I am typing this in the early morning hours of June 8th. Before us are 13 more nights on the road and then home. In the meantime we continue to enjoy local cuisine, in this case real Vienna Schnitzel.

The June 7th night train from Vienna to Hannover with connection to Berlin did not depart until nearly 9 pm. We took that as an opportunity to spend the day wandering the cultural center of Vienna Austria, and what sights there were! Our 7 mile sojourn left us certain that we would return some day to see the treasures contained within the monumental structures that we passed. The 12th Century St. Stephen’s Cathedral was the only building that we entered, and there we ascended one of the towers for an overview of the central city an to see the “Plummerin” (bell) which weighs nearly 50,000 pounds and is the third largest swinging bell in Europe. I apologize for not including information about the buildings in the following pictures. We felt like ants wandering in a land of giants. Perhaps details will come with a future visit.

We were in Ireland when I made arrangements for the night trains. This was the one part of our journey that I wish I could have planned earlier. I secured the last available first class cabin for out inbound transit to Vienna but only a second class sleeper was available for the outbound. The difference is significant. Unlike the privacy and amenities we enjoyed in our 2 person first class cabin, the second class “couchette” is a cabin for 6 passengers with the beds arranged 3 high across from each other. I and one of the other passengers ascended to our top bunks by a narrow metal ladder and had to be careful not to sit up quickly lest we bang our heads on the ceiling. The cabin was warm but tolerable down below, however near the ceiling it was 10 degrees hotter. In deference to the privacy of the other 5 passengers I took only a few pictures looking out on the countryside from our carriage.

André Lieber was our first foreign exchange student. He was a part of our family for the 1992-93 school year. He still calls us Dad and Mom. André met his wife Asuka as students studying Chinese in Beijing 18 years ago. She was a Japanese national. Among the languages they spoke they held only English and Chinese in common. They have since also learned each other’s native tongues. They and their two darling children live in Berlin where André is employed by the Ministry of Finance and Asuka by a private corporation. The children are bilingual in German and Japanese, also now learning English. Theirs is truly a world family!

André met us at the train and we immediately began a tour of Berlin. He was able to arrange a rare private tour for us of the Reichstag, Germany’s center of government. The Bundestag was in session so our tour did not include the actual parliamentary chamber.

The Reichstag was severally damaged during World War 2. This rebuilt structure is ultramodern but retains much of its historical facade. Atop of the Reichstag is a huge glass dome containing double-helix ramp-ways to ascent and descend the top of the dome.

We saw much in our overview walking tour with André. I will end this note with our moving visit to the 2003 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It consists of a grid work of 2,711 slabs covering nearly 5 acres. Beneath the field of “stelae” is a museum that somberly details the stories of the 7 million victims of Nazi genocide between 1933 and 1945. In one room brief recorded biographies of the dead are read aloud in German and English 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These biographies are being compiled in Israel and it is estimated that the current collection will take over 7 years to read aloud.

Our day concluded with registration at our comfortable hotel, and a 2 minute walk to André and Asuka’s apartment where we enjoyed dinner with the family.

Peace Everyone. Pete

This was our last full day in Slovakia. We toured the ruins of The medieval Devin Castle and then wandered the streets of Bratislava’s old city.

The story of Devin Castle significantly predated the ruins of this thousand year old bastion. Excavations have revealed Roman fortifications dating to the second century and the foundation of a Christian church from the third century.

Devin Castle sits at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. The steep slopes and mountainous terrain made this an ideal point for the protection of these important trade routes. Unfortunately, it was also a point of significant conflict. The castle stands in ruins today because it was captured and then destroyed by Napoleon in 1809.

Today, the Danube remains important for the transport of commerce and tourists through Central and Eastern Europe. Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital and largest city, is located along the banks of the Danube and is a mixture of the ultra-modern and the old world.

We will depart the morning of June 7th for Vienna Austria and spend the day wandering the central city as we await our night train departure for Hannover and then onward to Berlin.

Our time with Svetlana, Milan, and their children has been special beyond words. “Svetla”, as we called her, became as one of our own children in 1996. Nothing in the intervening 22 years has lessened our love for her. It is gratifying to see that life has smiled upon her and her family.

