Different Translations

It is very interesting what information gets understood when we can’t speak much German and my cousins can’t speak much English. When we told Oscar, my second cousin, that we were leaving on the 30th he was very sad and said that he thought we were leaving on the 1st of April. He said, “Time visiting was too short.” So we decided to stay one more night. It gave us a chance to visit with Oscar’s son Günter and his daughters some more. He was very kind and took me to see Vienna at night so I could shoot some night time photos. It was a wonderful night and Günter had an amazing knowledge of all the architects that built the buildings and the dates they were built.

Regi and I decided to stop over again in Venice on our way to the Assisi area in Italy. We planned to stay just one night but in the morning we discovered that the train and bus personnel decided to go on strike for a day so we couldn’t continue on our journey. The people at Hotel Bernardino were very generous. They gave us a larger room for the night and the evening front desk lady (literally) ran to the local market for us and bought a phone card that we needed. How is that for service?

That evening I shouldered my camera and headed out again for a few twilight photos of a little church near our hotel and my favorite water way. They came out amazing. I really love the feel and quality of twilight photos.

We look forward to be on the vineyard tomorrow if all goes well…


Where in the world is Bernie’s birthday party? (Insert Carmen San Diego theme song)

Continuing with the clues to where we are going for Bernie’s birthday, here is the next clue;

1.) This place has been inhabited since prehistoric time. Over 6,500 dwellings have been identified.
2.) This place is home to a colony of miniature albino donkeys.
3.) The language is based on Latin but still bears the influence of the ancient languages of the Nuraghic period (such as the word Nuraghe itself) as well as smatterings of Catalan, Corsican, Arabic, Phonecian and Genoese... legacies left by the many invaders.
4.) They have a toxic local herb which causes convulsive laughter in its victims. There is an English phrase that comes from this herb.
5.) Inhabitants here have the highest percentage of people over the age of 100 in the world (135 people per million)... maybe due to the fantastic diet and unpolluted air?

Two people so far have guessed correctly! Congratulations to Martha Fosnaugh and Irene Cleenewerck (Fosnaugh). Sorry it is not Germany, Lombardy, or Estonia.