In Memory, Joseph Harris Whitesell

We buried my Uncle Joe on Thursday in a cemetery behind a small country church in Bethel Valley. The cancer he had fought against for so long finally won.  Our family gathered at the graveside to say goodbye. Twelve of the 16 cousins stood beside the coffin as did Joe’s long estranged daughter, Angela.  We will miss his stories, his laughter and his guidance. With love to you Uncle Joe….



Joseph Harris Whitesell was born in Staunton, VA on August 11, 1934.  He was the 4th of 7 children, the second brother to my mother.  He was raised on a farm and grew up under the strict hand of my grandparents, doing farm chores and going to school. It was not an easy life.  He graduated from high school but never went to college.  He was young, good looking and restless.  A rebel without a cause.

He kicked around the Army for a bit then took a job at a GE factory in Staunton.  He married the lovely Miss Thelma Ramsey, from Ramsey Draft, VA and had a daughter, Angela. But he had a demon that owned his soul, alcohol.  Twice GE sent him through rehabilitation and twice he failed. Finally he lost his wife, his daughter and his job.

It is said that my grandmother would drive the country roads after dark and look for Joe. On a number of occasions, she pulled him out of a ditch and took him home to sober up. She never gave up on him and lived long enough to see him fight for sobriety and be rehired at GE, from where he proudly retired.

Joe never remarried.  He was a ladies man and had some memorable romances through the years.  Some of the ladies the family met (and became attached to), some we didn’t.  When he died, one of my cousins found a stack of photos of Joe’s ladies labeled, “The Ladies Club”.

He respected the ladies he dated and maintained contact with many of them, helping with finances or family. It is a testament to him that his most recent and previous lady friends sat crying at the funeral, arms around each other for comfort.

Joe was an accomplished ballroom dancer, an avid gardener (in the country that is vegetable gardening) and bird hunter. His brown sugar cured country ham was legendary in Augusta county. He loved his family and stepped in as father/grandfather to brother Tom’s children when Tom passed away.  He drove up and down the highway between TN and VA during my mother’s last years.  She called out for him during her last days, I understand he called out to her during his…

Rest in peace Uncle Joe.

Salzburg, December 19-21, 2011...

With the arrival of morning, it was time to say goodbye to Munich and our charming hotel.  Two days (1-1/2 really) had barely opened the door to the city's rich history and magnificent architecture but another adventure beckoned, Salzburg...

Oh Salzburg, small, intimate, romantic, we couldn't wait.  We grabbed our bags, retraced our steps to that very spot in Marienplatz where we first felt the excitement of Christmas in Munich and descended underground. Fifteen minutes later we scrambled out of a subway and into a train platform, still underground! 

Munich Central Station, main floor

People were scurrying around us, people who knew where they were going and how to get there. We must have looked obviously confused because an elder German gentleman came up from nowhere and "befriended" us.  No worries, he would show us where the ticket desk is located.

Now this is a situation that makes me ill at ease. As the gentleman and I walked side by side toward the upper level and daylight, he told me about his trip to New York some 20 years ago and how someone helped him find his way. I couldn't concentration for wondering whether he expected cash or truly wanted to help.  Meanwhile, the family was a short distance behind and content to follow along.

Tickets were purchased and the elderly gentleman disappeared, no money was exchanged.  As we left the ticket counter for the gate, the gentleman appeared again, frantically pointed in the direction we were going, and in his thickly accented English we heard, "the gate, this way, go this way."  Secretly I wondered if we would see him again at the Salzburg station!

John, Tory, Daniel, Lee and Bebe waiting on the train

Traveling through the Bavarian countryside by train is a lovely experience.  We pressed our faces against the windows as quaint, gingerbread villages and farm lands flew by, first in Germany and then Austria.  Snow levels increased as we neared the foothills of the Bavarian Alps and dissipated on the other side.  After a short 1-1/2 hours, we pulled into Salzburg and disembarked.   Our hotel was a 10 minute taxi ride from the station, or two taxis for our group of six with luggage.

