Washington DC Trip

Posted on 9/25/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Yesterday I made my second trip to Washington DC. My first trip to Washington DC was on September 30th, 2006 during the 2006 National Book Festival. I spent most of the day at the National Museum of Natural History on that trip. Coincidentally, the National Book Festival was also taking place during my second trip but I did not attend that. Instead I spent most of this trip at the National Gallery of Art.

This was a bus trip but not with Susquehanna Trailways. I’ve expanded my options with independent tour operators. There are a few people in the area who organize tour bus trips as a part-time business. I will be able to make more weekend day trips using these additional resources.

Washington DC is certainly worth a visit. I don’ know why I have not gone there more often, except I was under the mistaken impression that it takes six hours to drive to Washington DC. Actually it is closer to four hours so it is about as close as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or New York City. I don’t think people appreciate Washington DC as a tourist destination because the city is closely associated with politics. Washington DC is constantly in the news but you never hear much about the city itself and its many fine museums. For example, I did not even know that the National Gallery of Art existed until I began the research for this trip. But Washington DC clearly is not a secret to some tourists because I found the city packed with tourists. I heard a lot of French and Italian so the city must be popular with international tourists.

Considering how distant Washington DC and its politics seems from life here in Pennsylvania, it is surprising to realize how close the city is to us geographically. If you were to consider Washington DC to be part of the state of Maryland then it is in the neighboring state to the south. The bus stopped at Thurmont Maryland for a McDonalds breakfast break. That is just across the state border. Then we passed by the towns; Frederick, Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Rosslyn Virginia. We approached Washington DC from the west along the George Washington Memorial Parkway and crossed the Potomac River over the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge. I got a good view of the Kennedy Center and the Watergate Complex after we crossed the bridge. Then we drove along Constitution Avenue where I got to view the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Before dropping us off before the National Museum of Natural History, the bus took us to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. I was not expecting the bus to shuttle us around Washington so this was an extra treat. I got to spend a half hour at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. You really don’t need more time than that since there is nothing to do there except snap iconic photographs of the Tidal Basin, the Washington Monument in the distance, and the statue of Thomas Jefferson. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is an impressive monumental building. It looks like a Greek Temple with Thomas Jefferson as the god within the temple. At the end of the day the bus also took us to the Lincoln Memorial which looks like the Pantheon with a statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting like a god on his throne.

There are many free museums in Washington DC but my goal on this trip was to see the National Gallery of Art. I spent around four hours in this museum which actually consists of two buildings and a sculpture garden. I didn’t even have time to visit the sculpture garden. The West Building has a labyrinth of rooms which takes a lot of time to go through. It contains all the classic European artwork. The East Building contains modern art and it does not require quite as much time to see everything there.

The first thing I saw was the Rotunda which is impressive with its marble columns and fountain centerpiece. Then I went into the West Sculpture Hall which contains many grand bronze statues. The first galleries I went into contained Dutch and Flemish old masters so I saw many paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn. Eventually I found many significant works of art including;

  1. Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore and Approach to Venice by J. M. W. Turner. Thrilling to see this because I hope to visit Venice some day.
  2. The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques-Louis David. Shown in my Washington DC guidebook.
  3. Lady Elizabeth Delmé and Her Children by Sir Joshua Reynolds. I believe he was a contemporary of William Blake.
  4. Italian Comedians by Antonine Watteau. I’ve read a few books about Pierrot so this painting is particularly interesting to me.
  5. Paris, rue du Harve by Jean Beraud. A quintessential French scene. I really should buy an art book on Jean Béraud.
  6. Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffrey Hudson by Sir Anthony van Dyck. I liked the monkey.
  7. The Skater (Portrait of William Grant) by Gilbert Stuart. Strangely, this painting has become something of an Internet meme known as “Skaters gonna Skate”. I thought this painting was in the National Gallery, London and did not expect to find it here. Actually it is quite easy to confuse the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC with the National Gallery, London because the names are similar.
  8. The Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole. I’d never heard of this poignant series of striking paintings.
  9. The City from Greenwich Village John Sloan. Great painting of New York City.
  10. Conversation among the Ruins by Giorgio de Chirico. My favorite metaphysical artist.

At 2:00 p.m. I had lunch at the Garden Café Italia. I ordered Mozzarella caprese – Buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil, extra virgin olive oil. I had no idea what this was and it turned out to be a salad with curiously yellow tomato slices. Tiramisù classico e cioccolato – Tiramisù classico e cioccolato. And a glass of red wine, Pinot Noir, Sartori di Verona 2006. Thanks to the online menu and my receipt I can tell exactly what I ordered. This all cost me a whopping $34.55! The service was quite slow. It took me 40 minutes to eat lunch.

After lunch I bought a guidebook to the National Gallery of Art which was useful for identifying artwork for this blog post. There was also a large bookstore in the underground concourse between the two buildings. There I bought copies of  No Vulgar Hotel: The Desire and Pursuit of Venice by Judith Martin and The Art Lover’s Guide To London in anticipation of future travel. The walkway to the East Building was clad all in mirrors with twinkling lights. It was vaguely science fiction like and gave me the impression of being on a spaceship.

There wasn’t much to see in the East Building which is devoted to Modern Art. I did see the special exhibit, The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries. These monumental Gothic tapestries were completely unknown to me. And I saw the special exhibit, In the Tower: Nam June Paik which did not impress me at all. I almost missed the Small French Paintings exhibit on the East Building Ground Level and had to rush through it to make the bus pickup. I also saw French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century: Selections From the Permanent Collection.

I felt very rushed to make it back to the steps of the National Museum of Natural History to be picked up by our tour bus but I actually made it with plenty of time to spare. The bus tried to take us for a view of the White House but you can no longer get very close. I only saw the White House from a distance on E Street NW. The south lawn of the White House was covered in white tents. It looked like some kind of outdoor trade show and did not make a good impression upon me. We then drove along Constitution Avenue NW which had a lot of road work going on and passed the Art Museum of the Americas, the Federal Reserve, and a modern building housing the United States Institute of Peace.

We then had an hour at the Lincoln Memorial. Being at this landmark was unusually thrilling for me. The Lincoln Memorial is pictured on the back of the five dollar bill and the penny so I’m quite familiar with the image of it. I’ve also seen the Lincoln Memorial in dystopian science fiction films like Logan’ Run and the ending of The Planet of the Apes where the statue of Abraham Lincoln is an ape. Unfortunately the reflecting pool that lies between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument was under renovation and looked more like the nonreflecting pool of mud. The Lincoln Memorial was crowded with tourists all holding up cameras to get photos of Abraham Lincoln’s statue so it was not as empty as you always see it in misleading promotional material. After seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and now the Lincoln Memorial I finally feel that I’ve seen all the iconic sights of our nation.

Washington DC strikes me as a good city to move to if I ever lose my job. It has many world class museums to visit. An IT professional will always be able to find a job in one of the many government agencies or lobbying groups. And it has many embassies which gives the city a more international character than any other American city except for New York City. I’m sure there are many resources for learning a foreign language in Washington DC.

I still have not seen many of the museums on the National Mall so I want to visit Washington DC more frequently in the future. Next year I will probably make Pittsburgh my special project for extensive exploration but my next pick would be Washington DC.

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Exploring British Culture

Posted on 9/19/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

To prepare for my trip to London next year, I have been exploring British culture. I always like to explore the culture of the European cities I plan to visit because I only actually live in the city for a week. In order to make the experience a bigger part of my life it is necessary to incorporate some aspects of the culture into the scope of my cultural awareness. This is a lot easier than it used to be because the Internet provides us with access to a wealth of information on the world. You can even buy almost anything produced in a country online. In other words, not only can you do the research to uncover obscure books and films, but you can also often obtain those obscure books and films.

First I should mention that I am limiting my exploration of British culture to England. I am aware that Scotland, Wales, and Ireland are part of the UK but I feel they deserve individual attention instead of being lumped in with England. England presents a bit of a challenge for the cultural explorer in the United States because you develop a false sense of familiarity with the country. It barely seems like a foreign country at all because English culture has always been a part of our cultural background. For example, I’ve read a lot of English literature and I can hardly think of Shakespeare or H.G. Wells as foreign writers from a foreign country. The word “foreign”hardly seems to apply to England because there is nothing foreign about it in the general sense of the word. Nevertheless, England is a foreign country. I have never been there and I am not entitled to live there (emigrating to the UK is a major hassle for Americans and vice versa). And although we are exposed to a great deal of English culture through our education, this has never been accompanied by the necessary background information required to understand it.

Just learning the geography of London has already vastly expanded my understanding of British culture. It is amazing how many place names are already familiar to me; Soho, Bloomsbury, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster, Kensington, Hyde Park, Victoria Station, etc but it was all a jumble until I started my research. The same thing happened when I studied the geography of New York City. Now I can watch movies and read books set in New York City with a better sense of the neighborhoods and locations. London is as influential as New York City and getting to know its geography will improve your understanding of literature and film. So far I have focused on the neighborhoods of Soho and Bloomsbury for in-depth study. Bloomsbury led me to read Virginia Wolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and the novels of E. M. Forster. I like the Forster novels because he writes about English tourists in Italy. I’ve only read Where Angels Fear to Tread so far. I also watched the film starring Helena Bonham Carter, the actress who seems to personify the British in the cinema.

Soho used to be a seedy neighborhood so it has proven to be a good source of more obscure novels and films. I’ve just read the novel Soho by Keith Waterhouse which really captures the spirit of neighborhood. This led me to discover the work of the artist Augustus John and then a real find in the person of Luisa Casati, a Belle Époque eccentric he painted. The Marquise Casati intrigued me so I bought a biography on her, Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati by Scot D. Ryersson, Michael Orlando Yaccarino. Although Marquise Casati was an Italian she did spend the last years of her life in London. She also resided at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal in Venice (now the home of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection). In the course of reading her biography, I came across other interesting artists like Giovanni Boldini and Alastair who were unknown to me. This is the reward of cultural exploration! But it has distracted me from London and the British.

I have read the textbook on British culture, British Cultural Identities, by Mike Storry, Peter Childs. This textbook was pretty dry reading but it does list a lot of novels and films for further exploration. It does stress the multicultural nature of contemporary UK which includes the Commonwealth countries and the member nations of the UK; England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. London is a very multicultural city and I’ve come to realize that not everyone can be expected to know English. It is even possible for an American to be mistaken for an Englishman in the Bangladesh community! The recent riots in London also indicate how important it is to understand the ethnic mix of the city.

I still have piles of books to read on London and contemporary British culture. Unfortunately I probably won’t have time to read them all before my trip because I tend to gather more material than I can handle. But I have seen a fair number of British films now including such classics as Withnail and I which aren’t so well known in the United States.

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Basement Flooded

Posted on 9/9/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

My basement was half flooded but fortunately I did not get any water up into the house. It looks like I will need a new washer and dryer. I will also need to get someone to look at my furnace. I had some junk stored in my basement, but nothing important. I had lots of storage racks set up down there to store totes filled with things like product boxes, old magazines, old receipts, trade show swag, etc. I was in the process of cleaning out the basement in case I ever want to move for a new job. I will take this opportunity to finally get rid of all that stuff. I think the local government will come around and remove flood debris for free.

My Flood Debris

My Flood Debris

Everyone on my street was ordered to evacuate the area but I left before that because I saw that Lycoming Creek Road was going to be blocked off. I was the first person at the shelter and they let me bring my cat inside. My cat was terrified the entire time. While at the shelter it occurred to me that I should have taken my desktop computer with me because it contains all of my ongoing projects. It would have been a huge setback if my main computer was destroyed by flood water. I’ll have to remember to rescue that computer system as my number one priority.

Back Yard Flooding

Back Yard Flooding

I did have time to prepare for flooding so I threw out some things I’ve been meaning to get rid of; a scanner that won’t work with contemporary operating systems, a lamp that I never use, an old camcorder, and some videotapes.

I was planning on making another trip to Philadelphia this weekend but even Route 80 was closed due to flooding so I cancelled my hotel reservation. I will need to pester the hotel for a full refund because I could not make it due to flooding.

