Lagoa do Fogo, Trip Reflections

The third great caldera and lake, Lagoa do Fogo, is located in the middle of the island.  From the peak at the rim of the crater, you can see most of the island including both the north and south coasts.

Communication towers at the peak, Pico Barrosa, overlooking Lagoa do Fogo and most of the entire island.

Lagoa do Fogo; a fishing boat appears as a speck on the surface of the lake.

We visited the black sand beach of Ribeira Grande on the north shore.  Dawn needs to pay more attention to incoming waves.

A view looking east of much of the north shore of the island.  A minor volcanic cone is on our right.

We made a second visit to the west end of the island when the weather was better (although the weather was never a problem, some days just had fewer clouds).  Sao Miguel has about 130K to 140K residents;  it might be interesting to visit some of the less inhabited islands.

Surprisingly, our Danube river cruise, the centerpiece of our visit to Europe, was perhaps the least satisfying part of our trip.  Blame low water levels for most of that.  Long bus rides on crowded highways are not the same as floating down the river.  But, additionally, a river cruise is a compromise in picking attractions that will appeal to the majority of the 120 passengers; instead of including only those that interest you most.  Each of our other destinations was better than expected.

In Poland, we discovered English was more widely spoken than expected.  We found some great restaurants, and our accommodations were excellent.  Costs were modest.  Kraków was as scenic as advertised.  Zakopane was given only a short stay; we passed up some good hiking.  Budapest is beautiful; although, staying in a five-star hotel may have influenced that conclusion.  Visiting Sao Miguel in the Azores was a slight gamble; I really hadn't researched it much beforehand.  But it has been a great visit.  I can see us possibly returning and visiting more of the nine islands.  For anyone living in the eastern US, it could be an attractive alternate to Hawaii.

Weather-wise, I think that we got lucky.  Other than fog around Vienna, we have had great weather, but this late in the season, it could easily have been less favorable.  We scheduled this late in order to include the cruise and arrive in DC at Thanksgiving.

Credit cards can be used for major purchases in all these places, but carrying some cash is also important. Taxis, laundry, small shops, some gas stations, park admissions, and street food require currency.  In Poland, they want you to spend & receive change in zlotys.  In Hungary, you can spend euros, but you will receive florints in change (300 florint = 1 euro).  Germany, Austria, and Portugal all use euros.  Dollars are a lesser currency; not desired, or accepted at an unfavorable exchange rate.  We spend about 20-30 euros cash per day.

Our flight to Boston was 1 1/2 hours late, and it seems to happen frequently.  They will not let you book a close (less than 2 hour) connection.  But, that made no difference because our flight to DC was 2 1/2 hours late; we arrived at DCA at 1:30am.  Ouch!  We have six days in Washington to catch up on our sleep.  It will be a chance to spend time with our 15-month-old grandson and his family.  Washington is experiencing its wettest November since 1877, and we are experiencing the coldest weather of our trip.

Lagoa das Furnas, the eastern caldera of Sao Miguel

The nine Azores Islands are spread over more than 300 miles, SE to NW.  I elected to visit only Sao Miguel because it is the largest, has significant variety in its landscape, and most importantly, it has an international airport.  Having traveled for almost three weeks now, I wanted our six days here to be relaxing and not try to include other islands in the group which would require additional flights and accommodations; although, it is something to consider for the future.  We were lucky to not encounter any cold weather in Poland or Hungary; however, if we had, the mild climate here would have helped us to warm up.  We are told that the climate here doesn't change much throughout the year.

Yesterday, we drove to the caldera, crater of a dormant volcano, toward the east end of the island which included a lake, the resort town of Furnas, and hot springs and thermal pools.  The vegetation on the steep slopes of the caldera reminded me of much more tropical locations: Hawaii, Tahiti, or Panama.  We were able to take a long hike in the shade of massive trees along the western shore of Lagoa das Furnas.

Steam still belches from the floor of the Furnas caldera.

Lagoa das Furnas seen from the caldera edge.  The resort town of Furnas (hot mineral springs pools) is to the left.  A park with bubbling hot outlets is directly below us.

We  hiked from the hot springs at the far end of Lagoa das Furnas along a shaded trail on the left hand shore of the lake.  It was warm enough that we were glad for the shade.

The town of Furnas sited on the floor of the caldera.  We are looking east toward the tallest peak on the island.

