Travel Letters

Vartolomio - Population 4271

Vartholomio
Βαρθολομιό
Peloponnese
Greece
May 6, 2015

So my friends,

It’s the end of my journey in the Peloponnese.

What shall I do?

Visit yet another marble site of Ancient Greece?

Explore the crumbling remains of the Byzantine Empire?

Climb the stone ramparts of one more Venetian Castle?

Admire the aqua view of the sea once again?

I decide on “None of the above.”

Shkodra: A Pizza and A Fortress

Shkodra (pop 135,612)

Republic of Albania

Republika e Shqipërisë 

May 11, 2015

Buongiorno,

Pizza. Pizza. Pizza!

Isn't there anything else to eat here in Northern Albania?

Apparently not.

My driver, Mr. Edmond * and I search and search and search for some local or traditional Albanian fare along the main pedestrian promenade here in Shkodra (Shkodër).   Finally we find an outdoor café and order, you guessed it, pizza.  We also order a salad and a meatball dish that passes for “local” food.

Polatschek Family Reunion

Prague

Czech Republic

June 15, 2015

 

They mourn differently. 

I read somewhere that when parents lose a child, the mother and father mourn differently.  In general, Women “speak.”  Men “work.”

So it was in my own family. 

On June 5, 1972, at the age of twenty-eight, my sister Paula Carol Wiesenfeld passed away unexpectedly.  From that day forward my mother Ruth Polatschek spoke lovingly and admiringly and proudly of her only daughter. 

From that day forward my father Otto Polatschek closeted himself and immersed himself in his lifelong devotion to stamp collecting.  He also began a new Project.  I can only guess his motivation; he decided to construct a Polatschek Family Tree.

Riga: Old Town

Riga

Latvia

August 31, 2014

Dear Friends,

“What is your favorite city?” 

I am frequently asked this question and like other travelers, I am tempted to answer, “My favorite city is the city where I am now!”

Of course that is an unsatisfactory answer, even when it might be true.

At the moment I am in Riga, the capital of Latvia.  And if I were to give an honest answer, it would be: “If I make a list of my ten favorite cities, Riga would be on the list, perhaps even in the top five.”

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