13. Vatican City - 1970

What can one say about the touring the Vatican.  In 1970 I saw The Basilica of St Peter, the Sistine Chapel, the Chair of Saint Peter, the statue of St. Peter Enthroned with everyone touching his worn bronze toe, artwork by Bernini, Bellini, Michelangelo, and Raffaello Sanzio.  I also saw the museum and the Necropolis.

The Necropolis, underneath the basilica was still being excavating in 1970, but was open to tourists and was very exciting.  They didn't even find St. Peter's bones until 1968.  It was a wonderful day without the long lines of today.  I still remember the workers covered in sweat from the humidity in the catacombs.  I read that now entry is restricted to 250 people a day.  Tickets for this portion is expensive and you must apply for tickets months ahead.  When I visited it in 1970, it was affordable.  I think one fee covered all of Vatican City.

Before we entered the Sistine chapel we were given strict warnings about using flash cameras in the chapel.  I think they had just started to restore the ceiling then. You still cannot use flash cameras.

There is also a museum with many interesting treasures and displays.  I remember seeing many artifacts, treasures and some huge woven tapestries.  The tapestries were some of the ones that Raffaello designed for the walls of the Sistine Chapel they were huge, like 24 x 16 feet, made of wool, gold, and silver!

I think I started a new family tradition there.  When I came home from my trip, I was a long haired bearded hippie with a pierced ear wearing beaded necklaces and dressed in homemade red corduroy bell bottoms.  Yet for a while, I could do no wrong in the eyes of my father.  The reason?  I bought my father a gift from the Vatican, of a rosary blessed by the Pope.  My oldest daughter, Christi, growing up hearing this story made a point of bringing home a rosary from Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Ireland and another from a Cathedral in Munich, Germany and gifted her mother with them. Mom was pleased.

12. Rome - 1970

After arriving at the Olympic village in Rome and settling in a corner sleeping location away from the fires where the rowdies tended to party, we shared and traded some of our fresh fruit for other staples.  We checked the bulletin boards for notes from friends and to see if there were rides going in the direction that we are going.  My partner and I split up.  She met some old friends that were moving on to Naples in a couple of days and I was planning on traveling down the other side of Italy to Brindisi.

The Olympic village in Rome was built for the 1960 Olympics  By the time we were there, the place was pretty much run down.  The building that we all slept next to had boarded up windows and concrete abutments sticking out about two feet from the windows.  This gave us something to sleep under or on top of, depending on the weather.

Sunrise in Rome

The next morning was amazing watching the sun come up over Rome and the open air markets slowly waking.  We could  lay there and listen to the vendors yell and joke with each other and their early customers.  At least, I did this, until the local police came by to make sure that everyone was awake and okay.  Breakfast was a fresh glass of juice.  I remember buying it from a vender on my walk to the Spanish Steps where a group of us spent the day.

Sunrise on the Spanish Steps

It seemed that no matter what part of society or generation you belonged to, you would find a kindred soul there during the day.






With so many things to see in Rome you could start in one part of the city, start walking, and and not run out of things to see that day.

The Colosseum 

Hadrian's Tomb

Vatican City

The next day after another wonderful night on my concrete slab, I again headed for the Spanish Steps.  While passing the Piazza del Popolo, I bought some fresh fruit and loaf of bread at a open air market, and some cheese at a small deli.  I bought enough for the day.  I finished the 45-50 minute walk to the Spanish Steps, sat down and ate my breakfast, sharing some bread with the pigeons.  While doing this I planned the next two days.  I planned on leaving Rome and heading to Brindisi the next day.  Today, I decided to spend a little extra money that I didn't have and actually pay for a tour of the Vatican.  Having finished eating breakfast and feeding the pigeons, I left to tour the Vatican.