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Pittsburgh Zoo – Steel City Animals

Posted on 8/23/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

On Sunday, I went on a bus trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. I plan to explore Pittsburgh more extensively next summer. I have bought a few guide books for Pittsburgh and received their official tourist guide in the mail. Unfortunately, I didn’t really see much of the city on this trip. I didn’t see any of the skyscrapers downtown because the zoo is too far away. Pittsburgh’s sphere of influence does not seem to reach Williamsport because I rarely hear anything about this major city. Philadelphia is far more influential in North Central PA. At the very least, I would want to visit the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburgh.

The bus trip took five hours to get to Pittsburgh and then five hours to get back. Ten hours on the road is enough to drive me crazy. Fortunately they showed a few kid movies and I have lots of music to listen to on my iPod Touch. I think it would only take me four hours to drive to Pittsburgh. The bus stopped at Avis and the Millbrook Plaza in Mill Hall to pick up a few passengers. These pickups always add to the travel time. We stopped at Hoss’s for dinner on the way back where I spent almost $20.00 for a simple meal of scallops and a baked potato.

I kept an eye out for landmarks on the route. I think we passed the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, PA even though that is west of Pittsburgh. I definitely remember seeing a nuclear power plant in the distance with a very tall smoke stack.

Once we reached Pittsburgh I saw various landmarks which I have been able to identify online. For example, I saw the St Paul Baptist Church which means we were on Washington Blvd which becomes Fifth Avenue and we turned onto Penn Avenue on the way to Interstate 376. We passed the Frick Art & Historical Center on Penn Avenue, an art museum I may want to visit later. We crossed under the Larimer Avenue Bridge. I saw Al’s Fish & chicken which is on Penn Avenue. This street was extremely ghetto with many businesses that were boarded up. It appeared to be an African American neighborhood.

On the day before this trip there was a flash flood in Pittsburgh. Four people died at the intersection of Washington and Allegheny River Boulevards. This spooked me because we drove right pass there! I could see the mud on the bushes alongside the road and a few pieces of police tape. There was a thunderstorm that began just as we were leaving the zoo. It made me a little nervous!

The Pittsburgh Zoo was a lot of fun. They have many tigers and elephants. The Philadelphia Zoo did not have elephants and only two tigers. I saw a komodo dragon that was as large as an alligator and rarely found in zoos. I saw a silver-backed gorilla which was sleeping outside. The aquarium was also very interesting with a penguin exhibit and a huge fish tank with divers who answered questions via underwater microphones. I took over 400 photos but I have not had time to upload my zoo photos to Flickr.

The food in the zoo was very expensive just like at the Philadelphia Zoo. I paid over $10.00 for a basic hamburger and coke meal. The gift shops had mostly stuffed animals on sale as souvenirs. I only bought a photo print, a stingray bookmark, and a small book on mammals as souvenirs. Zoos are really geared towards kids and family fun. I enjoy the lush foliage, tropical jungles, and wild animals. It is slightly nostalgic for me because as an adult you don’t learn anything more about biology. Biology is one of those academic subjects that you are introduced to as a child and then discover will not be a part of your world as an adult. I sometimes sadly reflect that children are given a broad introduction to the wonders of the world yet adult life narrows down to so much less than that. But travel is certainly an excellent way to turn that around.

My future travel plans include a bus trip to Washington DC and an overnight trip to Philadelphia for the Philly Fringe Festival. I bought a ticket online for the Solo Tales of Terror: Lovecraft & Stoker performance. Unfortunately, my bus trip to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was canceled due to lack of interest. I have also been doing a lot of research to prepare for my major trip to London next year. I have gathered travel notes on most of the major tourist attractions, major museums, and a few theaters. I’m beginning to become familiar with the city’s geography.

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Mists of Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Posted on 8/6/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Today I made a long anticipated trip to Wellsboro to see the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Unfortunately I picked a bad day for this trip because it rained all day. Instead of seeing the canyon, I just saw a lot of mist. Fortunately I live only an hour away from Wellsboro so I can go back up there tomorrow. It is a shame that I’ve never been to the Leonard Harrison State Park until today. It is a major tourist attraction well within my reach that I never bothered to experience.

Wellsboro is located in Tioga County just north of Lycoming County. This part of the state is known as the northern tier, a mountainous area that is sparsely populated and economically depressed. There is not much reason to explore the northern tier unless you are hunting black bears. From my perspective, living in the Garden View neighborhood north of Williamsport, this is the great unknown if you follow Lycoming Creek Road north.  In fact, just north of me is the Crippled Bear Inn, a restaurant that got its name from a black bear. This part of the state is beginning to be impacted by the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling. I saw lots of fracking trucks and fracking workers in Wellsboro. There is a lot of controversy over hydraulic fracturing.

The drive up Route 15 North is incredibly scenic with fantastic views of wooded mountains. On the way back it was raining hard so these mountains had wisps of mist floating through them. It is a very impressive sight! I wish I could have stopped and taken a few photos but this is a busy highway and you can’t stop unless it is an emergency.

I had detailed instructions on which roads to take but it was still kind of tricky getting there. Although it was not raining when I left, it started to drizzle by the time I reached the small town of Wellsboro. I was planning on heading straight to the park but I decided to take some photos in Wellsboro in the hopes that the rain would stop. I’ve been to Wellsboro twice before on job interviews during the early years of 2000. I remember I had a job interview at Citizen’s Bank which looks just the same.

Wellsboro Diner

I had breakfast at the Wellsboro Diner, a 1940s style railroad car diner. It is one of the most famous landmarks in the town. The food gets bad reviews but I found my breakfast to be satisfactory. You should go there for the ambiance. The cashier was a Mennonite. Wellsboro is surprisingly undocumented on the Internet so I wanted to get some photos of establishments that can’t be found online. I especially wanted a photo of the From My Shelf Books bookstore because it is a bit difficult to figure out where this place is located.

From My Shelf Books

After breakfast and sightseeing in town, I drove west along Route 660 to the Leonard Harrison State Park which has some excellent overlook views of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. By that time it was raining a little harder but I decided to brave the trails anyway. Fortunately, there was a well designed and pleasantly landscaped overlook area where you look down into the gorge without following any trail. I found the view was mostly obscured by rain mist which was quite disappointing. Still, it was not a total loss because I got some good photos of the mist in the canyon. Shortly after I arrived the mist became even more dense so I lucked out. I started down the steep Turkey Path but decided to give it up because the trail could be slippery and dangerous. The place was practically deserted but I saw a few senior citizens as I was leaving. I did see the Animaland Zoolological Park on the way to the canyon but I figured it would be closed due to the rain.

Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania

I went back to Wellsboro and parked downtown. This time I remembered to put some quarters in the meter. From My Shelf Books was open by then so I went in and bought a copy of Charles Dicken’s The Old Curiosity Shop to whet my appetite for London. I also bought a copy of the local newspaper, the Wellsboro Gazette.

Overlook View

The drive home was kind of miserable because it started to pour. I did admire the view of the mist curling around the mountains. I also figured out which exit to look for to get back to Lycoming Creek Road. This was an important aspect of the trip because I may travel north in the future to visit New York state or maybe even go as far as Toronto, which is 5 hours north of me. I guess I will try this trip again tomorrow because I didn’t really get to see the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in all its glory or the Animaland Zoolological Park.

Pine Creek Gorge

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Philadelphia Zoo – More Than 12 Monkeys

Posted on 7/23/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I went on a bus trip to the Philadelphia Zoo today. This was my fourth trip to Philly this summer but at least I did not have to drive. There were only 25 people on the bus which indicates how unpopular the Philadelphia trips can be. Another bus trip to the National Constitution Center and Philly Murals was canceled due to lack of interest. I don’t know if local people prefer to drive to Philadelphia or if they just have a bad attitude towards this particular city. Well they really missed out because I had a great time at the zoo!

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a major zoo before. I’ve never been to the Bronx Zoo or the Pittsburgh Zoo. I did not visit the zoo when I went to Berlin. So this was an entirely new tourist experience for me. The Philadelphia Zoo is sort of like an amusement park with an animal theme. There were a few rides and everything seemed geared towards kids. But I appreciated the lush vegetation and the opportunity to see many rare animals in real life. I think the gorillas made the biggest impression upon me because they seemed very expressive. One gorilla looked very bored and would look right at you. He almost made me feel embarrassed to be looking at him.

Unfortunately the heat was unbearable! It was another day of over 100° temperatures. Many of the zoo animals appeared to be suffering in the heat and sought out the shade or stayed in their caves. On the other hand, I heard that the zoo was not as crowded as it usually would be. Our tour bus guide advised us to keep hydrated but a bottle of water cost $3.00 at the zoo. All of their prices were inflated. It also cost $3.00 for an ice cream bar or bottle of soda. I had a meal consisting of a small cheeseburger, some fries, and a large soda which cost over $10.00!

But overall I think this experience really elevated my opinion of Philadelphia as a tourist destination. The Philadelphia Zoo and the Philadelphia Museum of Art definitely make this city worth a visit. I was thinking of squeezing in the Eastern State Penitentiary and the Rodin Museum on this trip but the zoo was large enough to require an entire day to explore. Also, I don’t think the bus company expected us to leave the zoo and the public transportation options weren’t good. We only had five hours in Philadelphia so I spent the entire time at the zoo and saw all the exhibits and animals.

I don’t know when I’ll visit Philadelphia again. I would like to see a few more tourist attractions that I still have not gotten to; the Eastern State Penitentiary, the Rodin Museum, the National Constitution Center, and the National Liberty Museum. But I’m not sure that these attractions are worth the expense and considerable bother of another trip. If I do my usual overnight stay it would cost at least $200.00. I think I will need to find something in addition to that to make another trip worthwhile. Maybe next year I will turn my attention to Pittsburgh, the second largest city in Pennsylvania. I’ve only been to Pittsburgh twice and never for a proper trip (i.e. well researched trip to pack in lots of attractions). About the only nice thing you can say about Williamsport is that it is equidistant from both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh so you can reach both cities in about the same amount of time.

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A Visit To Philtown (Philadelphia)

Posted on 7/10/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Yesterday I made my third visit to Philadelphia this summer. The purpose of this trip was to finally see some tourists attractions that I’ve neglected on previous trips. For example, although I’ve been to Philly at least eight times before, I never stood in line to see the Liberty Bell. Although I prefer to research and visit the more obscure establishments in a city, you can’t really say you’ve visited Philadelphia without seeing the Liberty Bell. It is the number one icon of the city!

I booked one night at the Holiday Inn Historic District hotel. This is my favorite hotel in Philadelphia. It is only a short walk from Independence Park and has a parking deck. So you can just park there and walk to all the major tourist attractions. Unfortunately, I did make another driving mistake and accidentally crossed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. It now costs $5.00 to drive across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge if you are coming from New Jersey. I can’t blame myself too much for this mistake because it was an understandable error. I intended to drive behind the National Convention Center on a route I mapped out to reach my hotel but there is an entrance ramp to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge right next to that street and I turned left too soon. Once I crossed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge it was very difficult finding my way back over it so I’ll need to add some driving directions to my notes. I only drove a few blocks in Camden New Jersey but I could see what a shithole that city is!

I parked at the hotel at around 8:00 a.m. but could not check in until 4:00 p.m. So the first thing I did was walk to the Reading Terminal Market which opens at 8:00 a.m. Even though I arrived there at 8:15 a.m. all the stools at the Dutch Eating Place were taken. You must have to camp outside to get a seat for breakfast at the Dutch Eating Place on Saturday! I ordered a pretzel and a lemonade from an Amish girl at Miller’s Twist, famous for their soft pretzels. It is similar to the restaurant chain Auntie Anne’s Pretzels which also combines soft pretzels with lemonade. The Reading Terminal Market has an information booth where I picked up a Philadelphia Official Visitors Guide and a Phlash booklet which I wanted because their online map is a poor quality PDF.

