March
2015 – February 2010

Over
five years have passed since
our webpage was updated in February 2010. There seems to be some kind
of cycle
since it was about the same length of time for the previous update
going back
to February 2005. I’d like to say it is intentional but the truth
is it seems
to take me about that long to create the new pages for the countries we
have
visited, do the write-ups for our adventures and get it all uploaded to
the web
server.

At
lot can and did happen over the past
five years. Let me begin.

The
last update ended with Greg
working as a consultant for Diehl-Aircabin GmbH, a supplier of aircraft
interior components to Airbus, in Laupheim, Germany. Lana had just
taken a job
with another bio-tech firm, Icos, in
Canyon Park,
Bothell, WA. Ryan was looking for work after leaving his machine
programming
job in Poulsbo, WA, Justin was going to Lake Washington Technical
College,
Redmond, WA, Anna was attending the University of Western Washington,
Bellingham, WA and Stephanie was in Brazil with Mire trying to
establish a yoga
school in the village of Garopaba, Brazil.

Greg’s
work in Germany continued for
another two and a half years. During that time Lana was able to
transfer from
her work at Icos to a similar job with the
company’s
Danish office in Copenhagen. This brought her much closer to Greg and
provided
an interesting situation where we could meet on weekends instead of the
once
every three month mini-vacations that we had been having while Greg was
in
Europe. Copenhagen isn’t the worst place in Europe to live even
if the climate
is somewhat similar to Seattle. From there the weekend trips can take
you to
Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States. We took advantage is
this
positioning. Take a look at our webpages for the mentioned countries.

Anna
or Anya as she now prefers
transferred from Western Washington University to an extension of the
City
University of New York (CUNY) in Prague, Czech Republic where she
attended for
one year before returning to Seattle to complete her bachelor’s
degree at the
University of Washington, Bothell Extension.

Ryan
continued working as a
machinist programmer for various companies as a contractor. Justin
finished his
studies at Lake Washington Technical College and worked briefly for a
local
computer shop in Lynnwood. The Great Recession of 2008 soured the job
market
significantly. Both guys have found it difficult to get re-started in
their
vocations.

Stephanie
and Mire were married
February 2, 2011 in Brazil where they  bought
a house near the village of Garopaba and
are living now. Being so far away from the US
they decided to have to hold a reception the next year in Bellingham,
WA in
addition to the reception they had in Brazil. Christine Smith,
Stephanie’s Mom,
and her husband Richard Smith were able to attend the Brazilian wedding
and
reception.

Stephanie
has launched a career in
writing in addition to teaching yoga. Her venue is historical fiction.
Her
first novel is now in the hands of a publisher. She has created a
website that
evokes her interests in yoga and art.

http://soulverdeyogart.blogspot.com/

She
has also established her writers
website

http://www.stephaniereneedossantos.com/

where
you can review many articles
relating to her writing interests. Towards the bottom of her site you
will find
background information relating to the subject of her first novel, Cut
from the Earth
the great earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal November 1, 1755. I have read
some of
the preliminary text. Her style is rich with word images describing the
times
and characters that comprise the story she tells. I liken her work to
being
invited to a grand banquet where the fare is so rich that one is nearly
overwhelmed by the flavors and textures of the myriad dishes. The story
line is
almost submerged in the vast sea of descriptions of the colors and
textures of
the buildings, streets and characters she creates. She is able with
words to
paint the scenes that take one back to that fateful day when Lisbon was
all but
destroyed by the great quake.

Mire
is a fisherman by trade. He
usually fishes solo with a hand thrown net. When you look at our photos
from
the Brazil page, Florianopolis & Garopaba,
his
current and past boats are in some of the shots. He has several
brothers most
of whom also fish as does his father. Interestingly they choose to
compete
rather than work as a team. This says a lot about their characters.
Mire is if
anything an individualist, self-sufficient, proud and competent. He
knows the
sea and the creatures he gathers. He is a good businessman having the
combination of skills and instincts that make him successful in his
trade. We
are happy that he has joined our family.

My
father, Ralph Harold Mohler,
passed away on May 12, 2012 in Lufkin, Texas. His wife, Lorene, lived
on another
two years. He was 95. We gathered at their home in Texas for a memorial
service
later that year. He had been suffering from Alzheimer disease for
several years
prior. He is buried in the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery,
Pennsylvania next
to my mother, Harriett Ann Mohler (Overly) who passed away in 1982. My
father
and mother were capable and caring parents. They did the best they knew
how to
provide for their children. They weren’t perfect as you would
expect, but they
stayed together and their result was three boys who grew to manhood,
earned
good educations, married and continued the Mohler family tradition of
high
performance and reliability at home and work. Their sons, Ralph, Mark
and Scott
reflect the good values and high standards that their parents imbued.
We made
our parents proud. They helped us to become successful people.

Lana
and Greg continued to work in
Europe until the summer of 2012. For several reasons we decided it best
to
return to Seattle. Lana found a job with Seattle Genetics Bothell, WA.
She
departed Copenhagen in July. Greg followed in September finding a job
with B/E
Aerospace in Marysville, WA. It was back to the beginning after nearly
three
years working away from the Seattle area.

After
returning we re-focused our
lives on the new challenges of Greg’s health and Lana’s
career development.
Greg was diagnosed with sleep apnea. A sleep study confirmed the
condition. The
therapy involved being fitted with a dental appliance that keeps the
airway
open during sleep. He also had several other age and life style related
conditions including hypertension (high blood pressure) and elevated
cholesterol levels.

Lana’s
work experiences wherein she
spent many hours in laboratories performing cell culture assays was
creating
the interest to escape into a position where she could use the
knowledge she
gained from her education i.e. to become a scientist, one who designs
experiments rather than one who performs them.