Built in 1890, Hotel Bristol  is all about Old Europe.  We loved the art, the chandeliers, heavy velvet drapes and antiques.  The service was impeccable. 

  Our room was located on the second floor just to the right of the main entrance.  We could step out on our balcony and see the old historic city.

Left: Our room at the Hotel Bristol with an

elegant crystal chandelier and walkout balcony, Right: Hallway with chandeliers, velvet drapes and fine antiques

At the suggestion of the Hotel Bristol staff, we walked to the K+K Restaurant for lunch.  That meant walking a block from the hotel to the Salzach River, over the pedestrian bridge and into Old Town Salzburg, a quick 10 minutes in the cold. As a group, we ate a lot of schnitzel in Germany and Austria, from well prepared to "bar food" schnitzel.  By far, the best schnitzel we ate was at the K+K.

Us outside the entrance to the K+K Restaurant am Waagplatz where we ate a fine lunch: Salzburger Schnitzel-lightly breaded pork escalope stuffed with onions, bacon and mushrooms with potatoes and salad

After lunch we set about to explore Old Town on foot.  Of the three cities  visited on this trip, Salzburg was the most walkable - small, cozy and easy to navigate. The narrow streets were brick or cobblestone and most were pedestrian only. Aside from visiting cathedrals (which I never seem to get enough of) , we strolled the Christmas markets and browsed a number of interesting shops.  

Salzburg is the birthplace of  Mozart and the city has capitalized on his name.  Among the most visible references were Mozart chocolate candy, Mozart chocolate liquor and Mozart street mimes on every corner.  Some  were ridiculous looking, some really didn't get the mime thing but the fellow below was absolutely the best!

Mozart Street Mime 

We never  figured out his shtick but we think he had a seat attached to a rod running along his right arm that is attached to the stick.  The base has something to do with the balance. 

We were spoiled by the Munich Christmas markets and initially disappointed in the Salzburg markets. I had counted on all the markets carrying similar merchandise but the gifts I waited to buy in Salzburg were not available.  I know, I know, if you see something you like buy it, don't wait.  I have experienced this over and over on our travels but I don't seem to quite learn the lesson.  Nevertheless, we had fun strolling the Salzburg markets and sampling the mulled wine and food.

Main Christmas Market in Domplatz - Salzburg

Catholicism is the main religion of Salzburg and several cathedrals were located on the outskirts of  the Christmas market in Domplatz. The first cathedral we explored was Salzburg Cathedral or Salzburger Dom.  The Dom is known for its Renaissance architecture and 4,000 pipe organ.  Massive bronze doors open to expose  a soft white and sepia interior.  Just inside the front doors sits a large font. Mozart was baptized here and later served as the organist. 

The altar, Salzburg Cathedral

We did not get into Mozart's birthplace in Old Town but did visit his boyhood home, which is now a museum (below).

The view from our hotel balcony included the home where Mozart spent his youth.  On the hill directly behind the house is Fortress Hohensalzburg, which is mentioned in historical records dating back as early as 1077 AD.

Us in a park beside Hotel Bristol

Daniel on one of the statues in the park

Lee "Tebowing" on the same statue

Fortress Hohensalzburg was one of the few sights we saw in depth (two days per city schedule has its limitations).  Hohensalzburg sits on a hilltop above Salzburg and is probably the city's most dominate and  biggest attraction.  Originally built as a castle in 1077, Hohensalzburg was rebuilt into the fortress that currently stands between the 12th and 13th century. 

Inner courtyard at Fortress Hohensalzburg.  The Christmas market here was only open for the first couple of weekends in December.

View of Salzburg from Hohensalzburg: Old Town Salzburg is left of the river, newer Salzburg right of the Salzach River

A few hours exploring Hohensalzburg was not enough but lunch beckoned us back to the city. We had heard tale of St. Peter's Stiftskeller, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Central Europe.  Located in an alcove of St. Peter's Abbey Church, the cozy restaurant turned out to be our most expensive meal of the trip.  Shouldn't be hard to guess what we ordered...