I walked back to the Independence Park which opens at 9:00 a.m. I went to the visitor’s center and stood in line for a timed ticket to the Independence Hall Tour. My timed ticket was for 9:30 a.m. but I got there early so a park ranger exchanged it for a 9:15 a.m. ticket. The Independence Hall is a secure area so you have to enter through a gate on the left and go through security, although they only check bags. You cannot leave the secure area until the end of the tour at Congress Hall on the right. I mention these details because it is not really obvious that the secure area has a definite entrance and exit. It is surrounded by a low gate and various barriers in the back which give you the false impression that you could walk out at any time. The tour began in the East Wing which was just a room with some chairs where you sit through a brief introduction by a park ranger on the historical significance of Independence Hall. Then you are lead to the courtroom in Independence Hall and then to the assembly room. I was struck by how small and plain these two rooms appeared. It impressed upon me how far the country has come since its humble beginnings. The tour included Congress Hall to the right of Independence Hall, where you get to sit at desks like a congressman while listening to the park ranger’s presentation.

After that I stood in line for the Liberty Bell where I took some iconic photos. Upon exiting the Liberty Bell pavilion I came across a large tour group. The tour guide was speaking German. This interested me because I was listening to my Pimsleur German CDs on the long drive to Philly. I was tempted to hang around the tour group for awhile but I had more tourist attractions to see. I went to the Independence Visitors Center Store where I bought a few souvenirs; a Philadelphia Impressions book of photos and a coffee mug with a photo of the Philadelphia skyline. I still have some Italian Market Coffee which I’ll drink in my Philadelphia coffee mug.

I returned to the hotel parking deck to stash my purchases in my car. Along the way I picked up copies of the free newspapers Citypaper and Philadelphia Weekly. I did forget to look for a copy of The Onion. I recently learned that The Opinion publishes a Philadelphia paper after reading about its entertainment editor who had her leg broken in a mob attack. I then headed back downtown to the Masonic Temple.

The Masonic Temple is near City Hall. Although it serves as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, it is also a popular tourist attraction because you can tour its grand halls. We have a masonic temple in Williamsport, the Scottish Rite Auditorium. It is primarily an entertainment complex where you can hear the Williamsport Symphony but I’ve been in the masonic halls at least once for lunch because they used to run a restaurant. Anyway, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania really lives up to its name with opulent grand halls decorated in various styles of ancient architecture. After buying your ticket at the front desk you walk down a long hall to the one room masonic museum which contains many mystical artifacts. Our tour guide was a distinguished gentleman although he seemed a bit sardonic to me. He was like a posh British nobleman reluctantly giving a guided tour of his castle. During the tour I learned that Masonry began in England which has the grandest lodge in the world. I guess this accounts for how British everything seemed. It was definitely impressive and should be on your short list of tourist attractions when visiting Philadelphia.

I was planning on taking a purple Phlash trolley to the Rodin Museum using one of my One Day Independence Passes I bought online. I waited for the Phlash trolley at stop #8 at Juniper and Market Streets, near the Masonic Temple. However the first Phlash trolley I saw drove on by without making a stop to pick anyone up and I got impatient waiting for another trolley. I lost patience and decided to walk to the Mütter Museum, which is way to the west of City Hall. Most of Philadelphia’s skyscrapers are to the west of City Hall. It feels more like New York City in that part of town but there is more space between the office buildings.

The Mütter Museum is a particularly gruesome museum of medical oddities, anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment. I don’t recommend it if you are morbid. I’m a bit sensitive and found some of the examples of tissue decay to be particularly grim. I even started to feel a little sick while I was there although that could have been due to the long walk in the hot sun. I was surprised to see that some people bring their little kids to this museum. There were many gross displays like an eight foot long colon that contained many pails full of fecal matter before the man died and the skeleton of a dwarf. The soap lady corpse was particularly ghastly. There were bits and pieces of rotten corpses in many of the display cases. I was amused to see a whole troupe of girls dressed in the Japanese Gothic Lolita style. I’m not surprised that goths would like this morbid museum.

Since I was already to the west of City Hall I decided to visit the Whodunit Bookstore on Chestnut Street. This is one instance where my custom travel guide on my iPod Touch really came in handy because I used it to verify that the bookstore would be open on Saturday at that time. My notes on this bookstore include directions and a Google Map saved as an image so I was able to find the place. The Whodunit Bookstore is owned by the author Art Bourgeau. I read his novel Wolfman recently, a trashy novel about a werewolf terrorizing Philadelphia. While perusing the bookshelves I came across a real find, a novel written in Dutch. I found De Laatste Dichters by Christine Otten. I bought this book just because I intend to learn Dutch and I will be needing some material written in Dutch. At first I thought the book was in German but the definite article het was a dead giveaway. I had no idea what the novel was about. It turns out the novel is The Last Poets, based on the lives of African-American poet militant group The Last Poets. The Dutch word for poets Dichters is quite similar to the German word die Dichten and I should have known that. But I just checked and I don’t have the word for poet in my German notes. I’ve just added it. Even better, the title page appears to have a hand written note by the author to Amiri Baraka (aka LeRoi Jones). So this book must have been owned by the famous African-American poet LeRoi Jones and it is autographed by the Dutch author. Sweet! According to the official list of books I have read, I have read a few plays written by LeRoi Jones so I’m not entirely unfamiliar with his work. What a find!

I also bought a hardcover copy of Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman.  I like the fantasy novels and graphic novels of Neil Gaiman. I’ve recently read his novel Neverwhere  in preparation for my trip to London.

By that time it was almost 4:00 p.m. so I wanted to return to the hotel and check in. I walked all the way back to the Independence Park area. I really should research the public transportation options for traveling east and west from City Hall. I had two One Day Independence Passes which I did not use at all. I also had a ticket for the Colin Quinn show Long Story Short at the Philadelphia Theater Company (aka the Suzanne Roberts Theatre). The show was at 7:00 p.m. so I still had three hours to kill. I decided to walk to South Street for a little shopping and dinner. I was very concerned about making it to the theater in time so I felt very rushed on my visit to South Street. First I went to Repo Records and bought a CD, The Greatest Hits, So Far by Public Image Limited. This was sort of a token punk rock purchase because I already have many PIL CDs. Then I went to the German restaurant, Brauhaus Schmitz, on South Street. I no longer need to prepare for a trip to Germany, but since I have not abandoned my quest to learn German I’m still interested in German culture. Brauhaus Schmitz proved to be a very Bavarian type of establishment with all of the waitresses dressed in dirndls to show off the bosom.  I ordered the salmon, a glass of white wine (aka Riesling) and two side dishes which I picked out without even reading the menu. It was a very expensive meal and came to $31.50. I felt very rushed to make it to the theater so I did not order desert and was a bit pushy paying the check.

But I did manage to walk all the way to the Avenue of the Arts in time for the Colin Quinn comedic soliloquy, Long Story Short, directed by Jerry Seinfeld. Apparently this one-man show ran on Broadway, although it is just a standup comedy act. This is the third Philadelphia theater I’ve been to. How do you like that Williamsport theater scene? You are losing your audience to Philadelphia. Maybe you should improve your season. But seriously, I think the local community theater should sponsor trips to Philadelphia productions. Anyway, I splurged on a good seat in the second row. I could clearly see Colin Quinn who was only a few feet in front of me. He is now 52 years old but he still looks good, unchanged since I’ve last seen him on television. It is quite thrilling to be so close to a celebrity. His show was about how people have been bastards throughout history, a sentiment I’m sure the Philadelphians can appreciate.

After the show I walked all the way back to my hotel, passing through the Gayborhood. The Gayborhood is an area south of Market Street and east of Broad Street. You know when you are in the Gayborhood because the street signs have a rainbow strip along the bottom edge. I liked walking along the colonial houses in the dusk and noticed several interesting shops in that neighborhood. I saw a few joggers and thought it was very brave of them to be jogging through Philadelphia past 8:00 p.m. at night. Back at the hotel I watched a little TV and found a channel devoted to Philadelphia tourism, the Philadelphia Visitor’s Channel. I thought, “Damn, Philadelphia has its own television channel just to promote itself to visitors!“. 

I was planning on spending part of Sunday in Philadelphia but nothing was open until 10:00 a.m. I’m not sure I want to stay overnight in Philadelphia again because the hotel room adds to the expense of the trip but does not buy me any more time in the city. I have been making weekend getaways instead of true day trips because I don’t like to drive eight hours in one day. I can just tolerate driving four hours at a stretch and the highways around Philadelphia are too tricky for me. Fortunately, the bus trip to the Philadelphia Zoo has not been canceled. I received a letter from Susquehanna Trailways confirming the trip and I’ve sent in my payment. So in just two weeks I’ll be in Philadelphia again, on July 23rd. The Philadelphia Zoo is famous due to its role in the science fiction movie Twelve Monkeys. The animals in the Philadelphia Zoo are released as a diversion by the Army of the Twelve Monkeys. I bet I will hear many twelve monkey jokes on the bus trip. I may have time to visit the Rodin Museum and the Eastern State Penitentiary which aren’t far from the Philadelphia Zoo.

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Second Day In Manayunk

Posted on 6/21/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I’m inclined to leave early on Sunday on a weekend trip to Philadelphia because I want to avoid the heavy traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway, but this time I was determined to extend my trip and justify the expense of overnight lodging. So I remained in Philadelphia and managed to achieve a few more goals on this trip.

There wasn’t much to do in the morning because all the businesses were closed on Sunday morning, so I walked along Main Street taking photos and explored the Manayunk Canal towpath in the east but not very far. Then I climbed back up the hill and took my suitcase to my car. When I returned to the bed and breakfast I caught the owner in the doorway and checked out since I had all my stuff. I then took the regional rail at Manayunk Station to Center City again. This time the trip went very smoothly since I knew the procedure.

After arriving at the Market East Station I made a withdrawal at a ATM and bought my return ticket. When I left Market East Station I walked east to Old City. This part of Philadelphia has become very familiar to me so I did not take many photos. However, I did photograph The National China art deco building, Elfreth’s Alley, and Christ’s Church. I even found the Bookbinder Restaurant although I’ve heard that closed. I walked to Penn’s Landing where they seemed to be setting up for a concert. I saw the Ferry Link which takes you to the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. My number one goal was to visit the Independence Seaport Museum. Unfortunately I arrived early at 9:30 a.m. and had to wait a half hour for the museum to open.

The Independence Seaport Museum is definitely one of the better museums I’ve visited with interesting exhibits; elaborate ship models, submersibles, small boats, nautical paintings, etc. After seeing the indoor exhibits I walked around the building to the marina where the ships are docked. I climbed down into the World War II submarine the Becuna. This was quite similar to the New York City submarine USS Growler at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. The steps down into the submarine were extremely steep. I took photos of the torpedo rooms and the mess hall. Then I went aboard the steel warship Olympia. According to the Wikipedia article, the Independence Seaport Museum is trying to get rid of this ship so I’m glad I got to see it while there was still time. This ship earned its fame during the Spanish-American War, a war you don’t hear much about. It was powered by coal and steam engines and launched in 1892 so it is a really old ship. I also took some photos of the Moshulu four-masted tall ship docked behind these ships which now functions as a restaurant.

After crawling around in the ships I returned to the museum store where I bought three books; Wanamaker’s: Meet Me at the Eagle, The Submarine Book, Revised & Updated: An Illustrated History of the Attack Submarine, and Uss Olympia: Herald of Empire by B. Franklin Cooling.

My only other goals for Sunday were to visit a few more bookstores before going home. So I walked down to South Street and found Brickbat Books where I bought the fantasy novel Gloriana by Michael Moorcock. I wasn’t sure what book to buy but this novel seems to be a good read if you are interested in English History. The next bookstore I visited was Garland of Letters Bookstore which sells spiritual books on Buddhism and yoga. There I bought The Best of Philadelphia Stories and Iboga: The Visionary Root of African Shamanism.

At that point, I was weighted down with books so I decided to call it a day. On my way back to Market East Station I did stumble across the Pennsylvania Hospital which is an historic landmark so I took a photo of that through the gate. While passing the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal I saw a Susquehanna Trailways bus which is a local transportation company so I took a photo of that too. I have made a reservation for their Philadelphia Zoo bus trip but they may not get enough passengers for it. I did make a final visit to Reading Terminal Market where I had a cup of rum raisin ice cream at Bassetts Ice Cream. After that I took the  regional rail back to Manayunk, walked up the hill to my car, and drove home without incident.

