Category Archives: Family Travel

Dublin Attractions- Part 1

. Family, Family Travel, Ireland, Irish History . , , , , , , , , ,

Dublin Attractions – Part 1

During our Ireland summer 2023 adventure, we would stay put in Dublin almost every other day. The traveling days were exhausting, so we all needed rest. Quite a few museums in Dublin are 100% free to tour, but they do ask for donations. The National Museum of Ireland-Natural History was a variable “step back into time” experience. The building is 2020’s updated, but it has not changed much in over 100 years. This section of this blog entry is dedicated to the extinct Giant Irish Deer / Irish Elk. The skeletons of these Ice Age mammals adorn many castles and museums throughout Ireland. All four of us were mesmerized by their skeletons. Check out Ireland’s plankton eating shark, the Basking Shark too.

A tour of Dublin Castle, however, is not free. The name “Dublin Castle” sounds a bit deceiving, right? Or, to Haven, Dublin Castle’s one, Medieval-style tower lends the idea of the Middle Ages. However, 95 % of the castle is Georgian in architecture. Dublin’s original, medieval castle is underground. When the majority of the Norman Castle burned in 1684, only one Medieval tower remained and city architects decided the complex would be rebuilt in “modern architecture” what was then, of course, Georgian – the British time period of the 4 King Georges of Great Britain 1714-1837. Some of you know that I am a language nerd, sooooooo ….. Dublin is Old-Irish Gaelic “Dubh Linn”. It means Black Pool. Unbeknownst to the general public, there is a river under Dublin Castle and the streets as well. The river is the River Poddle. Through hundreds of years, the river was rerouted around and under Dublin structures as it flows to the River Liffey. When the Middle Ages people created a fortress on the spot of today’s Dublin Castle the River Liffey and River Poddle were almost converging on that spot. Standing on concrete surrounded by 20th & 21st Century buildings you have NO IDEA about these things. Dublin Castle is so proud of an exhibition from Rome, Italy, so we snapped a few shots. Italy’s Davide Rivalta’s bronze lioness roams in the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle. The piece is part of an exhibition, called Grazing in Lucan, & is a collaboration between Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art and Dublin Castle.

Our Dublin Castle guide is showing us how the fortress appeared some 800 years ago. Once again, no one can see Dublin Castle’s Medieval section unless they take the underground tour.

Cashel & Cahir, Ireland: July 18, 2023

. Education, European Destinations, European History, Family, Family Travel, Ireland, Irish History . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our last traveling day across Ireland found us in Cashel and Cahir Ireland. The two towns are just 11 miles apart, but it took over 2 hours to get there from Dublin Airport. It was our second and final car rental while we were in Ireland. Since Cousin Beth Stoker, Mike, Ben and Bradley had visited the Rock of Cashel summer of 2022, we wanted to go. The limestone rock that appears as a mountain rising above the plains of Tipperary is quite impressive. The pre Christian, Celtic pagans used the hill for worship and other rituals before one of my favorite, Christian, historical figures, St. Patrick, preached to them on this very hill. St. Patrick then baptized their King Angus, and converted the area people to Christianity from this very spot.  I was a bit disappointed that the Cashel Gothic cathedral is in ruins and St. Patrick’s cross was a replica. We weren’t even allowed to see the original cross. However, Cashel’s Romanesque church that is/was attached to the Gothic cathedral is intact. It is called Cormac’s Chapel, and its sculptures, arches, and frescoes are classic Romanesque. The extraordinary Irish added their own “signature” to Romanesque art with its high pitched roof. The round tower and the Celtic cross-laden cemetery helped add to the extremely Irish-Celtic spirit of our travel day.

Cahir was just a few minutes away, and Carter had shared that we needed to tour Cahir Castle. Once again, Carter did a great job researching another Irish, historical gem. The Anglo-Normans literally built up a fortress rising from limestone rock in the middle of the River Suir. There were zero entrances/secret passages from the bottom of this fortress. It is a complete structure with no interior ruins like so many of the Irish castles people find. It was not taken by any invaders until one of Queen Elizabeth I’s “favorites” , Robert Dudley Earl of Essex took the castle in 1599. By the time the English Puritan Protector, Oliver Cromwell, took over the castle in the 1650s it was not the Butler hub-bub as it was. My two favorite parts of the castle were the sliding, portcullis gates that would trap a group in 3 seconds flat, and the trap doors in one of the towers. I was transfixed to the geese swimming in the Suir River. I had never seen domestic geese swimming thusly. Be sure to look for the Earl of Essex’s cannon balls in the sides of the castle.

