Preview of coming attractions: Siena

Siena was one of our favorites cities during our entire trip, and I'll warn you now to expect lots of posts wherein I'll show you why. But for now, just a few teasers...

First off, Siena has what Rick Steves calls the best square in Europe, and we are tempted to agree, although it's not really square-shaped...

The tower in the background of this photo is its amazing Duomo, probably my favorite from among the thousands (only a slight exaggeration) of churches we visited on this trip. I will probably have to spend several posts talking about this place...outside...

...and, especially, inside...

This is where I developed my obsession with church floor-tile-art...

Q-bert, anyone?

And as if the church itself weren't enough, there's this little alcove off to one side full of illuminated music manuscripts that I could hardly tear myself away from...

Then there's the town's Campanile, whose tower we opted to climb instead of the Duomo's...

The photo at the top of this post was one of the many I took from the top.

We were only here for one full day, plus a morning and an evening, but thanks to Rick's Florence and Tuscany guidebook, we were able to learn the meaning of symbols like this around town...

...and I was motivated to snap pictures of as many of the city's contrade symbols as I could. There will be a post showcasing them, and explaining this cultural phenomenon that's unfortunately easy to miss, given Siena's more imposing sights. Thanks again, Rick!

Wordless Wednesday: but we missed the horse race...

Brief break from Super-trip posts

Joe Haldeman;
author of The Forever War

Yes, some interesting things have been happening around here since we returned from Europe. Not anything nearly as exciting and exotic as our Super-Trip, of course, but worth, I think, making a brief hiatus to tell you about.

First came Halloween, which was not a really big deal around here this year since we didn't have the Adorable Granddaughter with us. But I did make a little survey of decorations around the neighborhood to send her, and the dancing ghosts above was my favorite display.

Next came a very busy series of days for me. On Wednesday I picked up from the airport the Most Famous Person I Know, my college friend Carol Berg, the fantasy author (who also happened to be part of my work crew in Colorado this summer), and her fellow author friend Brenda Carre. They were coming to town for World Fantasy 2017, a small literary Con that I was also excited about attending.

Terry Brooks;
author of The Sword of Shannara

Four years ago, I attended the much bigger World Con, which some of my readers might remember. World Fantasy is a much more intimate setting and although the biggest names weren't there, and there wasn't as much programming, it was still a lot of fun.

In addition to the interesting and informative panels—think discussions of Tristram Shandy, Jane Austen, and Karl May as well as Tolkien, Martin, and China Mieville!—there were lots of readings. I attended Carol's and Brenda's, as well as those of the luminaries you see on the right and left here. (Joe Haldeman, one of my favorite SF authors, had also been at WorldCon; I'm glad they let him come to a fantasy Con. )

It was a very well-run convention, with even a hospitality suite serving lunches. Everyone was very friendly and approachable. But the biggest surprise was free books! I got this enormous stack in a very handy, multi-pocketed book bag at the registration desk! Definitely a Con I will look forward to attending again sometime in the future.

But no sooner had World Fantasy ended on Sunday at noon, than we were off to New Braunfels for Wurstfest. Faithful readers will remember when we attended this mini-Oktoberfest for the first time in years, back in 2015.

Again, we were there to hear and see the fabulous Alex Meixner Band. We had seen him earlier this year, when we spent the 4th of July in Luckenbach. But you can never get too much Alex.

Alex getting us ready for his final set*

I didn't take any pictures of the band performing, because I decided after my last two attempts that it's just not possible to capture his frenetic, off-the-wall (but very talented) musicianship and showmanship in still photos. You can see some in the links I've provided to my previous Alex posts.

I also don't have pictures this time of anyone in a funny hat except for Henry; you can see a selection of outrageous headgear in my 2015 post.

Henry, after calling up his super-power and
finding us a free parking space

Next up, back to Super-tripping. Stay tuned!

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*Yes, we stayed for all three sets this time and were completely worn out (as was Alex!) by the end of the evening. But what a show! (And fortunately the damage to our eardrums doesn't seem to be permanent.)

Super-side-trip: Verona

Roman amphitheatre being prepared for an ice-skating show...what would they think?

Right along the way from Kastelruth/Castelrotto to Siena is a city we couldn't resist stopping to visit.

We were in Verona in 2008, and had a wonderful tour of the old city, courtesy of a college friend who now lives in nearby Vicenza. But the main sightseeing attraction—the Roman-built Arena di Verona—was closed during that visit.

This time, not only was it open for tourists, but we even hit it on the first Sunday of the month—when the admission is €1, instead of 10!

We thoroughly enjoyed rambling around the massive structure, but, especially with the rather distracting work going on in preparation for the ice show, we thought €10 would have been a little steep. (I'm sure their guided tours are interesting, but they were extra; and we didn't have time anyway.)

The arches are of course the Arena's main architectural feature, and it was hard to stop taking pictures of them...

Those Romans really knew how to make beautiful arches! The seats are really gorgeous, too...although, just maybe, not that comfortable?...

