Glenda Cook

Glenda Cook

reste i 69 länder Läs mer🇺🇸Asheboro

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Medriatic Sojourn
Athens to Rome
30 april 2022, Grekland ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
Our ship docked at the port of Piraeus outside of Athens this morning. We had breakfast, packed up our cabin and now we’re waiting in the Explorers Lounge for our transfer at 11:45. We will go to the airport and try to get ticketed and checked by security. Then this afternoon around 4 pm we will board an airplane headed for Rome.Läs mer
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Olympia—Home of Heroes
29 april 2022, Grekland ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
The port of Katakolon is the doorstep to the Ancient Greek town of Olympia. Viking sky docked here today for our last full day of this Mediterranean Adriatic sojourn. A 40-minute bus ride took us to the ancient site of the first Olympic Games, whose recorded history goes back to the year 776 BC. Our guide showed us the site of the gymnasium, where boys from 10 to 15 years of age would engage in boxing, wrestling, and track and field events. There was also a race for girls aged 10-12 who, incidentally, wore white dresses as they ran. Nearby was the hippodrome. Only adult men could participate in the chariot races, though some of the most famous horse breeders in Olympic history were women.

We saw the ruins of the Temple of Zeus where athletes were required to take an oath to perform honorably without cheating. For most events (but not all) boys and men competed nude. This was to insure that no participant was wearing any item of clothing (like Nike shoes) that would give him an unfair advantage. It was also to prevent any contestant from carry a small weapon that could be used against his opponents. Occasionally an athlete was convicted of misbehavior, such as bribing a judge, ingesting a forbidden substance, or attempting to poison an opponent. The disgraced athlete’s name, along with the names of their family and hometown were inscribed at the base of a statue of Zeus hurling a thunderbolt. This statue was placed in a “Hall of Shame” at the entrance to the stadium. At every Olympic competition thereafter, the crowds would note the names of the cheaters. They and their families would be practically ruined, and many chose to leave Greece after being so publicly embarrassed. Those who won honorably were given a crown of woven olive wreaths, free food for the rest of their lives, and their statue was placed in the hall of heroes. Additionally, for the rest of their lives in their hometown they would be treated as superstars.

The games awarded a particular honor to the adult who won the 800 meter run. The stadium was 196.2 meters long. Contestants ran in a straight line, down and back, four times while wearing full armor and a full military pack. Their load weighed about 70 pounds. The winner was awarded not only the regular Olympic prizes, but also was allowed to serve as the commander of his hometown militia.

The 45-foot high statue of Zeus was carved out of marble, ivory and gold by the noted sculptor Phidias, and was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. He had completed a similar statue of Athena for the Parthenon in Athens. Shortly after finishing Athena, he was exiled from Athens and came to Olympia, vowing that his next statue would put the one in the Parthenon to shame. From all contemporary reports it did exactly that. He also completed a statue of Hermes, which was discovered at the site of Olympia by archaeologists on this site, and still exists today. It is housed in the excellent archaeological museum adjacent to the excavated site.

The ancient Olympic Games ended around 394 A.D. when Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, declared pagan festivals in to be illegal. Of course the modern Olympic games were revived in the early 20th century, but visiting Olympia, one cannot help imagining how it must have been in ancient times.Läs mer
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Medriatic Sojourn
Corfu
28 april 2022, Grekland ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
It’s easy to understand why Corfu became a playground for the rich and famous in the 19th and 20th centuries. For 400 years this place was under the control of the Venetians. Consequently, many of the buildings and streets look as though they were taken right out of Venice. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, Napoleon came here and added a French touch. Next Corfu became a British protectorate for some 50 years. The people of Corfu still have an annual celebration commemorating the day Corfu (Greeks call the island Kerkyra) was incorporated into the kingdom of Greece. Corfu is probably the most cosmopolitan of all the Greek islands.

Life in this lovely resort town is relaxed. In the late nineteenth century, Corfu was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the playground of Empress Elizabeth of Austria. An unusually attractive woman, she was essentially abandoned by her playboy husband. Though they never divorced, they rarely saw each other except on official occasions. She built a palace here called the Achilleon reflecting her love of Achilles and Ancient Greek mythology. She came here to hide out. Beautiful, devoutly pious and perhaps somewhat vain, she often spent the first three hours of the day with her hairdresser arranging her five-foot-long tresses. Known by her friends as Sisi, her name gave rise to a vernacular insult. After Sisi anyone who showed excessively feminine characteristics might be called a “sissy”. Despite her beauty, wealth, power and prestige, she had a rather unhappy life. Her son and his mistress died in a murder-suicide pact at a hunting lodge in Germany in 1889. Sisi never overcame her grief. Empress Elizabeth herself was murdered in the turbulence leading up to World War I. During an official visit to Geneva, Switzerland in 1898 an assassin jumped out of a crowd and stabbed her in the chest.

After World War I a revolution exiled the Greek royal family and declared Greece a republic. Among those expelled was one-year-old Prince Phillip. Less than a year had passed since he was born here on the kitchen table of the royal family’s vacation home on the south side of town. The house still stands, but it is now a private residence and does not offer tours. The Greek royal family became vagabonds, seeking refuge in the palaces of one royal cousin after another. His playboy father died and his mother took vows, became a nun and moved to a convent. Young Phillip made his way to England, then to Germany and Denmark (where he also held a title of nobility), and finally back to England. With the help of his influential uncle, Lord Mountbatten, Phillip was commissioned as an officer in the British Navy. Always his uncle’s protege, Phillip’s career ultimately led him to Buckingham Palace as the Queen’s consort.