Trim, Ireland & Trim Castle

. European Destinations, European History, Family, Family Travel, Food, Ireland, Irish History, Learning . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday July 15 found us traveling on a local bus to the town of Trim as well as Trim Castle. You can see the River Boyne from the tower of the castle. Downtown, the bridge over the River Boyne is the oldest, still used, bridge in Ireland. The bridge dates to approximately 1330. The actor/director, Mel Gibson, used the town of Trim in several main sequences in his movie, “Braveheart”. He cleverly trimmed (LOL… get it??!!) Trim to create a Middle Ages, York, England as well as piecing together parts of Trim to make it appear like a Middle Ages, London square. The castle is the largest Anglo-Norman fortification in Ireland. Hugh de Lacy and his successors took 30 years to build it. The central fortification is a monumental three-story keep. This massive 20-sided tower, which is cross in shape, was all but impregnable in its day. It was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and water-filled moat.The castle is often called King John’s Castle although when he visited the town he preferred to stay in his tent on the other side of the river. Why? I guess this needs more research … LOL…

The wind in Trim this day destroyed three umbrellas. Since returning home, Sean bought us “wind-resistant” umbrellas for our next visit to a windy region. Right before our tour of the castle, we ate at a local, Irish family owned Take-Away Restaurant called, Castle Takeaway ! LOL If you all make it to Trim you need to eat there!! Such a diverse menu, but we chose cheeseburgers, onion rings, and French fries! Yuuuuuuum!

Enjoy the photos

Westminster Abbey: Poets’ Corner – December 28, 2022

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Crossing the bar

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

   For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar.

After traveling the world since 1984, my favorite “museum” (it’s really a living, breathing church) is Westminster Abbey. For anyone who is nerdy and loves some world famous literature, they will not want to leave Poets’ Corner of the abbey.

I opened with Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is buried in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey. He was England’s Poet Laureate 1850-1892. I researched Lord Tennyson for a literature project in college many years ago. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a world famous poem as well.  The Bronte Sisters have a memorial in Poets’ corner. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte gives me chills when I read such quotes as Cathy’s “Nelly, I am Heathcliff!”. For us who have felt a spiritual bond to a loved one it is a “punch to your soul”. My favorite short story of all time, “The Happy Prince”, was written by Oscar Wilde. If you read only one of his short stories, read that story. It still makes me cry; “You have rightly chosen,” said God, “for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me. What the heck happened??, you have to read the story. You won’t be sorry. Oscar Wilde is NOT buried at Westminster Abbey, but in Paris, France. He was a pauper when he died, but fans raised money for his monument where he is buried. Sean and I visited the famous cemetery the spring of 2008. However, Oscar Wilde also has a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey.

I am not a huge fan of Medieval pieces of literature, but every few years, I enjoy a review and read of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. He is buried at Poets’ Corner as well. Musical composers at Westminster Abbey? Well, George Frederic Handel , composer of “The Messiah” is buried at Westminster Abbey. He was, indeed, German, but lived and composed in England. The first public performance of Handel’s Messiah took place in Neal’s Musick Hall, Fishamble Street, Dublin, in the shadows of Christ Church Cathedral on April 13,  1742. Ammon, Carter, Sean, and I toured that cathedral and locale on December 22, 2022-Thursday. I am finishing with the world famous, Charles Dickens. He is the author of “A Christmas Carol” ( 1843) and my 2nd favorite novel (Gone with the Wind is my first) A Tale of Two Cities (1859). I love and think of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, when I read “ It was in vain for Madame Defarge to struggle and to strike; Miss Pross, with the vigorous tenacity of love, always so much stronger than hate…”  Please read and see how love triumphs over hatred written through Charles Dicken’s plume to paper.

I hope you all can enjoy some of our photos from Poets’ Corner, a bit of this read, then find some of these pieces of literature to enjoy, ponder upon, and perhaps develop a liking for.

Haven

From Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, the Caylor-Browns wish Everyone a Happy New Year 2023!

It’s Blogging Time, Again

. Family, Family Travel, Parenting . , , , , ,

Thursday October 27, 2022

I am embarrassed that I haven’t blogged since last year. So many awesome things (our Trip to Italy) have happened as well as sad things (Our Nana passing). There is a blog in the works. I know we posted of Italy 2022 in Facebook, but there are so many more things to share. If I am mentally and physically well during Thanksgiving Break, I will probably blog about Italy 2022. Until then … Haven

Read more: It’s Blogging Time, Again

Links to previous Autumn Antics

Fall Break 2020
Read more: It’s Blogging Time, Again
Burt’s Pumpkin Farm
Mesmerizing Maples
“Joy to the Earth” (TO build your schema…this blog entry IS NOT about Christmas)

Keys Dan interviews Haven: “What Makes You Famous?”

