-
Kanazawa
We headed out early in the morning to catch the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kanazawa. Once we arrived, we visited Kenroku-en, a garden, and the Kanazawa Castle Park. Afterwards, we briefly visited a small shrine and a samurai district before heading back to the station.
(more…) -
The End of the Cherry Blossom Season
Its been a little more than two weeks since the Washington DC cherry blossoms hit peak bloom. Locally, it was about the same. Most trees locally have lost the majority of their flowers, though a few are still hanging on.
(more…) -
Cherry Blossoms at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
We visited the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in the afternoon to check out their cherry blossoms. There was heavy rain earlier in the day and high winds were forecast for the afternoon and evening, not ideal conditions for delicate flowers. Some trees were well past peak but others looked pretty good.
(more…) -
Old Post Office Tower
We visited the Old Post Office Tower this morning. It is operated by the National Park Service and provides access to a observation room above the tower’s four clock faces. There is also some historical information about the Old Post Office building on the path from the entrance to the elevators.
As it is in a newly redeveloped structure, one would expect that this historic section of the building would have been updated as well to provide a great visitor experience. However, it is a sad little place. Some of the window openings are protected by clear plastic, possibly plexiglass, sheets that are in terrible condition. Other windows are covered by strands of thick metal wire that run top to bottom. And there is a NPS staff member whose only job seems to be to yell at visitors when they touch the metal wire as touching it is prohibited. Definitely one of the worst NPS visitor experiences anywhere.
A little bit of investment is needed to at least replace the terrible windows with some quality glass. That would solve multiple problems at once. This place has so much potential!
(more…) -
National Cherry Blossom Festival 2023
We arrived at the Tidal Basin for what turned out to be ideal cherry blossom weather! The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and it was a warm Spring day! The cherry trees were at peak bloom and didn’t seem to be impacted at all by the rain the previous two days.
(more…) -
Local Cherry Blossom Peak Bloom
Peak bloom for the Washington DC cherry blossoms was officially declared yesterday by the National Park Service. Locally, its about the same! There has been a bit of rain recently but that doesn’t seem to have impacted the blossoms negatively at all.
(more…) -
First Cherry Blossoms of 2023
While the official National Park Service bloom watch shows the Tidal Basin cherry trees as just entering the puffy white stage today, some of our local cherry blossoms are already blooming! We found a few examples by a local road and other ones that are likely going to start opening very soon. Also in the region, we’re waiting for the cherry trees at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens to bloom, that is expected to happen at the end of the month.
(more…) -
Frankfurt Altstadt
We spent the last morning walking around Frankfurt‘s old town area and crossed over the Main on the Eiserner Steg, a pedestrian bridge. The weather was good though cloudy with just a bit of drizzle at times. It ultimately did rain quite hard after we left the city.
(more…) -
Mainz
We headed out this morning to spend the day in Mainz, where the Main joins the Rhine. We saw a variety of sights including Roman ruins and old churches as well as the Rhine. One thing we did not see was the Gutenberg Museum as it is closed on Mondays!
(more…) -
Schloss Heidelberg
We headed south to Heidelberg this morning to visit Schloss Heidelberg, the castle up on the hill above the city. The weather was a bit iffy with a bit of snow and rain on the trip down but luckily it remained mostly dry while we were in old town Heidelberg. It was a bit cold though with a bit of snow on the ground and dark with an overcast sky.
(more…)
Here and there but not quite everywhere!