Will Blog for Food

Obama Boxed In On Afghanistan

Obama is boxed in by his own rhetoric on Afghanistan. While running for President, in order to look tough while condemning Bush's war in Iraq, Obama made comments to the effect that Afghanistan is the real war we should be fighting because that's where al Quaeda is located. So it would be precipitous for him just to pull out now. He would look weak, the last thing any Democratic President needs. There may be legitimate reasons for keeping a miltary prescence on the ground in Afghanistan, but for the most part they escape me. They seem to boil down to "al Quaeda might come back." Well, yeah, and then again they might not. They may go elsewhere like to Somalia, for example. Is it worth sending young people into harm's way on a "maybe"?

I think, as much as I hate to say it, that Obama's decision to send more troops is all about political calculations. First, Obama is turning out to be an avowed centrist. He doesn't want to do anything too radical at least during his first few months in office. Leaving Afghanistan abruptly at this time would be too radical. There is too much on his plate here at home to have to deal with a firestorm from the right about leaving Afghnaistan abruptly. He would like to get health care passed. He would like to do something about jobs. Better to let Afghanistan remain at the status quo than to have to deal with another firestorm from the right, another distraction from his main goals. And it would give Republicans additional ammunition in the upcoming congressional elections of 2010. Better to neutralize that by remaining in Afghanistan, and there is always the possibility that something can be improved there, but I doubt it.

Besides he can always pull a Nixon, declare victory and pull out of Afghanistan just before the 2012 election. At that point Obama will look pretty good if 1) a substantial health care bill has been passed, 2) the job situation has substantially improved and 3) he has just completed a successful war in Afghanistan. Why not pull a Nixon and use the ending of the war as a tool to get reelected? Nixon promised to end the Vietnam war, he hinted that he and Kissinger had a "secret plan," but conveniently let it drag on until just before the next election which Nixon won handily only to be tripped up by Watergate a few months later. This sounds cynical, I know, and in Nixon's case the cynicism is certainly justified. But Obama cannot survive in office without making political calculations as well, particularly when that's all the other side is doing. If the Republicans ever do anything except from political calculations, it will be news to me.

Obama has already set the groundwork for withdrawl from Afghanistan with his announced exit strategy which gives McChrystal 15 months to get things done or else. That would put us into mid 2011 just a few months before Obama would be revving up his reelection campaign. How convenient! My prediction is that he will declare victory at that time and pull out. Better to have the firestorm from the right then as part of a referendum on his reelection campaign than to have it as another distraction now. Besides ending the war then will leave the Republicans - if they should replace him in 2012 - without an ongoing war which they would dearly love to inherit from him. If Obama wins in 2012, it leaves him with a clean slate for his second term during which he can take a more radical stance on a number of issues since he won't ever have to deal with another election campaign. At that point he would have a shot at making a major change in the Weltanschauung or zeitgeist of the country, the way Reagan did, but in the opposite direction. 

So there are many advantages from Obama's perspective for continuing the war in Afghanistan at this time both geopolitical and political. Of course, all calculations of this sort can turn out to have been unfounded. Things can go awry. The war, as wars are accustomed to do, could turn dirtier and messier. The economy could get worse instead of better making the expenditures in Afghanistan seem like an even bigger waste of money than they already are. Obama could end up being boxed in by reality and not merely by his own rhetoric.

Rail Transportation in US Needs to Replace Car Culture

On Robert Reich's blog yesterday Linda said this:

I live out close to motown and over the years I have had many conversations with people who are studying the feasibility of alternative transportation systems.

Amtrak needs to be subsidized in this country because it is such a small, archaic system. If you want to go somewhere, try finding a scheduled train that goes there. It doesn't exist...except for some old established routes in the Eastern sector that date back to the pre-highway days. Anyone who has been to Europe knows what excellent train service is...it is one of the most convenient, safe and comfortable ways to travel. Imagine being able to drink a cup of coffee and catch up on the morning news quietly on your way to work each morning.

The U.S. has put a huge investment in roads and creating infrastructure to support the auto industry because automobiles have been at the core of our industry since the industrial revolution. But personal cars may soon become obsolete, whether we like them or not. The oil supply could run out a lot quicker than people realize. For example, I live in a town close to the auto factories where people commute let's say 35 miles a day to work. When gas prices were high last spring, it cost upwards from $20 a day for some employees just to make the daily round trip to the factory. It is conceivable that in the next five years, or even the next couple years, that gasoline prices could rise to the point where a single commuter roundtrip would cost $100. What would happen then? How would people get to their jobs?

Trains are a much more energy efficient way to get people to their jobs than cars. Right now in Michigan, local government is looking into a way to get an old railroad line working in our community and people are very excited about it.

You say that it would take decades to build a good railroad system..not necessarily, especially if it were a major national priority. Obama wants to build the infrastructure: this would be a great way to put people to work and give people jobs, and in a very short space of time, it would be an industry that would be self-sustaining and stimulate other sectors of the economy.

