a month. It wasn’t nearly as traumatic as when I went to Yerevan in 1995. Well, it wasn’t as traumatic until 1997, when I met my father at Dulles Airport, and he treated me like something he’d scraped off his shoe, and told me he was going into rehab for his alcoholism the next day. Don’t get me wrong. I was glad he was getting treatment, but he sure spoiled my carefully cultivated “coming home” fantasy that was two years in the making.
After we found our bags, we were looking for that portfolio with our paintings that Bill had worked so hard to acquire the day prior to our journey. A German airport employee guy came around with it and seemed to know that it belonged to us. The Armenian lady at the Lufthansa desk had, sure enough, sent it to oversized baggage, even though it only weighed about two kilos and was flat. I guess it was too cumbersome for the regular baggage drop.
Bill and I easily found a taxi, which took us back to our humble abode in Breckenheim. The weather was cold and drizzly, just as it usually is in Germany at this time of year. I was glad to be back home, although we really had a great time in Armenia. It already feels like a dream, though… Like I can’t believe I went back there and felt so very comfortable. I still know the city of Yerevan like the back of my hand. Obviously, we will have to go back and explore some more. The good news is, now that Bill has had a taste of Armenian hospitality, he’s ready for a new adventure!
So ends my Armenian blow by blow blog series. I just have one more post to make, and that would be my highly entertaining “ten things I learned” list. Hopefully, some folks will read that. I learned an awful lot on this trip. So, by all means, stay tuned if you’re interested…
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