Lana
also wanted to apply for her US
citizenship. In order to do that one needs to be able to attend
scheduled
interviews when invited. This was really difficult to do if in Europe
or other
off-shore location.

We
also needed to attend to issues
related to our house in Darrington, WA and our boat at the Port of
Everett, WA
marina. And last but not least we needed to reconnect with our family
and
friends.

Our
goals for the next few years are
to become financially secure with less income. This will allow us to
see work
more as something we like to do rather than must do. The key to success
is
paying off our home mortgage. We also hope that Lana will be able to
move up in
her work to a position that provides less stress and allows more
creativity. Towards
those ends we have made some progress by refinancing our home to a
lower
interest rate while also reducing the number of payments. And Lana
keeps an eye
on job opportunities that could offer solutions for her objectives. On
a more
personal level Lana and Greg have both developed better lifestyle
habits that
have helped trim our bodies of weight, lower stress, blood pressure and
cholesterol. We are focusing more on personal health than we ever did
previously.

By
2020 we hope have achieved these
goals and enjoy the benefits of a life time of
work and a
healthy lifestyle. We also hope our children and friends will fulfill
their
hopes and dreams, and we will do our best to promote their wellbeing.
As Greg
is known to quip, “We’re here for a good time, not for a
long time”. What say
you? What are you here for?

February 2010 – February 2005

Seems like the month of February is
somehow the time for updates although several Februaries have come and
gone since the last one, five to be exact. A lot of detail will be
missing given the long time between but here’s my best shot at the
highlights.

From Feb. 2005 to July 2005 Lana and I
continued to live in S. Germany while Greg pursued his aircraft
engineering work but with Lana out of work since 1999 and the end of
Greg’s project with Airbus in sight the decision was made to return to
the US in the summer of 2005. By August we had returned to the Seattle
area where Greg had negotiated a contract working on Boeing’s new
“Dreamliner” airplane. Greg departed a few weeks ahead of Lana to get
things setup there. One of Greg’s work colleagues wanted to move into
our German apartment so it made leaving much easier and cheaper to
sublet it. Moving in and out of a German apartment is only slightly
less complicated than buying a house in the US. The Germans expect a
three month notice and you are required to remove everything except the
walls and plumbing fixtures. Seriously, they expect you to remove the
kitchen counters, cabinets, appliances, light fixtures, drapes,
curtains and so forth. Obviously, Germans don’t move as often as
Americans.

Lana and I moved into an 2-story
apartment complex in Harbor Pointe near Mukilteo, WA. The place was a
year old and in quite nice condition. Even had a separate level for
Anna with her own bathroom. It included a two car garage and wood
burning fireplace which are out of the ordinary for an apartment in the
burbs. That is where we were to be for two years while Greg continued
his work as an aircraft engineering contractor. Lana picked up where
she had left off in 1999 by going to work for Amgen, a large
pharmaceutical company specializing in genetically engineered drugs.
Interestingly, she found several former colleagues working at there who
had worked for her former employer, Immunex, a company that had been
acquired by Amgen in the period when we were in Europe.

By the summer of 2006 we decided that
it was time to direct our rent payments into a permanent home. With our
incomes it seemed that there should be no problem finding a suitable
place even though housing prices were completely outrageous in the
Seattle area. Imagine paying half a million dollars for a 1500 square
foot house built when Herbert Hoover was president with only the
faintest elements of charm just because it was within walking distance
of a city park that has a dying lake in the middle. The housing bubble
was peaking but of course we could not have known but should have
suspected as the American dream unravels. On one sunny day in July
2006, Ryan and Justin and Lana and myself decided to raft the Sauk
river near Darrington, WA. The Sauk is a respectable Class III
whitewater river that emerges out of the Snoqualmie – Mt. Baker
National Forest near the town of Darrington, WA. Greg had kayaked this
river numerous times since the early 1980’s. On many trips he had
noticed a lovely house sitting at the river’s edge above a concrete
retaining wall. This house stood out because in general there are no
evidences of man along this wild and scenic waterway until you arrive
near the log mill in the town. On the return trip to fetch our cars we
noticed a home for sale sign near the national forest boundary. On a
hunch we turned off to take a look. Sure enough it was the house by the
side of the river with the retaining wall. Even in it’s somewhat
unkempt condition at the time the magic of the place could not go
unnoticed. Such homes are very rare even in out of the way places like
Darrington. Many who built too close to these mountain rivers saw them
taken away during floods. The Sauk has a reputation for moving around
in its valley like a snake. Just upstream there is the remains of a
cabin teetering on the river edge waiting for next big high water for
its trip downstream. Call it good fortune or perhaps a savvy builder,
the house we  bought and remodeled has weathered the floods and
never been inundated. We hired a surveyor who ran an elevation survey
that showed it to be two feet above the 500 year flood level. If
Glacier Peak, the nearest volcano 50 miles east whose streams provide
part of the water for the Sauk decides to erupt it might be a different
story. Living on the edge is something we have accepted.

