Part 1: SOUTHERN FRENCH CONNECTION: ART, FOOD and WINE

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Idyllic Southern France countryside

Art. Food. Wine.

Those were the three words that drew my husband, Russ, and I to book our two-week tour to Southern France, the Languedoc and Provence regions. Russ expected this tour would be a bit more laid back than our previous Odysseys Unlimited tours, though sometimes we still felt as if we were racing against time to cram in as many cultural experiences as we could before our weary bodies collapsed. That’s not a complaint, by the way… just the reality of not wanting to miss out Read more

Part 7-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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A Memorial column.

Part 6 was Tourists Invade Prague, The City of Concerts, Castles and Korunas
GERMANY
BERLIN REFLECTS THE PAST AS IT MARCHES FORWARD
While our two-week Odysseys Unlimited Discovering Eastern Europe tour focused on cities from which my ancestors had originated, our tour company’s arranged non-guided extension trip to Berlin, Germany at least landed us in the same country from which many of Russ’ family had dwelled. Seven of our tour group faced one another on a four-hour train ride from Read more

Part 6-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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Ballroom in the Grand Bohemia Praha, where the Mozart dinner concert is held.


Part 5 was Slovakia, Once Again!
CZECH REPUBLIC
TOURISTS INVADE PRAGUE, THE CITY OF CONCERTS, CASTLES AND KORUNAS
Where we stayed:
The 78-room Grand Bohemia Praha is tucked neatly onto a side street within walking distance of famous attractions such as the Old Town Square, Old Town Hall, and Wenceslas Square.
Our room was a triangle, which seemed to make it feel larger. One thing did surprise me. I was startled while in the restroom to hear voices so loud I thought someone had entered our cute but efficient guestroom. Turns out there are speakers from the TV in the restroom so you never have to miss a single word! Breakfast was wonderful, an endless buffet of fresh breads, fruits, and prepared dishes, plus bottles of bubbly wine and a selection of juices to mix or drink separate. Russ and I did not attend Read more

Part 5-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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Looking at the UFO Restaurant across from Hotel Devin in Bratislava.


Part 4 was The Music and Muses of Vibrant Vienna
SLOVAKIA, once again!
BRATISLAVA
Yes, I have spoken about Slovakia, but only when our intrepid group of travelers paused for lunch on our way from Poland to Hungary in Part 3-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS;
Breakfast in Poland, Lunch in Slovakia and Dinner in Hungary. This time we departed Austria and headed for the Czech Republic, stopping for the night in Bratislava, the world’s only capital to share borders Read more

Part 4-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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A stately building in Vienna.


Part 3 was Breakfast in Poland, Lunch in Slovakia and Dinner in Hungary
AUSTRIA
THE MUSIC AND MUSES OF VIBRANT VIENNA
Where we stayed:
The Hilton Vienna Plaza didn’t have the same startling views of the Danube River as our Hilton Budapest did, but it did have Alpine tap water so crystal clear that we forewent drinking bottled. Our room was quite lovely, with marble streaks of two-toned greys, a workable desk with a comfortable study desk chair and a divan instead of a lounge chair. Location Read more

Part 3-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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Our welcoming sight to Budapest, Hungary is the House of Parliament Building


BREAKFAST IN POLAND, LUNCH IN SLOVAKIA AND DINNER IN HUNGARY
Part 2 was From Concentration Camps to Trendy Kraków
Only one road connects Poland with Hungary, and you have to drive through Slovakia to do it. The narrow, exceedingly bumpy road was under reconstruction so traffic barely crawled. It did give us time to peruse the beauty of the Tatra Mountains, popular for winter sports. What I noticed is that the Slovakian houses we passed all have sloped, peaked roofs to prevent snow from mounting.  Flower boxes hang from balconies and even with a typically brief summer season (though not true this year Read more

Part 2-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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FROM CONCENTRATION CAMPS TO TRENDY KRAKÓW
Part 1 was The Razing and Rebuilding of Warsaw
I grew up with the horror stories of the Holocaust, from family whispers to the stacks of books I devoured. (I can’t count how many versions of The Diary of Anne Frank I have read or seen acted.) Just knowing our Odysseys Unlimited tour included a visit to Auschwitz (known in German as Oswiecim) and its nearby sub-camp, Birkenau, made me edgy. We were travelling to Kraków, but the visit to the camps were scheduled for the earlier part of the day. Could I handle seeing the reality which has heretofore only been personal stories or movies?

Trainloads of prisoners would arrive here at Birkenau


I propelled myself forward and listened attentively to the statistics of how many were killed, how many survived, and why it has been a Polish government project to preserve the camps and their wretched history. I shuddered when we passed by a gas chamber, held my breath when we entered barracks that still echoes the misery of their cramped, emaciated inhabitants, and Read more

Part 1-EASTERN EUROPE: STRUDEL, SCHNITZEL AND STRAUSS, A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

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Spinach strudel, boiled potatoes, sausages and more at Café Museum in Vienna, Austria


Strudel, Schnitzel and Strauss weren’t all that grabbed our attention about Eastern Europe, but they were certainly components of the rich cultural influences food, wine, music, arts, and architecture played during our recent Odysseys Unlimited Discovering Eastern Europe tour. The trip evoked memories of our ancestry.
Yiddish was the language my grandparents, aunts and uncles spoke when they didn’t want me to understand the conversation. English was the rule otherwise. How often did I hear them say, “We are now Americans. We speak English.”
My parents were first-born Americans from parents who fled Poland, Romania and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the early 1900s. Even as the eldest of my parent’s three children, I didn’t know to ask why they fled their native countries or how Read more

Part 6: GONDALIERS DON’T SING AND NO ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP? A FIRST-TIMER’S DISCOVERY OF THE REAL ITALY.

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St. Mark’s Square and colorful buildings line Venice’s Grand Canal


GONDOLIERS DON’T SING BUT VENICE STILL EVOKES ROMANCE
In Part 5 – The Classical Beauty Of Tuscany, The Elegance Of Florence And San Gimignano’s Tall Towers
VENICE
Where we stayed:
The Carnival Palace Hotel, opened in 2012, overlooks the Cannaregio Canal in the heart of historic downtown Venice. The modern 67 room hotel is not in the midst of tourist traffic, so if you want to venture to St Marks, museums and art galleries, you either have a very long walk or you can easily take a water bus from a station just a short distance away. The hotel buffet was diverse, with a vegan brioche I mistakenly took for a wheat croissant until I bit down into its soft, buttery texture. These were so amazing I ate them every morning for four days. Russ and I and several Read more

Part 5: GONDALIERS DON’T SING AND NO ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP? A FIRST-TIMER’S DISCOVERY OF THE REAL ITALY.

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View from Villa San Fillippo


THE CLASSICAL BEAUTY OF TUSCANY, THE ELEGANCE OF FLORENCE AND SAN GIMIGNANO’S TALL TOWERS
Part 4 was Medieval City Faced Chemical Warfare And Peace Makers Wage War Against Poverty In Orvieto And Assisi
SIENA, FLORENCE and SAN GIMIGNANO
Where we stayed:
Villa San Filippo is an 18th century 35-room resort in the Chianti hills, in Barberino Val D’Elsa. Russ and I stayed in a magnificent suite that opened up to a dining and kitchen area, tiled floors, and a step down to the bathroom and luxuriously appointed bedroom. A comfy chair positioned in front of a large window and balcony in the living room afforded spectacular views of the lush Tuscan landscape Read more