Last summer, I wrote that we had been contacted by 3 magazines that wanted to do stories on the Bee, and that they were scheduled to be published sometime in the spring or summer 2014. Well, the first went to press last month. The magazine is called "CHILL" and is a Canadian lifestyle magazine targeting young, hip men. With a print run of 250,000 copies, they reach a large audience.
They were doing a story on the advantages of renting a private island as opposed to renting a shore cottage, so they contacted the owner of the Private Islands.com web site for information. They specialize in advertizing island properties for sale and rent worldwide. They in turn directed them to 3 properties they felt would cover a range of possible rentals, from $55,000. a night for an island in the Bahamas, to the little people like ...eh....us.
The nice thing was that since the owner spoke so well of the Bee "Honey Bee island is the perfect little private island getaway..." that they called to ask if they could include us in their story. The print version is below but is a little hard to read so the online version is HERE and much easier for text.
The irony is that the picture that is identified as "Somerset island" is not correct. The picture is of Zavikon island, located about 10 minutes from our place and to the best of my knowledge, it is not for rent.
The nice thing was that since the owner spoke so well of the Bee "Honey Bee island is the perfect little private island getaway..." that they called to ask if they could include us in their story. The print version is below but is a little hard to read so the online version is HERE and much easier for text.
The irony is that the picture that is identified as "Somerset island" is not correct. The picture is of Zavikon island, located about 10 minutes from our place and to the best of my knowledge, it is not for rent.
Road trip!
In 2010, we had planned a big-o-honking road trip all over creation to visit deep into the Eastern European countries. It was to be a one shot deal, more or less. We were curious to see the area some, or at least get our feet wet, as we didn't think it would be an experience we would necessarily want to repeat. Fate had other plans, when days before we left Janice was diagnosed with cancer, again.
All bets were off for that year and 2011 as she underwent the treatments. 2012 was out, as she needed a little surgery for another health issue. 2013 was out too, as I needed a little knee surgery myself. 2014 was upon us and for the life of me, as hard as we tried we couldn't find a thing wrong with either of us.
We pulled out the thick packet of maps and guides of places to visit and the plans we had put together, updated the visiting hours information, re-booked accommodations, changed the oil in the car and off we went. Now, I realize that reading about other peoples trips can be as interesting as being held hostage through hours of of your neighbors home movies of his kids birthday parties, so I offer this in two versions.
Pick the version of your choice and simply skip the other. We won't know, you won't tell, so no one will be the wiser. Until we quiz you.
All bets were off for that year and 2011 as she underwent the treatments. 2012 was out, as she needed a little surgery for another health issue. 2013 was out too, as I needed a little knee surgery myself. 2014 was upon us and for the life of me, as hard as we tried we couldn't find a thing wrong with either of us.
We pulled out the thick packet of maps and guides of places to visit and the plans we had put together, updated the visiting hours information, re-booked accommodations, changed the oil in the car and off we went. Now, I realize that reading about other peoples trips can be as interesting as being held hostage through hours of of your neighbors home movies of his kids birthday parties, so I offer this in two versions.
Pick the version of your choice and simply skip the other. We won't know, you won't tell, so no one will be the wiser. Until we quiz you.
The Boy Version
We went on a big trip, saw a lot of cool stuff and had a great time.
The Girl Version
Driving across France, Belgium and the Netherlands to Aachen, Germany we visited daughter Mandy and Markus for several days. After being wined and dined with their friends for a couple of nights, they lined up a couple of tours. They had called in an IOU from a big wig on the NATO base nearby that they knew, to take us on a tour of one of the AWAC'S at the base.
The tour was comprehensive, from the cockpit to the inside of the radar dome to the electronics in the belly. For the uninitiated, AWACS are the airborne control planes that allow the good guys to control the airspace around a 500 Km radius (300+ miles). For the record, the photo you see was taken from Google as I did not bring a camera and I would tell you what I saw but they would then have to kill me.
I have often written about how when we travel we seek out UNESCO World Heritage Sites (marked in red *) as they have been identified as the best historical, cultural and scientific places to visit in any country. This trip was no exception.
Mandy and I have had an friendly ongoing feud over the number of sites we have each visited over the years. Having had a head start and a bit more free time on my hands, I am still a little ahead. But, being a good sport she and Markus took us to the Augustusberg Castle* near Cologne.
I love being back and driving in Germany which has no speed limits on the rural areas of their freeways. It allows me to free my repressed inner Parnelli Jones for a short while. It is amazing how quickly you adjust to barreling down the road at 105 MPH (168 km/h) or as fast as our wimpy dufus car can peddle, yet have to quickly pull over in the 'slow' lane to let someone going just under the speed of sound by. It just doesn't seem right that they drive faster than my plane can fly.
