Gimme Shelter — While I Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Posted on November 21, 2012 by sglaser

Adelaide, South Australia. The Austral Hotel on Rundle Street always caught my eye whenever I was downtown. Built in the early 1800’s, it is apparently an iconic building in Adelaide, so I’m not the only one whose attention it grabbed. Now it is a popular place to eat, drink and host events.

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“Yes Worries!” — An Encounter with a No-Nonsense Flight Attendant

Posted on November 21, 2012 by sglaser

I actually met the one Down Under resident who doesn’t adhere to “no worries.” She was a flight attendant (I’ll call her Hortense) on our Air New Zealand flight from San Francisco to Auckland in January, 2010.

Instead, her slogan, I believe, was “Yes Worries!” and she adopted this long ago because she secretly and firmly believes all the people around her are inept imbeciles. On the flight, I especially thought she despised her co-workers. They, along with most passengers, were her recurring nightmares.

The other flight attendants could not have been more helpful, accommodating and funny. One of the head flight attendants was a tall, blonde woman who wore bright red lipstick and always smiled — no matter what your question was. “I’m sorry,” She beamed. “We can’t have you up in the aisle just yet. We’re still in the midst of our ascent and not at the proper altitude for walking around.” Huge permasmile.

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Gimme Shelter — How about a Castle in Visegrád, Hungary?

Posted on November 15, 2012 by sglaser

Visegrád, Hungary, 2006. For a wedding setting, it’s hard to beat a medieval castle and citadel built in the 13th century on a high hill above the Danube River. My friend Rob and his Hungarian fiance, Kate, got married here. Most of the wedding took place at the citadel. The crumbling walls added an ancient feeling to the ceremony. At one point, Visegrád was the royal seat of Hungary, and the castle was King Matthias Corvinus’s summer abode in the earlier 1300’s.

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Friday Funny Sign — You gotta stop for “The World’s Largest Hand Dug Well”

Posted on November 9, 2012 by sglaser

Greensburg, Kansas. The marketing department of “Big Well” has done their job (do I dare say they’ve done it “well?”) Signs indicating and promoting “The World’s Largest Hand Dug Well” line US Route 54 in Kansas. Of course, there is not much to compete with along that stretch of highway.

In 1993, my dad, Ed, and I were roadtripping to California from Minnesota and kept seeing these signs. Finally, we had to stop. Why not? It’s the World’s Largest Hand Dug Well!! (Actually, there are wells in Egypt and Italy that really vie for that title.) Dug in the 1880’s, “Big Well” is 109 feet deep, and in 2008, was named one of the “Eight Wonders of Kansas” (www.bigwell.org). And, also at the SAME site, you can see a meteorite on display.

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Gimme Shelter — Colorful Colorado Mountain Community

Posted on November 7, 2012 by sglaser

Crested Butte, CO. Although the silver and coal miners didn’t pick the pretty colors, they built some cute buildings back in the day. (And, surely, they referred to them as “cute.”) Colorado mining towns make me smile. Their historic districts, many of which have been restored, offer nostalgia and postcard ready photos.

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In Australia: Beware of “Rangas” and Bloodless Coups

Posted on November 6, 2012 by sglaser

“Miss, Miss, MISS GLASER!!” I heard from a distance while I patrolled the grounds of Le Fevre High School where I was spending one year as an exchange teacher. Ian, a sweet yet somewhat socially challenged year nine, careened toward me across the asphalt.

His backpack was sliding down his shoulders and his uniform jacket was flapping as he bounded over. Actually, Ian looked a bit deranged. Generally, one never knows what to expect while on yard duty at “Le Feral” (the kids’ affectionate nickname for their school).

“Miss! We have a new prime minister – it’s Julia Gillard, and she’s a ranga!”

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The Friday Funny Sign: South Park is a Real Place and Cartman Doesn’t Live Here

Posted on November 2, 2012 by sglaser

I can’t imagine why Fairplay, Colorado would want to clarify that this area is the REAL South Park. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the animated Comedy Central show “South Park,” based the setting of the show on the town of Fairplay and some of the other small communities in Park County, CO.

Despite the success of the show and the cult-like following, it doesn’t seem like some of the Fairplay rresidents are avid fans. It’s not all that surprising since the show features some biting satire about small town mountain living. Consequently, this sign above is prominently displayed at one of the main junctions off of Highway 285.

Gimme Shelter — In a Gaudí, Please

Posted on November 1, 2012 by sglaser

Dr. Suess. That was my first thought when I saw Antoni Gaudí’s buildings in Barcelona for the first time — especially Casa Batlló (above). After seeing Gaudí’s creations, I started paying more attention to architecture. These marvelous structures capture imagination. I love them. They also capture memories — especially the special cathedral, La Sagrada Família, which reminds me a drip castle that you can make at the beach by letting wet sand dribble from your hands into a pile.

All three buildings featured in these photos are part of Gaudí’s works listed as World UNESCO Heritage Sites.

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Swimming with Whale Sharks, a Hammerhead and Everything Else in the Indian Ocean

Posted on October 30, 2012 by sglaser

July 2010, Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia. The largest fish in the world is swimming at about three miles per hour, but it’s hard, even with fins, to keep up with the 20-foot-long behemoth. A huge happy looking fish with white polka dots sprinkled over its expansive back, the whale shark lumbers leisurely through the cloudy water.

Occasionally, it opens its mouth to feed on plankton. A large nonthreatening interior with a noticeable absence of razor sharp rows of teeth is revealed. In fact, it almost looks like white cushions line the inside of the whale shark’s billowing jaws.

This is crazy. I can’t believe I’m sauntering along in the Indian Ocean with a whale shark. And we are swimming in some very deep open water — 80 meters (262 feet) — to be exact. In fact, I can’t look down or around. I stare at my new friend, the whale shark, and kick hard.

I fall back as the whale shark slowly shifts. Once behind the massive fish, I see them: the same foreboding, angular tail and dorsal fin that have menaced and terrified people on the big screen and the Discovery Channel for years. The tail looks like a large iron boomerang steadily moving back and forth.

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