You can tour Sisi’s palace. It is still here, along with two others. Corfu also has two sixteenth-century fortresses you can visit. St. Spiridon is the patron saint of Corfu, and we attended the service in his Greek Orthodox church.

The south end of this island is narrow and flat, barely rising above sea level. It’s most characteristic feature is Mouse Island with its tiny chapel. This charming little church is often chosen by brides as their wedding venue. The north part of the island is broad and mountainous. From its peaks one can see all of Kerkyra and over into the snow-capped mountains of Albania. There are beautiful monasteries and turbulent inlets that display the roaring power of the Adriatic surf. From the towering heights of the Palaiokastritsa, one can get an eagle-eye view of a heart-shaped lake where many young Greek men go to propose marriage to their brides.

Life here is definitely relaxed and certainly beautiful, but perhaps we were spoiled by the clean beaches and sparkling streets of Croatia and Montenegro. Like other Greek cities Corfu seems to have more than its share of litter in its streets and graffiti on its walls. But if you can get past that, Corfu is a lovely place to spend some time.Läs mer
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Medriatic Sojourn
Kotor: A Hidden Gem
27 april 2022, Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Glenda has an unkind name for me which I shall not mention here. The name suggests that I fall in love with every town that I visit. That certainly is the case with Kotor, Montenegro. One advantage of being on a small ship is that we can dock in some of the more obscure ports on the Adriatic Sea. I don’t know that I had ever heard of Kotor, but today I saw another one of a most beautiful little 17th century village. After visiting here today I wonder why anyone would endure the expense and the crowds of some more popular Mediterranean destinations. Kotor does not have a large airport, and it does not have a harbor large enough for megaships. It is located at the very end of a maze of inlets that have protected the city since its inception in Roman times. One of the passages in the Verige Channel is only 250 yards wide, and in ancient times defenders would stretch a huge chain across that inlet to prevent enemy ships from entering here.

Kotor has always been a seafaring town. It has made its living by producing traders who engaged in commerce with nations as far away as China and Scandinavia. The town boasts a wonderful Maritime museum that documents that enterprise. There have always been sailors here, and maritime businesses still predominate in the local economy.

Unlike most of the cities on the Adriatic coast, Kotor has never been conquered. Because it is impregnable I would love to report that all of the old buildings from Greek and Roman times still survive. That is not the case however. The problem here is earthquakes. Huge mountains tumble vertically down into the Adriatic Sea. Frequent earthquakes mean that only buildings from the 17th century and later survive here. All of the towns nearby lie on a small apron of land at the base of spectacular mountains. Halfway up the side of one mountain overlooking the city sits a monastery known as our Lady of the Rock. An hour’s climb on a switchback stairway is needed to approach this little church. While the nation of Montenegro is predominantly Serbian orthodox, most of the people inside the city of Kotor are Roman Catholic. The patron saint of the city is St. Tryphon. On his feast day in early February everyone in town—Catholics, Orthodox and even Muslim Serbs—all come together to celebrate.

Kotor has all of the beauty and attraction of any other small historic town on the Adriatic Sea without huge crowds of tourists. Its Venetian overlords left their art, architecture and culture, so that this little town has all of the charm of places that are much better known. Prices here are reasonable in this human sized town, and I could visit Kotor repeatedly without ever getting tired of it. It has not been discovered yet. I hope you will be able to come here before it is.Läs mer
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Medriatic Sojourn
Walking On the Walls
26 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Our guide Antonia took us on a 2 mile walk along the top of the wall surrounding the medieval city of Dubrovnik. The sites were spectacular as she explained the development of this city as a commercial trading post. Throughout history Dubrovnik has been blessed with wise negotiators who achieved diplomatic solutions to many of the state’s problems. When the French came under Napoleon in the early 19th century, the citizens here knew that they could not resist. Therefore they surrendered and accepted French rule. The advantage was that Napoleon granted them a stable government and many improvements in health and education. He destroyed no buildings and left the city walls built in the 11th century completely intact. On the other hand in 1991 when neighbor Serbia attacked Dubrovnik, it was clear that military resistance was the only option. After walking around the city we took a tramway to the top of a mountain overlooking the town. We had lunch at the top of a scenic mountain and then visited the adjacent museum inside a two-hundred-year-old fortress. Fort Imperial was built by Napoleon, but it was used in 1995 by the Croatian military to defend the town against Serbian attacks. On a single day 19 citizens were killed and 60 were wounded by Serbian aggressors. Now Fort Imperial houses a museum with photographs and equipment from what this nation calls the Homeland War.

