Mac Rebuild: my experience

June 15, 2015

Mac update Summary

To those of you who only read email subjects: I rebuilt my Mac and except for a couple of glitches that were my fault the Mac rebuild was as smooth as black ice on a Texas highway.

The long version

Mac are supposed to be rock solid and error free compared to PCs. That may or may not be true but they still have problems. Several weeks ago my Mac started running very slow, and at least the Chrome browser would not terminate. Also, the “lost+found” folderconsumed 25% of the total disk space. When I attempted to repair the disk using the Disk Utility it churned for quite awhile and displayed an error message something to the effect “could not repair disk, backup all your data, erase disk, and rebuild Mac”.

After much grinding of teeth and wringing of hands I bit the bullet and rebuilt my Mac from the ground up.

Erasing the disk and reinstalling the OS was idiot proof. Press one button to erase the disk. Then boot off the Internet and hit another button to install the OS.

The App Store remembers everything you’ve purchased. Other than failing to notice there is a “Purchased” tab reinstalling Apps bought from Mac App Store is very easy.

Not all was Sunshine and Margaritas however. Installing the printer was painful. I had to download and install 7 different “things” seperately. Printing now works but scanning doesn’t . I’m still attempting to fix my scanner issue. I can start the scan from the Mac now but not from the printer. Seems like a small thing to have to start the scan from the Mac but it really irritates me.

Installing Microsoft Office 365 shocked me. The installation was easy and worked the first time. Maybe Microsoft has finally seen the light?

Another big problem was reconnecting to Web sites I update/maintain via Ftp. The fault was all mine. I did not document essential information like user name, password, server,ftp port, and directory. I set them both up with FileZilla and did not record any of the essential parameters. To compound the issue FileZilla now comes packaged with Malware if you install it from Source Forge. Therefore, I had to find another Ftp client. After some research and experimenting with candidate Ftp tools I finally settled on Cyberduck at least for now. Also, both of the hosting services I use (Dreamhost and MacHighway) were extremely helpful.

Another interesting outcome of my Mac rebuild is I’ve recovered tons of disk space. Partially due to

Lessons learned

  • Keep a record of all accounts, licenses, and configuration parameters somewhere
  • Backup all your data. I recommend two backups – one at your home and one off site incase the unthinkable happens. Thankfully I had a backup of my data this time. A couple of years back on another computer I did not and never completely recovered.
  • If you are using free or shareware apps do your homework before blindly reinstalling them. They are trying make money also. One way to do so is to include “extra” products in the download like FileZilla now does.
  • No matter how good you plan there are little things that fall through the cracks. For example, my wife tried to watch a movie last night off of the Apple TV. It would not play. I had forgotten to turn on Apple Share on iTunes.

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Posted by molson46

The Sleepwalkers

May 28, 2015

The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark

Fascinating book chronicles Europe’s stumbling into WWI – the War to end all Wars.

DC-1914-27-d-Sarajevo-cropped

I was brought up to believe Germany started WWI and WWII. Then I read The Sleepwalkers. End result – all of Europe is responsible for starting the war to end all wars or none of Europe is responsible. Or somewhere in between. Take your pick and you’ll be correct. While Franz Ferdinand’s assassination by Gavrilo Princip is generally recognized as the incident sparking the War, the desire for war had been smoldering for some time waiting for a spark to ignite the Continent

The War that changed the World. Ever wonder why the Middle East is so screwed up? Or why Germany started WWI? Or why the Balkan population is trying to kill each other off? Or why the Communist ruled Russia for 70 years? Look to WWI for the answers.

Actually Germany might actually be less responsible for the War than the other great European powers: France, Russia, and Great Britain.

  • Great Britain was an anti-German since the War of 1870 disrupted the traditional balance of power in Europe that had existed for decades – a comfortable arrangement for Great Britain. Germany upset the apple cart.
  • France was anti-German because Germany humiliated them with the War of 1870 – a war they fully expected to win against the upstart Germans.
  • Russia embarked on a massive military buildup financed by the French after losing the 1905 war with Japan. They were searching for a way to redemm their national honor. Russia also considered themselves big brothers to their South Serbia brothers in the Balkans, mainly Serbia.

Serbia in today’s environment would be considered a rouge nation and ostracized. The evidence is irrefutable that the Serbian “Black Hand” trained the assassins and supplied their weapons. However in the years before WWI there were no multinational organizations.

