People first
(Click on photos to see captions) In this post, we stayed at an inn and at a hotel, not writing ahead, not asking our hosts to engage or talk to us or tell us their story. It was a bit of a break from interviewing people, a bit of a diversion from our theme of … Continue reading Circle of Friends–Part 2: The North East
One delightful discovery along the way, was Iulia Pop. In planning for this trip, I had asked my sister's grandson, Drake Southwick, about people there since he had traveled to Romania about two years ago. I asked him for some contacts to help with planning our trip. One of the contacts he gave me was Iulia … Continue reading Austria, Part Three: Vienna and Iulia
We arrived in Austria, dragging. Transition days are hard on us. There's the physical work of packing up, carrying our backpacks, and pulling the "rollies" up and down stairs, up and into crowded buses or down into subways, and into the air terminal. But more than that, I think the stress of standing in line, … Continue reading Austria, Part One: Scott and Uli
Reconstruction: "Berlin should be called the city of cranes." Rebecca From the moment we landed in Berlin, we saw very little of it because of all the construction and barriers. And if they weren't fixing something, they were fixing to celebrate something. On the advice of a stranger at Tegel Airport, we took the Express … Continue reading Germany Part Two: Berlin
First stop: Düsseldorf Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Some places we planned to visit were selected on a hunch. Düsseldorf was one of them. Back in April, I was pouring wine at the Berryessa Gap winery for a young couple I had just met, Dirk … Continue reading Germany, Part One: Düsseldorf
Sept. 12 Up at 2:00am, leave by 3:00am, airport by 3:45am, on the plane at 5:00am. Rebecca said something about Simon and Garfunkel and their song about Wednesday morning at 3am and that they knew when to leave. Far too early, I thought. Our first leg of the journey was a short one to Denver. … Continue reading We’re off to Florida! Our first stop.
My grandmother and father, just after arriving at Ellis Island, 1914 My father, originally named Dimitru Fritea, arrived in New York in 1914 with his mother. They were escaping Romania and the turbulence of pre-World War I political unrest. They were looking to begin a new life. My father had four older siblings, and … Continue reading The Backstory
Thanks for joining me! Like, follow, comment and enjoy the ride. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
We are making our way through Eastern Europe, discovering wonderful people who are enterprising, caring, struggling with today's changing times and yet doing extraordinary things. We invite you to meet some of them and see some of the sites we've encountered. The focus we've adopted, "People first, places second" is a mantra that has really … Continue reading Welcome Readers
Fridaes' Adventures 