The Isle of Capri

Greetings from the blue waters of Capri Island (Province of Campania) off the western coast of Italy. We are having such a fantastic time here. We arrived by ferry yesterday and were transported to our comfortable hotel high up on the cliffs. This island was first inhabited by the Greeks and laterthe Romans and particularly the terrible Emperor Tiberius (AD 27)and his insane grand nephew Caligula. The island is 6km long and 2.7 bkm wide.There are beautiful white washed buildings and there are many villas. There are the remains of 12 Roman villas and Tiberius' main Capri residence. This island has been a haven for artists, writers and even Russian revolutionaries in the past and actually still is a refuge for many creative types. The Grotto Azurra stands for this beautiful blue water in a cave but we could not go see it by boat because the waters are very wild right now. We had a really loud storm last night but we were safe and warm in our rooms. The name Capri most likely comes from the Greek "Kapros" meaning wild boar but we haven't run into any lately.
Today Harry and the newlyweds and I walked for 3 hours on these brick paths winding around the island. The sights were unbelievable and I will post pics as soon as I can. Unfortunately I left my computer with friends in Rome because we were not told we could actually get online here. We have dial up and can only be online for one half hour at a time.

Museum Photos

Museum photos Vienna, Austria

Here are pictures of the day we visited the museum of modern art and a
history museum.

Museum Day

Hi all...
Today we all visited two very interesting museums here in the heart of Vienna. One was called the Museum Moderner Kunst and that had very unusual exhibits and the theme on one floor was "Mind Expansion." Many of them were made in the 1960's and 1970's and apparently Vienna was a center for exploring artistic performance modes at that time. The exhibits really made you look at subjects in a unique way. Later we all trooped over to the Kunsthistorisches Museum and that featured the history of Vienna from the early days of the Romans. The first floor housed many artifacts from as early as 1400 AD and consisted of jewelry, cookware, coins, elaborate bath tubs, sculptures and much, much more that I didnt have time to explore! There were also Flemish Baroque paintings that covered a whole wall each! I also saw the jewels of the royal Hapsburg family and even clothing of the famous women. On the top floor there was the Canadian Maple Leaf Gold coin valued at 2 million Euros!! It was at least 15 inches in diameter. The whole exhibit traced the history of coinage to the earliest people migrating and trading. There was also a room with very old and rare violins.

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Jazz

Off to the Symphony and a little bit of Jazz

An evening at the Vienna Symphony Orchestra was absolutely fantastic. The music hall was richly ornate with a Greek architectural design with statues and gold all around. We really wanted to hear Mozart so we were very fortunate to be able to hear his music live. After the symphony, we traveled to another part of Vienna where the artistic people live and perform. We heard a trio play one set of modern jazz and one thing that was quite interesting was that the saxophone player could play the clarinet at the same time...go figure! Take a look at the picture!

Cathedral/opera

Here is the famous St. Stephen Cathedral, the Opera House, and the remains
of Roman walls.

The Tour and wonderful meal

Did you know that the Romans established a city in Vienna Austria? Well they did in 15 BC. I got to see the remnants of their drainage system for their baths and I also saw remains of Roman built walls. Actually, the original city was occupied by the Celtic people but after that the Romans. Later, a family called the Hapsburgs ruled the land in 1400 AD. I learned that it was the most important cultural center in Europe due to its strategic geographic location. People of many cultures passed through Vienna so art, science, music etc all flourished. Vienna was the home of all the important royalty in the empire and they all had palaces right in the center of Vienna. I was able to visit the stately palaces and cathedrals and learn all about the customs of the past. Our tour guide made history an interesting story for us rather than bombard us with facts and figures. She was witty and she not only centered on Vienna but made worldly connections to this area. I knew about all the muscians coming to Vienna but I did not realize the status of the opera house and the smaller concert halls. Burgtheater is one of the most famous of all the German speaking theaters. We have the good fortune to attend a concert tonight and we will hear Mozart and Dvorak. Of course all of the Strauss waltz pieces are played in various places that we visit. The Blue Danube was always a favorite of mine.
Vienna certainly has a rich history and been the capital of the region whether it be the Roman Empire, the Austria Hungarian Empire or Austria itself! Vienna is proud of its tolerance of diverse cultures and I can tell you honestly, everyone I spoke with about American politics is rooting for Obama for president. One very intelligent older man shared with us that America has always been a place that they looked up to , that is until the presidency of George Bush.
I am posting St. Stephens Cathedral (1147)which was once the tallest building in the world and is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, and the famous Opra House.
I want to say that our gracious hosts arranged for all of us to have a meal at the Museum Modern Art -Furangewandte Kunst in Wein. We had a harvest meal consisting of beef, potatoes, squash , soup, horseradish with apple and a traditional plum dumpling dessert!!