Germany seemed to be the most reluctant nation to start the War. Their biggest fault may have been standing by their ally Austria-Hungary. France and Russia, on the other hand, were begging for war. England seemed uncertain which side to choose or if they should engage with either side. However, once the Germans determined there was no other option, they declared war on Russia and started marching!

The Germans did invade neutral Belgium and committed what would be considered today war crimes. This action tipped the scales for England and they sided with the Franco-Russian alliance.

Of course the winners write the history books thus we were all brought up to believe Germany caused WWI.

WWI

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Death Valley and beyond

May 8, 2015
The Strip

The Strip

We took a short vacation to Las Vegas April 3-7 this year. Our predominant objectives were to visit Death Valley, dine at some great restaurants, and maybe attend a show. Unlike most Vegas vacationers we did not gamble.

The flights were a pleasant surprise. We were upgraded to first class both directions and the flights were on time. Imagine that – usually only happens in your dreams.

Meals

Our first meal was lunch on the patio at the Yard House. It’s in the shopping mall between the airport and the strip. They had hundreds of draft craft beers and great fish and chips. The beer and fish & chips were good. I’d stop there again.

That night we ate at Triple George’s Steakhouse downtown right off the Fremont Experience. It more like an old San Francisco steakhouse than the glitzy restaurants on the strip. We really like it and dine there almost every Vegas Trip.

Saturday evening we visited Jean Georges Steakhouse in the Aria before the Zakara show. First time there but won’t be our last. Really loved the food and the atmosphere. That’s the trouble with Vegas – so many great restaurants and so little time!

Easter Sunday lunch was at The Inn at Furnace Creek which is a hotel on Death Valley’sedge. It was an Easter brunch and I can say for sure the best cuisine in 100 miles (the only cuisine for that matter except for the Death Valley golf course that is). Yes, Death Valley has a golf course, but that is another story for another time.

After returning from the Valley we scrubbed the grime off and dined at Rao’s in Caesar’s Palace. It’s Italian and the daughter of Rao’s in Brooklyn. The best meal of the trip! Oh, I wish there were a great Italian Restaurant in Dallas.

Our last night in Vegas we broke bread at Wynn’s Lakeside Grill. Its seafood. The food was excellent but the water show on the lake was better.

On our way to the airport Tuesday morning we breakfasted at The Egg and I. I believe it’s a local chain but very good and it’s not on the Strip so you get to tour the regular Las Vegas on the drive to the restaurant.

We did eat at some other establishments but if I don’t recommend them I don’t list them.

Lodging

We bunked at the Wyndham Grand Desert, our timeshare in Vegas. I’d describe it as mediocre compared to rooms on the strip. However, the Wyndham quarters are apartments with a full kitchen and a washer/dryer. For us the convenience of an apartment makes the Wyndham the best option for us.

Activities

Death Valley

Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point

After being there I imagine exploring Death Valley is similar to traversing the far side of the Moon without a space suit and Sunshine. The terrain is literally out of this World.

Death Valley is the largest National Park in the lower 48 States so its pretty nigh impossible to explore the entire park in one day but we tried our best. The Valley is about a two-hour drive Northwest of Las Vegas and is actually in California.

Our first stop was Zabriskie Point for both a scenic view of he valley and of the striking Kaleidoscope of colors in the surrounding hills.

Upon arriving at the park we visited the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center and then searched for a place to have lunch. Well, lunch was an extra bonus: the Easter Brunch at The Inn at Furnace Creek. This is a full service hotel at the edge of Death Valley. I’d like to return for a night someday.

Then we drove towards Badwater Basin stopping first at the Salt Flat on the West Side Road. The name says it all – its flat with a top layer of salt. Next we stopped at the Devil’s Golf Course. The brochure relates only Lucifer himself could try for a par there, hence the name.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin

Badwater is the lowest place in the Western Hemisphere (292 feet below sea level). Once there you can gaze across the valley and see Telescope Peak which is 11,039 feet above sea level. The distance between the two is about 16 miles as the crow flies but approximately 24 miles if by foot. If your really crazy try the Badwater Ultramarathon from Badwater to Mt. Whitney (135 miles) staged in mid-July.

After Badwater on our way out we detoured through Artist’s Drive winding though rock formations with many interesting pastel colors.

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is less than a half hour West of the City and is so named because of the striking red hills. You can just drive through the park but we stopped often and took short hikes through the desert and into the arroyos dotting the canyon.

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

April is late in the Nevada Spring to view the desert in bloom. However, we were lucky the local fauna was in full bloom!

Red Rock Fauna

Red Rock Fauna

Zarkana

Really enjoyed the experience. It’s a Cirque Du Soleil production. You either love their shows or you don’t. I happen to love them. Don’t try to make any sense or logic of the show just sit back and enjoy the experience.

Fremont Street Experience

Take my advice and don’t bother. Years ago the Fremont Street light show was totally awesome! It happened every hour after dark. Crowds would actually stop gambling and rush from the casinos to watch and 6 minutes later after the light show ended they would file back into the casinos. This year resembled a preview of a dystopian future. Everything from old fat men in g-strings and combat boots playing electric violins to naked young girls with tattoos from head to toe roamed the streets. We were the odd men out so to speak because we were midwestern normal.

More photos: Death Valley/Red Rock Canyon

vegasSign

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Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek

April 6, 2015

Just finished reading Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek by Annie Dilliard. It is foremost a nature book along the lines of Thoreau’s Walden. However, on another level its a plea to be mindful of and find joy in the present. Its the type of book you should put down after a few pages to ponder the meaning of life, the origin of the Cosmos, and what your going to eat tonight.

The book has two characters: Annie and Nature around Tinkers Creek although she discusses Eskimos so often you could probably consider them a character.

Before reading Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek I had no idea:

  • There are 228 different muscles in the head of an ordinary caterpillar
  • Monarch butterflies veer East for a few miles and then turn South again when flying over Lake Superior. Some geologist visit believe a huge mountain once existed there.
  • The larvae of horsehair worms (2 foot long aquatic creatures) live as parasites in land insects
  • Parasitic insects comprise 10% of all known animal species
  • Eskimos look forward to the coming of Winter. Summer brings on terrible hordes of mosquitoes and melting of the ice sheets making travel harder.

This book is for you if you love nature and sometimes think about the great things that really matter (apologies to Samwise Gamgee).

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Marv’s Updated Landing page

February 24, 2015

Try out my updated Web Page and let me know what you think. Marv’s most excellent web site

I created the web site as part of my journey “Live every day like it’s your last and learn every day like you’ll live forever (Gandhi)“. And learn I did! It’s all vanilla HTML, CSS, and Javascript with a little jQuery thrown in for good measure. However, especially with CSS, its amazing how a really small code tweak cascades into massive changes in the content’s display.

I’m especially interested in its appearance on mobile devices. “Responsive Web” is probably an old concept to most Web developers but I’ve just heard about it in a class I took. The concept is to customize the view for each device type and size as you develop your web site. I attempted to use Responsive Web guidelines to construct the web pages after a first attempt fared poorly.  Using the guidelines I was actually able to add the mobile view without changing the content, only CSS and jQuery.

I’ve tested my web pages on my computer, iPad, and iPhone 6 and would be interested to hear how it displays on other mobile devices.

Some lessons learned by a real newbie:

  • Develop the content first then design the look and feel. I started the other way around and ended up deleting sections of the web pages.
  • One of the cardinal rules in a design tutorial I studied was “use a maximum of 3 colors”‘ but I’m using at least 4 and don’t understand. Another rule was “never use black”. I like black and used 4 colors. I guess the lesson learned is “it’s okay to break the rules so sometimes”
  • Go ahead and insert a link to the jQuery library in the header when you start a new project. I lost an afternoon trying to debug a problem after I inserted a jQuery call.
  • I developed the mobile view last. 90% complete quickly. Final 10% took forever. I learned a lot and the next time will be much quicker. Also, will style the mobile view first.
  • Use relative units of measurements such as % to facilitate the view on different sized devices. I tried to not use pixels, ems, or other absolute units of measurements, but could not eliminate all on images. This proved to be my hardest problem next to the navigation menu.

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My 2014

December 30, 2014

The older I get the faster time goes by. 2014 blurred by at the speed of light! Is the the clock going faster or am I less able to cope with change? Or is my life busier? Regardless, 2014 did have it’s higlights. Here they are in no particular order.

  • Danube river cruise – We take a BIG vacation every other year. This year was a Danube River Cruise with extended stays in Frankfurt and Budapest. We enjoyed every second and definitely plan on taking another river cruise. Its a simply marvelous way to tour an area. For more detail: European Vacation
  • 50th high school reunion – Seems like 1964 was just yesterday. 39 of us graduated in May 1964. 27 are still with us and all but 4 were able to make it to the reunion. The venue was old Alexis High Gymn which brought back many memories. I had a wonderful time catching up on the last 50 years with a bucnh of really good people.
  • Austin born December 29 – Our 5th grandchild born December 29. A healthy boy weighing in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Mother and baby are doing well,  Dad is recovering. I’m sure he will grow up to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.
  • Big brothers visit – My older brother and his wife visited us this year. My youngest brother and his wife live in the area. I really enjoyed spending time with them. Made me realize how precious famiies are.
  • Remodeled house – It all started out when I mentioned I’d like to tear out the shower and replace it with a walk in shower. Before I realized what was happening we remodeled the bathroom, kitchen, pantry, patio, and replaced all the carpet with wood floors. I glad we did it but would not want to live through is again.
  • Old Crow concert – We saw the Old Crow Medicine Show at the Dallas House of Blues. I don’t go to many live music concerts but can’t imagine any being more amazing than this group.
  • Nashville trip with son’s family – We and our son’s family packed our bags and headed out on a road trip to Heber Springs Arkansas, Memphis, and Nashville this past Summer. Ate great barbecue, ate great breakfasts, attended The Grand Ole Opry, and generally had a wonderful week. For more detail: Nashville Vacation
  • Cub game on the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field – On our way to my 50th high school reunion we watched a Cub game in their 100th year at Wrigley Field.
  • WineThirty – My oldest daughter and her husband opened WineThirty, a wine bar in Murphy Texas, this year. We really enjoyed our weekly trips there to enjoy a glass of fine red wine and even finer conversation.
  • The road to Master Gardener – I became a certified Master Gardener this year. The journey encompassed most of the year. It involved taking classes, manning the help desk, pulling weeds, spreading mulch, planting, taking measurements at the research garden, and enjoying the company of a group of really fine people.

My rules writing this post were:

  1. Write down the 1st 10 things that pop into my mind.
  2. Don’t change any of the items after the thought popped into my head.
  3. Write only one of two sentences for each item.

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The Grapes of Wrath

November 30, 2014

The Grapes Of Wrath Book Review

A very, very long time ago I created a list of my 10 favorite books and have maintained and updated it ever since.

I don’t remember the exact date I created the list but I’ve always enjoyed reading. When I was still attending the one room school (Sedwick) my mother would drive me into the the small village of Alexis to the library so I could check out another set of books to devour. I acquired a reading habit then that I’ve kept throughout my life.

Recently I decided to read my 10 favorites again reasoning if I like them that much reading them again would be an enjoyable use of my precious time.

s7358-lgThe Grapes of Wrath was on my original list and has maintained its place on the list ever since. I just finished reading John Steinbeck’s saga of the dust bowl refugees last night. My first thought after closing the book was to pull it from my favorites list.

Back in the 60s when I first read The Grapes of Wrath I was an angry young man. The way the World treated the downtroden Joad family as well as all the migrant workers as less than human in the name of profit oturaged me. In the 60s we marched in the streets against discrimination of both blacks and women, disrupted the 68 Democratic National Convention, coined the phrase Make Love, Not War, and in general made a terrible nusiance of ourselves to the generation in power. We were young, full of energy, and out to change the World! Needless to say the book fit right in with my view of the Universe.

Now I’m 67, retired, and comfortable. Reading the book now just depresses me. Since the beginning of Man, men have always repressed other men, taken advantage of the less fortunate men, and even murdered them. Should we be surprised that Hitler killed 8 Million, and that ISIS is beheading inocients? Evil has been with us since Cain and Able. Tom Joad was not a bad man. He just happened to be born the son of an Oklahoma sharecropper and just happened to become a young man during the Dust Bowl. It wasn’t Tom’s fault he was born in the place and time he was born. It was just a matter of chance. There But For Fortune by Phil Ochs and sung by Joan Baez paints the picture much better than I can.

Show me the prison, show me the jail

Show me the prisoner, whose life has gone stale

And I’ll show you a young man

With so many reasons why

And there but for fortune, go you or I

After reading the book I feel both fortunate and guilty that I was born in the time and place I was born. If not for chance I could have been Tom Joad, gassed in Auschwitz, or an ISIS hostage.

In summary, The Grapes of Wrath stays on the list for now but its liable to be the first one knocked off.

Oh, and for those of you who have not read the book:

  • The Joad family are sharecroppers in Dust Bowl Oklahoma
  • Tom Joad, a son, has just been released from prison for killing a man in a barroom fight.
  • The Joads lose the farm and travel west to California hoping to find a better life.
  • In California, they lives hand to mouth working in a varitey of farms picking crops.
  • At the end of the book the Joads are broke, have no food, living in a barn, Winter is coming on, and there will be no work for at least the next 3 months.

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Contemplating on developing a Mobile App part I

November 11, 2014

Conteplating on developing a Mobile App part I

WARNING: contains nerdy content

One of my main activities since I retired is working with the Collin County Master Gardeners (CCMG). They are hosting the 2016 Texas Master Gardener State Conference and I sort of volunteered to develop a mobile app for the conference. My background is software and systems engineering. However my software engineering is somewhat dated. “I can program Fortran in any language”. Needless to say I’ve no experience developing mobile apps.

My son develops mobile apps so I turned to him for advice. He recommended I start with the Stanford “Developing IOS 7 Apps for the iPhone and iPad.” The Stanford course is a free online course available via iTunes University.

I eagerly subscribed to the course, started watching lectures, and working through homework assignments. The course consists of 18 lectures and 6 homework assignments. I’ve now watched 11 lectures and am developing the lecture 11 demonstration. I’m not quite as bright eyed and bushy tailed now as when I started but I’m still slogging through the course. As soon as I complete the Stanford Course I plan to start developing the CCMG State Conference app. I’ll probably post an update once I’ve completed the App.

xCode Environment

xCode Environment

My observations to date:

  • The Stanford course is very professional and I’d recommend it for anyone considering developing mobile apps.
  • A Mac and the Apple’s development environment Xcode are required to develop iPhone and iPad Apps.
  • Since the course was recorded Apple has released a new IOS version and a new programming language (Swift) both have which resulted in massive Xcode modifications making matching the lectures to Xcode challenging.
  • An Apple Developers’s license ($99/year) is required before you can test Apps on your iPhone or iPad.
  • The Developer’s License is also required to submit Apps to the Apple App store.
  • Once submitted, Before the Apple publishes the App in the App Store they test and approve it.  The approval process is mysterious to me.  I imagine I’ll be enlightened once I submit the App.
  • The IOS Simulator can be used to test Apps on your Mac without the IOS Simulator, however testing many of the gestures is awkward and in some cases impossible.
  • Objective-C, Apple’s programming language,is really wordy and really weird.
  • The user interface constitutes the majority of the development effort, at least so far.
  • You don’t just build the App once and offer it on the Apple App Store and the Android Market. You build each using unique tools (Apple’s Xcode and Android SDK).

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One thing in my life I would change

October 9, 2014

change

Why

Last Sunday in church the topic was “given the opportunity what is one thing in my life I’d change?” Of course that got me to thinking…. Many things in my life I would like to change:

  • I’d weigh less
  • I’d eat healthier
  • I’d get more sleep
  • I’d volunteer more
  • I’d watch less TV
  • I’d drink less beer and wine
  • etc.

Correspondingly there are things in my life I would not change

  • My family
  • Time and place I live

What

150px-Wooden_hourglass_3I came to my answer in a roundabout way. I’ve always wished I had more “time“. Queen Elizabeth I once stated “I would give half my kingdom for a moment of time!” – (arcane fact, a “moment” was 1/40 of an hour, something to do with Sundials.) Time is a most precious resource and one that cannot be banked or saved.

What change would give me the most return in terms of time? It seems to me the one thing I could change to yield the maximum payout in terms of time would be to simplify my life. There are other benefits to simplifying not the least of which are:

  • More money – Simplifying means less stuff to buy and maintain. Only buy stuff  you need not what you want. Throw away of sell stuff you don’t need.
  • Less Stress – Simplifying reduces responsibilities, commitments and stuff that you don’t want

How

I’ve actually tried to simplify my lifestyle over the last few years. A couple of examples:

  • I sold my travel trailer a few years back because of the time I spent maintaining it.
  • Over the years I collected a fairly large library. One day, realizing I would never read most of them again I tossed 1/4th of them in boxes to sell at Half Price Books. I’ve gone through this process multiple times and collapsed a library of 5 bookcases to 4 selves on one bookcase. As a result I’ve much more space in my home office, it’s less cluttered, and much more pleasant environment.
My bookcase

My bookcase

Going forward I plan to:

  • Continue to divest myself of stuff I don’t need.
  • Even though I’m retired I’ve too many time commitments. I plan to start saying NO to new requests and find a graceful way to bow out of the less important, to me, time commitments.
  • A couple of years before I retired I a few articles that claimed the biggest problem most retirees face is “what to do with all the time you now have”. So I spent some time thinking and created an extensive list of goals. What a mistake! My problem is not enough time not too much time! So, I’m going to prune the goals I am working on to one or two at a time.

