A few "Weird Souvenirs of the Day"

Limiting myself to only one "Weird Souvenir of the Day" can be very difficult, but since I wouldn't want you to miss out on some of the retail opportunities offered in Central Europe, I've compiled photos of several souvenir possibilities that didn't win a spot in my daily blog.

I'll start with fashionable head wear found in Budapest:

 Then there is cooking attire offered in Passau:

 And some fun shoehorns in Regensberg:










 Not to be outdone by important home decor accessories, which I might have found in Vienna, but am not sure.

Hope you all get your Christmas shopping done on time, I did!

Budapest

Budapest actually consists of what used to be two different cities, Buda on one side of the Danube, and Pest (pronounced pescht) on the other.  The Chain Bridge uniting them was built by one of the Hapsburgs (Joseph, I think) because he was in Pest when his mother was dying in Buda on the other side of the river.  Since it was the middle of the winter he couldn't cross the Danube, due to ice floes, and was unable to get to see her before she died.  Being a King of virtually unlimited resources, he decided that wasn't going to happen again, it was time for a real bridge, and 20 years after the bridge was completed the two cities became one.

Although the country of Hungary is about the same size as the state of Indiana, it seems that warring factions have been trying to conquer it since, well, since I couldn't quite make out when. I think it was first the Turks, then the Ottomans came and burned the place down, then the Magyars (I probably have this in the wrong order), several fortresses have been built up and then blown up or burned down, the Hapsburgs ruled for about 500 years, but then came the Germans and the Soviets drove off the Germans but then they forgot to go home for 50 years.  It's really very confusing.  I'll have to read more about it, the guide had a pretty thick accent (but his English is 100% better than my Hungarian).

It is a city of beautiful palaces, bridges, opera houses, monuments, academic and parliamentary buildings, contrasted by bullet holes in many of the buildings and rubble or ruins from whoever last tried to seize it.  These guys have had a tough time of it over the last 1500 years, but they just keep trudging on.

There is one very disturbing monument, the shoe monument, which commemorates where the Nazis lined up Jews in on the bank of the Danube and had them take off their shoes, then shot them so their bodies would fall in the river and be carried away. Just another tragedy amongst so many, but this memorial is very poignant. There are a number of other monuments to those who were lost in the Holocaust, but this one really brought it home.   I know I'll never be able to truly conceive of the horrors, there is absolutely nothing in my personal life I could begin to compare it to - I've never lived through years of terror and brutality - but this monument spoke to my heart.


On to happier thoughts.  Now who would have thought to bring a bathing suit to Budapest in December?  Silly me!  There are three thermal spas on the Buda side that are very popular.  If I were going to stay here any longer a bathing suit would have to be my next purchase.

As it is, I'm going home tomorrow morning VERY early, my cab will be here at 5:45 AM, so I've said all I'm going to say for tonight.  I don't even have the energy to download the weird souvenir of the day.  But maybe I can do it during my layover in Philadelphia tomorrow.

To those who have read my blog, thank you.  I hope it helped bring the experience to life for you and that you'll have the chance to do a similar trip in the future. 

Things I've Learned About "Christmas Market" River Cruising

Probably not a comprehensive list, but a couple of useful facts (I hope).

• Don't expect non-stop onboard entertainment, you have come here to visit different cultures, not to be amused by stage acts, ice skating shows, parades, etc. 
• Learn as much as you can about the countries you will be visiting in advance by following suggested reading guides, or even renting pertinent movies.  We visited the home where Oscar Shindler was born, "Shindler's List" - for example - would be an excellent movie to watch before coming over.
• Pack one or two "dressy" tops - although the formal evenings on board are not as sartorial as they are on the large, ocean-going vessels, it's nice to have a sparkly top (for the women) to go with a pair of dark slacks.  Other than that it's not about fashion, it's about warmth.
• Bring a long coat for Christmas Market Cruises - lot's of outdoor time, legs get cold. It can also be rainy or snowy, so a pair of shoes that are meant for those conditions is a good idea.  But maybe buy gloves, scarves, hats or mittens at the Christmas Markets - you'll need them and they make a good souvenir.
• Thank you Mom for insisting I take your travel umbrella.  As usual, you were right.
• The staff will bend over backwards to help you in any way they can - and they are very adaptive to changes in conditions.
• Leave more room in your suitcase (applies to almost everywhere I travel). 
• There's always more to see than you have time for.  But do everything you can.
• Unlike ocean cruises, you can book returning air flights that depart early in the morning; many passengers are on a 2:45 AM bus to the Budapest airport (ouch!).
• Buy travel insurance, it looks like mine will cover at least some of my losses from being pick-pocketed!
• Googling information isn't very helpful (to me) if the answer comes up in Hungarian.