It is a wood frame, tri-level home
typical of those built in the Pacific NW circa1960-70 but with
distinguishing features that set it apart from the tract homes of that
era. See photos on our website at this link:
Our House
. The wide tapering eves and extensive windows on the river side say
custom built and suggest a NW Indian long house heritage.  The
opposite side the house displays no special character but has the
natural surrounding of the forest. Old growth cedar stumps well over a
hundred years old, cut when the first loggers felled the virgin forest
now decorate the right half of the front yard. The stumps now serving
as nurse logs for new growth of Douglas fir, western red cedar and
hemlock lend a look of “frontier” to the landscaping. The left half of
the front yard is separated from the right by a wide gravel drive. On
the left an open meadow extends from the entrance road to the river’s
edge. Lana has supplemented the natural forest plants with grasses and
wild flowers.  The theme is natural and low maintenance with only
a small grass area on the far right side of the house that wraps around
to a small area on the river side. Only the planted areas near the main
entrance, the entrance garden, and the flower beds on the river side
require regular attention. All the planted areas are irrigated with
automatic micro sprinklers. On the left side between the meadow and the
house there are three long concrete pads put there in anticipation of
some additional features. Originally we thought about a greenhouse but
have since decided it would not survive the heavy winter snows. Instead
we may build an extension of the main structure and use the space for a
sauna and atrium/sun room. Nearer the river there is space for a hot
tub gazebo. It would have great views looking up and down the river.
Only time and money are needed. The dreams are already in place. The
builder had been generous with the space for most rooms but scrimped on
the interior furnishings such as kitchen cabinets that appeared to have
been site-built by the same guys who framed the walls i.e. functional
but crude. The bathrooms too were true to the era having pastel colored
fixtures that now seem garish. The main bathroom was done in violet
tiles with matching tub and toilet. A woman’s make-up counter with
built-in mirror and matching tile adorned one wall. Yet even with all
the outdated features the house retained a feeling of being something
special, one of a kind, an energy, a spirit taken from the natural
surroundings of the forest and river.

And so the remodel began in the Fall
of 2006.  The initial concept and budget was limited to
restoration of the kitchen, bathrooms and the living room. The living
room had a standard 8′ ceiling with built-in, flush mount lights which
may have seemed very chic in 1966. The living room has a wall to wall
red sand stone fireplace on one end that says built in the 1960s like
the exterior of so many homes in the burbs of Seattle. Not unpleasant
even today the fireplace is the focal point of the living room. But it
has serious competition from the large bay window looking out on the
river. The bay window keeps turning the head towards the river and the
wilderness on the far bank. You find yourself looking across the river
perhaps to see a deer or bear coming down for a drink. We have seen
both but more often you are rewarded with a glimpse of a bald eagle
soaring along the river or perching high in one of the snags that line
the opposite bank.

Over the 40 previous years past owners
added their own features such as the semi-circular entry stairs made
from concrete and attached to the original straight concrete stairs
leading up to the old main entry door. No bother had been made to
remove the old stairs. The addition was built next to the old ones. The
original main door still functioned but appeared to have been ignored
in favor the newer door that opened directly into the middle of the
living room. Someone seemed to have tried to make the house look like a
mobile home. What a retro concept! There were four more outside doors,
one into the utility room, one into the garage and two more on the
river side. So in all there were six outside doors on this 2000 square
foot home. The utility room was nearly as large as the kitchen and had
its own bathroom. Someone must have planned on spending a lot of their
time there. The water heater had been installed in the utility room
like a tree in the middle of the driveway and of course it was leaking
and needed replacement. But it was difficult to tell what was leaking
more as the roof vents were also leaking into the attic and down into
the kitchen walls. The kitchen had three entrances plus the stairway
leading to the top floor so was obviously the main cross roads on the
ground floor. It was quite a challenge to decide how to rearrange the
floor plan such that it made sense. Lana came up with the
solution.  It provided for closing all but one door on the street
side of the house, reducing the size of the utility room to a minimum
while creating an entry hallway into the living room plus opening
access to the ground floor bathroom to the bedroom, kitchen and living
room. The schizophrenic concrete stairs were removed and replaced with
ones that looked like what originally were in place but also
incorporated a wrap around stoop that formed the back wall of a
terraced entrance garden. At the same time the concrete stairs were
removed and replaced we built a wide pathway from the entrance garden
around the right side to the back patio. The walkway is curbed and
covered with paver stones of alternating colors.

On the river side we faced challenges
both decorative and structural. The original concrete terrace looked
like it had been through an earthquake such that the large pads were up
and down in random fashion. At some point someone had decided to make a
giant backgammon board out of the concrete pads by inserting elongated
red triangles in a regular pattern. But they must have run out of color
or money as the board was only half completed. Ridding the property of
large amounts of reinforced concrete consumed a considerable amount of
time and money. Along the river bank there is a vertical concrete block
wall about 30 feet high and 130 feet long. Along the top of the wall is
a black wrought iron fence. The retaining wall is in most parts still
in good condition with the exception of about 20 feet along the terrace
area where the concrete pads had become uneven. The ground had not
properly prepared as we found large, live tree roots that were
responsible for heaving the concrete slabs. When fixing the concrete
terrace we dug down about 20 feet and filled the entire volume with
reinforced concrete and tied it to the retaining wall so as to support
the wall against further deterioration then back filled with sand which
we compacted in preparation for the surface finish.. In place of the
concrete we used paver stones with an alternating geometric
pattern/color.  The new concrete borders for the patio were
integrated  into the existing concrete stairs and flower boxes
which were still in good condition. The overall effect combines a the
best of the old with the new. The black wrought iron fence has been
repainted and looks really stunning. It was one of the features that
was done well and is still in excellent condition after all these years.

As you can tell if you have had the
persistence to read this far that this is a labor of love, a project
that expresses our tastes and personal essence. While this home will
likely never be included on the national register of famous structures
it will be always be a famous place in our hearts and minds. Here we
met the challenge and succeeded. Here we made our statement of good
taste and grace. One cannot now build a home like this along this wild
river. Some may say that is a good thing and some may disagree. To
combine our lives with nature in a non-invasive fashion is the goal. We
must live and so must all other creatures who are living nearby. We
have endeavored to construct, to remodel, to reinvigorate this special
house such that generations from now it will continue to provide
shelter and comfort for our progeny and if not ours someone else’s. A
house is meant to have life inside. It is a place where life is
created, lived and finally ends. For Lana and I this house is the place
that focuses our creativity and commitment. We hope that this house
will inspire our children and all those who come to visit us.

