The day was finally here. After months of planning, cancelled flights, border closures and the uncertainty of covid, I was at the airport, mask on my face and ready to board a plane for the first time in 14 months! After three flights via Brisbane and Townsville, I arrived in Mt Isa just before sunset. I stepped off the plane onto the traditional land of the Kalkadoon people, the traditional owner Read on...
India is set to overtake China as the most populous country in the world by 2023, according to the UNs most recent projections. Both China and India are home to over 1.4 billion people. (Previous estimate was 2025)
If the forecast is correct, the global population could reach eight billion by 8.5 billion by 2030, and 10.4 billion by the end of the century. In 1950, the population was just 2.5 bi Read on...
Anniversaries are things you rather like - sometimes . Sometimes you prefer to forget them . This week we celebrate a year of Covid. Now that is an anniversary I never . A few weeks of something that sounded and acted like flu and things would return to normal . Less than two months away and we would be heading for Holland and Scandanavia. Even as the months slipped by I never for once thought tha Read on...
While at breakfast we decided to take a nice relaxing walk to village of The lady at the i told us to go up the Mosel to BernKastel and hike over the vineyards and take the boat taxi back down the Mosel.
We arrived in BernKastel, parked the car, and found the trail. It was well marked like all trails in Germany. The problem was, It was straight up as in 90 degrees straight up. Kirsten looked at Read on...
We flew to Varna from Sofia. Picking up a local guide and motorcoach, the group set off for sightseeing along the Black Sea coastline. In the Cold War era, Varna had the nickname in the West of the Red Riviera. The city, on the Black Sea, was the site of many beach resorts visited by Eastern European vacationers who could not then travel to the West. A brief tour of Varna was included.
Our visit Read on...
During the day I found out about the Independence Day Festival in Amsterdam, Haarlem, and other Dutch cities. (This festival is a big celebration of Dutch independance from Germany at the end of WW2.) It was near sunset when I started my one kilometer walk from my hotel at the Haarlem Grote Markt to the festival. Since it was cold outside I wore my new Netherlands hoody sweatshirt. This is the lar Read on...
My condo was located on a side road called Soi Thanpuying Phahon off Ngamwongwan Road, which is a major artery running through the northern part of Bangkok. The nearby major intersection is with Phahon Yothin Road. Also known as Highway 1, Phahon Yothin goes all the way to the northern edge of Thailand and connects into Myanmar.
I to Bangkok with many specific sightseeing goals in mind. Rather, Read on...
After the Blue Train, here we are on for four nights around Cape Town before being back home for a few days. Lately all trips to Cape Town have been part of way longer trips. So now that we have a short stay, lets splurge a little for once. We spent our first night and last night in Cape Town...and 2 nights in between in gorgeous Franschoek.
The food on the Blue Train was decent, but far away fro Read on...
I have this sign on my study wall. Thus traveling to Santorini, originally called Thera, has been high on my bucket list. I blasted through the museum because they close at 3:30. I took lots of photos and will enjoy them when I get home. It was amazing to stand beside the real wall hanging or pithoi, rather than see copies in books or shops. I could touch the large pots on display (until the museu Read on...
For our first full day in Ocean City, we definitely wanted to hit the beach. We got up fairly early, packed up our beach stuff, and headed out. We ran across some traffic heading towards the island and on the island itself, but it honestly wasnt too bad. We did make the mistake of going to a Dunkin right after the bridge, and had to wait in a line for twenty minutes or so. It would have been much Read on...