A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

Yesterday, I considered how I'd be able to stand in front of the Grand Canyon next month for a photo. I included a previous image of myself in front of the Eiffel Tower on our Eurotrip 2005. I could go on for days simply adding photos of me standing in front of a variety of landmarks. Yikes, showing off? Perhaps, no burning issues to write about? Actually, I'd rather chalk it up to simply being lazy.


Here, I'm standing in front of the Astronomical Clock in Prague last fall.

Labels: digital camera, Eurotrip 2007, Prague, Q2_2008

I wasn't sure of what to add today as an entry. In the back of my mind I always have a few potential topics. On the back burner, there're some comments about the hospitality industry as I recently had an email message from a former high-school friends who's now owner of several hotels. I could've talked about my perceptions of today's teachers' meeting at BCIT. I really have more to say regarding Toshiba's HD-DVD player and the fact Blue-ray players are three times more expensive. I could have put in an entry about any of these things.

If I had though, I would have missed an important, personal Flickr accomplishment. I noticed this evening that people have viewed my photo collection 50,000 times. That sounds like a a special event to me but my account does have over 4,000 images. Of course, each image has not gleaned an equal number of views. For example, although I think the following photo looks all right, it has not been viewed a single time.



You can help correct that oversight. If you click it now, you can see a larger (1024x755) image from our days in Prague in the Czech Republic last September.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Flickr, Prague, Q1_2008

As I spoke about photos yesterday, I've decided to stay on the same topic today.

The other evening with friends, we mentioned visiting Central Europe for parts of September and October this year. It'd been so long since we had seen one friend that he'd not been obliged to see any photos of our trip. Then, I remembered that I had never got around to uploading most of Eurotrip 2007 to Flickr. Of course, the Daily Picture Parade photos are there and I had started by getting Munich, Germany and Salzberg, Austria online.

Next on the trip was Budapest, Hungary. I needed to start from that point. In retrospect I'd probably say that Budapest was among the favourite cities of the trip. It seemed so manageable. It also helped that we stayed in a bed and breakfast rather than a hotel. So, we got the comfortable feeling of being in a real home.

This was one of around 35 photos I put online this morning. It is the Parliament House at night from across the Danube River.

Labels: Budapest, Eurotrip 2007, Flickr, Q4_2007

In some world cities man-made structures have become synonymous with the location. Making a list would be relatively easy. In London it'd probably be Big Ben. Paris has the Eiffel Tower. What would Rome be without the Coliseum? New York boasts the Statue of Liberty as well as the Empire State Building.

What about Vienna, Austria? There's the Gloriette at Schönbrunn which was blogged in my eJournal and images. There's also this.



This video was taken in the Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel built in 1897. It's 200 feet in diameter and was damaged in World War II. It has become one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions. We were in in Europe during October of this year.

Labels: camcorder, Eurotrip 2007, Q4_2007, Vienna, YouTube

Some things take a while and getting around to send off a letter of complaint to Eurolines was one such example.  We finally dashed one yesterday to the Brussels headquarters of the company.

You may expect to see lots of quick and easy blog postings during the next ten days.  I will be working without a day off until the 23rd.  This means you may see more cutting and pasting on my eJournal and images for a while.

---

Euroline Services
Customer Complaints
Dobbelenberg, Metrologielaan 6
1130, Brussels, BELGUIM

Dear sir/madam:

We travelled on a Euroline 15-day pass in September and October of this year. Please find the enclosed copies.

We’re writing to complain about several situations during our journeys. The information should probably be made known to potential customers.

1) In Bratislava, it was completely impossible to make a reservation on Saturday, September 22^nd at around 10:00 in the morning. Two counter ladies did not speak any English and got angry and rude. We needed to return to the station on another day and fortunately found one person who helped us. There was a charge of 150 SK each for making the reservation.

2) When leaving Bratislava we also were charge 30 SK each to handle the baggage.

3) Upon arriving at the Vienna office we wanted to make reservations for the ongoing trip. We were each changed 4 Euros, although we easily pointed out that the ticket stated there would be no charges for such a service. She said she had no option and suggested we write to you for a rebate.