. Christmas Hawk, European Destinations, Family, Family Travel, Learning, Parenting, Parenting Strategies on the Go, writing . , , , , , , ,

I would advise all of us to find a Keys Dan (Daniel) in our lives. Daniel has the gift of relating to people with interpersonal questions that search into your soul and open you to share without any inhibitions. You find yourself sharing some of the best things about yourself; the things God has gifted YOU with. The interview is over an hour long so just fast forward what you find boring.

The most intriguing thing is that Keys Dan will interview us regular folks who have something to offer humanity. Each one of us has a story, and each one of us is just as important as another. Notice his number 501-470-6386. I actually forgot that I had scheduled this interview LAST JUNE, so be prepared to wait a while; however, it’s worth it.

Fall Break 2020

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Our Fall Break excursion was a nostalgic “re-creation” of our Fall Break in 2012: Ellijay, Georgia and Burt’s Pumpkin Farm.

Hillcrest Orchards   (click for link) is perfect for families with children under 8 who want to pick their own apples then have some fun. Picking apples could be fun for children of all ages, but the playgrounds and activities are designed for younger family members. Carter and Ammon, as well as Sean and I, still had fun, but they could not “get our money’s worth” out of the playgrounds. The petting zoo was great, and the tractor ride was great. They have a mechanical, gargantuan catfish named Jaws who spits water from a pond. Jaws caught me off guard, and I forgot to snap his pic.

Hillcrest Orchards October 15, 2020-Thursday

Ellijay Scarecrow Invasion: Harrison Park-2020 instead of Downtown like 2012

Burt’s Pumpkin Farm : October 2012

Ammon & Carter amongst the Pumpkins: October 10, 2012

Burt’s Pumpkin Farm: October 2020

If we return to Burt’s next year, I plan to go in September to buy pumpkins for decorations. Just photos, some pumpkin bread, and an enjoyable hay ride this year.

Before: 2012/After: 2020

Auschwitz: Eradicating History (Part 2)

. European Destinations, Family, Family Travel, Poland, Politics . , , , , , , , ,

 

I was glad we were at Auschwitz on a busy weekday. The crowds helped me keep the heaviness of “man’s inhumanity to man” at fast pace where there was very little time to reflect and be stirred in one’s soul.

Auschwitz_arbeit

The infamous gate “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work Makes Free) are at Auschwitz (prison proper), but the stoic, railroad gates that are also associated with Auschwitz are several miles up the road at Birkenau. Auschwitz, the original prison, is quite small.

 

 

Auschwitz

 

Folks, there is nothing profound I can say. I want to strongly urge us all to not fool ourselves into thinking that concentration/extermination camps cannot happen again. It can. The seeds are being planted right here and right now. Have you noticed people screaming, cursing, and assaulting people simply because they DISAGREE WITH THEM? People have been beating business owners who have been trying to protect their businesses. People are being physically assaulted for walking down their own streets. People are being assaulted and sometimes killed for expressing peaceful, American constitutional rights of speaking and printing patriotic beliefs that are all inclusive for every citizen. The people assaulting innocent people are people (all colors, races, & creeds) with decent educations, plenty of money (who in the world has time to maraud and assault people instead of working like I have for 37 years?), cell phones, latest tennis shoes, boots, new helmets, masks, and bandanas?  They are not starving, oppressed peasants… land serfs… abused factory workers, etc. They are under-read, over-fed, feeble-minded entitled jerks!

Word Press wants me to pay over $100 /year so I can put videos on here. It used to be free. You can see the multiple videos I posted in the past when it was free. Please watch the videoI recorded while I was in Gdansk.

Gdansk_jews

Poles abusing their fellow citizens: Gdansk World War II museum

 

The video is very tame without anyone kicking people in the head (like multiple people have done marauding and assaulting here in the United States May/June 2020) or setting anyone on fire. The absolute atrocity here is the fact that it’s Polish citizens abusing Polish citizens….just so happens the Nazi Polish citizens are assaulting the Polish citizens who are Jewish. RIGHT HERE … RIGHT NOW… United States citizens are assaulting and sometimes killing their fellow citizens. In the name of Jesus the Christ, PLEASE STOP.

