Checking In / Eastern Europe Picture Page

Haven't posted in a while. Not much is new. It's still summer. I apparently have better things to do than sit inside staring at a computer screen.

I finally got around to posting some pictures and my diary from my recent trip to Eastern Europe.

Lasik IV - The Final Chapter (I Think)

I had my 4th LASIK surgery last Thursday. For the first time in 3 years I can actually see without glasses. When I had my right eye done three years ago, it was undercorrected like my left eye. Unfortunately, I couldn't have a retreatment on my right eye because the laser couldn't be set low enough to do the procedure. Eventually the prescription for my right eye drifted back to 20/50. So I had the procedure redone.

My left eye is thankful because it has been straining for 3 years whenever I didn't wear glasses. My brain is happy because it doesn't have to compensate for the 20/20 vs. 20/50 difference between my eyes. The surgeon is happy because I stopped complaining. My brother will be happy because he won't have to take yet another day off of work to drive me to the LASIK center.

It will be a few more weeks before the prescription settles down. I tested 20/15 at last week's follow-up appointment. So far it doesn't seem to be getting worse. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Now if they could just remove the stray corneal cells that are trapped under the edge of the flap in my left eye, I'll be a real happy camper since my left eye always feels like it has an eyelash in it. Wonderful.

By the way, if you can't afford traditional LASIK surgery, try this do it yourself LASIK kit like the one pictured above.

Almost Ready for Vacation

Well, I spent the better part of today tying up loose ends on my travel plans. I leave Thursday, April 27 for Budapest, Hungary. For the next 17 days, I will be travelling through Hungary, Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania. I'm looking forward to visiting a part of Europe into which few tourists have ventured since the Yugoslavian Civil War of the mid-1990s. The south of Croatia (Dubrovnik) is about the only place tourists visit in the region these days. It will be amazing to see some of the most beautiful and historic sites in Europe, including a dozen or so UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The aftermath of the Civil War will also be apparent in the Serbia-Montenegro towns of Osijek, Vukovar and Belgrade. I hear the people are awfully friendly throughout the region, and many speak English. I found this to be the case 10 years ago in Prague as well. At the end of the trip, we're heading up to the Romanian town of Sinaia to tour Count Dracula's castle. I'll bring silver bullets, wooden stakes and garlic cloves just in case ;-).

I have invested more time researching this trip than any other because there are virtually no English-language travel guides for half the places we're visiting. I want to make sure I use my free time wisely, instead of doing something idiotic like going back to the ship or hotel to eat, sleep or watch TV. People on my trips often marvel at the amount of work I put into planning. I always make sure I don't miss anything I'll regret. The flip side is that people latch onto me and invite themselves to roam around with me, which I don't always like when time is short and there's lots of ground to cover. That's probably why I don't mind travelling alone. Fortunately my usual travel companions are like me. So when they come along, it's not a problem (well, maybe not completely like me, but close enough--we have an understanding).

I also found out there are a bunch of other Wisconsin people on the trip. So I did some Internet research on them, but didn't find out much more than where they live, how old they are, and how many speeding tickets they have. None of it was particularly noteworthy, but one couple spent January 2001 in Costa Rica on a humpback whale expedition and have a son who married a Turkish women in Istanbul in 2004.

My new digital camera finally arrived too. I waited over 11 days. Every time I went online to check the status of my order, it was always the same: "Order Sent to Warehouse to be Picked." So I called them up and let them have it. Seems they "forgot" to tell me the camera was out of stock and that the manufacturer stopped making it. They then upsold me a different Sony camera (7 mexapixels--just what I need). It arrived last night and I pretty much know everything I need to about it already, so have one less thing to worry about now.

Anyhow, I've got to get home and run.

I'll be posting daily blogs from the road, so check back daily.

Done and Home From Boston

Well, the Boston Marathon is over for another year and I'm back home in Milwaukee already. I ran an average race, finishing in 2:53:01 (6:36 per mile pace). It was a perfect day for running a marathon. My heel is a little sore and all the surfaces and crevices of my body that were not coated with Vaseline before the race are nicely chaffed today. It's odd, but it seems like everyone passed me this year. Must be getting old. Even in the 40-49 category I only came in 109. I caught the next flight home (2 hours after the race) and am now busy washing all my running clothes to get the sickening smell of Ben Ben-Gay out of them. During the race I saw a guy who shit all over himself. I also smelled lots of European BO, which is one of the rankest odors known to man. I also drank too much Gatorade and consumed too much Gu so my plumbing is a little screwed up but should be fine in a day or so.

