July 2007 Blog Posts (67)

Google offers a program for free called Google Earth at http://earth.google.com.

It's very difficult to explain what it is - essentially what they've done is taken high-rez satellite imagery from around the globe and actually mapped it onto the globe. So you can zip around all over the world with a few mouse clicks. It zooms in and out and you can "fly"…

I know this is not an Untours travel story but I just had to share.

Our family loves baseball, both as players and spectators. This is something we have shared together for the past 39 years. We love watching San Francisco Giants games both on TV and at the park since we live…

Ever spend time and money planning a trip, take it and when you get home have a hard time remembering what you saw and did. Have a hard time with writing a trip journal along the way? Try photography as an aid to remembering simple details.

If you ask anyone who knows me, they…

Are you going to Bavaria and Munich during Oktoberfest? Then prepare ahead and you will have a really great time.

The first thing you really must do is get a room reservation in Munich. You don’t want to miss out on all the evening fun by having to return to your Castle by…

Portable Storage Device

Just as important to me as my camera is the portable storage device I bring with me on vacation. These devices make it possible to go out into the field each day without having to worry about running out of memory. They have a built-in rechargeable battery as well as the capability of being plugged into an electrical wall outlet. At the end of each day I download all my photos to the storage device. I can then empty the memory cards by…

Permanent storage and archiving of photos

The seemingly unlimited possibilities offered by digital photgraphy also create a problem : permanent storage and archiving the thousands of photos that pile up after some unforgetable Untours trips.

Here is one solution that has so far satisfied my needs :

Since getting into digital photography, I have always saved my photos on CD's, and now on DVD's. A second backup copy is also made and stored in a fireproof…

I don't pretend to be an expert photographer. But I have learned from experience as well as some college photography courses. Today's digital cameras are excellent for learning photo techniques because you get to see the photo immediately. Here are some tips I have learned for photo situations that come up fairly often while traveling:

Buying a new camera for vacation

I just purchased a Nikon D40X DSLR camera. I've been slowly reading the manual to…

German Treasures – Discoveries of Untour Travelers

The middle-Rhine village of…

(Note: To keep this blog open when using the links in this post, right click the link and choose "Open in new window" or "Open in new tab", depending on your…

In Vienna we went to a Schubert concert at Schubert’s birthplace. This was our first use of the underground and trolley system and we found that we could figure it out after…

Marlene and Teri have mentioned the wines of Montalcino, since they have both done Untours at Poggiarellino, where Ludovico Ginotti raises the Sangiovese grapes used in producing both Brunello Di Montalcino and Rosso Di Montalcino and where he bottles both wines. Although this September will be my eighth trip to South Tuscany, it will be my first stay at the Ada Teresa apartment at Poggiarellino and the first opportunity to see this process up close and personal. So thought I'd throw out a…

...or "What to do with that odd little 'Your Untours Cafe Box' that appears on 'My Page' "

One of the first things I noticed when Marilee, Powen and Kim created this site was the weird little box that said "Click "edit" to add text, videos, photos, or any widget to this box." I clicked edit, typed some text, it added my text and...well, that was it. Pretty unexciting. I tried a photograph there, and then a video, but the site already HAS photos and…

It is an interesting coincidence that the Untours Cafe opened now. I recently received an email from a distant relative. My great grandfather's sister is our common link with German and Swiss immigrant and homesteading parents. That took my mind back to Switzerland and our 12 y/o son is now "homesick" for Switzerland and wants to go back. Twist my arm.

All three of our sons have at some time or another wanted to explore their options in Switzerland because of their direct Swiss…

When discussing our next trip after our Venice, Italy Untour in May of 2006 my husband said he thought it was time we did something more exotic, like China. I said if I was going to China I wanted to go to Tibet also. Tibet is one of those places, like Mount Everest, that has fascinated me and I never expected to get to either. We survived Tibet and still do not expect to get to Everest!

China is a puzzling place and Tibet is mystical. We have traveled to Spain; Florence, Italy;…

September 8th today is Helen' Birthday (we won't tell your age). Every morning while we made breakfast we glanced out our kitchen window at this spectacular scenery. Imagine mountains all around us --- Switzerland is wonderful and we are so glad we chosen Switzerland as our first Untours trip.

The village bustled with activity; many cars were parked on our street as it had easy access to the center of Meiringen. We walked over the the Bahnhofstrasse; already some…

Friday, September 6th (continued) On Saturday and Sunday there would be a big celebration in Meiringen. It was called the Trychler Festival. 3100 Bell Ringers from different villages and town/cities would participate in this huge parade. There were 150 different groups; each group wore different outfits or costumes. Each group had a cadence they marched to; they carried the huge bells around their waist/or on their shoulders - they wore a heavy belt. to keep the bells in place. As…