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This is a video montage of my August 2012 trip to Peru, including my visits to the Sacred Valley and my hike of the Inca Trail. This is the same video that appeared in my journal, so you may have already seen it, but I wanted it to have its own page in my videos section. The background music is In the Lap of the Gods by the Alan Parsons Project, which I thought was a fitting piece to accompany the visuals.
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This is one of those happy accident photos. I was walking along the walls that surround the spectacular medieval city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, snapping lots of photos when I captured this woman lifting her daughter for a view of the city. I normally delete photos with strangers in them if I have a similar shot without them, but I thought this was a poignant scene so I kept it.
I first saw 2001 as a kid and found it boring as hell. I had grown up on action-oriented science fiction like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek (yes, compared to 2001, Trek is quite action-oriented), so I was not prepared at that age for science fiction presented as a cerebral art film.
Consequently, these were some of the questions that ran through my juvenile brain: Where are the lasers and light sabers? Where are the spaceship dogfights and massive explosions? What does a space odyssey have to do with a bunch of apes running around in the desert? When are these astronauts actually going to do something other than jogging around to classical music? Okay, now there’s just some old dude sitting in a room eating dinner—that’s it, I’m out. And so I returned to Star Wars and its ilk, leaving 2001 in the dust, never to be seen or thought of again.
Then one day, as a young adult, I was flipping through channels and stumbled onto the movie just as the Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite sequence was beginning.
I was mesmerized. This was not the 2001 I remembered as a kid. This was stunning. I watched it all the way through to the end and, instead of being bored by the old man eating dinner, I was intrigued. I knew I had to watch the entire film so I rented it on VHS (kids, if you don’t know what that stands for, ask your parents).
It was a mind-blowing experience. Every scene that had once seemed boring I now found incredibly compelling. Things that had previously been unintelligible now made sense. However, as anyone who has watched the movie can attest, there was still much I didn’t understand. As with the best of art, much was left open to interpretation, so after the movie was finished I went online and gobbled up every piece of information I could find, reading various takes on the material that helped me to develop my own interpretation with repeated viewings. More than almost any other film, 2001 lends itself to multiple viewings—and multiple interpretations. Every time I watch it I get something new out of it.
That being said, those who can’t sit through a movie unless something is exploding every five minutes may not find much to like. 2001 is not your traditional three-act, plot driven-film. It is more of a visual tone poem, a brilliant work of art that challenges the mind and rewards viewers willing to probe its depths, in much the same way as poetry. It embodies everything to which the greatest science fiction should aspire.
It’s also beautiful to look at—and we’re talking about a film made in 1968, before the revolutionary advancements in optical and computer effects ushered in by movies like Star Wars and Jurassic Park. That 2001 still looks so amazing is a testament to Kubrick’s talent as a filmmaker and the skills of his effects crew.
I could spend all day going deeper into the film, discussing the ways in which the movie predicted future technology that we now enjoy, the meaning of the monoliths, what actually happened to Dave after he went through the stargate, and how, despite being cast as the “bad guy,” the computer HAL is actually the most tragic (and human) character in the film, but I don’t want this post to get overlong. Besides, critics and film historians far more talented than me have already discussed these things in much greater depth.
I mainly just wanted to convey my love for this film and encourage you to watch (or re-watch) it—on as large of a screen as possible. If you give it the chance, if you let it grab hold and pull you in, you will see why, 45 years later, it is still considered by many to be the greatest science fiction film ever made.
After our adventures in Lucerne we departed the next morning for the final leg of our trip. The hotel front desk was late with my wakeup call so I had to rush getting ready and packed to make sure I got downstairs for the bus on time, but I still had a few minutes to hit the restaurant and get some more of that awesome bacon.
Our first stop that morning was the Rhine Falls in Switzerland. While not on the level of Niagara, it is still quite spectacular and powerful.
We didn’t have long to stay and I had already wasted some time sitting on a bench and staring at the falls, but I wanted to get a closer view, so I ran around the far side of the river where a path and steps led to the top of the falls, climbing as high as I could while taking photos. However, time ran out before I was able to reach the top and I had to book it back to the bus.
