The first time I went to Antarctica was in January of 2011. At that time, my friends thought Mike, Greg and I had completely lost our minds. “WHY in the world would you want to go THERE?” was the most frequent comment we received from friends and family.
Although Mike was retired, Greg and I were employed, so we were limited to a 15 day journey, 10 days with the National Geographic tour and 5 days on our own traveling to and from Santiago via Lima.
THIS time I’m retired, going solo, so I am able to spend 24 days traveling beyond the Antarctic peninsula to the South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. Instead of meeting the group in Santiago, I’m traveling to Buenos Aires. As with last time, however, we are flying to Ushuaia where we will board the ship, then sail through the dreaded Drake Passage. (Yes, my doctor gave me an adequate supply of seasickness patches. They worked well last time for me and Greg, not as effective for Mike.)
Photo from 2011, taken at the end of our voyage Another view of Ushuaia
So why in the world am I going again?
Where else can you experience creatures so unafraid that they follow YOU?
Where else can you see so many different shades of blue and white?
Or learn about the different seals and penguins living in this frozen wonderland?
But won’t it be cold?
Yes, sometimes it is cold, but National Geographic’s trip cost includes matching parkas for those times. (Laura,one of my trip leaders said “there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing choices”.)
Sometimes it’s warm enough to have a cookout on the back deck wearing just a sweater (and a smile) over your tee shirt.
The best part was traveling with National Geographic experts: Photographers, naturalists, geologists, penguin and whale experts. We would gather in the bar every evening for presentations by those experts, showing us how they spent their day.
The walls of the bar/lounge were covered with big screen TVs so no matter where you sit, you still would have a great view.
Fifteen years ago, our ship was the Explorer. This time, I’ll be sailing on the Endurance, a newer ship serving 126 passengers, with 8 cabins for us traveling solo. I’m not sure how effective the internet is at the bottom of our planet. 15 years ago, I didn’t have a smart phone or a blog so it wasn’t an issue.
I hope you’ll join me on this adventure; I’ll be posting when the spirit moves me and the internet grants me connectivity.
I’ve had several friends ask me to compare and contrast these two travel companies.
Full disclosure: I have only taken one Tauck tour, to India, in late October, 2025.
I have taken over 20 OAT tours, to every continent except Antarctica, with the most recent one being to Costa Rica. Obviously, I’m far more familiar with Overseas Adventure Travel.
Having said that, BOTH are excellent companies, and you won’t go wrong choosing to travel with either. It was either Socrates or Elvis ( maybe both) who said “Know thyself”. And that’s the most important factor in determining which travel company to select. It all boils down to what kind of experience will make you happiest.
Let’s start with what BOTH companies have in common.
Both offer small group options. OAT’s maximum is 16; Tauck’s is 25, however I have been on OAT trips with only 9 travelers. There were 17 on my only trip with Tauck.
Both offer large group options: OAT uses its sister company, Grand Circle, which maxes out around 44. Tauck’s big groups are similar sized.
Both have excellent trip leaders, whose job is to oversee all aspects of your experience. They choose the local guides, the restaurants, and add additional experiences that are not on the published itinerary. If an OAT trip leader doesn’t get high ratings on the customer survey, they are not rehired. Not sure whether the same applies to Tauck.
Both allow for free time and meals on your own, with the trip leader available to offer suggestions.
Both include cultural activities.
Both take care of tipping, except for trip leaders. Tauck also takes care of tips for hotel housekeeping; OAT does not. OAT tips the bus drivers, Tauck does not if you have the same bus driver for most of the trip.
Both will handle airfare, however both will allow you to make your own flight arrangements. OAT includes the cost of the flight in their quoted prices on their website, Tauck does not. If you choose not to use OAT for your flight, you simply deduct the airfare cost from the total price.
So what’s different? The biggest difference is the cost of the trip. Tauck is significantly more expensive. However if you only take one or two trips per year, and you want to have your every need taken care of, Tauck is an excellent option.
I’m not at that point yet. My preference, RIGHT NOW, is more trips, less luxury.
PRE-TRIP INFORMATION
I really like the booklet OAT mails out a couple of weeks before the trip starts. It includes helpful hints, the full itinerary, the hotel names and addresses, and a list of the group participants.
With Tauck, you won’t know how many are traveling with you until you get there. At our introductory meeting, our trip leader gave us a piece of paper with the names of our fellow travelers and would email (and print out) info about the following days. I strongly prefer having the booklet because all of the info is in one place, which makes it handy for taking notes.