After our foray on the mountain top, we returned to the streets of Dubrovnik. For an hour we simply walked around and hung out in the historic area. Completely surrounded by 11th and 12th century structures one can lose oneself in time. After exploring the streets and alleyways we reluctantly returned to the 21st-century and took the bus back to the ship.Läs mer
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Over the Top
26 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
I know that the superlatives I have already used stretch language to the breaking point. However, as I looked out my window this morning and saw the red terra-cotta roofs of Dubrovnik I could not imagine a more beautiful scene. All of the buildings either or of medieval construction or else they appear to be. Many that were damaged in the war of the 1990s have been repaired to look exactly as they did before. So the impression one gets in looking at the beautiful town of Dubrovnik is that it is a complete medieval village that was built twenty years ago. We’re looking forward to a long walk around the medieval walls of the city. This is one of the few towns whose walls were left standing by Napoleon. If you ever have an opportunity to come here don’t pass it up.Läs mer
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Why Diocletian Retired Here
25 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
In the course of our excursion today our guide Sasha asked us if we knew why Diocletian retired here. There were several guesses: that Croatia has great natural beauty, that the Roman province of Dalmatia was rural and isolated, that the weather here is nice, and so on. But then she corrected these guesses and told us that the Roman emperor retired here because this had been his childhood home. Diocletian was born here and as an old man wanted to live his remaining days in this beautiful seaside sanctuary.

Diocletian is not remembered fondly by history. He is called the enemy of the Christians because he carried out the most sustained persecution of the Christian Church. However, I can’t shake the idea that history is always written by the victors. The story of the losers isn’t remembered, or at least it is not told in a favorable light.

Diocletian was followed by Constantine. He gets all the credit for first legalizing Christianity in 313 AD, and then for making it the official religion of the Roman Empire two years later. Yes, I know the story of his vision at the Milvian Bridge—“In hoc signo vinces.” But I also know that his mother Helena was a devout Christian and that her son was not baptized until he lay dying. I also know that successful politicians note which way the wind is blowing. By 315 AD one could see that the Christians’ endurance was winning many converts amid a moribund Roman religion riddled with cruelty and immorality. And Constantine, whatever else he may have been, was an astute politician. Even so, compared to Constantine’s beatific PR, Diocletian was a monster.

But I wonder.

As Diocletian lived out his days here, what thoughts did he have? Did he believe that he had merely attempted to preserve the civility of the old ways? Did he think that he had only sought to bring back the honor and dignity of Rome’s founding fathers? Did he believe that he had done his duty to preserve the integrity of society against an onslaught by a rabble of religious extremists?

As I stood in the shadow of the home he built for his retirement, I wondered if there might be another side to the story we all learned at church and in school about Diocletian. Perhaps he was only doing what he thought was right. We can ridicule the cruelty of those who persecuted witches because we see them as fools. But this is because nowadays we don’t generally believe there are evil witches around every corner. But those people did, and they genuinely believed that serious measures must be brought against serious evil. Perhaps Diocletian thought serious measures were needed to combat these new ideas that he saw as a mortal threat to the empire. But then again, that’s not how Diocletian’s story is told. Because his side lost. And history is always written by the winners.Läs mer
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Time Travel in Trogir
25 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Croatia is amazing. Once in school I heard that there still were a few medieval buildings surviving in Dubrovnik. When I visited there, I found that the whole medieval town still lay intact within its walls. I had a similar experience today in the Croatian town of Trogir. Around 1000 A.D. residents built a town on a tiny island with a diameter of only three hundred meters. They surrounded it with a defensive wall which served them well until Napoleon destroyed it in the early nineteenth century. The town has never been attacked, and all of its medieval buildings are still intact. The local cathedral is named for Saint Lawrence, but as much attention is given to a well-loved bishop of the town known as Blessed John. Though never officially canonized, local parishioners attributed a number of miracles to this loving eleventh-century pastor. The church was an interesting mixture of Roman and Byzantine elements. Part of the nave was reconstructed in the 15th century and shows a distinct Baroque influence. Over its long history the church has incorporated several different styles, but remarkably they all seem to fit together wonderfully in this beautiful building.

A quartet serenaded us with a typical local song in a style designated as “friends singing.” Although our guide gave us the Croatian name for it, I am unable to reproduce the word. My thumbs cannot type that many consecutive consonants.

The Central town Square is built directly over the ancient Roman forum, and it, in turn, was built directly over the ancient Greek agora.

We spent a delightful morning in this ancient town. Croatia is a place of unparalleled natural beauty. Added to that is the historical richness of the place. It is remarkable that so little attention has been paid to this part of the world. Its history is as rich as that of Greece or Rome, and the natural beauty of the Adriatic Sea here exceeds the beauty of the Mediterranean Riviera. For the time being, at least, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro have put aside their differences. Our hope is that the warring factions in this small part of the world can continue to live in peace.Läs mer
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Salona
25 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
I had never heard of the ancient town of Salona, but its history and beauty make it remarkable. Greek traders recorded a settlement here around 600 BC. Residents called themselves the Dalmati, a word which means “shepherds” in the ancient Croatian language, and their central settlement was here. While evidence of it is still exists, it is overgrown with grass and vines and has not yet been fully excavated. When the Romans later occupied this place they gave it the name Dalmatia. The Roman emperor Diocletian was born here, and after serving in Rome, he returned here to his birthplace for his retirement. After the Romans, this place was occupied and enlarged by Christians in the fifth century. Ruins from both periods have been excavated and tourists are still free to walk around them, to touch the stones and even to climb upon them. A large Roman public bathhouse and a Christian basilica have been unearthed.