4) When leaving from Vienna, the Polish bus driver also wanted 5 Euros for very small bags.

Of course we were under the impression that your valid passes were all we needed to travel on your network. Please rebate the extra expenses we were forced to make. We will be posting this on travel web sites and, therefore expect quick resolution.

---

Labels: complaints, Eurotrip 2007, Q4_2007, transit

This is my final week of freedom before heading back to teach classes. I can be quite content just hanging around. It has, however, been three months since I gave my last final examination. Next week, I'll be back to a routine and frankly am looking forward to it a little.

Interestingly, we were talking with friends a few weeks back about our recent three weeks in Central Europe. We mentioned about how we ran into elderly tourists. They are the ones with copious free time and some with the money to visit faraway places. Conversely, we ran into the Euro-youths on parade. It seems as if the tourists in our age category were in fairly short supply.



I'm really happy that we are able to gallivant around. The trips of young people must be fun but as individuals they often lack the maturity and experiences of the world to appreciate many of the things they see. The elderly have enough life behind them to understand the sights but, unfortunately, are sometimes not physically able to keep up. We saw many tour groups where disabilities prevented older folks from sprinting up the mountains or church towers.

I'm satisfied to have lots of free time at this point in my life. I feel people should be most free from obligations when 35 to 50 years old. I understand what Goldilocks meant. Being not too young and not too old means we're 'just right' for world travel. I realize being in this situation is not possible for some, but it's exactly how things have happened for me.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, feelings, Q4_2007

I was up at four o'clock in the morning as I've obviously not adjusted to Vancouver time yet  We got back on Friday night from our recent trip to Central Europe.  Although we had sketched out our recent trip, the itinerary was fairly flexible. 

After a few days of taking photos, I remembered that I'd not reset my camera's clock.  Then, when I finally did, I think I was a day off.  Therefore, the EXIF data on my digital photos are basically way off the mark.  I thought it might be a good idea to type this chart here just to keep it straight in my own mind.  In the end, this was the schedule of cities where we slept.

DATE OF NIGHT	LOCATION
Sep 13	On Flight
Sep 14	Munich, Germany
Sep 15	Munich, Germany
Sep 16	Munich, Germany
Sep 17	Salzburg, Austria
Sep 18	Bus from Munich to Budapest
Sep 19	Budapest, Hungary
Sep 20	Budapest, Hungary
Sep 21	Budapest, Hungary
Sep 22	Bratislava, Slovakia
Sep 23	Bratislava, Slovakia
Sep 24	Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 25	Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 26	Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 27	Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 28	Prague, Czech Republic
Sep 29	Vienna, Austria
Sep 30	Vienna, Austria
Oct 01	Vienna, Austria
Oct 02	Zurich, Switzerland
Oct 03	Zurich, Switzerland
Oct 04	Munich, Germany
Oct 05	On Flight / At Home

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, lists, Q4_2007

I'm still not tired or perhaps I'm simply past the stage of tiredness.

One cannot take a real vacation and come back the same person. Being outside of one's usual element is crucial for growth. European kids are lucky to have such a variety of culture that's so easily accessible.



Some basic daily living in other places can be a true eye-opener. One questions one's usual practices and routines. There's nothing inherently right about the way that one has been socialized. If a trip is truly educational then one plays a lot of what-if questions throughout the journey. For example, I wondered if I'd have a different sense of humour if I spoke a different language. Or, I thought about how those who grew up under communism feel about brash, new billboards touting the latest in Euro-fashions.

I could spend a lot of money on a new vehicle or take several months of vacation a year where I question things about the planet I'm on. I guess I'll choose the latter.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, feelings, Q4_2007

We got up plenty early today. The Munich YMCA puts on a nice continental breakfast buffet. As our plane doesn't depart until evening, we are in no rush. We bought the big zone transit tickets for 18 Euros so we could re-visit some downtown spots and later head out to the airport which is about 45 minutes away. We had a nice relaxing morning and ate lunch in the only Indian restaurant of our trip. We were waiting to be checked in by 3:20 pm.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Munich, Q4_2007

Today, we needed to get back to Munich. Since, it takes only a little more than four hours by train, we reserved seats for the 1:16 pm trip. That meant we had enough time to slowly pack up our bags and head downtown. Unlike yesterday, we had picked up stuff for breakfast and ate before leaving. We stuffed the bags into a train station locker and walked back down towards the lake. We were able to stroll back in time for a quick lunch.