Being slightly obsessive compulsive, I like being able to plan in advance for free time.
The trip leaders from both companies send travelers a welcome email, full of helpful information but OAT travelers who have taken more than 3 trips, also get a phone call from the trip leader who can then answer any questions one might have.
WEBSITE
Although both companies offer websites from which you can print out your itinerary, I find the OAT website far easier to use. I thought it was because I was more familiar with OAT’S website, but Joann, one of my favorite fellow travelers, said she felt the same way about Tauck’s website—that it wasn’t easy to find what you were looking for.
ARRIVAL
If you buy your airfare from OAT, you also get transfers to and from the airport included. If not, you can either pay OAT for transfers or arrange your own.
With Tauck, transfers are automatically included in the price of the trip. Because I made my own flight arrangements, I can’t comment on flight services Tauck provides, but I CAN say that they do everything possible to make sure your arrival goes smoothly.
HOTELS
Both companies select clean, safe, comfortable hotels, but with Tauck, replace the word “comfortable” with “ luxurious”, at least that was my experience in India.
OAT and Tauck, however, were using the same hotel during my stay in Halifax. For the Egypt trip, both used the exquisite Aswan’s Cataract Hotel.
On the whole, however, I believe Tauck tends to use the best hotel in the area, generally 5 star, while OAT usually choose hotels by location, normally within walking distance to restaurants and sights.
I think the best comparison I can come up with is Four Seasons (Tauck) versus Marriott or Hilton, except OAT tends to choose local, non chain lodgings. Because I have taken so many trips with OAT, I know that the hotels vary greatly from one country to another. In Morocco, for example, the riads were over the top gorgeous,
While in Costa Rica, they were more rustic.
FOOD
Based on my sole experience with Tauck, I would say that the food on their trip is truly outstanding. The buffet breakfasts offered an amazing array of choices,
while the OAT breakfasts tend to offer the basics, with little variety.
Tauck, like OAT, had some included meals at which we were all served the same.
Generally for OAT, there are lots of buffets.
For some of Tauck’s included meals, on the India trip, at least, we were offered a choice of restaurants, and were able to order whatever we wanted from the menu.
Although OAT’s included meals offered limited choices, the group always dines together at the same time and at the same restaurant. For solo travelers this could be a huge plus, particularly if the other travelers prefer to dine with their travel companion(s)
BEVERAGES
Both companies offer some included alcoholic drinks, but you are free to purchase whatever you want.
LOYALTY PROGRAM
This is an area in which OAT excels. People who have taken multiple trips with OAT are recognized with pins, gifts, and special perks (which vary by trip leader), plus a host of other financial incentives.
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES – OAT
All travelers get a percentage of the cost of the trip if they take another OAT trip within the following two years.
If you recommend OAT to someone who has never traveled with them before, you each get a $100 credit. The friend saves $100 immediately, and the “recommender” gets $100 toward a future trip.
After 10 OAT trips, if you take more than one trip in a given year, you save $350 per subsequent trip. Before your 10th trip, you save $250 per subsequent trip in a year, but I have forgotten if you need to take a minimum number of trips for that credit to kick in.
It all adds up. Especially for someone like me, who LOVES to travel.
OTHER TRAVELERS
The group on the sole Tauck trip I’ve taken was wonderful! That was also the case with most of my OAT trips. (As one would expect, occasionally you get one or two clunkers, when you take over 20 trips with the same company).
If I had only taken the Costa Rica trip, I would be exclaiming how outstanding OAT travelers are.
That’s all I can think of. Feel free to correct any misconceptions and add your experiences with either company in the comments section.
Remember when I said yesterday’s travel challenges were a minor inconvenience? Well, my new friend, Betty, experienced a MAJOR inconvenience. Last night she fell, broke her right wrist, is having surgery today, and has to return home tomorrow. It’s unfortunate for her, very sad for me, because I liked her instantly.
MY luck began to change as soon as I arrived in San Jose. I was able to join the group for the 3 PM tour of the National Theater because Alex, my wonderful taxi driver, was able to calculate how long it would take to bring me to the hotel (in bumper to bumper traffic), allow me to check in and drop my bags in my room, and drive me to the theater. I arrived 3 minutes before the theater tour started.
If anyone is ever in San Jose, and needs a driver, here’s Alex’s contact info.
Alex’s phone number. I highly recommend him!
Along the way, Alex pointed out interesting buildings. He also confirmed my memory of San Jose as being a city without high risers. These skyscrapers were all built within the last 8-10 years.
