Hello, again, Blogonauts! On Friday, we bid "Arrivederci!" to the Dolomites and Cortina d'Ampezzo. It was bitter sweet, because the grandeur of the scenery left us all a bit spellbound. However, there are still other places to see, hear, feel, and experience, so we were off to the next spot. Our pathway out of the Dolomites took a might more time than we at first anticipated. The roads were narrow, the ascents and descents were filled with switchbacks and hairp...

Hello, again, Blogonauts! Today we had a taste of how the 1%... or the 0.01%... lived during the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Even today we all sense the subtle pressure to match or surpass the standards set by our neighbors. Our garden must be equally lush, our cars similarly snazzy, our stories even more entertaining. But imagine that your last name is Habsburg, and your centuries-long competitive cohort includes the kings and queens of England, Prussia...

Hello, again, Blogonauts! Hungry? It happens ... a LOT. Appetite is one of humanity's great levelers. In almost every city you can find a series of markets where green grocers, butchers, fish mongers, etc., entice the peckish public with displays of delectables. Vienna's sizeable Naschmarkt fills this niche nicely. But it also spices it up a bit, so to speak. I'm For example, interspersed among the horseradish, ham and halibut are cafes and restaurants of vario...

Hello again, Blogonauts! Having left Istanbul behind we flew easily to Vienna, the capital of the (similarly defunct) Austro-Hungarian Empire. Both the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs ceded power after defeat in World War I. Until now I had not realized we are presently touring a series of countries whose fortunes in that conflict were decidedly gloomy. This was not my intention, but the timing, a century later, is oddly appropriate. The Pope's recent comments and the...

Regular followers of my musings (and I hope you are legion) perhaps detected that I rushed to complete my earlier blog entry from Salzburg. If so, how very perceptive of you! I was practically shutting my laptop on my own fingers as finished writing, adding photos, and posting the entry. The computer finally released its internet connection about 10 minutes before my Salzburg hotel's deadline for check-out. Normally I reread my scribbles, but this time you got t...