Later we found a lookout, in Portuguese called a miradoura, at the top edge of the crater where the entire area was visible.  We drove home along the north shore of the island.  Very few beaches on these volcanic islands, but scenes of white wave crests crashing against cliffs.  We have now encountered several farmers driving their horse carts or tractors between home and fields along the highways.  We also encountered a few drivers who think they are on the autobahn, even though island distances are short. Hiking trails have been laid out through this beautiful terrain, but they can be challenging.  Trails include major vertical variation, and can be crude, swampy, rutted, or muddy surfaces.

Ponta Formosa and the village of Porto Formosa on the north coast of the island.

A significant portion of Sao Miguel island is east of this location.  It is steep terrain including the highest peak on the island, about 3600'.  We did not explore that portion of the island.  

We toured the fortress at Ponta Delgada yesterday, completed in 1549, shelled by a German submarine in WWI, and still in military use.  The young Portuguese soldier providing information to us spoke perfect English.  We asked him about his future plans (law enforcement); he reminded me of my own status when I was his age.  We met a couple staying at our B&B: she is German; he is French; they live in Lisbon, Portugal.  Their conversations wander between multiple languages.  We also met one of the owners of our B&B.  She and her husband are lawyers.  She is young, cute. and enthusiastic.  We talked about residential renovations; they are planning to open another B&B and have done a great job restoring the beauty of the mansion we are staying in.

Lagoa Azul, western Sao Miguel island

The little VW we rented here didn't have GPS, and using a cell phone for GPS is too expensive overseas; so I found that I could use the program "maps.me" as a crude substitute for GPS.  Getting in and out of the narrow lanes of Ponta Delgada where some are only one-lane, one-way and totally unfamiliar, with names that change almost every block, was made easier by having the little triangular cursor and city map on the I-Pad screen.

We headed to the western end of the island and Lagoa Azul which gets my vote for the most scenic portion of a very scenic island landscape.  The road winds upward through fields and trees to the top of the volcano rim.  Park and walk the trail through dense rain forest; turn left when you reach the caldera rim and take the narrow trail to the lookout.  You will see the entire west end of the island and multiple lakes.  Absolutely stunning.

The western caldera catches the predominate winds off the ocean from the northwest providing ample rain for the lush forest here.

Lagoa Azul with the village of Sete Cidades across the lake.  We were hoping to eat lunch there, but didn't find anything with a menu.

The lookout on that ridge really provides a view of the entire west end of the island.

A farmer with his dog riding a horse cart; we saw similar carts in other areas of the island.

We found a nice restaurant for lunch in the village of Mosteiros on the west end of the island.  This was the view out the window.

Wooded slopes and neat fields outlined with hand-laid gathered rock walls.  What a pretty picture!

Often when we travel, we only eat two meals per day.  Passive pursuits such as sitting on a bus or driving in a car don't create much hunger.  We ate breakfast at 0830; no lunch, and then started looking for dinner at 3:30pm.  Sunday; most restaurants closed, at least until 7pm.   We walked the cobblestone streets of the old town district. We were hungry and found a little upstairs restaurant apparently open; well, not really; they had just left the door open. The chef and one female server were present.  Although surprised, they graciously let us in.  Both came to our table to discuss meal options.  They understood my lactose intolerance.  We were the only customers.  We ended up with a bottle of vinho verde from northern Portugal (highly recommended); Dawn had tuna steak; I had octopus.  The entire octopus was served, large enough for three people. (yesterday my albacore lunch in Mosteiros was enough for three; we skipped dinner)  Dawn's fish was large also.  Such gracious hosts!  They brought us an after dinner aperitif with no charge.  We exchanged thank you's.  What a great experience!  Would that happen in your local restaurant?

Simple food but fresh and in ample portions; a bottle of wine completes the meal.

Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel island, Azores

We arrived at midnight to a blustery, rough landing of our TAP flight from Lisbon.  First off the aircraft (the advantage of a front seat), we quickly found a taxi driver who raced the midnight streets, deposited us at our B&B in Ponta Delgada, and drove away leaving us at the curb.  There we were with our assorted luggage in a strange town, standing in the dark outside a tall wrought iron enclosure of the property, hoping we could arouse someone although no lights were visible.  Amazing how you can make reservations in some foreign part of the world months in advance and the proprietor is there to greet you on arrival.  We stumbled up the stairs of this mansion to our room to discover that the interior was modern, cheerful and inviting.

Great location, wonderfully restored, friendly and helpful hosts; this is the B&B we stayed in at Ponta Delgada.

Swells rolling in are like the heart beat of the Atlantic Ocean.  It was scenic and peaceful to walk down to the breakwater at sunset.

Near the breakwater was an ancient stone fortress; built 1549.  Part is still used by the Portuguese navy and part is a neat military museum.

