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By Thomas Rye on December 30, 2009
Blizzard Warning - Travel Not Advised
Saw this on the highway info signs on the way to my Grandma’s house Christmas Eve: “Blizzard Warning – Travel Not Advised”. My first thought was, “I’m glad to be traveling right now.” The roads really weren’t as bad as you’d think with a warning like this, but it wasn’t a walk in the park either. Being on the road to see this sign might be one of my favorite Christmas memories from this year… ok, that’s not true at all, this Christmas had some landmark memories. But it sure did feed my adventurous side a lot of excitement.
Posted in Blogging, Weather | Tagged blizzard, driving, snow, Weather |
By Thomas Rye on December 13, 2009
I’m still working at getting this site to be something useful. I’ve got a custom design for the blog that I will be putting in place. Hopefully this week. We’ll see.
Stay tuned though and I promise changes will come.
Posted in Updates |
By Thomas Rye on November 3, 2008
Picture: Levi walking down Prymasa Stefana Wysyzńskiego in Poznan, Poland with the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul in the background
We are seeing history that long out dates the United States as a country (even the slightest idea of the United States) by several hundred years. This cathedral is the oldest cathedral in all of Poland. It was build around 968 AD. For reference, this was before Leif Eriksson discovered North America.
We walked across town to this cathedral on All Saints Day (Nov 1) and prayed there. In one of the side rooms of the sanctuary, the ceiling had been recovered / preserved with the original fresco that was painted on it around the time of it being built. A 1000 year old painted ceiling, astounding.
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel | Tagged Cathedral of St Peter and Paul, poland, poznan |
By Thomas Rye on November 2, 2008
Picture: Our apartment building (right), built in 1908
Our accommodations in Poznan, Poland are quite comfortable. Thanks to Everett and Rhonda Tustin for graciously opening up their guest flat to us. The buildings here were built at the turn of the century, the last century, around 1908. In a few more months the buildings will be over 100 years old. They’ve seen a lot of history in those years. The building next door (on the left in the picture) has machine gun pock marks from World War 2 scattered up the outside walls. Down the street is the Teatr Nowy im. Tadeusza Łomnickiego, a very famous Polish Theatre.
Inside the apartment building are four floors of large flats with high ceilings. After opening the door with the right jostle of a skeleton key you will see that the ceilings are adorned with elaborate craftsmanship original to the building and quaint balconies that overlook a part of the city.
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel | Tagged poland, poznan |
By Thomas Rye on November 1, 2008
Picture: Tram cables over Franklina Roosevelta Street
Poznan and Gdansk have great public transportation. Both cities make it easy for anyone to get around without a car. Taxis are always available though not the cheapest method of cross-city connection. There are trams running on every street almost. The secret is that the trams are on an honor system that most Poles don’t always hold to. Making an already inexpensive fare even cheaper – free. The trams have their own lanes in intersections and have to abide by traffic signals and even pedestrian awareness like cars. Polish people adhere to crosswalk signals pretty strictly, possibly because there is so much to be aware of if you’re thinking of crossing on red – cars, buses, trams, etc.
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel | Tagged poland, poznan, transportation |
By Thomas Rye on October 28, 2008
Picture: Levi and Wojtek on a hill overlooking Gdansk, Poland
On our second to last night in Gdansk we took a bus down to the Centre (Downtown). Our friends Wojtek (Voytek), Natalia and Thea (from the States) took us up to a hill that overlooked all of Gdansk. The city was lit up beautifully and showed an array of history across the cityscape. To the right in the picture you can see a few spires along Long Street. This is the oldest part of the city (established somewhere in the 10th Century). To the left are some more modern buildings and the shipyard of Poland’s biggest seaport. Gdansk is a conurbation of what is known here as Trójmiasto (Tricity) joining with Sopot and Gdynia.
This hill had a large cross at the top that is a part of a network of Solidarity crosses throughout Poland. Thousands were arrested and 80 were executed around 1970 during a protest of the communist regime. 80% of Polands workforce belonged to this movement that was born out of that sacrifice and their stand eventually led to semi-free elections in 1989.
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel |
By Thomas Rye on October 26, 2008
Picture: Charlton Street, London, England
(continued from last post)
We’d left our bags at a 24-hour storage facility in the train station at St Pancras. We thought this would be a great way to tour around London and see the sights with a lighter load. This facility boldly advertised 24 HOUR storage, though it was only STAFFED until 10pm. The hours of operation were on a poorly inked stamp on our receipt, unnoticed until a random moment of review in the shadow of Tower Bridge… two minutes before our bags would be locked away until 7am the following morning.
First train to the airport we could catch would be 7:02am. Time to the airport: 45 minutes. Wizzair, our airline to Poland, has a strict policy of closing their check-in 40 minutes before take off. Our flight was at 8am. The outlook was grim. We discussed our options, mainly just different levels of worst-case-scenario ranging from £70 loss to £100+ loss. And all of them included a nights stay at the luxuriously drafty St Pancras train terminal.
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel |
By Thomas Rye on October 25, 2008
Picture: Looking up Bridge Rd past a double-decker bus toward Big Ben and Parliament, London, England.
True to the end of the last post, the sights were seen. Three blocks walk from the cafe put us back on the Underground. After eight or nine stops on the circle line we arrived at Westminster station. It has, quite possibly the best exit in the city. You follow “Way Out” signs to the exit, walk up the steps to the street and then lay your head back on your shoulders to take in the 314ft, gargantuan Big Ben, poised in all it’s splendor directly across the street.
Then it was across the River Thames to see the Eye of London, around to Trafalgar Square, back on the Underground to Picadilly Circus, then to Tower Bridge. At exactly two to ten, Thomas had an epiphany.
“Hey Levi, when does the baggage storage place close?” … (continued next post)
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel |
By Thomas Rye on October 25, 2008
Picture: Paddington Station, London, England
Travel has been swift and smooth, though not without incident. Before leaving Kansas City, Thomas’ carry-on suffered a broken strap and he carried it like a sack of potatoes through to Minneapolis until they were able to improvise a repair using a spare carabiner. Levi was gently rebuked by a UK border security woman for the ragged state of his passport. “Passport been through the wash, love?” He meekly confessed that it had been, whereupon she informed him that this had nullified all the “over 300” built-in security features and could allow anyone to use it by simply switching pictures.
After quite nearly not being admitted into the UK, we found our way to a local pub a block from the St Pancras station for some reasonably priced fish and chips.
Tonight will be filled with the obligatory London sights. Tomorrow, Poland.
* This is from a series of posts from thomasrye.com/travel when Levi Manning and I traveled to Europe.
Posted in Travel |
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