Obama says he wants to work on the infrastructure by building more roads, and this worries me. I think it's time to get in there and suggest that we work on a railway system instead.

Linda

Tuesday, 25 November, 2008

Art a Layman said this:

As far as a profitable venture goes, that will greatly depend on our cultural propensities. Now we can argue chicken or egg but the fact is that American consumers don't want to leave their cars at home. That has been the reason for the long and prosperous car industry in America. Even more, in America cars have become an extension of our personna. Many consumers seek cars with styling that fits the image they have of themselves or dream of having. That's one of the reasons we still see big engines and high speed capability. Americans thrive on big and it seems that mankind in general is enthralled with speed, but none more than we Americans.

There are many areas around the US where existing rail infrastructure would be a good start. There are many others where suburban expansion, for miles around, has moved much of the populace away from existing railroad tracks. This will mean expanding tracks, establishing way stations, quite often on privately owned land. Some owners will jump at the chance to sell their land for a profit, others, for whatever reason, will not want to sell. No problem, eminent domain laws, simple. Except that lawsuits ensue, possibly all the way up to the Supreme Court and again, Tempest fugits.

Now I'm not familair with Europe but my understanding is that rail systems have existed there for a long time. Further the population/land density is significantly different than in the US. If rail transportation was vital as cities expanded certainly that would have been considered in municipal planning. In the US no such consideration was necessary. Major cities where the industrial sector is situated around the urban centers likely are better suited for rail transportation as a means of commuting to work, which would have to be the primary driver of the industry. In cities where I have lived there has been great movement away from urban centers by businesses, manufacturing, distribution, etc., to avoid crime and to establish places of work closer to where residents live and allow for ease of expansion, to say nothing of cheaper land costs. This has located many large employers, beyond retail, into small cities and towns within a 25 to 50 mile range of where their workers live, in all directions.

Art a Layman

Tuesday, 25 November, 2008

Here is my response:

I'm totally with Linda as to rail transportation. Art your remark that you've never experienced rail transportation in Europe is telling. They are so far ahead of us. As an example, I spent three weeks in Holland a few years ago. I could get anywhere in the country by rail and back to Amsterdam the same day. But here's the kicker: I never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a train to Amsterdam from any where in the country. Even in former communist countries like the Czech Republic you can get anywhere by rail and/or bus. Some of the connections are Toonerville Trollies but so what? When you add the TGV in France and other high speed rail, you have a marvelous transportation system in which you don't need a car to get anywhere. Even so there is a mix of cars, rail and air transportation in Europe.

Here in San Diego all city buses are LNG. That's what makes living downtown tolerable. You can stand in back of one of these buses and breathe freely, and they don't pollute. The only problem is the private charter buses are gas based and you don't want to get near any of these. San Diego has increased its trolley system (using European built cars) using existing and former rights of way. Only problem is it's underutilized due to car culture. It's still not to the level it was in the 1890s in terms of network. Also suburban commuter trains are doing well here. The Coaster transports commuters to north county using rail lines shared with Amtrak and BNSF freight trains. Just this year they added an east-west link from Oceanside inland to Escondido called the Sprinter - again using former rights of way.

Car culture in this country is created by advertising. Why else do you think every other add is a car ad on TV? (The rest of the ads are for pharmaceuticals - something that should be outlawed.) Urban cowboys are created by advertising. It's that simple. Remember when smoking was accepted as de rigueur? Smoking culture was created by advertising. Since it has been verboten and negative ads went on TV against smoking we've seen smoking come to a point of being socially unacceptable. The same thing could be done with car culture. It would take government prohibitions against certain forms of advertising as it did with smoking.

The trolley and streetcar network was deliberately sh*tcanned by the auto industry to get people to buy cars and use more gas. In LA they used to have a wonderful network of streetcars and trolleys. This is being brought back. Many people don't know this, but LA has built a wonderful trolley system using mainly old rights of way. You can go to Pasadena on the Gold line, anywhere in downtown (yes, there is a downtown in LA) on the Red line. You can even get from Union Station to LAX on the Blue line. They just need to extend the Red line all the way to Santa Monica. Right now you have to get off and take the Metro Rapide which is a high speed, limited stop bus that can control the traffic lights in its favor. Exclusive bus lanes for buses on freeways is also being done in southern CA.

Fortunately, we don't have to wait for the Federal government to do everything. Cities and municipalities have already been taking action to get cars off the road and reduce the senseless suburban commute. Urban planning such as the CCDC in San Diego has been encouraging high rise infill projects next to trolley lines and downtown high rises as an alternative to living in suburbia.

All that cities need from the Federal government is a little encouragement (and money) to do more along these lines. That's how it normally works anyway. So I disagree with Art's pessimism about rail transportation. It can be done, Art, but you gotta believe. Just like the EV1 which was crushed by GM, rail in this country was deliberately deconstructed by the auto and gas industries especially in LA, the epicenter of car culture.