I set foot in Slovakia today by walking over the bridge, but the 24 hour bug I had came back so I can't say more than that I have set foot in Slovakia.  I skipped the tour into Budapest and stayed in bed.  Have also been trying to keep away from other passengers as much as possible. Kind of a shame that I got sick on the way over to Europe, but nothing to do about it but soldier on.  I am looking forward to Budapest tomorrow, even though it won't be with Viking River Cruises.   I'll check at the concierge desk at the Radisson for a 1/2 or full day tour.

Austria - I'll Have to Come Back

Well there's no question about it, Austria is not a place you can see in just one short trip, I suppose no country is.  One day port calls work a bit better for small Caribbean islands, but when you get to countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Australia, Japan,etc. well, that's like making a port call in New York and then saying you've seen the United States.

The city of Vienna is one of the most beautiful I've ever visited.  Another monument, palace, memorial, concert hall, opera house, museum, cathedral or statue everywhere you look.  Rococo mixed with baroque and classical styles.  The Lippizaner Stallions, Mozart, Strauss, the Hapsburg dynasty, Schonbrunn Palace, AND the Swarovski Crystal store (ooh ahh). The mountains we passed through on the way here were were spectacular with the fog hanging over them.  Not a bright, sunny day, but the mist coming over the mountains was compelling.


Today started with a city tour in the morning and then I went to Schonbrunn Palace this afternoon.  Of course there was another Christmas Market in the courtyard at Schonbrunn so I filmed the carolers for a little while.  Having spent the last two hours trying to get the video to upload, I'm giving up, maybe I can get it to load on FaceBook. Here's me in front of the palace - yes, it's still cold.

Did I mention the pastries in Vienna?  OMG.  Here's one I saw in a window, it was an actual TV playing inside a confectionery box.

And, of course, there's the Hotel Sacher - home of the infamous Sacher Torte.  Rumor has it that George Clooney is in town filming, wonder if he's staying there.  Nah, probably the Intercontinental.

Sorry there was no blogging yesterday.  Fever, chills, headache but thankfully it was only a 24 hour thing.  I missed seeing Melk Abbey, but due to the revised schedule of the cruise (owing to the low level of the Danube) it was a five hour excursion, mostly sitting on a bus.   I stayed in bed and drank fluids.  Next time I cruise the Danube I'll put Melk Abbey on the MUST BE SEEN list.

And there will be a next time! This has been so fabulous that I am planning a group Christmas Markets Cruise for next year (and I just know that the water level on the Danube will be back to normal - or maybe next year I'll do the Rhine ... decisions, decisions!). 

Back to the ship, and next stop is Budapest, except that the ship can't make it all the way to Budapest (low water levels again) so we'll go part of the way by bus.  We're actually going to be docking in a small town in Hungary (Komarom), from which you can walk over to Slovakia, so I may just do that as I had planned an extra day in Budapest anyway, due to flight departure times.  An unexpected chance to visit Slovakia - who would have expected it?  I'll play it by ear.

Oh you were wondering what the weird souvenir of the day was?  Some lucky family member might just get this in their Christmas stocking!  I'll just have to choose the right victim. Actually, I don't think the souvenirs I've purchased will fit in my luggage and this is giving me concerns.  Maybe a relative will be spared.

The Poor Father With Three Daughters

So once upon a time there was a poor farmer who had three daughters, but he couldn't marry them off because he had no money to give them a dowry.  Well, one Christmas Eve someone sneaked up to a window of the farmer's house and dropped off a bag of gold coins so the farmer had a dowry for his first daughter.  The farmer was overjoyed.

The next year it happened again, another bag of gold coins.  The father was elated that he could marry off his second daughter, but wondered  his who benefactor was.

The next year the farmer stayed up all night watching the window, but the secret benefactor, knowing the farmer was watching the window, climbed up to the roof top and tossed the bag of gold coins down the chimney where it landed in some stockings that had been left to dry.

So there you have it ... the foundations of another Christmas Legend.

******************

Brrrrrrrrrrr.