The "concourses" (no concessions, sorry) are really cool, in both senses of the word. But it's hard to get good pictures down there...

It being €1 Sunday, there was a pretty big crowd, but it probably would have been bigger if the weather had been nicer—we got drizzled on a little, and it was chilly. Definitely lots more people than when we visited in 2008, as you can see from pictures of the empty square when you click on the link at the top of the post.

There was a fair going on; we think it had something to do with getting people to volunteer with various local agencies, and that no doubt accounted for a good deal of the crowd.

But I wonder if the guys on the left hang around on normal tourist days. We saw them, or some of their colleagues, a little later, too, during a break from their regular shift...

off-duty Roman soldiers at a neighborhood coffee bar

And we couldn't help but wonder if Bob Dylan (!) would soon be playing the Arena??? That would be cool, but this sign was apparently advertising an exhibition at the Società Letteraria di Verona.

Unlike our previous visit, we didn't wander much around the old city this time, but we did get to see some nice architecture. Here's the city hall, located on the square opposite the Arena. It's not only a handsome structure, but also harbors that holy grail for travelers, a nice WC...

Even ordinary apartment blocks are so photogenic in Italian old cities...

We did see one of the imposing city gates that I snapped in 2008...

...but this eye-catching structure was new to us...

We didn't stop in for a burger, but since it was sitting right on top of the parking garage where we'd left our tiny car, it was a helpful landmark.

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Next up on the Super-Trip agenda: Tuscany! But I do have a brief hiatus in mind for my next post, since I have done a few interesting things since returning from Europe, even though it's nothing on the scale of the trip tales.

Super-trip: on the road again

Seis am Schlern/Siusi allo Sciliar in the rain

After our wonderful time in the Südtirol/Alto Adige, it was time to head south, and leave German behind (for a while). Time to bring back out the handy Rick Steves Italian phrasebook.

The drive was really scenic, with mountains at the beginning...

...and Tuscan views like this at the end...

The winding mountain roads that led us out of the high Tirolean valleys and down to the Autostrada were made doubly exciting by the rainy weather...

a too-cautious (for Henry) fellow tourist we followed down the mountain

looking down on the Autostrada from our little high road

... but we made it to the safer road without incident (and we couldn't help but be thankful the rain had held off until this day!). Soon were back in the land of vines, vines, vines...

...as well as sheep...and better weather...

And after leaving the Autostrada, we definitely didn't leave the vines behind...

We did have an interesting encounter with some other tourists and a helpful native, who was eventually able to explain to all of us how to use some typically convoluted self-service gas pumps.

I don't have any pictures of that stop along our way, but we did make another, more major, sightseeing detour between Kastelruth/Castelrotto and Siena. I'll tell you about that next time. Here's a hint: it involved a parking garage:

Wordless Wednesday: just sittin' and thinkin'

Südtirol/Alto Adige: Bozen/Bolzano

We missed most of the big festival in Kastelruth/Castelrotto in order to see this guy in Bozen/Bolzano. He's Ötzi, the famous Iceman; actually the photo above is of a reconstruction, imagining what he might have looked like. We did get the see the real-deal frozen mummy, too, though, in the wonderful Südtiroler Archäeologiemuseum/Museo Archeologico dell'Alto Adige. 

Bozen/Bolzano is less than an hour away from Kastelruth/Castelrotto by bus, along the very scenic road that we had taken a few days before. (The ride was free, too, using the passes provided by our hotel.)

Photography wasn't permitted in the most interesting sections of the museum, but I did snap part of this informational sign about Ötzi's nationality, which was under some dispute when he was first found...

Just another example of how complicated and convoluted is the geography, politics, and linguistics of this lovely region of the world. Italy and Austria have worked out a cooperative agreement that allows the mummy to reside in Italy, while most of the scientific work connected to him takes place in Austria.

The museum not only tells you everything you'd ever want to know (and more) about the mummy, his discovery, and how they know what they know about him. But it also includes fascinating exhibits on the media reaction to the discovery, as well as more on these political/geographical angles.

exterior of the museum

Bozen/Bolzano is an interesting and photogenic city apart from the attraction of Ötzi, as you can see from the attractive building housing the archeological museum. Right down the street was a fine gelateria, where we had lunch (how many Italian lunches for us were gelato?!)...

handsome buildings with mountains for a backdrop

And, of course, they have an amazing Cathedral...

...which is at least partially restored after World War II bombings. But its Gothic roots are obvious when you step inside...

There was an interesting exhibit all around the interior (all the signs were just in German, which meant I could understand more than if they were just in Italian, but I still didn't get the full nuances) about a son of the city, Josef May-Nusser, a WWII resistance hero who died on the way to Dachau. He is currently beatified and awaiting a sainthood determination. History is really never very far away when you're in Europe.

Here's another look at the Cathedral, from the side...

Bozen/Bolzano also has an expansive town square, the Waltherplatz/Piazza Walther...

Walther von der Vogelweide, for whom the square is named, is immortalized with the central statue...

Pretty cool when the main statue in your town's main square is of a poet!