Our group is super friendly and welcoming. THEY all had to learn ONE name, but I had to learn 13. Yes, originally our group numbered 15, but one person canceled before the tour started, But I digress. Back to the Theater tour.
Our National Theater guide explained that this statue was originally on the roof of the theater, but was brought inside to protect it from the ravages of weather, which was causing the marble to become discolored.
The top floor houses this salon, where the rich and famous hung out after enjoying the evening’s production. It isn’t obvious from the photos, but the marble on this interior statue is pristine and glowing.
The National Theater was built in the 1800’s when Costa Rica was rolling in coffee profits. Back then, rich coffee growers sent their offspring to be educated in Europe. When their children returned, they brought with them memories of the art and culture they had experienced. These memories culminated in the creation of the National Theater.
Our second day began with a tour of a small coffee finca (farm). To be honest, after staying at the Colombian coffee plantation for three nights, I wasn’t as interested in the production aspect, so instead I took photos. Here’s a shot of two members of my group picking beans
Mike and Jo-Lynne
Edwin was born in El Salvador, but grew up in LA. Because Malo was up most of the night helping Betty, Edwin stepped in and translated for us.
Edwin is on the right. This is an “antique” piece of equipment
We are lucky to have Edwin with us. He and his wife, Cindy are much younger than the typical OAT traveler. That’s because Cindy’s mom, Esther, invited them to accompany her.
After lunch at the finca,
we headed to Sarapiqui, which gave us the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Costa Rican countryside. It is impossible to capture the grandeur of our drive, but that didn’t stop me from trying.
Supposedly, it was a three hour drive, with a couple of stops, but the time went by very quickly.
One of our stops was for a photo op by a waterfall.
This one’s for YOU, Jean.
I’ll end with a video of our other stop where we enjoyed sampling Agua Dulce while we watched the birds.
Just when I thought “this trip couldn’t POSSIBLY get any better”, it does!
Our hotel, the Oberoi Rajvillas is even more magnificent than the Leela Palace in Delhi. How is that even possible? Well, check out my room.
That’s nothing. The bathroom is even more spectacular.
I was the only woman who chose to return to the hotel rather than shop for jewelry during our free afternoon.
Display at our hotel—a bit too ornate for me
Why? So I’d have time to take a bath and use the pool.
Although it LOOKS like a maharajah’s palace, the Oberoi Rajvillas is actually a luxury hotel that was built to resemble a palace.
The Rambagh Palace, where we had dinner, was the REAL deal. Built in 1835, it became the principal residence of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and his wife, Maharani Gayatri Devi. After India became independent in 1947, the Maharaja converted Rambagh Palace into India’s first luxury “palace hotel”.
Check out how we were greeted and escorted in for dinner.
As one might expect, dinner was incredible. The wine flowed freely, so freely that when Jennifer asked for a volunteer to dance with the professionals, I rose to the occasion, thinking other members of the group would join in. They didn’t. Instead my friend Bill, took this video.
This style of dancing is called Kathak and it is extremely difficult to follow, because the foot stomping pattern changes unexpectedly. I gave up trying and instead decided to go “free style”. At least my travel companions were amused.
Jaipur was noisy, crowded, chaotic and beautiful.
Crossing the street was even more hair raising than crossing in Hanoi, because in Vietnam the streets are not as wide.
I’ll confess to being challenged to find just a few photos of the many incredible things we experienced. This is my attempt to give a feel for the wonder of Jaipur without posting so many photos that your eyes roll back into your head.
Before our dinner at the Rambagh Palace, we took a jeep to the Amber Fort.
Every time we went over a bump, Jeff and I hit our heads on the jeep’s ceiling. We were glad it was made of cloth instead of metal!
On our way, we visited this water source.
The Amber Fort is a popular site for wedding photos. This was actually a “practice shoot” pre-wedding, to make sure the real thing turns out perfectly.
The “fort” contains a gorgeous garden with fountains.
Check out the mirrored designs on the fort’s walls.
You could get a panoramic view of Jaipur from the fort.
We toured the Jantar Mantar Observatory and the City Palace Museum on our second day in Jaipur. The photo atop this post is of the throne room in the palace.
Our lunch at the Raj Palace was extraordinary. My only regret was that I didn’t know the names of these wonderful dishes so that I could order them again.
We ended the evening by visiting the 18th-century Shiva temple, where this group photo was taken.
