Random Reflections

To say that international travel has changed in the last five years would be an understatement. What hasn't changed, however, is how challenging the "travel" part of international travel can be. On our first leg to Germany, we weathered a kooky airplane ride. Due to a lightning storm in Denver and a lack of sufficient air traffic controllers, we completed several loop de loops through Montana, Utah and Wyoming before landing.

Despite the delay, we were in no danger of missing our connecting flight to Munich. In fact, the plane was less than half full, so we had room to spread out. Arriving in Munich mid-afternoon, we picked up our bags and headed to ground transportation, where numerous cabs awaited. We immediately hit rush hour traffic, leading to a 130 euro cab fare. The frustrated cabbie literally scoffed at my 10 euro tip.

Aside from the numerous cultural opportunities when traveling to Europe, visitors also have a plethora of culinary options available. In Munich, we dined at several delightful spots, including the Augustiner-Keller and the Snitzelwirt, where bratwurst, wiener schnitzel and jagerschnitzel were featured dishes. My favorite was the jagerschnitel (pork cutlets with rich mushroom gravy) and spaetzel on the menu.

While we had experienced both Munich and Genoa in years past, we had never been to Bolzano (above, through one of the canterbury windows of Firmian Castle at the Messner Mountain Museum, below) in the South Tyrol province of Italy before. This delightful city in the Dolomites is the capital of South Tyrol, and with a population of approximately 108,000, is about the size as Bend, Oregon or Yakima, Washington.

Our primary objective in Bolzano, in addition to viewing the Dolomites, was to visit Firmian, the centerpiece of Reinhold Messner's six mountain museums scattered throughout South Tyrol. Firmian features a self-guided tour thet "explores the relationship between humans and mountains from spiritual, economic, philosophical and cultural perspectives. Architecture, art and natural form a compelling narrative.

While the first leg of our European train ride from Munich to Bolzano took a mere five hours, the next leg to Genoa was a somewhat grueling 10 hours, with frequent whistle stops along the way through Verona, Milan and Turin and many smaller towns. Finally arrived at Genova Brignole and hastily adjourned to our berth at the Hotel Genova Liberty near Porto Antico, the old port where our family had departed Italy in 1912.

While in Genoa, we visited Portofino, the exquisite fishing-village-cum-tourist-trap with colorful pastel houses, chic boutiques and seafood restaurants aplenty huddled around the town piazzetta (little piazza). We dined on 75 euro plates of sumptuous shrimp cocktails at the Ristorante Delfino with gorgeous views of the harbor while admiring the "testa di moro (below)" traditional Sicilian vases made in Positano.

Our final mission on this European adventure was to travel to the hinterlands of Liguria to visit our cousins, the Sanguinetis. We are indebted to our trusty cab driver-cum-interpreter Adndreas Giovanelli who not only guided us into the far reaches of the Ligurian foothills but also produced and directed a top-notch video about our experiences.