Yeah Boston

It's noon. I just got back from the Sports & Fitness Expo where I picked up my race number and shopped for running clothes, Gu, socks and other running necessities. The Boston Marathon is tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be good for tomorrow. I slept fine last night. The night before the night before is the only time you can really sleep if you have performance anxiety. Otherwise you'll have a fitful night of sleep the night before the and be really tired if you didn't sleep well two nights beforehand. Anyway, it's Easter Sunday. The spring blossoms are on full bloom up Tremont Street, which makes the Boston Commons particularly nice. I'm going to stay off my feet today because my heels are still a little sore. I bought some padded, moisture wicking socks at the expo and I use my heel cushions tomorrow even though I have a new pair of shoes and shouldn't need them. Will go to the carb load pasta party tonight and then don't have to be to the buses until 9 am, which is an hour later than usual due to the new starting and staging procedures. I come home tomorrow night. Till tomorrow.

Basking in Boston

The weather is beautiful but it won't last. We're expected to have a nice day tomorrow and then it will get cool and windy for the Marathon on Monday. I met a bunch of first-time runners at the airport in Milwaukee while waiting to leave. Thank god I don't get nervous anymore. These guys were crawling the walls. I doubt they'll sleep at all until it's over. When you're in tune with your body, you just listen to it. If you're running too fast, it will tell you and you slow down for a little while till you feel like running faster. Diet is another thing. You need to carb load all week before the race and take salt tablets or eat pretzels the morning of the race so you have enough sodium in your system to avoid cramps. Ben-Gay works wonders too. Really warms up the muscles. After the starting gun goes off, you just start running until you reach the finish line. Trying to pyschye out other guys doesn't work. And don't let it pysyche you out. It's you, your mind and your body. One foot in front of the other to the end. Focus, focus, focus. That's all there is too it. Off to bed. I'm tired. I went out for pasta and a few beers. Nighty night.

The Angel of Death Comes Knocking (Again)

Maybe the fact that I'm getting older makes me more aware of death. The grim reaper has come knocking 6 times in the last 6 months and he's about to come calling again within the next two weeks. Today, sadly, I learned of the imminent death of a good friend of mine. She's had cancer for a year now and just moved into hospice on Monday. Her sister told me her life expectancy was less than two weeks. My friend is only in her early 50’s.

A year ago, all was well for her. Then, suddenly, she disappeared. A few months later she called me to tell me the sad news—bone cancer. And it already spread, so it there’s not much they could do. During the summer, we went to Bastille Days. I picked her up at the home of some friends that were taking care of her. We stopped at her favorite booth at the festival. She bought some clothes because she had lost so much weight. The owner of the booth and her were good acquaintances going all the way back to the early days of the festival. My friend bought clothes from the guy every year. She explained her cancer to the owner. The owner said “hope to see you next year.” That’s not going to happen, but I will stop by next summer to tell him my friend passed away.

This Friday, her co-workers are having a “retirement” party for her at the hospice. Friends are also invited so I created a party invitation and dropped it off at her favorite downtown drinking spots (Flannery’s, Safe House, New Room Pub) where she is well known and respected. I also made a few phone calls to mutual friends to invite them. I hope a lot of people show up. She’ll probably be too sedated next week to recognize anyone.

Meanwhile, I’ll be working on my eulogy. I’m not sure what I’m going to say exactly, but I have a pretty good idea. I really admire her courage. She’s got her faith and has no real fear of dying. She once told me she didn’t care when her time came because she’s had a great life and doesn’t regret anything. Her spirits are amazingly upbeat. Her cheerfulness and laughter really floored me. I hope I can face death with the same intestinal fortitude.

Monday in Key West

Time to go home. Didn't party too much last night. In bed by 12:45 am and up at 8:00. Another beautiful day in paradise. Did the usual morning run then my dad and I drove into Key West. My dad is doing a lot of post-hurricane contracting work to keep himself busy so dropped off some tools at the next job site and stopped for lunch on lower Duval Street. Got to the airport just as the plane was loading. But got to Fort Lauderdale and the flight was delayed till 9:30 pm so didn't get home till 11:45 pm. So it's back to the dreary, cold Wisconsin winter. Being in a warm sunny place really puts things into perspective.

Sunday in Key West. It's 2006!

