Today I was off to Bath Spa, around 1 1/2 hours from Stroud by train. Bath is the home of 18th Century astronomer and telescope maker William Herschel. When I first arrived I found that I had around 3 1/2 hours until his home/museum opened, so I took a tour on a double-decker bus. For £10 I was able to get a 1 hour city tour and a 45 minute country tour. Bath is a very beautiful city that is, among other things, home to Bath University. The univesity is above the city in some beautiful mountains with breathtaking views below. The American Museum is at the university as well.

The city includes a Jane Austin Center. Austin is the citie's most famous resident. I would like to think that William Herschel was a famous resident also. Among other things, he built the worlds largest telescope of the time, a 48" reflector with a 40-foot focal length. He discovered the planet Uranus and catalogued many double-star systems and was the first to realize that double-stars were, many times, a binary system. That is, two stars rotating around eachother.

The pictures here are of: 1) Me and the 7" reflecting telescope built by Herschel. This replica is on display in the Herschel Museum in Bath, 2) The City of Bath seen from the hills nearby, 3) The Putney Bridge. One side of the bridge has a row of shops along a narrow sidewalk. The shops are 10-feet wide and just a few feet deep, and 4) The Putney Bridge along with one of the churches near downtown Bath. Bath is a very beautiful city.

Tomorrow, Roger and I will leave for the North of France. We will visit Stonehenge along the way. That should be very interesting. We will board a ferry at 10:30 p.m. and arrive in France at about 7 a.m. in the morning. We'll spend a couple of days driving south along the battlefields of World War II and visit some of the cities as we go. I'll describe these in more detail later.

Lah-de dah, all....

Today is my last day in London. I was up and out this morning at 10 a.m. again. I finally good a good night's sleep. Youth hostels are a good economical way for an overnight stay. By last night, there were 3 other guys in my room -- A guy from Holland (an Egyptian), an Aussie and a 3rd fellow how came in very late. By the time I awoke, he was already gone, so I don't know where he was from.

I went to the Tate Modern Museum this morning. I got there by 11:30 and noticed that a free tour was available at noon. There were about 8 other folks on the tour. They were France, Italy and Canada. I was the only American. We met our tour guide and went through the "Materials Gestures" collection. It included art works by Picasso, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet and Jackson Pollock. A number of other artists were represented, but these were the most impressive. The Tate Modern (there are 4 Tate Museums throughout London with different themes in each) occupies an old power station which provided electricity to much of London. It sat abondoned for many years. After an architectural competition, it was opened as a museum. So, from the outside, it doesn't look anything like one would expect a museum of modern art to look like.

After leaving the Tate, I went to the London Museum. It was within walking distance, so I didn't need to navigate the Underground. The London Museum is different than the British Museum. The theme here was the Great Fire of London and the Plague. It included the history of London from pre-historic times thru the fire. Some of the exhibits included present-day information as well.

At about 3 o:clock or so, I thought I'd walk back to the Hostel, but I gave up after about 20 minutes and used the subway to get off my feet. I've noticed an interesting fact about Londoners and the subway. They'll get onto the train, and if the most of the seats are occupied, they will congregate around the doors. So, when one is entering the train, it's sometimes necessary to push past these folks to get onto the train. Meanwhile, the space "between" the doors is not filled with people! I've seen this again and again over the past couple of days, so for some reason its their practice. Another interesting behavior is that, if there is an empty seat and their is someone sitting next to it, they don't move their arms or newspaper. One just needs to "sit down", say excuse me -- or "sorry" (raise your voice a little bit!!), and that's that! But, everyone I've interacted with has been really nice. London is a great town and I'll need to come back again and again to getdown to the real city.

Well it's around 4 p.m., so time to make my way to Paddington Station for a 5:30 train. Better to get there early and have a "cuppa" than be late.

Cheers..

I was out at 10 a.m. this morning. After scouting around on the tour bus yesterday, I figured out a good plan -- off to the British Museum, then to the Imperial War Museum and then t Buckingham Palace. I thought maybe the queen would want to talk to me about the problems of the day. As it turns out, she didn't. Go figure!! I did meet a nice "Bobby" at the gate to the palace and we did see Princess Anne leave in a car.