Trucks use the public highways at little expense for maintenance while railroads have to pay to maintain their own track beds. Government could change this incentive structure. The widening of freeways and creation of additional lanes, bridges and underpasses has gone to insane heights in CA in order to accomodate more and more vehicular traffic, a large portion of which is trucks moving goods that could be moved by rail including all sorts of toxics and nuclear waste. Do you like driving in the next lane alongside that? On some freeways around here it's a permanent non-stop building project. It never ends. It's nuts.

Art, do yourself a favor. Go to Europe and ride the trains! It's very convenient. The scenery's outstanding and the food's not bad either!

John & Judy's Vacation 2007 - Part 4 - Seattle

We left Coeur d'Alene and cruised 30 mile on I-90 to Spokane, a major, inviting looking city I wish we had had time to explore. After stopping at the YMCA for a swim and a mocha, we continued on I-90 through the Yakima Valley and over the Cascade Mountains via Snoqualmie Pass. What a scenic drive. We stopped at the Snoqualmie Pass rest area to find free coffee and cookies waiting for us. Also all the rest areas we stopped at in the state of Washington had free Wi-Fi. What a progressive state! There was snow on the mountains. Here are a few pictures of our drive to Seattle. Remember you can click on any picture to see a larger version.

Finally, we're in Seattle. We settled into our hotel room at the Sixth Street Hotel disappointed to find no free internet access for the first time on our trip. The advantage was that there was a pretty good restaurant in our hotel which saved us from having to go out in the rainy weather. In Seattle there's a Starbucks on every street corner and sometimes there's one mid-block too.

The next day Judy wanted to go to the Rosalie Whyel Doll Museum in Bellevue. While Judy perused the dolls, I took some pictures outdoors.

Later that day we went to Pike Place Market, Seattle's main tourist attraction, where they throw and catch the fish. We weren't too impressed. We didn't actually see them throw any fish, and there were too many tourists there. So we walked down the street and had dinner at  McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant. We'd been to one in San Francisco last year and the food was as good this year.

The next day Judy wanted to rest in the hotel room while I checked out some of the downtown Seattle attractions. My first stop was at the brand new Seattle Public Library, an impressive, unorthodox structure designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas built in 2004.  Of course they have free internet accesss on their computers or your laptop and a coffee bar right in the library. I  actually did a blog entry from there, the one on Einstein. This is actually the  coolest and most  impressive  library I've  ever been in except perhaps for the one in Paris, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Check out the pictures. The geometrical patterns are fantastic!

After I checked out the library I went to the Seattle Art Museum. The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) just opened its new expanded version this year. It has been in the same location since 1991 in a high rise and as time goes by it has taken over more floors of the high rise. It still has room for expansion as it owns the four floors located directly above it. The rest of the building is owned by WaMu.

The above photo is the cafe at the art museum. After I toured SAM (no photos were allowed), I headed for the monorail station for the ride to Seattle Center where the space needle is located and site of the World's Fair in 1962.

Finally, it was time to head back downtown on the monorail.

The next day we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island.

We could barely see Mt. Rainier through the haze. Mt.  Rainier is an active volcano about 50 miles from Seattle, and on this day, for the first time in Seattle, the weather was not rainier.

On the trip back to Seattle the sun came out. I couldn't resist snapping a few more pictures of the Seattle skyline.

Here's a few other shots taken around town. For the complete Seattle picture album, click here.

 

The next day, October 9, 2007, Judy and I headed for the SeaTac Airport. We had one more adventure in store - the Seattle Transit Tunnel. Seattle busses are free downtown so we boarded a bus outside our hotel which dropped us off at the entrance to the Seattle Transit Tunnel, an underground transit system for busses. Here we picked up the bus for SeaTac for the outrageous fare of $1.35 apiece, I think it was. In 2009 they will have both busses and light rail utilizing the tunnel, the only underground transit system in the US which will be shared by both bus and rail. The rail connection will then link downtown with SeaTac Airport.

Judy was tired and couldn't wait to get home. After we got through security at the airport, she perked up and we had an uneventful (the best kind) flight to San Diego, just a short hop on Alaskan Airlines. They served Seattle's Best coffee on the plane, a definite plus.

John and Judy's Vacation 2007 - Part 3 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

It was either raining or threaten- ing to rain the whole time we were in Idaho and Washing- ton. We met Judy's sister, Jeanette, at the Perkins family restaur- ant. I had never been to a Perkins before. The food was good, they had homemade pie and the prices  were low compared to southern California. Everything including real estate was more reasonable here. I had reserved our motel, La Quinta, where we stayed four nights, online through hotels.com for $70. a night although the price from their own website was twice that much. It had everything - two queen beds, a remote for the TV that actually worked, a full kitchen including dishwasher and breakfast was included. You can't beat that.

