In this blog, I will attempt to document my travels around the world. There will be an attempt to go back more than 4 years and start from the beginning of the most exciting experience of my life. That of a medical courier. This job trumps anything I did in the corporate world and my 32 year career in a large multi-national company.
Among a lot of things I have done in my life, nothing has been as rewarding as being a volunteer courier for the National Marrow Donor Program, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. NMDP is the international registry of willing live donors of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells for human transplant. Helping others in desperate need for a better healthy life, and being part of a large team of professionals each dedicated to helping a extraordinarily seriously ill person somewhere in the world creates the adrenaline rush necessary to accomplish the job.
This job requires me to travel light, discretely and confidentially. My bag is always packed, my passport ready along with my transplant cooler to rush off to some large medical hospital to pick up a life-saving blood product donation then rush to the airport to deliver to a transplant center somewhere in the world to help a needy person.
Because of confidentiality requirements, I will not be able to disclose all the details of these travels, but will attempt to write a bit about some of the interesting places I've had the opportunity to travel to. All of the trips originate in Minneapolis, MN, then to a donor hospital , then on to a transplant hospital. Each international trip requires about 5 days, 2 nights in airplanes, and 3 nights on the ground. Often an extension stay in the foreign location is available, at my expense of course, and is where I find a host of interesting things to see and do. I have taken well over ten thousand pictures and need to edit them down as well as reduce my diary of each trip to this blog.
There are already two posts for the last two trips taken. One to Prague the other to Tel Aviv, Israel. The rest of the posts will start from the beginning, if I do one a week it will take nearly 7 months to post them all. Stop back often and read what I hope will be a interesting travel dialog with words creating a mental picture of excitement, history, and neat places around the world. Your comments and questions are also welcome.
Another blog that I author is at www.lakeladyrods.com click on the Blog button.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Isreal
Israel is of course on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. I flew into Tel Aviv on Feb. 28, 2009. At the customs desk I was asked if I wished for my passport to be stamped or stamp a piece of paper. The passport was stamped, which precluded me from going into the West Bank and Bethlehem. The Old City of Jerusalem is most interesting and historic. The streets are narrow, crowded with vendors selling everything imaginable. The Holy sites are hard to find, but rich in religious history. Only having a couple of days to explore and with the morning fog hampering vision, had to rush to see everything.
Jerusalem is a interesting city of course. Young people are all required to be in the military and all of them carry guns over their shoulder. This was a bit ominous at first, but not a problem at all. Public transportation is always packed with passengers. Tour buses are everywhere, and a mix of humanity from all over the world is ever present. The best site was from high in the bell tower of the church next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then the Church itself where Jesus was nailed to the cross is clearly the high-light. The Walling Wall, the Temple on the Rock are very interesting as well. Over looking the Old City from high above, finds satellite dishes on nearly every roof.
The food was great, a huge buffet in the Crown Plaza Hotel, with many dishes of middle eastern flair which I enjoyed both evenings while there.
Merchants were eager to sell their goods and would exchange US Dollars for Israeli Shekels back and forth. It is a long way from my home, nearly a 13 hour non-stop flight from New York and a 14 hour flight back to the US, plus flight time in the US. Very tired indeed upon returning home on March 5.
Israel is one of those places that you need to see, but maybe not high on the need to go back to list.
Jerusalem is a interesting city of course. Young people are all required to be in the military and all of them carry guns over their shoulder. This was a bit ominous at first, but not a problem at all. Public transportation is always packed with passengers. Tour buses are everywhere, and a mix of humanity from all over the world is ever present. The best site was from high in the bell tower of the church next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then the Church itself where Jesus was nailed to the cross is clearly the high-light. The Walling Wall, the Temple on the Rock are very interesting as well. Over looking the Old City from high above, finds satellite dishes on nearly every roof.
The food was great, a huge buffet in the Crown Plaza Hotel, with many dishes of middle eastern flair which I enjoyed both evenings while there.
Merchants were eager to sell their goods and would exchange US Dollars for Israeli Shekels back and forth. It is a long way from my home, nearly a 13 hour non-stop flight from New York and a 14 hour flight back to the US, plus flight time in the US. Very tired indeed upon returning home on March 5.
Israel is one of those places that you need to see, but maybe not high on the need to go back to list.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Prague
Prague last week was fabulous, one sunny day, one foggy day, one rain/fog. The old buildings are very special and beautiful. The Castle area is a true prize. The red tile roofs are very pretty from high view points. Old Town is a buzz day and night with the clock, the Tyn Church and the St. Nicholas Church. Food and beer are great and inexpensive. But watch out for the cab drivers and the way they charge. I got ripped off by a taxi driver giving me change, and not paying attention, got a 200 Hungarian note worth about $.93 USD when I thought I was getting a CZK Koruna!
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