Ponta Delgada waterfront as seen from the breakwater.  Walking the harbor promenade, we observed a group of people going for an organized swim in the harbor each day.

We discovered an indoor farmer's market, complete with fresh fish and butcher shop, in downtown Ponta Delgada.  An amazing variety of local products from the fertile volcanic slopes of the island and its surrounding seas.

  A typical street, although less crowded than most.

Sao Miguel, almost 40 miles long, is the most prominent island of a volcanic group of islands.  The climate is moderate; the soil is rich; and agricultural products are abundant.  Standing on the breakwater, I can watch large swells crashing against it, throwing spray twenty feet in the air.  The harbor is full of serious ships: Portuguese navy, fishing vessels, and transports, as well as power and sail yachts.  An ancient stone fortress overlooks the harbor.  The town of cobblestone streets is full of very solid looking, but slightly dilapidated, buildings.  The streets are narrow; never designed for motor vehicles.  Parking is at a premium; apparently a major source of city income.

We have six days here to check out the lakes in extinct volcanic craters and some associated thermal baths.  Mountains extend up to 3600' altitude.  Tomorrow we rent a small car to expedite our sightseeing.

OMG, the scenery here is so beautiful!  The area is self-sufficient with a perfect mix of forests, pastures, crops, mountains, and lakes. Dramatic views from volcanic mountain tops to the surrounding farms, villages, and rocky coastline.  Neat little fields framed by gathered stone walls. The weather is extremely changeable moment to moment from sun to shade to a passing light rain cloud and back to sun.  Temperatures stay between mid 60's to high 50's depending on altitude.
We have the smallest VW to drive, an "UP!", which is perfect for the narrow roads.  Dawn drives and I navigate.  In the towns, many roads are too narrow for two cars in opposite directions to pass unless one pulls over.  Many urban roads are single lane; street names change every few blocks.

Beautifully green and lush, with a perfect mixture of nature and cultivated land.

Communism / Socialism in Hungary

For the past day we had a guide, Erica, for our travels in Hungary.  She grew up under communism and had some interesting comments.  During the 1980's she had a scholarship to learn Russian at a school in St. Petersburg (then called Leningrad).  One of her major problems was finding food.  The average housewife there would spend two hours per day waiting in lines to buy whatever food was available.  When you entered a store (some food stores charged admission just to get in), you would find a surly clerk and empty shelves.  Our guide discovered that, if you bribed the clerk, they would go to the back room and furtively return and hand you a bag of assorted items. You immediately hid the items in your shopping bag, paid your bill, and then could rush away to discover just what items you had been able to buy.

When the first McDonalds opened in Budapest in the late 80's, people would wait in line for up to eight hours just to participate in this symbol of the Western world. Our guide, Erica, said that she was so impressed that, after waiting in line for seven hours, the person taking her order actually smiled at her and welcomed her to the store. That would never happen under communism.

To buy a car in communist Hungary, you needed to apply 7-8 years in advance, and that was for a Trabant. The Trabant was very small; its body was made of a sort of plywood.  The joke was that the seat belts in the car were there so that you could strap the car on your back, as a backpack, if the engine failed.  Dawn and I lived in Germany during the late 1980's and have seen Trabants parked and driving on the road. There were cases where a Trabant was hit from the rear on the autobahn because they were so slow and had such small taillights that approaching cars didn't see them in time.

Central Budapest is modern or well-restored.  It suffered damage at the end of WWII and also in the revolution of 1956.  Under Communist rule, there was no incentive to improve things.  Buildings of the Soviet era are recognizable by their ugly crude construction.  In Budapest suburbs, such buildings and some abandoned factories still exist.

Remember, the Russian empire was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR.  Communism is simply socialism taken to the extreme.  The more that government does for you, the more control it has over you, and the closer it becomes to a dictatorship.  One of the very wealthy ex-communist leaders paid Rod Stewart to come sing at his birthday party.  Under socialism, all are equal, but some are more equal than others (like the book Animal Farm).

Budapest

Due to low water levels and a section of shallow, rocky river bed, we were provided a bus ride for our final section of "river cruise" to reach Budapest.  Not really a problem; we spend the same amount of time in the city and stay in a five-star hotel instead.  The cruise company has been very fair about it; they can't change the river water level.  This is where the cruise ends; we booked an extra day here on our own.

The Christmas market at night; mobbed with people, and why not.... the food is great, prices are reasonable, the handcrafts are very well made; even the weather is cooperating.

Ready to eat and in large quantities; a great meal accompanied by a half liter of local beer.

