Valerie – Page 58 – Valerie's Voice

The Hills Are Alive and So Are The Flowers

We had so many adventures during our time in Austria it’s hard to know where to begin…”Let’s start at the very beginning, A very good place to start”…well maybe not…my postings of our trip will not be in chronological order.

I’ll begin with the beauty of Austria…the mountains and hillsides, the streams and waterfalls, the wonderful alpine chalet-style homes with flower boxes dotting the green landscape.

It was a treat to be in a vehicle driving across country. Our friends had a small, white Renault with plenty of room for four people with just enough space for our luggage in the back… it was a puzzle each time we had to repack our luggage but it worked. In the cities we would leave the vehicle parked for days and walk.

Outside the cities, it was wonderful to have the freedom of a vehicle, and having drivers who were used to driving in Europe. We relied heavily on the GPS system. It took us through rotaries (round-abouts) and often took us off the main road unto narrow back roads for a short-cut – sometimes we wondered why – but it added to the scenery and always brought us back to the main road…well, almost always.

The Grossglockner moutain peak is 3,798 meters (12,461 ft), and is the highest mountain in Austria.

One of our planned routes was the Grossglockner Alpine Drive in the Austrian Alps. At one viewing point you could see ten mountain peaks over 3,300 meters, (10,000 feet). We were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day. There were lots of cars, some buses, motorcycles and bicycles climbing switchbacks up to the end of the road, to see the glacier. There were many places without guardrails and the roads were narrow and we wondered how the bicyclists could dare pedal up the mountain, especially in all the traffic. Whew…

Austrian Alps: The plaza where you could stop and look at 10 peaks over 10,000 feet.

Austrian Alps with glimpses of the Alpine Drive road.

The flower boxes on homes and business added even more to the beauty of the Austria countryside…they are abundant, overflowing, colorful, often multi-tiered, and just spectacular. Even though I was unable to get many photos of them, much to my dismay, the professional photos we see of these chalets with flower boxes are real. The flowers are that stunning. Here are a few photos but my photos do not do them justice.

Small restaurant along the Danube River.

Even this chicken coop had flower boxes! I love it.

Another Wonderful Trip, Another Interruption of Service

One of many homes with incredible flower boxes.

When we traveled to Portugal over a year ago we experienced an interruption of service. We were on a packed, standing-room-only, bus when it stopped part way to our destination and the driver told everyone to get off the bus…he said it was an “interruption in service.” We got off the bus and the driver drove off leaving all the passengers stranded. We managed to hail a taxi to get back to our apartment.

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We just returned from a delightful trip to Austria and the Czech Republic and experienced another “interruption of service”.

On Saturday we parted ways from our travel companions and Gary and I took the train to Munich, Germany for an overnight to catch an early morning flight the next day from the Munich airport. We were weary travelers going home after two weeks of touring with our friends. It was not a restful night and we woke up at 5 am to catch the shuttle to the airport. Once there, we checked our luggage all the way to Minneapolis and got on the plane and flew to Amsterdam for our connecting flight.

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Once off the plane, we grabbed a cup of coffee before heading to the next gate since we had four hours in-between flights. When we went to check the gate number it said our flight was cancelled!

An “interruption of service” I’d say.

We set into high gear wondering what ‘s going to happen. After a series of events (and this is just our story – there were hundreds of passengers on that cancelled flight) we ended up on a flight to Chicago, and a much later flight to Minneapolis.

A young woman in the line next to me who had been scheduled on the same cancelled flight did not have any options for her destination so she was told she had to stay overnight in Amsterdam and catch a flight the next day. She was crying. She told me she had worked on a project for eight months and was to present it to a Board o Regents on Monday. She had to be there, but she wasn’t going to make it.

I thought of giving her my seat but we were immediately whisked away to catch the flight to Chicago…We ran through the Amsterdam airport and a flight attendant came to meet us and escort us to the 747 with only two seats remaining. They reopened the doors for us and we took our seats with a sigh of relief…next thoughts, where in the world is our luggage?

Once in Chicago we were surprised to find our luggage on the carousal. We retrieved it in hopes of getting an earlier flight to Minneapolis. We had to go through customs and that is not a fun thing to do in Chicago. Plus, we needed to go through security again and that is even more not fun in Chicago.

We were put on stand-by for an earlier flight. I said to myself as the plane was loading…it would be a miracle if we get on this flight – so many people are trying to get to Minneapolis… and then I said to myself, but I believe in miracles. Then… our name was called. I was grateful.