Fortunately, it is looking less likely that I am in any danger of losing my job. I don’t think I need to explore Philadelphia’s residential neighborhoods now. I did enjoy this trip and improved my understanding of the city. Nothing really bad happened so I have no excuse to avoid Philly. There are still several tourist attractions I have not seen. I may spend another weekend in Philadelphia next month and try to finish visiting all the major tourist attractions. I still have the following on my to do list:

  1. Rodin Museum
  2. Painted Bride Art Center
  3. Masonic Temple
  4. Liberty Bell
  5. Independence Hall
  6. Mütter Museum
  7. National Constitution Center
  8. National Liberty Museum
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Manayunk: Philadelphia Neighborhood Trip

Posted on 6/20/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Over the weekend I visited Manayunk, a neighborhood in the northwest section of Philadelphia. I wanted to visit this neighborhood because I’ve heard that it is one of the better neighborhoods in Philadelphia. This was my first Philly trip to go beyond the tourist attractions. This was a serious trip to evaluate a residential neighborhood. I think this counts as my seventh trip to Philadelphia, not counting passing through the Philadelphia International Airport or the Amtrak station:

  1. Escape From New York, Blondie concert at Tower Theater 7/9/1990. This was my very first visit to Philly. I took a Greyhound bus.
  2. Philly Fringe Festival 09/04/2002. My first extensive visit to the cultural mecca. Still have some photos on film from this trip.
  3. Philadelphia Museum of Art 2002. Not sure of the exact date. Day trip to just the museum.
  4. YoTube Gathering 07/13/2008. Saw some of my favorite YouTube vloggers at Independence Park.
  5. After Paris 05/23/2009 to 05/24/2009. I spent two days in Philadelphia after my dream vacation in Paris.
  6. 05/20/2011 to 05/21/2011. This trip was to take advantage of the free night at Holiday Inn Express Midtown courtesy of the Avenue of the Arts.
  7. 06/18/2011 to 06/19/2011 Manayunk.

On the drive down to Philadelphia, I took the wrong exit while attempting a fuel stop at the Allentown Service Plaza. I wound up on Interstate 78 East and almost drove to New Jersey before turning around. This really annoyed me because it cost extra to get back onto the turnpike. Other than that driving mistake, I followed my careful directions and arrived at Manayunk at around 8:30 a.m. I parked near the iconic Manayunk bridge which I thought was free parking over the weekend but it turned out to be paid parking.

The first thing I did was find the Mugshots Coffehouse on Cotton Street where I ordered a breakfast burrito and mugshot coffee. I used their restroom before proceeding to explore Main Street. I walked all the way to Wissahickon, passing many interesting sights like a garage that was in ruins and the Bridge Five Condominiums on Main Street, overlooking the Schuylkill River in Manayunk. I took lots of photos of the Bridge Five condos because it looked like a good place to live. I was looking for the Trolley Car Café but that was probably too far to walk so eventually I turned around after passing the Manayunk sign.

My next order of business was to locate the Manayunk Terrace Bed & Breakfast where I would be staying. Unfortunately my notes did not include an adequate map of the streets so it took me a long time to find the place. This required me to climb many steep hills. I soon got really tired of climbing these hills and it would probably be a major negative factor in choosing this neighborhood in Philadelphia should I ever move to the big city.

After locating the bed and breakfast I returned to Cotton Street and bought some books at The Spiral Bookcase which is right next to Mugshots Coffeehouse. I bought Manayunk (PA) (Images of America) and Amsterdam: Amsterdam and the Hague (Art in Focus).

I returned to the parking lot to put my purchase in my car. At this time I still did not see a parking lot attendant there. I was pretty thirsty by then so I went to Winnie’s Le Bus where I ordered French toast and a Sierra Mist. I drank two glasses of  Sierra Mist to rehydrate. The French toast was huge and was almost more than I could eat. I am pleased that I ate at Winnie’s Le Bus because this is a particularly famous Philly restaurant that is closely associated with Manayunk. After lunch I went to Main Street Music where I had trouble picking out a token purchase but eventually I settled for a Depeche Mode CD, Sounds Of The Universe. I’ve always loved Depeche Mode’s music but I have not kept up with their latest releases. When I returned to my car with this purchase I finally encountered the parking lot attendant which led to a long negotiation over the parking fee. I was not ready to leave so it cost me $10.00 to park there until 4:00 p.m. I did not mind the cost but the social interaction was too much for me.

The reason I wanted to stay parked there until 4:00 p.m. was that I wanted to take the regional rail line to Center City and visit the Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site. This was part of my plans. I wanted to see what the commute downtown would be like if I lived in Manayunk. The Manayunk Station is located along Cresson Street where the train tracks form an elevated EL. I have photos of the entrances in my notes and I quickly determined the correct entrance for the platform if you are heading to Center City. Unfortunately, I tried to use my last remaining SEPTA token for the fare and was told that the regional rail does not accept tokens. Oh well, this is part of the learning process! I had to pay $4.00 in cash for the ride. If you don’t have a pass or ticket you should just get on the train and take a seat. When the conductor walks by you hand him or her $4.00 in cash.

On the ride to Center City we passed an impressive church with a gold dome that I’ve never read about in my research. This was the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception located in the historic Northern Liberties district in Philadelphia. None of my guide books mentioned this distinctive landmark. The train also passed through the Temple University station before arriving at Market East Station. This was the first time I’ve been in the Market East Station which is located below the Gallery at Market East shopping mall. You can buy regional rail train tickets at the Market East Station.

After leaving Market East Station I walked to 7th Street and Market Street to take the #47 bus north to the Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site. I had a lot of trouble finding the bus stop because I was expecting it to be at one of the many bus shelters on 7th Street. But it was actually just a bus stop sign on the corner. I used my last remaining SEPTA token for the fare.

The Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site is located on North 7th Street between Spring Garden Street and Green Street. It is far from all the other tourists attractions on the Independence Mall so I’d never made it on any previous trip. The first thing I saw was the Edgar Allan Poe mural which I photographed. In Philadelphia, every place has to have its mural. This cultural peculiarity has even affected my home town as Williamsport now has its own mural to celebrate its history (across the street from the Community Arts Center). The Bullfrog Brewery is also near there so I’ve taken to calling that neighborhood Little Philly. With a theater, mural, and a bar it is as close to Philly as it gets.

The Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site is a set of houses in the Georgian architectural style I think, similar to Independence Hall, which is quite common in Philadelphia. The entrance is the door on the right and you must knock before entering. The staff were extremely friendly. Maybe they are not kept very busy and pounce on any visitor. First I saw a short film on Edgar Allan Poe’s life. I do own a biography on Edgar Allan Poe but I’ve only half read it. I abandoned the book so long ago that I would need to start from the beginning now if I were to take it up again. I then looked at a few exhibits which featured those annoying phones you are supposed to pick up for some sort of audio guide. Franklin Court has the same sort of phones which I tried to use but it did not work and made me feel like a fool. I did see a photograph of the French poet Baudelaire, who made some money by translating Edgar Allan Poe’s work in French. Baudelaire was truly a kindred spirit! If I were still studying French, I would buy a book of his Poe translations.

Then I walked through the empty rooms of the Edgar Allan Poe house. This probably would be creepy at night in the dark. The rooms were empty and shabby with just some painted scrolls to illustrate the room’s function. Nobody was about so I snuck out my camera and snapped a few photos. The stairs to the second floor where quite steep. After walking through all the rooms I returned to the gift shop near the entrance and bought a book, The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe (Penguin English Library). The park ranger invited me to stamp my book with some commemorative Poe stamps which I did.

Before leaving the area, I photographed the statue of the raven, the sign, and the house. I noticed that the German Society of Pennsylvania was nearby so I took a photo of their sign too. I was pleased to have visited a genuine literary site in Philadelphia because I do like to visit bookstores while traveling and score some books as a souvenir. I bought a lot of books on this trip.

I was planning on taking another bus back downtown but it was only a few blocks so I decided to walk it. This was a good decision because I discovered an unknown statue in Chinatown and walked under the Chinatown Friendship Gate. It seemed weird to see a Chinese neighborhood in Pennsylvania because you rarely encounter any Asians in this state. Actually, I suppose that is not true because we have many Chinese restaurants in Williamsport. But you won’t find many ethnic neighborhoods in any other PA city.

I returned to the Market East Station because I was eager to return to Manayunk and finally check in at the bed and breakfast. I was also supposed to leave the parking lot by 4:00 p.m. But before I left I bought a DVD at FYE in the Gallery at Market East shopping mall. They have a decent collection of foreign films on DVD so I bought The Flower of Evil DVD, a French film with the title of Baudelaire’s major work but not based on his work. I also went to the food court and bought a milkshake at Burger King. These details are worth mentioning because you need to be aware of your resources while traveling. It is particularly important to stay hydrated on hot summer days while walking around a city. Traveling is like a treasure hunt in which you learn to use the resources available to you in a foreign environment.

I bought a ticket for the return ride on the Norristown / Manayunk regional rail line and managed to get to the A1 platform just in time to get on board the train. I really did not have enough time to make sure it was the right train so I lucked out. Once back at Manayunk I made my way back to the parking lot and left at exactly 4:00 p.m. so I did not have to pay the parking attendant more money. I then proceeded to drive around really steep one way streets trying to find a parking spot near the Manayunk Terrace Bed & Breakfast. This proved to be quite a nerve wracking hassle and I wound up parking quite far away at Mitchell Street and Markle Street. This meant I had to climb some horribly steep hills to reach my car from my lodging but I was not going to go through the trouble of navigating those streets again! Parking was the worse aspect of the entire trip.

I finally checked in at the Manayunk Terrace Bed & Breakfast which is the only lodging to be had in Manayunk. It was a very nice place with all the amenities. Nobody else was staying there over the weekend so the owner offered me the more spacious back room which I accepted. The bed and breakfast features a shared roomy sitting area with rustic gas fireplace, shared kitchen with microwave and romantic terrace. I immediately had a shower because I was hot and sweaty from walking around Philadelphia and Manayunk. The weather was very nice during my visit. I drank a lot of spring water from a jug I found in the refrigerator. After unpacking a few things I headed back to Main Street and bought some DVDs at Good Vibrationz, an adult gift shop, and then some rum raison ice cream at Chloe’s Corner. I then ran out of ideas for things to do so I walked along the Manayunk canal towpath.

The towpath proved to be the most charming aspect of my trip. It has been converted into a long hiking and biking path along the Schuylkill River. Along the way I saw many ruined structures, bridges, and most interesting of all, new condo projects along the canal. This is further evidence that Manayunk has become a desirable community with many residential development projects. The canal almost made it seem like the Venice of Philadelphia. Many joggers and bicyclists passed me on the towpath. I can see why the locals would want to stay fit if they have to climb those steep hills. I also saw some ducks and geese and eventually found an active industrial plant along the canal. But it was a very scenic path and made it easy to forget you were in Philadelphia.

When I got back to Manayunk’s Main Street I had dinner at a Turkish restaurant, Meze Café. Some of the customers seated on the sidewalk were smoking hookahs which was pretty exotic. I noticed that they had döner kebab which is something I neglected to try while I was in Berlin. It took a long time for my döner kebab order to be filled but I drank a full bottle of Pepsi and enjoyed the Turkish atmosphere. At this point Manayunk was looking like a good place to live since we don’t have exotic restaurants in my neighborhood. The döner kebab was excellent and resembled a gyro. I was unable to finish it but the waitress put it in a clear plastic box for me to take home. When I got back to my room at the bed and breakfast I spent the rest of the evening planning my next day in Philly and watching TV. The bed and breakfast cable service had hundreds of channels including such curious things as local traffic cams, Spanish stations, and African American channels playing local content like the Bill Cosby show.

