Phot-o' the Day: The Beginning of Route 66; Chicago, Illinois USA

Route 66 photos have to be in black & white, don't they?

The sign signifying (I guess that's what signs do, they signify) the start of Historic Route 66 is found at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Adams Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Visited June 2018.

Traveling Out West via Route 66 seems to be more of a thing for Europeans than it is for us Americans. Even Europe's Coolest Cool Kids in all of Cool Town, the group Depeche Mode, did a cover of the song "Route 66." That's how cool Route 66 is among the Euro-set. The video is excellent, too, sort of like if your drive down Route 66 followed a AAA TripTik drawn up by David Lynch.

Phot-o' the Day: Tree atop a Volcano; Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

A lone tree at the top of a lone volcano.

This was taken from the top of the dormant volcano (last major eruption: about 200 B.C. or so) whose periodic explosions over millions of years formed this landscape that we now call Craters of the Moon National Monument in southern Idaho, USA.

Visited September 2019.

Phot-o' the Day: Small Boat Harbor; Sitka, Alaska

View of the small boat harbor, while walking down waterfront Lincoln Street, in Sitka, Alaska.

The harbor in Sitka apparently is too small for the massive cruise ships that now ply the Alaska Marine Highway and Inside Passage, so only smaller cruise ships dock here. Good news for you when you find yourself here, since the town is not over-run. Bad news for you if you are on one of those massive cruise ships, since you will miss the wonderful, historic, small city.

Sitka may be the point farthest west that I've been. It's located at 135° 20′ 5″ W. So, if you count 180° W, at the International Date Line, as the point farthest west, this is it for me. This is the farthest west destination I've been to. But I've been to China. And I flew westward, across the International Date Line, to get there. So is Xi'an, China, then, the farthest west I've traveled, since I traveled westerly to get there? Or is China, specifically Beijing, the farthest east I've traveled. I don't know anymore.

Visited July 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: Class of 1987; Pro Football Hall of Fame; Canton, Ohio

Bring me the heads of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1987.

Starting at the top, center, and moving clockwise: (1) Mean Joe Greene (DT, Pittsburgh Steelers), (2) Don Maynard (WR, primarily with the New York Jets), (3) Gene Upshaw (G, Oakland Raiders), (4) Jim Langer (C, primarily with the Miami Dolphins), (5) Len Dawson (QB, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs), (6) Larry Csonka (FB, primarily with the Memphis Southmen of the WFL*), and, in the middle, (7) John Henry Johnson (FB, many teams, but more time with the Pittsburgh Steelers).

This is from inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. This is far and away the most interesting sight to see in Canton, Ohio, that does not involve President William McKinley. It's an OK visit. Hall of Fames are more about who warrants be included within, rather than actually visiting to see who was admitted.

Visited May 2012.

Footnote [*]: Yes, I know Larry Csonka is primarily known for his years with the Miami Dolphins, especially the undefeated team of 1972-73. But for a brief moment, he and two of his Dolphin teammates almost made the WFL respectable.

Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day: Infant of Prague; Church of Our Lady Victorious; Prague,Czechia

This is the Infant Of Prague, found in the Church of Our Lady Victorious (Kostel Panny Marie Vítězné) located in the Mala Strana neighborhood of the Czech capital.

On my first visit to Prague, I went to this church (just down the block from the hotel where I was staying) hoping to see the statue. When I walked in, wondering where the Infant of Prague would be, I looked up and I was shocked. Off to my right, halfway down the aisle between the doors and the altar, there he was, the Infant of Prague. Right in the open!

This is one of the most important religious icons in the world. It is definitely the most important icon in the Czech Republic and, unless I'm forgetting something obvious in Poland, it is the most important religious statue to be found in the Slavic world. And it is located in a relatively small, nondescript church in a modest neighborhood of Prague. And it is right there, in the middle of the church, for all to see. It's not locked away in a reliquary in the cathedral, paraded about once a year on an important feast day. (The Infant of Prague's feast day, for those keeping score, is January 14.)

For those who are not well-acquainted with Catholic theology, we Catholics do not pray TO the Infant of Prague. We pray AT the Infant of Prague, because, even though this is only a wax doll, this wax doll reminds us that our lord came into this world as an infant. So, yes, it would be accurate to describe the Infant of Prague icon as the world's most important wax doll.

