We met friends at the Blair House Inn, 100 W. Spoke Hill Drive in Wimberley 78676 (www.blairhouseinn.com). The inn is an interesting Bed and Breakfast. But it is more than most. It has an on premise spa, art gallery and a culinary school. While breakfast is available every day from 8:30 to 9:30, dinner is only on Saturday at 7:00 and is generally a five course event paired with Texas wine.…
Tallinn was not on my bucket list, but it should have been. The old city is a designated UNESCO site and well preserved, with towers, walls and medieval traditions intact. Delivery trucks scurried to be off the streets by 10 am when most of the shops opened and the tourists flock in from the cruise ships. As you enter the old city through the Viru Gate a long row of flower stalls…
It was interesting to learn that the Nobel prizes for all categories except the Peace prize are awarded in Stockholm while the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo. The only explanation given by our guide for this separation was the fact that the prizes were first awarded in 1901 and Norway independence did not occur until 1905. To my curious mind that was not a good explanation. But then the guide said…
Expecting a dissertation on the marvels of the modern Russia, we were surprised that the entire stay focused on the state of the nation before the Revolution of 1917. IN the minds of the Russians we spoke with, the two heroes of that period were Peter the Great and Catherine the Great who set the nation on a different track from their predecessors. Our visit took us to Catherine’s Palace, the Yusebo…
One may think of Oslo as the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. It is, and for that reason holds the world’s attention once a year. But the most memorable aspects of my visit were the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum. We stopped by a ski jump area, but the fog was so heavy on the day we were there that we could not see beyond the…