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Company Picnic At Knoebels Grove

Posted on 6/11/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Today I went to Knoebels Grove, a popular amusement park in Central PA. I went there for the company picnic which I usually don’t attend because the Knoebels Amusement Resort is too far away. However, since I have been exploring Central PA anyways I thought this would make a nice trip.

But before I went to the Knoebels Amusement Resort, I went downtown to visit the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum. This is a fairly new museum in town which is owned by the public transportation bus company, River Valley Transit. The museum is only open for a limited number of hours so I had to work it into a Saturday morning. There isn’t very much to see at this museum but I did watch a short film about the trolley cars which used to run in Williamsport. They also have a Pennsylvania Railroad Pullman car which you can enter. I was the only person at the museum that morning.

I did take the opportunity to photograph many mansions along Millionaires Row on the walk back to my car. Just like a tourist would. As a tourist I have developed an eye for the interesting sights in a city. This now helps me to overcome my familiarity with Williamsport and see it through a tourist’s eyes. The architecture along Millionaires Row is certainly very impressive, even compared to other Victorian villages in Central PA. I should splurge on a meal at the Herdic House Restaurant some evening, the mansion that is now a fine restaurant. That little trip downtown did make me late getting to Knoebels Amusement Resort which is over an hour’s drive away. I did manage to arrive at 12:30 p.m. which was just in time for the end of lunch.

The Knoebels Amusement Resort is legendary in Central PA. It has been in operation since 1926 so everyone has gone there as a kid. I can only vaguely remember visiting this amusement park when I was a child but I was there last year when my relatives got together. During lunch I was given $15.00 worth of tickets so I decided to try many rides that I did not get a chance to go on during my last visit.

First I went on the Scenic Skyway chairlift which provides some great views of the typical wooded mountains of Central PA. This was a very scary ride since you are just siting on a bench with only a lap bar to keep you from falling. It really made me quite nervous. But I did take the opportunity to snap lots of great photos.

Then I tried the XD Theater 3D Motion Simulator Ride. This was like watching a 3D movie of a roller coaster ride while being jostled in your seat. I was expecting an IMAX movie but this ride was amusing. After that I went through the Haunted Mansion dark ride which was slightly surreal. I also rode The Twister, a wooden roller coaster which was surprisingly violent. On another roller coaster, the Phoenix, I was sitting behind two Mennonite girls wearing prayer caps and colorful patterned dresses. Only in Pennsylvania can you ride a roller coaster with the Amish! Well they weren’t Amish but I did see some Old Order Amish in one of the pavilions. The Phoenix roller coaster was also a fairly violent ride which causes you to rise off your seat!

I visited the Knoebels History Museum and the Mining Museum which was somewhat depressing but there were a few interesting trinkets to buy in the gift shop like ancient shark teeth and fossil buttons.

Next week I am going to the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia. I will stay one night in a bed and breakfast in that neighborhood. The Manayunk neighborhood in Philadelphia has been gentrified but I’ve heard that it is still a good neighborhood to live in. This will be an important step in preparing to move to Philadelphia. I’ll be going beyond the tourist phase and doing some of the real research into living there. After that I may do less traveling in Pennsylvania because the situation at work makes me uneasy.

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Eagles Mere & Worlds End State Park

Posted on 6/4/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Today I continued my project to explore the state. I would travel to other states if they were close enough to drive to, but I’m stuck in the middle of Pennsylvania which is a big state. It would take me at least five hours to reach another state although lower New York State is nearby. Anyway, today I went to the tiny lake resort Eagles Mere and then the Worlds End State Park.

But before I drove all the way out there, I went to the Williamsport’s Growers Market (aka Farmer’s Market). I only went to the Farmer’s Market to gawk at the Amish. There were a few Amish farmers selling produce. I suspect they live in Elimsport, an Amish community hidden over the mountain. I only bought a loaf of sourdough bread with raisins. I need to buy a shopping bag from the Weis grocery store to use at the Farmer’s Market.

I managed to drive to Eagles Mere without taking any wrong turns. My driving is definitely improving. I am also improving my knowledge of local geography. Driving to Eagles Mere meant going through Hughesville and Picture Rocks which are small towns in Lycoming County. Eagles Mere itself is a tiny village with a population of 153. It used to be a big lake resort town with many grand hotels but it seems to have downsized to just a few cottages, bed and breakfasts, and inns. They do have a fancy strip mall of shops which is what I visited.

First I went to the Eagles Mere Bookstore, naturally. This used bookstore was fairly large and had an impressive selection of books. I bought a large picture book of London Then And Now by Diane Burstein.

Then I went to the Eagles Mere Museum. The museum was rather impressive for such a small village. It was also free of charge. The museum chronicled the many grand hotels which used to exist back when this lake resort was popular with the wealthy from Philadelphia and New York City. They used to get here on narrow gauge railroads which even had a station at Williamsport. Those railroads are long gone. I wish we still had those modes of transportation because I don’t like having to drive everywhere.

After that I had breakfast at the Sweet Shop across the road. The Sweet Shop is an old fashioned Ice Cream parlor with 1950s décor. I ordered a western omelet but I regret not ordering the French toast after I saw the gigantic pieces of French toast that were served to another customer. So that was all I did at Eagles Mere. A village of 153 people doesn’t exactly offer much for the tourist. However, you could rent a cottage or stay at the inn to enjoy the lake. Eagles Mere does merit a chapter in the book Weekend Getaways In Pennsylvania by Bill Simpson.

To make this trip worthwhile I also visited the Worlds End State Park. Although I’ve frequently been to Ricketts Glen State Park which is further away, I’ve never been to this state park. Ricketts Glen State Park is more popular because it has many large waterfalls. Worlds End State Park has views of the Endless Mountains region, hiking trails, and “rock gardens”. There is also a swimming area and snack bar near the park office and visitor center which is where I parked. I climbed the steep Loyalsock Trail which damn near killed me. Then I walked along the Pioneer Road trail which was fortunately more level. I wanted to hike to the Loyalsock Canyon and Rock Garden but the Pioneer Road trail just took me to Route 154. On the way back I noticed that it was starting to drizzle a little so I didn’t want to do any more hiking for the day.




All this was only an hour away from where I live. You just head east to the Lycoming Mall and then head north. I did stop at the Lycoming Mall for some shopping on my way back. Next week I have to attend the company picnic at Knoebels Amusement Park. I’ve avoided this picnic in the past because Knoebels Grove is far away. But since I’m driving around the state anyway, this makes for a good exercise. Besides, I did go to Knoebels Grove last year with my relatives and it was not entirely a kiddie park like I thought.

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Memorial Day In A Cave

Posted on 5/30/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

It was another gorgeous day and I had off for Memorial Day so I decided to visit Penn’s Cave today instead of next week as planned. Show caves are a popular tourist attraction in Pennsylvania. My number one goals for this summer were to go on an excursion train and visit one of the show caves. Penn’s Cave is the nearest cave to me, only one hour and fifteen minutes from where I live. I remember being taken to this cave at least twice when I was a boy. Unfortunately, it has taken me this long to revisit Penn’s Cave.

The drive to Penn’s Cave was surprisingly complicated. I especially disliked PA-445 which was a narrow mountain road with an entire series of hairpin curves. However, it was a very attractive route through the woods in the mountains. On the way back I got lost and wound up in Loganton and Oriole before finding Jersey Shore again. But it was interesting to see how many Amish live around there and if I had continued east I would have gone through Elimsport.

Penn’s Cave is the only all-water cavern in the United States. You have to ride a motorized boat through the entire cave which is partially submerged in water. This makes the cave particularly scary because not only are you in a dark cave, you are also in an unsteady boat. Nothing could be more frightening than to find yourself submerged in water in a cave! Of course, it was all perfectly safe although I did have to bend over sometimes to avoid bumping my head on the cave ceiling.

I bought my ticket in the Penn’s Cave Visitors Center which included an extensive gift shop and a café. I did not expect the gift shop to be so large. They had lots of books on the Amish, the book Pennsylvania Caves & Other Rocky Roadside Wonders by Kevin Joseph Patrick, lots of gifts made of quartz, and stuffed animals of Pennsylvania wildlife like black bears, owls, and deer. After the boat tour through the cave I bought a pack of souvenir playing cards, a quartz egg (made in Pakistan), and the novel Rosanna Of The Amish by Joseph W. Yoder. What is interesting about this book is that it has some maps of Central PA inside which indicate that it is set in the area. I already have a paperback edition of this book with a more attractive Pennsylvania Dutch folk-art design on the cover. I actually saw some Amish on one of the other tour boats inside the cave.

There is water dripping down inside the cave so I got a few droplets splashed on me. I brought my jacket because it is 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the cave making it a little chilly. I took lots of photos and surprisingly most of them turned out alright although some are very dark. One photo has a mysterious mist before the picture of the cavern. It looks like ghosts! But naturally it was very damp in the cavern and the boat’s motor would have been putting out some exhaust. The cave opens out into a lake where the boat turns around for a return trip through the cave. I thought the lake was very picturesque as well and they had some deer there so I took photos of that.

The entire trip only took me four hours so that was a good way to spend Memorial Day. There are at least two other caves I want to visit this summer or fall; Indian Echo Caverns and Woodward Cave.

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Rail Roading In Strasburg

Posted on 5/28/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I spent today in Strasburg PA as part of my effort to become more familiar with the state and its highways. This was my second trip to Lancaster County. I have read about the Lancaster County tourist attractions in my guide books on Philadelphia. I was particularly eager to visit Strasburg because it has a scenic railroad which goes through Amish farmland. Pennsylvania is known for its railroads and Amish communities so the Strasburg Rail Road combines two of the most iconic aspects of the state.

On the drive down to Lancaster County, I pulled over to take a photo of the East Route 22, Route 322 road sign. You can see this road sign on Google Street View but the image is very poor. This is an important exit to make if you want to head east from Harrisburg towards Lancaster. Since one of my goals is to improve my driving within the state, I made sure to observe landmarks and road signs. This photo will go into my notes on driving directions to Lancaster.

Fortunately, I did not get lost driving to Strasburg although I did take the wrong branch around the Strasburg Antique Market and wound up driving all the way to Coatesville. That was all right because I was early and got to see many Amish buggies along the road. But for future reference, I will note that you should take the road on the left of the Strasburg Antique Market and remain on 741. You don’t want to be on 896 South.

The first tourist attraction I visited was the Strasburg Rail Road which was the primary goal of my trip. I bought my ticket online so I had a computer printout with a barcode. The ticket office did not open until 10:00 a.m. and the first train did not leave until 11:00 a.m. Most of the other buildings were also closed until 10: 30 a.m. so I just wandered around taking photos. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is just across the Gap Road (aka 741) so I was able to take photos of its entrance and some of the locomotives in its rail yard. Once the gift shop had opened I bought some model train cars as souvenirs. I bought a Pennsylvania Pullman Sleeper HO model for $50.00. It was expensive but this is one of the most iconic pieces in model trains and these Pullman cars can be found all over Pennsylvania. I also bought the Strasburg Railroad Marian coach HO model which happens to be the very same coach that I rode in that day!

I bought a first class ticket so I road in the very last coach which is the fancy, Victorian First-Class Parlor car, the Marian. It had a bar, green lampshade type windows, ceiling fans, and padded seats. They also served refreshments on this car so I ordered a peanut butter whoopee pie and a Sprite. Not exactly fine dining but you could order wine. The train ride only took 45 minutes and takes you to the small town of Paradise in Lancaster County. Along the way we passed Amish farms and fields. It was a bright sunny day and the view outside the train reminded me of summers I’ve spent hiking up in the woods in my part of Pennsylvania. Once the train reaches Paradise, the steam locomotive detaches from the front of the train and drives along the other track to reattach to the back of the train for the return trip. That means I got to watch the steam engine back up to our railroad car. It gave us a bit of a jolt when it coupled up.

