http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com on the road again... Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:07:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en On the northern tip of the British Isle is the proud and beautiful land of the Scots A land where bagpipes and golf go hand in hand.  A land with castles and lochs where ghosts and monsters live.  And even if the sky is gray with rain clouds most of the ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4758 A land of legend and fairy tales; where the princess is rescued and lives happily ever-after with her knight in shining armor after she kisses the frog who pulls the sword from the stone and slays the dragon.  The country the U.S. fought to gain its independence but with whom ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4688 I don't know about you but in the past, whenever I have thought about Ireland, I pictured a small country with small things.  Things like villages with diminutive cottages, leprechauns and wee fairies.   However, after visiting Connemara in the west, my vision of a "small country" is changed.  For as ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4625 I press my camera right up against the glass of the window so I won't get glare in the photo.  The little twin engine, eight passenger aircraft lifts smoothly in spite of the buffeting the wind gives it.  We can see the rocky coast line shrink and the appearance of the ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4596 The Irish seem to be as clever as their country is beautiful.  We had determined that independent travel, showing ourselves around as opposed to having a guide, was not an option in the U.K. as we would want to rent a car to conveniently get around.  However, since neither of ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4539 A traveler's dream come true; the United Kingdom in August.  These were the plans and we started with Ireland.  We could only be there for a week, so we didn't even try to get to Northern Ireland, but we were able to see some absolutely beautiful things in the southern ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4502 Back in Germany, we decide to end our central European adventures with a little time on the beautiful Rhine River.  The Rhine serves as a border for Germany, Belgium and parts of France and Switzerland.  Our journey began near the northern German end of the river in a national Park ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4471 As we visit the umpteenth major European city, the traditional market square with the breathtaking cathedral surrounded by quaint to totally decorated out ancient buildings starts to blend together in a swirl of gothirenainouveau  archisculpture.  You can rub your eyes and try to shake the equilibrium back into your head, ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4356 The waltz, coffee, boys choir, sausages; a few things that come to mind when I hear the word "Vienna".  But when you actually visit Vienna, you are faced with a beauty and grace which more than makes up for this somewhat unsophisticated list of associations. This very important European city has ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4283 Central Europe is a land of extremes.  As we move on with the horror of Auschwitz still in our heads, we look out the window to see field after field of blooming sunflowers; incredibly beautiful to the point of being almost unreal. We are headed to Budapest Hungary.  We are eager ... http://rootless.tokenwebsite.com/?p=4219