We didn’t know the impact of the Air Canada strike until we left Halifax for Baddeck ( Pronounced ba-DECK). Our group has shrunk from 40 to only 26.
I know, I’ve completely skipped over Halifax. It’s not that I didn’t love the city. I did. It’s because we are spending our final two days there, so if time and energy permit, I will post about Halifax when we return there.
Laurie, our amazing trip leader, has devised a very creative way to break the ice and to keep us entertained during our bus ride. We are going to be playing “Passenger Bingo” for PRIZES! I don’t care if the prize is a rusted tricycle, with a wheel missing. If it’s a contest, I’m in it to win it. That’s just my nature.
Since I started this post, we have completed THREE different games, and I’m quite proud to say I was the winner of the first, which was a challenge to name all of the 14 people that did NOT make it to Halifax. Nailed it!
Laurie, our hard working, creative trip leader
But back to Baddeck. As usual, our drive to the next city was broken up by interesting stops, starting with the Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Center.
Glooscap, a mythical figure
There, we learned about the indigenous people who had inhabited the land for over 13,000 years, ( according to archaeological digs) the Mi’kmaq (pronounced mig-MAH).
Apparently, the French and the indigenous had a positive relationship; not so, with the British, which was probably why we fought the French AND Indian War.
The indigenous were given identity numbers by the Canadian government, with the final number indicating how many children were in the family. That made it easier for the government to find the children, take them from their families and force them to attend government run boarding schools. The schools were designed to wipe out the indigenous language and culture. Over 176,000 children between the ages of 4 and 16 were taken from their families. Of that number there were over 6,000 recorded deaths from disease, abuse and suicide. Before anyone thinks that the mistreatment of indigenous children happened centuries ago, I need to inform you that the last school closed in 1998 in Manitoba.
This speech was given during Canada’s 100 year anniversary.
We learned that the Mi’mkaq language is a tonal one.
Depending on how you elongate the vowels, the same word could mean:
I love you OR I want to hurt you OR I want to throw you in the fire. THAT word could start some serious misunderstandings!
We spent our three nights in Baddeck at the Silver Dart Lodge, which overlooked a beautiful lake.
Laurie was initially concerned that we would find the Lodge too “rustic”. Instead, we all agreed it was absolutely charming. Because of the volume of business Grand Circle does with the lodge, we all got rooms facing the lake.
This spectacular view is what I saw from the lovely deck outside my room, the perfect place for happy hour. How great was THAT? It took all three nights for me to finish the wine that I was not allowed to drink on the bus.
The area is so beautiful that Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel built their summer home in Baddeck. Their “castle” wasn’t visible from the museum bearing his name, but there was plenty of other “stuff” to see.
I had no idea that Alexander Graham Bell taught deaf students in Boston or that Mabel became deaf at the age of 5 after a bout with scarlet fever.
I also didn’t know that Bell’s parents immigrated to the USA from Scotland after two of their sons died from tuberculosis. They didn’t want to chance losing their last son.
We all know about his invention of the telephone , but I wasn’t aware of his interest in aviation and hydrofoils until I visited the museum.
We spent the next day touring the fortress at Louisbourg, where I was once again reminded of my educational deficiencies. Why did I never learn that in 1745 a group of untrained “ soldiers” from New England successfully took the fortress in 6 weeks time? You see, the French had expected all attacks would come from the sea, so that area was heavily fortified and protected. But the 6,000 ragtag New Englanders didn’t know the rules of engagement, and they were undaunted by forests or swamps, so they attacked from the land, which was unprotected.
The entrance to Louisbourg
The crown decided to return the fort to the French in 1749 exchange for Madras, India which was a source of extreme irritation to the New Englanders. They had lost about 900 men capturing the fort.
In 1758, the British determined that they wanted Louisbourg after all, so they laid siege the “professional” way, by sea, without the help of the New Englanders, and guess what? It took them a WHOLE lot longer.
This time they completely destroyed the fortress, so what exists today is a reconstruction, based on documents and plans that were preserved off site.
The view from the protective wall
Like Williamsburg, Sturbridge Village, and Plymouth Plantation, re-enactors in period costumes demonstrate what life was like in the 1700s.
I particularly enjoyed watching a prisoner being marched through town to the iron collar.
All of the neighbors were invited to ridicule the prisoner as he made the “walk of shame“ to the center of town.
Our final day was to be spent traveling along the Cabot Trail. Because of climate change ( yeah, the Canadians don’t think it’s a “hoax”), all the trails are closed to hikers. The risk of fire is too great. So, instead we were going to drive the entire route, after stopping to visit a church and a hooker museum. Don’t get excited. It was a museum for RUGS not ladies of the night.