After dinner at Mangrove Mama's we went home. Decided the neighbors party wasn't worth attending so hung out at other neighbor's house till midnight. Launched a bunch of fireworks. Then watched the "ball drop" on Times Square on TV. Dick Clark looked OK but was a bit hard to understand seeing as he had a stroke a year or so ago. Hung out till 1 am and then went to bed.

Saturday in Key West

Went to La Trattoria for dinner last night. Excellent. Then over to Irish Kevin's to watch the show. Great entertainment as usual. Got home at 1 am. I don't think I've seen my dad and friends out that late in 10 years.

Got up at 9 am and did a 10 mile run in the heat. Was exhausting. Then went swimming and kayaking in the soothing cool water. Then drove into Key West to Sloppy Joe's for lunch, then over to the Truman Annex to see the place where Harry Truman vacationed for 175 days of his presidency over on the grounds that used to be part of the navy base, but now a private subdivision. Then went over to Fat Tuesday's for a high octane slushy drink and to watch the people go by.

Key West is filled to capacity. Drove home around 4 pm and took a nap. We have a 8 pm dinner reservation at Mangrove Mama's down the road. We may be there for New Year's as well. Don't feel like fighting the crowds and driving 20 miles at the end of the night. The neighbor is also having a party at 10 pm, so might end up over there at well.

Probably will go over to Key Deer Pub & Grill for the Packer Game tomorrow.

Happy New Year.

Friday in Key West

Another gorgeous day. Will be hard to go home to the cold and snow in Wisconsin. Spent the day having a long lunch at Boondocks, where the service really really sucked last night, and then went kayaking around my dad's house. Going into Key West tonight for dinner with friends and a few drinks. Will be an early night though. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. No sense blowing all my energy tonight.

Thursday in Key West

I have now visited all the Salvation Army shops and shopping malls in south Florida so now I need to find a better day time activity. I went to Fat Tuesday's to consume slushy drinks till I could hardly walk. Then I went to Irish Kevin's where I again ran into the same couple I saw on the first night we were there, so had to have a few more beers before I got into my Chrysler Seebring Convertible rental car and drove 20 miles home. My dad is talking about moving to Key West real soon so he can be closer to the excitement in the Keys. I'm all for that. Going out to "Boone Docks" tonight up on Ramrod Key for some dinner and entertainment. Should be interesting.

Wednesday, Sightseeing in Key West

There's some interesting history here. Played tourist today. Went to Southernmost Marker at the end of Whitehead Street where there were lots of tourists. Then over to Hemingway House and the Lighthouse. Then over to the old cemetary, Mallory Square and Pier, then up and down Duval St. to do some more shopping. The long pier at Mallory Square got wiped out by the hurricane, so was much shorter. The Disney cruise ship Celebration was docked at the harbor. What a massive ship. In the late afternoon, I went home and then we went out for dinner. Tomorrow, I'll have to drive up to Marathon.

It's Tuesday. We must be in Key West.

Another lazy day. Didn't really do a whole lot. Just went shopping at the Salvation Army on Summerland Key, then met my dad's friends at Michael's for dinner in Key West. After that, I went back over to Irish Kevin's to watch the night entertainer skewer people. He was hysterical as he picked on practically everybody who came in the bar. Even saw a bunch of people from the night before. Then went over to Sloppy Joe's for a night cap before heading home at 8:30. I'm really a slug. But I'm on holiday.

Off to Sunny Florida

Well, Christmas is here. Going to my brother's house for a few hours. Then I have to go home and finish packing since I'm flying to Key West tomorrow. Looks like it will be only in the 70s for the next 7-8 days while I'm down there, but sure beats the crappy weather here in Wisconsin. Bye for now.

Chris' Excellent Adventures: Sydney, Australia

Date: April 2005
Trip: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji
Place: Sydney, Australia
Traveling With: Vicky F from Salem, AR and Vicky H from Little Rock, AR
Photos: (1) Sydney Opera House, (2) Map of our Trip, (3) Sydney Harbor Bridge and (3)aerial view of Sydney on our way to Christchurch, New Zealand. More Pics.

"It was on a huge 747-400. There was no one sitting next to me, so I was able to lay down and sleep for about 8 hours on the way over. Having my face pressed down into the bottom seat cushion of a coach-class seat that God-knows-how-many people sat on was a humbling experience."