Regensburg was cold.  The city marks the northernmost boundaries of the Roman Empire, but by the time the Romans got this far north Roman civilization was falling apart, the emperor didn't have the money to pay his troops, (not to mention that togas don't give much protection against the cold) so the troops pretty much gave up the fort and the Barbarians they had been fighting against took over - thus creating a region known as Bavaria.  Barbarian - Bavarian ... get it?

Part of Roman Wall around the city.

Regensburg was not bombed during the war (WWII) because there was nothing here  of military significance other than an arms factory about 50 miles away.  (Most bombers are accurate within 50 miles.) The only thing that was blown up was an ancient bridge built by the Romans, and that was blown up by the Nazis to keep the American troops from advancing to Regensburg. Damn Nazis, it was a perfectly good bridge for about a fifteen hundred years.

Also went to the Thurn & Taxis Palace, which is still being used, in part, by the somethingth generation of Thurns und Taxis.  The current heir apparent is a race car driver of some accomplishment.  Inside the courtyard was, yep another Christmas Market!!  More gingerbread, ornaments, nativities, angels, etc.  This time there was a bit more handmade stuff.

The weird souvenir of the day looks like this:

haven't figured out the connection with Christmas.

Saturday at the Christmas Market

It seems like it's been a journey of a thousand steps, but I finally walked on board the Viking Prestige yesterday.  HOME - yippee!!! -  for the next week anyway.  Viking River Cruises had  to change  ships (we were supposed to be on the Viking Legend), because the water level in the Danube is unusually low and the Viking Legend has a deeper draft. I haven't heard any complaints.

So finally it was Saturday and finally I was on the ship and the main excursion was to the Christmas Market (what else?) . That was fine with me; I'd gone yesterday, but I came over here to go to the Christmas Markets didn't I? And what woman can resist shopping (again)?

We were all warned to be very careful of pickpockets.  The place was jammed.  We were tighter than pickles in a jar.  Coney Island on a weekend packed.  50 times more people than the day before.  I bought a Christmas thinga-ma-jig and then headed back to the ship's meeting point because I didn't want to fight the crowds.  I don't like Times Square or other enormous gatherings of homo-sapiens.  I need a little personal space.  Stopped in a store to buy a little embroidered patch and when I went to pay for it found that my money was gone.  Just gone.  Not there any more.  Missing. Absent.  Kaput. Vanished.

They DID warn us!  Crap.

It takes a lot of skill to get money from a snapped close pocket inside a snapped closed wallet underneath a zippered and snapped up jacket.  But they did. Turns out I was tag teamed, one guy distracted me in the middle of buying the whatchamacallit, while the other went in for the money. 

So this morning was spent at the police station with a translator filing a report.  I think (read hope, pray, am wishful that) this is covered by my travel insurance, but we'll find that out later.  Nonetheless I filed the report and the lieutenant was cute and very tall, with good posture.  They usually charge you 10 euros to file a complaint but he didn't charge me.  Very cute.  Nice eyes too.  But according to my translator he had a terrible Nuremberg accent.

In the event you believe that this trip is entirely about shopping you are wrong.  We took a tour of Nuremberg today, saw the parade grounds where Hitler rallied his troops, found out why he chose Nuremberg for this and learned a little bit about the architecture of the Nazi regime.  We also visited the old fortress (nobody ever goes  to go to an old city without visiting it's fortress, I mean, without fortresses, castles and cathedrals why would people go to Europe?  I promise, it's not for the weather).  We also learned the reason the road into the fortress bent to the left (because most invading armies were right handed and used that hand for their swords, leaving their right sides unprotected from arrows).  Clever.

Despite being pick-pocketed I did find a weird souvenir of the day for you.  I don't usually equate Albert Einstein with Christmas ornaments, but to each his own.

Tomorrow I might tell you the story about the poor father who didn't have dowry money to marry off his daughters. Yes, this is a Christmas story.

Night!

Nuremberg

Here in Nuremberg the streets all have funny names and the maps don't seem to have anything to do with the street signs.  I eventually found my way from the hotel to the Christmas Market by stopping lots of Germans who spoke a little bit of English. I think the "20 minute walk " I was told it would take by the concierge took closer to an hour. Holding up a map up with the Christmas Market circled helped when stopping strangers for directions.    Having gotten myself there, mostly by people pointing me in the approximate direction, it was fun to see all the millions of Christmas ornaments.  I'm a little skeptical that they are all made in Germany, and suspect that at least a few had the "Made in China" label removed.  Still, the hustle and bustle, the gingerbread, the sparkle, the history of the Angel (in Germany an angel gives out the gifts, not a fat man in a red suit) it's remarkable and cheerful.

