Saigon Family life ....

Part of what made this trip so authentic was the fact that in Saigon and Hue, (former Imperial Capital of Viet Nam) we stayed with family. We were enfolded into the Saigon family on our late nite arrival - being met at the airport by Loan and 2 of her 20 year old cousins. We drove thru the amazingly trafficky rain soaked streets at 11PM and were welcomed into the matriarch's home with tea, fruit and talk til 1AM or so. There was gift giving on our part, a Don cutting board, and a world map for the star 13 year old student as well as an English language comprehension book that I scoured for at the Teacher's store for the shy 10 year old younger brother. 

Here we are in the kitchen with daughter #4, Ba (matriarch of family), me, 

Nhu, the 13 year old all Saigon star pupil, and Don. 

On our first morning we were treated to pho which in Viet Nam from north to south is considered a breakfast meal. There are little pho shops all over, filled with young students on their way to school with Dad or Mom, colleagues, families ... it's quick, in and out because that is all that they serve. In Saigon it is with raw beef, to give you strength for your day ... but the broth is so hot that the thinly sliced meat cooks within seconds. Served as all pho with plenty of basil, mint, sprouts and lime it's a counterintuitively great way to start the day ... who would think steaming soup would be what you would want when you are sweating like the proverbial farm animal, but hey, it works. 

The Saigon family, similar to the Hue one, is a multi-generational affair with grandma and 2 of her daughters sharing the 4 storey house. The downstairs has a commercial space fronting the street which is rented out to a local merchant. Just behind the commercial space, which family come in and out of at any time, is what would be known in the early 20th century US as a parlor. A semi-public space to greet guests/friends. It has a couch, 2 chairs and a coffee table and is where prodigous amounts of tea and Viet Namese coffee were had by us along with fruit and many conversations. There is also a tv on the far wall and a charming waterfall centerpiece below the stairs, which separate the kitchen from the parlor area. Behind the kitchen is a bathroom and small bedroom. 

Don and I were given the 3rd floor which had a large bedroom with bath next to it, the stairs in-between a 2nd room which fronted the street, complete with a balcony filled with plants, a tv, couches and chairs. Great morning light for reading. The 2nd floor was similar to ours, which another daughter (mother of star pupil) her husband and children shared. Then the 4th floor was probably also similar which is where the 4th daugher lived. The caring and love that was shared between these family members in our mini-blick was very obvious. But what we learned was that the house next door, was owned by daughter #2, which had an exact layout of the ground floor, complete with parlor and kitchen layout. And of course up the street was another daughter ... these folks stayed very close to home. We were asked many times if our children missed us with us gone so long on this trip. The idea that our children lived hours away from us brought incomprehending looks of sadness even though the first comments about us had to do with our obvious, to them, happiness. (these comments were made to Loan on the first and subsequent nites)

Many of the grandchildren studied English in school and we became the natural people for them to practice with, only practice was not what it was. These were very verbal, very competent speakers of English. They spoke a very sophisticated English and although there were a couple of glitches here and there we were very impressed with their ability to explain, comprehend and have normal conversations with us. It occurs to me now that the Saigon family, particularly Bamboo, had the best English of any non-native English speakers we met in all the hotels, restaurants, museums & tours we went on in the 25 days we spent in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam. Her language competency will assist in all endeavors that she may pursue. I know that she and her cousins will continue to improve and expand their abilities further. 

Black Forest north to Rothenburg am Tauber

So after 3 days in Freiburg at the Intersolar while staying in Simonswald to the north of the city, Don and I left for points north on our way to visit some of the largest solar electric installations in the world. Our time in Simonswald had us passing a sculptor's studio daily which we finally stopped at on our way out of town. His works included very modern pieces and a lot of more traditional ones that were used as headstones. Work was done in wood and stone. These two spoke to me and were so simply elegant ... but out of my price range.



This house was typical of many we saw all throughout the Black Forest area of SW Germany.
As we traveled north we were happily surprised at just how many barns and houses we saw that had solar panels on the roof. Very impressive.


We stayed overnight outside of Stuttgart which many of you might know as the home of PORSCHE.. So for my birthday we visited the museum, which is quite small but they are in the midst of building a new much larger one scheduled to open in 2008. Guess who might be returning to Germany in the next few years. The factory complex surrounds the museum so as we walked from the parking area to the museum itself, we watched as cars came off the assembly line and were taken out for a test run...in the streets of Stuttgart!!.. Amazing. Don was literally beside himself with a mixture of joy and envy...like the little boy who finds himself in the candy store with empty pockets. He kept telling me he would get me one for my birthday, but I declined. We did have the marvelous Peugeot!!!....