You might think that rug on the right is supposed to be a young Liz Taylor, but the sign next to it explained it was actually a youthful Jesus.
While in the museum, Josh discovered there was a problem with the bus, so we had to hang out long enough that the full trip along the Cabot Trail was impossible.
We were lucky to have Laurie as our trip leader, who decided to treat us all to coffee and pastry at the shop up the street. Instead of doing the full route, we ended up stopping at a beautiful little beach
Our last night was spent at a ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee).
Although there is so much more to say about Baddeck, this post is already quite long, so I’ll stop.
Well, we were SUPPOSED to fly from Montreal to Halifax today, but the Air Canada flight attendants decided to be rebellious and ignore the “back to work” orders from the Canadian government.
Instead, we are rolling along the highway with our Croatian driver for the next 13 hours.
Our two nights in Montreal got off to a promising start. Although we experienced torrential rain as we were leaving Quebec City, it was less of a downpour by the time we got to the “Sugar Shack”. At that stop along the way, we learned about the intricacies of maple syrup creation and got to sample maple taffy.
The taffy is made by drizzling very thick maple syrup on ice or snow, then wrapping the hardening substance around what looks like a tongue depressor
By the time we arrived in Montreal, and finished lunch, the rain had stopped. Our lunch was a Canadian specialty – delicious smoked meat (it tasted like corned beef).
The sandwich was so huge, I had to take it apart to eat it! Before I had finished half of what was served, I was full.
Before we arrived at the hotel, we had a bus tour of Montreal’s highlights. Good thing we were on a bus, because after that huge lunch, I was ready for a nap. Walking was out of the question!
Even if we’d had enough time ( we didn’t) and even if Barbara, my travel buddy had been with me ( she wasn’t), there was no way I was going to climb those steps to see the interior of yet another cathedral! ( So I didn’t).
Originally, I had booked a dinner with Chef Rob for my first night in Montreal, at the recommendation of my Canadian friend, Nancy. Unfortunately, Chef Rob had a family emergency, and had to cancel, but Laurie, our tour guide provided us with multiple attractive alternatives for dinner on our own.
I liked the Universel Déjeuners et Grillades, (especially the Mimosa Margarita, which is one of their specialty drinks) so much that I had dinner there BOTH nights.
I know, how boring. Here I am in one of the great “foodie” cities, and I go to the same restaurant TWICE? What can I say. It was close to our hotel, and the wine pours were generous.
Our one full day in Montreal was unstructured, but Laurie provided options for us.
After 15 minutes, I’d seen enough of the market.
Although I have seen plenty of markets, I decided to join her, mainly so I could get the hang of Montreal’s metro system. It is EASY! Color coded lines ( like Boston) and oh so CLEAN! I have to admit it. Americans are SLOBS.
There was no graffiti, no trash, no urine smell, just artwork. How do they DO that?
Do they ban spray paint? The buildings and highways were clean too. We’ve been driving along the highway for hours, without my spotting a single piece of trash. Trust me. I’ve been looking.
But back to my day in Montreal. When Mike and I were there in 2019, we visited the biosphere, which is located close to the Botanical Gardens. Had it not been a cold, cloudy day, we would have spent it wandering through that gorgeous place. It took 6 years, but FINALLY I got to spend about 4 hours enjoying the greenhouses, exhibits and special gardens.
My favorite was the Chinese Garden. I loved the fantastic sculptures in the pond.
The greenhouses were equally impressive, with waterfalls and orchids.
We ended our day with “Aura”, a light and sound show in the Notre Dame Basilica.
I felt like SUCH a big girl, finding my way via metro from the Botanical Gardens to the Basilica all by myself!
While awaiting the rest of my group to arrive, I enjoyed the musicians and performers in the square. there was a little of everything: dancers, violinists, singers.
The show started at 5:30PM and lasted for 30 glorious minutes. I highly recommend it! Please keep in mind, I’ve seen enough churches, cathedrals and basilicas to last 5 lifetimes! But this was truly special.
These two statues are supposed to represent the cultural divide between the French and English Canadians.
The snooty Englishman is turning his nose up at the Basilica, which represents French Catholicism and the French lady on the opposite corner of the square is gazing scornfully at the symbol of English power, the Bank of Montreal.
UPDATE: We arrived in Halifax a little before 1AM, so it actually took almost SIXTEEN hours by car. I don’t recommend it.