So began my 30-page journal from my latest overseas adventure. It was on this incredibly long 16-hour trans-Pacific flight from LA to Sydney with continuation on to Cairns up in the north. Because we were flying west at midnight, we had sunlight practically all the way over after passing Hawaii. I was so blessed to have empty seats all around me. I slept a lot and was ready to go upon arrival in Sydney, despite the 15-1/2 hour time difference from Milwaukee. Actually we missed our connection to Cairns so spent a little more time at the Sydney airport than planned.

This was just the beginning of 3-1/2 beautiful weeks Down Under and the fulfillment of a life long dream. We spent several days in sunny, tropical Cairns diving on the Great Barrier Reef, rubbing elbows with aborignes, visiting a crocodile farm and enjoying Aussie hospitality at a working cattle ranch. After that we spent 6 days in Sydney before flying over to New Zealand, where we visited Christchurch, Queenstown and Auckland before heading up to tropical Fiji for some fun in the sun. More on New Zealand and Fiji later.

Anyhow, Sydney is the kind of place I could spend the rest of my life. Cosmopolitan, friendly and alive. It reminded me of Chicago, LA and Miami all rolled up into one. The people were so nice as well. Of course we did all the tourist stuff (Opera House, Sky Tower, Harbor Bridge, The Rocks District, Darling Harbor, Bondi Beach, Chinese Friendship Garden and the Aquarium). In my free time, I walked virtually the entire city, either on my own or with Vicki and Vicky.

Some day I will go back to Australia and spend some time in the Outback (Ayers Rock) and Melbourne. For now, I'll just keep dreaming. G'Day.

Chris' Excellent Adventures: Berechtsgaden, Germany

Date: October 1995
Trip: Germany, Czech Republic, Austria
Place: Berechtsgaden, Bavaria, Germany (outside Salzburg, Austria)
Traveling With: Dawn S from Oak Creek, WI
Photos: (1) Dawn and I at Berechtsgaden (Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" Retreat) with Austria in the background, (2) The view of Germany from Eagle's Nest (3) Me admiring the awesomeness of the Bavarian Alps.

Berechtsgaden conjures up mixed emotions. On one hand, it was the mountaintop getaway of one of history's most notorious and despised figures. On the other, it is a place of immense beauty, perched high in the Bavarian Alps in Germany just outside the Austrian border.


This is the place Doug wanted to visit very badly while we were touring Germany five months 5 months earlier, but after several days of driving already, it seemed a bit out of the way and there were other, more interesting places to see yet. But when Dawn and I ran out of things to do after several days in Salzburg, it was so close, we had to visit.

We drove for about a half hour out of Salzburg into Germany to get to Berechtsgaden. Being October, the fall colors were great. Once we arrived in Berechtsgaden, we discovered the only way to get up to the retreat was by bus tour. The place was a mob scene, which attests to its popularity. When you got on the bus, you quickly discovered why you were not allowed to drive up on your own. The road leading up to Eagle's Nest is a very steep grade that winds and winds forever up to the top of the mountain. When buses come at each other, one has to pull over and let the other pass. Sometimes you get really close to the edge, which is a steep drop-off of hundreds of feet--straight down. Once you get to the top, you get off the bus and walk through a long tunnel that the Nazis bored into the mountain underneath the summit. It was suggested that this is where Hitler, Eva and his guards could hide if they came under attack. At the end of the tunnel, you take an elevator up to the house where Hitler lived and out onto the summit where you can explore and admire the scenery. Oddly, the house is now a restaurant. It should really have been turned into a museum. The scenery alone was worth the trip. Afterwards, we drove back to Salzburg (Mozart's hometown) where we did some last minute sightseeing. The next day, we drove 10 hours back to Brussels, Belgium where I was living at the time. I always hate when vacations end. Maybe that's why I look so somber in these pictures.

Chris' Excellent Adventures - Copenhagen, Denmark

Date: July 1998
Trip: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Place: Copenhagen, Denmark
Traveling With: Doug T from Hartford, WI
Photos: Town Hall Square, Havn District, Little Mermaid, Town Hall Square






We are in our third day of a 3-week vacation to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Our flight left JFK late, so we missed our connection in Amsterdam to Copenhagen. The actress Angie Dickinson (starred as "Pepper" in 70s series "Police Woman") was also on our flight. Doug kept yelling "hey Pepper" at her. She wasn't quite the blond bombshell she was in the 70s. But, hey, we all get old.

