Rome has no shortage of ancient structures worth visiting, and the Pantheon is one of them. Originally built between 133-125 CE, it was converted into a Christian Church in the 7th century, and, unlike many of the other buildings and ruins scattered Continue reading “Site 180: Rome’s Pantheon”
As I was planning my trip to the Non-Catholic Cemetery, I noticed that another cemetery was in very close vicinity, the Rome War Cemetery. This is a Commonwealth cemetery of WWII graves that lies alongside the old Aurelian walls of Ancient Rome. Continue reading “Site 179: Rome War Cemetery”
How lovely it is to be in Rome in late March. The weather is warm and sunny, the trees and flowers are in bloom, and the tourists are not overwhelming. Rome, of course, is no stranger to tourists, having been art of nearly every tourist’s European tour for Continue reading “Site 178: Rome’s Non-Catholic Cemetery”
When and if a cemetery in Rome gets mentioned, it’s usually the Non-Catholic Cemetery, where Keats and Shelley are buried, that get the attention. The Verano Cemetery, on the other hand, rarely seems to make any list, and it’s a shame, for Continue reading “Site 177: Rome’s Campo Verano”
My final day in Chernobyl (and Ukraine) started grey and drizzly. M had scheduled a tour for me inside the Chernobyl Power Plant, but it didn’t start until mid-morning, so we went exploring Chernobyl Town (for which the power plant was named). The town is Continue reading “Site 176: Chernobyl (Day 4)”
My third day in the exclusion zone started bright and sunny. Today we were headed to the Duga-1 radar array, also known as the Russian Woodpecker. It was built in 1976 as a way to detect any missles that might come over the horizon from the U.S. Now, satellite Continue reading “Site 175: Chernobyl (Day 3)”
Pripyat. If there is a by-word for what the world would look like if people disappeared suddenly, this town is it. Thirty-six hours after Reactor 4 exploded, the people of Pripyat were finally evacuated. This was a coordinated effort that had the entire population Continue reading “Site 174: Chernobyl (Day 2)”
I don’t know when I first thought about visiting Chernobyl – I think it’s been on my mind for years, probably from the first time I saw photos of the abandoned buildings in Pripyat. I remember when the accident was first announced to the world – Continue reading “Site 173: Chernobyl (Day 1)”
Another World Heritage Site in Kyiv in the Larva Monastery, also known as the Monastery of the Caves. This is a huge complex with its own cathedral, numerous churches, a belltower, and various other buildings. However, what it is really known Continue reading “Site 172: Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra”
Before coming to Kiev I hadn’t really heard or read of any major cemeteries in the city (of course not – the much darker site of Chernobyl to the north would draw most visitors). But a quick Google search led to me Baikove, which is the city’s Continue reading “Site 171: Kyiv’s Baikove Cemetery”
Ukraine’s first World Heritage site is well worthy of the distinction. I headed here on my first day in Kiev and it really was an impressive place to visit. It was after The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (then Constantinople), and has 13 green cupolas. The interior, Continue reading “Site 170: Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral”
Today I went to Oskar Schindler’s old enamelware factory that’s now a museum. It was by far the best museum that I’ve been to so far on this trip. The exhibits, explanations, (real) photos, all worked together to give a snapshot into what was life was like in Continue reading “Site 169: Kraków-Płaszów Concentration Camp”
Wawel Hill seems to be on every visitor’s list when visiting Kraków, and one of the most important structures on top of the the hill is Wawel Cathedral. The first iteration of the cathedral was built and destroyed in the 11th century, a second built was destroyed Continue reading “Site 168: Kraków’s Wawel Cathedral”
Just north of Kraków’s main station lies a large cemetery known as Rakowicki. Before coming here I had never heard of it, I guess in part because so much of Kraków’s history is more tied to WWII and the Holocaust. On a very changeable morning (from rain Continue reading “Site 166: Kraków’s Rakowicki Cemetery”
This is a hard one to write about. What do you write about the most infamous concentration camp in history? Over 1.1 million people died here. Most of them were Jews. In fact, one out of every 6 Jews who died in the Holocaust died here. Continue reading “Site 167: Auschwitz-Birkenau”
stone and dust 