Wedding in Vienna

Here are a few pictures of the Vienna wedding..no puffy white dresses here:)

Wedding in Vienna

The wedding was really something! We attended a civil ceremony first that was brief and official and then all took the train to the Sacher Hotel where we had champagne and later Sacher Torte and coffee. R's mother made a very nice speech telling the story of his development over the years. It was very much like my daughter in many ways...curious, inquisitive people. I read a Shakespeare sonnet and I think everyone is having a great time. His parents are very gracious hosts and they are having a wonderful time seeing so many relatives that they have not seen for many years. We had a tasty meal in a traditional Austrian tavern last night. The food consists of many different meats, always cabbage/ saurkraut, potoatoes, and many varied desserts. Today we will all be going on a tour of the museums in Vienna and I will have more information as soon as I get back to the apartment.

Ferris wheel

Photos

Here is the huge Ferris wheel and a canal here in Vienna. We also visited a
very old park.

Vienna

The top photo is a statue of a runner and then you see Amy and Phil at the top of the ferris wheel. I will post a photo of the ferris wheel. The dog has a sign that says: Sind Dir Wurst? 36,- Guess what that means:)

Vienna

The Airbus

These photos show the huge airplane that we took to Franfurt! Notice that we fly over Newfoundland and Ireland and then England.

Vienna tour

Today we got up after trying to catch up on badly needed sleep, and headed for the old part of Vienna. We soon discovered that Vienna has the old feel as well as the more modern touch. I know what they meant when they said it was like the 70s because some of the features of our neighborhood where we are staying do remind me of the old days. The hardware stores, for example, feel like old hardware stores where one could buy any number of items that you just cannot get anymore at our huge places like Home Depot. It is as if time sorta passed them by here and they were able to hold onto what really matters.
We had a wonderful time running around Vienna and looking at the old cathedrals and especially seeing the very ferris wheel where Harry Lime met up with Holly Martens in Orson Wells' The Third Man...a classic film indeed. Our tour guide was absolutely the BEST and guess what? He is marrying my daughter!!! Now, I have a question for you. Who is the man in the poster that I am attaching? Hint: a famous musician who lived in Vienna and was actually from Salzburg? Also, can you tell me how many Euros I will get when I cash in 50.00???

Air travel

These photos show the huge airplane that we took to Frankfurt!

I Made it!!!

Well let me tell you something. When you fly out of Boston, you don't just head due east to go to Europe. First you must head north to Grand Manan , Canada and that is where my father's side of the family comes from. My great great grandfather on the Calder side fought at Waterloo and was given a land grant on Grand Manan for his brave actions. One of my great uncles was the "birdman" of Grand Manan and his bird museum is still there. Anyway, I am digressing....find Grand Manan on the map and then find Newfoundland . We will be going over both before we then head west. Lindbergh followed this route also. He is the one who flew solo on a nonstop flight to Paris, you might want to read the book about this famous flight. I am including a small picture of the screens in front of me on this plane. They keep us posted as to altitude, speed and "miles to go before I sleep"...who said that, do you know? You should, he is a New England poet. Here is a hint...he lived at one time in Franconia NH and I know because my grandfather, Harold Rowell (mother's side) knew him when they both lived there. Grandfather was a principal in Franconia at the time.
Back to the sky...this is an airbus, the type of plane I mean, and it has a downstairs!! There are 57 rows on my level and 8 seats across. How many is that? The route goes over Ireland and England as you can see (over Bristol and London and over the English Channel. Can you see it on the map? right now we are at 39,000 ft altitude and 620 mph...very high and very fast. I will upload this when we land in about 2 hours.
We just landed here in Frankfurt and it is raining. It is 7:30 German time but for us...we have not yet slept...do you know how many hours difference it is here? Do you know why?
I am posting a few images that I got on the plane...

My plane

This is my plane getting ready for take-off.

Logan Airport

Waiting at Logan Airport Boston, Ma

Well I made it through security, whew! I had to put the iphone in one box, the computer in another and my cameras and other electronics in another. Ah, and of course my shoes, but my feet didnt stink because I had my magic Google socks on:) The airport is very quiet but there were lots of security guards outside with dogs. They dress a bit like storm troopers with very high shiny black boots and pants that have wings on each side. I am at the Lufthansa gate and I am sitting by a sign that says 'hot spot" and that means I can connect to wifi but I have to pay 7.50. My sister Amy and her husband Phil are sitting here too. Phil is so funny, he and Amy have never been to Europe and he was a bit red in the face going through all the commotion created by 911. Amy works for the Morning Sentinel and she wants me to email the folks back at the newsroom so they can follow our blog. Oops here comes Amy with coffee and scone for me because I am famished. We wait until 4:15 and we will be off to Frankfurt. My daughter called me on my iPhone to tell me that she and R. are having a bit of trouble getting wifi in Vienna. They managed to call in a Starbucks shop. R.  has an iphone so he was able to connect. They wanted to warn us that Vienna is like the USA in the 1970's , just to let us know that it is not a modern city. I said, "Great, I love going back in time!" This will be so much fun running around in the past:) I graduated in 1971 and went to college for the next 4 years, so I remember the 70's. I will keep you all posted when we get to the next wifi!! Go look up Vienna, Austria in Wikipedia and let me know what you discover..oh where oh where should I go when I get there? Do tell:) It is 3,671 miles to go!