The next day Judy hung out with Jeanette while I explored Coeur d'Alene. General William Tecumseh Sherman, after he had laid waste to the south in the Civil War, had come out here and established a fort called Fort Sherman, naturally. The name Coeur d'Alene had been given to the local Indians by French fur traders who thought the Indians were pretty sharp traders with hearts like a shoemaker's awl. Coeur d'Alene is a pretty little town that has grown to include on the outskirts all the mall stores that you can find everywhere in the US.  We felt right at home. It still retains a small town flavor though in the old part of town - no fast food restaurants there, not even a Starbucks. The downtown hamburger joint, Hudson's, was celebrating its 100 year anniversary so naturally I had to go there. The menu was very simple: hamburgers, cheeseburgers and pie. No French fries!

Coeur d'Alene is located on a beautiful, enormously huge lake. Here are some pictures. Please remember that you can click on any picture to see a larger version.

There is a nice visitors' center with a sculpture of the "coeur."

There is a resort right on the lake.

There is a nice new public library.

The old chapel from Fort Sherman is still there:

Here are some shots around town. Sherman Avenue is the main downtown drag. For more pictures of Coeur d'Alene check out the album by clicking here.

That night we had dinner at Jeanette's house:

One day we took a drive to St. Marie's, a little logging town about 60 miles from Coeur d'Alene. More beautiful lakes and rivers. No water shortage here!

That night we spent some time with Jeanette and her family, and Jeanette did some energy work on me.

Judy and Jeanette had a lot to catch up on, not having seen each other for 14 years. Our last night together we went to the Tomato Street restaur- ant.

The next morning we went east on I-90 headed for Seattle. We stopped at the Seattle Valley YMCA, a beautiful new facility where Judy waited for me while I swam. Then we had our coffee and pastry at the coffee bar there and bought a couple of sandwiches for our lunch. There was frost on the ground that morning!

John & Judy's Vacation 2007 - Part 2 - Napa Valley and Portland, OR

From Modesto it's only about a 90 minute drive to Napa. We got to Napa early in the afternoon and had the rental car till the next morning so we checked out the town of Napa which is the biggest town in the Napa Valley and located at the southern end. It's a cute little town.

Then we drove the 15 miles or so up Rte. 29 to Yountville where the California Veterans Home is located. After checking in with Mr. Wolfe, and unloading our things at the Hospitality House we took Dale out for dinner. Remember you can click on any picture to see a larger version.

The next morning, after we turned our rental car in and Dale picked us up, we celebrated Dale's birthday at the Gillwoods Cafe where we had breakfast.

Then we went exploring some Napa Valley wineries. We started out with the Hess Collection. After what seemed like an interminable ride up winding roads outside of the town of Napa, we finally discovered the place. It turned out to be our lucky day because we got a free tour AND a free tasting. After checking out the extensive art collection, Dale and I went on the tour, one of the best I've been on. Our tour guide, Yaeko, then invited us for the free tasting. I think they normally charge $10 for four wines. After tasting 5 or so I decided I'd had about enough. Dale was driving so I didn't have to worry about the winding roads. Dale had ailments which prevented him from participating in the tasting, but I let him do all the sniffing he wanted on my samples before I proceeded to imbibe them. Judy didn't go on the tour, but she got in on the free tasting too. After I got home, I ordered two bottles of the Su'skol Chardonnay online. Mmm Mmm good! I can truthfully say all Chardonnays are not created equal! I hope what I ordered was half as good as what I had in the tasting room.

Then we headed for Clos Pegase at the northern end  of the valley near the town of Calistoga. From Yountville you go through the towns of Oakvillle, Ruther- ford, St. Helena and finally Calistoga. The Napa Valley is narrow with just one major highway - Highway 29. There is also the Silverado Trail along the eastern side of the valley. The Napa Valley is just 35 miles long.

Clos Pegase also had an extensive art collection - mostly sculpture. These wineries are owned by rich men for whom winemaking is somewhat of a dilettantish pastime. On the tour I learned that only 4% of California wine comes from the Napa Valley. Most of the rest comes from the Central Valley where we'd just been, Modesto and Stockton, but it is of inferior quality since they allow many more  grapes per vine and they "overoak" it. That is, since there's not  much of a fruity flavor, they let it sit in the oak barrels longer so at least it has some kind of flavor. These are the grapes that go into Charles Shaw (Two Buck Chuck) and Gallo. The other thing is that Clos Pegase only uses  French Oak for its barrels which cost over $1000. apiece whereas, for the Two Buck Chuck variety, they use the inferior American Oak. After this day of education about wine, I was beginning to feel like a wine snob which reminded me of the excellent movie, Sideways, starring Paul Giametti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen  and Sandra Oh about two guys' road trip through the California wine country only they were in a different California wine country in and around Paso Robles, Los Olivos and the Santa Ynez Valley. Check it out on DVD if you haven't seen it! Here's some pictures from Clos Pegase:

   

Later that night Dale dropped us off at the Amtrak bus station in Napa, and we bussed it to Martinez where we caught the train for the overnight to Klamath Falls in a sleeper car and then by Amtrak coach to Portland, OR. Before we leave Napa here's a few more pictures of Yountville and to see our photo album of the Napa Valley including last year's pictures click here.