Then it was time to go back, and suddenly I realized I had not planned for this.  How to get back?  I didn't even remember the name of the hotel I was in, much less the street (or platz or whatever) it was on, so I couldn't stop a cabdriver and say take me to the mid-grade hotel with the glass front door.  It was just another hotel, there are hundreds of them.  Dilemma.  Could I reverse the route that I hadn't been able to follow to get me to the Christmas Market  in the first place?  It was my only option.  I won't say there weren't some wrong turns along the way, but damn was I happy when that lobby came in to view.  I've had quite a nice long walk today, thank you.

Has anyone seen the little, black cord that says Kodak right at the very end near the plug?  I really need it.  I hate searching for it over and over again, when all I seem to find is my reindeer socks.  It was supposed to be in the plastic bag with the camera.

May have to use my cell phone as camera.

Yesterday's weird souvenir of the day was golf balls: happy face golf balls, American flag golf balls, 8 ball golf balls,  football golf balls, soccer ball golf balls.  No I did not buy any, but if you want them they're available at the Jacksonville airport. 

Getting There

The adventure begins! As we all know, getting there is no longer half the fun.  It’s exhausting, bad for your skin, dries out your eyes and nine times out of ten you’re going to get a crick in your neck.  The food is , well airplane food – ‘nough said.  Your hair will feel stringy and all you’ll want is a shower and a bed when you land.  Added to that I developed a minor intestinal disorder that would have made the transatlantic flight hellish if  couldn’t find a doctor.  Thank God I had a five hour layover in Philadelphia  (which I had previously dreaded) and there was a minute clinic close to the airport.  The taxi driver to the clinic yelled at me for giving him such  short fare (“I waited in the taxi line for three hours for a lousy $10 fare?!)  Welcome to the city of brotherly love.  I’m not sure what he thought my options were, and I did give him a $4 tip, although I should have thrown it at him or given it to him in pennies.

Anyway, got to the Doctor (minute clinic is more like an hour and a half clinic), got prescriptions and was directed to a local CVS “within walking distance”.  That is if you set out in the right direction, which I didn’t.  Half a mile down the thoroughfare (lugging all my bags ) I asked a DHL driver coming out of a DHL building if this was the right  way, he said “No you’ll have to go back the way you came and take a left at the corner.”  (Oh crap.) Off he went … but miracle of miracles, he did a U-turn, came back, and offered me a ride to the drugstore.  I know, never take a ride from a stranger, but he was a DHL employee, I'd seen him come out of the building, I needed to get the prescriptions filled and somehow get back to the airport.  I scanned the back seat for rope, duct tape, garbage bags, meat cleavers and chainsaws, saw that there were handles on the insides of the doors, and gratefully hopped in.  Well Chris drove me to the drugstore, waited for me (no meter running), and then gave me a ride to the airport.  Who would have dreamt it? He wouldn't let me pay him.  I owe Chris a debt of gratitude and will pay his kindness forward.  I did buy him a BIG bag of M&M’s and a bottle of water.

Another piece of good luck – I had a row on the airplane all to myself – three across!  You know how you get to your seat and give the evil eye to anyone boarding after you to keep them from sitting in YOUR row.  Almost never works, but this time it did!  So after some warmish pasta I actually slept on the plane.  The Zurich airport is very confusing.  Several of us passengers needed  to get to Gate A, there was a sign that said Gate A to the right and another sign across from it that said Gate A to the left..  Doesn’t leave you many choices. 

Can’t hook up my camera to my computer yet because the cord is in my cabin and passengers are not allowed in their cabins until 3:00 PM.  So not photos for now, but tomorrow should have several.

Packed and (Almost) Ready

♫ I've got Euros, I've got tickets, I've got stuff packed - who could ask for anything more? ♫

I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!

Off to a River Cruise

In just two more days I'm off to do a river cruise on the Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest!  This opportunity only came about two weeks ago, so I've been in kind of a whirlwind ever since.  Got to make sure my groups are all up to date, my outstanding payments are made, and all clients are as well taken care of as possible before I go.  You just can't leave a business when you are the one and only chick in charge.