The Croats came here in the sixth century AD and destroyed everything. Saracens attacked Salona in the eighth century, and with the passage of time, the activity moved from Salona to nearby island of Trogir and later to the city of Split. Salona was lost until excavations began in the early 20th century. My guess is that when the outside world discovers this area, such intimate contact will no longer be allowed. We feel privileged to be able to experience again the wonderful sights of this historic place.Läs mer
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Let’s Split
25 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
This morning we sailed into the beautiful Croatian city of Split. Croatia is a place of unbelievable beauty, and few places in the world can claim so rich a history. This is one of our favorite places in the world, and we are delighted to be back here again.Läs mer
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San Marino—Oldest Republic in the World
24 april 2022, San Marino ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
It does not inspire confidence in passengers for the guide to shout to the bus driver in two languages, “What the hell are you doing?“ Of course, he had just turned onto a one-lane dirt road. But more about that later.

We spent the morning in beautiful San Marino, one of the micro-states of Europe. It is the oldest and smallest republic in the world, and its citizens are rightly proud of that. The city-state flings its thirty-six square miles down one side of a very steep mountain side, giving breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea.

When Giuseppe Garibaldi unified the Italian states into a single nation in 1861, San Marino said, “No, thanks. We prefer liberty.” The tiny nation is not part of Italy, and the citizens want you to know it. The word “liberty” appears on their flag, on their street signs and over the altar of their basilica. For the people here liberty is sacred. Their refusal to align themselves with Mussolini and the Axis powers during World War 2 put them in a position to save the lives of more than 100,000 Italian citizens who refused to support Hitler.

The republic here is one of the purest examples of that form of government. Their system began in the year 1243 and has remained largely unchanged. There is a legislature composed of 60 members elected to five-year terms. Each of the nine townships receives proportional representation. However, the most interesting feature is that there are two chief executives, called Captain-Regents elected by the legislature to six-month terms. One Captain-Regent is chosen by lawmakers from each of the two political parties, so that the two Captain-Regents must come from different parties. Can you imagine how it would be in the United States if the Democrats in Congress elected their President and the Republicans elected theirs, and the two Presidents were required to govern together! The Captain-Regent cannot make a law. Only the legislature can do so. There is no such thing as an “executive order.” Their Constitution makes it clear that their “President” is an executive, not a king. She has the power of persuasion but not the power of the purse. Many women have served as Captain-Regent, and one of the current occupants of the office is openly gay. This notion of a dual head of state is a direct survival from the old Roman republic in which two consuls shared executive power. Once a Captain-Regent’s term ends, citizens have three days to file official complaints against them, and if warranted, the former Captain-General may be indicted and tried for misconduct.

The accompanying photos show the stately ceremonial governmental palace in which the legislature meets. However, it is no more beautiful than the city-state itself. Steep streets pass houses and restaurants clinging to their mountain terraces. Views of the surrounding countryside stretched for a hundred miles on this clear Sunday.

Glenda and I stopped at a local restaurant for a Nutella crêpe and a cappuccino just before we had to leave. The wind picked up and gray clouds gathered in the west. Shortly after we started our bus ride back to Ravenna, the rain started. Our driver disregarded the directions given to him by our guide, and eventually they started arguing like an old married couple. Finally, our guide threw up her hands, and muttered something in Italian. She kept silent until the driver turned onto a one-lane dirt road full of potholes. Then came her wide-eyed shriek, “What the hell are you doing!” He shouted something about a short-cut, but her shouting continued. Glenda got tickled and start laughing. Out loud. And we were in the seat behind our bus driver. He turned his head and shot us a sneer.

I patted her lap and said, “Now, Florrie!” (Those of you who knew Charles and Florrie Mercer will understand.) Glenda laughed louder. What should have been a ninety-minute drive had already taken two hours. Suddenly we saw our ship. The problem was that it was on the other side of the canal, and the nearest bridge across it we had passed fifteen minutes earlier. By this time Glenda was laughing uncontrollably. Tears were coming from her eyes and she had gone hysterical.

I kept on soothing, “Now, Florrie . . .”

The bus driver was not amused.

Glenda did regain enough composure to allow herself to start humming the theme song from the old TV show “Gilligan’s Island.” She kept singing the words “a three-hour tour . . . a three-hour tour.”

Our guide pulled out her cell phone, loaded up Google Maps and started barking orders for our driver to turn: “RIGHT! LEFT! LEFT! When we finally crossed the bridge that put the bus and the ship on the same side of the canal, everyone on the bus broke out into deafening applause. The trip back to the ship, that should have taken an hour and a half, took two and a half hours. We got through security as quickly as we could and screeched our tires into the ship’s buffet less than a minute before it closed. Now we are back in our stateroom well fed, dry and warm, reliving and absolutely wonderful day in a magical place. If you ever have a chance to visit San Marino, don’t pass it up.Läs mer
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Glorious Ravenna
23 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
We are back in one of my favorite places in the world, the city of Ravenna in Italy. For someone interested in church history this town is like Disney World. There are still two churches here that come from the closing days of the Roman empire, the church of San Vitale and the church of Saint Apollinare Nuovo. The Emperor Theodoric was actually a German whose tribe was eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire. He built his imperial chapel, San Vitale, here in the late fifth century. It’s wonderful mosaics were designed to dazzle the observer into remembering the Biblical story of salvation history. Even the position of the tiles make them sparkle. Each of the millions of golden flecks is set tilted slightly downward so that they will reflect the light down to the observer and glitter like a jewel. Consider it late Roman cinematography, designed to tell a story so that it would be remembered. The Church of Saint Apollinare was built half a century later when Byzantine tastes froze all of the figures into frontal rigidity. Even so, its mosaics are also stunningly beautiful.