The California Veterans Home sure is a beautiful place located in Yountville, home of the most expensive restaurant in the US, the French Laundry, where you have to make reservations six months in advance. The CA Vets' Home is sandwiched in between a beautiful golf course on one side and the prestigious winery, Domaine Chandon, on the other. Last year we visited Domaine Chandon for a tasting and toured and tasted Robert Mondavi winery as well as Berringer winery where they make excellent White Zinfandel, Judy's favorite. For the complete photo album of Napa Valley including this year's and last year's pictures, click here. A few more pictures of California Veterans Home before we leave Dale and head on up to Portland, OR on the train:

Finally, we're on the train at 11 PM and escorted immediately to our upper and lower berths. Judy got the lower berth where she could see the mountains and rivers lighted by a full moon, and I got the upper berth where you had to be a contortionist to cram yourself in there. But I was up for the following sunrise picture about an hour outside of Klamath Falls. In the morning we ate breakfast in the dining car, but, like Cinderella, we had to be out of our compartment by the time we got to Klamath Falls or else we would turn into pumpkins. At Klamath Falls I hauled all our luggage about six cars down the train to coach class. (Why pay for a compartment when you're done sleeping there?)

As you can see, it rained all the way to Portland.

After we arrived at Portland's Union Station and checked into the Mark Spencer Hotel (probably the best hotel experience of our vacation with excellent coffee and pastries as well as other breakfast victuals included), we headed for Powell's Books only a block away and a Portland landmark as it's the largest brick and mortar book store in the world housing both new and used books. Here is a picture of Union Station and Powell's Book Store.

The next morning I picked up our Thrifty rental car in downtown Portland and we headed out over the Morrison bridge on I-84 along the Columbia River Gorge headed for Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to visit Judy's sister, Jeanette, and her family. Here's some pictures taken along the Gorge and later in farming country.

John & Judy's Vacation 2007 - Part 1 - San Diego to Salinas, Modesto and Stockton

We left San Diego on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner at 6:10 AM on Sep- tember 24. After changing in LA to the Coast Starlight, we headed north through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo arriving in Salinas around 7 PM. Took a taxi to our motel on John Street. The next morning I walked to the YMCA (luckily located only a few blocks away) for my 30 minute swim. I used my Y card every day of the trip at YMCAs in California, Oregon and Washington and there was never a charge. After we ate our included breakfast at the motel, I called Hertz to come get me so I could pick up our rental car. Then we headed for the Steinbeck Museum located in downtown Salinas.

Here's some pictures of our train ride to Salinas, our station stop in Santa Barbara and the scenery north of San Luis Obispo. You can click on any picture to see a larger version of it.

John Steinbeck is my favorite American author, and he grew up in Salinas. He wrote about life in the Salinas Valley and in Monterey which is close by on the coast. The townspeople didn't always appreciate having their dirty laundry hung out in public, but now that Steinbeck is safely dead (having won the Nobel prize in 1962), they have built and dedicated this excellent museum to him which chronicles his life in literature. According to Wikipedia: "In fact, claiming [The Grapes of Wrath] was both obscene and misrepresented conditions in the county, the Kern County Board of Supervisors banned the book from the county's public schools and libraries in August 1939. This ban lasted until January 1941.^" Some of my favorite Steinbeck works are East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, Tortilla Flats, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony and Travels with Charley. Several of Steinbeck's books were made into movies including East of Eden starring James Dean, Grapes of Wrath starring Henry Fonda, Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony. Here  are some pictures from the Steinbeck Museum.

We had to cut short our visit to the Steinbeck Museum in order to drive to Modesto and have dinner with Judy's daughter and grandson by 5 PM. After checking into our motel, we went to Malissa's duplex on Rumble Road, and Judy met her grandson, Huck for the first  time. Here is a picture of their meeting. The next day Judy babysat Huck while Malissa went and worked out; then they visited while I checked out Modesto. Then we went out to dinner. Here are some more pictures of Huck and Modesto.

The next day we went to the Children's Museum in Stockton. After dropping the dogs off at Doggie Day Care in Escalon, Malissa drove us through a part of the country where they grow a lot of almonds. Malissa pointed out that the correct pronunciation is not ALmonds but AMMONS. I tend to think that only people who grow them or live near there pronounce it AMMONS, but, neverthless, they probably don't care as much that you pronounce it correctly as they do that you keep buying them. Huck had a lot of fun at the museum because he had to do and see everything.