When we got back to Strasburg I walked across the road to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. I bought a combined ticket for these two attractions so I just showed them my railroad ticket to get in. First I saw an elaborate model train setup. Then I walked into the enormous train shed where they keep their impressive collection of real locomotives. This is one of the finest railroad museums in the world and well worth a visit. You are allowed to take photos so I snapped as many as I could. I saw massive steam engine locomotives, electric locomotives, Pullman cars, a Conrail locomotive, and various other examples of “rolling stock”. You could even climb down into a pit to see underneath a steam locomotive although there isn’t much to see under there. It was an awe inspiring display of railroad history and quite an experience to be so close to such massive machines. After exploring the train shed I went outside to the train yard were more modern passenger cars and an old Amtrak engine are being allowed to rust away. These railroad cars are exposed to the elements and seem to be in much shabbier shape than the locomotives in the train shed. Upstairs I saw a small museum and art gallery although it did have a model train set up which was quite impressive, especially the city scene. Before I left I stopped in at the museum store and bought a nice book Railroad Rolling Stock by Steve Barry which has lots of photos of the tank cars and boxcars that are pulled by freight trains. I should mention that I actually work near a freight train yard owned by the Lycoming Valley Railroad. Sometimes a freight train goes by and makes me a little late for work. They offer occasional train excursions. I’ll have to try to take the “Fall Foliage Excursion” this year.

After the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, I went to the National Toy Train Museum which is nearby. This small museum features exhibits of antique toy trains and elaborate train layouts. I should note that Williamsport’s own Thomas T. Taber Museum has the Shempp Model Train exhibit, featuring over 300 toy trains. That collection seems comparable to the National Toy Train Museum collection and may even be a little more extensive. But the National Toy Train Museum has more train layouts with working train sets. I was excited by one particular model train set gas station which I remembered from my father’s Christmas train layout. He used to set up a modest but elaborate train layout under our Christmas tree. The museum store seemed to be geared towards little kids so I did not buy anything here.

My next stop was at the Choo Choo Barn. The Choo Choo Barn is actually a strip mall of related businesses (aka The Shops at Traintown) so first I had lunch at its restaurant, Isaac’s Restaurant and Deli. I ordered the Bird of Paradise, a combination of mushrooms, green olives, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, melted Swiss and Muenster cheeses on rye with mayo and a coke. I thought it was a delicious sandwich and even the chips were tasty. After lunch I visited the Choo Choo Barn, an elaborate train layout. This must have been the third train set layout I saw that day but it was the largest and had many cute details like a fire engine that goes through the entire process of putting out a simulated fire. When I went in the layout was in the dark to simulate night time and the lights were on in the model houses but dawn quickly came as the house lights went up. I had plenty of time to observe the details because the line around the train layout moved pretty slow. Before I left the Shops at Traintown, I bought a Center City Trolley by Rail King for $60.00. I was undecided about this expensive purchase but I think this is a Philadelphia trolley model and I was inspired by all the model trains I’d seen.

The last tourist attraction I saw in Strasburg was The Amish Village. This was the only tourist attraction on my list that was not related to rail roads. There was a large group of Indians (tourists from India) and some Asians in my tour group which I found interesting. I wasn’t expecting such an international mix of tourists. The tour guide lead us through several rooms of a typical Amish house. Then we were allowed to roam outside where they had an “Amish Village”. There was an animal shed with some real animals including a horse, a hyperactive young bull, and some ponies. There was also an Amish schoolhouse, a buggy in the yard, a blacksmith, and a store. I bought an Amish doll, buggy model, and a book on the Amish school shooting at the store which had actual Amish girls as store clerks. There is something almost sardonic (ironic?) about a native of Pennsylvania visiting such a cheesy tourist attraction on the Amish. But we “English” don’t come into contact with the Amish very often. The whole point of their lifestyle is to live apart from the rest of society. Anyway, I rarely see the plain folk because Williamsport is in the mountainous northern part of the state where you cannot farm. However, I have seen them doing construction work right in my neighborhood.

That concluded my visit to Strasburg. It was a great weekend getaway which makes me feel more privileged to live in this state. I managed to make my way home without looking at my driving directions even though it required finding many exits. There is one more thing I managed to accomplish on this trip. I finally stopped at the scenic overlook on Bald Eagle Mountain to take some photos. This overlook provides some stunning views east of Williamsport but I’ve always passed it by. It is slightly dangerous to stop there because it is on the curve at the top of a steep mountain road.

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The Grand Tour Of Philadelphia

Posted on 5/22/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I began my second day in Philadelphia with another walk to take photos. This time I walked north of City Hall along Broad Street to photograph the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and The Philadelphia Inquirer building. Then I walked west to find the Comcast Center and the Adrienne Theater. I especially wanted to photograph the home of the InterAct Theatre Company because there are no decent photos of its exterior to be found on the Internet. There were actually several establishments that I photographed just because you can’t find any photos of the storefronts online. I will replace a few bad photos in my personal guidebook.

At 8:00 a.m. I made my way to the Reading Terminal Market for breakfast. I ate at the Down Home Diner because the Dutch Eating Place was too crowded. I ordered scrapple with poached eggs, coffee, and toast. Scrapple is Pennsylvania Dutch ethnic food. You can buy it in grocery stores in Pennsylvania. I remember eating it occasionally way back when. It is actually a horrible meat product made out of the internal organs of a pig. I saw a tourist asking the waiter about scrapple and then ordering something else when he heard what it was! The poached eggs looked like whipped cream. I don’t know if I’ve ever had poached eggs before. Scrapple tastes like sausage.

At 10:00 a.m. I went to the corner of Locust Street and South Broad Street to enter the subway entrance in front of Sotto Varalli. I rode the Broad Street subway line to Ellsworth-Federal Station. Although Philadelphia’s subway system is not as extensive as New York City’s famous MTA, they do have subways. From Broad Street I walked several blocks east to the Italian Market, the working class food market made famous in Rocky movies. Along the way I passed a huge Asian strip mall, Wing Phat Plaza, which showed the presence of another ethnic community, the Vietnamese.

I intended to have lunch at Paesano’s which supposedly has great sandwiches but they don’t open until 11:00 a.m. and I did not want to wait until they opened. After walking up and down South 9th Street there isn’t much to do in the area. I did buy a DVD of American Psycho at a shabby bookstore/video store and a bag of Italian Market Reserve coffee at Anthony’s Italian Coffee House. The Italian Market is an interesting place. It looks very grungy in photos online but I did see many funky meat markets and specialty grocery stores. A few stores were selling the kind of junk you would find in a Dollar General store. Anyway, the Italian Market is in the South Philly area and that is a neighborhood that I had never seen before. It has many streets of squalid row houses. I did see the famous Frank Rizzo mural which can even be seen in an episode of “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”.

I retraced my steps and took the Broad Street Line subway back to City Center. As luck would have it, I emerged at exactly the same subway entrance as I entered on the corner of Locust Street and South Broad Street. After leaving my purchases at the hotel, I went to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts which has an art museum. There was a huge tour group in front of the museum which made me hesitate to enter. I eventually followed them inside but in the confusion I did not stop at the reception desk since nobody else did. Fortunately the tour group just spent a brief time in the foyer and then left without seeing the artwork. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts has some amazing artwork, particularly if you like traditional representative art. Unfortunately one of the guards had to admonish me for taking photos, which is not allowed. But I did take some good photos before that happened!

After that I walked all the way to Old City, pausing to photograph many sights along the way. I even photographed the Holiday Inn in the Historic District where I’ve stayed in the past because I may want to book a room there in the future. I found the Arden Theatre which is where I had a ticket to see a play that night (more on that later). I stopped in at The Book Trader and bought some more guidebooks on London. The Book Trader is a bookstore that I especially wanted to visit because it is featured in the film “The Answer Man” starring Jeff Daniels. That film really shows you what contemporary Philadelphia looks like and manages to capture the essence of its boutique store culture.

Another important establishment on my short list was National Mechanics, a trendy bar and restaurant. But what interests me is the business above the bar, an e-commerce firm WebLinc. This technology company actually owns the bar which is a peculiar combination of businesses. So this makes the bar a popular meeting place for Philadelphia’s technology professionals. If I ever move to Philly and continue my career in IT I would probably need to know where this bar is located. I had lunch at the National Mechanics. I ordered their signature National Burger and a drink.

After lunch I wandered around South Street where I went mad taking photos of various establishments. This is Philadelphia’s most colorful street and there are many stores and restaurants that interest me. But I particularly sought out Passional Boutique because this fashion store is prominent in Philly’s goth scene and there are no decent photos of the storefront online. Since I was fortified by a drink I even braved a visit to the Digital Ferret music store which sells goth and industrial CDs. I’ve been placing numerous orders on their online store and they have been sending me Dracula’s Ball postcards for years. I picked out some German industrial CDs so fast that the sales clerk remarked on my speedy shopping abilities. Other interesting businesses in the area include Brauhaus Schmitz, a German restaurant, and Harry’s Occult Shop which has an interesting mural. Eventually I stopped in at Magic Gardens, the famous folk art environment by mosaicist Isaiah Zagar. His mosaics are probably too complex visually to photograph well because they are far more impressive in real life than the muddle you see in photos. I think I returned to my hotel from there because it was not a long walk north to Walnut Street.

I still had many hours until the play at Arden Theatre Company and I wanted to spend that time close to the Old City area so I walked all the way back there from my hotel. I killed some time at Franklin Court, the museum devoted to Benjamin Franklin. This museum is sort of one of the hidden tourist sights in the city because it is located in a courtyard behind some storefronts. In the courtyard there is a steel framework meant to represent Benjamin Franklin’s house which is no longer standing. But there is also an underground museum which you are also likely to miss. I arrived just in time to catch the last showing of their short documentary film on Benjamin Franklin which was a good excuse to rest my feet. Unfortunately the museum soon closed and I had to wonder around Old City and South Street for hours on end trying to find something to do. I even walked to Penn’s Landing where I unexpectedly saw a huge cargo ship. This colossal vessel must have stood ten stories above the water line. It was an Eukor cargo ship owned by a  Korean shipping company which was probably delivering cars, according to an Internet search. Unfortunately the Independence Seaport Museum was closed and I was unable to enter the dock area.

In order to kill more time, I had diner at FARMiCiA, a fancy restaurant in Old City, not far from National Mechanics and the headquarters of City Paper. I had the vegetarian entrée Roasted Eggplant Cannelloni and a drink.

The highlight of my trip was seeing the original play Wanaker’s Pursuit by Rogelio Martinez at the Arden Theater. You could not ask for a more prefect play on a trip to explore the city and its culture because this play was extremely Philadelphia centric. I imagine it is a largely fictional account of Nathan Wanamaker’s buying trip to Paris where he met Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. John Wanamaker owned a large department store in Center City which is now a Macy’s. This department store can be seen in the movie 12 Monkeys and it is mentioned in all the Philadelphia guide books so I was already familiar with the name. Since I’ve been to Paris and I’m familiar with modern art, I could also appreciate that aspect of the play. In fact, my last extensive trip to Philadelphia took place shortly after I returned from Paris in 2009. Seeing this play was truly a magical ending to my own trip abroad, Philly being like a foreign country to the rest of the state.

I did intend to stay in city for a few hours after checking out of my hotel but all that walking killed my feet so I could not stand any more of it. I am very pleased with all that I accomplished on this trip. I may have been too much of a tourist, but I did gather a lot of information on the city and visited three neighborhoods that I’d never seen before.

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It Wasn’t Sunny In Philadelphia

Posted on 5/22/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

Yet across the gulf of Pennsylvania, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded our city with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.

To paraphrase the opening line of H.G.Well’s novel, The War of the Worlds. My reconnaissance mission to Philadelphia was a complete success and will pave the way for our Pennsyltucky invasion of the city. Philadelphia, after all, is another world to everyone else in the state.

But seriously, my trip to Philadelphia went according to plan and served to improve my knowledge of the city. I left Williamsport at 4:00 a.m. on Friday and the drive took four hours, not the three hours the Google driving directions give as the driving time. It is important to know approximately how the long the drive will be to the Philadelphia International Airport if I leave from there on my European vacations. The most stressful part of the drive is the Schuylkill Expressway, also known as the Surekill Distressway, which has several lanes and exits to confuse you. If you are not in the correct lane you will often find it almost impossible to merge into the lane for your exit. Fortunately, I found a YouTube video which showed me exactly what my exit would look like and it was early enough in the morning that traffic was light.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Midtown because I won the Avenue of the Arts contest for a free night there. I mapped the exact route through Center City to reach the hotel’s garage and almost followed that route exactly except South 12th Street was blocked off so I had to go further to South 10th Street. It was another fine example of why you don’t want to drive through the downtown area. I actually tried going down South 12th Street before realizing the truck in front of me was backing up so I was forced to awkwardly back out of the street. I parked on the third floor of the hotel’s parking garage. The parking attendant made me park my car again and took my keys, which I did not appreciate because I was planning to store purchases in my car.