On the train, we enjoyed to scenery. Some of the cheese we saw for sale must've come from the gray cows munching grass. In our train car there were a group of young Swiss guys heading to the last weekend of Octoberfest. They certainly didn't find any reason to start the party in Germany. By the time we arrived in Munich at a bit after 5:00 pm, they staggered out of the station singing and shouting.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Munich, Q4_2007, train

It was a wonderful day for sightseeing in Zurich, Switzerland.



Tomorrow, we take the train back to Munich so we can easily catch Friday's flight to Vancouver.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q4_2007, Zurich

We really had to get up early today in order to make it up several subway stops to the Eurolines bus station by 6:40. We spend the entire day crossing from Vienna back into Germany, even stopping in Munich again! We kept truckin' until we got to Zurich at around 6:15 pm. The bus must've done a slow and steady 100 KPH.

Highway views differ from those of trains. The roads were pretty much like US Interstates. Seeing rural areas was a necessary contrast to our time spent in urban areas.

After getting into Zurich it was a difficult figuring out how to get change for local transit. We had arranged for a bed & breakfast stay prior to leaving Canada. We made it to the home of our hosts around 7:30 pm.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q4_2007, transit

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q4_2007, Vienna

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007, Vienna

Time is going too fast. The city is now Vienna, Austria and we're only here until Tuesday. After that, there'll only be a few days in Switzerland and a single night in Munich in order to catch the plane back. Sigh! (Yawn, too!)

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Prague, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Prague, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Prague, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Prague, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Prague, Q3_2007

Things are fine and I've given up on even attempting to blog until after I'm back. We're presently in Prague. Munich, Salzburg, Budapest, and Bratislava are already under our belts. We arrived here this morning and plan on staying for five nights. Then, we will be in Vienna and Zurich before heading back to our flight out of Munich.

Oh my! It's already half over?

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007

Labels: Bratislava, Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007

Labels: Budapest, Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007

Labels: Budapest, Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007

Labels: Budapest, Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007, Salzburg

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007, Salzburg

Labels: beer and wine, Eurotrip 2007, Munich, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Munich, Q3_2007

Our flight stopped in Calgary to pick up more passengers and was a little late leaving there. We got into Munich in the afternoon but with nearly zero minutes of sleep. We checked into the YMCA which is not far from the main train station. We ate and went promptly to bed at about 7:30 pm. What youthful exuberance!

Labels: beer and wine, Eurotrip 2007, Munich, Q3_2007

Over the course of our Eurotrip 2007, blog entries may be published sporadically. During long breaks, I continue to write daily on my laptop. However, I'll only be able to post when at a convenient (read: free) net connection point. Even though we'll be in Central Europe, I expect easier wi-fi than during some previous trips.

Secondly, my home PC generally runs 24/7, but when we go away for more than several weeks, I turn it off. Microsoft Upgrade Tuesday seemingly always forces a soft reboot in the middle of the break anyway. But more than that, I feel as though the equipment enjoys a break too.

The shutdown has several effects on my blogged materials. For example, my fish cam will not be operating. In the beginning years of this blog, I linked to a number of Windows Media files that run on my living room machine, and therefore will not be available. Lastly, Psiphon access will cease too.

Feel free to email while we're away. Remember, each blog post also now boasts a COMMENT feature in its footer. Why not give that a try?

Labels: blogging, Eurotrip 2007, Hardware, Q3_2007

Until very recently, I thought of the Internet as predominately textual on www sites. If you recall the Internet protocol meaning of gopher, raise your right hand and repeat the following: "I am very old and have always been pretty geeky."