Prominent cathedral in Buda.  The large building on the right is a Hilton hotel; why allow a hotel right next to a church?  The contract was signed when this was Russian-controlled, and churches were used as storage facilities.

The cathedral interior today.  Some parts were hidden when Russia took over to prevent them from being destroyed.

The Hungarian statue of liberty.  The statue is located in the old Citadel which was the site of a last battle when Soviet troops drove out the Nazis in WWII.  Previously, a statue of a Russian soldier was also located here, but the Hungarian people removed it when they gained their freedom.  Don't forget that Budapest also revolted against Communist rule in 1956.

The Hungarian parliament building is impressive; patterned after the British parliament.

Arriving in Budapest, the weather is much better; the scenery is better; and our hotel is top notch. Budapest has the first Christmas market in Europe.... only two blocks from our hotel.  Christmas markets are a big deal in Europe and are so much fun due to the great food and interesting handcrafts on display.  We had stuffed cabbage and mulled wine for dinner; very tasty, a favorite dish of Hungarians. I had goulash for lunch.  I think that Budapest may have replaced Prague as the new "place to go" in Europe.  We are now spending "florints" but prices are not much of a bargain (Poland was very reasonably priced).  History here is all around us; buildings and monuments which can be 800 to 1000 years old or more.

The Danube River with Buda on the left bank and Pest on the right bank.  The famous chain bridge is in the center.  The photograph is taken from the Citadel.

The Budapest skyline looking east.  In the distant background are ugly, concrete communist-built apartment buildings.  We have seen similar buildings in the Baltic countries, east Germany, and in Poland... wherever communism ruled.

We have done most of the standard viewpoints of Budapest and are glad we came.  Our son spent a summer here in an internship almost 20 years ago and seemed unimpressed, but the city has seen much progress since then.  They have worked hard to get rid of the Soviet communist influence, although you can see it in the ugly concrete apartment houses in some suburbs and some abandoned factories.

Central Pest viewed from the "Budapest Eye"- a large Ferris wheel which rises above all the adjacent buildings.

On the Danube River

We were advised that, due to the long dry summer in Europe, river levels are low, affecting boat traffic.  Thus, our cruise start has been changed from Nurnberg to Passau; today we take a 2.5 hour bus trip to the new embarkation site.  Yesterday, we spent most of the day on the move from Zakopane to Nurnberg.  We had a bus trip to the Kraków airport.  Dawn & I played ping pong in the airport recreation area while waiting for our flight. Then we had a scare when our flight to Warsaw was delayed.  Finally got to our hotel in Nurnberg at 7:30pm.

This will be our first river cruise.  Plenty of storage space in our cabin, and the cruise is all-inclusive which should make it very relaxing.  Today we toured Regensburg in the morning and toured a BMW factory in the afternoon.  Regensburg has a typical old town center with structures over 1000+ years old, including a huge cathedral which is in a constant state of repair due to weathering of its stone exterior.  A Roman fortress was originally located here.  A stop at the Straubing brewery was included as a separate excursion.  Samples of many different beers were included.  It was explained that beer was very important in previous times because it is sterile while the drinking water was usually contaminated.

A side channel of the Danube at Regensburg.  We parked here and crossed a walking bridge to get to the old town center.

We rode bicycles along the river from Passau and made a stop to take pictures of our riverboat as it passed by us on the Danube; then rejoined it at the next stop.

Our riverboat is in the lower left corner of the photo; note how low the river level is.  We are docked at Spitz.

The BMW factory is extremely modern and efficient, producing a vehicle every 57 seconds.  At many stages of production, robots do the entire assembly, welding & painting.  Humans get more involved when installing the interior.  They produce many different models from the same assembly line.  Each frame has a computer module attached which specifies all options to be included.  All cameras and cell phones had to be placed in lockers prior to beginning the BMW factory tour; pictures verboten!

We really enjoyed the small town of Spitz: beautiful wine country.  We walked the town, the vineyards, and then hiked up a steep ridge overlooking the entire area.

The ruins of a castle at Spitz.  The Danube river is to the left.

Seasonal weather has finally arrived: overcast with a high of 50 degrees; but that is good weather for hiking or biking.  We did a 17-mile bike ride along the Danube Saturday; meeting with our riverboat at its next stop.  Sunday morning we hiked all around the Austrian village of Spitz, a wine region.  A steep ridge overlooks the village, the river, and the remains of an old castle.