The British Museum is a huge place, covering most, if not all, aspects of human civilization. I took my time to see the exhibits on Europe and a bit of Egypt. They have extensive collections from just about every part of the world. I figured out the London Underground and took the subway everywhere today. I bought a 2-day pass and found it to be easy to navigate, cost-effective and safe.

My second stop was the Imperial War Museum. It was in a poorer part of town, but still safe and clean. The weather was absolutely perfect today, as it was yesterday as well. The highlight, in my opinion, was the Holocaust exhibit on the 3rd floor. It was very powerful and touching. Very complete. There was also an exhibit on the 4th floor with a "Inhumanity to man" theme, and touched on dictators and despots throughout history. A teacher and his class were there watching the video, and I enjoyed the teachers commentary. It was gratifying seeing young people study such an important subject.

But the highlight of the day was meeting a couple of wonder people in a "pub" called The Kings Head located a couple of blocks away Buckingham Palace. As one of the guys was buying a beer, I commented that, since they were locals, I'd buy the same beer as them. Colin Snook (he is sitting to my immediate left in the picture)suggested to his friend Martin Thirsk buy me a beer. From that point on, we enjoyed an hour or more talking, having a good laugh about this and that, talked a bit about travel and politics (I've found the Britishers enjoy talking about politics). Neither Colin nor Martin would allow me buy a round of drinks. A great a wonderful couple of guys enjoying one of the many pubs at the end of a workday. It was lucky to run into them.

Tomorrow I'll be going back to Roger and Helen's on the 5:30 p.m. train from Paddington Station. I plan to take in the Tate Museum in the morning. After talking with Jennifer today, I was planning to go to Speakers Corner on Hyde Park. Speakers Corner is a bastion of "free speech", and people will stand on boxes or stools and talk about everything under the sun -- including, and most often, British politics and how good or not-so-good the Prime Minister and his/her government is doing. But, unfortunately, they only do this on Sundays. It'll be a good adventure for another trip to London.

So, dear reader, as always --- more later....

Hello from London!!! Well, today Roger Sims took me to the Stroud train station at 7:45 or so. I boarded an 8 o:clock train for London. I was able to confirm yesterday that my Eurail pass works for the train, so that was great. It had been prepaid. I saw there was first-class and second-class seating. I chose to go into first-class and waited for the conducter to kick me out of there. But, nope, I was ignored -- and as a matter of fact, I didn't see the conductor at for the entire one and one-half hour journey.

Helen Sims had printed me a map showing the route between the Paddington (London) train station and the youth hostel. So, upon arriving in London I set about walking the mile or so there. It was easy to find and it turns out the youth hostel is quite nice -- there is a shower and w.c. (yep, that my new term for the you-know-what). There are two bunk-beds there and I noticed another person had been there before me. I haven't had a chance to meet him yet. That'll come later, I'm sure.

After checking my bags at the hostel, I made my way to the Baker Street undersground station and found a tour-bus. I bought a ticket and started a 2-hour journey around much of London. I spotted a number of sites I want to see tomorrow and Thursday, including the London and Tate Museums. Upon arriving at the Tower of London (it's a prison as you know), I changed from the bus to a boat and went down the Thames River to the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Great fun. I stood on the Zero Meridian, with one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere and one foot in the Western Hemisphere. I met the planetarium lecturer and took some nice photos of the 28" refracting telescope and the Transit Telescope at the Zero Meridian.

I went to see Iron Man tonight. Grrrreat movie. It is tongue-in-cheek and Robert Downey is very good. So, for those of you who like that kind of thing, I recommend it highly..

The photos I've uploaded include one of me on the zero meridian. There's a picture of Big Ben and Parliament as well as the Tower of London. Lots of folks "lost there heads there!!"

More later as usual......

Is it -- To be or not to be? Oh I don't know. It's the question, right? . OK, maybe you can tell that Roger, Helen, their kids and I went to Stratford upon Avon today. Yep, you're right, it's the birthplace of William "the Bard" Shakespeare. We visited his birthplace, a sturdy and beautiful house built in the the 16th Century or so. A nice attraction was attending the "Shakesperience", for a flavor of 3 or 4 of William's plays.