That's imprecise. Let me clarify; I generally considered the Internet as text and image based. Okay, sure. I would've admitted that one needed computer speakers because some Flash animation contained sound, occasionally one might want to steam an audio file, or other folks might even want to listen to illegally-downloaded music files.

Now, I think of this net as a delivery medium for stored audio too. I've already said in this blog that buying (several) mp3 players has thrust me into an exciting new world of information. Discovering Internet podcasts is my most profound personal development related to computers this year. Now, I don't feel like I'm wasting precious moments when walking or driving. Those ear buds are not relaying the Top 40; rather, I'm gaining understanding on a world of new topics. Listen to the 5:12 minute audio clip by clicking the next line.

St Mary's Square, Munich, Germany

In about 25 hours our plane will be leaving the tarmac for this initial destination of this year's fall trip. I can copy a number of audio files into my Zen Stone and take them along. The device weighs less than a toothbrush.

Although I found a number of companies trying to make a commercial success of mp3 travel guides, I expect that fairly soon, it will be simple to find free audio help on getting around in many of the globe's tourist sites. How about suggested walk-abouts in famous museums without needing official guides? Why not have audio files explaining the best route around a city's parks? What about an informative stroll though any neighbourhood in most any town?

Let me access these freely through the Internet. Bring on the noise!

Labels: Creative Zen, Eurotrip 2007, Internet, podcasts, Q3_2007

As an adolescent, I remember when my small town bank installed the first ATM that I'd every seen.  I think Sugar River Savings Bank called it their instant teller.   That was in the 1970's.  Later, when I worked in the Gulf countries of the Middle East in the 1980's, banking was generally quite a struggle.  Lines were long as things had to generally be signed off by at least a half dozen people for the easiest transaction.  The Saudi Arabian Naval Forces used to fly in cash for our monthly paydays.  Once, I remember being paid my complete salary in Saudi 5 Riyal notes (about $1.35 each).  I had to carry them back to my BOQ in a large paper bag.

Nowadays, I hardly ever touch cash.  We run everything through credit cards for the 1% cash back offered on groceries.  I cannot remember the last time I spoke face-to-face with a bank teller.  Direct deposit pay and online banking have completely eliminated our need for paper currency.  Sometimes, the lone $20 bill in my wallet gets worn from being there for months on end.

I thought of these things today, as we went to get some Euros for the trip that starts on Thursday.  Even up until last year, we made it a practice to buy traveller's cheques before departing.  It was a habit developed 25-years ago when we started taking overseas trips.  Today, Thomas Cook didn't have large enough notes, so we didn't pick up any.  I didn't want to repeat the paper-bag scenario.  I wonder why we feel naked when flying without a pocket full of paper money.  Plastic should be able take care of us anywhere in the world in this day and age.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, money, Q3_2007

Yesterday, I praised the Internet for increasing my abilities for travel planning. Now, however, I'm worried that its ease of use is poised to make Jay and I less spontaneous travellers.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Internet, Q3_2007, travel planning

How come it doesn't seem like science fiction?

If you'd told me, when I first went overseas in 1981, that in a bit more than 25 years, I'd be able to sit in my underwear at a flat screen in my living room and plan a vacation with a mouse, I'd have probably thought you were nuts. Maybe that's because I wouldn't have been able to picture myself as a 48 year old or collaborating with a mouse. Moreover, I'm pretty sure I would not have understood about connections to multiple websites that can contain more information than travel brochures could've ever aspired to.



I am fairly confident that I would also not have been able to fathom reserving hotel rooms at the YMCA or buying bus tickets simply by typing a Mastercard number. We just did a bit of clicking for 15-day Euroline bus passes that'll begin later this month. Although the whole trip will last three weeks, we were able to squeeze a majority of the longer hauls into that time frame. We will purchase shorter segments like Munich to Salzburg and Zurich to Munich as single tickets from there.

How'd we ever get by without the Internet?