I've wanted to do this cruise for at least five years.  Especially during the Christmas Markets which are supposed to be wonderful - guess I'll find that out for myself.  I LOVE Christmas.  Love giving.  Love the spirit of kindness and sharing, love families coming together, love the sights and sounds, the anticipation.  And I buy gifts all year ... I see something in July that I think "oh, my brother will love that" and I buy it when I'm thinking of it.  Then in December I go through the box of stuff in my closet and see what I've already bought and for whom.  One year I had to dust off my presents because I wrapped them so early.

I'm sailing with Viking River Cruises, which sent me a very nice document package including a great travel wallet that will come in very handy once I'm exploring. Things keep disappearing while I try to decide what to pack.  I've lost my camera at least five times in the last week alone (where the he** does it disappear to?).  Just had it this morning when I hooked it up to my new computer (bought a lightweight notebook - much better for traveling than the old trusty dinosaur I've dragged through at least six countries).  Still looking for the cord that connects my flipcam to my computer.  I was going to do a video on packing for a cruise, but not much point if I can't post it.  At least I will print out the packing list that's on my website so I don't forget my toothbrush.  I'm a little discombobulated.

My goal this trip is to become an expert on Christmas Market cruises.  I don't want to miss ANYTHING!  Viking River Cruises even has Cultural Courses on board.  For example:

• Hands-on demonstrations in cuckoo clock-making, wooden shoe-carving or glassblowing
• Classes in cooking specialties like apple strudel and Alsatian flammkuchen
• Traditional performances of folk music and dance, or waltzes by Strauss
• Tastings of local cheeses, coffees, liqueurs and other delicacies 

I ordered several books on Germany, Austria and Hungary from Amazon.com, but of course will not have time to read them all before I go.  Am halfway through the first of four - at least I'm trying.

Okay, you get it.  I'm excited.  I've got to buckle down to real work now.  Keep an eye on my blog for the sights and don't forget to look for the weird souvenir of the day.  Maybe you'll win it!

CruiseWorld 2011 - What a Show!

Wow! I just returned from an information packed 4-days at CruiseWorld 2011 in Ft. Lauderdale.  It was so tempting to keep driving past FLL to Key Biscayne, my home of 40 years (I moved to Jacksonville, FL last week), but in a heretofore undiscovered burst of discipline, I headed to the Broward County Convention Center instead.

The Convention Center is enormous (600,000 square feet) and Cruise World only took up part of it, but I know I walked several miles in my gray suede pumps on day one.  I'll  spare you any gory pictures, but the first day blisters were enormous and painful.  A heartfelt thank you goes out to Joanie Ogg for the blister bandages!  By the end of the day I felt like there were nails being pounded into my little toes with every step.  I limped home to my brother's house, my head full of new ideas, but suffering from "de agony of de feet".

With Diane Churchy-Horan of AMAWaterways

In addition to gathering tons of information and about 40 lbs of new brochures, I also made some great contacts at the convention.  Here I am with Diane Churchy-Horan of AMA Waterways, one of the premier river cruise lines in Europe.  Having determined to increase my focus on river cruises in the coming year I was really glad to finally meet Diane and hope to get to know her well. AMA Waterways sails the rivers of Europe, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia and beginning in June 2012... Africa!   Imagine taking an African Safari & Wildlife Cruise ... this really sounds over-the-top!  Check out the MS Zambizi Queen - what more could one ask?

I also got to know Eric Molina of Viking River Cruises, probably the best known and most sailed river cruise ships in the world.  Like AMA Waterways, Viking River Cruises offers classical Danube, Rhine & Volga river cruises, but they also have cruises in China & SE Asia; not to mention the great cruises down the Nile in Egypt.  My clients who have sailed with Viking River Cruises have invariably come back to me with rave reviews, I wish I could have recorded them for you to hear.

With Eric Molina - Viking River Cruises

BUT ... speaking of recording testimonials so that other people can listen to them, apparently there is a free program on the internet that allows you to do just that and add it to your web site (one of the amazing internet offerings that various seminars revealed to me this week).  It's going to take awhile to figure out all the new technology I heard about - it seriously has my head swimming - but I'm going to stop blogging now and get started on one or two of the new items on my three page "To Do & To Learn" list!

Next up - touring the Norwegian Epic!

This was sent to me by my brother, it's too intriguing not to share!

