THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

BY JANET STEINBERG

                   “The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.”                                                       Casablanca-1942

Clocks make a statement.  You can be transported back in time or catapulted into the future just by looking at a clock.  Timepieces, differing around the world, can range from medieval to modern...serious to quirky.  They may be works of art, set a mood or give a feeling about their location, their customs or their people. 

On Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic, The Old Town Hall’s medieval Astronomical Clock (Prague Orloj) puts on an hourly show known as The Walk of the Apostles.  The show, that never fails to draw a large audience, features miniature figures of the Apostles—plus a skeletal representation of Death—who strikes the time every hour on the hour. The mechanical clock and astronomical dial date back to 1410 and has been repaired many times over the centuries.  The clock’s 600th anniversary in 2010 was celebrated with a light show on the face of the clock tower.

PRAGUE’S ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK

BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA, BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA

Ahhhh…the romance of the “Seven Seas”! 

The term “Seven Seas”, dating back to medieval times, referred to all of the world’s oceans.  Since the 19th century, the term has been taken to include the Arctic, Antarctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Oceans.  By the end of 2018, it is estimated that 314 cruise ships will be sailing approximately 537,000 passengers on the “Seven Seas”.

Cruising those “Seven Seas” can take you to all seven continents in the world. Though it may not afford you hours of leisure time for people-watching or long lingering lunches, cruising will give you a comprehensive glimpse of the whole wide world.  The following are suggestions unforgettable port stops you might want to include in your itineraries on each of those seven continents. 

1. AFRICA: Though chaotic and crowded, CAIRO, EGYPT is one of the most exciting and exotic capitals in the world.  The largest city on the African continent, Cairo is so vibrantly alive that even the most jaded traveler must yield to its magic. Arriving in Cairo is like falling through the looking glass and ending up in history. Cairo’s over-all flavor is still very much that of the Middle East.  Egyptians in their flowing galabeyas and traditional black robes often make their past seem more vividly alive than their present. The Pyramids of Giza exude an excitement just by the very virtue of being there.  They have been considered to be the greatest of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World…that they alone would survive the passing of time.  “He who has not seen Cairo,” said a traveler of old, “has not seen the world.“ 

THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

O CANADA, O CANADA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM EAST TO WEST

BY JANET STEINBERG

                                                                                                                    

 North of the border there’s a party going on.  And what better way to celebrate Canada’s 150^th anniversary year than by experiencing Canadian charm from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  You can cruise from the Maritimes to Montreal, ride the rails from Vancouver to Lake Louise, or fly and drive to the city of your choice.  So, hop on my magic travel carpet and let’s party…from the Maritimes in the Atlantic, to a paradisiacal Island in the North Pacific.

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA:  Halifax is the cosmopolitan capital city of Nova Scotia,.  It is Canada’s 13^th largest city and its residents, called Haligonians, make up 40% of Nova Scotia’s population.  In Halifax, a city that embraces the sea, all roads lead to the shore. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will take you on a voyage of discovery through Nova Scotia’s rich maritime heritage.  Perhaps the most popular exhibit in the Maritime Museum is the one that depicts the tragic history of the ill-fated Titanic that sank some 700 miles east of Halifax on April 15, 1912.   While the Cunard liner Carpathia was taking survivors to New York, 209 of the dead were brought to Halifax.   59 bodies were shipped home to relatives, but 150 were buried in Halifax cemeteries.  One of the first victims to be carried to his grave at Fairview Lawn was a small, unidentified baby boy.  A haunting tombstone marks his grave.

GRAVE OF UNKNOWN CHILD IN HALIFAX

VANCOUVER: THE JEWEL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA'S CROWN

BY JANET STEINBERG

Vancouver, Canada's third largest metropolitan area, is one of North America's most beautiful cities.  Its natural harbor, reminiscent of Hong Kong, is ringed by rugged snow-capped mountains.

VANCOUVER HARBOR

Vancouver's cosmopolitan atmosphere comes from its unique mixture of European and Oriental people.  Vancouver is the town where a tailor named Dave Marks opened his home for a Passover dinner to a young Chicago vaudevillian named Benny Kubelsky.  Benny, who was playing at the Orpheum Theater at the time, met---and fell in love with---Marks' daughter Sadie. They married and lived happily ever after under their stage names of Jack Benny and Mary Livingston.    

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER TRAIN JOURNEY: HAPPY RAILS TO YOU

BY JANET STEINBERG

All aboard!  Time to go clickity-clacking the Canadian Rockies.

Though most of Western Canada is painted white by a blanket of dense snow between November and April, now is the time to start thinking about, or planning for, that dream trip to the Canadian Rockies.

Riding the rails from Vancouver, British Columbia to Jasper, Alberta was one of the most relaxing, most scenic, most memorable, trips I have ever taken.  Come along with me as I take you on a trip across a land of abundant wildlife, majestic snowy peaks, glittering glacial lakes, roaring waterfalls and towering trees.

My husband and I donned our Rocky Mountaineer engineer’s caps and boarded the Rocky Mountaineer train, for one of the optional rail tours offered by Rocky Mountaineer Vacations.  We were eager to ride the rails across that same historic route that would reveal the scenic wonders of the Canadian Rockies.  And to think, all of this was to be up close and in daylight hours.

JANET STEINBERG AND HUSBAND DR. IRVIN SILVERSTEIN