 

One thing I was talking to Sean about the other day was the Nazis took photos of the work prisoners (not exterminated prisoners… they went straight to the ovens with no photos) when they entered. They looked like us friends: healthy, “vibrant”. They kept records of their deaths, and most of the people in the photos were dead within a year. Most within a few months. They were literally worked to death. If I’m not mistaken, the museum at the Schindler Factory had the photos of the political, educational, and religious (Catholic priests) prisoners. Once again, the political opponents of the Nazis were the first to go to prisons/work camps. Some were even set free.

Auschwitz_scenes

 

Guard sentry: yes, if a guard didn’t like you for whatever reason he could shoot you down dead even if you were working.
Ammon & Carter on the grounds at Auschwitz.

The Auschwitz prison-proper had only one shower for the Zyklon B gas extermination with the two ovens you see in the middle. When the demonic Nazis decided they needed more camps with more showers and ovens for extermination, they built a secluded camp in fields of birch (Birkenau) trees. There the Nazis had multiple showers (4… the Nazis destroyed them before the Russians liberated the camp) with ovens.

After hundreds of miles on trains these families have no chance to work. It’s straight to the death showers for them.
Ovens at the Auschwitz Prison to burn the bodies.Thank God we walked through there quickly.
An illegal photo taken of prisoners taking care of burning bodies.

& to close… once again.. please read and ponder…

Birkenau_Auschwitz

Kraków, Poland

. European Destinations, Family, Family Travel, Poland, Train Travel . , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As their historical readings for 4th grade, Sean, Carter, and Ammon had been reading multiple books from the Holocaust: The Hiding Place, Irina’s Children & Anne Frank. Sean had read Schindler’s List by himself then he paraphrased / abridged, then taught Ammon and Carter some events that had happened with Jews and the Polish people in Krakow, Poland. Shindler’s Factory is almost 2 miles from downtown Krakow. By the time we finished the logistics of our Polish Summer, we knew we wanted to spend the most of our time in Krakow. We also decided to save Krakow for the end of our Caylor-Brown Polish Experience 2019. It was not just the engaging history and charming Polish architecture we were looking forward to in Krakow, but the geographic region is very much like Southeast Tennessee too: rolling hills, low-lying mountains, and lots of summer-green.

The 21st Century high-tech Polish passenger trained had taken 4 hours to get from Gdansk to Krakow. We had been anticipating Krakow for 2 weeks. The greenery of the Polish fields and the demure mountains of southern Poland pulled us like a magnet into the Krakow-Glowny Railway Station.

train_krakow
One of those adventurous, engaging European train rides from Gdansk to Krakow- July 3, 2019

By taxi, we found our wonderful apartment (full apartment – huge Great Room -living room/dining area/kitchen , hallway, bathroom w/clothes washer, and huge bedroom … like $75/night). The Caylor-Browns were neither disappointed with the apartment nor the city of Krakow.

Krakow_kitchen
You can tell by the size of the full kitchen kitchen how large the apartment is.

Milk Bar (s)– large cities in Poland have popular restaurants called Milk Bars. It’s cafeteria style and sells the same foods (perhaps a SLIGHT CHANGE of menu taking out some breakfast foods around noonish) all day long starting at 8 AM. If you find yourself at a Milk Bar in Poland be ready for lots of potatoes, beets, peas & carrots

I think we ate here at least once a day for 7 days.. well, almost. My most memorable moment was when, I think, a native Krakow couple was eating at this Milk Bar. The mentally disabled gentleman of the couple walked up to our table, grabbed a fork, and ate my remaining potatoes from off my plate!

The City of Krakow (associate the paragraph with the below photos)

I am really looking forward to returning to the St. Mary’s Basilica. It has been my favorite building of worship in Europe since I started traveling in 1984. I’ve only felt this spiritual connection one other time at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, but I was only there for an hour. I was in Krakow for a week. Each morning after my morning jog (finishing up around gulp!….. 6:30 AM!! Sunrise was about 5AM), I entered the basilica, knelt, and prayed. They weren’t just rote-memorized prayers, but Spirit-lead… everything from my family, to distant friends, to the Polish people, to world peace, to Milk Bars! LOL I really felt a spiritual connection while in the basilica. Wawel Castle is on a hill overlooking the Vistula River. The castle (begun sometime around 1038) sits over rock caverns one of which was the home of the legendary Wawel Dragon. The bronze, fire-breathing dragon is a leviathan of enjoyment. It breathes fire about every 5-10 minutes.