This picture is from my second visit to Prague, in May 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: Kronborg (a.k.a. "Hamlet's Castle"), Helsingoer, Denmark

Kronborg is a historic fortification and castle at the northern tip of Zealand, the island that is the most populated section of Denmark. (Copenhagen is on Zealand, not on the European mainland.) It was built in the 1400s.

In English literature, Kronborg was the model/inspiration for Elsinore, Hamlet's castle, in Shakespeare play involving the indecisive Prince of Denmark. Kronborg was built at the narrowest section of the waterway between Denmark and Sweden. Thus, over the centuries, it was critically important for protecting Denmark against the invading hordes of Swedes who would bring their meatballs, and Abba music, and Volvos (and, in more ancient days, Saabs), into Danish territory.

Visited September 2015. At the time of my visit, this was the northernmost point on the globe I had visited to date. (At 56 degrees north, it's up there. Remember: the U.S./Canadian border is the 49th parallel.)

Phot-o' the Day: Marienplatz; Munich, Germany

Marienplatz in Munich, Germany.  The historic Rathaus, with its famous glockenspiel stands tall in the center of the picture.

This must be what you see when you emerge from the train station. Whether it was a U-Bahn or an S-Bahn I don't know, because I can never keep track (no pun intended) of the difference between the U-Bahns and the S-Bahns.

Visited September 2014.

Phot-o' the Day: El Loro, The Parrot, Nazca Lines, near Nazca, Peru

El Loro, the Parrot, just one of the many Nazca Lines figures you see when you do a Nazca Lines over-flight from Pisco Airport.

Yes, you absolutely have to do this if you go to Peru. Non-negotiable. You have to do a Nazca Lines over-flight. Yes, the experience is somewhat underwhelming. You are far away from the actual lines, in a tiny airplane (12 passengers, if I remember correctly), that is banking at weird angles so the most number of people in the small plane can see the most number of figures. But it is the only way to experience these lines. And they have to be seen. You will be asking, "Why?" Then, "How?" Your questions will remain unanswered. Experts have theories, and some are better than others, but no one really knows for sure.

By the way, the ground is not brown like that. It's gray. But using a brown/sepia filter made the figure pop out much more clearly.

This is the original photo, uncropped:

The Parrot is much tougher to see. He is in the bottom left quadrant of the photo, but just off the center. In other words, top right corner of the bottom left quadrant, if that makes sense.

Visited April 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: The Great Wall of China, somewhere north of Beijing, China

At this point on our tour of the Great Wall of China, we had walked far enough away from the entrance point where you're dropped off by aerial tram that the crowds had thinned out substantially.

Yes, this is a view where the crowds had thinned out substantially.

It was a smoggy day at the Great Wall when I was there. I'm guessing it was actual smog, with a strong component of fog in addition to the air pollution. Those shots of the Great Wall where you see it go on for miles and miles and miles of emptiness on a clear sunny day? I have no clue where or when they would shoot those pictures. Certainly not at any point on the Great Wall that is near Beijing. Still, it was an awesome, impressive sight even with the smog and crowds. Very tough to walk since there is absolutely no standardization in the height or depth of the stone "stairs" you ascend and descend walking the wall.

Visited July 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: View from the Fire Tower; Sopron, Hungary

View of Sopron, Hungary, from the observation deck of the town's historic Fire Tower, or Tuztorony. How historic? The Fire Tower was built in the 13th Century. It dominates the skyline of Sopron. It's a good thing to have your fire observation tower be the highest point in your city.

You may be more familiar with Sopron for its Europe-wide famous dental tourism. Lots of inexpensive, high-quality dentistry throughout the town. Think I'm kidding? My hotel had a dental clinic as part of its spa. Sadly, I did not imbibe in the famous dentistry. Next time!

Visited December 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: Equestrian Statue of King Carol I, Bucharest, Romania

King Carol I was a German prince who was selected to be king of a newly-independent Romania in 1866, after a palace coup. He reigned right up until the time of World War I, 1914. He brought liberal democratic reforms eastward to Romania. He built Bucharest into a then-modern European capital.