During this five year period the kids
did what kids do…. grow up. Thankfully. Ryan and Justin are now
living apart pursuing their own goals. Ryan has an interesting job as a
machine tool programmer in Poulsbo, WA. His company makes medical
prosthesis devices. Justin is nearing completion of a AA degree in
Computer Technology at the Lake Washington Technical College. Anna
returned from Russia in 2005 starting high school in Mukilteo, WA at
Kamiak high school where she was able to skip two grades based on her
skills obtained from Russian schooling and of course her cleverness at
her studies. She attend two years of college at Western Washington
University and is now studying at the Empire State University extension
in Prague. Stephanie continued working with her man friend, Geth Noble,
on designing and building skate parks for part of the time but has
since moved on to living in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande
do Sul. She currently has a man friend there who is a commercial
fisherman. She is trying to start a business as a yoga teacher.

Until July 2009 Lana had been working
in the quality control laboratory for Amgen at their Canyon Park
facility in Bothell, WA until this facility was closed. She has been
looking for new work in the Seattle area since. Greg has been working
at various aircraft engineering jobs including the Boeing  B747-8
program and 787 Dreamliner both in Everett, WA. He also worked a
contract at the Hexcel Corp. in Kent, WA where he performed stress
analysis for one of the Boeing suppliers and worked on an experimental
materials program. He also spent some months at B/E Aerospace Corp.,
Marysville, on a passenger to freighter aircraft conversion for China
Southern Airways. For a brief period he worked in Savannah, GA for
GulfStream aircraft. He is currently working for his own limited
liability company, Global Resource Services, on Airbus related
contracts in southern Germany.

Now comes the story of our boat, the
“Risky Business”.

Lana and Greg needed a place to live
after giving up the apartment in Mukilteo. Darrington is a bit far to
drive each day for work in the Bothell and Everett areas. Since we had
all the real estate we could manage we decided to buy a live aboard
boat moored in the Port of Everett marina that Lana found advertised
online. She’s a 45′ motor yacht built in 1978 by Blue Water yachts out
of somewhere in MN. See photos of our boat on our webpage at:
Risky
Business. She has two double berths, two heads, galley, dining
area, lounge, covered after deck, large fly deck and fly bridge. At
purchase the boat was in good overall condition for her age but needed
the usual updating of electronics and other items. As a live aboard
she’s well located along the marina main channel with views of the
Olympic mountains to the west. The first few months we were aboard were
learning times for us as we had not had a boat before. Boats especially
ones of this size are full of systems that need to be understood unlike
the usual situations in apartments. In a simple comparison, boats are
like little space ships where everything has its purpose and needs to
function properly for comfortable living. And of course the more
complicated a machine the more likely it is to malfunction. Since boats
are frequently tied to the dock they have a shore side electrical and
water system that works more or less like the ones at your house. But
when away from the dock they have a low voltage system that comes into
action and a water system that has its own pump. Even the toilets are a
bit more complex than the ones at home. And the days of flushing
overboard are long gone. Now all such waste is sent to a storage tank
that must be pumped at a proper sanitation station. Learning all these
systems and trying to stay warm was quite an experience the first
winter. But the most challenging part of all for Greg was learning how
to pilot this large craft. He had lots of experience rowing rafts on
whitewater rivers but rafts and big motor boats have lots of
differences. It’s not often that one has a concern about the effect of
the wind on your course on the river, but with a big boat not only is
the current to be reckoned with but the wind too especially when in
close quarters to the dock and other craft. Needless to say there were
several moments of terror learning the maneuver at the fuel dock.
Fortunately, Ryan and Justin were able to provide lots of assistance.
Both had grown up with boats owned by their late grandfather, Ken
Meier. Ken knew boats and taught his grandsons quite a lot. Both guys
are also skilled crabbers and fishermen.

The past five years have been
challenging and rewarding  for our family. Each one of us has
faced situations that required learning and adapting. All have met
these challenges and achieved success. When we started five years ago
we were still living in apartments. Anna was in high school. Since 2005
she has graduated from high school and completed nearly three years of
university with top grades. Ryan graduated from college and was working
as a machinist in Everett, WA. He has now found a really interesting
and rewarding position with a high tech company where he is their
machine programmer. Justin decided to pursue a career in computer
science and return to college. He will graduate in June 2010 with a
degree in computer technology. The future looks bright for Justin.
Stephanie realized that her work and life with Geth was at a turning
point. She has now steered a new course for a future with her new man
in Brazil and with her new business endeavor teaching yoga. Greg’s
challenges related more to keeping the flow of funds coming so that we
all pursue our goals. Lana returned to work after several years away in
Europe with Greg. She proved herself  in her new company, Amgen,
and became a respected member of their quality control team.

All of us have moved forward with our
lives yet we continue to be connected and involved with each other.
“All for one, one for all, no one left behind”.

Breaking News-

Lana has accepted a contract job offer
with Icos Corp. a biotech company located in Bothell, WA not far from
the former location of Amgen, the company that closed it operations
resulting in her out of work situation.

Ryan apparently has left his job as a
machine programmer in Poulsbo, WA. Not sure about the details.

September
2004 – February 2005
 
It’s time
again to update as we have
two more countries to add and some interesting sagas too.