Salzburg Schnitzel and parsley potatoes. This time at St. Peter Stiftskeller, which was first documented in existence in 803 AD

After lunch we explored the magnificent St. Peter's Abbey Church, also located in Domplatz. The Abbey, founded in 696 AD, is where Mozart first premiered his Mass in C Minor in 1793 and the Van Trapp family hid from the Germans in the Sound of Music film. The Abbey cemetery is the oldest in Salzburg and where the remains of Mozart's sister, Joseph Hyden's brother and many of Salzburg's aristocrats are located.      

St. Peter's Abbey Church looking toward the altar

Much of our time in Salzburg was spent walking and browsing. H&M was on Daniel and Tory's list of shops to see, "Christmas in Salzburg" was on ours. We had read about the shop on "must see" Salzburg travel sights and heard about it from friends Duane and Angela Simmons.

The shop alluded us for a day and a half then, quite by accident, we stumbled upon it on the way back to our hotel.  Windows filled with  twinkling lights and painted ornaments lured us in, 1000s of hand painted egg ornaments kept us there for a while.

"Christmas in Salzburg" holiday windows

A small sample of the many thousands of eggs for sale.  Note the Mozart eggs hanging on the tree and in several cartons.  We came home with about 1/2 dozen eggs.

A wet snow began to fall as we wrapped up our final night in Old Town Salzburg. We scurried across the pedestrian bridge and home before the wind and dropping temperatures turned the winter wonderland into a treacherous obstacle course. John and I watched the snow from our balcony and talked about our trip. Tomorrow, Vienna...

Our last evening enjoying Christmas lights in Salzburg

Festive Old Town Salzburg

Night view from our hotel window.  The building with purple lights is the Opera House, arched lights in the center of the photo run along the pedestrian bridge to Old Town.

Munich, December 17-19, 2011

Munich was not in our original plan.  It was always about the Christmas markets in Austria-Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna.  Then, in mid-August we had dinner with some friends and one of those friends is German.  "Munich" she insisted,  "the best Christmas markets are in Munich."   She was right...

Our adventure began on Friday, December 16th with a 7:30 PM flight from Knoxville to Dulles in Washington, DC. After a full day's work, I was excited about the trip but dreading the three flights ahead.  The fact that we would be awake until Munich bedtime on Saturday the 17th just added to my dread.  Luckily most of us grabbed a few hours sleep on the planes and, aside from a little turbulence over the Atlantic, our flights were smooth and on time.

We arrived in the Munich airport late Saturday afternoon, working our way through luggage, immigration and a 30 minute train ride to our hotel.  Daylight was fading when we boarded the train.  By the time we arrived at Marienplatz Station, darkness had blanketed the city.

Athought we had boarded the train above ground, our terminus was a multi-level underground station.  We were tired, a little confused and struggled to locate the exit.  Eventually we got our exhausted bodies, luggage and carry-ons up the escalator and out into the night air.  Finally we had arrived, Marienplatz, the main square in the heart of old town Munich.

John will tell you this was his WOW moment, the special time in any trip that grabs your heart and lingers long after other details have faded. As we stepped off the escalator into the square, we heard the sound of voices singing Christmas carols.  A gentle snow was falling and holidays lights lit up the darkness.  For just a moment, time froze and we were in a magical place, in the middle of the biggest Christmas market in Munich. 

We quickly realized  that we were in the path of hundreds, no thousands of people, walking, talking, laughing, drinking wine and shopping.  We grabbed our luggage and moved to the side of the market.  John pulled a map out of his pocket, located our hotel and we made our way to the beautiful, Platzl Hotel . 

The Christmas market on Marienplatz

Our rooms were ready so we checked in and settled in.  The Platzl Hotel is a 4-star luxury hotel and a perfect choice for us, comfortable and just steps away from Marienplatz, shops and restaurants.  Our rooms were elegant, the staff, very accommodating.