All that earned him an equestrian statue in Piata Revolutiei in Bucharest, across the boulevard from the national museum.

Bucharest is a beautiful city, filled with great architecture from the latter 19th Century, when King Carol was building the town into a worthy European capital city. I'm thinking I was expecting it to be more "Soviet" in its appearance, and those were those heavy-handed touches in the city, unfortunately. The legacy of the twin evils (fraternal, not identical) of communism and LeCorbusier/Bauhaus architecture.

Visited May 2019.

Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day: Interior of La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, Lyon, France

Inside La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, in Lyon, France.

Visited June 2016.

Phot-o' the Day: Spanish Galleon in Marina Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Tour boats that look like Spanish galleons have been a thing for awhile. Even in the Portuguese speaking world.

This tour boat is pulling back into harbor at the Funchal Marina on the Island of Madeira. Madeira is part of Portugal, even though it is located closer to the African mainland than it is to Portugal. I didn't get on board and take the tour. Getting on a boat and seeing the sights from way off shore is generally not my thing. If it's yours, I'm not judging. We all like to tourism in our own way. Your way is better for you and my way is better for me.

I actually would have considered doing the Spanish galleon tour in Funchal because, c'mon, it's a Spanish galleon, but it's a really popular tour and I would have had to book it a day in advance. I didn't have the day to spare, so that was a no-go.

Visited September 2017.

Phot-o' the Day; Zagreb Cathedral; Zagreb, Croatia

Today's Phot-o' the Day is ripped from the headlines. Sort of.

Back on March 22, when the only news any of the rest of us were focused on was coronavirus coronavirus coronavirus, Zagreb, Croatia, was hit by 5.5 earthquake. That's right at the cusp of what strength can cause major damage. Among the buildings damaged was the Cathedral of Zagreb, as seen here from Trg bana Josipa Jelačića, Jelacic Square, the main square in downtown Zagreb.

The top few feet of the one spire closest to us are gone. The other spire is standing relatively intact, but upon later inspection, it was found to have been displaced enough during the earthquake that it will have to be removed, too.

Phot-o' the Day: Pavilion 2 of the Terra Cotta Warriors Complex, Xi'an, China

The official name of the Terra Cotta Warriors complex outside Xi'an, China, is Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum. It dates back to the second century B.C. Pavilion 1 is the massive arena-sized building where you get that signature picture looking out at the hundreds, maybe thousands, of terra cotta soldiers lined up in formation guarding the emperor's tomb. It is impressive.

Pavilion 2 shows the complex more as a "work in progress." The soldiers are not lined up in military formation. It's more "milling" than military. Many, if not most, of the statues are headless. (The heads were detachable on all soldiers.) It's more of a "back stage" look.

Still impressive. Still cool.

Visited July 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: Meat on the Grill, Mercado Del Puerto; Montevideo, Uruguay

When you think of Uruguay, what do you think of?

The two World Cups in soccer and the fact that Uruguay is the smallest nation (by far) to have ever won that international soccer championship? Yes, probably, but what else?

Soccer hero Luis Suarez and how he likes to take a bite out of the competition? That is distinctive, but not really representative of the whole country.

Zooilogico Del Futuro? Well, I do. But I think that's only me.

The answer? Meat! Lots and lots of meat, grilled to perfection. This photo is from inside Montevideo's famous Mercado Del Puerto, the historic marketplace filled with lunch restaurants serving grilled meat (steak especially). Visited November 2013.

Phot-o' the Day: Charles Bridge and Vltava River; Prague, Czechia

A sunny afternoon along the Vltava River at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic. You can tell it's the Charles Bridge because you can see the some of the statuary on the bridge.

And is it Czechia, or the Czech Republic? Officially, it's now Czechia, but everyone who lives there who speaks English still calls it the Czech Republic.

From the October 2011 visit to Prague.

Phot-o' the Day: Pink Rabbit outside the Wiener Staatsoper; Vienna, Austria

It's the Easter season. Moving over to the secular side of Easter, I present a pink bunny rabbit.

