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”
Category Archives: Danube River Cruise
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 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”
4. Of Alice and the Angels
Sometime after Lyndie’s disappointing cruise, she and I took a road trip together from Wyoming to Texas. I would visit my grandchildren. She would have an opportunity — perhaps her last — to see her blind friend again. That was the first time I saw Lyndie up close and personal with others. I saw thatContinueContinue reading “4. Of Alice and the Angels”
3. What Went Wrong
https://youtu.be/ITgBtiMv3Ps https://youtu.be/JQnpGmC7egY Here is Lyndie’s own written account of the ordeal:It was going to be our last great adventure together. We’ve been friends for nearly 50 years, both of us now widowed after long marriages. I have traveled often with Graciana (not her real name; that’s the one she has chosen for herself here)–in crampedContinueContinue reading “3. What Went Wrong”
1. Where I Imagine What Might Have Been
Although this is about Lyndie’s journey, in a sense it starts with me, so that is where we will begin. My husband and I had planned something very special for our 50th anniversary: A Viking River Cruise along the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest, traveling through Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania – a regionContinueContinue reading “1. Where I Imagine What Might Have Been”