Although the first of these churches was Trinitarian and the second was Arian, both depict the Christ as a young, vibrant man fresh from his resurrection. There is no depiction of the crucifixion in either of them. Panels showing the life of Christ jump from his betrayal and arrest to the first Easter morning. The theme is neither suffering nor penitence, but rather joy.

These lovely mosaics, like the early Christian faith, include many women. The Church of Saint Apollinare has all of its men—prophets, priests, kings and martyrs—running down one side of the nave. The other side contains only women—the widow giving her mite in the temple, the woman at the well, and, of course Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is also interesting to see the Emperor Justinian taking his place among the men, and the Empress Theodora among the women.

I love the victorious, optimistic faith these mosaics describe. For them Christianity is all joy.Läs mer
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Venetian Downpour
22 april 2022, Italien ⋅ 🌧 54 °F
Because Venice has banned cruise ships in its waters, Viking has been parking its ships west of the city in the industrial port of Fusina. This port is not the most beautiful in the area, but there is a certain propriety in docking there since it is adjacent to the Fincantieri Shipyard, the place where the Viking Sky and her sister ships were born. However, just a few days ago our crew learned that “a continuing environmental study” would prevent our ship from landing there, and somehow the officers onboard scrambled and arranged to dock at the port at Ravenna, about a hundred miles south of Venice.

So . . .

We boarded a bus in Ravenna this morning in a blinding rain, expecting to ride about three hours to drive to the big bus parking lot on the west end of Venice.

But . . .

On the bus were told that we would not go to Venice. We would go instead to Chioggia, a very small port south of Venice, to board a boat for a ninety-minute “scenic” boat ride into the city. We got off the bus in a deluge with umbrella-breaking winds. With the rain and fogged windows we saw little beyond the gunwales of our boat. At least we were able to ride inside the boat, not up on the deck.

Four and one half hours after we had left Ravenna we disembarked in Venice in a pelting rain. It was difficult to appreciate the sights our guide valiantly described because we were working hard to stay dry. She also maintained her composure when at least two residents of the town passed our group and shot her with some rather strong insults. I had on rain pants, a water-resistant jacket with a rain shell over that. I was not soaked, but my underclothes were damp. Glenda danced to avoid being poked in the eye a third time by the tip of an umbrella rib. Our guide was wise enough to shorten her usual presentation to allow us passengers to find shelter and warm up in nearby coffee bars.

With only an hour and a half in the city, no one had time to visit churches or museums. Some of our group did not finish their lunches. Of course Glenda and I have been here a few times before and have soaked in the wonderful sights, museums and religious buildings. However, I felt sorry for the people who were here for the first time. They left here today with no idea of the art, history or culture of this magnificent city.

Glenda had the foresight to make two ham and cheese rolls in the ship’s buffet at breakfast. I packed them in my travel jacket with two bottles of water, several bags of peanuts and two granola bars. Our first time here we paid forty dollars for a little personal-sized pizza and a coke in St. Mark’s Square. But hey! We weren’t paying for a lunch: we were paying for a thousand years of architecture and culture surrounding us in the square. Today we huddled under a sotoportego on a quiet street to avoid the rain and had our own little Venetian picnic.

Venice has banned cruise ships in her docks. Next year the city will also begin to impose a stiff fee for visitors here. I was troubled by the obscene comments residents directed at our guide today. It may be that such measures will reduce large number of tourists who flood the city and make Venice more pleasant for its citizens. We passed the beautiful docks built just a few years ago by the Port Authority of Venice. They were empty—not a single ship. They looked like a ghost town. Perhaps Venice will go too far in reducing the number of visitors. Perhaps she already has. The city may already have made visiting Venice more trouble than it is worth. For us today, that was certainly the case. And that breaks my heart.Läs mer
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Afternoon Walk in Šibenik
21 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
This afternoon our guide Irena took us on a remarkable walking tour of the city of Šibenik (pronounced SHE-buh-nik). This town was the first to be settled by the Croatians when they arrived here around the fifteenth century. Therefore, this village cannot trace its roots as far back as Dubrovnik or Çavtat, but until the plague wiped out most of the population, it was the largest city on the Dalmatian coast. Traditionally wine and olives were the main products. As part of communist Yugoslavia, it provided the USSR with aluminum and steel. But now this quiet little city hosts a population of some 35,000. Outgrowing it’s old city walls, which now form part of the public library, the town has expanded towards the Krka River delta, an estuary leading to the Adriatic Sea. Although it is a lovely and peaceful place, Šibenik’s important buildings were rebuilt after the war with Serbia from 1990-1994. Less important buildings still show scars from machine gun, mortar and artillery fire.

The bucolic charm of the city was dripping on every street, but I found myself especially taken with the cathedral. Begun under the design and direction of native son George of Dalmatia, his premature death left the completion of the church to other architects and engineers. Having absorbed the new renaissance philosophy of humanism in Venice, George chose to adorn the cathedral’s facade not with the faces of saints and angels, but with those of the common people of the town. No two statues are alike. The nave and sanctuary are remarkable in that this Roman Catholic Church is full of architectural and liturgical elements pulled straight out of the Eastern Orthodox traditions.

