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Wherever Books Are Sold!Boomer Travel. Food. Laughter. Breaking the Empty Nest Rules!
Of all of the fabulous animals in The Galapagos Islands, the one that made it hardest to obey the strict always-stay-six-feet-away-from-the-animals rule… See more of our favorite things in the Galapagos! >>
Of all of the fabulous animals in The Galapagos Islands, the one that made it hardest to obey the strict always-stay-six-feet-away-from-the-animals rule… See more of our favorite things in the Galapagos! >>
Join us as we discover Shanghai — the old and the new — through her art, religion, architecture and food (soup dumplings!)… CONTINUE READING >>
Our first impression of Shanghai, as seen from the Volendam’s berth on the Huangpu River, was a city that is as modern as modern can be.
But this was an incomplete impression, considering a history that goes back over a thousand years.
Obviously this spot at the mouth of Asia’s largest river, the Yangtze, has attracted a lot of attention over the years.
As China grew, so did Shanghai. Now the most populated city in the most populated country in the world is also the world’s biggest city.
Of course this can be debated depending on the rules for counting. Shanghai has the most people, twenty-four million of them, living within its official limits. There are other larger urban areas, but they involve a great many people living outside the city proper.
See more stunning photos as we explored Shanghai at night!
Much of this growth occurred fairly recently and has created a jaw-dropping skyline that has become the image of the city.
We were thrilled to embrace this futuristic theme by spending the morning riding the world’s fastest train, the Maglev.
But after our cutting-edge romp we were ready to find a connection to the past. It wasn’t hard, just a few blocks away from the waterfront the Old City of Shanghai hides in the shadows of the modern skyscrapers.
This was the city that was safely ensconced within ancient protective walls until about one hundred years ago.
At that time, a new governor came in and decided to open things up as a part of the new Republic of China.
Still, a good bit of the classic old architecture remains and we spent more than our share of time gawking up at the ornate rooftops.
Shanghai has always been a very international city, but as tourists discovered it over the last few decades the old city has lost a bit of its authenticity.
The bulk of the shops and restaurants no longer cater to a local clientele.
See all of our adventures in Shanghai!
Even with the new additions, things were still wildly foreign to our eyes.
So when we came upon a bustling place that seemed to be bucking the catering-to-tourists trend, the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, we knew immediately where lunch was happening.
We were pretty taken aback by the scene when we stepped inside. Crowded, loud, and in-comprehensible to us, we had to get out of the way to observe and get our bearings for a few minutes.
While we watched things began to make some sense. Lines snaked past several counters where patrons picked out their dishes. Servers, with carts like these from Nathan James, also passed through the seated throngs dispensing drinks.
Since 1900, every sort of Chinese delicacy imaginable has been slung cafeteria style onto the plates of hungry customers that line up in this chaotic mishmash.
The ordeal ends with satisfied smiles once diners dig in after squeezing into an empty spot at one of the dozens of tables.
Once we got our courage up enough to jump in, we went for stuffed lotus root, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, a mystery fish on a stick, some other meat, likely pork, on a stick, and the main attraction, big, boiling hot, soup dumplings.
Nanxiang lays claim to originating the xiaolongbao, or soup dumpling, so we had to try one, which led to ordering a couple more.
Just as the name suggests, these are typical Chinese steamed dumplings, or buns, except they are filled with broth.
Once again our keen powers of observation came in handy as we watched to see how to go about consuming the delicacy without a major soup spilling incident. Straws! How ingenious, just suck the soup out then chow down the delicious bun.
See all of our adventures in Shanghai!
Filled with broth, steamed dough, and confidence that we had found a small sample of the “real” Shanghai, we wandered off in the direction of one of the city’s main temples.
The City God Temple became a Taoist temple in 1403, during the Ming dynasty.
That was when the former Jinshan God Temple was converted and dedicated to Qin Yubo, an early resident, leader, and hero of Shanghai.
After Qin Yubo died, the emperor deified him as a Cheng Huang — the city god and protectorate of the town. The temple then became a City God Temple with Qin Yubo, as well as Huo Guang, the original City God of Shanghai, holding places of honor.
Since our knowledge of Taoism was nearly nonexistent, we tried our best to be unobtrusive spectators so we could watch and learn.
At first glance things seemed quite similar to the Buddhist temple we had visited in Hong Kong. Statues, offerings, and incense play a big role in the prayers at City God Temple too.