Waiting for us in Berlin is our first exchange student son, Andre Lieber and his family. The sadness of our departure from Svetla is tempered by our excitement for that reunion.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. We developed a strong friendship with Canadians Tom Shillington and his wife Nanci Burns while walking the Camino on this journey. We laughingly referred to ourselves as the “doppelgänger couples”. There is some truth in that lighthearted reference. They have just returned to their home in Ottawa from their lengthy journey in Europe. Tom sent me a message and a bit of a caution. Returning home after such a journey is like rising to the surface too fast from a deep exploration of the sea. One risks suffering from “the bends” if one does not take the time to “decompress”. The metaphor is Tom’s, and I imagine very well applied. Perhaps I will borrow upon it in penning some final reflections nearer the end. There are 15 nights to go.

Again, Peace!

74 days on the road yet we still have the energy to tour like new travelers! Perhaps it is a tribute to the infectious energy of our hosts, Milan and Svetlana. This is the second day spent in their beautiful home. Milan has explained that 100% of the credit for the tastefully selected art, the interior decor, and the amazing landscaping goes to Svetlana.

I will add that she manages not only these things, but a busy professional career, and home cooking daily dinner for the family. She “demands” that the family relax at table every evening to share the experiences of the day. The discipline shows in the pleasant maturity of their two children.

We were off after breakfast for the countryside. First stop was one of Slovakia’s 12 caverns, the Driny Cavern. A steep walk up a forest path brought us to the cave entrance.

Driny is a limestone cave located in western Slovakia in the Lesser Carpathian Mountains. It was discovered in 1929 by S. Basic, a Slovak and inventor of the parachute! The cave is home to two species of bats and extends for approximately three-quarters of a mile, 80% of which is open to the public.

Our tour was enhanced by the presence of a group of excited elementary school children who were indistinguishable from their North American counterparts, except for the language.

After the tour of the cavern we enjoyed beverages and were then off to nearby Red Stone Castle.

This fortress was originally built in 1230 as a border fortification between the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary by Queen Constance of Bohemia. It was expanded and modified between the 13th and 16th Centuries. It became the property of the Fugger family who then sold it in 1583 to the Palffy family, rich Hungarian nobles, who retained ownership into the 20th Century. At one time the Palffys owned virtually all of what is now modern Slovakia. The castle became the property of the State in 1945.

The Palffys constructed resident apartments atop the fortifications and gentrified the structures and grounds. Nevertheless the castle retained its utility as a point for defense.

It’s extensive underground vaults which are over 200 feet long and are among the largest in Europe. Within these remarkable structures the family stored copper, gold, and silver which were mined from the nearby mountains. Our tour benefited from the expertise of a young tour guide who was excited to exercise her excellent English language skills with our small group.

For me the highlight was the subterranean well. It extended downward over 300 feet to water that was then another 75 feet deep! It seemed to take an eternity for a dropped coin to reach the water below. The acoustics then resounded with the deep reverberations of the splash. Human bones were found in the well, and legend told of a castle servant who committed suicide rather than be captured by invading Russian troops.

After touring, the adults enjoyed an incredible gourmet dinner at a local restaurant. The meal featured an excellent local wine and (literally) white glove service from our waiter.

Back at the home of the family Rosina we joined the children on the patio for snacks, beverages, and a sharing of the day. The children had been diligently studying for their major exams that will be given over the next week. Christine, ever the grandmother, helped by quizzing the 11 year old daughter Lujza on her Spanish lessons.

Tomorrow we tour the capital of Bratislava.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Over the last week the impermanence of life has reclaimed two of our dear friends.

While walking the Camino in 2013 it was our good fortune to meet a “pilgrim” from Colorado, Kris Ashton. She in turn brought her husband, Dennis Waite, into our life. We have enjoyed a very rich friendship with these two fit and adventurous souls. They have become more like a brother and sister to us.

Sadly, Dennis perished on May 30th while hiking the mountains of Scotland.

On June 4th a dear friend from my high school days passed after a lengthy illness. I was a newcomer to the community of Crete Illinois mid year as a freshman in high school. Dean Ortinau welcomed me as if I had shared friends and teachers with him my entire childhood. We reconnected in the last 10 years and created new memories of a shared friendship built upon our childhood “roots”.

In these two passages I am reminded that life is temporary, life is a lottery. Don’t put off until tomorrow the things that you may then find you are no longer able to do. Dennis and Dean never did.

