Hiking Adventures in the San Francisco Peninsula and Beyond
Located about two miles from the Bryggen waterfront, Old Bergen is a reconstructed town consisting of 55 wooden houses, from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Pictured above is a rather quaint cabin, on the grounds of Old Bergen. I can only imagine life inside this cabin, assuming it was once inhabited. After walking the … Continue reading Cabin Fever (in Norway)
In the past months, sports has been reduced to a popcorn pop off or a competition between two ripening bananas, as evidenced from the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, the “at-home” edition. The National Basketball Association was (and perhaps may still be) considering a remote “H-O-R-S-E” tournament. Local sportscasters, desperate for new footage, … Continue reading Why Sports (and Travel) Matter
Montecatini Alto, part of a 3-day visit to Tuscany last October, could not be farther from the current reality of 24-hour catastrophe TV, coronavirus memes, no live sports, shelter-in-place (house arrest), new (home-based) co-workers, distance learning (Zoom videoconferences and Google Hangouts Chat), social distancing (isolation), deep cleaning (usually reserved for unpleasant dental visits), hyper-local (neighborhood-based) … Continue reading Montecatini Alto
My first visit to Pisa was in 1988, part of a 2-week bus tour, starting (and ending) in Rome, with overnight stops in Florence, Stresa (on the gorgeous Lake Maggiore), Venice, Assisi, and Sorrento. I was with my grandparents, then in their late 50s. Whether either of them accompanied me on the climb to the … Continue reading Pisa
One of my favorites, especially during these days when travel is an impossibility. Enjoy.
I am drawn to faraway places.
Bergen, five thousand miles from home, qualifies. While Bergen is known as the gateway to the fjords, there are simpler, and far more accessible, pleasures much closer to City Center. Wake up early. Go for a morning run through the Fish Market, past the row of Hansa houses on the Bryggen, along the coast road to Old Bergen, and back to your hotel, to enjoy a hearty breakfast buffet, with gravlax, thin Norwegian pancakes, topped with lingonberry, and, of course, coffee. Stop by the local supermarket, perhaps Rema 1000, and pack a lunch, with cold cuts, cheese, fresh bread, and plenty of water. Start walking toward Floyen, but, if you can, skip the funicular, the Floibanen, and hike, for a mile or two, up the mountain (but at a reasonable incline) to the Troll Forest (pictured above). With each turn, the view of Bergen…
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If I cannot travel, I might as well reminisce. Viareggio is a quintessentially Italian seaside town on the Tyrrhenian, equidistant from Pisa and Lucca (https://johnpavolotsky.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/lucca/), our base for a 3-day visit to Tuscany this past October. The vibe is art deco. A certain timelessness pervades Viareggio; it seems that little has changed, and but for … Continue reading Viareggio
In many places, where to go for a morning run is not self-evident. In others, it could not be more clear. In New York City, it’s Central Park, on a…Lucca Hard to believe this was only 5 months ago. Let’s hope we find the new normal sooner than later. In the meantime, please enjoy the … Continue reading Lucca
via Venice
37,000 feet above the Atlantic, half asleep, nursing a recalcitrant head cold, Venice, the first stop on our 10-day Italian vacation, could not have been farther away. Nonetheless, I persevered, willing my way through the ten hour flight, layover in Frankfurt, short flight to Venice, longer transfer via the Alilaguna water bus to San Zaccaria, … Continue reading Venice
In many places, where to go for a morning run is not self-evident. In others, it could not be more clear. In New York City, it’s Central Park, on a gorgeous, fresh, August morning after a torrential downpour. In Washington, D.C., it’s the Mall, climbing and then rounding Capitol Hill before sunrise, with the Washington … Continue reading Lucca
The Peninsula Hiking Club 