3 Weeks in Europe, Part 5: Zurich

We only had one day in Zurich, prior to flying home, but it was a truly special day and we were so glad that we decided to spend the day there rather than just connecting through at the airport.

We planned a very full day for Zurich, and felt confident that all would run by the clock and it would be no problem to pull this off, as ALLES runs by the clock in Switzerland. We were not to be disappointed. Our plane arrived promptly on time at a little past 11. We strolled to baggage claim and our bags had just come out of the chute. We picked the bags up, strolled out to the hotel shuttle and the shuttle arrived just then. We got to the hotel , had time for a quick shower and took a taxi to Google Zurich. We gave the taxi driver the address and he said "Oh it is OK to just say Google! We all know the Google." We were even a few minutes early for our lunch appointment with Nelson and Claudia Mattos. Nelson gave us a fantastic tour of the facility, and it is very much as impressive as the Google in Mountain View. One thing that we observed was that all of the various resting, coffee, play areas etc seemed to all be in use. I think that the Google culture fits extremely well with the Swiss work culture, at least as I had experienced this in the early 90's. We ALWAYS had coffee breaks together in the am, after lunch, and so on. It was so very nice of Nelson and Claudia to take time from their busy lives for us, and we really appreciated it. They look great, and it is clear that this European lifestyle suits them. I was sorry that Juergen Allgayer was (again) away in London, so we missed seeing him.

After lunch and espresso we headed out for BahnhofStrasse shopping. We really could not shop until this last day because we kept being hassled for the weight of our baggage on flights within Europe. We knew we would not get hassled by American on our way home in Business Class (even if the tickets were free). So we let ourselves go just a little bit wild with the credit cards, and really for the first time in 3 weeks broke our diet for some amazingly yummy Luxemburgerli: http://www.spruengli.ch/spruengli/geschichte-luxemburgerli.php?lang=en

At 5 we met up with our friends Werni and Bettina, for an evening adventure. I realized on this day that Werni and I have now known each other 20 years, which was just kind of shocking. We get older so fast. We met during the first days of IMS replication software development, when there was still a Swiss Bank Corporation, and as a customer/vendor they developed the software in Basel.

We first took a train to the south end of the ZurichSee (well actually first we had a drink), then we stopped and had a drink. Then we boarded a boat, and returned by slow boat to the Zurich city center and ate a long lovely dinner on the boat while enjoying the scenery all around and watching the lights twinkle on as twilight descended.

This seems to be a fitting place to end what was really one of our finest touring experiences to date. We had believed this to be one of our last of such holidays, but we had such a great time that we think there just may be more adventure in us still.....pictures from Zurich here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157619753877288/

3 Weeks in Europe, Part 4: Amsterdam

Now you might just be wondering at this point just how many parts there will be to this endless vacation, and the answer to that is five. So we are getting close now to the end. Our third stop in this journey was Amsterdam. Our friends Rob and Chris Byrne are spending the year there, and our original excuse for travelling to Europe this year had been to visit them. Never mind that we spent three weeks in Europe and only 3 days in Amsterdam - they were very busy and we had places to go and things to see! We packed a lot of great stuff into 3 days.

The flat that Rob and Chris are renting in Amsterdam is fantastic - large, huge really by European standards, and in a very nice part of the city. Lots of stairs per the typical Amsterdam abode - see "The 52 Steps": http://www.silentrobert.com/

The first night there it was our delight to see, in addition to these wonderful OLD friends of ours (payback Rob - and how old are they???), another old friend and a new one. Tom got the chance to meet up with a good friend from his high school years in Brazil, Hanno Boss. Hanno as you might guess from his name is Dutch, and he is now working in Immigration Law in Utrecht. We also got to meet in person our recently adopted online daughter Lotte. Lotte was just as wonderful as we had imagined her to be from facebook and e-mail... Chris made us a wonderful meal and it was a very special evening.

The next day was football day (aka soccer). Rob scored some really great seats at the local venue where we watched an Ajax match. Ajax won, the sun was scorching which surprised us all a bit for early May in Amsterdam, and of course the beer was cold and delicious. We had dinner at Gruters, an establishment very close to the flat and it would appear that the Byrnes are well established regulars there. Very nice ambience and great food. Did I mention that the beer was very tasty?

The last day we took Chris's recommendation and had a massage at "Corpus Rub" around the corner from the flat. Always trust Chris to know where to find a great massage. After so many days hiking , sitting on planes, and sleeping in one strange bed after another, a massage was really a great idea.

In the evening we went to the FilmMuseum and watched an old western ("One Eyed Jacks") that starred and bizarrely enough was also directed by Marlon Brando. Even more strange is that Kubrick had started as director and Brando finished the job. All very interesting, but we mainly thought the film sucked. Still, the company was good and the beer afterwards was very nice indeed. Lekker.