Remember, I said you could start in one part of the city, start walking, and and not run out of things to see that day?  Well, let me describe my last full day in Rome.  After breakfast I started walking to Vatican City.  From the Spanish steps, it is about a forty minute walk directly to the Vatican.  I could never take the direct route.  There is so much more to see!  If you add about fifteen minutes to the walk, you will pass
1. The Pantheon, in use since it was rebuilt in 126AD.  It has been an active Catholic church since the 7th century and dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs.
2. The Piazza Navona, containing four famous fountains, one by Bernini.  this piazza is full of artist, their wares, street performers and bordered by cafes and deli's with poor and expensive service.  In 2011 one of the smaller fountains, The Moor fountain, was vandalized and some large and small statues were beheaded.  Fortunately the statues were just copies.
3. A fifteen minute walk from the piazza is Hadrian's Tomb also called Castel Sant'Angelo in the Parco Adriano.
Another ten minute walk brings you to Vatican City.  This route was more in keeping with my goal of seeing all that I could.

11. Milan to Rome 1970

This is one of the quiet secrets of hitchhiking through Europe in the 60/70's.  It worked better hitchhiking as a couple even if you were not.  It made some of the girls feel a lot safer and less hit upon, and the guys got rides a lot quicker too.  If it was a truck, the guy sits in the middle and the girl sits by the window.  This made for smoother shifting and less groping or "traveling" hands by the trucker missing the gear shift.  For the guys. it opened up more rides in cars because a couple seemed to be less threatening and you had  the possibility of meeting many more people that would normally bypass a lone male hitchhiking.

I teamed up with a girl to hitch from Milan to Rome anticipating a two day trip to cover the 500+ kilometers.  We started out early in the morning by taking public transportation (city bus) as far out of Milan as was possible without having to buy a transfer.  Then we started hitchhiking.  We were very lucky that day.  Our first ride got us outside of Milan heading southeast.

Open air market in Parma

Our second ride, all the way to Rome, was fantastic.  The driver was an Italian professor who was fluent in English.  His specialty was Italian history and as we passed various sights he told us the histories of each of the regions we rode through.  He told us how the country was divided into twenty self governing regions with their own Parliaments.  He would also pull off the road and show us a view from our highway of a castle or village a few miles off our route, tell us what battles took place there and why it was important.  He would tell us some of the histories of cities that we drove past.  i.e. - Parma (existed in the Bronze Age), Modena (Etruscan Settlement post Iron Age), Bologna (Etruscan & Celtic origin and the oldest University), Florence (European trade center, Renaissance and Art), and Sienna (home of the Medici family).  He bounced back and forth from history to geography telling us about its two mountain ranges and the differences.  He also pointed out the crater lakes (Lake Bolsena, Lake Bracciano and Lake di Vico) with their black sand.

 This is one of the best rides that I have had.  He gave us the choice of getting out any time, but we could not have had a better tour.  We wanted to get to Rome and that was where he was going, but on the way we were given an insight and appreciation of this gentleman's love of his country.  We also ended up with a copious list of future places to visit.  We were dropped of in a suburb of Rome with directions on how to get to the center of the city and as he turned around he stopped again to say that we must at least go back to visit the Accademia Gallery in Florence to see Michelangelo's David.

On our way into the center of the city we passed a local farmers market closing down for the night.  We ended up being resupplied with some fresh fruit and vegetables before arriving at the Olympic Village for the night.

 

10. Lugano - Part 2 and Milan, 1970

We had a leisurely breakfast while waiting for the mountain pass to be opened and it was by the time we were finished.  When we went to settle up we were told that everything was taken care of and they apologized for not having a room.

We got back on the road and headed for Lugano.   It was just a few hours down the road.  Once there and on the way there we enjoyed looking at the sights throughout the province.  It was like being on the Riviera only it was on a lake.  We ended the night camping in the countryside just off the road.  It may sound strange, but that night I did something that I never would of thought possible.  After some meditation, I ran naked through the farmers fields under the stars, got into my sleeping bag and had a good nights sleep.

 The next day on the way to Milan we were slowed up by cows and goats in the road and I seem to remember stopping to walk through an old village on the side of the mountain in Italy where all the streets were too narrow for a car and the sidewalks were all steps.  There was a chapel/church at the top attached to a small castle.  Either way a three or four hour drive turned into a six or seven hour drive that with today's roads would take about an hour and a half!

