Places

All aspects of trip preparation and planning. Wondering thorough Europe. Biking and Hiking.Sights and sounds. Travel journal.

07 August 22, 2010: Genova – Columbus and Paganini

2017/08/18
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Modified: 2017/07/22
Genova - Very Expressive Composition

And just when you think there is nothing can beat the excitement of the highest mountains in Europe, you proceed to the road ahead. Next day, Sunday, August 22, we decided to bypass Turin and go directly to Genova.  We typed in an address of Red House Hostel (Via B.Buozzi, 26/9) in Genova and jumped on a highway. We easily found parking right on Via Bruno Buozzi, but we were a little confused what to do next.  There were no official sign or reception of any kind.  Instead, we found a small paper note for “Bed and Breakfast Maura“. It was just a 3-room apartment on the third floor, and you need to…

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06 August 21,2010: It’s a Mountain Time – Rifugio Monzino

2017/08/14
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Modified: 2017/07/22
It will Definitely Fall Down in the Next 50000 Years or So

Finally, on Saturday, August 21, 2010 it was time to take our first hike into the mountains. Back in Boston I picked a path going up towards Monte Bianco (Italian) from Italian side. It was a day trip starting from 1,500m parking lot and going as high as 2,590m at Rifugio Monzino. Just for a comparison Mont Blanc (French) is 4,800m (15,700’) high. On the way there we stopped at a local supermarket – Supermercato Mont Blanc (Courmayeur) to replenish, and we also took a couple of pictures.  If you scroll the image down, you’ll see the vintage point. Smart people from the supermarket intentionally installed the inspiring view to entice…

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05 August 20, 2010 – Wake in Switzerland, Eat in France, Sleep in Italy

2017/08/10
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Modified: 2017/07/22
Who is it? - It is a little particle. - Please come in...

On the morning of August 20, Friday we woke up in Geneva.  You have to show your hotel receipts at the kitchen counter to get your breakfast.  Lots of people of all ages.  Some tourists, but some looked like ready to take off for work. As usual, the roads were either under construction or blocked off.  It means GPS could not help us.   It was raining that morning.  It means pedestrians couldn’t help us.  So, we improvised our detour driving towards CERN in Meyrin (right on the French border).  We planned to be here on Wednesday morning, but Fribourg and Montreux held us in their “chArms“. Public is no longer allowed under…

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04 August 18-19, 2010: Fribourg – Montreux (Nabokov) – Geneva

2017/08/06
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Modified: 2017/07/22
I lived in that XX century and You didn't give me this GD Nobel Prize

Morning and early afternoon on Wednesday, August 18 we spent in Fribourg (Freiburg in German). This town is a perfect model for Disney World for adults. It simply has everything. It is the capital of a canton (like a state in US). It has upper town and a lower town. It ever has a river called La Sarine with steep carved banks on one side. It has a serene covered bridge and other bridges flying high into the skies. It has funiculars and endless stairs. It has an quaint old town and an easy access to a highway. It has multi-hour hiking routes right in the middle of it all. Cozy,…

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03 August 16-17, 2010: Luzern – Bern – Fribourg

2017/08/02
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Modified: 2017/07/22
IMG_7218

Next morning Monday, August 16 rain continued, but for us it was time to move on. First we visited a local Migros Genossenschaft in Adliswil – their supermarket, where we had breakfast + lunch and loaded on food and water supplies for the road ahead.  We felt like we were disturbing a well-oil machine with all our foreign questions about parking and hot water and socks and American Express (which they do accept).  But we manage, and by 14:04 we paid, and were on our way. Without a definite decision we just jumped on the highway and started driving south. Very quickly we reached Luzern. We’ve been here once in 2004, and…

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02 August 14-15, 2010: Zurich

2017/07/29
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Modified: 2017/07/22
The Fuhrer of Russian Revolution

