Down the Danube on a Zille

In October of 2014 I took a one-week trip down the Danube River in Germany and Austria on a glorified rowboat with three friends, all of whom I have known for more than 40 years: Gerd Berger, translator and tour guide, Regensburg, Germany; Ed Bartlett, bassoonist, Salzburg, Austria; Tim Chegwidden, wine entrepreneur, Woodbridge, Connecticut; me, writer and videographer, Pelham, New York. (Snapshots are via iPhone)

Regensburg, Germany, at sunset

The boat was Gerd's 22-foot zille, powered by an outboard motor and kept off the rocks and docks by a stechruder (part paddle, part grappling spear). The zille is the traditional work boat of the Danube, in use there for centuries--with a flat bottom and a lot of carrying capacity. For fishing, transporting goods and basic transportation. I nominated myself to be First Mate, which meant I did some piloting, pointed out potentially dangerous situations to the Captain (Gerd), oversaw stowing of gear, and ghost wrote the captain's log. Ed was Grill Meister. Tim was Castoff Man.

The Opera House in Belém

I took a tour of the opera house in Belém with one of my colleagues. It was built in 1878, during the rubber boom, when Belém was one of the capitals of Latin America. I imagine this is what Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" had in mind when he dreamed of bringing opera to the remote regions of the Amazon. Lots of interesting detail.

Magnificent ruin in Belém, Brazil

Here's a ruin I walk past every day on my way The Nature Conservancy's office in old Belém: