Our hotel room is modern and very comfortable, adapters for devices, lots of towels! As with so many large chain hotels, it features lots of wasted space and not much personality. And it most surely beats sleeping on a bench in the park. (Spoken as one grateful for plain creature comforts!) Source: P. Wittkopp OnContinueContinue reading “Lyndie’s Journal, Part 3: In Budapest”
Author Archives: Lyndie's Journey
Lyndie’s Journal, Part 2: Pushers and Helpers
Before I forget, a couple of memorable airport wheelchair “pushers”: One a 30-ish very chatty, very friendly man from Thailand, who cheerfully proclaimed all the possibilities of fraternal love between strangers in airports and in the street and between nations. No more wars! He kept it up quite tirelessly, clear to the other side (itContinueContinue reading “Lyndie’s Journal, Part 2: Pushers and Helpers”
Lyndie’s Journal, Part 1: Departure and Arrival
March 17, 2025 Budapest HungaryA day of wonders, preceded by the usual long night of flight, cramped like pretzels, (with pleasant seatmates) across half a planet in basic economy class, and a tiny, magical airplane inching across the screen in front of me, to encourage and tantalize … Ah , we’ve floated past Iceland! TheContinueContinue reading “Lyndie’s Journal, Part 1: Departure and Arrival”
Lyndie’s Journal: Introduction
What follows is a remarkable account by an extraordinary woman of a reclaimed adventure. It is a transcription of the daily log kept by 85 year old Lyndie Duff in her careful handwritten script, as she voyaged down the Danube River through Eastern Europe. Vladimir Putin was continuing to try to recapture the Ukraine. DonaldContinueContinue reading “Lyndie’s Journal: Introduction”
Lyndie in Limbo
Time for an update. Lindy has returned from her journey, as you know, and she has completed her journal. We will publish it here as soon as possible. It’s full of wonderful descriptions, insights, and interesting encounters. It is being transcribed from her school teacherish handwriting into digital form appropriate for a blog. But theContinueContinue reading “Lyndie in Limbo”
Home: Safe, Sound and Silent
Lyndie reached home yesterday. Now, no doubt, she is resting in the quiet and the comfort of familiar surroundings. I gave her a hug at her building entrance and said a quick farewell. She was tired and not yet entirely well. I was gratified that she had been able to go, and relieved at herContinueContinue reading “Home: Safe, Sound and Silent”
Lyndie in Budapest: A Glorious Awakening
As an American abroad, she had worried about finding hostility. But she was “warmed, blessed” by her encounters.
9. Preparing for a Pilgrimage in Putin’s Shadow
Soon the fun part will begin in earnest, as Lyndie packs her one small suitcase and attaches the bright-red luggage tag she has received from Viking River Cruises. (She never checks a bag when she travels.) Her other preparations began long ago. She “officially launched” her homework program for travels to Eastern Europe on OctoberContinueContinue reading “9. Preparing for a Pilgrimage in Putin’s Shadow”
8. Troubled Vision, Past and Future
“Guess what?” Lyndie wrote in an email on January 28, barely six weeks before her departure on the Danube cruise. “I have macular degeneration now, like a regular old person!! … Trying not to get depressed. Love, Outrageous Average Older Woman #7659496854602” Macular degeneration is one of the main causes of vision loss in older people.ContinueContinue reading “8. Troubled Vision, Past and Future”
7. Abandoned Penniless in Europe: A Dream Come True?
To appreciate the next episode, it helps to recall who Lyndie always was: An outrageous woman (if not yet “older”). She and Cal left the New York tenement with their toddler daughter and returned to California. Cal got jobs in construction, but there was never regular employment, let alone a career. After 4 years there,ContinueContinue reading “7. Abandoned Penniless in Europe: A Dream Come True?”