Leaving the kids, Janice and I headed to Dresden in what used to be east Germany for a week in a home we exchanged for. On the way, we visited Wartburg Castle*. (Martin Luther was exiled there) Once settled, we saw all the hot spots in Dresden including the Swinger Palace (Not pronounced or intended for what it sounds like) the green vault in the Dresden Palace (home to some of the finest treasures in Europe) and the Elbe Valley*. Our home was great as it was directly facing the river across from 4 illuminated castles on the other bank.
We visited Wittenberg* where the home, church and burial crypt of Martin Luther is located, followed by Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam*. In Berlin we saw everything from the Brandenburg gate to remaining parts of the wall, Castle Island*, the Reichstag, and the 'Fuhrerbunker' where Hitler committed suicide.
Of special note to me was returning to Checkpoint Charlie. I was last there when I was 17 when our bus drove around the anti tank traps and submitted ourselves to the East German border guards running mirrors under the bus looking for stowaways. Of course this was long before the wall fell and we spent the day in East Berlin which looked like what I imagined it would look like the day the war ended.
Now it is a tourist site next to a McDonalds in the middle of high rises, shops and apartments.
We crossed the border into the Republic of Czech (formerly Czechoslovakia) to Prague*, visiting the town square, the astronomical clock and old town below the Prague Castle. We found the country to be far more sophisticated and developed that we had expected but noticed that the police where everywhere. They were on street corners, parked here and there and a very heavy -almost oppressive- presence on the roads. Are they expecting trouble or do they want such a tight grip on their people? It was a bit creepy.
The tour was comprehensive, from the cockpit to the inside of the radar dome to the electronics in the belly. For the uninitiated, AWACS are the airborne control planes that allow the good guys to control the airspace around a 500 Km radius (300+ miles). For the record, the photo you see was taken from Google as I did not bring a camera and I would tell you what I saw but they would then have to kill me.
I have often written about how when we travel we seek out UNESCO World Heritage Sites (marked in red *) as they have been identified as the best historical, cultural and scientific places to visit in any country. This trip was no exception.
Mandy and I have had an friendly ongoing feud over the number of sites we have each visited over the years. Having had a head start and a bit more free time on my hands, I am still a little ahead. But, being a good sport she and Markus took us to the Augustusberg Castle* near Cologne.
I love being back and driving in Germany which has no speed limits on the rural areas of their freeways. It allows me to free my repressed inner Parnelli Jones for a short while. It is amazing how quickly you adjust to barreling down the road at 105 MPH (168 km/h) or as fast as our wimpy dufus car can peddle, yet have to quickly pull over in the 'slow' lane to let someone going just under the speed of sound by. It just doesn't seem right that they drive faster than my plane can fly.
 |
| The Castle Church door where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, launching the Protestant Reformation |
Leaving the kids, Janice and I headed to Dresden in what used to be east Germany for a week in a home we exchanged for. On the way, we visited Wartburg Castle*. (Martin Luther was exiled there) Once settled, we saw all the hot spots in Dresden including the Swinger Palace (Not pronounced or intended for what it sounds like) the green vault in the Dresden Palace (home to some of the finest treasures in Europe) and the Elbe Valley*. Our home was great as it was directly facing the river across from 4 illuminated castles on the other bank.
 |
| Castle "Sansoucis" (without worry) in Potsdam |
We visited Wittenberg* where the home, church and burial crypt of Martin Luther is located, followed by Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam*. In Berlin we saw everything from the Brandenburg gate to remaining parts of the wall, Castle Island*, the Reichstag, and the 'Fuhrerbunker' where Hitler committed suicide.
 |
| Remnants of "The Wall", separating East and West Berlin |
Of special note to me was returning to Checkpoint Charlie. I was last there when I was 17 when our bus drove around the anti tank traps and submitted ourselves to the East German border guards running mirrors under the bus looking for stowaways. Of course this was long before the wall fell and we spent the day in East Berlin which looked like what I imagined it would look like the day the war ended.
 |
| Checkpoint Charlie, 1967 |
Now it is a tourist site next to a McDonalds in the middle of high rises, shops and apartments.
 |
| Checkpoint Charlie, today |
We crossed the border into the Republic of Czech (formerly Czechoslovakia) to Prague*, visiting the town square, the astronomical clock and old town below the Prague Castle. We found the country to be far more sophisticated and developed that we had expected but noticed that the police where everywhere. They were on street corners, parked here and there and a very heavy -almost oppressive- presence on the roads. Are they expecting trouble or do they want such a tight grip on their people? It was a bit creepy.
Leaving our home in Dresden we crossed Poland to tour Auschwitz*, the WWII Nazi extermination camp outside of Krakow. I had visited Dachau (another death camp) outside of Munich when I was 16, but this was the largest one of them all as they ran almost 1.3 million people (mostly Jews) through the crematoriums. It is impossible to describe the horror of what we were shown.