 
 



  • St. Mary’s Basilica
  • Wawel Castle
  • Vistula River
  • Wawel Dragon near his cavernous lair

There was a lot to do in Krakow proper, but I want to venture to some nearby attractions with you all: The Wieliczka Salt Mines and the Oskar Schindler Factory (Krakow Museum). The salt mine has 26 subterranean caverns. One of which is a chapel to worship. All the walls and sculptures in the salt mine are made of salt. If you go to Krakow for any length of time, you must take a tour of this mine: Well worth the money.

Huge Chapel in salt mine

From 1939 to 1944 Oskar Schindler, an official member of the Nazi Party, had an enamel factory in Krakow. Between the Krakow Ghetto ( walking distance to the Factory) and the Plaszow Work Camp, Mr. Schindler saved 1,200 Jews from extermination. In 1962, he was declared a Righteous Gentile by Yad Vashem, Israel’s official agency for remembering the Holocaust. According to his wishes, he was buried on Mt. Zion , Jerusalem. Thanks be to God for such human beings as Oskar Schindler.

Schindler’s Desk & Schindler’s Secretary’s Desk . One of only 2 preserved 1940 rooms of the museum.
 

Two more things:

Nazis topple Krakow/Polish History

1) There is an underground museum in the Market Square. It commemorates Middle Ages Krakow. We were not allowed to take photos, so I will allow Trip Advisor to give you all a tour. 

2) Several countries, Russia, Austria, and Germany (Nazis) have tried to erase Poland from the world: Literally. When people do this, they eradicate art (sculptures, STATUES), literature, music, and language. They wish to ERASE your identity …. your heritage. While we were at the Schindler Museum I took a photo of a photo where Nazis were toppling a provincial / national Polish statue attempting to erase history. Folks, since the dawn of civilization, groups have done unnecessary sometimes horrific atrocities. No person, city, state, nation, or empire is blameless. That doesn’t mean we erase the art, literature, and heritage from the past. We simply need not repeat man’s inhumanity to man. 

I hope you have enjoyed this Krakow blog. If you happen to be following chronologically, you are approaching my final blog of Poland. It will be a blog covering our trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. As I write the final words of this blog, I am already very emotional in my soul with its preparation. I am praying that I will do the experience of Auschwitz justice and allow the Holy Spirit to guide me.

Gdansk, Poland Summer 2019

. European Destinations, Family, Family Travel, Parenting, Poland . , , , , ,

I wasn’t pushing a stroller in the crowded Long Market this time. 10 years- old Carter and Ammon were walking and taking care of themselves in the streets of Gdansk this time.

Gdanks_bridge

In 2010, we had taken a day tour of Gdansk ( 20th Century European scholars may remember it with its German name, Danzig). Pushing strollers through the hot (there was a heat wave in the Baltic area that summer… temperatures in the 90s in Gdansk, Poland, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Stockholm, Sweden) was not comfortable, but there was something very likeable about Gdansk. This was one of those times an excursion from a cruise planted a seed, a goal, for the Caylor-Browns to return to an historical and charming European city. We saved and prayed, and God blessed us with a return in the summer of 2019. I’ve already shared Budapest  and Warsaw, and now I will continue with Gdansk.

Jogging in Gdansk

Jogging in Gdansk: Nostalgic feelings while I jogged ALONE at 6 AM remembering when I pushed and meandered with a stroller in 90 heat 9 years before.

The Millennium Cross above Gdansk Glowny is great not only for a photo op, but because of the bunkers with history mechanical/audio-visual history lessons.

Millennium Cross

Hill behind Gdansk’s Train Station that overlooks the city.

Gdansk_learn

Bunkers with life-size action figures (Disney World’s Hall of the Presidents style) depicting the history of Gdansk.

Gdansk World War II Museum

Overwhelming museum of Gdansk / Poland 1918-1945

World War II Museum: Gdansk, Poland. Man’s inhumanity to man. History is full of cruel people who make others their victims. This short video Jews in Poland World War II    shows how Jewish people were abused by Nazis before World War II. Take a close look. There are neither facial differences nor skin color differences. There is no way you can physically distinguish a Jewish person from a “Christian” ( or whatever the Nazi Germans/ Poles called themselves) here in these photos. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” As I get older and think about parenting, I have found a DEEP love and admiration for the Jewish parents who sent their children to other countries to have a chance at life; HEART WRENCHING.

Jewish Children

Jewish Children’s Monument