I could not check in until 3:00 p.m. so I left my bags in my car and embarked on an early morning walk to take photos. Altogether I took 378 photos in two days which may seem a bit excessive but my intent was to document the location of many establishments.First I found various theaters on Broad Street south of City Hall, the area known as Avenue of the Arts. I had neglected to visit this area on previous trips to Philadelphia. Then I went to the famous park, Rittenhouse Square. Rittenhouse Square could be compared to Central Park in NYC because it is a very fashionable area to live in and the park is surrounded by the city’s tallest skyscrapers. Since it was Spring, the park looked lovely and green. Rittenhouse Square was another area of the city which I neglected to visit on previous trips.

My next goal was to try the Philadelphia public transportation system, SEPTA. I had a day pass that I ordered over the Internet. I walked to the 13th Street subway station which is on the east side of City Hall. After walking down a long underground passageway I found the subway station on the first level. I had to show my pass to the SEPTA employee in the booth to get through the turnstile but at least she was friendly unlike the NYC booth attendants. Then I took the stairs down another level where the green line Trolleys were located. Although trolleys are common in Europe, I think Philadelphia is probably one of the few American cities that still has trollies. The trollies are like a single subway car the size of a large bus. I took the number 13 trolley west to University City. It would have been too far to walk there and you have to cross the Schuylkill river.

University City, in West Philadelphia, is were the University of Pennsylvania is located as well as many more college campuses. Philadelphia has a wealth of institutes of higher education which now serve as one of the major employers. Philadelphia also has many medical facilities which are another major employer. Education and health care are two facets of the service economy which cannot be outsourced. A lot of the smaller cities in Pennsylvania survive solely on the basis of these two “industries”. Therefore it was important for me to check out this area of the city. Fortunately, there are a few museums in University City which make it worthwhile.

The first museum I visited was the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. I bet many tourists never make it to this museum since it is hard to get to from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway where most of Philadelphia’s museums are located. Although the museum was small, some of the exhibits were quite impressive. The Chinese Rotunda and Gallery was a massive room filled with colossal Buddhist statues and monumental Chinese art. The Egyptian collection was also impressive with mummies, sarcophaguses, and excellent black statues of cat gods. Unfortunately the Silk Road exhibit had been returned to China and all I saw were numerous cardboard cutouts that stood in the place of all the items. If you like the antiquities at the Metropolitan Museum of Art then you would probably like this museum too.

After leaving the museum I went to Avril 50, a store that sells international magazines. It is surprisingly difficult to find any magazines in a language other than English or Spanish in the United States so I’m always looking for the rare newsstand  that carries a few. Unfortunately, I did not find any German magazines at this store but I did buy a copy of Paris Match with a cover story on the recent Royal Wedding. My final stop in University City was the Institute of Contemporary Art. This art museum is very small and I not find the exhibits very interesting but at least it was free. By this time it had begun to rain. It rained off and on all day during my first day in Philly. But I can’t feel that was unlucky because it had been raining all week. I picked up a copy of City Paper from a newspaper vending machine outside of the museum. One of my goals was snag an issue of City Paper and Philadelphia Weekly to examine their advertisements and article. Fortunately, these are free publications that can be obtained from the newspaper vending machines on virtually every street corner.

The return trip on trolley line 34 east to Center City was extremely crowded. Back at the 13th Street subway station I tried out the vending machines that sell tokens. As I’ve said before, becoming familiar with the public transportation system was one of my goals. The next item on my agenda was lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. This was another Philly landmark that I neglected on all previous trips, even though I walked right by it on my 2009 trip. The Reading Terminal Market is an impressive food mall. It has a lot of Pennsylvania character with its Amish restaurants and local food. I had a bacon cheeseburger with homemade French Fries at the Dutch Eating Place. I was expecting an Amish dining room but the Dutch Eating Place is actually more like an American Diner with a counter and bar stools. I also spent some time wandering around the market which had an area for cooking demonstrations and even an used bookstore.

After lunch I had to wander around a little more around Center City before it was finally 3:00 p.m. and time to check in at the hotel. I had to return to the 3rd floor of the parking garage to get my bags after retrieving my keys from the parking attendant. The desk clerk was kind enough to refund me a night after I showed her the fax from the Avenue of the Arts, although there was some uncertainty at first. I took a shower to freshen up and then went on a shopping spree. It was a book lover’s shopping spree because I’m not into fashion or luxury goods.

Philadelphia still has many bookstores. This could be because it has so many universities, colleges, and other institutes of higher learning. First I went to Joseph Fox Bookshop on Samsum Street and bought a Knopf Mapguide to London and the novel Saturday by Ian McEwan, in anticipation of my next trip to a major European city. Then I went to Robin’s Book Store on South 13th Street where I had more trouble finding something I wanted to buy. Eventually I settled on Atomized, a novel by the French writer Michael Houellebecq. Finally I went to the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Rittenhouse Square where I really splurged on guidebooks. I even bought Pimsleur’s Basic German because I am reluctant to discontinue my study of German after making so much progress. Later on I went to the TLA Video store on Lucust Street. I’ve been getting their catalogs in the mail. This video store stocks lots of art house films on DVD including an impressive collection of Criterion Collection films. I bought Lars Von Trier’s film Antichrist because this director has been in the news after being banned from Cannes due to some Hitler remarks. I think that was just a marketing stunt. It worked on me! I had never heard of that director before then. But I also bought Santa Sangre, a film by Alejandro Jodorowsky, which promises to be very surreal. I saw that DVD on Amazon based on my history of purchases.

Although I’ve been to Philadelphia many times before, this trip showed me that the city still has more to offer. You definitely cannot completely explore the city in just the day or two that most tourists give it. It is a shame that Central Pennsylvanians are so hostile towards Philly and don’t take advantage of its cultural resources. Susquehanna Trailways offers two bus trips to Philadelphia which I plan to take advantage of.

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My Custom iPhone Travel Guides

Posted on 5/15/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I don’t remember ever blogging about the custom travel guides that I create for the cities I visit. I may have mentioned them in my blogs about my trips but I don’t think I’ve ever revealed the technical aspects. I spend a lot of time gathering the information for these offline travel guides. It is a wasteful exercise but it does serve as an excuse to do the research. Currently I have been working on my Philadelphia travel guide in preparation for my trip to Philly this weekend. As you can see in the screen capture below, I can view my Philadelphia travel guide on my iPod Touch device.

Philadelphia-Travel-Guide

The travel guide is actually a help file for the Windows operating system. I generate an H2 Help File project to integrate my travel guide into Microsoft Document Explorer. This allows me to combine my travel guides with MSDN documentation, something only a developer who likes to travel would do! But I can also generate a CHM version of my travel guide and this can be imported into my iPod Touch device using the iCHM application. iChm is an ebook reader for CHM (Microsoft Compiled HTML Help) files.

The chief advantage of the iCHM application is that you can gather your notes into simple web pages and view your notes without an Internet connection. The iPod Touch is only capable of connecting to the Internet through a WiFi connection. Unfortunately, the App Nazis at Apple have made it very difficult to store any kind of document on your iPhone so this is the best method I’ve found to copy my notes to this device. With my custom travel guides on my iPod Touch, I always have access to all the information I have gathered about my destination even when I don’t have a WiFi connection.

As you can see in the screen capture, my web pages are properly styled to look good on the iPhone. This is done through CSS and JavaScript. The same web page looks quite different in the Windows system help files. I wrote some JavaScript to dynamically modify some aspects of the page to get the header to look different and to scale images. The jQuery JavaScript library does work on the iPhone so I use it to do some of the tricky DOM manipulations.

I now have 161 web pages created for my Philadelphia travel guide. This is going to be my most extensive travel guide because I may move to Philadelphia some day. In any event, Philadelphia is the nearest big city so it deserves more of my attention than anyplace else. Although you can find iPhone apps to help you explore any major city, my custom travel guide works offline and can include detailed information on anything I am interested in.

I have not shared these iPhone travel guides. They are strictly for my own use and may include copyrighted material. I certainly have poured a lot of time into creating the help files but it has become my way of studying a complex topic. I only consider it worthwhile to create such travel guides for major cities that I will visit often like New York City and Philadelphia or European cites that represent a major investment of time and money to visit like Berlin and London. I am currently doing the research to visit London and that requires a custom travel guide to gather together all the information I am collecting.

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It’s Sometimes Sunny in Philadelphia

Posted on 5/6/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

In two weeks I will be spending an extended weekend in Philadelphia. After exploring New York City last year, I would rather get to know Philly better. I may look for a job in Philly if the economy worsens and budget cuts cost me my job. The Pennsylvania annual budget ends in July so that is when I would expect to hear some bad news. So far my preparations have only been to throw out some junk in my cellar. I also want to get used to driving down to Philadelphia so I can leave from their international airport instead of the Williamsport Regional Airport. My last vacation has taught me that leaving from a regional airport can only cause headaches. It is difficult to reschedule a flight when your final destination is a regional airport.

I have a long list of things to see and do in Philadelphia; Reading Terminal Market, Avenue of the Arts, South Street, etc. I may see the play Wanamaker’s Pursuit at the Arden Theatre Company. Wanamaker’s was once a landmark department store in Philadelphia but now it is a Macy’s. I am particularly interested in the bar and restaurant National Mechanics because it is owned by the e-commerce firm WebLinc. It is were all the local programmers are likely to hang out. Although I’ll be doing the usual tourist stuff, I also want to pick up copies of local newspapers and a SEPTA bus schedule as part of my research.

My next European vacation will be a trip to London. At least I won’t need to learn English! London is certainly one of the great cities of the world and England is an important country for Americans, but I put Paris and Berlin before that city because there is an extra thrill in a foreign language. It was more daring to travel to Paris and Berlin. I have begun to do my research on London. I have bought a lot of books on London. There are hundreds of novels set in London. It is as popular in fiction as New York City. I’ve bought; Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Soho Black by Christopher Fowler, Mother London by Michael Moorcock, Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, and The Runaway by Martina Cole. I also have many travel guides to read. Currently I’m reading books on British culture. I’m reading a book by an American expat on British culture.

I found my grandmother’s death certificate and was disappointed to discover that she was born in Philadelphia and not Ireland. This means I cannot apply for Irish citizenship with its many EU citizen benefits. However, I’ve become very interested in the Netherlands which has generous immigration policies for someone like me. They have a Dutch American Friendship Treaty which means an American can reside in the Netherlands as a self employed freelance programmer. And they also have a special knowledge migrant program to make it easier for IT professionals to become Dutch expats. I have bought some language learning resource materials to learn Dutch. Dutch is very similar to German but also closer to English. The country seems to have a special relationship with the UK because it lies directly opposite the UK on the continent.

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Last Day In Berlin

Posted on 4/8/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

On my last day in Berlin I tried to cram in as many items on my to do list as possible. I had breakfast as usual at Bell Chico. Then I took the U8 U-Bahn line to Osloer Strasse where I transferred to the U9 line. I am rather proud of how I mastered the Berlin U-Bahn. I never got lost or headed in the wrong direction. I took the U9 line to Hansaplatz which is the closest I could get to the Victory Column in the Tiergarten Park. From there I had to walk but fortunately my feet were not bothering me yet. Unfortunately there was a lot of construction going on around the Victory Column and I arrived before it was scheduled to open. I did not see a way to cross the traffic circle. Eventually I saw there is a tunnel but that was covered in scaffolding too. I decided to be satisfied with just seeing the Victory Column close up. I took a few photos and left.