What? You never hear of Slavonice? Neither had I, until this trip. Centuries ago, however, Slavonice was a “happening” place. On the road between Prague and Vienna, it was a popular overnight stopping point for travelers.
Check out the “graffiti” that still exists on the buildings in “old town”.
One of the reasons I keep choosing to travel with OAT is because of hidden gems like Slavonice, places I would NEVER have discovered on my own.
We were able to visit a beautiful restored building that was once used as a gathering place for the Lutherans. Supposedly this artwork illustrates that Jesus’ word is more powerful than the sword. Clearly this artwork was done well before both world wars.
Can you believe the ceiling in this building? How did they DO that?
We were the only guests in a lovely little hotel in old town, complete with a restaurant and wine cellar.
Here is Pavel, the owner, chef, wine merchant, cleaning crew, sommelier, ( he’s EVERYTHING!) greeting Tomas, our guide and welcoming us to his hotel.
Our first evening was memorable indeed. The town lost electricity during a hailstorm and with roads flooded, Pavel had to figure out how he was going to feed us. Fortunately, his wine cellar was very well stocked, so in addition to soup and bread we were offered unlimited beverages. SOME of us took FULL advantage of what life had thrown our way.
I took these photos of posters outside my room especially for my favorite sommelier (he knows who he is).
We were lucky that the 13th century wine cellar didn’t flood. The water from the storm that DID make it into the building had receded enough for us to enjoy a wine tasting on the second night of our stay.
The fact that the ceiling was dripping on us didn’t dampen our spirits one bit.
Yes, we are all bundled up— it was COLD in the centuries old basement.
But once again, I’m getting ahead of myself, talking about dinner before describing our “day in the life” experience at a farm about an hour’s drive from Slavonice. Olga, our host, runs a horse farm.
Like my wonderful cousin Kristy, she provides a home for horses that can no longer be ridden. Her oldest horse is 30, which is significantly more than the average life span of a horse.
In addition to breeding horses, Olga also works with horses that are thought to be “difficult”. She demonstrated how she communicates with them using only her eyes and fingers. When she asked for a volunteer to learn the technique, I thought I was going to have lots of competition. I thought wrong.
Could the amount of water and mud have been the reason for my companions reluctance?
Being the ONLY volunteer, I got to get up close and personal with this magnificent creature, who was once thought to be “difficult”.
Olga is demonstrating the proper shoulder technique to get the horse to follow you. Nailed it!
Yes, our day time activities were fantastic, but there was even more awaiting us.
That night, we had the PLANNED dinner at the hotel,
complete with local musicians who got us singing along to “Country Roads” and “Roll out the barrel”.
Of course, the wine flowed freely, but the show stopper was when our host used a sword as his bottle opener.
On to Bratislava. Yes, I know. Add Cesky Krumlov to the list of places I’ve skipped over.
What a delightful surprise our lunch stop in Pisek turned out to be!
This blog is not a chronological record of my OAT itinerary. It continues to be whatever I feel like writing about. And I feel like writing about this sweet little undiscovered town.
We’ve been to Dresden, which was our final stop on the pre-trip, then we spent the first three days of the main trip in Prague. Both of these fascinating cities deserve posts of their own, and I’ll get to them eventually. There have just been far too many distractions for me to give them the attention they deserve.
Pisek is quite beautiful. Its old stone bridge predates Prague’s Charles Bridge by at least a century. Somehow, the bridge managed to survive several centuries worth of floods. The statues on the bridge weren’t so lucky. The originals were damaged and have since been repaired or replaced.
Don’t be fooled. Pisak also has MODERN attractions, like this one. I’ve seen pedal bars in Nashville, but I never have seen a Prosecco van. What a great concept!
Despite this vehicle’s obvious appeal, I found the sand sculptures even more compelling.
The header on this post describes the theme for this year’s sand sculptures — Freedom and Liberty, intended to commemorate the town’s 80th anniversary of their liberation after World War 2.
Did you recognize Gulliver, struggling to break free?
Lady Liberty has packed her bags. I’m hoping she’s not leaving the USA.
To me, the most compelling sculpture was this one, especially after being in Berlin. What a powerful demonstration of how much JFK’s words meant to the people in this part of our planet. .
Then I took a good look at the front of the sculpture. It shows Putin driving a car manufactured in East Germany by the Soviets. The Trabant had an engine that was likened to a lawn mower—about as powerful and just as smelly. East Germans would use trabants to escape to the Czech Republic, and then abandon the car in the street.