We are still
in southern Germany near
the city of Ulm where Greg is still working for Airbus on the A380
aircraft interior.
Since the
last update to our web site
we have traveled to the US, Mexico and Asia.  It has been a
busy time both at work and at play.  In late October 2004 we
departed Germany on a two week trip to our timeshare condominium
located at Cabo San Lucas, the southern most point of Baja California,
Mexico and to Greg’s father and his wife, Lorene’s, new home near
Lufkin, Texas.
Stephanie,
Ryan, Justin and
Stephanie’s boyfriend, Geth Nobel, joined us at the Cabo airport after
flying in from their homes in the Pacific NW.  This was our
first visit to our new timeshare so there was a bit of anticipation on
what we had actually purchased three years ago.  We had only
seen a partially completed sales model when we decided to buy
it.  The finished version was even better than what we
remembered i.e. an attractively furnished six person unit with a
spectacular view of the Pacific ocean.  Being perhaps the
first to occupy it, the smell of new furniture and fresh paint
added to the delight of seeing for the first time what we had
anticipate for so long.  The Mexicans have a talent and a lot
of experience with ceramic tiles and our apartment is a testimony to
their artful selection of colors, textures and professional
installation.  The photos we have on the web page show the
results.
During our
week in Cabo we managed
sunbathing, scuba diving, desert rides on four wheel vehicles, a
mountain driving tour with visits to local villages, parasailing, beach
walking, swimming, surfing, fine dinning and lots of good conversation
around our own dinner table.  By week’s end we felt we had
experienced some of the best this area has to offer, and were even
discussing what we would do when we returned again in a couple years.
Immediately
upon our return to Germany
we began preparations for Thanksgiving.  Having agreed to be
the host for the local English speakers group turkey dinner we plunged
into the details of cooking pumpkin pies and baking a large bird in our
small European oven.  Having purchased the needed items for
the pies in the US we were spared the task of finding canned pumpkin in
the stores here.  For some unknown reason canned pumpkin is
hard to come by even though one can find pumpkins in the local food
stores.  Turkeys are also available but not in the large size
needed to feed that group (18).  Fortunately, one of the
members has a connection with a local farmer who raises the birds and
could provide a 16 pounder.  Getting it stuffed and into the
oven was a challenge, but we managed.  Most of the other items
for the meal were furnished by the members.  A potluck is the
only way to go with this many folks and it brings in a lot of tasty
dishes.  Variety is the spice.

On to our Christmas trip….

Lana found a
really good deal tour of
Beijing and Istanbul combined earlier in the year, and we had booked it
months in advance.  For reasons unknown, German travel
agencies have very inexpensive, high quality tour deals.  So
we took advantage of this one.  Both of these places were new
for us and fairly exotic.  Neither is located in a Christian
country and that explains why the air travel and hotel accommodations
were inexpensive.  Few Chinese and Turks are returning home
for the Christmas holidays.  Since we provide a trip story
with our photos, I will not repeat it again here.  If you are
interested in either of these places and our adventures there please
check out the links provided below:

http://greg-lana.com/China/China.htm

http://greg-lana.com/Turkey/Turkey.htm

Our return
from Istanbul coincided
with the arrival of Lana’s kids on December 27.  We had just
enough time (2 hours) after our arrival in Stuttgart, Germany to drive
to the Frankfurt airport to pick up Anna and George.  It all
worked out, but made one Russian grandma nervous.  A couple
days later we were off to the Haute Savoy, French Alps, for week of
skiing or rock dodging would be a better description.  I took
my new skis but ended up renting for the week due to the thin snow
cover.  Our mountain chalet provided a comfortable respite in
the evenings after sunny days on the slopes.  George took
snowboard lessons and by week’s end was cruising like a hardcore
ripper.  Lana and Ann decided to take advantage of the winter
sun… got some ultraviolet energy while lounging in the deck chairs on
the patios of the slope-side lodges.  We even managed one
evening at one of the local French restaurants and one only after
running up quite a bill, but oh so good! It was all home cooking after
that. Later in the week some friends from Germany joined us. We partied
with them and enjoyed the sun, snow and beautiful views of the
mountains.  And then it was a long day’s drive home and back
to work.

April-September
2004

It’s been quite some time since we
have updated our web page.  Last time was over a year
ago.  Since then Greg has changed jobs AGAIN!, and we have
moved AGAIN!

We are back in southern Germany near
the city of Ulm.  Greg is working as a semi-independent
aircraft engineering development consultant for an Airbus company
building aircraft interiors.  The region has been called
Schwabia from medieval times, but officially the name of the German
state is Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Ulm is city of modest size having a
population of around 115,000.  Like most German cities it can
claim a history of nearly one millennium.  The foremost
landmark is the Ulm cathedral, the Ulmer Muenster, on which
construction began in 1377 and finished in 1890. It has the tallest
church spire in the world at 161.5 meters (530.3 feet).  Once
a Catholic cathedral it has been a Lutheran church since 1529. The
following link provides more information of interest:

http://www.greatestcities.com/Europe/Germany/Baden-Wurttemberg/Ulm_city.html

The work in Italy ran out last
October, and coincidentally we were looking for other opportunities in
Europe or the US.  Just two weeks after finishing at Aermacchi
Greg was offered a special opportunity to do some work for a Dutch firm
on a very short schedule.  The job lasted only until Christmas
but filled the time and the bank account nicely before the holidays.

Over the summer of 2003
Lana’s kids, Ann and George, arrived for their vacation visit. They
really were anticipating the time in Italy as they had come the
previous summer and made friends with one of the formerly Russian
families now immigrated to Italy living nearby. They were introduced to
some late night discotheque adventures by the daughter of this family,
Cassina, who is a few years older and speaks Italian as well as
Russian. She introduced them to her friends and the disco
scene.  Soon Lana was taking her kids to the nearest teen
fashion stores to buy the needed duds.  George got a new belt
and some cool shoes while Ann got some racy skirts and tops Italiano
style.  They also managed to make three trips to Gardaland, a
Italian knockoff of Disneyland located at the south end of Lake Garda,
the largest lake in Italy.  Some of the photos on the Kids
page show the results. See them on: KIDS