Salt Mine – An Astounding Subterranean Salt Cathedral Deep underground in Poland lies something remarkable but little known outside Eastern Europe. For centuries, miners have extracted salt there, but left behind things quite startling and unique. Take a look at the most unusual salt mine in the world. From the outside, Wieliczka Salt Mine doesn’t look extraordinary. It looks extremely well kept for a place that hasn’t mined any salt for over ten years but apart from that it looks ordinary. However, over two hundred meters below ground it holds an astonishing secret. This is the salt mine that became an art gallery, cathedral and underground lake. Situated in the Krakow area, Wieliczka is a small town of close to twenty thousand inhabitants. It was founded in the twelfth century by a local Duke to mine the rich deposits of salt that lie beneath. Until 1996 it did just that but the generations of miners did more than just extract. They left behind them a breathtaking record of their time underground in the shape of statues of mythic, historical and religious figures. They even created their own chapels in which to pray. Perhaps their most astonishing legacy is the huge underground cathedral they left behind for posterity. It may feel like you are in the middle of a Jules Verne adventure as you descend in to the depths of the world. After a one hundred and fifty meter climb down wooden stairs the visitor to the salt mine will see some amazing sites. About the most astounding in terms of its sheer size and audacity is the Chapel of Saint Kinga. The Polish people have for many centuries been devout Catholics and this was more than just a long term hobby to relieve the boredom of being underground. This was an act of worship. Amazingly, even the chandeliers in the cathedral are made of salt. It was not simply hewn from the ground and then thrown together; however, the process is rather more painstaking for the lighting. After extraction the rock salt was first of all dissolved. It was then reconstituted with the impurities taken out so that it achieved a glass-like finish. The chandeliers are what many visitors think the rest of thecavernous mine will be like as they have a picture in their minds of salt as they would sprinkle on their meals! However, the rock salt occurs naturally in different shades of grey (something like you would expect granite to look like). Still, that doesn’t stop well over one million visitors (mainly from Poland and its eastern European neighbors) from visiting the mine to see, amongst other things, how salt was mined in the past. For safety reasons less than one percent of the mine is open to visitors, but even that is still almost four kilometers in length – more than enough to weary the average tourist after an hour or two. The mine was closed for two reasons – the low price of salt on the world market made it too expensive to extract here. Also, the mine was slowly flooding – another reason why visitors are restricted to certain areas only. The religious carvings are, in reality, what draw many to this mine – as much for their amazing verisimilitude as for their Christian aesthetics. One remarkable carving is a take on The Last Supper. The work and patience that must have gone in to the creation of these sculptures is extraordinary. One wonders what the miners would have thought of their work going on general display? They came to be quite used to it, in fact, even during the mine’s busiest period in the nineteenth century. The cream of Europe’s thinkers visited the site – you can still see many of their names in the old visitor’sbooks on display. These reliefs are perhaps among some of the most iconographic works of Christian folk art in the world and really do deserve to be shown. It comes as little surprise to learn that the mine was placed on the original list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites back in 1978. Not all of the work is relief-based. There are many life sized statues that must have taken a considerable amount of time – months, perhaps even years – to create. Within the confines of the mine there is also much to be learned about the miners from the machinery and tools that they used – many of which are on display and are centuries old. A catastrophic flood in 1992 dealt the last blow to commercial salt mining in the area and now the mine functions purely as a tourist attraction. Brine is, however, still extracted from the mine – and then evaporated to produce some salt, but hardly on the ancient scale. If this was not done, then the mines would soon become flooded once again. Not all of the statues have a religious or symbolic imagery attached to them. The miners had a sense of humor, after all! Here can be seen their own take on the legend of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The intricately carved dwarves must have seemed to some of the miners a kind of ironic depiction of their own work. The miners even threw in a dragon for good measure! Certainly, they may have whistled while they did it but the conditions in the salt mine were far from comfortable and the hours were long – the fact that it was subterranean could hardly have added to the excitement of going to work each morning. To cap it all there is even an underground lake, lit by subdued electricity and candles. This is perhaps where the old legends of lakes to the underworld and Catholic imagery of the saints work together to best leave a lasting impression of the mine. How different a few minutes reflection here must have been to the noise and sweat of everyday working life in the mine.

River Cruise & Safari in Africa

The mighty Zambezi river, a luxury cruise ship and a visit to Victoria Falls and/or an African Safari.  Hold on to your hats, AMAWaterways is introducing a new product that will blow you out of the water!  Photos and more info to come!

