A Budapest Contrast

I have just come upon an old file of photographs that I doubt ever made it into my blogs.  Here are a couple that illustrate how interesting is the capital city of Hungary!

On my first trip from Fellbach  to Romania, in 2008, after sleeping at a roadside hotel in Tatabanya, I had breakfast at Budapest's Hotel New York.  It was here that I garnered encouragement from a young waitress with perfect English.  I did not know what I would find in Cluj, but when I told her that was my destination, she immediately smiled, and said, "Oh! I love Transilvania!"

As I drove Klaus (the lower one here, in red) out from downtown Budapest toward the direct road to Oradea, where I would enter Romania that evening, I had my lunch at this less elegant restaurant.  But what a Playplace it had!
(Dear Alina, your comment on the AN-2 will fit nicely, below!)

Season's Speculations

Air tickets are booked,
The first flight is nearing.
I'm heading abroad,
Thus I am preparing.

Feeling the season,
Heeding the call.
Of Craciun, fast coming,
To us, one and all.

First, visit Romania,
Cluj in decembrie
Welcoming winter,
In camaraderie.

Then, off to India,
Eastward I'll fly,
New students to meet,
And new fish to fry.

Come February,
(God willing, of course),
A new baby grandson,
Will be joining the force.

So, home from the East,
Old granddad, in joy,
Will drive to Orlando,
To see the new boy.

Retirement? Me?
I think not. You'll see!
I am just starting,
New activity!

My Belated Veterans Day Post for 2014: 70 Years Ago, in Holland.... (Please do not miss the video!)

In Budapest, Hungary, in 2012, I met by chance a man from Norway on a Danube dinner-cruise. He was about 5 years younger than I.  When he learned I was an American, he said to me, "In my opinion, every European should get down on his knees and say a prayer of thanks to America."  In that spirit, I offer this story, whose author I do not know, received today from my friend Bill Benoit (Col. William R. Benoit, U.S. Army Aviator. Retired), a distinguished colleague now retired from Plymouth State University, and a veteran of the Vietnam War:

My father lies here in Bushnell, Florida, with his fellow veterans. R.I.P.

Silence

About six miles from Maastricht, in the Netherlands, lie buried 8,301 American soldiers who died in "Operation Market Garden" in the battles to liberate Holland in the fall and winter of 1944.

Every one of the men buried in the cemetery, as well as those in the Canadian and British military cemeteries, has been adopted by a Dutch family who mind the grave, decorate it, and keep alive the memory of the soldier they have adopted.   It is even the custom to keep a portrait of "their" American soldier in a place of honor in their home.    Annually, on "Liberation Day," memorial services are held for "the men who died to liberate Holland." The day concludes with a concert.  The final piece is always "Il Silenzio," a memorial piece commissioned by the Dutch and first played in 1965 on the 20th anniversary of Holland's liberation. It has been the concluding piece of the memorial concert ever since.

This year the soloist was a 13-year-old Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, backed by André Rieu and his orchestra (the Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands). This beautiful concert piece is based upon the original version of taps and was composed by Italian composer Nino Rossi.

http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm

  

After you watch the above web site, check out the below.

Our European arrogance, in alphabetical order

1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne, France... A total of 2289

2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes, Belgium... A total of 5329

3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France... A total of 4410 

4. Brookwood, England - American Cemetery... A total of 468

5. Cambridge, England... A total of 3812 

6. Epinal, France - American Cemetery... A total of 5525 

7. Flanders Field, Belgium... A total of 368

8. Florence, Italy... A total of 4402 

9. Henri-Chapelle, Belgium... A total of 7992

10. Lorraine , France... A total of 10,489 

11. Luxembourg, Luxembourg... A total of 5076 

12. Meuse-Argonne... A total of 14246

13. Netherlands, Netherlands... A total of 8301

14. Normandy, France... A total of 9387

15. Oise-Aisne, France... A total of 6012 

16. Rhone, France... A total of 861

17. Sicily, Italy... A total of 7861

18. Somme, France... A total of 1844 

19. St. Mihiel, France... A total of 4153 

20. Suresnes, France... A total of 1541  

Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.

The count is 104,366 dead , brave Americans.

And we have to watch an American elected leader who apologizes to Europe and the Middle East that our country is "arrogant"!

HOW MANY FRENCH, DUTCH, ITALIANS, BELGIANS,  ARE BURIED ON OUR SOIL... AFTER DEFENDING US AGAINST OUR ENEMIES?

WE DON'T ASK FOR PRAISE...BUT WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE!

Americans, forward it!

Non-patriotic, delete it!

Most of the protected don't understand it.

DO THINK ABOUT THIS.

THANK YOU

Presidential Runoff in Romania

Dear Romanian Friends,

I cannot know how it will go tomorrow in your presidential election, nor have I followed closely the issues in the campaign. But, I have seen enough to be mightily impressed with the degree to which the youth of Romania has engaged in this year's election campaign.

Clearly, you care a great deal for your country. I am proud to say, so do I.

I wish you success in your efforts to use the democratic process to bring about positive change in the way that your government serves the people of Romania.

Changing Times

Klaus in Bucharest

Klaus and I are parting this fall.  Klaus will hopefully go to a family somewhere in Europe that needs an amazingly capable 21 year-old BMW 520i.  He is not able to pass the German TÜV inspection without an investment in exhaust system parts and body rust repair equal to at least what I paid to buy him in 2008, but he runs very well, and for the right family, that 2000-odd Euros could provide a very good, very cheap car.

PSU campus, as seen from the roof of Boyd Hall on Highland Street
(Plymouth State University Photo)

Still greater a milestone was passed tonight. I have just finished leading my final class session as a professor at PSU.  It was the close of my MBA course in International Business.  I have a great group of 14 students.  I will miss our Monday night classes.  Their term projects are due next Monday, so I am not quite through as a teacher!

Still, I am feeling change in my life.  A complex set of feelings.

Da, da, da, da.