Transit Tuesday: How do you get to Annapolis without a car?

I was peeved. During my Christmas break in Maryland, a winter storm blew in on the day I’d picked to spend some time at the state archives in Annapolis. My plan had been to look at criminal cases involving runaway … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Montreal

I spent a day in Montreal, QC last week. I had forgotten how cold it can be up north.  I quickly relearned that northerners find ways to snake through buildings and basements to get from point to point. Here are … Continue reading

Transportation Tuesday: Great American Stations Project

Amtrak has built some humdingers of depressing rail stations over its forty year history. Compare the current Cleveland, Ohio shed where passengers now alight, compared to the glorious Terminal Tower. Recently, I switched trains at Springfield, Massachusetts. A grim 1970s … Continue reading

Transit Tuesday: The Walking City

Colleagues of mine were up from DC this week for the Alliance for Response NYC program “Community-Based Recovery After Superstorm Sandy” (see the post here). One of them exclaimed “this is New York! look at everyone walking along the streets!” … Continue reading

Travel By Design: Painted Advertisements

How did you used to make money off your barn or shed? Allow a hand painted sign to advertise on the side. Here are a few from the road…along with some derivative works for fun.     … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: A Few Views of Munich

Work took me to Germany in late 2012. I’ve already written about the food I ate, Christmas Markets, and train travel from Munich to Bonn on the ICE (click to read my posts). Here are a few nutty photos from … Continue reading

Spaces that Feed the Writing Brain

I just finished Dwight Garner’s “A Critic’s Tour of Literary Manhattan” in The New York Times (December 14, 2012). I’m smitten. I like heady romps through the bars and bookshops where original things take place. I swoon for the places … Continue reading

Museum Monday: Beethoven’s Birthplace

Has anyone else been outraged by the clips on WNYC when they ask people on the street “Who is Beethoven?” followed by soundbites of multiple people saying “a dog!” (see here for WQXR’s Beethoven Awareness Month program) Last week’s work … Continue reading

Things That Make Me Happy: Historypin

Combine Google “Places I’ve Visited” with history geeks and what do you get? Historypin. A user attaches historic photos to the globe according to where the content took place. On a brief search this morning, I viewed photos from a … Continue reading

Transit Tuesday: Munich Train Station

Hauptbahnhof. It has to be my favorite German word. Feeling adventurous, I decided to fly directly to Munich and check out the city before going to Bonn for an appointment. This meant a five hour train ride via the ICE, … Continue reading