Once we learned a bit more, we discovered that while on the surface the two religions may resemble each other, the philosophies are quite different.
In simplest terms, Taoism stresses harmony with nature while Buddhism looks to reach Nirvana.
See all of our adventures in Shanghai!
Music is an important part of Taoist ceremonies and, while we were inside the main temple building, a group of monks donned colorful robes and began playing a variety of instruments.
The instruments and music were unfamiliar to our untrained ears, but we learned that the outcome promotes the concept of balance, Yin and Yang, and is demonstrated through each sound.
WATCH:
For us it was more of a fascination, the strains of unusual melodies carried us far away from the modern world.
We took in all of the sights, sounds, and smells of the services until the monks finished their ceremony, then exited the temple into a courtyard leading to a gate that opened up to the outside world.
Walking out of that gate was like walking through a time portal, we were instantly transported back into the present.
Once again traffic clamored by and we found ourselves gazing upward, mesmerized by the twenty-first century towers reaching up for the sky.
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
Delve Deeper into Shanghai:
Explore “The Venice of Shanghai,” Zhujiajiao Water Town
Take a Ride on the World’s Fastest Train – it Levitates!
See Amazing Shanghai at Night!
See all of our adventures in China!
Click here for our full live-blog as we traveled with Holland America aboard the ms Volendam – through Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan
Music is an important part of Taoist ceremonies. Watch this group of monks don colorful robes and play a variety of intriguing instruments… See more about City God Temple >>
Music is an important part of Taoist ceremonies. Watch this group of monks don colorful robes and play a variety of intriguing instruments… See more about City God Temple >>
Monkeys, iguana and acrobats in Tulum’s tourist village!… See more about City God Temple >>
Monkeys, iguana and acrobats in Tulum’s tourist village!… See more about City God Temple >>
Everything is so substantial!So very unlike the disturbing mush-meat sausages we find when we pop the top on little cans marked “Vienna,” we found the city in Austria to be substantial, gorgeous, and tasty.
How could these two things ever have been connected?… CONTINUE READING >>
Thanks to Viking River Cruises for inviting us along and providing this adventure! As always, all opinions are our own.
So very unlike the disturbing mush-meat sausages we find when we pop the top on little cans marked “Vienna,” we found the city in Austria to be substantial, gorgeous, and tasty.
How could these two things ever have been connected?
The potted mini-dogs do have some tiny resemblance to the local wieners –meaning from Vienna — sold on the streets of the city, but equating the two products takes some serious imagination.
We chose to drive the thoughts of mysterious lumps of pork by-products from our minds and consume as much of the majestic namesake city as we could on our one-day shore leave from the Viking Longship Skadi.
While the history of settlements along the Danube where Vienna now stands dates back some twenty-five hundred years, the city we visited is completely dominated by the heritage of The Hapsburgs.
The dynasty ruled the Holy Roman Empire, then the Austrian Empire, and finally the Austro-Hungarian Empire for over six hundred years until 1918. Their palaces, churches, and government buildings are everywhere in the old city center.
From the river, we caught the subway into the heart of the old town and came up from underground right next to the Albertina, named for Marie Antoinette’s sister Christina and her husband Prince Albert of Saxony.
The couple was famous for marrying for love, a rarity among the Hapsburgs who generally used nuptials as a means for combining power. The two became the Brangelina of their day, with the love-struck prince building an art museum that used their combined names, Albertina.
From the terrace of Albertina we could see the Imperial Palace — or at least part of it.
The huge mansion we were overlooking was the Neue Burg, or New Castle, and is actually only a small portion of the incredible Hofburg Palace that consists of about a dozen buildings covering several blocks.
Since its beginnings, around seven hundred and fifty years ago, the complex has grown to include much more than royal residences.
Churches, museums, the Imperial Treasury, the Austrian National Library, the Burgtheater, the Hofburg Congress Center, Imperial Horse Stables, and the famous Spanish Riding School are all part of the sprawling complex. Every one of these is amazing in its own right, but combined… it was almost overwhelming.
As we made our way along Reitschulgasse we came to Josefsplatz, where a full-sized statue of Emperor Joseph II stands aboard his trusty steed in front of the National Library and old horse stables.
Nowadays the horses are found at the Spanish Riding School next to the old stables, the home of the world renowned Lipizzan stallions.