In Krakow, we stopped at Schindler's factory (of 'Schindler's List' fame) and walked through the old town*.
From there we saw the salt mine* in Wieliczka, the only site in the world where mining has functioned continuously since the Middle Ages. Reaching the depth of 327M (1100 Ft), it lies on nine levels and stretches for 300 km (186 miles). It even has two chapels, where everything (from its chandeliers to the altar) is made from salt.
I worried about the language thing, considering we were out in La-La land so I prepared a little something, just in case. In Polish, it was "Stary, nie mam freeking pojęcia, co właśnie powiedział!" Roughly translated, it means "Dude, I have no freeking idea what you just said!"
Leaving Krakow, we crossed the border into Slovakia where we spent the night at a lovely log cabin kind of place. Our room was equipped with one of those ultra modern $10,000. digital shower enclosures that even had a radio and phone built in. ( I was waiting for you to call) It had the largest rain shower head I have ever seen with water jets in the walls to spray you from all directions. Totally water world.
Such luxurious accommodations don't come cheap, but damn the costs! (945 Slovakian Korunas! [33 Euros or $45.], including breakfast :)
Crossing Slovakia, we visited the wooden churches of the Slovak Capathians* in Lestiny and Hronsek, the town of Banska Stiavnica* and the medieval village of Vlkolinec* where the Slovak national uprising of WWII took root and a third of it was burned by the Nazi’s in retaliation.
Finally, we arrived on the Danube river in Budapest,* Hungary. One of the great things about this kind of travel is the up close and personal geography lessons it entails.
Quick! Which countries share a border with Slovakia? See what I mean? (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine) With 3 of the countries sharing borders with Ukraine and the Russians amassing troops on its borders, we thought best to hightail it out of the region and head home.
We visited the 1100 year old, still functioning and in pristine condition, Abbey of Panonhalma* before crossing into Austria to the Schonbrunn Castle* in Vienna. Re-entering Germany, we arrived in Munich right on time for a cold draft at the worlds most famous beer hall, the Hofbräuhaus in the middle of old town. (Surely it was 5 o'clock somewhere)
Such luxurious accommodations don't come cheap, but damn the costs! (945 Slovakian Korunas! [33 Euros or $45.], including breakfast :)
Crossing Slovakia, we visited the wooden churches of the Slovak Capathians* in Lestiny and Hronsek, the town of Banska Stiavnica* and the medieval village of Vlkolinec* where the Slovak national uprising of WWII took root and a third of it was burned by the Nazi’s in retaliation.
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| Budapest: See it here |
Finally, we arrived on the Danube river in Budapest,* Hungary. One of the great things about this kind of travel is the up close and personal geography lessons it entails.
Quick! Which countries share a border with Slovakia? See what I mean? (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine) With 3 of the countries sharing borders with Ukraine and the Russians amassing troops on its borders, we thought best to hightail it out of the region and head home.
We visited the 1100 year old, still functioning and in pristine condition, Abbey of Panonhalma* before crossing into Austria to the Schonbrunn Castle* in Vienna. Re-entering Germany, we arrived in Munich right on time for a cold draft at the worlds most famous beer hall, the Hofbräuhaus in the middle of old town. (Surely it was 5 o'clock somewhere)
I know that I have yammered on and on about Castle this and Castle that, but being a self appointed high priest of the church of the painful truth, the harsh reality is that by my estimate, 80% of all the big art in Europe is to be found in the churches and Cathedrals. The other 20% is in the Castles and private collections (The Louvre for instance).
I have never seen a 60' to 70' (20-25 M) tall, hand carved dripping with gold and silver sculpture in a museum as I have seen as altar pieces (the huge decorated sculpture behind the altar) in Cathedrals. The reality is that whether you are a person of faith or pride yourself on being a garden variety heathen, if you want to see the good stuff, you follow the Willie Sutton* rule...you head for the churches.
*Willie Sutton was a notorious bank robber who when asked why he robbed banks said "Because that is where the money is!"
Finally, we made a beeline for home. Pulling in, we had covered 5700 Km (3,500 miles), 16 new world heritage sites* (total now 124), in 4 new countries (total now 37). Whew! We need a vacation....or maybe just a little road trip.
Counting down
If you are just rejoining us after reading the boy version of our trip, welcome back! The bills are starting to arrive so it is time for us to start packing and hide out somewhere else. Before we did though, friends Ed and Marylin from Los Angeles stopped by for several days during their trip to the UK, and I spent some time wrapping up a little forging project to take back to California (via the Thousand Islands)
Wake up C-IJQP,
daddy is coming home...