Platzl Hotel lobby

In Munich, darkness falls early this time of the year, around 4:30- 5:00ish. Deemed too early to go to bed (probably by me), our travel weary group headed back to the market for dinner and shopping. We strolled through the market, grabbing sausages and biscuits for dinner and looking at the wonderful Christmas crafts.

Christmas tree in front of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) dominates Marienplatz.  The choir we heard on our first (and last) night was positioned on one of the balconies on Neues Rathaus.

Right: gingerbread stand. Above: sausage and mulled wine booth.

One and one half days is not enough to see the sights in any city so prior to our trip we selected a couple of  "must sees".  Any extra time would be spent shopping and exploring.  First on our list was the Neues Rathaus-Glockenspiel or carillion, which according to wikipedia, is a musical instrument typically housed in a belfry of a church or municipal building.

Torre and Daniel waiting for the Glockenspiel show to begin

Everyday at 11:00 AM and noon (more often in the summer tourist season), the Glockenspiel comes alive with 43 bells and 32 life size figures that re-enact two stories from the 16th century. The top half  tells the story of the marriage of  Duke Wilhelm V (founder of Hofbrauhaus) to Renata of Lorraine. Two life size knights on horseback joust at the end with the Bavarian knight knocking the Lothringen knight off his horse.

As the figures on the top half of the Glockenspiel go still, the bottom half comes alive. The bottom re-enacts the "coopers dance" which occurred during the great plague of  1517.  According to myth, coopers were said to have danced through the streets to bring vitality to the fearful.  The cooper figures twist and spin in place as they circle around on a ring. The total performance lasts 15 minutes and is definitely worth the top spot of any one's "must see" list.

The Munich Glockenspiel  in Marienplatz

After the performance, we walked across the square to St. Peter's Church. We arrived in the middle of services and waited quietly in the back of the nave until the benediction was given and  the congregation departed.  Incense was still heavy in the air when the photo below was snapped.

St. Peter's Church, the oldest parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the city

After exploring this remarkable church, we headed out a side door to the St Peter's Church tower to see the famed 360-degree view of Munich.  After a quick glance at the oh so narrow, 302 step climb to the top of the tower (no elevator available), Daniel, Torre and Lee sprinted ahead, while John and I brought up the rear (well, me really). Bebe headed back inside the church to get out of the lightly falling snow and enjoy the warmth.  

The view was worth the climb!

The Cathedral of Our Dear Lady (twin towers) is considered the symbol of Munich

Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) is to the right of The Cathedral of Our Dear Lady.  The Glockenspiel is visible about halfway up the main tower. We watched the 12:00 PM performance of the Glockenspiel from the tower balcony.

In front of the Neues Rathaus in the Marienplatz (main square) is one of the many Christmas markets in Munich.  The roofs of the market are usually green but it had been snowing on this day and the roofs were covered in snow.

John and me in the stairway of the St. Peter's Tower.  This is no place to get claustrophobic

Bebe, John, Torre, Daniel and Lee (far right) in a courtyard outside St. Peter's Church

We also visited The Cathedral of Our Dear Lady including a fascinating stop in the catacombs below the nave.  This cathedral is the seat of the Arch Diocese for Munich.

Hofbrauhaus

Among the things we most wanted to see in Munich was Hofbrauhaus.  As it turned out, Hofbrauhaus was located a block behind our hotel.  I am not sure exactly what I expected from a famous German beer house but I can tell you, the beautifully painted ceilings surprised and delighted me. 

Painted ceilings in Haufbrauhaus

John and me in Hofbrauhaus

Yes, even I enjoyed a beer at this famous Munich institution 

John and I knew we wouldn't get a lot of time to ourselves on this trip so late Sunday afternoon while everyone else was resting, we slipped out of the hotel alone and headed to Marienplatz to absorb some of magic of Christmas in Munich.  To our delight, a choir was singing from a balcony on Neues Rathaus.  The air was bitter cold, snow was falling lightly and we stood among the hundreds of  other holiday revelers, hand in hand, totally in the moment.