Take a close look at who is kissing up to Putin. Clearly he is not in the driver’s seat.
If you don’t recognize the iconic hair style, the sculptor has given us a hint. He has “king” written alongside his image. ( I would have added “wannabe” before the word “king”).
Why is it that Europeans can see so clearly what many Americans cannot? Perhaps because they have lived through Facism and Communism, they have a deep understanding of how fragile democracy can be and how important it is to preserve it, in every means possible, including the creation of sand sculptures.
My last post was about Berlin’s tragic past, and how frightening it is to recognize parallels to what is happening in the world now.
Today’s post is about Berlin’s glorious present and how it is making me optimistic about the future for our entire planet.
First, many thanks to my dear friend Chris and her wonderful sister Claudia for their very helpful suggestions on how to best use our time in Berlin. Thanks to them, we knew we needed to get tickets for the Reichstag tour at least a month in advance. For those of you not lucky enough to know Chris or Claudia, here’s the link for the free tour, in English: https://www.bundestag.de/en/visittheBundestag/dome/tours
The Bundestag building itself is architecturally gorgeous, filled with interesting artwork.
Our guide was a retired lawyer, who explained that although, prior to Hitler’s rise to power, Germany considered itself a democracy, it really wasn’t, because half of the population wasn’t allowed to vote. I wish I could remember her exact words because she said it far more elegantly than my paraphrase, but here’s the gist of her comments regarding women voters: They expected women to be grateful when they “gave” us the right we had been denied for so many years.
Here she is, explaining why the Russian soldiers’ graffiti in the Reichstag was preserved when the building was reconstructed after unification. (Once again, not a direct quote, just what I remembered her saying).
Imagine you are a young Russian soldier who spent the last few months being shot at and bombed. You have survived so far. You reach Berlin, but are still not safe. You want to leave your mark so that others recognize that you once existed.
The Germans left the graffiti so, to me, it has become a symbol of the compassion the Berliners felt for young Russian boys who were drafted and forced to kill young German boys.
She also gave us information about the way the German government currently operates, but because I wasn’t as interested, I promptly forgot everything she said.
I was, however, fascinated by the eagle on the wall behind her. That eagle hung in Bonn, when it was the capital of West Germany. It was installed at the reconstructed Reichstag after reunification.
I was also fascinated by the interior view of the dome from the parliamentary meeting room.
After the 90 minute guided tour, we were able to enter the dome and walk up the spiral ramp to the top.
The mirrors in the center reflect light into the building below.
I found it fascinating that the dome is completely open. What happens when it rains or snows? Inquiring minds want to know, so I asked one of the guards. He told me the top remains completely open, but rain only falls on the very top level, where drains capture it and carry it out of the building. Damn, those Germans are great at engineering!
From the Reichstag dome, we were able to see the TV tower. It was the proud creation of the Soviets in East Berlin, intended to demonstrate the superiority of Soviet construction. After reunification, however, the world had access to Stasi documents that showed most of the materials used to build the tower had to be imported from the west.
During our city tours both guides talked about the symbol of Christianity (a cross) appearing on this godless tower. We were completely mystified, because it was impossible for us to visualize anything that remotely resembled a cross. FINALLY, during our stroll around the dome, the sun was in the right position, so I hope my photo allows YOU to see it too.
If my personal astrophysicist had been by my side, he would have explained the scientific principles behind the phenomenon. Instead, I went with Barb’s explanation: it is magic.
Anyone who has read any of my prior posts knows that I cannot resist a tower, mountain, high point—anything that offers a panoramic view. Berlin has several, and we took advantage of every single one that we could find.
The view of the Brandenburg Gate from the dome
Our OAT trip leader suggested we visit the Humboldt Forum’s rooftop. In addition to the delightful cafe,
we were treated to another vantage point of the city.
Notice the roof of the Humboldt is planted with grasses and flowers.
The city was environmentally aware, which was so very encouraging to me.
None of the median strips were mowed. Instead, grasses and weeds were allowed to grow unhindered to protect and feed the bees.
From our vantage point on the roof, we could see the sustainability display. That’s the reddish tower in the photo below, in which reclaimed materials were used to fashion new structures.
We ended our night with a laser show at the Reichstag, which was created to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Christo’s art project.
With travel, sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss. The laser show was definitely a miss, but the sunset was lovely.
And the walk to the hotel gave us the opportunity to see Berlin buildings illuminated.
