wanderlust – Page 6 – Barry's Adventures Following Retirement

Peeing to Sounds of The Blue Danube Waltz

FullSizeRender (20) — Paintings representing Ballet, Comic Opera and Tragic Opera above the Grand Staircase at the Opera House in Vienna

My blog exploration adventures are presently followed by people in 56 countries. During the past two and a half years, my regular readers know that I like to write about interesting aspects of my life during my travels. Sometimes my topics get a bit personal. Even though I have readers, I remind myself that I write this blog for myself and I try hard to not offend anyone.

In past stories I have reflected on the effects of apricots in “Are You Regular?” and the potency of wines while lamenting in “One Too Many.” In the spirit of the song “Dance to the Music,” I present my story, “Peeing to Sounds of The Blue Danube Waltz.”

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Holocaust Remembered at Mauthausen and in Vienna

How do I write a story with a theme that is intensely horrific? How can I grapple with remnants of history and do it in a way that makes sense of an extremely painful period of human existence?

Holocaust Memorial in Vienna’s Judenplatz

How can I write a story with full knowledge that it will be incomplete, inadequate, and certainly more deserving than the feeble words I present?

It is with these questions that I write a story that I have avoided for two years even though I knew I wanted to write it. This story is about my exploration of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria and Vienna’s “Nameless Library” Memorial to its 65,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

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Creaky Floors in Vienna Remind Me of Home

Johann Strauss in beautiful Stadtplaz in Vienna

A few days ago I moved into my apartment in beautiful Vienna. Not only do I love Vienna (having blogged several times) but also the apartment is quite nice.

A beautiful stairway leads to the third floor of my apartment. The apartment has interesting uniqueness such as the beautiful 19th century parquet flooring which makes wonderful creaking sounds as you walk on it.

Just as the snowfall in Brno reminded me of home, hearing the creaking also reminds me of growing up in Somerset, my hometown in the USA.

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Ħaġar Qim and Discovering Mysteries in Malta

FullSizeRender (12) — Venus of Malta from Hagar Qim Temple

In my travels throughout the world I have found several mysteries. Many times they become part of the fabric of the society as they are handed down between generations. Often there is some foundation in truth in the mysteries (even if very small). But many times the mysteries are not explainable except in the imagination someone conjures up.

From times without written history, through Homer’s writing about Odysseus and Cyclops, to more recent recorded times of ancient Romans, each culture in Malta has left mysteries.

This blog story is about a few of the mysteries I have discovered in Malta. Each has, in my opinion, more than a sliver upon which they have fermented. You can judge for yourself as I recall island mysteries from my adventures in Malta.

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My Maltese Adventure Begins!

Fishing Boats With Eyes of Osiris in Malta

You have likely heard it said that travel provides one of the best educations one can get. I believe it! I have been exploring Europe for the past two and a half years and I am appreciating the education so much but even more so in Malta where I am on information overload for the history, culture, and beauty that are flooding my senses!

The Mediterranean Sea frames life in the Maltese archipelago. From the sea to the land one finds the historic importance of this tiny place, the ways that the culture has been impacted, and the utter beauty that is attracting so many to want to live here.

This story is my second one about my adventures in Malta. In this story I provide neither a chronological report nor every detail of my adventure. As you may know, I only blog for myself… my audience of one. However, what I write may entice you in many ways or whet your appetite to learn more as I reveal snippets through words and photos of the education I am experiencing.

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Odysseus and Paul – Shipwrecked in Malta

Odyssey — Violent Storms Shipwrecked Odysseus

There are numerous stories about shipwrecks around the Maltese Islands. The islands are just a speck in the Mediterranean Sea off the southern coast of Sicily but storms along the rocky coast can be very violent. Numerous ships have been claimed by the Mediterranean here.

Two of the shipwrecks and their stories are fascinating parts of the Maltese archipelago’s history. The wreck of Odysseus is woven into the island folklore and the wreck of the Apostle Paul is part of the bedrock for Christianity in Malta. This blog entry is about Odysseus and Paul and the stories about their importance to the European nation of Malta, my April “home.”

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My Abundance of Breakfast Friends

I began my nomadic adventure exploring Europe in October 2014. I recently realized that breakfast is my favorite meal when I visit local cafes. Not only is it my favorite meal but it also has become almost an obsession in what I eat. While in different cafes I have met some very interesting personalities who have helped me understand and appreciate their respective cultures. This story is about my breakfast obsession and the friends I have made as I have crossed Europe and found several mouth-watering breakfast delights.

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My “Nomad Without a Plan” London and Brussels Expedition

Last week my nomadic exploits took me to London and Brussels. I really didn’t plan the trip like I usually do… I just went! After all, I reasoned, how much difficulty could I really encounter in London where I share a common language… sort of?

I often read others’ blogs about the exotic places they visit and I suppose that the most exotic I have read about the U.K. are stories written about the wilds of Scotland or Wales. I have been to London several times. Therefore, this story is less about “exotic” and more-so about bits and pieces of my experiences on this nomadic journey.

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My Adventures in Marco Polo’s Footsteps

The Netflix series “Marco Polo” has rekindled my memories about my own adventures in China. We have been taught that the Polo family was from Venice. So when I lived in Croatia and found their claim to Polo’s home in Korcula, I became interested in his travels and the parallel to my own.

Much of the perspective we “Westerners” have about historic 13th century China (and the expanse of that portion of the known world at that time) is through Polo’s eyes as documented in “Travels of Marco Polo.” Through my eyes, I have observed many interesting places and things in today’s China near the Silk Road and the Yangtze River. This story is about my adventures there.

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Exploring La Boca and Tango in BA

img00041-20110125-1230 I have traveled to several “old towns” in many cities around the world. But few can compare to La Boca barrio in Buenos Aires (“BA”), Argentina. The neighborhood is at the mouth (“boca” in Spanish) of the Matanza-Riachuelo River.

La Boca is the original part of the city and projects its roughness through its thrown together, unplanned architecture and tough people who live there. It is a colorful, lively, noisy center for socialist political thinking. It smells like a sea-side town. Yet, overall, it is a very enjoyable location and essential place to visit.

Cobblestone streets are reminiscent of a by-gone time and the buildings are often fabricated from various discarded materials. Corrugated metal is often the construction material of choice as seen in the colorful photo.

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