Choir singing from Neues Rathaus

For our final dinner in Munich, our group chose a traditional  Bavarian restaurant near to the hotel, Haxnbauer .  The house specialty is pork and veal knuckles, which are slow roasted over beech charcoal grill.  The result is a crispy, delicious and very rich meal.

Exterior of Haxnbauer

Everyone ordered a combination of veal and pork knuckles, except Torre, whose food choices include no meat.  Below is pictured a half  knuckle serving, a full serving would be just too much.  Along with knuckles, we had pretzels for bread, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.  Yum, yum!

Bavarian style pork and veal knuckles

After dinner we drifted back to the market for the final time before leaving on a morning train to Salzburg. 

John, Bebe, Lee, Torre and Daniel

One last look at Marienplatz

Christmas Vacation 2011, the Travelers...

Several times since the New Year, I have been asked what my husband gave me for Christmas.  The short answer is Europe, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna. The long answer involves six days, six travelers, six suitcases, six carryons, six planes, four trains, a couple of taxis, and a big spirit of adventure.  Interested? 

The Travelers
Planning for this trip began in late Spring.  I was contemplating cancelling on a backpack to Glacier National Park with friends.  John had cancelled several months prior due to work issues and I just had no enthusiasm for going without him.  One evening, during the middle of my 100th or so, "I think I am going to cancel" conversation, John looked at me and said "I have an idea."  Suddenly,  Glacier was forgotten and our Christmas vacation was born.

As the trip took root, the cast of travelers began to crystallize.  John's sons Daniel and Lee were first to join our adventure.  They took their first international trip with us in 2008 when we took our second trip to Peru. Both are curious, adventurous and good natured which makes them great travel companions.

John's mother, Bebe (Johna) joined our group next. She took a little longer to make up her mind.  At 81, the long flights, anticipated cold, possibly snowy, icy weather and hours of walking gave her reason to pause.  With some encouragement from John and her friends, she decided to embrace the opportunity. Her only international trip was some forty years ago to Brazil with her late husband. 

And finally, our six traveler was Daniel's girlfriend, Tory. At 21, she was the youngest member of our group.  She had met us only a couple of times and we were quite impressed that she was willing to travel for a week people she did not know particularly well.  Much like Daniel, she is curious, adventurous and easy to be around. We think this is her second international trip, the first being to Central America, Guatemala, I think.  

Hospice Service of Remembrance...

Sunday afternoon my family attended a lovely service of remembrance hosted by the hospice group who cared for my mother in her last few weeks. The non-denominational service was held at Messiah Lutheran Church in Bearden.  Messiah is a church I have passed by for years but never really thought much about.  I enjoyed elebrating my mother's life in such a peaceful setting. The service remembered 89 people who have passed away in the past 6 months.   After the service, our family drifted down to the fellowship hall for a punch and cake reception with the other families in attendance. 

I have felt periods of great sadness since my mother passed away, I suspect this is true for most people who loose someone they love. I miss her a lot...  

The white roses photographed below were given to the families during the service.  Mine are opening up quite beautifully. 

Happy Mother's Day, aka I miss my Mother Day...

The sisters, John and I took my dad out for Mother's Day today.  We have been celebrating Mother's Day forever and couldn't imagine not doing so.  We went to Cafe 4 on Market Square for brunch. We enjoyed being out with Daddy, he enjoyed being out with us.  Still, I miss my mother so very much. 

We have been incredibly busy recently, some fun stuff along with dealing with the aftermath of some serious storms.  I will drop several backdated posts during the next week so stay tuned.

Finally, we received confirmation on our request for backcountry reservations at Glacier National Park for late summer, seven days, six nights.  I am pretty excited!  As it turns out, since we applied for reservations, work obligations for John have surfaced. He may or may not be able to go.  I have started preparations to potentially do this hike self-sufficient (but with our usual group).  It's time to get in hiking shape again.  Let the pain begin.

Hike: Ijams Nature Center  4.77 miles

          992' elevation gain, 947' elevation drop

Hike for the week: 13.24 miles  

A giant Easter bunny and other weekend activities...