Putting Things Off

I'm a great procrastinator.  I can find a million things to do rather than make plans for myself ... one of the most difficult things for me to do is to make a decision about taking my own vacations (although they're usually "busman's holidays").  I've been wanting to do a "Christmas Markets Cruise" along the Danube for a couple of years now.  I have the air mileage on American Express, what keeps me from booking?  Indecision.  The inability to get out of my own way.

This weekend I had a "come to Jesus" moment.  At 10:30 on Saturday morning my neighbor started screaming for help (remember I live in Florida where windows and balcony doors are frequently open).  She was screaming like the building was on fire or someone was attacking her.  I rushed over in my nightgown...it was Saturday morning, I was kicking back and relaxing ... to find that her husband had fallen and hit his head.  He was face down on the floor of the balcony, bleeding heavily.  The neighbor handed me the phone and I dialed 911.  Long story short, our terrific Key Biscayne Fire & Rescue dept. was there in under five minutes (which seemed like hours) and he had the best treatment you could ask for.  He's fractured his neck in two places and has several stitches in his head.  Fortunately there is no paralysis. His prognosis is good - there was a lot of praying going on.

Moments before all had been as normal.  Now their lives - at least for awhile - are turned upside down.  It can happen just that quickly.  Fortunately they had recently returned from a long dreamed of vacation by motorcycle from Miami to Boise, Idaho, so that wasn't lost to them.

I have so many stories like this, the couple who planned to cruise to Hawaii after they retired (but he suddenly died from a heart attack), my Mom's planned trip to Australia which was cancelled when my brother passed away.  I could go on, but you get the idea.

I'm going to book that Christmas Markets cruise this week.  I hope some of you will come with me.  I think it will be special!

Yet Another Thing Not to Do On a Ship

Now this was a tour boat, not a cruise ship, but it's still horrifying - why do people do what they do?  The parenthetical comments are mine.

Tour boat passenger tosses boy into water to toughen him up
 

Horrified passengers looked on as a California father told his crying seven-year-old son to “toughen up” and ended up throwing him into the harbor on a tour boat, according to police. The former Marine sergeant Sloane Briles, 35, was arrested for child endangerment and resisting arrest. According to police "The father hit him several times and then threatened to throw him overboard if he didn't stop crying  The crowd on the boat became very angry at the father for hitting the kid and extremely angry when he threw him overboard."  (Where was the boat's captain during this abuse?) The father eventually jumped in after the boy—who was not an expert swimmer—but he had already been rescued. The father become so combative during his arrest that deputies claimed they had to tackle him to the ground.  The boy was released unharmed into the care of his mother, who divorced Briles in 2007. He was only “roughhousing” with the boy, she told the New York Daily News.   (Who does she think she's kidding?)

Don't Try This Yourself

Rick Ehlert is a 44 year old California man who owns a 50-ft yacht and has boating experience. Last November he was aboard the Holland America Ryndam, enjoying several cocktails.  In this frame of mind he stepped through a door that was clearly marked "Authorized Personnel Only" and found himself at the stern of the ship where the mechanism to raise and lower the 18-ton anchor is accessed.  Ehlert then spent the next 12 minutes going through an elaborate process that he knew would result in a free-fall for the anchor.  

Ehlert didn't know what was going to happen after the anchor dropped, but it could have been catastrophic. The anchor could have caught in hard ground on the ocean floor and caused the ship to turn suddenly - tipping radically and causing furniture, glassware, china and people to topple over throughout the ship. Or the ship's hull might have ripped open, flooding at least one compartment and doing millions of dollars in damage. The anchor could have destroyed miles of coral reefs, or it could have just reached the end of its chain and broken off.   

Everything Ehlert did was caught on a surveillance camera - and so there is no way for him to deny his actions. His only excuse is that he was drunk, but he knew what he was doing.  Now Ehlert has thrown himself upon the mercy of the court by agreeing to plead guilty to a felony charge of attempting to damage the ship. The plea agreement means that Ehlert could face as many as 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000.  (How about some court mandated alcohol counseling?)

Fortunately there was no damage to the ship, which carries 1260 passengers and 560 crewmembers. Crewmembers were able to restore it to its proper position within a matter of minutes. 

Is being drunk an excuse for his actions? It took him 12 minutes to accomplish this deed. He wasn’t too drunk to protect himself with gloves, find a wrench and operate the system.  But he was drunk enough not to consider the possible catastrophic consequences, in terms of both lives and property, of his actions. 

What do you think?