The main feature, however, that merits this cathedral’s listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Baptistery located downstairs under the sanctuary. This tiny octagonal room is filled with symbolism. In many systems of Biblical typology, eight is the number of a new beginning (after seven, the number of completion). The room has eight sides; baptism is a new birth. Effusive religious carvings adorn the walls up to a central boss in the center of the roof. On this central stone is carved the face of a stern older man with flowing beard and piercing eyes. This figure represents God the Father. Immediately below his chin is a descending dove, emblematic of the Holy Spirit. The puzzling aspect of this room is that the baby Jesus is nowhere seen. Yet it has been conjectured that the Son of God is symbolized by the presence of the human baby who would be placed in the water of the baptismal font. This ambiguous symbolism fusing human baby and human son of God would perfectly conform to the architect’s understanding of Christian humanism.

We had a rich and rewarding time in Šibenik this afternoon, and look forward to a return visit when we can spend more time enjoying this remarkable place.Läs mer
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The Beauties of Skradin
21 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Skradin is a little town that is two thousand years old. Roman sailors found a cove in the river here the hid their boats from marauders. These bad guys operated out of a little town up the river known as Varvara, hence they were known as Varvarians. In time their name became used by Romans to refer to any uncultured ruffians, and the name “barbarian” stuck. We saw Christian sarcophagi from the fourth century, and a watchtower built by the Saracens (Muslims) in the eighth century. Eventually the Christians won back the area, and they used the watchtower for their bell tower, and so it stands today. The marina here is one of the most expensive in Croatia. It gives boaters access to the Krka national park to the north into several Croatian cities to the south. This is a lovely quiet little town as charming as any we’ve ever visited.Läs mer
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The Spectacular Waterfalls of Krka
21 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ 🌧 50 °F
A 30 minute bus ride in the rain took us to Krka National Park. Here are the most magnificent waterfalls I’ve ever seen. There must be a hundred of them ranging from small rapids to huge cataracts dumping millions of gallons per second. In the old days there were 17 flour mills here. Some of them have been preserved and they provide a wonderful demonstration of how water power was used. It was particularly interesting to learn that Nichola Tesla grew up here. We saw the first power plant he designed, along with the original turbine used to generate electricity. While this town was the first town in the world to use electrical power, this hydroelectric plant was actually the second one ever built. After making the plans for this facility, Tesla went to the United States to build the hydroelectric station at Niagara Falls. While that plant was finished before this one, making it the first one in the world, this hydroelectric station began to produce electricity before the one at Niagara Falls. Buffalo, New York had to wait another six months for power lines to link the hydroelectric station to the city. Here the lines were strung before the plant was built, so electricity started flowing immediately upon the plant’s completion.

The waterfalls here are beautiful beyond description. Today was a rainy day and our guide told us that the water falls are carrying about three times their normal volume. On hot summer days the line of buses and boats carrying tourists stretches for miles. Often tourists must wait as much as three hours to buy a ticket to get into the park. I can understand why this site is so popular. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this is among the most beautiful natural phenomena I have ever seen.Läs mer
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Arrival in Šibenik
21 april 2022, Kroatien ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
We just arrived in Croatia again. The last cruise here we thought this would simply be a throwaway day, but it turned out to be one of our favorite places in the world. That was down the road in Dubrovnik. Today we are in Šibenik (pronounced SHEE-buh-nik) looking forward to more good times. On our sail-in alone I counted four ancient fortresses. No doubt there are many other historical treats awaiting.Läs mer
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Bari, Capital of Apulia
20 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
Bari is the capital of Apulia. Although the city is lovely, our appreciation may not be as rich as it ought to be because of our guide. The young man who led us through town said he was originally from Ukraine. He has lived in Italy since 2015 and claims to have degrees in English, German, Italian and French. Our hearts went out to him because he was obviously struggling with the language.

We visited castles built by the Normans and the Swabians and then visited a cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicholas. This church is unusual in that it hosts pilgrims both from the Roman Catholic church and also from the eastern orthodox churches, who hold Saint Nicholas in special esteem. They claim he is buried here, and we saw his sarcophagus beneath the church. However, we have also visited a place in Ireland which claims to hold the saint’s body. There is also a church near Myra in Turkey which claims to have his remains as well.

One specialty of this town is a kind of pasta in the shape of a little ear. The Italian name for it is orecchiette. Glenda bought 2 kilograms of the pasta at a fraction of what she would pay in the United States. We just came back to the ship and had a wonderful lunch in the World Cafe. We are well fed and rested, and we are looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure in Šibenik, Croatia.Läs mer
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Crotone Rolls Out Red Carpet
19 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
We arrived in the beautiful little port of Crotone on Italy’s eastern coast this morning. This charming town was the home of the Greek mathematician Pythagoras. There must be something in the water here that produces great mathematicians. The town’s modern claim to fame is that it is the gateway to a large natural area of Italy, something like a national park.

We are only the second cruise ship to arrive here in recent months, so the town rolled out the red carpet for us. Schools remained closed for an extra day (Easter Monday is a civil holiday here) so that Italian students of English could operate hospitality tents and thereby practice their language skills. They gave us free samples of the products of Calabria—delicious orange juice, sticky pastries and other delights. Other students were posted at the gate of the local castle. My heart melted as one precious high school girl gave us the history of “King Charles the FIVE-th, the king of Ess-Spain” who used to rule here. As she struggled with English, my heart cursed the Anglo-Saxons for producing such a barbaric language. Citizens took the day off to serve as re-enactors of Pythagoras, the Greek goddess Hera or medieval residents of their town.