Our luggage never did make that flight…the airline delivered it to our house the next day, but we were home safe with many wonderful memories.

We will never know why our flight was canceled but it wreaks havoc for so many people. I do know flexibly and gratitude are helpful attitudes to have while traveling.

Reentry

Over the years, we’ve learned that when we come home from traveling, especially traveling abroad, there is always a reentry period, time needed to step back into life, readjust back to “normal” routines. It’s not a negative thing, its just life.

So as I reenter my life back in Northfield from our amazing trip to Austria and the Czech Republic reality sets in and there is jet lag, travel weariness, and house chores…laundry, groceries, weeding, going through mail and email, cleaning the house. It gets done, slowly.

Part of reentry is wanting to catch up with family and friends… to see what’s been happening in their lives. And then I wonder…did anyone miss me? And then I wonder… what did I miss? And soon realize life back home usually doesn’t change much in sixteen days. I think it’s the other way… we change from our travel experiences. And I’m still trying to articulate in what ways. I know I have been blessed: my eyes have been opened to new sights and I have been reacquainted and exposed to other cultures.

We walked multiple miles daily and I am grateful for my health. I often thought of people who would not be able to see what we saw simple because it was tough getting there…mostly steep climbs, uneven roads, cobblestone streets, rugged paths, and lots and lots of steps…most sites are hundreds of years old in Czech Republic and Austria. There are not many handicap accessible accommodations at these sites.

It’s also fun to take some time to recollect, to reread journal entries, and look at photos to remember and relive all the wonderful adventures we had with our friends during our short time away: the special places we went, the magnificent scenery we saw, the delicious food we ate, and the fun people we met along the way.

Looking towards the Kapuziner Church in the monastery behind a wall, in Salzburg.

I delight in thinking about the morning my friend and I went on an early morning hike up Kapuzinerberg (a mountain behind our hotel in Salzburg, on the bank of the River Salzach) to Kapuzinerkloster, a walled monastery. Once inside the wall we followed it and saw wonderful vistas overlooking beautiful Salzburg. We came upon the Kapuziner Kirche (Kapuziner Church) and quietly stepped inside and heard the monks praying in a different room. From their cadence I think they were praying the Lord’s Prayer. In the sanctuary, where we stood, were two stations near the entrance…one for lighting a candle and the other held a basket for prayer requests on a table beneath a photo of Mary and Jesus. I wrote out a prayer request and since then, I have thought many times about the monks praying over my request….praying for a stranger they don’t know, from another country. It warms my heart.

So these are some musings on our first days back…I am grateful…for the many rich experiences…I look forward to writing some of them down. And most of all, I thank God for safety, protection and the health we enjoyed during our travels, and for bringing us safely home.

Sure-Jell

‘Tis the season to make strawberry jam so off to the store I went to buy Sure-Jell only to find two stores were sold out.

This year’s batch of strawberry freezer jam.

But what I found interesting is I had to ask three store clerks where in the store the Sure-Jell was shelved. They were young and not one of them knew what Sure-Jell was. I had tell them it’s for making jam, and then had to confirm the spelling of it so they could look it up on their electronic devices. If they only knew how easy it is to make freezer jam.

Also, ‘tis the season for blueberries. We were able to pick some berries to freeze at Little Hill Berry Farm here in Northfield, before they were picked out by 9 a.m. on their first day of picking. It has become a popular place.

North Morristown’s Oldest Ongoing Fourth of July Celebration

We celebrated our Fourth of July holiday at the oldest ongoing celebration in Minnesota. For 126 years North Morristown has put on a fun, old-fashioned 4^th of July get-together and hundreds, if not thousands, find their way to this small town (if you can call it a town- it has a Lutheran church with attached school and two or three houses) out in the country, close to nowhere.

Interesting, but a little threatening, cloud formations.

However, on our way there, we were threatened by storm clouds that were pretty ominous looking, and yet so artistic. Soon the skies burst open and down came the rain, hard! We passed many cars heading away from North Morristown as we continued to drive into the area, now full of mud. We quickly decided to go elsewhere for our late lunch.

After eating, the skies settled down and we had heard at the restaurant they had put wood chips down to help with the muddy paths on the grounds at North Morristown. So we decided to head back there.

In the “band shell”, Monroe Crossing: a banjo, a mandolin, a fiddle, a guitar and a bass.

We are so glad we did. Monroe Crossing, a talented bluegrass band, was playing under a shelter, and we sat on bleacher-style wooden boards under the trees and listened to an hour-long concert. It was wonderful.