The Byrne's flat is located about a block away from the VondelPark, an enormous and very green and beautiful park with waterways (of course! this is Amsterdam), green areas, coffee bars, restaurants, and lots of trails for running and walking. We walked there every day and it was really great to be back into a land of trees and birds. Nearly all of the birds there were nesting or caring for flocks of babies, and it was a bird lover and photography paradise. My personal fave was the Egyptian Goose - so exotic looking.

Pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157619668737163/

3 Weeks in Europe, Part 3: Malta - Temples, Traffic, Tempers, and a Terrific Hotel

One of the little known facts about little known Malta is that 20% of the world heritage sites are there. These heritage sites are ancient temples and burial sites carved or built of stone (naturally, since Malta is the all stone island) see: http://www.heritagemalta.org/home.html. These incredible archeological finds were the original main draw for us to visit Malta. Tom is a very keen armchair archeologist and I have no problem being the photographic companion for these types of journeys.

The high point of these temple expeditions was to the Hypogeum, which is a must see attraction for anyone visiting Malta. You must make advance reservations, and you get a particular day and time and you must be there promptly for your tour. This site is well managed and they can only allow so much oxygen/CO2 transfer in a day. 10 people tour each hour, 8 times per day. No pictures allowed, so have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypogeum_of_Ħal-Saflieni. The most impressive part for me was the room carved underground out of stone, which looked like the inside of a room in an above ground temple - truly extraordinary.

Many of the best finds from within the various sites have been moved to the archeological museums for safety and preservation. I recommend that the museums be visited first as a preparation for the temple visits. It sets a good foundation and understanding of what can be seen onsite.

So we spent several of our days on Malta and Gozo searching out these amazing archeological sites and museums. Getting back and forth between the islands is accomplished by car ferry. The ferries run like clockwork and are very efficient at getting the job done. Tom drove, and he did a great job of driving on the left (thank the British) side of the road, on incredibly narrow roads typically with rock walls on either side, and observing the local traffic rules (there are rules there???). I did my best to navigate and not get frustrated or angry. Frequently there would be a sign somewhere within the roundabout announcing the destination of our intent, with an arrow not pointing in any particular direction. Cue the funky music and the big letters L O S T.

When we picked up the rental car the first day on Malta, we had had very little sleep and had not yet found our morning coffee. That was a mistake. The Avis person did their very best to talk us into a rental insurance that would have more than doubled the cost of renting the vehicle. They did this by explaining how difficult it would be to drive here and how easy it is to get into trouble and how many thousands of Euros we would be spending to correct for our error in judgment regarding the insurance package. We did not take the package, but I think that this original pep talk about the roads, coupled with the level of difficulty in navigation made us so incredibly grateful on our last day on Malta to give the car back to Avis, accident and scrape free.

We spent that last day in the main city of Valletta, at the Hilton, again using frequent traveler points. We arrived early in the day, around 10:30 or so, and expected to be told (a) that we could not check in that early, and (b) that our free room would be the twin bedroom facing the garbage and a brick wall. Which would have been fine. So what a great surprise it was that they asked if we would like to check in right away, and sent us up to an absolutely splendid room, a large corner room with sliding doors on two walls each leading out to a mammoth wraparound balcony, all facing the Mediterranean and that beautiful blue water. We were so glad to have arrived early.

This was a terrific ending to a great time on Malta, but to top it off we had the chance to spend the evening with Tom's friend Isabel, who he had met some years ago in Greece, along with her archeological society that had just arrived on Malta for their tour. We met up with them at their hotel in Valetta - the Grand Excelsior Hotel - where we were treated to a pretty amazing international buffet.

Pictures are again posted on Flickr... use slideshow mode to see the whole of the temple panoramas, as the thumbnail versions do not make much sense : http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157619753773220/

3 Weeks in Europe, Part 2: Malta, Gozo, and Blue Water

Second stop after London was Malta.  There are terrific cheap flights between London and Malta, especially if you are willing to fly at odd hours. You are not alone if you are not quite sure where or what Malta is - we have had that reaction by many.   Malta is a very small country that sits in the Mediterranean, a tiny dot on the map south of Sicily.   It is made up of 3 islands - Malta, Comino, and Gozo.  Comino is so small that it is not even inhabited.  The majority of the population lives in and around the city of Valletta on Malta, and the rest of Malta and Gozo is very sparsely populated and fairly quiet.  I have to say that Malta is not for everyone.   One person described it to us as "the Florida of the UK", and that is a fair statement probably.  Everyone on Malta does speak English, the stores are stocked with the foods you might find in the UK, and there do appear to be a number of people from the UK that have retired to Malta or visit there on a winterly basis.

