Travel updates and occasional commentary
So far, one of my favorite things about Tokyo is the toilet music. I first noticed it at airport - a button with musical notes, labeled "privacy" - one of many ways you can customize your toilet experience. Today I saw one that played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and had a seat warmer (!!).
Read MoreMy first visit to Tokyo began with some unexpected excitement. A few hours into the flight, I started feeling cold despite my sweatshirt and a blanket, so decided to find the robe I packed. Unfortunately, in my groping, I hit the new blade on my razor just right and took a nick out of my right index fingertip.
Read MoreI took the night train to Berlin, sharing a compartment of 6 beds (3 on each wall) with men and women. I didn't sleep more than about three hours. The day did not improve on that start, between a chilly rain, pickpockets and a firsthand look at one of mankind's darkest eras.
Read MoreI spent yesterday in Eindhoven and Helmond, neighboring towns in the eastern part of the Netherlands, where I wanted to see an exhibit by Yinka Shonibare, MBE. Perhaps my favorite living artist, he works in multiple media and frequently uses these incredible Dutch wax fabrics.
Read MoreToday we continued the trip west into Alsatian France, driving through the Black Forest to meet my brother's and my college Sunday school teachers. Thanks to email, the husband has remained a bit of a spiritual father to me.
Read MoreAfter taking a night train to Vienna, I came to the home of a long-time friend from my New York days, with whom I'm staying until Friday morning
Read MoreI had a fun, full 10 hours in Krakow yesterday (mostly the old town), but it was not without some drama.
Read MoreSo far this trip, my lack of Polish hasn't been an issue, but I knew that could change on my visit to Zuromin, the town from which one of my paternal great grandfathers immigrated more than 100 years ago. Unfortunately, my apprehension proved warranted.
Read MoreAfter yesterday's post, I went to a museum of Jewish history in Poland. I have always been interested in the period of history around WWII, but I'd either forgotten or didn't know the particular role of Poland in the Holocaust - particularly that Hitler built all the death camps in occupied Poland.
I had another taste of that history when I went to church this morning, because the congregation met in a building on the historic Jewish street of Próżna, part of the former Warsaw ghetto.
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