Pete

We have arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia. This landlocked country of 5 million people is bordered by Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Bratislava is its largest city and is about an hours drive from Vienna Austria, 2 hours from Budapest Hungary and 3 from Prague in the Czech Republic. It sits on the shores of the Danube River and is at the crossroads of Eastern Europe commerce and culture.

Slovakia had been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the 10th to the early 20th Century and then joined with its neighbor to form the country of Czechoslovakia in 1918. It was a beneficiary the “Velvet Revolution” of 1989 that saw the fall of communism, and became the independent nation of the Slovak Republic as the result of a peaceful separation from the Czech Republic in 1993. Slovakia enjoys a very high standard of living and a very technicality advanced culture and economy.

We are guests for three days with Svetlana Rosinova, her husband Milan Rosina, and their 2 darling children. Svetlana is one of a number of people who still refer to us as “Mom and Dad” having been a part of our family as exchange students in the 1990’s. She spent the entire 1995-96 school year with us.

Milan is a communications and IT expert and Svetlana is a child psychologist. Their 11 year old daughter and 13 year old son are incredibly personable and polite, and speak fluent English, as do the parents. We last saw Svetlana 20 years ago in Prague and it is wonderful to see how she has succeeded in life. She and Milan are wonderful parents and partners. Their home is beautiful and charming by every standard imaginable. This has been a sweet and emotional reunion for us.

We look forward to seeing the countryside tomorrow and I am sure my camera will then get an appropriate workout!

Peace Everyone. Pete

Our last day in Brussels was spent with Bryony lazily wandering the old city squares and sampling small beers and treats at various cafes. The weather graced us with an exceptional opportunity to watch people and appreciate the architecture that dates to the early 1600’s.

The main Central Square is especially beautiful as the various multi-story buildings each once housed a craft guild… the union halls of the day. Each sought to display prominence. Among the Halls were those dedicated to bakers, brewers, weavers, shipwrights, and stone masons, just to name a few.

Belgium is known over the world for its incredible beers, delicious chocolates, lace, and tapestries. We had figured to do our part to alleviate any surplus of the first two categories, but it had not been our intention to entreat either of the latter categories… until we spied the tapestries!

We enjoy art. Indeed the walls of our home make that evident. Many years ago Christine and I were simultaneously captivated by a painting in a Wisconsin gallery. It was a stunning scene of evening mist on the waters of a north woods lake. In the foreground was a long abandoned rowboat that seemed to hold the memories of a now deceased angler and his child. The theme was even carried by the artist into the frame which he had made, and was a piece of art in its own right. The painting was an expensive original, but not beyond our means. To our regret we did not buy the piece. It has ever since been referred to between us as “The Painting”.

We were attracted to one of the tapestry shops and not being pressed to be anywhere or do anything in particular, we entered. There were many attractive pieces, but we had no intention of buying… until we saw not one, but two that conjured up the memory of “The Painting”. It took a mere glance between us to initiate the process of negotiating price and arranging shipping. We know precisely where each of these will hang in our great-room.

Afternoon arrived and the time came to express our gratitude and goodbyes to Bryony, but not before discussing a visit from her and her mother, Rosemary, to Kansas City. She was even included via a video chat. Perhaps next year? Time will tell.

I am writing this at 6am from the bed of our private cabin on the German “Night Jet” sleeper train to Vienna Austria. It is a first class accommodation that includes such niceties as complimentary wine, sweets, and breakfast served to us in the compartment. I am afraid that this wonderful means of travel is slowly disappearing in favor of the 300km per hour fast trains. We will enjoy it while we can.

At Vienna we will board an intercity service that will take us to Bratislava Slovakia where we will be met by our former exchange student “daughter”, Svetlana and her husband Milan. It has been 20 years since we last saw her. There will be much to talk about during the three days that we will be their guests.

Peace Everyone. Pete

I almost forgot to mention “The Manikin Pis”! For some reason that escapes me this diminutive statue of a little boy taking a pee has become an iconic symbol of Brussels. It was cast in the 1600’s and attracts throngs of tourists. Originally naked, the citizens of Brussels take great delight in dressing the little miscreant, yet he continues his endless stream of “urine”.

Kansas City has a similar statue, but it stands virtually unnoticed. Perhaps all that he needs is clothing.