Milan Cathedral

We arrived in Milan and sort of proceeded to the youth hostel.  I say sort of, because at that time streets 
had a different name for almost every block and the names of the street were usually attached to the side of a building.  There was no such thing as GPS then, actually the internet had not even been discovered!  It was really interesting trying to find the main/central post office the next day.  The post office was used by many.  You could have a friend mail you some money to "General Delivery, Milan, Italy".   Then you go to that post office and ask them if they have a general delivery package for you, identify yourself, and they will verify and give you your mail.  This was quite common when traveling in the sixties and seventies. We soaked in the sights for two days before going our separate ways.

9. Grindelwald to Lugano - Part 1 1970

When I woke up the next morning I could barely move.  It was very painful walking down the stairs and when I was finally at the bottom, I could barely shuffle through to breakfast.  Thank God I inherited my parents determination and stubbornness.  After breakfast and a stretching yoga session I felt much better and could once again move.

Our plan for the day was to drive from Grindelwald to Lake Lugano on the Swiss/Italian border.  The waterfront city of Lugano was on the Swiss side.  The trip was about 160 miles and we figured we could average about 35 mph and do it in about four and a half hours.  This was allowing for all the swaybacks and climbs.  Switzerland had a very late spring so all the passes over the mountain were not yet open.  The mountain now has much improved roads and a 25 mile tunnel under the pass and you can drive from Grindelwald to Lugano in less than three hours.  The pass we selected was open that morning but we never got to it that day.  We got a late start and stopped for a couple of photo shoots and lunch.  This coupled with narrow winding roads really slowed us down.  In the late afternoon the road was starting to get black ice in the shade and we drove into some snow flurry's.  We also found out we were actually only averaging about 20 to 25 mph in our old van.  No one felt safe driving on the road so we turned around and went back to the closest inn.  When we went to see if we could all stay in one room we were told that all the rooms and dorms were full!  It was full of Swiss Army Reserves doing their yearly two weeks training.  At that time all the Swiss were obligated for military service.  We also were told that the pass was closed for the night about ten kilometers further up the road because of today's weather and we were lucky we turned around.

The innkeeper allowed us to stay in his barn in the hayloft above the animals.  He told us to get settled and to come back to the main building for some dinner, refreshments and a fun time.  We were worried about spending too much money but we went anyways.  The inn had two dining rooms that included a bar.  As we entered the office the innkeeper told us to go into the dining room on the right where all the enlisted were and we would enjoy ourselves and to avoid the one on the left because that was were all the officers were and they were all stuffed shirts.  It helped that at that time, I was a vet and a woman with us was also an Israeli vet.  Stories did abound!  We were offered free beer and all we could eat off their buffet table for the evening.  Everything was over with about nine o'clock.  They said they were leaving on maneuvers early in the morning and we went back to our hayloft and slept quite comfortably.

The next morning  we were startled awake by a large explosion around six thirty!  We ran out of the barn in various stages of dress, wondering what was happening, to be greeted by the the solders we partied with last night.  They had placed their cannon next to our barn and had fired a round off.  This gave them a nice laugh as they marched off.  They left us a fantastic breakfast and memory!

7. Interlaken to Grindelwald 1970

This is a photo of a bed and breakfast that my wife and I stayed at during the summer of 2010 in Interlaken.  It is quite a bit different than the youth hostel that I stayed in 1970, although the atmosphere is much the same.  The first evening shortly after arrival I was surprised to see the matron sending a couple of students out to the local store to pick up some groceries.  After their return she started cooking in the community kitchen and was soon surrounded by many of us.  Within an hour she had us stacking plates and what I call kebab sticks out in the dining/community room.  She then proceeded to come out into the dining room with fresh chopped vegetables and a big vat of melted cheese.  That was my first and best experience with a Fondue.