Finally, it was time to say good-bye to Malissa and Huck and head for Yountville in the Napa Valley to visit Judy's cousin Dale who lives at the California Veterans Home. Goodbye Baby Huck and Malissa!

Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise

Marion, the titular head of my cultural exchange group, asked me if I wanted to go to the Impressionist exhibition in Auvers-sur-Oise. It was being held in a large chateau on the outskirts of this small village where van Gogh had spent his last days and is buried next to his brother, Theo, at the local cemetery. The tickets were reasonable so I hopped the train for the hour or so journey to Auvers. We stopped at Pontoise (also on the Oise River), another Impressionist landmark, as Camille Pissarro, one of my favorite impressionists, had lived here. An excellent book by Irving Stone called "The Depths of Glory" is about Pissarro's in some ways tragic life. He was the only Jewish impressionist and, after marrying the family "bon" (the maid), his mother wouldn't even speak to her grandchildren for the rest of her life. Also Pissarro had many of his paintings destroyed when the Germans used his house for a stable in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

I arrived at Auvers which is a very small village. Here van Gogh lived in a small room above the Ravoux Inn which he painted and can be seen here. He also painted some of the buildings of the town like the church (below), but mainly painted en plein air in the fields outside the village. I stopped into a French bakery for a tarte tatin since I couldn't resist French pastries, and made  my way to the Exhibition Impressioniste. The ticket taker asked me if I had come "seule," which I didn't understand so I was frustrated again because they understood me, but I didn't understand them. Later I realized he was just making small talk by asking me if I had come "alone" which I had since, I guess, there were no other takers in Marion's cultural exchange group. It was a very impressive exhibition for having been staged way out in the middle of nowhere albeit a place with a rich history in terms of van Gogh's having lived there in very spartan quarters I might add.

After touring the town and seeing van Gogh's room, I walked to the cemetery to see where van Gogh lay next to his brother, Theo. Theo's wife gave up her place at his side so the two brothers could be buried next to each other. They had a lifetime friendship (although not without a few rough spots) and Theo, an art dealer, was Vincent's main financial support. Their correspondence contributed much to documenting Vincent's life.

After that I caught the next train back to Paris pondering the fact that van Gogh had only sold one painting in his lifetime and was another tragic figure who had given up everything for his art only to live in poverty and not be rewarded. Ironically, now his paintings sell for millions of dollars and are exhibited in museums all over the world including the van Gogh Museum - entirely devoted to his work - in Amsterdam. Another great collection is in the Kroller-Muller Museum also in the Netherlands which is located in a National Park. One rides a free white bicycle to get to it, and then leaves the bicycle at the park entrance when finished.

Irving Stone has also written an excellent book about van Gogh: "Lust for Life."  It was also made into a movie. Vincent van Gogh didn't have any children who might have benefited from his legacy, but Theo's wife and son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, continued the family business after Vincent's death in 1890.

This is from Wikipedia:

Auvers-sur-Oise (May - July 1890) In May 1890, Vincent left the clinic and went to the physician Dr. Paul Gachet, in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, where he was closer to his brother Theo. Dr. Gachet had been recommended to him by Pissarro, as he had previously treated several artists and was an amateur artist himself. Here Van Gogh created his only etching, a portrait of the melancholic Doctor Gachet. As it turned out the doctor was as much in need of help as his patient: Van Gogh commented that Gachet was "sicker than I am, I think, or shall we say just as much". Wheat Field with Crows with its turbulent intensity is often, but mistakenly, thought to be Van Gogh's last work (Jan Hulsker lists seven paintings after it). Daubigny's Garden is a more likely candidate. There are also seemingly unfinished paintings, such as Thatched Cottages by a Hill. Van Gogh's depression deepened, and on July 27, 1890, at the age of 37, he walked into the fields and shot himself in the chest with a revolver. Without realising that he was fatally wounded, he returned to the Ravoux Inn, where he died in his bed two days later. Theo hastened to be at his side and reported his last words as "La tristesse durera toujours" (French for "the sadness will last forever"). He was buried at the cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise. Theo had contracted syphilis (though this was not admitted by the family for many years) and, not long after Vincent's death, was himself admitted to hospital. He was not able to come to terms with the grief of his brother's absence, and died six months later. In 1914 Theo's body was exhumed and re-buried beside Vincent's.

Monet's Home at Giverny

Claude Monet was one of the few impressionists who actually made pretty good money at his art later in life. During a three week stay in Paris, I spent one day visiting Monet's home in Giverny which along with his gardens and lilly pond is kept in much the same state as he left it when he died in 1926. Monet's famous paintings of his gardens, pond and Japanese bridge which celebrate the beauty of nature don't tell the story that they were first created by the meticulous Monet who then later painted them. So he was a gardener, pond builder and bridge builder in addition to being a painter

From the Gare Saint-Lazare train station it's about a 45 minute trip to Vernon. From here it's about 4 km to Giverny to which you can either walk or take a bus. I took a bus for the trip out, but, once I had the lay of the land, I felt confident to walk back to the train station through the Foret de Vernon. One of my best memories is hiking through the Foret de Vernon, listening to Take 6 on my cassette player on a beautiful French afternnoon.

