The Tram is Close, but Nothing to Fear
I had a sandwich at this cafe in Graz, while the tram glided by, close but nothing to fear. I am so impressed with the extensive network of these electric trams, with flat screens that show the next stop and all sorts of other information, and easy to use, automated […]
A Manmade Island on the Mur
Today is a wonderful day and I can’t remember when I felt so good. I woke up refreshed, sleeping a little late in this hotel bed, with the sun streaming in and the river Mur rushing by next to me. I went down to the Tribeka Cafe and Rosterei, a […]
Funny Names for Big Bottles of Vino
We visited many wineries and wine shops today in Austria, and I came across a huge bottle in one of them. Not sure what to call it, I found out this: Standard Wine Bottle Sizes: These are traditional standard bottle sizes for Champagne. Split1/4 bottle 18.7 cl Half1/2 bottle37.5 cl […]
Styrian Fields Are Glorius in September
We drove into the Styrian countryside today, it was a bright clear day, sunny and bright, the kind of day where you want to spend as much time as possible sitting in the sun, like the cows we passed enjoying their corner of a hilly pasture. Our first stop was […]
"It Is Not a Potato…It’s a Bubble"
“It’s not a potato…It’s a bubble,” said Klaus, as we stood outside the Kunsthaus Graz, a futuristic bubblish looking building that sits beside the Mur river. It’s an enormous museum filled with art you don’t understand…but that’s okay, you simply experience it. This building dates back to the 1800s and […]
Watching Your Wife in the Shower Is Fun
Today was a classic full press trip day. We began at 7:45 am, when Latti, Adam and I walked to the farmer’s market in Graz center city. There were rows and rows of cheerful Styrian farmers, most of whom offered homemade schnapps in addition to the bright flowers, kohlrabi, celeriac […]
Dinner in the City –Getting to Know The Others
Last night we had a fine dinner at an old restaurant in the city. It was Landhaus-Keller, which means ‘government building’s cellar’ and the food was excellent. It included Austrian specialties like boiled beef, super tender beef raised up in the mountains that comes with a cream sauce. Also, we […]
Thousands and Thousands of Rifles
We checked into our hotel in Graz and had lunch, then despite our jet lag, we went for a tour of the city. This is a farmer’s city, much of the land in Styria is used for farming, there is a market every day beginning at 4 am. There are […]
Today’s Good Health is, Well, Priceless
In the NY Times today, columnist David Leonhardt makes valid points about health care. His point is that good health is priceless, and we’re all lucky to have it in spite of the fact that it is taking more and more of our paychecks. He compares today with the 1950s. […]
Subway Scenes on the Way to JFK
I found that taking various methods of mass transit to JFK airport made a lot of sense. Tallying up the total, so far I’ve spent about $60, including a round trip ticket on a Peter Pan bus. It was as Sam would say, inspiring to spend about half of what […]
Google Makes Travel Planning a Cinch
Today I loved Google. Hell, I’ve always loved them, especially when the direct deposit goes into our bank account for their ads on GoNOMAD, but it’s really more than that. I love that I typed in such simple questions to them and out poured such perfect, easy to use, and […]
Taking A Night Flight to Vienna on Wednesday
We have been sweating it out recently when GoNOMAD went down and we had many upset people who could not get email. We worked with our Texas-based host and we got it back working, and now I can breath a sign of relief. Just in time because tomorrow at 6:05 […]
Site of the Future Farmer’s Market in S. Deerfield
These parking spaces will become a farmers market next May. We’ve already got four farmers and an entire community interested in participating!
Saturday Night Out at Butternuts
We joined our friends Rick and Susanna and went out to dinner last night. Our first stop was to the Delaney House, we thought we’d give it a try after seeing their ads that said they had ‘lightened up’ a bit. We were hoping there would be a new, casual […]
Snowflakes Make Great Photography Subjects
We receive a lot of great books at the GoNOMAD.com office, simply by asking for them. Among this week’s crop was a wonderful little volume called the Field Guide to Snowflakes. It is a close-up look at one of nature’s wonders, those geometrically perfect creations that sprinkle down from the […]
Uruguay Is the Next India
Thomas Friedman is on a roll. He’s just plain right about using sugar cane ethanol (and rolling back our prohibitive tax) and now finds something to celebrate about Uruguay. Four years later, TCS Iberoamerica can’t hire workers fast enough. When I visited its head office, people were working on computers […]
Clinton’s Global Initiative Brings ’em Together
In New York, big things are happening at the ex-prez’ gathering of luminaries. Here is an account of a late afternoon session today. “Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Fernando Cardoso (former president of Brazil) and Hernando de Soto, the visionary economist from Peru. Clinton proudly announces “we are on schedule!” Then […]