The following morning was a breakfast of coffee and a very good Swiss pastry.  After a leisurely breakfast a bunch of us spread around the town  some going to the waterfront, some going to the town center to shop, some walking around the neighborhood and of course others leaving to travel on.  We periodically met in passing and shared info and tips on what we had just done.  That was also how most evenings were spent; passing and sharing info along with the standard "Who are you?  Where are you from?" and, "Where are you heading?"  That evening after some discussion, I was convinced to go up to Grindelwald the next day. 

One of the advantages of some hostels are the matrons and their male counterparts (Patrons?).  When they have a good one, your visit is greatly enhanced by their knowledge and assistance.  By the time I left the next morning,  I knew that no one from the hostel with a vehicle was headed up the mountain.  I  also was told where the bus stop and the price of the bus was to go ride up the mountain.


But then she suggested I take the cog railway up to Grindelwald. The cost at that time was comparable if not cheaper than the bus and as she described it, a much better ride.  It was!

Grindelwald was where I learned one of America's educational shortcomings.  Language!  I grew up not learning another language.  I studied Spanish 1 from Mrs Ohmstedt.  She passed everyone that year because she was so happy she had become pregnant that year.  Like a fool, I signed up for Spanish 2 from Mr Acosta.  I think he passed me because I promised not to take Spanish 3.  Growing up in Mechanicville, I learned to swear in Italian and use my hands when talking but that was about it.  Not very much, but at age six after ruining some older woman's flower bed on Round Lake Ave, I tried using the new words and hand gestures she used that day on my father that night.  He introduced me to the joys of eating soap.  When I was in the Air Force I lived for three years in Turkey trying to learn that language.  I became barely conversational.  You have probably heard the phrase that you haven't really learned a language until you can dream in that language.  I dreamed in Turkish.  I really did.  I couldn't understand what they were saying then either!

 The amazing  matron back in Interlaken had written the phrase, "Where is the youth hostel?" and had me practice repeating the phrase in German saying that it was the same in Swiss Deutsch.  I even asked her to write it down for me.  What could go wrong?  After getting lost I tried the phrase on a woman that appeared to be helpful.  At least she was smiling.  I discovered that when you ask a question in any language, your answer will probably be given/returned in the same language.  I did not understand her answer so reflexively I say "No capiche."  She gives me the answer in Italian,  I  respond with "No capiche Italiano."  Then she tries French.  Frustrated I finally say "Do you speak English?"  She laughs and says of course and then gives me the directions I needed.  I was only a block away.

6. Saarbrucken Germany to Interlaken, Switzerland 1970

After three days in Saarbrucken I was back on the road to Switzerland.  I left that morning headed for Heidelberg and planned to head south from there.  Things did not work out that way.  I had taken three or four rides to get as far as Kiaserslautern, about half way to Heidelberg.
 

It was there that I was given a ride by a young family that convinced me to head south and to skip Heidelberg.  They were headed home to Stuttgart and they would drop me off in a small town called Ettlingen where I could head south while they continued east.  This saved about 125 kilometers of hitchhiking.
I remember doing some more walking that afternoon and spending the night in a field near the road.  About 50 kilometers north of the Swiss border I get a ride from an American couple to the border and on to the youth hostel in Basel Switzerland for the night.  Interlaken would have to wait for the next day

Breakfast the next morning was an apple and more muesli mixed in yogurt.  I really miss that muesli, not the stuff they sell today with all the artificial sweeteners and raisins.  I walked out of Basel to start hitchhiking again and had a leisurely day going up the mountains.  Today on the modern roads it is a two hour drive.  Then it took me most of the day.  The roads were much narrower and had many twists and turns.  You could ride on anything.  That day I remember riding in a wagon pulled by a tractor.  I was very glad it was not a manure spreader.  The old man told me to watch out for the tourist traps and to only shop where the locals shop.  He said that he knew because his son was paid by the government tourist agency to yodel in the mountains on a set schedule because that was what us tourists wanted.

I eventually arrived at the youth hostel in Interlaken.

8. The Glacier at Grindelwald 1970

Note.  Due to global warming this glacier no longer exists. Most of it melted!  please visit this site for an explanation.