There’s much more I could try to simplify my life but I’ve learned my lesson for at least a short while. Don’t try to do too much at once or in this case don’t try to do too much less at once.

Resources

Some helpful resources

 

 

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European Vacation Olson Style (not Griswald)

September 4, 2014
Matthias church, Budapest

Matthias church, Budapest

Just back from 15 exciting and fun-filled days in Europe.  Our first destination was Frankfurt/Wiesbaden Germany where we met my brother-in-law Kevin and his wife Trish for a few days. Next we flew to Budapest and after a weekend there we boarded a Viking river boat for a seven night/eight day cruise up the Danube River to Nuremberg.

My top 3 memories in no particular order were:

  • Budapest
  • The Wachau Valley
  • Wiesbaden/Frankfurt area

I have a 10 page version of the entire trip for anyone with a death wish.  It was so boring even I couldn’t read it all so I’m publishing the condensed version.

Budapest

Budapest straddles the Danube. “Buda”, the older part is on one bank and “Pest” is on the other.  Our hotel was on the “Buda” side in the castle district which rests on Castle Hill (those Hungarians are really creative with names) which is the oldest and most picturesque district of the city.  We spent the weekend exploring the district, taking a moonlight dinner cruise on the Danube, and touring the city with our very own tour guide.

Its one of the largest ( 1.7 million) and oldest cities in the EU.  It was settled before Christ by the Celts and was later a Roman settlement. Because of Hungary’s strategic position in the middle of the continent it has been overrun numerous times including by the Ottomans giving birth to a very diverse and interesting culture.

Budapest Castle District at night

Budapest Castle District at night

Wachau Valley

The Danube flows through the Wachau Valley between Vienna and Melk Austria. It is by far the most scenic stretch of the river between Vienna and Nuremberg.  The weather was in the mid-70s and the morning we traversed the Valley was perfect day to recline on the sun deck and experience the picturesque villages, ancient castles and cathedrals, and vineyards on steep hills for mile upon mile.

The Valley is 40 kilometers in length and was added to the  UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in 2000. At one end of the valley lies the village of Melk which is home to a Benedictine Abbey founded in 1089AD.  The village of Krems is on the downstream end of the valley which is surrounded by terraced vineyards.

Also in the Valley is the village of Durnstein with the ruins of Kuenringer Castle on an overlook of the Danube. King Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned here in 1192-1193 on his return from the Crusades by the local Duke and held for ransom because according to legend he had sold the island of Crete, which at the time was owned by the Duke, to some Greeks.

Wachau Valley vilage

Wachau Valley vilage

Wiesbaden/Frankfurt

We stayed at Weinhaus Sinz in Frauenstein which is a borough of Wiesbaden.  Trish has known the proprietors and been holidaying there most of their life.  Its a great place out of the main tourist realm with a top-flight restaurant.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there and would go back in a New York minute given the opportunity.

Besides touring the surrounding area and taking sampling the fare at several restaurants, the best of which was Weinhaus Sinz, we traveled to Heideberg to visit the castle there.  The castle was very interesting but no where near the excitement of driving the wrong way up a one way street up the hill to the castle only to be met by a huge bus and have to back the car back down the street all the while fearing I would go too far to the left and tumble down the hill’s sheer cliff.

The next day was market day at Wiesbaden so we hopped the bus and toured the market. After the market we dined at an outdoor cafe in downtown Wiesbaden which is pedestrian traffic only.  This pedestrian only concept would work pretty good for cities in the U.S. as far as I am concerned.  I’m thinking of Fort Worth which would be pretty cool if they cordoned off a few streets around Sundance Square.

We also spent a fun day walking around Frankfurt and riding the local rapid transit to a great restaurant on the outskirts of the city (Schuch’s).

Heildelberg

Heidelberg

See Danube River Vacation for more photos

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