Our next stop was in the fabled Black Forest of Germany to see the world’s largest cuckoo clock in action. It was kind of kitschy (it’s no Glockenspiel). I would rather have spent more time at the Rhine Falls than rushing to make the 12 p.m. cuckoo performance.
After the cuckoo performance we went inside the building for a demonstration of how the Germans hand-make their famous cuckoo clocks. We then stood in line for 45 minutes to get some crappy cafeteria food for lunch because we thought it would be faster than going to the sit-down restaurant across the way. In all, this was my least favorite stop of the trip, but the rest of the trip was so wonderful that it’s hard to complain about one little bump in the road.
After lunch we departed for our final destination: Heidelberg, Germany. The bus took us straight to the castle ruin that overlooks the city (we would not check in to our hotel that night until after 8:30 p.m.). While not as magnificent as the intact fortress in Salzburg that I saw two years prior, the Heidelberg castle is still very impressive and provides a nice view of the valley below:
Here are a couple of photos of the ruins themselves. The open window sections reminded me a bit of the Colosseum.
We stopped in the castle courtyard for a group photo, and then went inside to view the world’s largest wine barrel.
We then explored the grounds around the castle. Along the way, I snapped this photo of a nearby obelisk in my best attempt at a 2001-ish monolith shot:
After our tour of the castle we headed back to the bus, which dropped us off in the middle of town for an hour of free time before dinner. I took a few photos of the castle from down below.
I then did some shopping and bought a chocolate gelato. One of the stores had tons of absinthe of every kind imaginable. I had never seen so much in one place. I thought about getting a big bottle to bring home, but decided against it.
We ate dinner at a charming place called Zum Sepp’l, which has apparently been a hangout for university students since the 1600’s, complete with thick wood tables entirely covered in carved names.
This was the best dinner of the trip, and a nice way to spend our last night in Europe. The tomato soup appetizer was fantastic (and I’m not usually a fan of it), but this tasted almost like spaghetti sauce. The bread was great. For the main course we had these awesome large pierogi topped with ham and onion. They were so good that I didn’t hesitate for seconds when they offered them. Here’s a picture of our mini group at the dinner table:
After dinner, a group of guys from the New York group bought a giant three-liter beer boot, which they passed around and chugged down in rapid fashion.
I was finally able to settle into my hotel room a little after 8:30 p.m., but we were right back outside at 9:30 for an extended walking tour of Heidelberg. The castle looks beautiful lit up at night, though the night photos taken with my pocket camera didn’t come out too great.
After the tour, our Gateway group stopped at a pub for a final round of drinks. On the way home we stopped for our last European gelatos. That night at 12:30 I helped Uncle Kipp do a final room check.
The following morning we hopped on the bus with the Virginia group for a long drive to Frankfurt airport (the NY group had already left very early that morning because they had a different flight). At the airport we said our goodbyes to our driver, guide, and the people from the Virginia group.
Here’s a photo of our entire group (New York, Virginia, and New Jersey):
After a fairly short wait (especially compared to the 2007 trip), we boarded our plane. I had my seat switched from a window to an aisle, thinking that I would have a nice relaxing flight home. Little did I know that the girl sitting behind me would think that the touchscreen on the back of my seat was a punch screen, so you can imagine how fun that was for eight hours (I did finally get up with about 90 minutes left in the flight to show her how to use the screen without punching it). The movies really helped pass the time, even if most of them were mediocre, though I actually liked Marley & Me, a real tear jerker if you’re a dog lover.
We had a pretty rough landing in Philly, just as we had two years ago. Is there something about landing in Philly? We got the shuttle back to Gateway high school in South Jersey, where Jen picked me up. After saying our goodbyes we began the long drive back to central Jersey. I couldn’t wait to get home and get some rest, especially since I was beginning a new job in a couple of days.