I can not remember much about the hostel in Grindelwald except that it was beautiful, large and shaped like a mountain chalet.  It was also hung high up the side of one of the mountains overlooking the town!  It was quite a hike.

  I arrived early afternoon so had to wait until 4:00 to check in to get a bed for the next two nights.  After getting settled I left the six bed men's dorm room, (we were separated by sex during those days unless we were there as a family) and went back downstairs to the common room.  There I met a couple traveling by car that were looking for company to share auto expenses for a couple of days.  Three of us joined them. They were planning on visiting the lower glacier the next day, returning for the night and then heading into Italy over the next few days.  In the ravine, in front of the glacier, pink marble could be quarried as the ice melted and it was quite famous.

Morning found us shopping in the market for the days lunch. Before Rick Steves there was "Europe on five dollars a day".  I took the hint and bought a roll, 1/4th kilo each of cheese and sliced meat and viola! I had bought lunch and sometimes supper too!  Then we were in the van for the trip to the parking lot near the trail to the glacier.  We hiked up to and into the glacier paths and tunnels through and over and alongside the glacier.  It was a combination of chilly air and sweaty exertion at the same time.



When we came out we settled in for our lunch alongside a stream off the glacier.  We finished lunch, shared a joint and mellowed out watching the stream come of the glacier in the form of a very tall waterfall and then streaming down the side of the mountain in a rock bed.  Then someone gets the bright idea to get refreshed in the waterfall (translated - skinny dip in the waterfall and see who can stand the cold water for the longest).  It wasn't me.  I only lasted about 28 seconds.  One of the girls lasted for about 34 seconds.  We quickly dressed to warm back up and meet back downstream to head back to the van.

I am still wearing my new leather sandals that were handmade for me in Troy, NY with special rubber tread soles.  They were still  not completely broken in and I slipped on the rocks bordering the stream.  I then slid on my bottom down the wet solid rock bank for about thirty feet, gaining speed and then going over the side for another six foot drop in the air into a stream that was only about a foot and a half deep with a solid rock bottom on my behind!  The whole fall seemed to be in slow motion with me thinking over and over again I was going to break a leg and ruin my whole trip.  I did not break any bones or bleed from any cuts.  My friends helped me up and I managed with their help to walk back down the trail to the van and we returned to the hostel for a change into dry clothes and a cup of hot chocolate.  A plus to the day was that my sandals stretched and dried in the shape of my feet and fit perfectly for the next two years.

BTW - I just learned that I had a setting wrong on comments.  You can now comment on the posts.  Sorry it took so long to find it.

5. Luxembourg to Saarbrucken, West Germany 1970

I am sure that everyone has seen me mentioning West Germany. West and East Germany were not reunited until 1989.  My trip was in 1970 and I was not allowed to travel in East Germany.

My travel day did not last long.  It took about 3 hours to hitchhike to Saarbrucken West Germany.  The combination of walking in the rain and showers for days in Luxembourg in new sandals and carrying a heavy backpack reeked havoc with my feet.  My doctor has called my feet horse hooves, meaning I will never have fallen arches.  My arch is too high and will not touch the ground so all my weight and what I carry is on the balls of my feet.  By the time I got to the youth hostel I could barely walk.  But once again I was lucky.  This hostel was not too busy and allowed you to come and go during the day.  Another great thing that was passed on to me was to put an American nickel in the old soda dispenser down the street.  The weight of the American coin matched the weight of a larger denominational German coin.  We would select our soda, get the soda and then the machine would give us German change, We would make money buying a soda.

While recuperating, I would take short trips the next couple of days.  I would just walk along the river absorbing the atmosphere, go to see some of the first century roman ruins and even visited the famous Saarbrucken Zoo.  The zoo was well worth the visit and the coins I made buying soda paid the entrance fee.  Now I believe that it costs about ten Euro's.




After about three days of this it was back on the road!