I’m so glad I was able to spend 5 days in this wonderful city. Those of you who have read my earlier posts may recall that initially I was not particularly enamored. Must have been because of jet lag, or the piss poor commentary on the City Circle / Gray Line HOHO. My recommendation—try a different HOHO in Berlin. There are four.
The Germans truly believe “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
Unlike us, they do not spin, whitewash or deny their history. Instead, they build monuments to the victims, and record the monstrous deeds of the perpetrators of violence—the Nazis.
The Topography of the Terrors is a free outdoor exhibit, built on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters. One of the photos shows Adolph Hitler’s military parade on his birthday.
I was viewing this exhibit on the very day something similar was happening in the USA. Fortunately, our wannabe dictator’s celebration was not as well attended. And even more fortunate—the “no kings” protests throughout the USA had far more participants.
Once the OAT pretrip started, we enjoyed a city tour where we learned the significance of some areas we had visited when Barb and I were on our own.
Following is a photo of Anne, our guide, showing us the location where over 20,000 banned books were burned. She also shared this prescient quote from 1820:
“those who start by burning books will also burn men”
After the war, Berlin was divided into 4 sections. Russia got East Berlin; West Berlin was shared by the Americans, the French and the British. West Berlin was completely surrounded by East Germany, which was held by the Russians.
1961 was the first time a wall was built to keep people IN. That’s because 3 million people (out of 18 million) had left East Berlin after the Soviet occupation. These were “essential” workers, so something had to be done to stop the brain drain.
Sections of the wall are exhibited in Potsdamer Platz
Throughout the city, we saw reminders of where the wall once stood. This is how the marker looks if you are on the West side of the wall.
There were actually two walls, with a strip of land in between, known as “ the death strip” and “no man’s land”. Both walls were painted white, to make it easier to spot people trying to escape.
Some statistics: Along the walls’ 100 miles, were 280 guard towers. No man’s land was patrolled by 1100 armed guards and 1000 dogs.
The stories of the 140 people who died while trying to escape are memorialized in the Terror exhibit.
After the wall came down, artists painted murals on the remaining sections.
Remember how Barb and I were mystified by the holocaust monument? Well, thanks to Anne, we now understand.
The architect wanted visitors to feel something as they walked through the exhibit. He succeeded. As the stones got taller and the ground became uneven, I felt uneasy and claustrophobic.
We learned that the memorial is composed of 2711 stones, to represent the number of pages in the Talmud. Viewed from above, it looks very much like an arial view of death camps’ barracks and a Jewish cemetery in Israel.
Next, we visited the “Disney” version of Checkpoint Charlie.
Of course there is a KFC nearby.
Knowing it is a tourist trap didn’t stop us from posing behind the sand bags.
We almost didn’t take the optional tour “Allies in Berlin” tour on our last full day in Berlin, because we mistakenly thought it would be a repeat of what we had already seen. Tomas, our trip leader, encouraged us to take the tour and I’m so glad he did.
It was extremely emotional for me. It harkened back to the time when we understood how important it was to win “hearts and minds”, back when we had leaders with integrity, foresight and wisdom.
The Soviets were trying to starve the West Berliners into submission, but the US, France and Great Britain began airlifting tons of food, coal, medicines and essential supplies to the people of West Berlin. The west Berliners were surprised that the people they were shooting at, just a few years earlier were now protecting them. That was the start of the strong friendship between Germany and the USA.
One American pilot decided to make small parachutes for rations, starting the “candy bombing” runs represented by the artwork on this bear.
Because France and Great Britain had been badly damaged by WWII , most of the aid came from the USA.
Years later, when the Berliners were feeling isolated and fearful, JFK visited. Although he only spent 8 hours in Berlin, his speech meant the world to the people of West Berlin:
“Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [“I am a Roman citizen”]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner!”… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”
I was surprised that Ronald Reagan was not as revered, so I asked Alex, our local guide about it. He told me that there is a plaque at the Brandenburg Gate for Reagan, but at the time he gave the “tear down the wall” speech, most Berliners thought it was an impossibility and that Reagan was just a “crazy old actor”.
At the American Museum, we saw the REAL checkpoint Charlie building, moved to this site when the wall came down. (It was one of three checkpoints: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie). These days, what was once barracks for American troops, have been transformed into condos.
To end this sobering post, here is a photo from the Sinti and Roma (Gypsy) memorial.
This child was separated from his parents, who had been employed, and had never been in trouble with the law. Their only “crime” —being born to the wrong parents.
Destination NOW 