Wood Piles and Satellite TV?

This photo was taken in a small Croatian city south of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Instead of driving through town, Deb and I turned off the main highway and wandered through the residential area, which included these moldering Soviet-era apartment blocks. Scattered in this neighborhood there were several serious woods piles like this, in addition to neatly stacked piles in covered areas on the opposite sides of these buildings.This wood is to provide real heat in winter. I am struck by the paradox of wood piles outside of buildings that have satellite TV antennae mounted on the walls. Warmth and television both help South Dakotans get through winter, too!

The Journalist

When Deb and I travel to Europe, I generally create the itinerary and take care of all the details before we leave: plane and train tickets, hotels and auto rentals. Once there, when we aren't on a train or plane, I drive.So "What does Deb do?" you ask. Aside from giving me constant advice and helping me keep track of lenses, chargers and ipods, she participates in our "travel democracy." Nobody leads and nobody follows. Instead we jointly decide what we will see and do on any given day. It works well.Beyond, that, I would say that Deb is the left brain and I'm the right. She writes about our travels and I picture them. This photo, of course, is evidence of our symbiosis.For those who might wonder, in this shot, we are on a train going from Berlin to Dresden, Germany. I am taking a picture of Deb writing in her journal while a blurry women in the background reads a book.Why did I convert the photo to black and white? It looks more "journalistic."

Safe Harbor

I apologize to all of my disciplined readers who may find that my blog appears at irregular times lately. It seems that when I get up these days, I start working on planning for my 8:30 history class instead of looking for a new photo to post. I'll try to do both in the morning from now on.Anyway, this photo was taken in a small village on the island of Hvar, Croatia. Like many small villages on islands along the Dalmatian coast, Vrboska is scenic, inviting and a good place for sailors to spend some time. Deb and I arrived via ferry and automobile, but maybe next summer we'll sail here. . .

Under Construction

We are learning about Ancient Greece in my world history class this week and I thought it might be appropriate to show a snapshot I took of the Parthenon a few years ago. I have been to Athens a few times since 1998, and every time there have been cranes and scaffolds present. I'm guessing that maintaining a 2500 year old building isn't easy.Here's a bit of an "easter egg" for my AWH students: The first person who posts a thoughtful reply to today's blog gets the iPad tonight. Sorry Katie S but you don't qualify.

December 25, 2009

After seeing yesterday's post, my wife told me not to post any more winter photos for a while. I guess I saw that as a bit of a challenge and so today I am defying her request.This one was taken last Christmas. But I'm not in our backyard here; we're in Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. A blanket of white snow might be nice to see in photos but I would take palm fronds tinted by tropical sunlight any day.

Artistic Moments

I have said that I can remember taking many of the photos I have even years after the actual capture. I suppose I'm pretty focused when I do that. (Bad pun, I know) But I also take photos that are forgotten. This one would be an example. I was spending a little time going through my travel photos and came across this scene from the Louvre in Paris.These children and their teacher/mother/???? have set up shop by the easel of an artist who has permission to paint a copy of one of the paintings in this gallery, though when I look at the copy and the wall I can't see which one. The copyist is gone but the observers remain. Why, I don't know. And which gallery this is, I couldn't say. There are many unanswered questions. Maybe someone reading this has answers. . . ?

Another World (But Not So Different)

Sailboats live in a different world when they are moored on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, which is where this photo was taken. The water is clearer and colder in summer than Lake Oahe. And, of course, boats at the Spring Creek Marina don't have snow capped mountains looking down on them. Otherwise, this is a familiar scene to me: beautiful boats waiting dutifully for their skippers to take them out for a sail.

Room For All the Gods

This is the Pantheon in Rome and was built about 2000 years ago. The name means "to all the gods" and the structure was built by people who worshipped a multitude of gods and spirits. Much later in its history, the Pantheon became a Christian church but today it is a tourist attraction and a burial place.* And, if you ask me, it is an architectural marvel - even after 2000 years.If it looks amazing today, imagine walking into this space when it was decorated with statues of Roman deities and with the coffered dome covered in brilliant gold leaf. There is no doubt that this is my favorite ancient building. And, in case you are wanting to see more, I have a previous post in this blog extolling the Pantheon. Finally, if you like to make comparisons, check out this spectacular Chicago structure and discuss.*Italian Kings Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I; the Great Renaissance artist Raphael (also a Ninja Turtle)

Toilet Twitter

Today's social tools, like facebook and Twitter, help keep people in touch with each other in ways that are sometimes astounding. But people of our time might be equally astounded to learn how ancients kept in touch. Of course they chatted along the streets, in the bars and in the public meeting places, just as we do.But they also chatted in the public rest rooms. Talk about the weather and politics would have gone hand in hand with performing basic body functions. Men and women, rich and poor and old and young would have sat cheek to cheek (sorry, but I had to use that expression) in bathrooms much like this.Where are we in this photo? This is the well-preserved Roman city of Ephesus, where the apostle Paul lived and worked. Ephesus is in modern day Turkey and was a stop on our 10 day cruise of the Greek islands. My students are good natured about posing on the ancient toilets. But they were a bit embarrassed. I hope that making this moment public doesn't further embarass them.Incidentally, this blog post goes out to my first block world history class, whom I am teaching about blogging and RSS feeds. The first person in that class to post a response to this blog gets to take the iPad home for a day or two!

It's Not a Ferris Wheel

The London Eye may well be one of those metal things that are built for special occasions and then end up being iconic - such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Space Needle in Seattle. The good thing about the London Eye is that if you take a ride in it, you get a great view of all of the other London icons, though if I had it to do over again, I think I'd like to go up around sunset.

He Lost His Head!

Yesterday we were inside of the Notre Dame cathedral and today we have stepped outside and are looking at the west facade. More specifically we are looking at carvings next to one of the three sets of doors into the cathedral.The man holding his head is St. Denis. He became a saint in part because the miracle he performed was to be martyred by being beheaded, then to reach down and pick up his head and walk 6 miles north of Paris, preaching the whole way. He finally died. And they built a basillica to honor him. Not bad for a day's work.In researching this post I learned a new word: cephalophore. A cephalophore is someone who carries his/her own head. Try working that into your casual conversation today!

Three Tourists and One Local

He has a gun, a big hat, a red uniform and isn't smiling. The three girls have cameras and casual clothes. So guest who the tourists are.Incidentally, I'm not sure if the soldier is a Beefeater or not. I also don't know what he's guarding. Perhaps an important door? Or maybe he's just a tourist attraction. Kind of like the giant tortoises at Reptile Gardens?