However, Tom and I found renting a flat in the very quiet village of Gharb on Gozo to be an ideal getaway for us - just our speed.  We could make our own morning coffee, fix up a picnic, and take off on a new hiking or exploring adventure every day.  The timing of being there late April/early May seemed to be ideal to our purposes.  The weather was terrific, but not uncomfortably hot.  The wildflowers were in abundance, and the hills were still fairly green.  The hunters had abandoned their blinds and were no longer shooting everything that flies.  This is one very sad and unfortunate fact of Malta - there is a huge national pastime of shooting birds.  Considering the fact that the islands are very well situated between Africa and Europe they would be an ideal stopping place during the twice yearly migrations, were it not for the fact that the birds will likely get shot if they do make this stopover.  Malta is part of the EU, and the EU along with many bird loving countries and organizations is trying to put some controls in place to stop or at least curtail the hunting practices.  The residents of Malta however are not convinced and the practices persist largely unabated.   

So it is somewhat ironic that bird lovers like ourselves would enjoy having a holiday on Malta, but we do like more on this planet than just birds.  And we did see some birds.  The Spanish Sparrow is ubiquitous and nests 2 or 3 times per spring.  They were making nests or fledging chicks out of every available crack and crevice on every house and every rock wall.  We had a few sightings of a lovely large brown raptor that appeared to be their Marsh Harrier, and saw various cliff birds in several places by the sea.

 The Mediterranean Sea as viewed from Gozo and Malta is just an amazing sight.  I have never seen water this blue anywhere else.  Tom says that the large amount of minerals leeching into the water from the limestone cliffs is the secret recipe for this beautiful blue color.

 We spent many of our days hiking the villages and cliffs of Gozo, and I probably took over 1000 pictures just from these hikes.  Every rock wall, every new glimpse of the many many churches and cathedrals that have been built on this tiny island, and then especially all of the views of the sea and that gorgeous very blue water.

I found my last posting of pictures on this blog site very frustrating, so I will only be putting a few pictures in the blog, but posting links here to the larger sets of pictures I have posted to Flickr:   http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawkperson/sets/72157618662367001/

3 Weeks in Europe, Part 1: London - Images

Images appearing in some sort of non specific order (I have not yet conquered this blog layout tool.....)

My sister Mary at the Blueprint Cafe: 

Kuniyoshi image (postcard):

Picasso image (postcard): 

Plates of food at Ottolenghi (I was scolded for this one....):

Perfectly pulled cup of coffee:

The Egyptian room at the British Museum:

and some other familiar sights ....

3 Weeks in Europe, Part 1: London

First some background on this trip.  Last year when our friends Chris and Rob left to live in Amsterdam for a year, we decided this would be a good year to get back to Europe.   We at least had the excuse of visiting them. At the same time American Airlines announced that it was increasing the miles needed to obtain free tickets, so we jumped on the chance to "buy" early and avoid the increase.  After hours and hours of spare time searching, for two freebie business class tickets with reasonable routings and timings,  I finally found us two business class tickets to Zurich through JFK.  Both flights were on AA's newly remodeled 767, with just a business class and coach.  By the way, the new business class seats were amazingly comfortable.  We both feel that this was the easiest ocean crossing we have ever made.

Over the following few months an itinerary developed.  We originally planned to go to Greece, including  the island of Santorini.  We wanted to include some island time with blue water and solitude, with a helping of ancient culture on the side.  Unfortunately the main ancient attraction on Santorini is currently closed - see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_(

Santorini), and it was tricky to get flights that connected well with  the Zurich flights.  So we investigated Malta.  We had thought about visiting Malta some years ago and for various reasons it did not work out at that time.  This time it worked very well.  The low fare tickets to Malta are through London, so we grabbed round trip tickets through London.  My sister lives in the UK and she and her partner Simon were able to plan some  time to be with us.  So part 1 of this journey became London, staying at a flat in the center of London with Mary and Simon.  

The flat is located near Leicester Square, amazingly situated in the heart of the theater district and a stone's throw from many galleries and museums.  Our few days in London were jam packed with activity.  We attended an exhibit of work by Japanese woodcut master Kuniyoshi, the British Museum, a movie (independent - "Shifty"), the play "War Horse", a Picasso exhibit, and Tom took in the Design Center while Mary, Simon, and I did some walking.  Mary and Simon

 know where all of the best meals are to be had in London (and many other places in the world) and  so we had some pretty amazing food also.  Favorite for me was Ottolenghi,

 see http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/  .    You enter a small restaurant and are immediately surrounded by platters of gorgeous vegetables, meats, and sweets.  While you wait to be seated you size up the platters and start choosing your selection.   And oh yes, lots of great talking, cryptic crosswords, and outstanding coffee....

Introduction

Having just completed a wonderful 3 week vacation in Europe with my husband Tom, this seems like as good a time as any to start a blog.  My blog title refers to my addiction to photography.  I feel incomplete when I do not have a camera handy and have started to feel that I experience the world differently now than I did before that addiction began - that I am roaming the world with one eye shut, sizing it up from the perspective behind the lens.  It seems likely that there will be more photos than words in this blog. We will see.....