We took time for a thorough investigation of the local archaeological museum. There was a long line of my shipmates waiting to purchase tickets, but after a few minutes the ticket-taker just raised the barrier and waved us in free of charge. Although the exhibits’ descriptions are in Italian, I was able to get the gist of most of them. I learned that there is evidence of human habitation here going back to around 6000 years BC, though documented settlement began with the Phoenicians. Crotone was part of Magna Graecia and participated fully in Greece’s Olypiads and in her wars. Among the photos I took were pictures of an utterly beautiful Greek urn, and an incomparable diadem found at the nearby excavation of the Roman Temple of Hera Lacinia. I was surprised that the little museum here really is quite good.

Crotone’s most notable Greek son was the philosopher-mathematician Pythagoras, who contended that all of reality could be explained using numbers. He also came up with the notion of reincarnation several centuries before Gautama Buddha was born. I am not aware of any connection between the two thinkers, but it’s hard not to wonder whether Pythagorean ideas about the afterlife ever made it to the east as far as India.

For the first time in a foreign city I used Apple Maps to direct us, today to the the Museum of Pythagoras. The app worked perfectly. At the end of a fascinating thirty-minute walk through the new part of downtown, we found lovely Pythagoras Park overlooking the city. Some of the children’s playground equipment incorporated cubes, triangles or hexagons in silent tribute to Pythagoras. We finally found the museum itself, which charges an admission fee of five euros per person. The two lower floors display modern art from the region with no clear connection to the Greek mathematician. The top floor, however, displays a few exhibits and long line of wall posters giving the history of mathematics, highlighting not only Pythagoras, but also thinkers such as Newton, Paschal, Leibniz and Euler. While we are daily walkers who didn’t mind the half-hour jaunt just to see what the museum offers, I doubt that the trip would be worthwhile for most visitors.

So now we are back in a comfortable stateroom waiting for the ship to delight us with an Italian feast tonight. While the service Viking provides is impeccable, and we’re grateful for it, I must say that the overwhelming hospitality of all of the citizens of Crotone today won our hearts.Läs mer
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Syracuse in the Rain
18 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
On this rainy day we visited Syracuse. The ancient town at this site was founded because the Aretusa Spring provided passing sailors a source of fresh water immediately adjacent to the sea. This unusual phenomenon occurs because water from nearby mountains is filtered through miles of volcanic pumice and comes out clear, cold and clean. The Greek city-states competed to make colonies here. Athens made one at Catania, while Corinth occupied the site of Syracuse. Palermo and Messina had similar Greek roots. I photographed a building constructed in the fifth century BC as a temple to Apollo, which later served as a church and a mosque. It is one of the few ancient buildings I have ever seen with monolithic columns. They are not stacked drums, nor are they veneered brick. They are solid stone, and this technique is one of the clues we have to determine its age.

Very few buildings constructed before the 17th century exist intact. Constant earthquakes repeatedly destroyed Syracuse, and the city had to be rebuilt time after time. Mount Aetna, still an active volcano, stands nearby. The citizens of Syracuse take earthquakes in stride, and they realize that the buildings now standing will not last forever. The old buildings still in one piece generally come from the time of Spain’s King Charles II. Most often they reflect Spanish baroque influences, with a tinge of Moorish flavor thrown in for spice. As we were driving from our ship’s dock to Syracuse, we passed through unbelievably fertile farmland. One cannot help noticing how poor the countryside is, though. Hundreds of old stone houses have been abandoned. Roofless, their old stone walls stand a silent vigil over lush fields of fertile volcanic soil producing lemons, oranges and kumquats. The name Sicily itself comes from two old Greek words that mean “olives” and “figs.”

While we have seen evidence of commerce in the cities of Catania and Syracuse, my overall impression is that, despite its rich and illustrious history, Sicily has more than its share of poverty. Like the citizens of post-Civil-War Charleston, the people are too poor to paint and too proud to whitewash. Even the old baroque buildings have a kind of shabbiness about them. Unlike Spain and Rome, there are no glass and steel visitors’ centers around the Greek temples. Many of them are merely piles of stones still lying in weed-infested fields. The good news is that such poverty means that these ancient buildings will not soon be further demolished to make room for new shopping centers and automobile dealerships.

Despite its poverty, or maybe even because of it, Syracuse can grab your heart. The ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes moved here in middle age and spent the rest of his life here. My wife grew up in a little community called “Lucia,” and I must believe that somewhere that name is connected with the saint who was born here. We walked down the street where locals can still show you the exact spot where St. Lucia was born. From my perspective today’s excursion was a big hit. The has long been an empty place inside me wanting to know more about this little town over which nations have gone to war, this colony about which historians have spilled so much ink, this village that Archimedes called home. Today that empty place was filled.Läs mer
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Catania—The Diamond of Sicily
18 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
We have arrived in Catania, the diamond of Sicily. I have always wanted to come to Sicily and had thought that all of the towns here were very small and rural. What a surprise to see Catania, with its large churches, numerous office buildings, and busy airport. It gives me some pause to see Mount Aetna, still an active volcano, sitting majestically on the horizon. Not too long ago in a different cruise ship 100 miles out into the ocean we could see the volcano blowing her stack.