4. Luxembourg 1970

The beer in that tavern was exquisite, maybe because I didn't have to pay for to much of it.  The people I met bought me a couple and had me check out a couple of local snacks.  It was a fun time and I was out of the rain!  It was so much fun that I was late for the afternoon opening of the hostel and by the time I got there the beds were filled and the people that could were sleeping on the furniture.  there was only a little floor space left in the hallway.  After a shower, the floor was quite welcome.

The next morning it was up at 7:00, buy a juice and some muesli to mix in fresh yogurt, and out the door with your backpack by 8:30 before they closed up for the day.  If you were staying in the area for another night you could place your bags with everyone else's in a designated room that the matron would lock for the day and unlock when the hostel reopened in the evening.  You had to do it this way because chances were very slim that you would get the same bed again.  This was done at your own risk!  There was a lot of competition that summer for places to stay.
Bock casemates today

The City of Luxembourg was great for walking.  I did a lot of walking that summer.  It didn't cost money.   During your walk you can stroll from the eleventh century to the present in an afternoon.  You can start in the upper old city along the winding river, with views of old fortress walls, castles, ramparts, the Bock casemates and markets of all sorts and work your way back to the lower modern city.  I remember doing this all day in a warm light rain.

The next day was scheduled as a travel day back to West Germany.

3. Belgium through Germany to Luxembourg 1970

The overnight ferry ride from Dover to Oostande, Belgium was uneventful.

 The ferry arrived very early in the morning and it seemed to be a dismal day.  I am sorry to say that I was not very impressed.  Everything was grey and I remember nothing but industrial warehouses for miles.  The sun did eventually come out after a few hours and the warehouses were overcome by farms and countryside that was very beautiful.  Unfortunately by then I was about an hour from  the West German Border.  In all, it took me about four hours to hitch hike across the country of Belgium.

The border crossing, if I can remember correctly, was between Saint Vith, Belgium and Winterspelt, West Germany.  From there it was a short hop (50 kilometers) to the United States Air Force base at BitBerg, West Germany where I spent the rest of the day and the night.

My neighbor from back home in Mechanicille, NY was stationed there.  His name is David Jones.  Dave showed me around the parts of the base that he could, got me some dinner and we talked for quite awhile before he found me an empty rack (bed) in the barracks for the night.  We met in the morning and he took me to the chow hall for breakfast where we met a friend of his who was just getting off watch and was heading home to his apartment in Luxembourg.  I had always wanted to visit Luxembourg so I caught a ride with him.

After we cross the border, there is an old castle on the edge of small village about ten or fifteen kilometers from the city.  He drove his small car through the gate and into the courtyard.  He is home.  His apartment was inside the castle along with several others.  From there he gives me directions to one of the youth hostels in the middle of Luxembourg City. 

I start to hitch hike from there, but end up hiking the last five miles or so in the rain.  The youth hostel is closed!  Most youth hostels back in the day were designed for cultural immersion.  You signed into one in the late afternoon, socialized with the other international travelers and made plans for the next few days during the evening.  The next morning after the breakfast hour you were asked to leave and the place was locked up until late afternoon again.  It was supposedly designed this way so that you couldn't just lay about.  You had no choice but to go out and mix with the local community, meet people, socialize, and learn first hand about the local culture.  Luckily for me there was a tavern right up the street from the hostel and that day I was introduced to the local malt beverages.

2. London to Belgium 1970

I met two people at the airport in NYC before boarding the plane to London.  Their names were Michael McKuen and Jessica.  Jessica's real name was Janice but for some reason she wanted to be called Jessica.  I cannot remember why.  Anyway I flew to London and hopped on the bus to the city center.  While taking the bus out of the airport into London the driver took great relish at everyone's gasp as soon as we are in two way traffic on what appeared to be the wrong side of the road.

A few of us got off the bus near the Western Union Office.  Those years everyone traveling on a budget stopped at one to check or leave messages and sometimes to arrange meetings with people or possibly buy a vehicle to tour Europe or sell one after touring.   It was there that I met with Michael and Jessica again.  They were just leaving with a friend who lived in London.  They invited me to stay with them.