It's not the Easter Bunny. Not even close. This picture is from December 2018. It's a sculpture of a giant pink rabbit outside the Wiener Staatsoper, the Viennese State Opera House, in Vienna. Austria. Not Virginia. I don't believe the Vienna in Virginia has a State Opera House. Well, at least it didn't when I lived in Northern Virginia. But that was more than a quarter of a century ago. The place has changed. So I could be wrong.

Easter Sunday Phot-o' the Day: From atop Marjan Hill, Split, Croatia

The tombstone has been rolled back.
The tomb is empty.
Death and the devil will not prevail in the end.

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day: Crucifix, Ljubljana Cathedral, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Katedrala Ljubljana. Ljubljana Cathedral. This crucifix is off to the side of the main altar. Photo taken September 2014.

Churches are closed today. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. They're supposed to be closed today because, today, the body is in the tomb. Tomorrow, the tomb will be empty. Sad that the churches will be, too.

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day: High Cross and Giant (and I do mean "Giant") Rosary, Fatima, Portugal

Welcome to Good Friday 2020. People think of "Good Friday" is being the most ironically-named day in the liturgical calendar. It's not. "Good" is an archaic synonym for "holy." It's also "good" in the sense that, without this day, there would be no Easter Sunday, no resurrection, no death for our sins. So, yes, it is "Good" Friday in both meanings.

For the Holy Week Phot-o' the Day for Good Friday 2020, it is time to revisit Fatima. The crucifix is the High Cross, a very large stylized cross (it's a bent ribbon of steel on that cross, not a recognizable human form). The High Cross is located on the plaza opposite the Santuário de Fátima, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, in front of the Basílica da Santíssima Trindade, the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity.

Behind the Cruz Alta, the High Cross, is a giant rosary. Biggest I've ever seen. No sure what the "world records" folks have to say about it, but it's without a doubt the biggest rosary my eyes have rested upon.

I think Fatima is the most important of the Marian apparition sites around the world. Just my opinion. You could say Lourdes, or Medjugorje, or Guadalupe, or somewhere else I'm neglecting to mention, and you would be just as right.

Visited September 2017, on the 100th anniversary of penultimate apparition in the series of apparitions seen by the three shepherd children over six consecutive months in 1917.

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day: Ninth Station of the Cross; Monserrate, Bogotá, Colombia

I've seen many stations of the cross in my day. My favorite are the stations that can be found at the top of Monserrate on the edge of the City of Bogotá in Colombia.

The statuary is very nice. But it is the physical setting that makes this so amazing. This is a lush green park-like setting at the top of a mountain (well over 10,000 feet above sea level) right on the edge of a massive, crowded city of eight million. (The fact that you can take a funicular to the summit is the buttercream frosting on the stations of the cross cake.)

Today is Maundy Thursday of Holy Week 2020. This is the ninth station. Christ nailed to the cross. I could have picked any and it would have been just as magnificent.

Visited May 2015. On the day of my 45th birthday!

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day; the Scourging of Christ; Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Today's Holy Week Phot-o' the Day takes us to the unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Much like the gothic cathedrals of pre-Renaissance Europe, Sagrada Familia has been under construction for over 100 years and it's still unfinished. One significant reason is the huge amount of decorative artwork throughout the structure, interior and exterior. It is impossible to absorb all of it. There has so many religiously-significant scenes depicted in the art throughout Sagrada Familia.

For example: this. This is the scourging of Christ. An ordinary column does double duty as the pillar to which Jesus is tied to receive the 40 lashes as his "punishment" from Pilate. Just one of the thousands pieces of religious art found here.

Visited September 2015.

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day: Desert Christ Park, Yucca Valley, California

Today's stop for Holy Week-related iconography is Desert Christ Park in Yucca Valley, California. The 3.5-acre park features concrete statuary depicting famous scenes from the gospels. The centerpiece of the park is the giant Last Supper wall, patterned on da Vinci's masterpiece, with a window behind Christ's head so you can stand behind the Last Supper scene and get a "you are there" photo. It's too big for a selfie, although I guess you could selfie with just the head and face of Christ. You need to get the picture of yourself the old-fashioned way, the way we used to do back in the day, with someone else on the front side of the Last Supper wall to snap the photo.

It's worth the stop if you ever find yourself on the highway between Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs. I don't know if this rendering of the Last Supper, with a photo-opportunity window behind Christ's head, is one-of-a-kind, but I've traveled a lot and I've not seen anything else like this.

Visited May 2009.

Holy Week Phot-o' the Day: Last Supper, Cross of Our Lord; Groom, Texas

It's Holy Week 2020! The week we waited all of Lent for. Sort of. This was a strange Lent and it will be a strange Holy Week.

It will be religious-themed photos all week this week Holy Week. First stop: Groom, Texas. Groom, Texas, is the home of the giant 190-foot tall cross, located just off I-40 between Amarillo and the vertical part of the Oklahoma/Texas border. At the base of the cross and statuary depicting the stations of the cross, with statuary from both the traditional Stations of the Cross and the "Scriptural Way of the Cross," which includes additional preliminary material. Such as this: a stylized statue of the Last Supper. The three crosses of Calvary are visible in the background.

It's a nice scene. It's not a place for quiet contemplation, given the loud highway noise in the background. It's a place for photography. Which I did.

Visited November 2006.

Palm Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day: Iglesia Timana, Timana, Colombia

This is the strangest Palm Sunday since I converted to Catholicism back in '93. Since church is closed due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the Sunday Church Phot-o' the Day is a beautiful church building in a beautiful physical setting,

This is the Iglesia Timana, the Catholic church in the southern Colombia city of Timana. I passed through Timana on the five-hour drive from Neiva to San Agustin. Back when I was there, the closest airport to San Agustin and the amazing San Agustin Archaeological Park was in Neiva. Five hours away! The proprietor of the guest house where I was staying in San Agustin came to Neiva airport to pick me up. We stopped in Timana, about two-thirds of the way to San Agustin, just to take a look at this incredibly beautiful church. It has to be old and historic, too -- just look at it! -- but I do not know the back story. I could make one up, but that would be very inappropriate, especially on the Sunday when I should be in a church listening to the passion story.

Timana, Colombia. Passed through in September 2012.

Landscape (and Horse) Phot-o' the Day: Walking Around Lake Bled, Slovenia

Saturday is horsin' around day. But this is a landscape week. What to do for a photo du jour of the day? A horse against a beautiful landscape, of course!

This is from the walking trails around Lake Bled, Slovenia. The walking on these trails is not limited to the two-legged. Four legs good.

From the September 2014 visit.

Landscape Phot-o' the Day: A View from the Bridge Between Two Continents, near Keflavik, Icleand

This is one of my favorite landscape shots. This is the view from Iceland's Bridge Between Two Continents. This is a bridge over a gap in the landscape, formed because this is precisely where two tectonic plates are pulling apart. This is looking north, so the North American Plate is on the left and the Eurasian Plate is on the right. The plates here are pulling apart. The plates are pulling apart in the Atlantic, which means somewhere some plates must be banging into each other. So here the earthquakes are relatively minor. The strong earthquakes are over on the Pacific Ocean side, where the North American Plate either is sliding against the Pacific Plate (California) or banging against it (Alaska and Japan, where the earthquakes are even stronger than California).

The Bridge Between Two Continents is an actual foot bridge that whimsically calls attention to the science of plate tectonics. It is located somewhere in Southwestern Iceland, not all that far from Keflavik, the international airport serving Reykjavik, Iceland.

Landscape Phot-o' the Day: Pag Island, Croatia

Pag Island, Croatia, is beautiful. It looks just like Nevada, if Nevada were an island in the Adriatic. The strong bura winds of winter blow the salt water of the Adriatic over the island, making it difficult to grow much here (except the sage, rosemary, and lavender that the Pag lambs eat to make them so delicious).

This is the ferry landing, where you catch the ferry boat from near the party-town of Novalja, back to the Croatian mainland.

Visited May 2010.

Landscape Phot-o' the Day: Huaca del Sol, Trujillo, Peru

Today's landscape photo is from the desert around Trujillo, Peru. Landscape? Did I say landscape? As in natural with no buildings?

April Fools!

This is not a landscape. It is a pyramid, albeit severely degraded, built by the Moche civilization, with major construction having been completed around 450 A.D. Again, this is the Moche civilization. They built pyramids. They did not build chewy rice cakes with ice cream in the middle. That was the Mochi civilization.

Visited April 2018.