I spent the afternoon into the evening scanning colour slides I had taken while in Berlin, Germany in July 1972. These were the ones I found this morning, some I hadn't scanned yet because I couldn't find them. The above photo was taken at Charlottenburg Palace in the front courtyard during my week long visit to the city back then. I'll post more soon, very soon! Have an awesome week, guys! - V
I visited the city of Strasbourg in Alsace in eastern France along the German border each of the three times I returned to Europe for a visit. The first time there was in the summer of 1972 and then again in 1976 and 1987. You can probably tell why there was such a draw! The German name for the city is "Strassburg" which got its name from the intersecting roads in the region ("Strasse" means road in German).
Here's a view of a tour boat on the Ill River. I took such a tour but the commentary was all in French. I missed the ones in English or German. Below is a view of part of the cathedral in the old town.
The old town has a number of scenic canals as you can see above and below. Check out my photo blog for more images but do enjoy these in the interim! - V
When I arrived by plan at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in July 1972, I went straight by rail to my aunt and uncle's place in Dortmund, Germany. After that it was a week's visit to Berlin where more relatives lived, another aunt (mother's sister) and uncle. I took several photos during my stay in West Berlin. Above is a photo of the Soviet Memorial in East Berlin and below a depressing-looking rail yard also in East Berlin.
A view of the Soviet era buildings in East Berlin above and a scene along the wall that divided the city (below).
The no man's land behind the wall on the East Berlin side of the wall (above) and a sign near Checkpoint Charlie looking from the west toward East Berlin.
Here is a view of the Spree River looking into East Berlin from the west and below a shot of the Reichstag in West Berlin not far from the wall.
This is a shot of Alexanderplatz in East Berlin as it appeared in July 1972 and a view of Stalinallee, also in the east.
And below is a view of the Brandenburg Gate as seen from East Berlin. During the visit I got to see the gate from both sides of the wall. All this is now but a memory now that Germany is no longer divided. I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into history! - V
The trip back to Amsterdam in advance of my return to Canada in early September 1972 allowed a stop in Cologne, Germany. These are just a couple of photos I took while in the city. It allowed a fascination for the architecture and the years of building that went into the edifices like the Dom. The original builders never saw the completion of their work which often took hundreds of years. - V
During my summer visit to Europe in 1972, one of my side trips took me to Scandinavia which involved a train trip up the Jutland Peninsula from Hamburg, Germany to Frederiksborg, Denmark and from there a ferry ride across the Kattegat to Goeteborg, Sweden and on to Oslo. When I arrived in Oslo by train on a sleeper, I ended up walking around the Oslo Fjord to the west side from the town centre. At the destination I checked out the Viking Ship Museum and a folk museum that had houses and other buildings from around Norway. This included a wooden stave church you see above. Then it was a short walk to the water (Oslo Fjord) and a motorboat ride to the centre of Oslo on the other side.
I was in Amsterdam twice during the summer of 1972, upon my arrival and leaving Europe. This is a shot I took of the square in front of the Hotel Krasnapolsky. The square was a hangout at the time for various young people, both local and tourist. This is how the square looked in 1972. - V
While in Amsterdam in late August and early September 1972 before returning to Canada after seven weeks in Europe, I checked out Amsterdam a bit closer and found this tallship in one of the harbours. My cousin at the time I had been showing the slides of my trip thought it was the Gorch Fock but you be the judge! 
This is a view of the castle in the old city in Carcassonne, France. The castle is found in the old city between the inner and outer walls that encircle the town. I took this photo when I was 18 years old during a seven week trip to Europe in 1972. My cousin lent me his 35mm Voigtlaender reflex camera for the trip. I got very proficient at using it by the end of the summer, as you might imagine. I even had the option of buying it if I wanted. I the end I declined that option but I did purchase a 35mm Voigtlaender single-lens reflex camera in the early 1980s. Both were manual and so settings were not set automatically as with today's automatic cameras. 
My aunt and uncle had a property in Rudow (West Berlin) where they had fruit trees and spent some time on weekend during the warm summer days. This was in addition to their townhouse in Britz near the Hufeisensiedlung. That's me on the left, my uncle in the middle and my aunt on the right. I believe my cousin Gela took the photo. Its a great way and place to relax! - V
July 1972 was my first time back to Germany after we left in June 1957 and it was my second time back to West Berlin, a divided city. Its worth noting that when we were there in 1957, we were freely able to visit both sides of the city. The wall wasn't built until after 1961 (or 62). That's me in the photo above near the entrance to the U-bahn (subway) at Britz in West Berlin.
This is another part of West Berlin but I only vaguely remember where it might be, though not exactly. Certain details are lost over time!
Here I am on a roof top in the same area as the previous photo. It was July 1972 and I was 18 going on 19 in August. This was the first big trip on my own!