It was very nicely done, although not with live actors. It was a video presentation that took about an hour. We drove around this part of the country for a few hours, visiting little towns here and there. I invested 1-pound in a "duck race". The prize was 10-pounds. But, alas, a 7-year-old kid won the 10-pounds. Oh well, I'm not much of a gambler anyway, just ask Jennifer about that. My grandkids, Zoe and Oliver, would have loved it, though. But let me just explain that the ducks were yellow "rubber", carried down the river by the current. Most enjoyable.This evening, we all went to a traditional English pub near Roger and Helen's home. We had a great dinner, even greater beer and lots of laughs and talk.

Tomorrow, I'm off to London for 2 days of sightseeing and adventure. I'll be stay at a youth hostel in Westminister, not far from the city center. My plan is to take a "day tour" on a double-decker bus to get acquainted with the city, then I'll go off on my own. One important venue I intend visiting is the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It is the site of some historical astronomical instruments and there the "zero meridian" is located. I'll have a picture taken of me with one foot in the western hemisphere and one foot in the eastern hemisphere!! Sounds cool, yes??

First full day in the UK. Roger and Helen took me around Gloucester and Stroud for a quick bit of sightseeing. Helen works at the Gloucester Cathedral as its music administrator, and helps keep the choir going. The cathedral was founded in 1541.

Roger is a retired Royal Navy officer who was in communications for many years. He now works in local government. During a visit to the docks in Gloucester, we watched a boat transit from the canals to sea-level through one of the docks. If you want to see where I am currently located, click this link. More later, as always...

Pictures: Cathedral at Gloucester, downtown Gloucester, Roger and Helen, me at the canal.

May 2nd. Well I'm just about on my way. The flight is delayed a little bit, but our plane just got to the gate. We'll board in about an hou. Next stop Heathrow!!

OK, so now I'm getting a bit nervous!! Oh, maybe just a little. I'll be leaving NEXT Friday for my trip to Europe. Meanwhile, I've been in Southern California for the past 10 days catching up on a variety of things. Spending some quality time with Jennifer has been great. We spent a very nice day Catalina yesterday. The weather her for the last day or two has been very hot -- in he 80's or so.

I'll be spending some time with my son and his family on Tuesday and Wednesday. My son, Ken, and I will be going to Yucca Valley to look at a house I'm thinking of buying. It is time to move along. I've been in Northern California for 47 years, so getting a new residence and a new perspective will be enjoyable.

More later

Farvel (Danish for good bye).

Dennis

Well, it's April 4th and less than 30 days before I leave LAX for Heathrow and my European adventure. I think I've finished getting the stuff I need. Yesterday I went to Any Mountain and purchased a Patagonia down jacket and matching down vest. These are both light and compress into a very small package. I was a bit surprised at the cost but feel it's better to have something to keep me warm and not wear it than to be cold and have nothing to wear! (did that sentence make sense?? ).

I was roaming around the Eurail website the other day and found a recommendation for a telephone. The company, Call in Europe, is located on the East Coast. Their phones are pretty affordable and the cost-per-minute is the lowest I've seen. So now I've got a phone and a mini-PC. I feel like I'm pretty well connected, and plan to call Jennifer, my kids and some other friends from Europe as I wander around the continent.

A friend of mine is going to France later this year and bought a Lingo language translator. I happened to see it work and decided to get one myself. So, it was off to Amazon.com for a quick look. I've gotten that in the mail also and have practiced with it a bit. I think it'll help me get around. It covers 5 language (English, Spanish, French, Italian and German) and will "talk" for me!! How's that for cool?

Well, that about it for now. More later....

Paalam, Dennis

Time flies, and leaving for Europe is getting a lot closer. I've been playing catch-up over the last couple of weeks. I had 3 telescope kits to build (did you know I build telescope kits for extra $$$?). I came home from Jennifer's house on March 22nd and got busy the following day. I have one more to go, and I'll be done with all three of them.

I've also bought a very small PC, called an Asus Eee PC. It has a 7" screen, runs on Linux and weighs about 1.5 pounds It'll give me a chance to roam the internet and get on email while in Europe. One of the neat features, is a full Ethernet and wireless capability. At first I put the PC into my backpack and it seemed fine. Then, as I was visting an Any Mountain store in Berkeley, I found a day bag made by Pacsafe. Pacsafe sells travel bags with various anti-theft features -- wire net and cables. I also bought some combination locks for the zippers. So, for a few $$$, I now have a daybag I think is more secure than my backpack. I've bought some other little bits and pieces, so I'm getting closer to thinking I've got everything I need.

