Milan: A Long Journey Begins

On April 9th it was time for Chris to leave Italy and time for Kim and me to begin another journey. Here Sister Wendy prepares us and sings us a little song wishing us a safe journey. But, before we went our separate ways, Chris, Kim and I took in a bit of Milan.
(And, an editorial note: these blogs are not in order...time passing and away from the computer did not allow a nice, timely flow. We hope you'll enjoy anyway.)

Fountain outside the Milan Train Station.

The Duomo; such a grand sight!

Here is a small collage of very large wonders within the Duomo. The stained glass is fantastic! (Double click to enlarge)

Resting after a long visit at the Duomo.

Mr. Da Vinci and friends

A modern Milan courtyard.

Uniforms for that special job...

Alas, my darling, we must bid farewell to Milan...

Liberation Day in Italy; A National Holiday

"April 25 is a national holiday celebrating liberation day in Italy. Some services may be closed but there will be festivals and concerts in many places."

What this means to us is our attempt to take John, our current visitor, to Saturday market was thwarted. Everything is closed but there was a parade...Despite our plans, we are glad that this is a celebrated and remembered day. In addition to Liberation Day, we are also celebrating the Festival of Saint Giorgio and Saint Marco, patron saint of Venice. Whew, what a day of celebration!

A Quickie....

We have just returned from the countryside of eastern Austria--a place named Bildein (population 203) which is a small village just next to the border of Hungary. This is the land of the Iron Curtain and it is so stunningly beautiful and picturesque; so hard to know that so much death and unhappiness occurred there. I have so much to say but for now, so little time. So, this is a quick blog just to say I will be back with more AFTER we return from Rome! (Oops, hopefully because life happens and one should never assume....)

Tomorrow, bright and early we fly back to Milan where we meet up with our friend John who is flying in from Seattle. Once reunited we all catch a flight to Rome for three nights. Much catching up will be required upon our return to Alessandria where I hope to write about Bildein and Rome. Please stay tuned.

In the meantime, a few pictures of friendship and happiness.

United Nations in Vienna....

We have been so very lucky with the weather here in Vienna. It's been great to be here in the springtime and experience that special beauty that only spring can provide.
On our various outings, from the subway, we spied the United Nations of Vienna and have been wanting to go by for a visit. We tried last Friday but it was Good Friday and it was closed. Austria is a very Catholic country and so both Good Friday and Easter Monday (Dyngus Day) are national holidays. So today is Tuesday and here we go!

There are four UN's around the world. Can you name their locations? No? Okay, then here they are: New York City, Vienna, Nairobi, and Geneva. Each is charged with a different "goal" toward making this world a better place. So, the UN in NYC is known more for diplomacy, security, and peacekeeping, Geneva-- human rights; Nairobi--world ecology; and Vienna is technology and industrial development. Within those specialties are layers of additional specialized programs and agencies.

Vienna's specialized agencies include: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, The Office for Outer Space Affairs, The Commission for International Trade Law, The International Atomic Energy Agency, The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization, The UN Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, AND, other offices and entities. Over 6,000 people work here.

192 countries are members of the UN--oh, one more makes 193 and that 'one more' is Vatican City. Six major languages are emphasized and spoken: English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French and Russian. Did you know that there are close to 6,000 different languages world wide?
Interpreters earn $500 per hour and can only work for 3 hours at a time. They do simultaneous translating which takes total intensive concentration. Each translator must be totally proficient in 3 languages.
Gifts from various countries are given and there is some very beautiful art work all around.
Here's a gift that the US gave--it's a piece of moon rock. Please note that it is over 3 billion years old. Does that add some perspective to your life?
Morocco gave this fountain as a symbol of the water crisis that most people of the world are experiencing.

Here's the section on outer space...

Here's information on the world-wide drug crisis....

There was a conference going on regarding Human Trafficking....

And as we left, we passed this gift from Japan which is a reminder of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Then, to top it off, we got to go over to dinner at the Pötz household. Here are Katharina and young son (4 years old), Frederick.

Frederich, Katharina, and Oma (grand ma) Linde. (Linde is formally known as Sieglinde and guess who is named after her?).

And more happy diners after Linde's great meal. (Trude (Linde's sister), me, and Jean).

Geeez, who could ask for more?? Thanks for such a great day!

Happy Easter and Spring...

It was a beautiful, sky blue day and after eating chocolate from the Easter Bunny, we decided we should head out for a bike ride along the Danube. The weather has been gorgeous the last few days and Spring is definitely here.
The trail "up current" along the Danube is flat and heads north as far as Germany. We packed a lunch and headed out on our journey.

To begin, we must find "Bizerk" Lane and we all know the implications of that....

We met up with friends, Linde and Franzi. We were a bike pack...

A stop for cold water and a rest...

Total beauty; makes it easy to ride and ride and ride and....

We did stop for nourishment and conversation....

And oops, my bike got a flat tire (far, far, away...) Linde helps out...

My hero, Jean, hard at work...(by the way, where was Kim?)

Happily riding toward home once repairs were made...Distance of our ride was 41 km (28 miles).

Huge barges are often seen...

Too small for a barge.

And finally, to top off the day, please click on the arrow to listen to the "Symphony of Frogs" in e minor.

More of Genoa (I Couldn't Resist)...

A Very Busy Week...

Our friend Chris has been with us this last week and we've been doing lots of exploring and sight seeing. Chris has a good sense of direction and so with a map she's been out and about exploring Alessandria. We went to Genoa on Monday and had a great day exploring this very ancient city. Chris and I took many pictures and below I show you my best....

Scenes from the train...always lots to see... and miss....

Happy friends in Genoa

The cemetery in Genoa is FANTASTIC and this gentle angelman was keeping an eye on us to make sure that we were not having too much fun...

A friendly face....

that only has eyes for YOU...

She was playing "Canta No Llores"....

He offered Chris a deal that she could refuse....

Alas, our time has flown by. Tomorrow, Thursday, we all head out to Milan where Chris will catch a flight back to Seattle and Kim and I will head to Vienna. We'll be in Vienna and Hungary until April 20th when we fly back to Milan and connect (at the airport) with our friend John. Then Kim, John and I fly to Rome for three days and then back to Alessandria...All of this travel is adding up to fitting in our last travels....we have 2 months left.....