Here we were going to take a boat trip on the Havel. This included my aunt Liesel, uncle Rudy and cousin Gela plus myself.
My cousin Gela and I on the boat during part of the journey. It was a beautiful, sunny day as I remember.
We went to a number of places during my week's stay in the city. This included a visit to the Berlin Zoo. If you look carefully, you can see a polar bear on a rock in the upper right-hand corner of the photo above.
My aunt (my mother's sister) and myself are at the zoo in the photo above. My aunt passed on in the mid-1990s.
What a photo to end this post on. Here I am with bison in the background. During my stay, I also took in a concert, did a bus tour that took in both sides of the wall, passing through Checkpoint Charlie both ways, and a visit to Charlottenburg Palace, also in West Berlin. I borrow my cousin Jack's camera for the trip to Germany, a Voigtlaender reflex camera. Once the 200 odd slides have been scanned, I'll post those photos which include some of the palace I mentioned, the checkpoint and other places of note. I enjoyed the trip immensely but there were times when it would have been nice to have my brother Norbert along. Between what I had in the way of funds and what my parents could afford, we couldn't both go. I hope you've enjoyed these! Have a great week!!! - V
We came over to Canada from Germany on the ship, the Arosa Star, in June 1957. It was part of the Arosa Line fleet of cruise ships (1952 to 1958). The ship was built as the Borinquen at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of Quincy, Mass in 1930. She had several names as the ship changed hands and came to a rather ignoble end sinking on the rocks off Port Hueneme, California on April 13, 1970. As I understand it, the new owners of the ship wanted to turn it into a floating hotel but couldn't afford the mooring fees and so anchored it off shore. Unfortunately, the storm brought all those plans to an end. Our crossing unlike the ship's end was flawless! Well, we made it to Canada, didn't we?
Above, my younger brother (left) and I had been at a children's birthday party on the ship, hence the party hats! Norbert and I shared the same room well into our teens. He passed on rather suddenly in 1974 and is still missed very much. Its amazing how strong the emotions are even after all these passing years!
That's our mother left, my brother Norbert and myself on the right. Norbert passed on suddenly in 1974 and we were all affected in one way or another, not at all the same afterward. Mother passed on in 1999. There's a long story about that but I won't get into that here.
I remember that our mother always loved the fresh air and sunshine. Sunning on a bright day in the summer was one of her past times. I love the fresh air and sunshine too but prefer working in it or going on a long hike! - V
After my stay in Penzance, Cornwall, I took a series of trains via London's Paddington Station (glass roof leaked like a sieve in the rain!) and Victoria Station to Portsmouth and then on by ferry to the island of Jersey off the French coast. I missed the ferry heading for Jersey and had to wait until the next day to head out. After a couple of days there on Jersey, it was on to St. Malo by hydrofoil. We left later passing the steamer, which left St.Helier before us, about halfway to the French port. The image above is a cropped version of the original photo which is only somewhat larger than this one. Enjoy! - V
The trip to Europe in the spring of 1987 started with the island of Britain. The first stop was Edinborough, Scotland but my favourite place was Penzance, a quaint seaside resort and I'd love to go there again but longer of course! The second was Cornwall, Penzance in particular. On the way from London I stopped in Plymouth where I waited for a connecting train to Penzance further west. I shared a waiting room with an English sailor doing studies by flashlight plus another guy having a snooze late at night. We were all waiting for connecting trains. I know I was zonked by the time I got to my destination after traveling by train from Scotland, through London and on to the West Country the previous day.
Then you've all got a rare treat of me on the boat near St.Michael's Mount in the photo below. The cute guy didn't escape my attention!
The image below looks down from the castle on the Mount on the centre of the island.
I took a long walk along the coast on one of the days at Penzance which took me through the fishing village of Mousehole and other places. What follows are typical scenes along the Cornish coast.
I walked west along the coast road and then back to Penzance through Mousehole (image below). I took these images on my way back once I'd noted the scenes worth photographing. I hope you've enjoyed them! Perhaps they've even taken your thoughts off the dullness of winter?!?!- V
Last evening I decided to scan some slides taken during my last visit trip to Europe, my third, which was in 1987. This is especially for my Swiss blogger friends. The Swiss city of Bern was just one of several destinations. In the above photo you can see the clock tower called the Zytgloggeturm (Zeitglocketurm in German) in the local Swiss German dialect. In the foreground is Simsonbrunnen and behind that the Zaehrungerbrunnen. All are located on the Kramgasse. I stayed in a bed and breakfast on the same street just a few city blocks away.
The top image is a crop of the original photo. The second one is the actual photo. Note the renovations going on. Its something to be contended with when traveling to lovely locations, such as scaffolding up one side of a church spire! 
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