My next goal was to visit the Kreuzberg neighborhood. I returned to the U-Bahn and went to the Zoologischer Garten station. Before going to Kreuzberg, I decided to visit the Beate Uhse Erotic Museum to give my trip some spice. This proved to be an even more awkward experience than I expected. First the elevator (aka life) gave me some trouble. I could not get it to go up until I got into the other elevator. When I reached the third floor I found nothing at all. It was just a set of empty rooms as if they were preparing for an entirely new exhibit. Then I had to climb over some tape to reach the second floor. The museum exhibits were deserted so I felt free to take a few photos of erotic artwork. I probably can’t upload those photos to Flickr! I bought a DVD before leaving.

I went to the Kurfurstendamm U-Bahn station and took the U1 line all the way to Gorlitzer Bahnhof in Kreuzberg. I knew which street to go down because I previewed the area on Google Maps last evening. I walked down Oranienstrasse and snapped a few photos of the local stores I found while doing my research, including the famous SO 36 nightclub, sort of like NYC’s CBGBs where Iggy Pop and David Bowie played while in Berlin. But I only went into the NGBK Buchhandlung and bought a small book of photos, Backstage Berlin: A Look Behind the Scenes by Markus C. Hurek . They had a lot of your typical tourist books.

I did not spend much time in Kreuzberg because I’ve read that the locals don’t appreciate the tourist invasion and gentrification. I walked to the Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station and took the U8 line back to Alexanderplatz.

After resting my feet in my hotel room, I went back to the Schlecker drugstore and bought a small bottle of shampoo because I ran out of hotel shampoo and forgot to pack my own trial size bottle of shampoo. I also bought some proper blister pads.

My final goal was to visit the remaining museums on Museum Island. This was really hard on my feet, but I managed to see the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode Museum, and the Altes Museum. At the Alte Nationalgalerie I was thrilled to see several paintings by the Symbolist, Arnold Böcklin, including his Isle of the Dead and The Surf. The Bode Museum contained a lot of sculpture which I was unfamiliar with. The Altes Museum had a fine collection of Greek art including a red figure kylix showing the Oracle of Delphi. I was thrilled to see that because it is used on the cover of a book I read on the Oracle of Delphi, Classical Athens and the Delphic Oracle: Divination and Democracy by Hugh Bowden. In my professional life, Oracle is a database system that answers business queries. All that standing around in the museums kept my feet in severe pain. But I’m inclined to suffer for art.

And that should conclude my trip to Berlin. My research really paid off as I managed to pack in quite a lot in just 5 days. In the United States we don’t get much vacation time and a trip to Europe is seen as a major luxury so I didn’t want to waste this opportunity. Now I will always have pleasant memories of Berlin.

I think I will go to London next year for my next European adventure. It is important to factor the UK into your exploration of Europe because everyone associates English with the UK in Europe. I noticed that the Germans tended to use UK cultural references as soon as I spoke English (pence, lift). Of course, I would probably treat the Swiss the same way because I don’t know the cultural differences between Switzerland, Austria,and Germany. And since I won’t need to learn English to travel to London I can concentrate entirely on the city. Getting the know London better should also clarify many aspects of British comedy, literature, and films which Americans tend to consume lazily without much study of the British culture.

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A Thursday In Berlin

Posted on 4/7/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I started my fourth day in Berlin with breakfast at Bell Chico again. This time I had the sweet breakfast which consisted of a bowl of sliced fruit and two flaky croissants. I liked it better than the other breakfasts. I’ve been doing too much walking around the city and standing around in museums. Now I have blisters on my feet, although just on the fatty pads below the toes. My first priority was to address this painful problem. I did some research online and there is much more that you can do to prevent blisters than just using gel inserts. You can buy special socks that will keep you feet cool and foot powder will keep them dry. I will need to invest in all of those specialty products because I like to walk around a city but I often have this problem.

I looked up the foot care products available from German drugstores online. Rossmann is a German drugstore company that I researched before my trip. But you have to know the German vocabulary to find the right products. Foot care products go by the name Fussplege or Fuss Wohl (Foot Wellness) in Rossmann brands. I needed Blasenpflaster, blister band aids. I could not find a Rossmann drugstore nearby but I did find a Schlecker drugstore where I found some stuff for my feet. I bought Fuss Eisgel (Foot Ice Gel) and Blasen Pflaster. I also bought a pair of nail clippers and a pedicare kit.

Today I tried to use the subway more often, for obvious reasons, and transferred from the U2 line to the U6 line to reach the Museum fur Naturkunde. This is Berlin’s Natural History Museum. I suspect most European tourists skip this museum on their whirlwind tours. I really think Berlin needs three weeks to do it justice. Anyway, I saw the world’s tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton, a Brachiosaurus, and Bobby the Gorilla. I think Bobby the Gorilla used to live at the Berlin Zoological Garden and there was some controversy when he was stuffed for the museum. I know the English newspapers pulled an April Fools prank in reporting that Knut would also be stuffed and put on exhibit at this museum.

After that I returned to the U-Bahn and traveled just to the next stop to reach Oranienburger Strasse where I found the famous Kunsthaus Tacheles, although I did not go inside. I also passed the Jewish synagogue which survived the Nazis. But my goal was to visit the Ramones Museum. The admission fee was only 3.50 euro and they permit photography so I took lots of photos. The Ramones Museum is basically just a Ramone’s fan collection of music memorabilia. But I can relate to that because I used to have quite a Blondie collection. I sold it all to buy my first car. I did see an interesting album cover photo of the Ramones posing in a NYC subway. I should try to find a CD with that cover art because I love NYC.

Nearby I continued my American Rock N Roll adventure in Berlin because I found a Sixties Diner which was playing American music videos from the late 1980s. The Sixties Diner is a small restaurant chain that tries to recreate an American Diner from the 1960s’. I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger and a milkshake. I’ve read a lot of bad reviews of the food there, but McDonalds sets the standards pretty low and the food served by the Sixties Diner is way better than McDonalds.

After lunch I walked back to my hotel because Oranienburger Strasse is not far from the Lux 11. I did pass a Rossmann’s so I stepped inside to buy more Fuss Wohl products. The cashier looked like a punk rock girl with a soviet star shaved into her dyed hair. She did not speak English. Now is a good time for a rant. Everyone I asked told me that everyone in Germany speaks some English. But this definitely is not true. As I suspected all along, many cashiers can’t be expected to be bilingual. This is not a problem, but I think you will be less intimidated by Berlin if you know some German. I’ve been hearing a lot of French and Italian also. Probably some Russian too but I am unable to distinguish that language from many other languages.

After freshening up in my hotel room I headed back to the Museum Island to visit the Pergamon Museum. This museum has the most impressive exhibits in Berlin including the famous Pergamon Altar, a Greek temple, and other monumental building facades. I was slightly annoyed to find my Berlin WelcomeCard did not entitle me to a discount but I’m not on a budget for this trip. I don’t have much to say about this museum that you can’t learn from a guidebook. It was thrilling for me to stand on the Pergamon Altar steps because I’ve seen it in my books on ancient Greece. There was also a special exhibit about some antiquities that were destroyed in World War II. The exhibit showed how they are trying to put all the pieces back together. Unfortunately I saw some sad examples of stone statues that were highly fragmentary.

The museum visit was pretty hard on my feet but I hobbled into the city to visit Galeries Lafayette, the Berlin store in the famous French department store chain. I went to their bookstore and bought some French books, even though I abandoned that language to learn German. I bought Stephan Clarke’s Francais, Je Vous Haime. Anne-Marie Garat’s L’Enfant des Tenebres (I just liked the cover), and a Michelin guide to Londres (aka London). Then I took some photos of their famous glass funnel. I was a little nervous about taking photos in a department store. They usually frown on that. But this was a tourist attraction surrounded by tourists so I felt free to act like a tourist. Then I bought an expensive and overly fancy umbrella because it looked like rain and I did not want my books to get wet. I did head for the nearby U-Bahn station rather than walk all the way back.

Tomorrow is my last day in Berlin. Unfortunately, I can’t squeeze in all the museums, landmarks,and neighborhoods I uncovered in my research. But I plan to visit the Bode Museum, the Alte Museum, Kreuzeberg, and maybe the Victory Column.

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My Third Day In Berlin

Posted on 4/6/2011 by Robert S. Robbins

I started my third day in Berlin with breakfast at Bell Chico again. I ordered the American Breakfast which was three pieces of toast, scrambled eggs, and various other odds and ends. The only thing they got wrong is using little hot dogs instead of sausage. Nobody has hot dogs for breakfast. They should have used little links sausage.

I took the U-Bahn again, the U2 line, all the way to the Zoologischer Garten and finally reached Kurfurstendamm avenue. I was disappointed to find the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church completely covered in scaffolding. The scaffolding was covered in glass which concealed the church. It looked like they were trying to hide it as an office building. So I did not get to see this landmark and I could not take any photos of it. Since the church is in ruins I suppose it does need some repairs every now and then to keep it from collapsing.

But I did see the Europa Center, the Berlin “broken chain” sculpture on Tauentzienstrasse, the KaDeWe department store, the French Institute in Berlin, and the Story of Berlin Museum which is easy to spot because its street sign is an aircraft wing.

First I went to the Story of Berlin museum. The exhibits were very clever although some people might find them a bit tacky. There was a large group of German teenagers being given a guided tour. I did see a film poster for one of the obscure German movies I want to learn more about, Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler directed by Fritz Lang. According to Wikipedia, this is a silent film which explains how it escaped my notice. I was amused to see Otto Dix’s The Dancer Anita Berber used as a backdrop in part of the exhibit.

After that I went to the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westerns) department store because they have an extensive newsstand. I took the elevator to the 5th floor where they sell DVDs. I saw a lot of interesting movies but eventually settled on Herr Lehmann, an amusing story about a resident of Kreuzberg. I’ve read the English translation of the novel. I don’t know if I’ll have time to visit Kreuzberg. Maybe I should try to get down there on Friday. At the newsstand on the 6th floor I bought a copy of the magazine dotnetpro, Das Profil-Magazin fur Entwickler. This was my one concession to my profession. They will get a real kick out of it at the office. It should also help me to expand my German vocabulary with terms used in my profession. I also bought copies of the Berlin newspapers, Berliner Morgenpost and Berliner Kurier. The cashiers at KaDeWe don’t seem to speak any English and it was slightly awkward when I tired to pay for the DVD at the newsstand, which apparently is not where you pay for anything except items from the newsstand.

I then went to the Europa Center and took a photo of the water clock. I had lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken because I didn’t feel up to a real restaurant. The cashier also did not speak English so I was left with the impression that Mitte is the better district for English speaking tourists.

After lunch I took the U-Bahn back to Alexanderplatz and freshened up in my hotel. Then I finally visited a museum on Berlin’s Museum Island. I went to the Neues Museum which now holds the Egyptian collection including the famous bust of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti. This is one of the iconic symbols of Berlin’s museums so it was great to see it. There was a strict “no photography” rule enforced for the bust but you could take photos without flash everywhere else so I got some pictures of skeletons and sarcophagus. I don’t know the plural form of “sarcophagus” because this word is rarely used in the plural. You never stop learning your native tongue.

Outside the Altes Museum, were I was just photographing the exterior, I was accosted by some really persistent Romanian Gypsy beggars just like the ones that plague Paris. I had to give some coins to a little beggar boy who just would not go away. They kept asking me what language I speak even though I kept mute. I found a Speigel article that explains it “Berlin authorities are puzzled. A group of Roma families from Romania have arrived and appear intent on staying, despite only having limited tourist visas. The conundrum could be a foretaste of immigration riddles to come.“ The Roma are a plague on tourists all over Europe. I bet they have infested London as well. It may be worthwhile to learn some Romanian insults to use against them.

I had a dinner at Dolores Gourmet Burritos, a restaurant near my hotel. I picked up a free copy of Exberliner magazine at my hotel. Exberliner is a magazine for English expats in Berlin. There must be a lot of people from the UK living in Berlin to support their own publication, printed in full color. According to a restaurant review, its staff likes to eat at Dolores and I did see someone reading Exberliner there. Maybe I’m in the heart of the English expat community!

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