Sat 13.Dec.2025
Rhodes GR
It's short-timer season. Tonight is Saturday, and I'm outta here (Rhodes) Tuesday.
Daily doings all fit into "What loose ends to tie up on which day".
This stage of anticipation can become obsessive, but I've done it enough by now to
keep cool. For one thing, I've learned not do the whole trip from Rhodes in one long
brutal push. Always give the long trans-Atlantic flight a day of its own. So Tuesday
will include Athens and Munich. Wednesday has only Munich to San Francisco. I still
won't arrive refreshed, but it won't feel like dying either.
The marginal cost of a hotel at MUC is money well-spent!
The first time I stopped in Munich, 15+ years ago, a blizzard trapped me there and cancelled my flight.
By the time I had re-booked, there were no accommodations to be had in or near Munich. The
airport had come up with a couple thousand cots, all of which were occupied. I paced away
the night, or sat in row seats. After dawn, a few cots freed up, and I slept there until
boarding time for my late afternoon flight.
This time I should be more comfortable, even if I look like a pig at a wedding in
the 4-star brand-name airport hotel. Macht nichts!
I keep forgetting to mention...
to me, on my 15" laptop computer, these pages
read most easily if I hit CTRL-+ twice to make the text and images a bit larger.
You may want to experiment for yourself. YMMV, as they say.
Rhodes comes to a halt when it rains. A pain in the butt, but the reward is fun
puddle pictures.
For those paying close attention, the white minaret with a single balcony
belongs to Ibrahim Pasha's Mosque. (Suleiman's Mosque's minaret has earth tones,
and two balconies.)
Three Towers:
An arch in the clock tower
St Francis' Catholic church tower
Medieval guard tower at the San Francisco Gate, named for St Francis' church.
That low winter sun may give less heat than I would prefer, but it brings very nice
light.
This "Traditional Coffee House" got a face-lift and a new name about two years ago.
I finally tried it this year. Lo and behold - it is a student hang out for the
nearby university! Feels wonderfully home-y! (My one gripe about my current home in
California - there is no college. When kids finish high school, they go to
work or go someplace else. A town without a college is like a soup without
spices.