A few hours north and east of Stuttgart (I will figure out how to get a map on here) we eased into Rothenburg am Tauber. A classic medieval walled city that was not too badly bombed after WWII. It was raining as we arrived so we quickly found ourselves walking around the city under its covered walls. About 3 foot wide with look outs here and again, and an occasional opening for arrows here and there. We got lovely views of the city as we stayed dry and above it all. Both of us were totally charmed by the atmosphere and lack of tourists in the areas we were exploring in, so we decided to stay and check it out further.

We found a lovely Gasthaus near the Roettur on the eastern part of town for a very good rate.

Exploration continued before naps and dinner when we were informed that there was a Night Watchman's Tour. Oh my what a delightful way to end my birthday. There must have been about 50-60 folks of all ages in this nite tour and since we had missed the English language one they were all Germans. The Nightwatchman was a showman in the best sense of the word. Able to get everyone's attention (a good teacher) and hold us spellbound with his stories of the way life was in the 1200's when anyone who came to the walled city after nightfall had to pay the gate keeper to come in. Travel was not high on anyone's list in those days... and one had to have a purpose to come to the gate... a purpose or some $$$. We were quite happy that we had chosen to stay and found a place we could spend a few more days in on another trip in the future.


Here is a shot of the White Gate, built in 1172, with the clock tower and Hotel sign.

Don got fascinated by the signage that was originally done in the days when most folks could not read, so signs were made with images that indicated what the retailer was selling. Now with so many foreigners visiting places where they might not speak the local language, again these signs are quite helpful. This could be another book that Don may put together given time, since he has quite a few shots of these from all over Europe.
and one last shot of Rothenburg am Tauber. Don and I made it to the incredible city museum which has an amazing collection of medieval armor ( 2 rooms full) No photos allowed and no one seems to know to go to this museum so we had it pretty much to ourselves. So many shafts, swords, full body armor with gloves, foot coverage and hoods... just incredible. And they had just gotten in the past 4-5 years a container full of gold coins from the 11-12th century that someone discovered when they were putting in a new wall and were digging out their basement. Nice find!!..


Remember click on any photo for a closer look.

Freiburg and the Intersolar

We arrived in SW Germany after traveling east across northern France in mid June just in time to arrive at Intersolar 2007, an annual international solar electric conference and trade show. Not the type of event we usually frequent, Don and I were a bit blown away by all the 'corporate' $$$ lavished on booths ... from multiple flat screen tv's to leather couches and enclosed rooms within the booths themselves .. we got over it quickly and just absorbed the feel and sights of the many innovative solar designs.

Don's camera was startled yet recovered quick enough to catch this photo of one of
the naked hand painted ladies that were strolling, barely noticed, throughout the
conference.... something you would never see in the USA.
They got Don's attention though.
Not only do the Germans have more solar electric installations than anyone else in the world, they also seem to understand that getting around can be mass transit or individual bicycles.. something that is not done too much in many cities in the US. We saw lots of trams and street cars all over European cities this one in Freiburg.


Don and I both brought our own cameras and although some of our interests dovetail in photography these two shots showcase some of the doors and metalwork that Don has enough for 2 books on... The first is a charming downspout
the second a door dated 1457.....hopefully Don will do some pages on doors/ signs or stonework... more on that later..

Laon and Reims Cathedrals

We had chosen this area for an overnight because of Riems. When we arrived we were certainly impressed by this early cathedral, which had been started in 1211, 9 years earlier than Salisbury. There were many similarities although most of the original stained glass here had been replaced since WWII. There was an entire section of glass which had been done by Marc Chagall and these were beautiful but impossible for me to photograph. This photo is of the western portal which was where knights on horseback would enter during the early years. We would come to know this same entrance at many cathedrals over the coming weeks.


Once inside we were taken with the quiet, the coolness, the scale, and height of the interior. Massive doors, incredible carvings and replacement stain glass done in a much more modern style, but reverential none the less.

I do not think we saw any cathedrals, doms, or basilicas which were not undergoing massive restorations. Some of them had not had much work done in many years/centuries and the stone was quite damaged. These were major undertakings mostly with private funds as no one has the money for the upkeep on these very old centers of community.
After leaving Riems we drove on the back roads ( narrow and twisty) to find our incredible overnight farmhous/garden accommodations in the tiny village of Orgeval (see traveling across N France) where Bernard's 14 year old daughter was the only one who spoke English, at least until Bernard, her father got home.