We stayed at a luxurious two bedroom artist studio with an address of Chelsea, Sidney Close, Studio 6.  I just saw a place online for sale at Sidney Close that was similar for sale to the studio we stayed at for sale at a price of 3.4 million pounds.  It was my introduction to a new world. This place had a loft with two bedrooms.  There was musical instruments, art supplies, and paintings all over the place.  The mother of the girl who lived there was an artist and was away.  The father lived somewhere else.  They had a full time maid that was constantly cooking for and picking up after us!  It was quite an experience seeing how the "other half" lived!

While there I can remember us going to Hyde Park and napping underneath the trees for a couple of hours in the rain and then going across the park to a snack bar to drink some hard cider.  I also remember meeting some musician friends of our hostess who were practicing in their small studio in the wee hours of the night (they had an agreement with their neighbors to allow for a couple of hours of loud electronic music) preparing for an upcoming show at a local pub.  While there I also got to experience the street performers in Kensington Station and walked around doing a lot of sight seeing.

On the third day the girls father showed up and tells her that he has made arrangements with a new member of the House of Commons to stay there for a few days while looking for a place to rent.  This followed with a warning that he wanted to make a nice impression because he did a lot of business in the minister's home area.   Translation - It was time for us visitors to move on.

Jessica and Mike went back to the Western Union Office to buy a van to start their travels.  I was on a much stricter budget so I took the subway out of London as far as I could transfer without spending extra money and then hitch hiked to the Dover ferry station for a ride to Belgium.  While waiting for the ferry that night, I had my first "Fish & Chips" from one of the local kiosks.

1. The beginning 1970

This begins the tale of an inexpensive trip I took in 1970 to Europe. It had to be inexpensive because I didn't have any money.  I had just gotten out of the Air Force after spending 3 years in Turkey.  I wanted to be discharged in Turkey and travel throughout Europe from there but because of my security clearance I had to be discharged in the States. That meant I had to find an inexpensive charter flight to London and back.  I had to join a youth hostel organization, get a passport and somehow become a member of the University of Albany, NY Student Union to qualify for the charter flight.  It took some doing but after a few trips to some local student unions, I finally found a charter flight that I could afford. After paying for my tickets I was left with one hundred dollars with which to hitch hike from London to Turkey and back.  I mailed half of my money to friends of mine living in Yalova, Turkey to hold for me for my trip back.  The book "Europe on five dollars a day" had been around for about twelve years then so I was fairly certain I could do it for less than half of that.  I never was good at math.  Anyway I plan on boring you with blogs of my trip as I hopefully remember it.  Enjoy the trip!

Old poems 1966-70

 A rainy day

A rainy day.
A quiet sea.
A woman and a man,
Walk and meet,
Talk and sleep.
And then go away.
All on a rainy day
By the sea


 Counting tears

The moon, beautiful moon
Time of the great red cycle
     (when it is full).
Sigh when the wind blows cold.
Cry when the wind blows hot.
When it freezes, such a beautiful death.
But is it worth it to cry?
Tears freeze in the cold.
You can save them
And count them over and over again.
For what?
People have spent a lifetime counting them.

Istanbul

There is a girl
Very pretty and quite sincere.

Every week
We ride together
Her and I
Side by Side

When she sees me
She waves and smiles
And I do the same

On the last ride
She cried
As she and I left the boat
Each into our own worlds
Both speaking a different language

Leaves and Garlic

Monday is sometimes considered the first day of the week.  This is especially true for those of us that have lived a life as a blue collar worker.  It sort of sets the mood for the rest of the week, allowing us to set our schedule of planned accomplishments.

Today my day started fairly nice.  It started with the usual routine, checked the plumbing, started the laptop, fed all the animals, turned on the tv, filled and started the espresso machine and posted today's Morning Meditation ("The honor of the people lies in the moccasin tracks of the woman").  By this time my wife was stirring, inducing me to switch the television channel to the news and to sit so my wife and I could drink our morning espresso together.  This is our fairly typical morning routine.