In late September after the kids
returned to Russia, Greg and Lana managed a holiday visit to the
islands of Corsica (French) and Sardinia (Italian). We stayed in a
first Club Med resort named Cargese on the west coast of Corsica not
far from
Ajaccio.  Club Med
resorts usually
provide a complete package including half or full board and many
indoor/outdoor activities.  We enjoyed the self serve French
cuisine in the large restaurant next to the beautiful sandy
beach.  Imagine being hungry and walking into a restaurant
full of French delicacies all for the taking including good table wine
and beer.  Although we do not speak French we still managed to
meet some folks at the dinner tables which seat about six. 
Everyone shared their table and folks became friendly
quickly.  Greg went scuba diving in the beautiful blue
Mediterranean while Lana took advantage of the nearly perfect
opportunity to soak up the rays on the beach. We also managed several
car trips around Corsica.  One day we went to
Ajaccio, the birthplace of
Napoleon
Bonaparte.  He is still the favorite son of that town and they
have built him quite an impressive memorial.  We visited his
boyhood home which is now a museum.  Check out more about this
famous figure of history at:
http://www.napoleonbonaparte.nl/
On another trip we drove north from Cargese to Calvi, a well known
yacht harbor on Corsica’s west coast.  Here we were able to
tour the ancient fortress that once provided protection against pirates
and walk along the marina where we enjoyed the ambience of the seaside
cafes and beautiful yachts.  See our photos of Corsica on our
France page: FRANCE

Sardinia which belongs to Italy is a
half hour ferry ride from Corsica’s southern most city of Bonifacio.
Not the mountainous place that is Corsica, driving in Sardinia is
considerably easier and faster.  We covered distances here at
twice the pace.  We were only able to explore the northern
half in the two days we allotted, but that was enough to give us the
flavor of this Italian holiday destination.  Sardinia’s
economy appears to be healthy and not dependant on tourism. 
Much of the island is farmland.  Viniculture dominates, but we
also noticed vegetables and livestock are abundant.  Sardinian
wines can be excellent. No wine tasting was offered at the winery where
we stopped which we thought strange.  Perhaps the Italians
have learned that once folks have had a couple sips they tend to hang
around for more.  Whatever the reason we decided to take a
chance that any of the wines we bought would be good so bought a couple
boxes to take home.  We were not disappointed.

Over Christmas we flew back to the US
to visit Greg’s brothers and their families. Ryan and Justin joined us
in Washington D.C.  While spending the week visiting both in
D.C. and Cincinnati, Lana was able to meet both of Greg’s brothers and
their families for the first time. The following week Greg, Lana and
the boys flew up to Boston where we rented a car to drive to a time
share resort in Rockland, Maine.  While in Rockland we spent
most of our time looking for skiing opportunities.  We managed
to ski several resorts in Maine and New Hampshire, even driving as far
as Breton Woods, NH, the site of the famous 1947 World Monetary
Conference where most of the post WWII nations met to establish the
World Bank, International Monetary Fund and set the US Dollar as the
world currency standard.  We were kind of short on funds that
evening so we opted for a $25 hotel cheapie near the ski
area.  The next day we skied Breton Woods and paid the highest
price for lift tickets that we have paid anywhere in the world at $60
per person.

In April we finally managed to take
our Greek Island cruise after nearly a year of planning and arranging.
The details of our waterborne adventure can be found in the Greece link
under Greece_Our_Story.  Check out the many photos and music.

Not more than a couple weeks after
returning from Greece we took advantage of an unexpected four day
weekend to fly to Stockholm.  Read about our impulsive Swedish
travel adventure and listen to authentic traditional music on the
Sweden link.
Sweden

Over Memorial Day weekend
Ryan and Justin along with a couple of buddies rafted the Rogue River
in southern Oregon.  They had good weather, always a plus on
river trips.  The water level was a nice medium
flow.  The Rogue is a pristine wilderness river that flows
west our of the Oregon Cascade mountains into the Pacific Ocean at Gold
Beach, OR.  The run is about 25 miles through a volcanic rock
canyon that twists through the coast mountains. The challenges include
a Class V waterfall, Rainy Falls, which is usually bypassed down a side
channel, three Class IV drops including Blossom Bar, which is listed in
the American Whitewater Register of most challenging drops in the West
and numerous Class III and II drops.  The scenery along the
river is equally impressive. As the river winds its way to the ocean it
passes through unspoiled forests and meadows.  Along the banks
one can still visit the sites of pioneer dwellings including a cabin
built by the famous author of outdoor books, Zane Gray, and a ranch
that dates back to early settlements of the American West that is now
become a museum and placed on the National Register of Historic
Places.  You can check the following site for additional
information on this jewel of American rivers:
The
Rogue River Recreation & History Southern Oregon – Rogue Web 
Check out R&J’s photos on our web page at:
Rogue
Photos

June is the month for weddings and
graduations.  Ryan’s graduation from Lake Washington Technical
College on June 19 included a solemn and impressive ceremony followed
by post graduation celebrations attended by many family and friends.
Having achieved excellence in his formal education, all of us wish Ryan
the utmost success and happiness in whatever field of endeavor he may
choose.

The summer in Germany was a bit of a
disappointment from the weather standpoint.  Cold and wet
until mid July, it was a mirror image of the previous summer. 
But eventually the clouds blew away and we had some of the brilliant
blue skies that appear in many German baroque paintings. 
Lana’s kids arrived late this year.  We had multiple struggles
with renewing passports, mail delivery problems in Russia and residency
visa red tape to handle.  It was already August before they
arrived.  Once here though they settled in and had a lot of
fun and adventures.  George, 15, who is now well over 6′ liked
the local workout guy where he spent afternoons building a beautiful
physique.  Anna, 14, who also grew several inches over the
past year is now quite an attractive young lady.  Slender and
toned, she spent many hours with Lana in the local clothing shops
picking up on the good deals.  Both like our weekend trips to
places like Europa Park, a Disneyland, knockoff a few hours drive from
our home.  During the evening when they weren’t watching DVD
movies they spent hours Playing Warcraft on our PC.  They
returned to Russia to begin another school year in early
September.  Both indicated that they would like to come back
here to attend school.  We are working on that possibility.