Day two into a three day weekend.  No sign of rain today, only sunshine and bright blue skies.  The temperature once again climbed to a June level, 83.  If April is this warm, I shutter to thing about June temperatures.

Yesterday we considered leaving late afternoon for a short backpack but car shopping left us drained and we ended up on the couch with John's son Lee, eating take out Friday fish fry from The Shrimp Dock.  The dinner met all our criteria for comfort food but our stomachs were grumbling later in the evening as the grease began to settle.  Friday night TV is boring so John and Lee snoozed intermittently until one discovered a show on the Galapagos. We all want to go to the Galapagos now!

This morning I lingered too long over computer and coffee and had to push myself out for a run.  It was just an around the neighborhood and home effort, legs were a bit tired from yesterday's Ijams effort, but I wanted to start the back to back to back running routine. 

I took a slightly different street home and ran into this: 

I can assure you that seeing a big bunny walking along the side of the road conjured up thoughts of Elwood and his invisible friend Harvey, but this Harvey was real life.  Then I remembered a conversation with fellow Women's Clubber, Nancy Staub, who told me her husband played the neighborhood Easter bunny every year.  Sure enough, in the bunny costume was Jim Staub who was headed to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. 

The neighborhood association also decorates a small tree for special occasions.  Below, I present the 2011 Easter tree.

Finally, we have been car shopping again today.  We drove to Airport Honda to test drive an LL Bean package Forester we spotted two weeks ago.  Unfortunately it had been sold about two days ago so we ended up test driving a Honda CRV and a Toyota Rav4.  Game changers for us.  We liked both cars better than the Subaru's we had pretty much settled on.  Will this car shopping misery never end? 

Tonight, dinner with friends.  Now that is something to look forward to!!

Good-bye March...

I am not sorry to see March leave.  It arrived angry and is leaving me very sad. But life is settling down now; I look forward to April and getting outdoors.  The moments of sadness that take my breath away are little less.  I expect they will never go away. 

I wanted to remember the flowers and cards that surrounded me during this time.  Below is a bud vase of Lenten Roses that sat at the alter with the beautiful urn holding my mother's ashes. Mother loved Lenten Roses and every time I look at a Lenten Rose blossom, I will remember her.

John's wonderful mother was the first person to respond to my loss and sent me a beautiful arrangement of flowers.  As several of the flowers began to fade, I pulled them out and re-arranged the others.  Two weeks later, the arrangement is still causing me to smile.

The arrangement below was part of a grouping of three small spring arrangements that graced a table in the Chapel during my mother's memorial service.  The entire arrangement, called a break away arrangement, was joined by long branches of pussy willow that formed an arch over a picture of my mother.  The three arrangements represented the three daughters.  Each of us took an arrangement home after the service.

The Peace Lily below is a gift from my work.  I found it on the front porch one day when I was returning home.  Nice, don't you think??!!

And finally, this is just a few of the many cards I have received.  So many thoughtful and heartfelt words in each... 

I miss my mother more than I can begin to express... 

On a less significant note, my 1996 I30 Infiniti reached a milestone today. It finally turned over 500,000 miles.  Infiniti launched the I30 in Fall 1995 as its entry luxury car. I brought one of the first in Knoxville and drove it proudly, to and from Cleveland, TN (150 miles/day) for 10 years, then  to and from Mt. Airy, NC, once a month for 2 years and finally, to my current job, round trip 14 miles a day.

The car has been a solid, dependable vehicle, leaving me almost stranded only once in 15 years (Vacation Save by Russells Garage ).  I have kept the mechanical parts meticulously maintained and until the last few years, the body too. Maintaining both has been crazy expensive.  Recently I decided against doing body work and the car is beginning to look like a dirt car racer, bumped, scrapped and dented (a whole new perspective on my driving).   Nevertheless, I kept driving the car in search of my 500,000 mile goal.  Now that I have made it, the car is beginning to look like what it is, a very old car in need of replacement.