Overall, I had a great time on the trip, though I would rank it slightly behind the one from 2007, primarily because on that trip we visited Salzburg (my favorite European city to that point), we did not have to share our bus with any other groups (which gave us plenty of room to stretch out on long bus rides and we didn’t have to worry about losing our seats every day), and we stayed two nights in every location, which made for a more easy-going trip.
On the other hand, we visited more cities on this trip and met some nice people from the other groups. It was also a blast hanging out with Amber, and some other aspects of the trip and flight were easier this time around since I had already gone through it once before. In the end, both trips were fantastic and left me with a lifetime’s worth of memories. One day I’ll write up my journal of the 2007 trip and the comparisons can begin. 🙂
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I finally got around to compiling the little videos I shot during my 2009 Eurotrip into a movie. These were shot with my old pocket camera, so it’s not HD video quality and I didn’t have the ability to zoom in and out during shooting, but it’s still a decent companion piece to my journal.
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This is one of my most personal poems, dedicated to my grandfather. Like the previous poems posted here, this was published in the literary magazine of Rowan University in the 1990’s.
Photographs and Memories
(for Pop Pop)
I remember finding the tattered snapshots
in a dresser in the guest room of Mom Mom’s house,
old, black and white pictures,
delicate, flimsy, warped photographs
of you as a World War II soldier
posing with various men in your squadron,
along with photographs depicting battle-torn fields
blanketed by blizzards of debris
where cities had once stood,
and one vivid picture of a building
in which the second floor had replaced the first.
Your handwritten descriptions
in decaying blue ink,
addressed to Mom Mom with love,
occupied the backs of the photographs.
I remember how well you looked in these photographs,
young, thin, handsome, vibrant, happy,
in sharp contrast to my childhood memories
of a heavy, gentle, gray-haired man
whose brain suddenly exploded
like a carefully hidden land mine.
I remember visiting you in the hospital.
Sometimes you saw me as a baby and
sometimes you saw me as a young man.
Sometimes you saw me and asked me who I was.
Sometimes you were calm and
sometimes you were volatile.
Sometimes you laughed and
sometimes you cried.
Your emotions were at war with your memories.
I remember Dad taking long walks,
head down,
staring at dead, brown autumn leaves
blowing in the whining wind
above sparse, hollow, dying grass,
crumbling,
as Mom dragged me the other way.
I remember the front yard of your red brick house,
playing ball with Nicky
on a hot summer day when
the garage roof snatched our ball
and our parents would not help us,
but you immediately fetched a ladder
to retrieve the ball.
A seemingly insignificant memory
it is among my most cherished,
my only concrete memory of you before the aneurysm.
I remember eighth grade English class
when Aunt Sherry pulled me out
to tell me that
you had finally lost your long battle
with Death,
you were at peace.
I remember crying at the funeral.
I don’t know if I cried more for you or for Dad.
Despite his best efforts
he could not hide his suffering,
nor could Mom Mom or Uncle Nick
or any of those whose lives you touched.
They were not ready to tell you goodbye.
I remember photographs
of all your grandchildren being buried with you.
I remember placing a rose
on your closed casket
that merged with the other roses
to form a blood-red blanket
that covered your shiny black coffin.
I remember the American Flag.
I remember traveling with my family
to the cemetery every Christmas,
standing in the biting cold
and warming your grave
with a blanket of flowers.
Recently, Mom Mom had a picture of you
in your World War II uniform
reprinted and framed
as a Christmas gift to Dad.
Your picture still stands proudly at attention
on Dad’s dresser
illuminating
an otherwise dark room.
Sometimes I venture into his room
and stare at your picture through watery eyes,
wishing I could remember you better,
but thanking God I remember you at all.
We left Innsbruck after lunch for a very long bus ride to Switzerland. On the way we stopped briefly in Liechtenstein, the world’s smallest principality, basically a tiny independent kingdom complete with its own royal palace:
Our guide Keith pointed out that Liechtenstein has three political parties: the conservatives, the more conservatives, and the ultra conservatives. I thought to myself: sounds like some places I know in the States. 🙂 We didn’t have time to tour the palace, so after taking a few photos and getting our passports stamped, we were back on the bus.