In 1877 Monet did a series of paintings of the Saint-Lazare train station, and I was fortunate enough to attend an exhibition at the Musee d'Orsay of the paintings of the Saint-Lazare by both Monet and Manet. In those days the trains were steam engine powered and the stations were dirty, sooty places, but fascinating nonetheless. From 1916 to 1926, Monet worked on 12 large canvases called "The Water Lillies." After the Armistice for World War I was signed, Monet donated them to France. These paintings can be viewed at the museum of the Orangerie in Paris which is near the Tuilleries Gardens which is just west of the Louvre.

On the beaches of Normandy, he met fellow artist Eugene Boudin, who became his mentor and taught him to use oil paints. Boudin taught Monet en plein air (outdoor) techniques for painting. Monet was a non-conformist eschewing the techniques of the conventional art establishment at the time. Instead he joined with artists such as Renoir, Bazille and Sisley to create a new approach to art which came to be known as impressionism.

It was at Giverny that he began his well-known series which later made him famous. He painted the series of twenty-five "Haystacks" between 1888 and 1891. In 1892, he exhibited a set of twenty-four Poplars at the Durand-Ruel gallery; from 1892 to 1898, he painted the series of Cathedrals, "Matinées sur la Seine " and then the Japanese Bridge , Wistarias and Water Lilies with their interplay of sky, clouds, grass and flowers.

After 1900 Monet became famous and continued to paint the "controlled nature" of his gardens and lilly pond at Giverny. Monet lived and painted in Argenteuil, Rouen and London among other places.

His first wife, Camille Doncieux, with whom he had two children died in 1879. He later married Alice Hoschede and moved into the Giverny house in 1883 where he lived and painted until his death. In his later years he suffered from cataracts which affected his painting. His sight somewhat recovered after cataract surgery. In 1911 Alice died and in 1914 his son, Jean, died.

At Giverny there is a nice gift shop as well as the house and gardens which you can tour. The town itself is very small. It's a beautiful way to spend a day and get back to the Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris by nightfall.

Marx, Einstein and Goethe

What do Marx, Einstein and Goethe have in common? They were all born in Germany. I was traveling on the Deutches Bahn across the lower part of Germany from Munich to Freibourg following the Danube River to its source. Part of my trip was a pilgrimage to the birthplaces of my heroes Marx and Einstein. Einstein was born in Ulm and I was eager to see how Ulm had honored their "homey," one of the greatest thinkers the human race has produced.

I got off the train at Ulm and headed for the Information Center. Almost every town in Europe has one, and they are very helpful pointing out local points of interest. I was told there was no "Einstein house." The house where he was born had been torn down, no doubt by the Nazis. There were just 2 monuments to Einstein and that was it. I got directions and set out to find the first one, a 3D sculpture version of the famous picture of Einstein sticking out his tongue. After some searching I found it. It was OK but it was just sitting there by the side of some building. There was no information about Einstein or anything.

The second monument was near the train station, and I frantically searched for it since my departing train was almost due. Finally, I found it - a nondescript, graffiti-covered obelisk in a dimly lit, underground walkway. One had to search to even find the name "Einstein" anywhere on it. What a disgrace! I boarded my train and continued on my way passing the source of the Danube, but I don't remember where.

After a sojourn in the Black Forest, I continued by train with my Deutches Bahn Rail Pass up the Rhine to Koblenz. From there I headed up the Moselle River with my destination being Trier, the birthplace of Karl Marx. I wondered if his birthplace had honored him any more than Ulm had honored Einstein. I got off the train to take a detour to Burg Eltz, a castle that had been in the same family for 800 years and had not been destroyed by Allied bombers during World War 2 because they couldn't find it, so deep in the forest was it hidden. This was highly recommended by Rick Steeves, my travel guru. I always tried to l"ive like a local" as he recommended even to the point of not booking any advance reservations on this trip, a practice I lived to regret when I got to Berlin.

Burg Eltz was a pleasant 45 minute hike through the forest, and I took a tour through the castle. Unfortunately, there was no English tour, and my rudimentary German was hardly sufficient to understand anything our tour guide had to say. The Germans seemed to eat it up though as they paid rapt attention laughing frequently. It seems that opening castles like these up to tourists is the only way families can afford to keep them since the upkeep is tremendous. It was neat to see a bunch of German families relaxing on the veranda after the tour, drinking beer and gazing out over the serene forest. I wanted to join them, but I needed to get to Trier in time to get a hotel room for the night.