Although we eventually got on another flight to Copenhagen, we arrived without luggage. So I ended up buying some new clothes and living in my jogging suit for three days. Also had to buy a new toothbrush. I was so relieved when we got back to the hotel on day 3 and the concierge told us "something had arrived for us." That "something" was our luggage.

During our three days in Copenhagen Doug and I covered the entire city on foot, which wasn't hard to do, and probably the best way. We pretty much just admired all the old buildings, went to a few museums, had a few beers, and hung out at Tivoli for a few hours. I especially liked the Havn area, which is like a canal with lots of boats and multi-colored buildings. And of course, no visit to Copenhagen would be complete without a picture of the "Little Mermaid" statue in the harbor.

On the night before we left, Denmark was playing Brazil in the semi-finals of World Cup Soccer. The city decked out Town Hall Square with big TV screens and threw a party for 500,000 people, all of whom were decked out in flags and national colors. The nice lady I'm with in the 4th picture was the girlfriend of an American guy we met while roaming around the Square. On the side of my face is a Danish flag in oil paint that some girl (don't know who) transferred to my face from hers by pressing her cheek against mine. Denmark lost the soccer match. The next morning, Town Hall Square looked like it had been hit by a tornado and there were still bonfires burning all over the place.

Two weeks later we were at the Hard Rock Cafe in Stockholm watching Brazil play France in the finals. Brazil lost but that didn't stop them from partying. Right across the street from our hotel in Stockholm was a bar called Brasilia, and they closed off the street and beat on drums and played loud music all night long, so didn't sleep well that night. But who cares, we were "on holiday."

New Feature: Chris' Excellent Adventures - Florence, Italy

My friends and family know me as an avid international traveler. Here is a map of the countries I have visited. It all started with a business trip to Holland in 1991, followed in 1992 by a pleasure trip to Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France and England. By August 1993, I was living in Belgium on a 4-year job transfer. Lucky me. That's when the travel bug hit me big time. Since then I have visited practically every country in Europe, as well as Egypt, India, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. There are many more places I woule like to go really, really soon. But since I work, there is only so much travel you can squeeze in.

Anyhow, I have virtually thousands of pictures. They are doing no good sitting in albums at home, so I thought I would publish a few from time to time along with some anecdotes recounting the circumtances surrounding the picture.

It was really hard selecting a picture, but I'll start with these.

Time: October 2000
City: Florence, Italy
Site: Observation Platform - Florence Duomo (Cathedral)
Traveling With: Doug and Jenny T from Hartford, WI

We are into the second week of a three week self-guided driving vacation that took from Rome to Venice, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Asissi, Sorrento, Pompeii, and back to Rome and Vatican City. The Catholic church is celebrating it Jubilee 2000, so there are lots and lots of tourist visiting Italy and making the pilgrimage to the sacred churches. Jenny decides to stay down at street level while Doug and I climb to the top of the dome of the cathedral for a spectacular bird's eye view of medieval Florence. Of course, there is no elevator, so we climbed and climbed the hundreds of steps to the top, admiring the murals painted inside the dome on our way up. Eventually, we got to the base of the dome where we went inside the dome itself.
Eventually we reached a staircase that curved upward along the inside curviture of the dome itself and then down some narrow passage ways until you reach a ladder that takes you up to the observation platform at the pinnacle of the dome. That's where Doug snapped this picture of me. Wow, what a view it was. This was actually my second time doing this. I just didn't want Doug to miss the photo op.

Green, Gold & Proud: Portraits, Stories and Traditions of the Greatest Fans in the World

Although I am not the biggest football fan, I have been known to watch a few games now and then. In January 2005, I was down in the Florida Keys visiting my dad over the holidays with my friends Doug and Jenny from Hartford, WI.

We went to Captain Dan's Deer Key Sports Bar to watch our Green Bay Packers wipe out the Chicago Bears in the play-offs. Captain Dan's is one of many "Packer" bars outside Wisconsin. Sometime between all the free jello shots handed out whenever the Packers scored a touch down (and there were a lot), some guy took our picture out in the parking lot in front of the bar.



Fast forward to December 2005. Doug is browsing Packer books and sees our picture in one of them. I'm in the front row, second from the left in the shorts and white t-shirt. Doug (sunglasses) and Jenny (white shirt) are in the middle row, just to the right of center. My dad is behind the guy with the cheese head. One of my dad's friends is behind Doug, and another is in the green shirt on the pole above the group. I had forgotten all about the picture. But there it is. I might actually have to break down and buy the book.