Vienna was the big disappointment of our trip.  The weather there was very foggy and cold; we only made a brief trip into the city.  We walked from Schwedenplatz to the Stadt park, visited the grand cathedral at Stephensplatz, then returned to our starting point.  The cathedral is surrounded closely by other large buildings; thus, it is difficult to stand back and frame a picture of the entire cathedral.  I am sure Vienna has many beautiful features (I can see them on the city map), but we didn't want to see it looking out the windows on a long bus tour, and the weather was poor for extensive walking and sightseeing.

The weather was still warm enough in this river valley for flowers to be blooming.

The cathedral at Stephansplatz, Vienna.  The city was busy with people everywhere despite the foggy, cool weather.

Zakopane, PL

When you think of Poland, mountains are not what you think of, but at the southern border with Slovakia, that is what you find.  We took the bus, 2+ hours from Kraków, to get here.  Actually the distance is not too far, but the roads are crowded.  With Poland's recent economic gains, many Poles can now afford a car, and the roads have not kept up with the volume of traffic.  Consequently, many road construction projects are underway.

 Our B&B at Zakopane.  Very modern with many custom features; located at the edge of the town where we could easily walk to forest trails.

Neighborhood restaurant, 1 block from our B&B, where we found tasty but simple dinners.

Is this how you picture Poland?  We enjoyed the last few days of warm weather with outstanding natural scenery.

Walking the ridge at Kasprowy Wierch.  To the left is Poland; toward the right is Slovakia.

In Zakopane, a ski resort town, they have already had snow twice this Fall, but temperatures during our stay are in the 60's.  We rode the gondola to a mountain top where we could look north to Poland or south into Slovakia from a 2000 meter altitude.  While waiting in line at the gondola (last day it will be open this season), we talked to some IT workers taking the weekend off.  One couple was from India; one fellow from South Africa; and one a native Pole.  They all live in Kraków.  With native languages of Hindi, Africaners, and Polish, we all conversed in English; how fortunate we are!

We have met no one here for whom English is their first language.  Poland has the fastest growing economy in Europe, and many IT functions are located here.  Poland has smart, highly trained workers who work for modest salaries due to the low cost of living.  A nice restaurant dinner for two can cost about $30.  Interesting tidbit: everyone in Poland seems to know someone in Chicago; until recently (when it was surpassed by Warsaw), Chicago had the largest population of Polish people of any city on earth.

 
 We walked 300 meters from our B&B to this trail into a forest valley.

There was an admission charge to enter this trail system, but it was only about 50 cents.

Trails end; from here the ground rises in steep forest and rocky cliffs.

Zakopane is small enough to walk between downtown and the outer neighborhoods.  It has a very nice pedestrian district, which, I am guessing, is supported by its popularity with both tourists and residents. I am glad that we visited in the off season.

Culture & History, Poland

The Polish language uses many long words, but the reason was explained to us.  We use a word and then add adjectives to it to make the meaning more precise. In Polish, the adjectives are included within the word itself. Polish has a word for 'outside your home' and another for 'outside in the meadow' and another for 'outside on the playing field'.  Today children in Poland start learning English while in elementary school; widely understood by young Poles.  As one young Pole stated to us, "English is the universal language." Learning English facilitates joining the world economy.

Our guide yesterday told us a story about his grandmother:  During WWII, the Germans took most of the food for their army, leaving very little for the Poles. His grandmother went out in the forest looking for edible plants to feed her family.  On the way home, she discovered some spilled wheat along the road.  She gathered it and hurried home and used it to bake some bread for her family.  Neighbors smelled the bread.  Two days later, German SS soldiers came to their home, took her away, and she was never seen again.  The guide said that 95% of Polish families have similar stories.

This was the only photo of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps that I took.  There is much to be seen, but I couldn't bring myself to think of it as "interesting pictures"; more a place of solemn reflection and respect for the million-plus victims.

Few people know of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a secret plan between Hitler and Stalin to divide up the Eastern European countries.  When Hitler attacked Poland from the west in 1939, Stalin also attacked Poland but from the east (also attacking Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). They were initially allies in aggression.  Poor Poland had no chance. Rather than be destroyed, Kraków put up the white flag, and Polish military forces headed for France and England to escape.  Some of the pilots defending England in the "Battle of Britain" were Poles. Polish troops fought alongside Americans when retaking Europe.

The King of Kraków (the castle is still there) invited Jews to settle in the prosperous city to aid its growth.  Prior to WWII, there were 65,000 Jews in Kraków.  Today, there are about 200.  About 60,000 died in the Nazi gas chambers. Otto Schindler had his factory in Kraków and was able to save about a thousand.  The release of "Schindler's List" coincided with increasing tourism to Kraków; today his factory is a museum.
I find history to be extremely interesting and explanatory of the world we live in.