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Internet, Q3_2007, travel planning

I think we've come up with a tentative itinerary for the trip that starts on September 13th.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007, travel planning

It is taking me a few days to get used to being off from work. One of the few drawbacks of teaching is that one's never really done. The job is not like a carpenter's. They get to look at a finished project and must feel a sense of accomplishment. During the time I'm teaching, I'm always thinking of things to add or change. I know the materials I'm using by heart, but I constantly consider new methods used to present it. It's like I'm always working although I'm usually in the classroom less than 20 hours a week. This is why I generally need a lot of time off.

That is exactly what makes being free such a change. I'm still thinking in the back of my mind there are things I could or should be doing. My mind, however, is wrong. I'm completely free for August. In addition, we'll be heading to Central Europe from mid-September through the beginning of October. I've requested time off. That means I won't be doing any chalk and talk for almost three months.

I really do have to sit back and just kick up my feet a little.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q3_2007, relaxing, travel planning

Earlier in the afternoon, I was positive I was going to leave a voice clip as a blog entry today. After all, my evening students do it as a part of class every evening that we meet. I was going to relate how wonderful it was to have a free Thursday.

Being between Intensive classes, I was completely free and it felt wonderful. I went uptown to the library and walked around London Drugs half dreaming about buying a new camera. I escaped without doing so and made it home happily.

Now that I know we're, for sure, going into Munich and Central Europe as a vacation in the autumn, I found and pulled out The Sound of Music from my vast DVD collection. It's funny how I remember most parts of it up to the intermission but the end seemed all new to me. How could I have understood all the historical implications when I was a babe and saw the film before? Even as a young adult I don't think I understood where Austria was. Now I'm assured that as long as we've got the time, we'll have to get to Salzburg, although it's all a tad Hollywood in the movie.



I've simply got to 'do re mi' down the same steps as seen in the film, even if I cannot carry a tune in a bucket. How nice of ancient Ms. Fisher to have told me to stand in the back of the choir and just mouth the words so I wouldn't bother the real singers. That was most probably in sixth grade but, oh, how far we carry the scars of youth!

(I still have a place near my ankle where hair doesn't grow because I tried to stamp out a 'combustion-able' mixture of gas and baking soda which we created for a junior high-school science fair volcano exhibit. Thank you Mitch Latva, my partner. Didn't we also do something on the effects of music on mice? I got stuck playing Hawaiian music to my sleeping white lab mouse whereas your rock'n roll critter kept biting through its wire cage?)

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, movie musical, Q2_2007, Salzburg, travel planning

Less than two month ago, I first mentioned the idea of another journey to Europe this autumn. Rather than the starting in Amsterdam, we have already bought tickets to fly into Munich, Germany.

(See the beginning blog entry for the Eurotrip 2005, by starting at September 8th and reading toward the top of the pages! You may also view a 135-photo Flickr slideshow.)

From Bavaria, I think we'll be heading eastward. We need to select small regions to explore as we go for only three weeks at a time. So, this September/October, we'll see some of Central Europe. The last statement looked strange to me. Not many years ago the countries of our planned visit were referred to as being in Eastern Europe, weren't they?

We have loads of time to research and plan a itinerary. However, ever since squinting at black and white television in the 1960's, I've had an unusual curiosity with the original home of Zsa Zsa Gabor. Here's feminine beauty that pre-dates her by at least a year and a half.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Q2_2007, travel planning

Since the very first days spent exploring the Internet, I was convinced of its usefulness for travel planning. In fact, some of the initial class projects in the 1990's were geographically organized. It was a real thrill to spin the hard disk of a server in a county a half a world away. Tourist boards were some of the first non-academic sites online.

Now, travel planning on the Net is less of a novelty and more of a necessity. A good guidebook might be useful during the trip but a lot of pre-trip exploration occurs right in one's living room. The actual reservations and purchases can be done from the same chair. While in most every way this is a blessing, it can lead to less spontaneity on the road. I used to be happier letting the wind take me as it might. Now, I can learn almost too much.



For example, we spent the better part of the morning at the schedule for Euroline Bus passes. The timings don't easily fit exactly what we want to do in the fall. We ended up playing what-if scenario after scenario. In the good old days, I was happy enough to set the initial segment and then let fate take care of the rest.

Labels: Eurotrip 2007, Internet, Q2_2007, travel planning