After the concert we walked around the grounds, being careful where we stepped, to look at the old-fashioned children’s rides and games, the bingo hall, the hamburger stand, the beer garden, the pork stand, the pie and ice cream stands and picnic tables strewn about. We tasted some pie and ice cream.

This brought back memories for me. I always liked this fishing game. You attach your ticket to the clothespin at the end of the fishing line and then throw it over the wall. The person on the other side would replace the ticket with your prize. (I asked permission to take this little boy’s picture…he was so excited for his prize.)

Cars were getting stuck in the fields where they parked because all the rain turned the fields to mud. Tractors were recruited to help pull some cars out. Fortunately we found parking on the church’s paved lot….no mud.

One of the muddy parking areas with tractor standing by to help get out.

The air was festive and it was fun to be at the oldest ongoing Fourth of July gathering to celebrate our nation’s “birthday.”

Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July.

Flag flying along the river walk in Northfield.

A beautiful flower planter along the river walk.

Another Turtle on the Trail

Last week we were, once again, biking on the new trail in town when we noticed a turtle on the path. We stopped to take a look and discovered this turtle was a different species than the turtle we saw a few weeks ago.

I took a picture, hoping to identify it later. When I first saw the turtle I thought it was a snapping turtle, but I didn’t test it by dangling a stick in front of his face to see if he’d snap. After a quick research, I’m pretty certain it is a snapping turtle. Click here for more information.

I wonder how many species of turtles are in the area along the river, and near the path? Hopefully we’ll see a new and different one the next time.

Whimsical Art in Northern Minnesota

For anyone who has spent time in northern Minnesota you most likely have seen whimsical art similar to these photos.

People make their cabins unique with fun and unusual pieces…and a lot of variations of the same idea.

I spent a few days up north this week and found some interesting pieces while walking near Dagget Lake.

They are fun to look at.

But, the best in show…

…nature!

Happy Summer, Cheery Sunshine

Yesterday was the summer solstice – so summer has officially arrived here in Minnesota. It was nice to wake up and see the sun peeking through the clouds this morning after many days of rain. There is no guarantee that the sun will be out for the summer solstice, and it wasn’t yesterday, but I’m happy to see it today.

A view from our window at dusk: the honeysuckle vine – that grew back after being trimmed back this spring – and a clematis climbing the pergola.

Some of my flowers are blooming – they, too, like the bright sunshine after days of rain.

I don’t remember the name of this clematis growing up our back deck.

I’ve started noticing ways to celebrate the summer solstice. This year I learned of a special yoga session offered at the local, organic blueberry farm in town. That sounded like a great way to enjoy the longest day of the year. So my friend and I, not knowing what to expect, went to check it out. We are familiar with yoga from classes, but we wondered what it would be like outdoors, with strangers.

It was great. The weather cooperated, and we were outdoors listening to the birds, surrounded by nature, on a small hill overlooking beautiful blueberry bushes with fruit, with a beautiful sky overhead, and no mosquitoes, all the while doing our yoga stretches on the farm.

Photo of deck flowers taken about 9:15 p.m.

It was a fun way to celebrate the summer solstice.

A Table Creation

When my friend and I travel we often say it would be fun to look back on a map showing all the places we dart in and out of in one day. We criss-cross all over town, rarely following an organized route anymore since we have GPS. We have a list of the names and addresses of places we want to visit and plug the info into GPS. We also stop at places along the way that look intriguing.

We both agree, a map of our day would look somewhat like Billy’s trails portrayed in the comic Family Circus.

At the end of one day, on our recent trip to Oshkosh, we were headed back to our hotel when saw a garden shop so we stopped in for one last escapade. The nursery had slim pickings of annuals, and no perennials. So we decided to go into the gift shop next-door. As we looked around we noticed a few tables made from glass tops put over different items. We both thought a glass-top table might be something we could make (we’re always saying, “We can make that!” HA.) We had been looking at small tables on this trip, because I wanted one for our living room.

Back in Northfield I told my husband the idea and he thought it just might work. So we ordered a piece of glass cut to the size and shape we wanted. We found a mirrored, ceramic pot at Menards that happen to be the right size and height we wanted, and I cut a circle out of a place mat.

We turned the ceramic pot upside down, placed the cut-out place mat to secure the glass and to cover the bottom of the pot (which was now the top), and put the piece of cut glass on top of it all…and voilà…a wedge table to fit between our two recliners!

I have learned… you never know what ideas will generate when you step into new places.