On the way to Lucerne we passed by some of the most beautiful scenery you are likely to gaze upon, including giant lakes surrounded by tall mountains and rolling green hills like something out of The Hobbit:
Right outside of the city we got stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident that had people rubbernecking, so it took us a little longer to get in. After finally reaching the city we were dropped off in the town center for shopping. I bought lots of chocolate and picked up my free souvenir spoon from the Bucherer. I also picked up another t-shirt and a postcard, which I had been collecting from every country for a friend of Jen’s.
We later checked into a very nice hotel right along the lake, of which I had a nice view from my room when I stuck my head out the window. The room had motion sensor lights for the bathrooms that I thought were pretty cool until I realized that the lights would often go out when I was in the middle of doing something like brushing my teeth. The hotel served a good dinner that night: a cheese ravioli appetizer followed by a beef dish with hash browns. The dinner portion was a little on the small side, but I’m used to gluttonous America where everything is supersized. 😉
That night we walked to the Lion Monument, and then around town and the lake, which is all lit up at night:
We ended up at a cafe where we sat in the outdoor balcony overlooking the lake drinking a beer that cost 8 1/2 franks. One thing you learn about Lucerne is that it’s kind of a tourist trap; everything is very expensive. Nevertheless, of all the cities I have visited in Europe, it is one of my favorites. The views of the massive lake surrounded by the Alps (especially Mt. Pilatus, which towers over the city) are phenomenal, and the town itself exudes old world charm with its pedestrian streets, old buildings, and covered bridges.
After our beer we walked to McDonald’s to quell the late night munchies (sort of a tradition in that we did the same thing two years ago), where I had a Cheeseburger Royale (for you Pulp Fiction fans). During the long walk back to the hotel we bumped into a few less-than-kind locals. First, an older guy cut in front of our group, holding his hand up like a stop sign as he crossed in front of us. Later, a young guy with his friends mocked us for having cameras. Oh well, it’s all part of the travel experience. That night I finally got to bed around 1:30am.
The next morning the hotel served a nice breakfast that included bacon! Most of the breakfasts on the trip were more of a continental style, so this was a treat. After breakfast we hopped on the bus for Mt. Pilatus. To get to the top of the mountain you take two sets of cable cars. The first is a small four-person car, then about halfway up you transfer to a large car that holds roughly 30 people standing. At one point, the land along which the car is skimming suddenly drops away and you find yourself dangling over nothing but air—this always elicits a “whoa!’ from the crowd. On the way up the mountain you watch as the terrain gradually changes from green to snow.
The top of the mountain is breathtaking; no picture or description could ever do it justice, but here are a few:
That afternoon I had some time to myself so I walked along the lake toward town taking photos. I stopped for a Doener, a popular Middle Eastern sandwich similar to a gyro, and decided to join the other lunching Europeans by eating it down by the lake with my feet hanging over the edge, enjoying the beautiful day and the incredible view:
After lunch I walked into town to take out more francs in order to pay for the boat ride our group was supposed to be taking that evening. Unfortunately, the boat ride would later be canceled, so I ended up with a bunch of extra franks. Anyway, I went to a place called the Tea Room and ordered a cup of green tea for five francs. As I mentioned, things are expensive in Lucerne: I had earlier bought an eight-franc Fanta on Pilatus, and two years ago Uncle Kipp and I shared a cheese fondue lunch that cost around 50 francs.
While in the tea room I bumped into Keith and the adults from the Virginia group, so I sat with them. I decided to go up to the bakery counter and order a chocolate mousse cake to go with my green tea. About halfway through my delicious desert, one of the store employees came up to the table and asked me to come to the cashier at the bakery counter—I had left my wallet, passport, and return plane ticket (which had been inside the passport) on the counter!!! Everything that identified me as me was sitting on that counter for anyone to take. I would have been stuck in a foreign country with no money or identification, so I was eternally thankful for the honesty of the cashier. That was the second time I had misplaced my passport on the trip, so lesson learned—I’ve used one of those around-the-neck portfolio wallets for every trip since then.