Our most impressive view of the palace came at Michaelerplatz, where a huge gate opens into the complex, more or less as the front door. Those Hapsburgs really knew how to put on a show for the neighbors.
From the palace, we turned toward the city center and made our way toward the Graben, one of Vienna’s most famous streets.
Along the way were stopped by a life-sized figure of a woman, made entirely of sugar, standing in the window of Café Demel.
Seemed like as good as any place to grab a cup of joe and dip a toe in the Viennese coffeehouse culture.
Founded in 1786, Café Demel certainly has the pedigree to be one of the city’s top coffeehouses, but it is perhaps better known as a sweet shop.
On our way to a table we passed the bakery, which is glass encased so we could watch all of the sensations being created.
Struck us as a kind of confectioner’s aquarium.
Café Demel is the kind of place that made us want to linger over our coffee and bread, but with some much to see we pushed on.
The first sight that greeted us when we reached the Graben was Peterskirche.
Believed to be on the site of the first church in Vienna, the existing version was modelled after St. Peter’s in Rome and built in 1701.
This St. Peters had to be squeezed into a much smaller space.
In the center of the bustling pedestrian walkway is a plague monument, The Pestsäule.
Most cities in this part of Europe have one, and this towering testament was constructed by Emperor Leopold I following the Great Plague of Vienna in 1679.
Leopold left town when the sickness hit, but promised to build a mercy column if the epidemic would end.
What a guy!
Perhaps that’s why the artist chose to portray the ruler in a less-than-flattering likeness. Or maybe old Leo was simply very funny looking.
At the end of the Graben we came to Stephansplatz, the square at the geographical center of Vienna.
It is named for the Stephansdom, Vienna’s cathedral and one of the tallest churches in the world.
The main tower reaches four hundred and forty-five feet high and is the tallest building in the city.
Built on top of two older churches, the current structure was begun nearly seven centuries ago.
It was spared from destruction near the end of World War II when Captain Gerhard Klinkicht, thankfully, refused to obey orders to shell it with cannon fire.
Heading back to the subway we came upon a somber piece of graffiti that stated: Vienna is Full of expensive Sadness.
While we could understand part of the writer’s sentiment, Vienna is filled with opulence, we didn’t really see the sadness.
But we know the graffitist could find a can of melancholy mystery meat that is anything but expensive… even in Vienna.
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
Delve deeper:
Visit Vienna’s Christmas Market
Thanks to Viking River Cruises for inviting us along and providing this adventure! As always, all opinions are our own. See our entire Christmas cruise along The Danube with stops in Budapest, Bratislavia, Vienna, Durnstein & Melk, Salzburg, and Passau.
Ever wonder where they came from? So did we!
A sky-scraping Abe Lincoln, a Paul Bunyan the size of a small office building, a life-sized brontosaurus or a fish that could swallow an airliner — all have great power to inspire, or at least attract… CONTINUE READING >>
Ever wonder where they came from?
Nothing lifts the spirits while traveling through America quite like the sight of a fiberglass colossus looming in the distance. On a summertime roadtrip, through the shimmering heat from the highway, a form begins to take shape…
A sky-scraping Abe Lincoln, a Paul Bunyan the size of a small office building, a life-sized brontosaurus or a fish that could swallow an airliner — all have great power to inspire, or at least attract… CONTINUE READING >>
“A mother is only as happy as her saddest child,” a close friend’s grandmother used to say.
When I first heard her say this, all three of my children were young and safely in the nest so I could totally relate. Somehow I thought once they were grown up this would change.
It didn’t.
Trouble finds its way into everyone‘s lives – and as much as we hate it – trouble finds our adult children. Whether it rears its ugly head in a… CONTINUE READING >>
“A mother is only as happy as her saddest child,” a close friend’s grandmother used to say.
When I first heard her say this, all three of my children were young and safely in the nest so I could totally relate. Somehow I thought once they were grown up this would change.
It didn’t.
Trouble finds its way into everyone’s lives – and as much as we hate it – trouble finds our adult children.
Whether it rears its ugly head in a personal relationship, at work or at school, it is challenging for an ex-helicopter Mommy like myself not to want to swoop in and fix everything. I’ve learned the hard way that I can’t.