May
2002

NEW JOB JUST IN! Greg was offered a
new
position with aircraft component manufacturer Aeramachi in
Varese, Italy. Work is to start on May 13. That just gives us
time to close down our place in Munich, take a week to ten days
vacation in Greece and get on to the job. The work in Italy will
put us in a great location to check out the many other places we
have yet to visit. Varese is north of Milan, situated between
lakes Como and Maggiorc and just a short distance from the Swiss
border at Logano.

Greg’s work is part of the design effort for the Airbus A-380
super jumbo aircraft which will be the largest commercial
aircraft even larger than Boeing 747. The A-380 program has just
gotten started so it could be a long stint depending on the
completion schedule for his part of the job.

The relocation should be much easier than the move from Spain to
Germany. The distance is much less and the work permits and other
administrative items are already in hand. Apartment hunting
should be a little easier in Varese as compared to Munich. A
recent visit to Italy over the Easter holidays gave us a preview
of what to expect for prices of things like food and clothes. We
found that most of the everyday items are no more expensive there
than here, maybe even less and definitely cheaper than Spain.

What we will find about getting along with the Italians and the
new boss is anyone’s guess, but that’s part of the adventure and
challenge. We have certainly enjoyed out time here in Munich, but
look forward to new territory to explore in Italy and the other
conveniently located areas nearby including: Greece, Sardinia,
Sicily, Corsica, Elba, the Dolomites, Italian Tirol, the Italian
region of Switzerland and the southern coast of France. We may
even venture into some of the Balkan countries if the situation
seems safe.

December
2002

Six months have past. We are still in
Italy, Greg is still working for Aermacchi, Lana is managing the
home front, Ann is still in Siberia. Ryan, Justin and Stephanie
have been over for a visit, and there is a new family member,
Aermacchi, a homeless cat. Lana’s kids came for the summer. All
things considered life is good and we are happy. No way to know
how long the job will last, but it seems like another year is
fairly certain.

Italy has turned out to be the best
place
in Europe so far. The Italians are friendly, accepting of
foreigners, easy going, and good humored. Driving can be a
challenge at times, but once you learn the Italian rules of road
etiquette you begin to relax. Unlike the US, no one stops at stop
signs unless there is a good reason. Most drivers obey the
lights, but a light really must be red before you stop. Passing
is never illegal as long as you and the other drivers survive.
There are very few enforced speed limits. Common sense is the
rule. Yield to the right is the rule but there are many
exceptions. Don’t worry about passing a police car. He’s likely
going the speed limit which is not enforced. Beware of motor
scooters. They are everywhere in the cities and will think
nothing of passing on the right, left or over the top if they
can. They expect you to follow the rules, but don’t expect them
to do the same. Bicycles are also abundant, especially in good
weather. They always have the right of way. There is no way you
can hit them and not be at fault. So just relax behind the wheel
and let them whiz by. You’ll get your turn to pass them when you
get to the autostrada (expressway). The autostradas were built to
allow Italians to get where they are going as fast as possible.
Once you have stopped to pay your toll you have purchased a right
to drive your car as fast as it will go, literally. If your car
is a fast one that could mean 150 mph as long as the left lane is
clear. Slower cars must yield to the faster ones. Don’t travel in
the left lane unless you are passing everything and doing it
quickly. Campers and trucks are usually not even permitted to
enter the left lane. We find driving in the middle lane to be the
most comfortable because you can cruise between 90 and 100 mph
which is just about as fast as our ’93 Subaru wagon will go.

Day to day living here fairly easy.
Most
food stores are open six days a week and the big supermarkets are
open seven. Availability and choice of products isn’t up to US
standards but still good by European standards. Prices are higher
than most US cities, but not out of sight. The cost of labor
intensive services is much less than the US. Body work on cars is
less than half of what you would pay at home. Bet you would like
to know why I know that; Doctors and dentists here are not
expensive. Their rates seem much less than in the US. Drugs are
significantly less. Gasoline is about $4 a gallon. Apartment
rents are about the same, maybe a bit less than Seattle, but
Seattle is high compared to many other US cities. Public
transportation works here and is relatively inexpensive. You can
get around by bus or train to almost any location.

In June Lana’s kids arrived from
Siberia.
They stayed until the middle of August and we did our best to
save them from the summer vacation blues. Lana took them to Rome
and Florence on an overnight train. Being from Russia they are
quite accustomed to train travel so didn’t mind too much the
little inconveniences of that mode of travel. Besides, they are
12 and 13 so could probably sleep on a sail boat during a storm.
We’re not sure if they actually will remember all they saw, but
just telling your buds that you’ve visited Rome will impress
them, maybe. Besides, it gives more meaning to those gladiator
movies when you have seen the Coliseum. Later we drove to Venice
for a day on the canals and little streets of that interesting
place. While we walked over to St. Marks plaza we noticed a
couple groups of Russian tourists. All over Europe Russians are
appearing in noticeable numbers which has to be a good thing for
all concerned. One of the highlights of the summer was our trip
through the Mont Blanc tunnel (about 6 miles long) to Chamonix, a
world famous ski area in the French alps. We camped near town and
had a good time seeing the impressive glaciers, tasting the local
French cuisine and going to a climbing park where Ann and George
took the challenge of learning how to safely perform Tyrolean
traverses using climbing harnesses, carabineers, and pulleys.
From the ground we watched as they glided from tree to tree on
steel cables 30 to 50 feet above our heads. Of course they were
taught how to do this safely by the real mountain climbers who
operate the park. There’s nothing like this in Disneyland. During
the final two weeks of their stay we drove over to Paris to meet
Lana’s sister and her husband who were out of Russia visiting the
City of Light. We made our way back toward Germany via Luxemburg
and the Netherlands stopping to see the Waterloo battlefield
monument, museum, and the cities of Luxemburg and Amsterdam. Our
destination in Germany was Frankfurt where the kids were catching
their flight back home to Siberia. On the way we also stopped in
Kassel, Germany where Greg lived with his folks in 1957-58 while
his dad served with the US Army. The American military presence
is now gone, but the city still looks much the same, a bit of
deja vu for Greg.