I've been hearing and reading alot about theft and pick pocketing in Europe, particularly Paris. So I've been thinking about protecting myself in various ways. I bought a "leg wallet" and a zippered bag to wear under the clothes. Hopefully I'll deter the thieves! I also heard one should copy their passports and credit cards, so I've scanned them and put them into a passworded folder on the Internet. I'll take printouts with me as well. I've arranged for my realtor here in Castro Valley to watch the house while I'm gone (did I tell you I'm interested in selling my house and moving into the southland or Phoenix?).

So, I'll be leaving for Los Angeles on April 15 or 16. Jennifer and I are going to have some fun on a 10K walk, going to Chicago for Passover and then to my kids for the Second Sedar. At the same time, I've promised my grandson, Oliver, I'd spend some time with him, so I'll take a couple of days before I leave to take him to the movies and have a fun "sleep over". It'll also be fun seeing my son, his wife and my granddauther.

That's all for now,

Doskoro, Dennis

This is a test of uploading an image with my eee PC..

About 3 weeks ago, I was in REI looking for shoes I might take for the trip to Europe. As I stood there, in front of 30 pairs of shoes -- of every make, model and purpose -- I noticed another fellow doing the same thing. I said something like "well, what to buy, there's so much here". We started talking and before I knew it, we were sharing the purpose of our visit to REI. Gareth, the young mans name, was looking for shoes for a trip as well. He is going to take a "walk about around the world"! He is taking a year off, putting his furniture into storage, giving up his apartment and will be back-packing throughout much of the world. After I described my purpose for being there, we started comparing notes. What to buy, what to take, how much weight to carry, how to travel. It was great meeting a kindred spirit.

On Wednesday, March 13th, I received an "I've Arrived" email from Gareth. He was in New Zealand and on his way. He pointed me to his blog as a way to keep in touch with his progress. I noticed on Gareth's blog that he could notate his location using google maps. I thought I'd try the same thing, and during my trip around Europe, I will post my location from time to time. As a test, here's my "home" location in Castro Valley California. Just click on the link HERE and see it on a google map. Neat huh?

So, keep an eye for these links during the months of May and June 08. You'll join me, virtually anyway.

Au Revoir Mes Amis!

Time marches on. It's March 13th and I'm still readying myself for 2 months in Europe. My friend, Gareth, has left on his world-wide walk-about and is now in Auckland. His blog is http://garethbaron.blogspot.com/ if you're interested in following his progress.

Meanwhile, I've packed up my backpack and have been schlepping it around the house, trying to get used to it. So, as I work my way through the day I wonder -- am I nuts -- or WHAT!! Two months wandering around Europe with a 30# backpack on my back -- at my age?!! Y-E-S. I'm gonna do it and have fun in the process.

One change I've made is to leave and then arrive back in the U.S. from LAX (Los Angeles) as opposed to San Francisco. This way, I'll be able to leave my car in Jennifer's garage while I'm gone for 2 1/2 months. I've also thought that I'd have a property manager check my house a couple of times a week during my absence. It'll cost me a couple of $$, but I figure it's worth it. So what this means is that when I go down to L.A. on April 15th (or so), I will being leaving until July 2nd. I guess I'd better make a check list -- and check it twice!

So, that's all for now.

Hasta la vista -- Amigo(a)

The adventure continues. Today I received my Eurail pass. It's good for 2 months and allows me to use just about any train in all the countries I'll be visiting except for one -- the Czech Republic. I'll be traveling to and from Europe on British Airways and will fly into Heathrow and out of Amsterdam. The rules of the airline require that I depart and return to the same U.S. airport, so I've chosen to use San Francisco International. Finally, I've purchased complete travel and health insurance for the trip. It isn't too expensive and will be invaluable should I need it for one reason or another.

I bought a pair of waterproof Merrill hiking shoes and I've been wearing them a couple of hours every day to break them in. I also purchased a Kilty 43 liter backpack. This will be the only luggage I'll carry for the trip. Other items I bought are quick drying "undies" -- you know, wear one and wash one. I'll carry two of these. Two pair of socks too, the same kind.

While it's still preliminary, I posted a map showing the general itinerary of my trip. The map shows the main cities, but there will be lots of little villages on the way I want to visit. One of my goals during this trip is to get away from the major cities and wander through the country-side. I think it'll be more enjoyable as well as an opportunity to meet interesting people.

