Day 43 - 47 To Columbus, Louisville and Saint Louis

-
Tuesday Corinne took me to the bus station and off I went to Columbus, Ohio. Columbus was just a stop so I did not have to sit on the bus for too long or arrive too late. I did not see much of Columbus but the bit I saw, I did not like very much....

Wednesday I carried on to Louisville, Kentucky (pronounce Loo-e-ville). It's on the Ohio river and I really liked what I saw. Actually wished I could stay a day but that was not how the plan worked and on it went to Saint Louis, Missourie.


St Louis is on the Mississippi, with half the city in Missouri and the other half in Illinois. It's a pretty city and has the most amazing arch, the Gateway Arch. It is the symbol of St Louis and was built in 1965 as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States.



Close to the arch, on the banks of the Mississippi there is a monument of Lewis and Clark, who led an expedition from this area to the Pacific coast.
Lewis and Clark

Went up that arch. Was quite the experience... Lots of queueing as the summer school holidays have started! As it is an arch and not a straight tower, the "elevator" is actually more of a cable car with several pods. Each pod takes only 6 people and believe me you get very cosy with your fellow travellers in those pods! The arch is …. m high and can move up to 16 inches in strong winds. I am sure I felt it moving while up there. Probably just my imagination but still scary. Sadly the windows up there are quite dirty, so the photos are not that clear.

 The old court building from the Gateway Arch
From the arch

Park by the river

Part of one of the bridges over the Mississippi. Vehicles go over the top and trains where the arches are.

Along the Mississippi

The old court building

Me walking with a statue of a female lawyer

Went to an Italian restaurant and had the most amazing pulled pork or as it was called on the menu: "Pulled pork made from smoked pork butt". Boy did it give me heartburn!!

Went to the zoo today. Saw several animals I have not seen before but seeing the sad look on some of those large animals made me feel pretty sad myself. Several of them were doing that thing where they pace or walk in circles. Especially the rhino was a sad sight. These are animals that should be roaming freely on the plains of Africa...

The butterfly enclosure was pretty nice.

One of the more interesting insects






There were two of these, walking in a circle, over and over...



A swamp hog


This poor Rhino was doing the pacing-thing...

At least I saw a bear at last.






This photo is for Riaan

View from my room - The Mississippi with Missouri on this side and Illinoi on the other side.


Tomorrow, Sunday, it is on to Memphis, Tennessee.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DAY176 - 178 Arriving in Namibia - Windhoek

-
Image
On Monday I left Fuessen by train, to Frankfurt (2 degrees C). Tuesday I was going to leave my luggage at the Pension and go shopping. Ghmf… no, I had to be out by 10am, no luggage storage facility. So I very quickly went to the closest supermarket at 8am (dressed in coat and scarf and still freezing) and bought a piece of baked cheesecake for breakfast and a "leeeettle" chocolate to take with me.  By 11:30am I was at the airport.... my flight was only at 7:40pm. What a lo ng day that was. The flight was good though, had a window seat and an empty seat next to me.  Landed on time in Windhoek and then the surprises started (which they should not have been!!!)  1. Getting out of the plane and it being super hot and the air super dry.  2. How long it took to process the travellers from 1 plane only through immigration! 1.5 hours I stood in line!  3. How much Windhoek had changed since 1996. Very little looks like I remember it. But some things are exactly the same...
Read more

DAY 179 - 209: Luderitz PART 1: Fish River Canyon trip

-
Image
Being back home is very special! I arrived in Lüderitz Friday 2 November 2018 on Air Namibia via Oranjemund. My first time EVER flying in. I was planning to just lay around, relax after all my adventures and help my brother out with his tourists, if the opportunity comes up. Well, there does not seem to be a lot of rest for the wicked... What I was not expecting was that my lovely family would take me on a 4-day birthday trip through Southern Namibia, via Keetmanshoop (so I can collect my new ID document) to the Kokerboomwoud area and then on to the Fishriver Canyon.  We spent the actual day at the Western Rim of the Fish River Canyon at "On the Edge of Eternity" and went on a sunset - sundowner drive along the rim. It was very special indeed.  For those who are interested in these things: "The Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world and the largest in Africa, as well as the second most visited tourist attraction in Namibia. It features a
Read more

DAY 175: Frankfurt

-
Image
It really is time I move south, way south, all the way south to Namibia. The temperature here in Germany dropped very suddenly. Yesterday the sun was still shining and I was walking with short sleeves. Today it rained all day, and as the dude on TV just now said, in Muenchen they are back to wearing thermal socks with their sandals! Did not see much of Frankfurt but that is no big deal, have been here before, don't think it has changed much. I was originally hoping to catch up with my cousin Brigitte but alas, she is not home. I cannot believe it is nearly over... 3 months North America = done, 3 months Europe = done. Only 1 month in Namibia left. I hope I am not going to be on the wing!!! On my way to Frankfurt by train. My last dinner in Germany.... Schnitzel. Weird... the place I am staying, is decorated like it is American/Hollywood-ish. I am a grown-up, I can have cake for breakfast! Winging my way from Frankfurt to Windhoek.
Read more