I am riding a bus down to Syracuse, and I have been remembering the ill will that developed here between U. S. General George Patton and British Field Marshal Montgomery in World War II. The British near here were ordered to fight their way northward to Messina at the northeast corner of Sicily, but they encountered what Montgomery considered impossible German resistance. While Montgomery continued to complain and ask for more time and more help, Patton ripped eastward from Palermo along the northern coast and was already in Messina when Montgomery finally arrived. The American General had covered twice the distance required of the British, and he did it in less time and against heavier German resistance than that facing Montgomery. Patton’s early arrival was a huge insult to the prickly Montgomery because Patton had not even been assigned the task of occupying Messina. His successful operation, however, was technically a violation of his orders and won the general a half-hearted reprimand from his boss General Eisenhower.

So we’re on our way to Syracuse. Both Catania and Syracuse started as Greek colonies, and the Phoenicians were here before the Greeks. This place is very old and rich with history, culture, and art. The old ways die hard here. We won’t be able to go west to see the town of Corleone, but the name of the town gives some insight into its history. It was this part of Italy that provided the basis for the series of Godfather movies. The political turbulence here following the nineteenth-century wars of unification set the stage for such organizations as the Mafia and the Cosa Nostra. While this is a period the local residents do not like to remember, Sicily even today gives a glimpse into the past and into one aspect of the character that shaped the Italian republic.Läs mer
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Naples—Aborted Landing
17 april 2022, Tyrrhenian Sea ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
As we sailed into the Bay of Naples, I went out on a windy deck to take photos of our sail-in. I was snapping shots of Vesuvius when the ship suddenly turned away from port. “Something is up,” I thought, and a few minutes later the Captain came over the horn to say that high winds prevented our landing at Naples. It was almost lunchtime anyhow, so everyone headed to the restaurants, where the crew had prepared an ambrosian feast. To celebrate Naples, I had pizza (which was invented here) and a glass of wine. So now we are cruising slowly around the island of Capri. Glenda and I identified the place where we first went ashore there, and we’re happy to greet the rock formations known as the “Two Brothers” again. Now the Viking Sky is sauntering down toward Sicily, where we hope to land tomorrow.Läs mer
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Back in Civitavecchia
16 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
It’s good to be back in Civitavecchia, our nautical doorstep to Rome and the first international port we ever visited. We came here back in 2013 at the beginning of our Mediterranean voyage with Princess Cruises. There have been some changes to the port since we were here last. It is larger, new piers have been added, and larger ships can dock here now. Of course, this port has been changing and growing ever since Roman times. Today marks the end of one voyage and the start of another. Passengers are disembarking to fly home, and new passengers are embarking for the next leg of the journey to Athens, Greece. This morning Glenda and I are doing our laundry, having a leisurely cup of coffee in the atrium, and completing our passenger response forms. We went down to the reservations desk earlier to book a river cruise in Portugal to begin in October of next year. We will do a little more work on our travel blogs before lunch, and afterwards we may take a short walk into the city. It contains the remnants of a harbor and shipyard built by the Roman emperor Trajan in the early second century. There is also a wonderful old fortress here designed by Michelangelo. Visitors cannot go inside now because it is still being used by the Italian military. Not bad to still be in operation after 400 years!

Perhaps this would be a good place to mention that I am now using my iPhone pro max 13 camera. This is the first cruise that I have made without my trusty old canon 5D Mark III. I must say that the camera in the cell phone is impressive. I am getting a higher percentage of successful shots, and I am particularly pleased with the way my new camera handles low light situations. While I miss my Canon, I must say that the performance of the iPhone pro max 13 is really impressive.Läs mer
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Lucca—A Window to the Past
15 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
We spent most of today in the beautiful medieval city of Lucca, a crown jewel in Tuscany. I had heard that some medieval buildings still existed here, but I did not realize that the entire medieval wall is still intact, nor that most of the buildings inside actually date from the 12th or 13th century. Much of today was given to visiting Lucca’s many churches. All of them can trace their origins to the sub-apostolic age. An oral tradition links the founding of the first church here with the Apostle Paul. Our guide gave us a detailed history of this city-state, describing its wars with nearby Pisa and Florence. I learned that Lucca was the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini. After becoming a successful composer in nearby Milan, he made his home just outside of Lucca. For lunch we had a delicious pizza. The restaurant is is a large oval piazza that stands on the footprint of the old Roman amphitheater. Each street has its own kind of charm. This is a place where I would like to spend some more time.Läs mer
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Second Day in Pisa
15 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
Because of a scheduling error we were required to visit Pisa again for the second day. Today was completely different from yesterday with its procession at the Cathedral and the Maundy Thursday service. Today is good Friday, and there were no services at the church, admission was free of charge, but pictures were forbidden inside the cathedral. So we spent the morning sitting outside enjoying the crowds. I took a few more shots which I will share. After saying goodbye to this beautiful town we began the hour-long journey to the medieval city of Lucca.Läs mer
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The Plaza of Miracles
14 april 2022, Italien ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
We had visited Pisa once before, but the sun was setting and our light was leaving. I took a few interesting photographs of the exterior of the cathedral, the baptistery, and the famous Campenille. Today we were actually able to see much more of the interior of the buildings. I was particularly pleased that since today is Maundy Thursday, a mass was being celebrated at the cathedral by the archbishop of Pisa. We saw Cathedral doing what a cathedral is supposed to do—housing a liturgical gathering. Unfortunately because the service was in progress, we were not allowed to take photographs inside. So we went over to the baptistery, made our photographs, and then returned to the cathedral to enjoy the rest of the worship service.Läs mer
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