Trier had been a Roman town, and there were Roman ruins around the town. I stayed by Porto Negro, the Black Gate, which was part of the ruins. Everywhere I went the first thing I did in the morning was go for a swim in the local municipal pool. Usually the pools were very nice. I remember the one in Rothenburg was outstanding as was the one in Trier. After breakfast I proceeded to explore the town. There was a Karl Marx house, the house where Marx grew up, a middle class burgher's house, naturally. For some reason I didn't get to go in. Maybe it wasn't open that day. There was a Karl Marx Haus bus stop, a Karl Marx Big and Tall men's clothing store and a Karl Marx Kebap house. I was very impressed! They even had a poster of Marx at the local Information Center. I think there was even a local beer called Karl Marx. I came to the conclusion that the most you could aspire to even if you were the most famous person in the whole world was to have a beer named after you. It seemed that way all over Europe.

Leaving Trier I headed for Erfurt, formerly in East Germany, and also Weimar and the Wartburg Castle where Luther supposedly threw his ink pot at the devil. Erfurt was interesting. This former Communist stronghold had some residential streets where the houses were worthy of Beverly Hills. Who used to live here I wondered? I thought everybody lived in huge grey apartment blocks. Evidently not everybody. Finally, I realized that these mansions must have been occupied by Communist Party officials. At least somebody was living well under Communism.

My goal from Erfurt was to hike the Goethe Wanderweg, a hiking trail in the Thuringian mountains where Goethe used to hike and go to find peace and quiet to write his books. I found that Goethe was the real German hero far surpassing Einstein and Marx. There were Goethe monuments and Goethe houses everywhere. Goethe had written "The Sorrows of Young Werther," about a young man much like Holden Caulfield in "The Catcher in the Rye." In fact "Sorrows" was a sort of German "Catcher."

I took the train out of Erfurt heading for some little town where the trail head was located. As typical for my travels in Germany and elsewhere, I could not find the trail head. Sometimes I spent hours looking for a monument or some point of interest that sounded like a really big deal in the guide book. Usually the locals had never heard of it and could have cared less. So much for living like a local!

Finally, I asked a man working in his garden, "Wo ist die Goethe Wanderweg?" He very kindly pointed it out to me. It was a very unobtrusive entrance I must say. I had built it up in my mind to the point where I expected flashing neon lights indicating the start of this historic trail. Finally, however, I was on my way. Soon I found that the trail was indeed very well marked. There were multiple signs pointing directions at every crossroad. I checked out the tree house where Goethe loved to write, the party house where he loved to party etc. etc. As I hiked further, I noticed that the trail started to narrow. All of a sudden there were no more signs and no more German tourists. I was glad that I had refilled my water jug at that last rest stop although the barman seemed to have a difficult time understanding why anyone would be drinking water. It commenced to get darker and darker as I hiked further into the Thuringer Wald. I was lost, lost in a German forest, not speaking very much German and needing to get to the next town to catch the train back to the quarters in Erfurt I was renting from a private family whom I never saw the whole three days I stayed there.

At last I came upon a woodcutter's cottage. I kid you not. There were three German woodcutters deep in the forest. I asked them for directions, but they just sort of waved me on as if they didn't want to be bothered. I did finally luck out and get to the train station just in time to catch the last train back to Erfurt.

In Weimar I searched in vain for the Goethe house while the locals were having a street fair eating wurst and drinking beer. They knew nothing and could have cared less about the Goethe house. I also searched in vain for the famous statue of Goethe and Schiller arm in arm (which was nice because they hated each other) in front of the Deutches Natonalische Teater or something like that. Finally, I gave up and in my frustration decided to down a few cold ones myself. I walked up to a tent and drank a few, got into a conversation with the bartender who spoke pretty good English and had been to California. He said he had been on the freeways there and the drivers were all "Assels." I couldn't have agreed more. In my stupor I headed back to the train station only to have the serendipity of stumbling on the famous statue of Goethe and Schiller hugging each other. My day was...complete. I retired to my bedroom in the private house and watched German television.

Heading for Berlin, I had some difficulty finding a hotel room because I didn't have an advance reservation. I had learned my lesson. I had taken this "living like a local" stuff too far. Finally, I found one for which I paid the most money for the worst dump of my trip. I learned my lesson. It took me 3 days to find a suitable swimming pool. Finally, I found the Sports Scwimme Halle a place where you could really swim laps. Like most European locker rooms, you put a coin in the locker, extracted the key and pinned the key on you while you swam. When you came back to the locker and inserted the key, the lock opened and you got your coin back. I hadn't had any trouble with this arrangement before, but today after enjoying a nice swim in a pool that seemingly had no bottom, I noticed my key missing. Oh no, I thought. Here I am in a foreign country, barely speaking the language, dripping wet and all my ID, my wallet, my passport, my money, everything that I own, practically, is locked up in a German locker, and I've lost my key!

Finally, I summoned up all the German I knew and went up to the locker room attendant. "Ich habe mein schlussel verloren," I said looking helpless and forlorn. He was very nice and without much adieu opened the locker for me. Needless to say I was relieved!