Exploring the USA and Europe

I enjoyed visiting the magnificent St. Patrick's Cathedral during my recent trip to New York City. This iconic Roman Catholic church is in the heart of Manhattan.  Location and Surroundings St. Patrick's Cathedral is located where Fifth Avenue and 50th Street intersect. It is a majestic landmark amidst the modern skyscrapers surrounding it, including the towering glass buildings of the nearby business district. This contrast of old and new highlights the cathedral's historical and architectural significance in one of the world's busiest urban areas.      Just steps from the cathedral, visitors can find other famous landmarks, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the shops on Fifth Avenue.    The Rockefeller Center, with its iconic ice-skating rink and the towering Rockefeller Plaza, is directly opposite the cathedral, making it a convenient and central point for tourists exploring Midtown Manhattan. History and Community Effort In the mid-19th century, waves of I

We've been eagerly planning our first trip of the year to see the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. We've known where to go to see it best for a while, but we've been worried about the weather. We needed clear skies to see the total eclipse properly. We were well-prepared for this second eclipse event. We had planned where to go, how to get ready for the trip, what to look out for, and how to avoid heavy traffic afterward. The first eclipse we experienced was just a few years ago, on August 21, 2017, in Lincoln, Nebraska. The total eclipse lasted only 1 minute and 24 seconds, but it left us deeply impressed. Right then and there, we knew we wanted to experience another one. NASA published the path of the eclipse which continued from Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan would also e

Rediscovering (East) Germany - 2023 by Naimul Karim (originally posted on   naimul.net ) Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Thuringia, Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), 2023 Most journeys are a journey in space – where you go places. But sometimes it is also a journey in time. This is one of them. You cannot travel to East Germany (GDR) because it doesn’t exist anymore. But it lives in my memory. That’s where my German experience began. Even though I had lived many more years in (the former) West Germany and some more in unified Germany, East Germany remains special. Now I had to revisit and catch up with something I had failed to do during my 6 years there. And that is to appreciate the richness of its heritage in classical German culture and history. Christine too, wanted to catch up with her (childhood) friends. So, we went and did both. Along the way, we discovered something unexpected.  The best time to visit Germany is April-May - when flowers are in bloom, days are long, and temp