Like everything else except eternity, this story has a beginning. On a hot summer morning on August 31, 2010 at 7:45 EST in a comfort of fresh air-conditioned air, I am beginning this story, this vacation journal that shows how far Europe and America have moved apart during last 200-300 years. Have they ever been similar? This was our sixth trip to Europe in 11 years. On August 14, 2010 we landed in Zurich. Zurich is located in German-speaking zone of Switzerland.  Switzerland did not join the Euro zone and the currency here is Swiss Franks (CHF).  Our plan was to spend a couple of days here and then venture into a circular…

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01 Preparation for the Swiss Trip in August 2010

2017/07/25
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Modified: 2017/07/22
IMG_8408

I started this post long before the trip to Europe.  And finishing it now in the depth ob November.  Do not linger here.  Jump right to the first day in Zurich. Use links bellow to navigate directly to your favorite days and destinations. Just look at a phenomenal rainy weather in Zurich in  August 2010.  It is drought and scorcher in Moscow, but it is cold and rainy in the middle of Europe. I found a real topographical map of entire Switzerland – http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en This site is amazing in many respects. First, it has a complete topographical coverage for the entire Switzerland as detailed as 1:25000. Second, it allows to switch between pure topographical and…

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14 Trip to Austria and Italy – August 29 – Back to Boston

2017/07/21
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Modified: 2017/04/30
Waiting for flight to Boston

Friday, August 29 – Wien   Next day on Friday, August 29 we had only one item on our to-do list.  We wanted to buy special local treat for our coworkers back in Boston.  We easily accomplished this in a local supermarket for 2.89€ per one bag of Mozart Balls.  In the airport the same bag sold for 12€. Car return was painless.  We drove 1,558.7 km in 11 days. Car rental turned out to be the most expensive item on our itinerary (over a $1000), since air travel was almost free. In Paris we had a layover and had to go through a security check one more time.  We had to…

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13 Trip to Austria and Italy – August 28 – Back to Wien

2017/07/17
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Modified: 2017/04/30
Ehrengraber-Gruppe-32A

Thursday, August 28 – Graz Next day on Thursday, August 28 we depart from Graz for Vienna around 10AM.  Roads in Austria are toll free, but if you use highways, you have to purchase passenger-car vignette.  We already had this sticker attached to the inside of the front windshield, because we rent our car in Austria. Johann Strauss Johannes Brahms Franz Schubert   Around 1PM we entered Vienna proper.  We took Favoritten exit from the highway and relatively quickly found Wiener Zentralfriedhof or Vienna Central Cemetery.  It is located a little off the center, and it is inconvenient to visit without a car. Ludwig van Beethoven Death gives a new address…

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12 Trip to Austria and Italy – August 26-27 – Venezia II

2017/07/13
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Modified: 2017/04/30
IMG_4431

Tuesday, August 26 – Venezia  Next day Tuesday, August 26 we planned our day tour in opposite direction.  From our hotel across the Ponte Scalzi towards universities, academies and through Ponte de l’Academia to see Piazza San Macro and see how far we can advance in a hot Italian August weather.     ^ A good Venician mask can greatly enhance your appearance < People lining up the streets to get into the catherdral are not shown Venezia – A Typical Traffic Jam >  By this time, we knew that shoes and water are two of your friends on a tour in a strange city.  And we’ve got both. Plus Venezia is a…

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How to Cross Pemigewasset Wilderness?

2017/07/11
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Modified: 2017/06/25
Pemigewasset Wilderness - 2010-09-05

I always looked at a vast green area on the New Hampshire White Mountain map and wondered, what is it in there?  It must be like a jungle in there.  No people, just quietness and tranquility and calm.  But I  could never come up with an itinerary to actually cross it.  By the time you reach it, it is already time to turn back to the car.  It was always calling for me to experience the loneliness and mystery of Pemigewasset Wilderness.  Finally, in September of 2010 I’ve answered the call of the wild. I am describing here one possible scenario to cross Pemigewasset Wilderness in White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA.  You…

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