Hiking near the Danube

There are many pretty small villages with decaying castles or fortifications.

Lake Como at Bellagio

People often say that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I have traveled widely, but not seen the whole world,

but this place would be hard to beat.

Captured in South Africa with a Canon Camera

Photo by Mike McLellan

Photo softened digitally

Oregon Coast

Photo by Marietta McLellan

Dianna's Walk, London

           I confess that I am not always excited to go on long walks or hikes in the woods, but walking across Kensington Park is great fun. A nice urban park and it is populated by a variety of sea birds and sculptures. This one is Peter Pan.

Baking Classes for Children and Adults in Paris are great fun.

The classes are available in English and can be found via Google. I am not a cook, but usually do my part by opening the wine. We took cooking classes in Barcelona too. My wine pouring was excellent.

Took my granddaughter to Scotland to shear sheep

This sheep rancher is featured on Rick Steves and other shows. He provides education in working sheep with dogs and, if you are lucky, he will let you shear a sheep. Here my granddaughter, Sarah, is getting ready to pitch in. (She also fell in love with those wonderful dogs.) On this trip she also drove a research vessel on Loch Ness and stayed over night in a "haunted castle". Check out Road Scholar trips for Grandchildren and Grandparents.

Municipal House, Prague

We had lunch in the ornate restaurant on the ground floor and then

had dinner in the "American Bar" on the lower level.

Petty place. 

Fall Along the Danube

Morning fog on the Danube

Early morning on the deck of the Select Belvedere watching for the sunrise. Fog will burn off later disclosing the Fall colors.

Photos by Mike McLellan 2019

RFID Security

This is the airport at Prague with the information in English. Most people I met spoke English.

There is much concern about people at various airports and in cities using RFID equipment to read credit and debit cards in our wallets. When read, bad guys can use the information to steal. Now, I am not in a big worry about it, but many items for travelers include RFID blocking.

I carry in a front pocket a small wallet with all I need. It is hard to pickpocket a front pants pocket. It has RFID protection built it. That means it has some foil in the lining. If you are worried about RFID, use small pieces of foil with anything that has a magnet strip. The new chips likely cannot be read.

Some people are worried about RFID and lots of other things. I don't worry about much when traveling. Maybe it is because I have encountered only a few issues and even then could take care of them.

Ludwig may have been crazy, but he was also smart.

This is the view from Neuschswanstein Castle in Bavaria. King Ludwig set his castle high on the hill and his parent's castle below. What a great view! Not so crazy.

Fall comes to the trail to Neuschwanstein Castle

Photos by Mike McLellan 10-19

Streets and Sidewalks in the center of Central European Cities

While the streets are cobblestones in much of the old central cities, Prague has worked to make their sidewalks pretty using blocks set out like a mosaic. The problem is that many of the individual blocks are missing or loose. You have to watch your step. It is not a problem, I suppose, for the young, but note my cane at 3 o'clock in this photo. It was a little difficult for me. Worth it, but difficult.

Roadside stop in the Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy

Seven years ago and still one of our magic memories.

Old Castle on the hill above the Danube (near Vienna)

Look carefully at people walking along the river bank beneath the ruins.

Note also that it is Fall.

Photo taken last month by Marietta McLellan

State Jewels, Munich, Germany

At the state museum you pay for a ticket, get your audio-guide and walk into a  huge vault.

For the next hour or so, you get to look at the ancient bling of Germany.

As they were only a monarchy long ago, these are precious things brought in

from around the area.

Interesting visit. Ask to use the restroom... a guard will take you up a behind-the-scenes

elevator to a nice kept loo.

Long Boat on the Danube: Select Belvedere

Moored in the fog of the Danube as the heat of the begins to burn off the overcast, Our ship was a smaller four level one that was well appointed, but small enough for one seating at meals.

The Prague Castle and Lessor Town as seen from Charles Bridge

Prague is a fun and easy to navigate city.

A great visit. We were there about a week and fell in love with it.

2019

The American Cemetery at Normandy France

The only thing pretty about war are the cemeteries.

And then, while pretty, they are still sad.

Photo by Mike McLellan

Three details of Budapest, Hungary

 "Liberty" Sculpture

 Fast train over bridge

Towers that make up part of the skyline

Garden Path at the Palace in Vienna

My wife, Marietta, got a new point-and-shoot camera for our trip last month.

She has an excellent eye for photos.

This is one of the garden in Vienna, Austria.

Heavenly light on castle in Danube

Just thought this was cool...

Favorite photo I took In South Africa

Back story: He was about twenty feet away and I was in a safari vehicle. I took this with a medium lens and blew it up digitally. It looks like I was closer than I was and you do not see vehicle or guide with a weapon in front seat.  I do not think this old guy was in a mean mood in any case.

Hints for a good flight

     WET ONES - use them to clean the tray, armrests and monitor (don't forget the seat belt) for a cleaner environment,

     NEOSOPORIN - in your nose to cut bacteria inhaled and to moisturize the membranes in low humidity.

     GINGER ALE - not Canada Dry as it has no ginger. Ginger Ale settles the stomach and the ginger has long been used for motion sickness. It also takes the place of Coke or Diet Coke which are not the best things to drink on a plane.

     Bring BOTTLED WATER or drink water only from a sealed bottle provided. Airplane water, if held in tanks, can be tainted.

      ACT LIKE IT IS A FIVE STAR RESTAURANT - no matter about the food. Treat the attendant well, show appreciation, be kind and believe me it will come back to you.

     DON'T MAKE A MESS - If you are  sitting next to me, I don't appreciate your shoes and socks where they should not be. Watch your trash. If there is an emergency, I do not wish to crawl over a pile to get to the exit.

    more to come...

  

     

      

Statues in Munich

 Juliette

 Angel Baptismal

Bacchus outside of museum 

Checks in the Czech Republic

 Detail of the street in Prague. Much of the area of Old Town is paved

in small cobblestones. This section holding a manhole cover engraved with symbols of the city.

At left you can see the larger cobblestones of Old Town through the cafe window.

The checked tablecloth will soon hold boiled beef and dumplings.

"Beds" and Crematorium in Dachau Concentration Camp, outside Munich

Crematorium at Dachau.

The two photos above and below certainly make it look better than it was.

The town of Durnstein on the Danube

We spent some hours visiting Durnstein, having a wine tasting, and seeing the vineyards and orchards. It is a pretty town poised on the bank of the Danube.  This picture was taken as our ship left the dock on the way toward Passau Germany.

Neuschwanstein Castle

     I took this photo last week while in Bavaria. We took a bus from Munich to Fussen and were brought to the base of the mountain. From there we chose to take a bus (rough ride) over walking or taking the horse cart. At the top, we visited the castle and looked out upon the lake and the valley. It was Fall and beautiful. We hiked down. A good day and one more check on the "bucket list".