My first major hurdle into non-hovering was a bad break-up my eldest daughter, The Piglet, went through back in college. Sending that first one out of the nest was hard enough, keeping my nose out of her business was even harder.
The Piglet had her first real relationship during her freshman year. It was serious enough that he was brought home to meet the parents. When it fell apart, it fell apart bad. The Piglet was not forthcoming with the details and I’m pretty sure I did an adequate job of avoiding the desire to pry. I don’t know the gory details to this day, but I got the feeling she was more mad than hurt.
Because I wasn’t aware of all the details, as a mother, I made up the worst. The worries grew faster than the scenarios I made up. Was she crying in bed, alone? Were her friends being supportive? Was she eating? Do I need to fly up there and club the boyfriend like a baby seal?
Turns out she handled it well and has learned from the experience. Her criteria for a suitable companion are more honed. She sees relationship warning lights clearer. She grew by leaps and bounds. These are lessons she might not have learned if I had been there clubbing the seal.
Our middle spawn, Decibel, used to be a disaster with money. She couldn’t save it. This was not a good combination with the feast or famine income of a NYC freelance artist type. Frankly, the whole situation scared the crap out of me.
Decibel went to college in the city, fell in love with it and proclaimed she would never leave. She was hit by the you’re an adult now freight train upon finishing school and was on her own monetarily. New York City is EXPENSIVE! Add in a toxic job market with a tanking economy, things were scary and bleak indeed.
It wasn’t long before we were hit up for a loan. Decibel knew our policy, we raise you, we put you through school and then it’s time to grow up. Period. For her to ask, I knew she was swimming through dire straits. It was SO hard to say no.
It’s a lot harder to enforce a policy than to make one. As she told me how rough things were, I heard myself saying gems like “get a second job” and “maybe you should move to a less expensive city,” when I REALLY wanted to say, “Honey, I’ll be right there and we’ll work this out together,” or the more dangerous, “how much to you need?”
Caving in was not an option. Decibel was devastated by conversation’s end and I hung up the phone and burst into tears. I was in a funk for a good long time. Sometimes parenting really sucks.
Decibel did go out and get a job she hated, continued to freelance and is now established in her field. To my knowledge, has never been flat broke again. Going hungry is a valuable lesson.
Most recently, The Boy was whacked with a whopper. He was slapped with flu during exam time at college. Tending to a sick child from a distance is typically enough to launch the strongest of Mommies into a funk. Couple the flu with getting a poor grade on a crucial exam – The Boy was inconsolable. In his weakened state, he saw no light at the end of the tunnel, and nothing I could say made him feel better. As a matter of fact, I sensed I was making it worse.
It’s harder for me to connect with The Boy. His older siblings are girls – and I know how to talk girls off of the ledge. Heck, I usually have them laughing at the situation by the time I’m done.
Not so with The Boy. Maybe it’s because he’s not as emotional in the first place but he’s just not a “talk it through” kinda guy. At least not on my timetable.
Because I AM a talk it though kinda gal, this adds to my Mommy stress. I feel completely unhelpful and helpless. It is SO hard for me not to continually pick up the phone to try a new angle out on The Boy. But all of my “this won’t seem so bad in week, month, year… while, trust me” and “let’s walk through the situation together” lines sounded ludicrous as soon as they spilled out of my mouth.
Later, I realized The Boy WANTS to work things out on his own – an ultimate good parenting goal – and my over-supportiveness is just plain hindering his progress. It hit me like a I don’t need you to fix everything Mommy ton of bricks. Wow, no more kissing boo boos.
Hmmm…could this mean I’m hovering – or wanting to hover – just to make MYSELF feel better? If it is true that a mother IS only as happy as her saddest child, could I be just trying to “fix” my own situation?
Is this what meddling is? OH JEEZ. How in the fudge am I supposed to know the difference between helping and meddling?
All of three of these episodes helped me realize that all any parent can really do is listen, listen, listen.
And in the end, listen a bit more.
Veronica, GypsyNester.com
Delve Deeper:
Are You a Snow Plow Parent? 7 Modern Parenting Terms
9 Things We Wish We’d Known BEFORE We Sent Our Kids to College
Crowdsourcing the ULTIMATE College Care Package
What if My Adult Child is Addicted to Online Gaming?
YOUR TURN: Help me out here! Any tips on dealing with an adult child who’s hurting? What IS the difference between helping and meddling? How do we know when the line is crossed?