I am of the opinion that if you are flying to a foreign country, especially a “first world” one, you simply must travel via that country’s national airline. You’ll be eased into life there – announcements will be in the country’s language as well as English, the food might be from the country or otherwise reflect their cuisine, the amenities kit that you get in business class will be made by a designer from there, etc.
Tag Archives: travel
Brussels – 0
It’s been several years since I traveled to Europe. I’m not getting any younger, so I felt it was time to go back while I’m still young enough to enjoy it. Being able to afford it now helps.
Why Brussels? Mostly because it’s a little off the beaten path. I also considered London and Paris, but decided against them as they are too common. I wanted someplace more on the unusual side – so people would want to hear my travel tales. Belgium is known for two of my favorite things – beer and chocolate – so I’m sure to have a good time. Also, English is spoken quite regularly there, and there are direct flights from my nearest international airport.
Planning, though, can be a pain.
Charm City – 6
I noticed something on the drive down. Everyone, with reason, talks about the foliage of fall. All those brilliant and vivid golds, oranges, and reds on the trees, mixed in with the remaining greens. But in the spring, and lasting for about the same amount of time, one can notice a similar display on the trees as new growth bursts out of its protective coverings. Golds and reds among the many shades of yellow-green, with the occasional splash of pink, white, or purple from an ornamental tree that managed to escape into the wild. The colors are rather less “saturated”, of course, but they are there if you are willing to look.
Charm City – 5
As I’ve said often enough, a walking tour is a good way to get a real feel for a place, as well as learn some cool things. In Baltimore, I was in the mood for something a bit different. Looking over the choices, I came across a “Haunted Pub Crawl Tour” of the Fell’s Point area – just what I needed!
Charm City – 4
For those not wanting to leave the Inner Harbor area, there are a pair of Places To Visit right on the Harbor.
The Maryland Science Museum is located at the southwest corner of the harbor. Like almost every science museum these days, it’s got the dinosaur exhibit that shows the geological history of the area, interactive displays illustrating various principles of physics (which kids play with and on without stopping to wonder about the various principles involved), a demonstration theater / lecture hall for showing off visually exciting things in chemistry and physics, and a fairly large exhibit sponsored by one of the area’s major corporations / research centers.
Charm City – 3
Of course, the real reason I went to Baltimore was to take in a few baseball games. I deliberately picked a week where the Orioles would be in town, and bought tickets to two games – conveniently with different visiting teams.
Now I have to admit that Oriole Park at Camden Yards (to use the full, official name) is a lovely place to watch a ball game. Clean sight lines, a nice backdrop, and easy to get to. Worth noting is that it doesn’t have any deliberate quirks that one finds in many of the newer stadia. No giant wall with a home run train on it, no corner of a building serving as a foul pole, no weird walls or angles “just because”…. OK, the left field wall drops back really quickly from 333 feet at the pole to 371 feet, and there is that building behind Eutaw Street in right field. But those things aren’t forced; they feel perfectly natural.
But there is one thing that really irks me; and it’s an absence rather than a presence.
Charm City – 2
I couldn’t really not go to the Walters Museum of Art; it’s Baltimore’s premiere art museum. Not as big as the ones in Chicago or New York City (duh), but it’s got a fine collection of art and artifacts, and their curators know what they are doing.
It also has free admission…..
Charm City – 1
Time for another “Spring Break”! Have to use up those vacation days…..
I didn’t feel like traveling a great distance (air travel doesn’t seem particularly safe or reliable these days) – where could I easily drive in one day, and with a baseball team that’s at home so I could take in a few games?
Baltimore fit the bill. Even though I’ve been there already – but it’s been about a decade since my last (and only other) trip there. Time to make plans!
Detroit – 6
It seems that these days, every large enough city with something resembling a waterfront is required to turn that waterfront into a park. Detroit is no exception; their riverfront has been turned into a nice promenade, with scattered trees, grassy areas, and benches. There’s even a small state park to show what a natural riverbank is supposed to look like, with the corresponding environmental benefits.
There are also a couple of party boats and river cruises available – none of which I took advantage of on this trip. No ferries between the two countries; I guess they aren’t needed.
Maybe if I had a party of 200….
Plenty of those electric scooters for rent. I suppose that maybe someday I’ll use one – if the rental company would make them more user-friendly, and post signs at the charging stations showing the rates and where the nearest other stations are, so you’d know exactly what you’re getting into with one. You could even stick a QR code on the sign, that lets you download the app right away! Come on, people! It’s not that hard!
One cool thing of note was a vending machine in the snack area at the Michigan Science Museum – salads in a jar! I forget which one I had (lots of bean sprouts), but it was tasty and substantial. A bit messy getting everything out of the jar into the cardboard “bowl”, though.
Something that struck me was the lack of traffic Downtown – both foot and vehicular. For a major city, it was weird to see so little activity in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. Was everyone off on vacation somewhere? Things were pretty sparse even in the major office complex of the Renaissance Center.
By the way, it’s pronounced “shine-O-la”……not “shin”……
Detroit – 5
Every major city is going to have some sort of art museum and a science museum. If the place is old enough, it will have a history museum, too. Being a first class city, Detroit has all three. I don’t know if they planned it that way, but all three are in the same neighborhood. You can even see all three of them if you stand in the right spot. Not that I’d try and visit all of them in the same day. Well, you could, but you’d have to rush through them and you’d miss a lot.
Let’s take the Detroit Institute of Arts first.
Pure Blather 