I figured this was a good day to finally cover our garlic with leaves to protect them for the winter.  I get up and put on socks and a vest to go outside to work.  When I was younger, it was not cool to wear socks with sandals.  It still isn't cool but I pretty much wear sandals year round and suffer the socks in the winter when it is cold, unless there is snow.  When there is snow, I do wear boots.  Anyway, back to the leaves and garlic.

I get the truck, garden rake and snow shovel (great for picking up leaves) out to the front yard at the end of the driveway and start picking up the leaves and putting them in the bed of the truck.  Probably because I am wearing a sweatshirt underneath the vest, I quickly build up a sweat.  When this happens my eyeglasses slide all over the face and I usually end up taking them off and hooking them with an earpiece over my shirt collar.  A little later on I have the bed about three quarter full of leaves and nature calls.  It looks like I have enough leaves so for the job so I get  into the truck and drive to the house, about two hundred feet.  I pass my chair on the way to the little room and pick up my kindle in passing to do some reading at the same time.  As I sit down and begin reading, I can't.  Everything is blurry!  It was then that I discovered my glasses were missing!

I walked back out to the end of the driveway and canvased the area carefully for about twenty minutes with no luck.  Okay, maybe it is in the bed of the truck with the leaves.  I go back to the truck and drive it to the garden and garlic bed, another 300 feet.  I empty the leaves by hand making sure that the eyeglasses are not included.  They were not.  Then while retracing my steps and triple checking every place that I had meandered through that morning, I find myself in the garage and have a brilliant idea.  I pick up my prescription safety eyeglasses, wipe off the old sawdust and go back out to the end of the driveway for a another look.  It was amazing!  Apparently it helps to wear eyeglasses when searching for eyeglasses!  I hope the rest of the week goes as well.

Oma's Birthdays

Today is a new day that might start a little earlier thanks to adding a new hour in the morning.  This might get us going in time to see a partial solar eclipse in the morning and also gives us a strong possibility of making it to church on time for Sunday services.  We have not been as diligent as we should have been regarding services.

Jacqui is my wife and is called Oma.  Her birthday is on Halloween.  She was born on top of Woodford Mountain here in Vermont.  Born on Halloween, born on top of an old New England mountain, and her 9th Great Aunt was one of the witches hung at the Salem witch trials.  A heavy heritage to grow up with and as a result she suffered and looked forward to being an adult so she did not have to have a Halloween themed birthday cake.  Then, she had children of her own and once again had to suffer through the surprise Halloween themed birthday cakes, that is, until her children were of an appropriate age.  But then.....she had Grandchildren!

 In the afternoon, we are having a surprise birthday dinner for my wife that she is planning for herself.  It is planned to have a gluten free chocolate birthday cake (for the Grand kids), and a meatloaf dinner with mashed potatoes and fresh carrots from the garden.

My four year old grandson helped me plant the carrots in the spring and he just helped me harvest them.  After we cleaned, trimmed, and sliced them like golden coins about a quarter of an inch thick, we had five pounds ready for freezing.  To the chagrin of his vegetarian aunt he has never knowingly eaten a vegetable other than potatoes, probably just french fries, in his life.  Today he did!  Well sort of.  He took a raw golden coin and bit off a little bit and said that it tasted really good!  He then proceeded to take the small morsel out of his mouth and put it on the table.  He did this about eight or nine times consuming the whole coin but still saying that it tasted good.  Maybe today after the carrots are cooked he might even chew one!

Waking up

I am sitting here waiting for the family to wake up and greet the day.  I have already fed the dogs and cats, posted today's mediation, started the fire, and moved some laundry along.  Once the grand kids get up we can have our cereal and honey and start the day.

Right now the dogs are whining outside the three doors - Oma's, Aunt Eddy's, and the grand kids, - running between, whining and scratching on all the doors, hoping to wake up any of them so they can play, or at least join them in their bed cuddling and sometime almost licking them to death.

As far as I know there is not much planned for this weekend.  The granddaughter is here to earn some time on her cell phone by working with her Aunt Eddy and the grandson is her to play.  I think that I might  play too and then freeze some carrots this weekend.