Archives
And Soon it Was the Morning of the Second Day of the Fourth Week. As I drifted happily to sleep last night in a king-size bed with a large duvet and two fat pillows dreaming of golden palaces… Well actually I may have been dreaming of my own bed on 13th Street and thinking it wouldn’t be so bad getting up tomorrow morning for a dawn walk along my own river, then… Read More
I’ve long thought that South Africa, Russia and the U.S. are probably the most intriguing countries in the world. It is true. For reasons of size and complexity and history and promise and some disappointments along the way as well. It is 7:30pm in St. Petersburg and the hours since midnight have been interesting to say the least. Starting at about 12:30am when I was roused out of a sound sleep, after… Read More
Minsk is an impressive city, architecturally both quite beautiful and more than a little ostentatious, which is not at all what I expected. Being interested in ‘the neighborhood’ of Eastern Europe and, yes, acquiring another passport stamp were the real reasons for adding Belarus to the itinerary. I would enjoy its capitol, Minsk, as any traditionally picturesque European city. Or not, after I read the Wiki-travel piece attributing much of the city’s… Read More
Saturday. Sometimes the trip coming up just scares me. Not places or people or missed connections or expense or cold or heat. It is all about me and my vulnerabilities. This blog, as you already know is called Time & Place for several reasons. Among them my love for history and geography but also, increasingly, my forced fascination with aging, the latter inspiring my travel trepidation. It’s that I’m not young and… Read More
There are two kinds of visas, yes? Both essential to travelers. First there’s the kind that comes in the form of a card enabling you to travel without money—a travel accoutrement of great value—and more than a little stress when you return! Then there’s the other kind of visa which is simply a stamp in your passport saying that the government of said country has authorized you to cross their borders and… Read More
The Trans-Siberian Express covers half of what we think we know about Russian history. The other half is Catherine the Great and Imperial Russia and Dr. Zhivago, followed by Stalin and friends’ scary Communist Russia. And last, but never tell him least, there’s Putin and of course Pussy Riot and, oh yeah, that little scuffle in the Crimea/Ukraine. Russian history in a typical American nutshell. I’ll come back to all of that… Read More
Where was I? Big 2015 Trip. Talking about Russia In San Diego. Even though it’s easy to focus on what for me is the most exotic part of B15T, there are actually four main segments: Norway; Riga/Minsk/St. Petersburg/Moscow; the Trans-Siberian Express and layover in Ulan Bator; and Beijing/Seoul. Since I’ve been concentrating on Russia—but mostly the nice people and the borscht, not really on the train part—let me get on board the… Read More
For my birthday lunch, San Diego son Scott offered to take me anywhere in the city. I knew exactly what I wanted. Russian food. Prep for the Big15Trip. I’ll continue to be up front about the fact I’m a foodie failure. I tried—to cook innovatively; love kale; pay attention to the ‘in’ restaurants; read and love and plan to visit NOMA; and, not least, to enjoy foodie conversations with kids, grandkids, and… Read More
MINNESOTA TAIGA. Okay…the time and place of the 2015 San Diego birthday trip is over. Back to work: work work, writing work, class work, photo work, house work, body work. If I were at home I’d lie down on the couch and read awhile, overwhelmed by writing work that many times. Unfortunately I am at the office but it is early and quiet so perhaps there’s time for just a few writing… Read More
Little souvenir I picked up in Estonia. Seems right as I plan a Siberian train trip. In Minnesota, on VERY cold days, we always said, ‘my god, it’s just like Siberia out there today.’ The only other thing we knew about Russia was that it was a VERY big and VERY scary place. Now it’s 2014 and Russia is still very cold, big and could be considered just a little bit scary…. Read More