The next day we decided (based on Bernard's recommendation) to visit Laon, the first capital of France. Don and I spent the day touring the walled city
and the cathedral which was the precursor to many of the more famous cathedrals of Europe (Reims, Bamberg, Chartres) which all came after Laon.


The stained glass has mostly been replaced, but one on the north side, the rose window complex was original!!.. and were done to highlight the liberal arts philosophy of the day... with a WOMAN as a sign of wisdom in the center.... the 8 areas that a person was to be accomplished in to be considered educated and sophisticated included, astronomy, geometry, mathematics, medicine, dialectic, grammar, the stain glass is done with this woman in the center with 8 additional rose circles around this center each indicating these 8 areas of study. Very progressive for 1170...

Crossing Northern France in mid June

Upon arrival in Calais, France after our EuroTunnel adventure we pushed our clocks ahead one hour and went in search of French coffee and bread. We were moving toward Orgeval where we had a gorgeous b&b for 1 nite and since we were so early we overshot and headed to Reims to see the well known cathedral.



We must talk of the French Motorway first. Speed not a problem, motorway very new and modern.. but expensive.
Very expensive. And we did stop to use the restrooms and were thrilled to see they were so very new...not a bad design package but were we in for a surprise

New but barbaric. Not sure where the idea came from that the French are so
sophisticated with their bidets and all.. their public bathrooms.. everywhere we
stopped from Versailles later in our trip to the public bathrooms in cities..
if they were free, you could count on disgusting and beyond anything
I have experienced...

Check out this photo.. This was the womens...
and it was open to the world in the rear....Can you imagine your grandmother
trying to perch.... oh.. well nevermind...

Final Day in UK June 2007

On our final day in England for the June part of our trip (we would return on the last day of July for the remaining 2 weeks of the trip) we went to the Royal Pavillion, the Brighton hideaway home of George IV. For all its scandalous history, it now brings in quite a pretty penny yearly to the Royal coffers, although its building and George's attachment to it were filled with great derision for years. The kitchen and dining rooms were the most ornate as he loved to entertain and spent lavishly to impress his guests. No photography allowed inside so this is all you get here.

Before leaving Brighton we did manage to walk around areas that were not so close to the Pavillion and found the world where paint is in generous supply. Bright colors felt so clean and vibrant.... bright for Brighton I guess

That afternoon we drove along the coast to Folkestone where we would pick up the EuroTunnel the following morning on our way to France. This was an interesting, somewhat claustrophobic experience as one drives onto a train car...



a traffic director motions you as close as possible to the car in front of you, then your tires are chocked... narrow, tight, one stays in ones car... and then voila.... in 25 minutes, you find yourself in France!!... amazing...

The Adventure Begins in England

So Don and I had arranged to go to Europe and due to the lovely Fund for Teachers grant that I was awarded we decided to really do it. It was to be an 8 week trip, with 2 wks in Germany for the Fellowship part. We managed to get the best airfare and nonstop flight by flying into Heathrow and that was how we decided we would get to go to Stonehenge. We arranged to pickup the Peugeot at the airport and we were off, driving, of course, on the opposite side of the road. We had had some experience with this a few yrs back in St Thomas, where we constantly would say to each other, keep to the left, Mon.. so we could remember.



After a 10 hour flight, which was really wonderful due to British Air having an abundance of recent and classic movies, HBO shows, games, music etc.. the time really went quickly. We were rather exhausted and then Don drove for 2 hours west of London where we were staying for 2 nites at the Thatched Cottage in Lacock... Darling.. just darling... and came with a huge English breakfast.






So of course on our first day we do Stonehenge AND the Salisbury Cathedral. No time like the present to try to cram it all in. Amazing tour of the spire after seeing the cathedral itself which was begun in 1220. They pride themselves on the fact that theirs did not take hundreds of years to complete ( and therefore it is actually all of the same architechtural style.. altho the spire was the piece that came later.) Our intro to the cathedrals ( which of course as we were walking toward it and I told Don where we were going, before we could actually see it... " I am not much for churches" and I kind of looked at him and just said, Um we are in Europe, there will be lots of cathedrals.. and yes we did see and go into many cathedrals during the next 8 weeks.