During the couple of days I'll stay in the larger cities, my plan to is to take a half-day city tour by bus or taxi. This way, I'll get the lay of the land and see some sites I may otherwise miss. I plan to work up a list of museums, universities, churches and synagogues and other "must see" venues.

Bye for now -- or should I say Ciao!!??

Monday, February 11, 2008

A Bit About Me and More....

After retiring in 1999, my thought was to travel and begin enjoying a "new phase" in my life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed working -- as a matter of fact, I loved it. I joined the computer industry in the late 70's when it was in its infancy. I saw the introduction of the personal computer, watched software evolve from utilities to productive business tools and and observed the evolution of technology. I first worked for a printer company called Qume (remember the daisy-wheel?). Working for a hardware company set the tone for my career in the industry. I continued working in the printer industry and, in 1985, joined Alps Electric. Alps is a Japanese OEM supplier of hardware to the computer industry in general. They had decided to try to retail market and hired a number of us from throughout the industry to pursue that goal. I started as a Product Manager and evolved into the Marketing of their products. I enjoyed the travel, the computer shows, the technology and especially the people.

Once I left the company in 1999 (actually my last formal day was January 5, 2000, 15 years to the day of my initial employment), I thought it'd be great to work part time, travel and continue to my life with my wife of 40 years, Portia. I worked as Director of Marketing for an email company, and finally started teaching computer applications at a nearby Adult School. I was also pretty busy as a consultant, and started a small company called ComputerCOACH. Life sometimes goes its own way, and in October of 2005, Portia passed away in October. Cancer had interrupted our lives.

By the summer of 2006, I had decided to live life more fully. In June, I embarked on a 2 month "drive about" of the United States. I had bought a new car, a pop-up camper, called a Chalet, and set out for an adventure. It took me to a number of state parks, many museums and along the way I met some interesting people who made the trip even more enjoyable. If you'd like to see them, HERE's some photos of my trip. I had covered 12,000 miles and made it back to Los Angeles for my son's 40th birthday. It was a wonderful adventure, and I found I could be, and travel, by myself.

After a wonderful trip to Israel in May/June 2007, I thought of returning as a volunteer for 3 weeks. Once I had made that decision, it dawned on me that I really needed to fulfill a life-long desire to see Europe -- and not just for a week or 10 days. A two month adventure sounded like a good plan. I though I'd carry a backpack, travel by train (or maybe rent a car or van), and visit many of the large cities that have shaped Western Civilization. Just as importantly, I thought visiting small cities and towns would be just as enjoyable.

The Adventure Begins...

February 10, 2008. Well, I've started my adventure. My goal is to go to Europe for 2 months and roam around. I have a general idea where I'll be, but no determined time frame. I've purchased an airplane ticket, got a 2 month Eurail pass and even purchased trip/medical insurance for my trip. Here's an example of the major cities I'll visit:

I'll start in the UK and London, and then to
Belgium
Paris, France
Bern, Switzerland
Pisa, Italy
Rome, Italy
Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
Munich, German -- visit Dachau here
Vienna, Austria
Prague in the Czech Republic
Berlin, Germany, and finally
Amsterdam in Holland

I'm sure there will be many stops along the way.

When Jennifer Zvi and I were on cruise over New Year's Eve 2008, we met Roger and Helen Sims. They live in the UK and, after spending some time with them, they invited us to their home in the UK. When I decided to take this trip, I sent Roger an email letting him know about my arrival in his country. He asked for my phone number and then called me with an idea.

Roger suggested that he pick me up at the airport, spend a couple of days with me out and about their home, put me on a train for London for a couple of days, and then head back to his house. After visiting Stonehenge, Roger said we'd take his RV, cross the channel into Belgium and drive down the north coast of France visting WWII battlegrounds and museums for 4 or 5 days. Then, he'd head back home after putting me on a train for Paris. Well, I was overwhelmed and thrilled. I'm looking forward to that adventure.

So, as this is the first posting to my new "roaming Europe" blog, I'll continue later. Once there, I will post to to the blog every day -- or at least I'll try to. I'll keep this blog up-to-date as I make my way on this adventure. I invite your emails (densteele@gmail.com), and I invite you to keep me "virtual" company along the way.

Ciao, Dennis

Bye 'til then