After dessert I made my way back to the hotel following a quick stroll through the underground pedestrian mall. After getting back to the hotel we had about an hour before dinner so I decided to take a walk along the other end of the lake taking more photos, with Amber and Sam tagging along:
Dinner at the hotel that night was roast chicken with french fries and ice cream for dessert. I also had some white wine. That night the students decided that they didn’t feel like going out; they just wanted to hang out at the hotel, so I took Amber out and we walked around the town:
We stopped at a small bar off the beaten path and I bought Amber a radler, though when I ordered the drinks the waiter looked at me like I had two heads because they call it something different in Switzerland. At this point I still had 20 francs left and since it was our last night in Switzerland, I needed to blow through them. Sure, I could have exchanged them later, but where’s the fun in that? So I decided to take Amber to her first ever casino since the legal age there is 18.
We had to pay a cover charge to get in, which left us each with only five francs, but that was fine, because I’m not a gambler myself, and it was enough to give Amber a taste (and bragging rights to her friends who still had to wait three years to legally enter a casino in the States). We stuck to the slots, and needless to say, we lasted about 15 minutes before running out of money. A guy from the New York group named Mark had actually won $200 the night before, but no such luck for us.
After leaving the casino we went back to the hotel. Amber went to bed while I stopped in the hotel bar, where I bumped into Mark, and we hung out for about a half hour talking before I finally went up to bed myself. The next morning we would be heading back to Germany for the final leg of our trip, which will be covered in the next installment.
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I stumbled across a few small videos I shot while in Croatia in November of 2011 that I forgot to include in my main Eurotrip 2011 video, so I thought I’d compile them here.
In honor of the upcoming season premiere of Game of Thrones and Dubrovnik’s connection to the show, I have scored the video with the main theme from the series.
I chose to smooth-out the video using youtube’s smoothing software, which resulted in quite wacky behavior of the title captions at the beginning, but the rest of the video is nice and smooth, so once you get past the opening captions, it’s smooth sailing—do you think I used the word ‘smooth’ enough in that last sentence? 🙂
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On March 23rd there was finally a clear enough sky in Central Jersey to try and get a good view of Comet Pan-STARRS. I had managed to view it with my binoculars a week-and-a-half ago through some trees near my house but it would have been impossible to photograph, so I had to bide my time and wait for the weather to cooperate.
There are not many good viewing locations in my area so I took a ten-minute ride to Mercer County Park and walked down to the pier on the lake waterfront. The comet was too faint to see with the naked eye (I had to use binoculars), but my camera was able to pick it up. It would have been nice if I could have photographed it two weeks ago when it was brighter, but these shots are better than nothing.
All photos were taken with my Panasonic FZ40, which has fairly decent night shooting capability for a point-and-shoot, but still produces more noise than an SLR would.
It’s a shame about the power lines, but I still like the views of the comet over the water.
The temperature was supposedly in the low 40’s (Fahrenheit) but the wind made it feel more like the low 30’s. By the time I got to the next few photos I could barely feel my right hand (I had to keep removing my glove to work the camera). It was also a little creepy out there in an empty park in the dark, but I persevered. 🙂
I’ll leave you with a couple of shots that don’t have much to do with the comet but they were taken on the same night.
The Television
An aging television rests
on a giant, black footlocker
under the low, slanted ceiling
of a small stuffy attic.
I turn on the television,
receiving a shock
when my hand touches
the metal power knob.
An electric tingle runs up my arm
as my fingers move across the screen,
gathering dry, gray dust
and leaving a clear line in their wake.
I cut the power
and light shrinks
toward the screen’s center
like water falling down a sink’s drain.
Even powerless the television breathes
for in its screen I see myself,
an apparition
in ethereal blackness.
Michael Rappa 