Just a note....

*sigh*... we finally have sunny, warm weather, just when I need to pack boxes, etc. It's been raining all week! But I've already got lots of boxes for my move filled, mostly with books. I haven't even started packing any dishes or other glass stuff.

My living room looks like a storage room! I still have 4 weeks until my offical moving day, but I'm trying to get as much accomplished now as I can. I can already bring some stuff to the new place... the garage is empty and I have the key already. That is so cool! So whenever I have a chance, I bring stuff over there. I do have movers coming on June 26, but if I wait until then, I won't be able to move around here at all! So, I transport now what I can.

I went to IKEA and planned some additions for my new kitchen. As many of you may remember, over here the apartments normally don't have a kitchen installed, you buy and install your own! So, mine is already from IKEA, I take it with me and purchase some additions, as well as a new counter top. I've also ordered a new stove and oven which will be at eye level.

This is a holiday weekend over here. Pentecost may be a religious holiday, but it's also a national one here... all shops, offices, and other businesses are closed not only on Sunday but also on Monday. That saved me some vacation days when I put in for the 3 weeks that I'm off on now (ascension day was also a legal holiday.... not always church and state separation here, though it's supposed to be, but I'm not complaining! lol).

Tomorrow I may join my son and his family on an outing. My daughter returns tonight from a beach vacation with her family to Turkey.

Yes, I know, that all sounds exotic to most of you.... her in Turkey, me traveling around the Greek isles. But sometimes you should take advantages of oppotunities as they arrive because they may never come up again. I had hoped to fly over to Dallas this weekend for Doc and Gillardia's wedding, but my move kind of diminished my budget for that, besides flights being much too high at the moment. But if I could have pulled it off, I would have!!

Well, it looks like I rambled on longer then originally intended. I hope you all have a great weekend.... and if I'm not around much, then I'm probably buried under boxes! LOL

Dorrie

Trip photos completed....

All the best pictures of my trip are uploaded for your enjoyment. It is impossible to post them all here so, if you are really interested, just stop by my homepage. You can either go to the Contents or to the individual pages....

Venice, Italy

Split, Croatia

Corfu, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Crete, Greece

Enjoy!

Dorrie

Split, Croatia

Our first stop was at Split, Croatia. There we took our first tour which ended up being very interesting. Part of the Doicletian Palace we visited is 1700 years old! Here are only a few of the pictures I took. Once again, more pictures are available at my homepage.... which is gettingup-dated daily! It's best to just go to the table of contents found here.

I recorded one of the songs this group sang... link can be found at my homepage under "Split".

Finally a picture of the two of us...

And another "foot" photo!

More to come tomorrow.....

Dorrie

First pics of my trip.... Venice!

This will be the first in a series of pictures.... but y'all asked for it!

Both the one- hour flights to and from Frankfurt - Venice, Italy, were uneventful. This picture I took as we flew over the Alps....

We had no time to sight-see in Venice, but we did get a grand view of the city as our ship sailed past it....

and an awesome sunset....

There are more to come. And if you can't wait until I post them here, you can check them out in my homepage.... I'll be uploading them there first.

Dorrie

P.S. we had GREAT weather the whole trip! It could not have been better!

Next Saturday....

I'll be leaving on another cruise! This time I'm traveling together with a friend, Kornelia. She's been dancing in my classes for over 25 years. We have lots in common so we decided we'd arrange a trip together. The only time she could get off her job is this month. We decided on a cruise because we both want to be able to relax yet also have chances to sight-see interesting places.

We'll be traveling with a ship of the Norwegian Lines, flying first from Frankfurt to Venice, Italy, where we go on board. This is the route we'll be taking....

It was all arranged BEFORE I knew about my upcoming move into a new apartment and that expensive class I took last February. I had hoped to fly over to the US for Gillardia's and Dr. Strangelove's wedding, but I had to kill that idea.

The past weeks have been extremely stressy. Not only trying to get things organised for my move, but also at work I've been busy like crazy. Last Tuesday I was on a business trip with one of my co-workers and I met a REAL prince! No pictures, unfortunately, but if you'd like to see what his castle, which is now a hotel, looks like, just follow this link!

Friday I was at the office until just past 4:00 O'clock, then drove home to change clothes and went..... SQUARE DANCING! Back in 1979 I founded a club and every year they have a jamboree on April 30th, the night before May 1. It's a German tradition that on April 30th the witches gather to chase off winter. Since the group is called "Witches and Wizards" (a name I gave them), it's a fitting date for a party. Anyway, they were thrilled that their founding member showed up... I even danced a few rounds. Here's me with the club's president...

Anyway, life is hectic and busy, but ok. Don't wonder if I don't get around here often. During the cruise I may not get online at all.... we shall see.

Dorrie

Living under invisible volcanic ash....

That's what us Europeans are doing. Since last week the volcanic ash has been blowing toward Europe and because of it, all commerical airline traffic is on the ground!

This is a situation that no one ever predicted. Normally the winds would be from the south/south-west, blowing the ash AWAY from us. But, we finally have a stable high pressure system, which we would normally enjoy. This system has given us BEAUTIFUL spring weather, though still chilly.... and is sending the ash directly toward us!

The first countries to close their airspace for IFR flights was Scanadavia (hi Elin and Melody!), followed by Ireland, Scotland, England. Then the Benelux countries and Holland joined in (hello Wizardress!), followed by Germany, France, Poland, etc. etc. etc. Some countries have also forbidden all VFR flights, i.e. flights conducted unter visual regulations.

But in Germany those flights are still allowed.... and I even got to fly yesterday! Visibility was hazy, which is normal under high pressure systems. No sign of any ash anywhere, but the experts, including pilots that have flown into the muck, say it is so fine it can't be seen by the naked eye. The reason for canceling all flights.... the ash can cause the engines of jets to shut down! So, closing the air space is a necesssary precaution. Lufthansa did ferry 10 planes (B 747's and Airbus's) from Munich to Frankfurt, but they carried NO passengers and flew under VFR! At the lower altitudes they had to fly at (below the ash level), it is not allowed to carry passengers. Needless to say, those planes are going through a thorough inspection to see if any ash damage occured. Some ash has touched the ground in England from what I hear (take care Susannanne, Fakebrunette, Simon, Dave, Stig and all others on the Islands).

It looks like this volcano is going to be active for some time and will continue causing havoc over European air space.

As I mentioned, the ash is invisible, making a lot of people think it doesn't exist. But it does make for pretty sunsets..... this taken last night:

Dorrie

No volcanic ash here..... yet!

But it's getting closer!! The volcano eruption in Iceland is causing havoc to Europes air ways!!

All of northern Europe has closed it's airspace!! England, Scandanavia, Holland, France, and now Hamburg and Berline.... all closed!

Here's a map of the area already affected...(stolen from one of Germany's biggest newspapers):

I'm located right at the southern edge of the red line.

Can you imagine what chaos this is causing? All the travelers stuck without even alternative airports to fly out of? And trains are only good for local travel. Frankfurt has already had lots of cancelations because flights can't go to their intended destinations. I heard a plane flying overhead my house a bit ago so Frankfurt seems to be still open.... but for how long?

I just got home from dance class... so today was another loooong day. AND... it's Wheelie's birthday!!

He had tons of meetings all day and ended up working overtime... on his birthday! That really sucks!

Well, time to check the news..... the next days should be interesting, and scary!!

Dorrie