With Lana’s kids safely on
their way
home we prepared for the next arrivals. One of Greg’s goals while
in Europe was to have his kids come for a visit. That became a
reality in September with the arrival of Ryan and Justin. This
event had been planned for the previous summer, but the job
change to Germany interfered. The boys arrived mid month and
after catching up on lost sleep from the flight set off to Rome
by overnight train with Lana as their guide. Greg had to finish
up his work week so the three travelers took advantage of the
time to begin the tour of Italy. In Rome they took a city bus
tour which visited many of the famous sites including the Roman
Forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navorna, Santa Maria d.
Angeli and the Vatican including a tour inside St. Peter’s
Cathedral. Later they visted the Coliseum but were unable to take
the inside tour due to long lines. On the way back to the hotel
Ryan decided he wanted to walk ahead and managed to get separated
from Lana and Justin. Just when he seemed lost he appeared at the
hotel.

On the way back to Milan they stopped
in
Florence. The train comes into the middle of the city which is
quite convenient. From there they were only a short distance from
many of the famous buildings and art works. They managed to visit
the Gallery of the Academy which houses Michelangelo’s David,
rested and did some girl watching outside the Pitti Palace,
strolled across the Ponte Vecchio, to the Piazza Della Signoria
where there are a number of large, impressive statues some dating
back to the 12th century. The line of folks waiting outside of
the Uffizi Gallery discouraged a visit, but just nearby is the
Baptisry, a hexagonal building and one of the oldest in Florence
dating to the 5th century. One each side of the building are
carved doors depicting scenes from Christian history. The ride
from Florence to Milan was aboard one of the fast trains
traveling at 120 mph+.

That weekend we set off on our
European
driving tour. Our fist stop was Venice, but unfortunately the
weather was rainy and cool. Venice which can be so nice was a bit
chilly and wet. Even so we all had a great evening walking around
St. Mark’s plaza listening to an orchestra playing classical
music on an outside terrace while visiting the Palace of the
Doges. We capped the evening with a tasty dinner near the Rialto
Bridge and a short ride back to our car on board one of the
vaporettos (a boat which serves as a bus).

After an uneventful transit over the
Alps
through western Austria we arrived in Munich just in time to
begin the Oktober Fest. For the celebration the Germans brew a
special beer which is a little more potent than the standard
formula which is about twice as strong as the average US brews.
So after a couple “Masts” (one liter mugs) of the good
stuff everyone was feeling quite mellow. We spent several hours
in Munich’s Hofbrau Haus which dates back to the 1300’s. It was
the place where Adolf Hitler gave some of his most notorious
speeches and was the rallying point for the beginning of the
first abortive putsch. On the Hofbrau Haus vaulted ceiling are
paintings which date back to the pre WWII period. It is said that
if you look closely you can still see the large swastika painted
on the roof by the Nazis. We looked a lot but could never find
it. Maybe we just hadn’t had enough beer. The bottom of a beer
stein wasn’t the only thing viewed here. We walked through the
hear of medieval Munich looking at the famous gates to the city
which are remnants of the old wall, the old Rathaus (city hall),
the twin steeples of the Frauen Kirche, Old St. Peter’s Church,
and the Victualien Markt, Munich’s equivalent to the Pike St.
Market in Seattle.

Leaving Munich we headed for the
French
Mediterranean coast via Switzerland. As the boys will attest,
spending all day riding in a car with a hangover is one of life’s
low points. It rained all day so we missed any mountain views
that might have been available in Switzerland arriving on the
coast the next day. We started our drive along the coast at St.
Trope viewing the spectacular sights of azure blue water,
beautiful sandy beaches, shear rock cliffs and quaint seaside
villages. Our route took us through St. Raphael, Cannes, Nice,
Monte Carlo and back into Italy. We stopped several times for
snacks and a good seafood lunch. We just skimmed the surface on
our drive. There is so much to see and do. A whole summer could
be dedicated to exploring this beautiful coast.

We arrived back home in Varese with a
couple days to spare before Ryan and Justin were to return to
Seattle. The time was spent seeing some of the sights along
beautiful lake Maggiore which is only a few miles from our
apartment. Greg was back to work, but Lana and the boys visited
one of the local points of interest near our place. Sacro Monte
is a village located high above Varese on one of the foot hill
ridges of the Italian Alps. Only a couple miles from our place it
provides a spectacular view south to Varese and Milan on a clear
day. The village is the site of the famous church from which it
gets its name. In the 16th Century a pilgrim’s road was
constructed from below the village to the church. About one mile
in length it climbs up through the forested ridge from the north
edge of Varese. Along the route are thirteen chapels each
signifying one of the beads on the Rosary. At each chapel are
scenes from biblical events. Even if your trip has no religious
intent it still makes a lovely way to spend a few hours walking
to the top. Once there the sights are great and so is the food at
the local restaurants. On their trip the boys and Lana had
another companion, Oxana, a Russian woman about the same age as
the boys who now lives in Italy and has become one of Lana’s
friends.

Our final excursion involved at little
ferry ride on lake Maggiore from the town of Laveno to Isla
Bella, one of the Boromean Islands. These islands were the
property of the Boromeo family whose patriarch was the Viceroy of
Naples three hundred years ago. The small islands included a
royal palace, a country home in the midst of a botanical garden
and an island which is now inhabited by local fishermen and their
families. On that day we visited Isla Bella, the site of the
palace and formal garden. Again the weather was cranky and we
arrived a bit late, but still managed to salvage a nice trip and
take some good shots of the past splendor in which this important
family lived. The palace and the garden were meant to impress,
and it no doubt accomplished that purpose.