A Different Future

The Italian Lakes

Jun 18, 2024



From Austria we went to Italy, on our way first to Lake Garda, near Verona, and then to Bellagio, Lake Como.

Driving through the beautiful Alps, we stopped at Trent (Trento), where the council of Trent was held, 25 separate session by which the 16th century Catholic Church responded to the Protestant Reformation, made statements, and issued clarifications of the Church’s doctrine and teachings, most still confirmed to this day.

The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the places the Council of Trent met.

From there on to the Italian Lakes. Now, my family has a special affinity for Italian Lakes, because we grew up in Harrisburg, PA, and the small lake behind our house was called, yes “Italian Lake.”

This book was in our Airbnb - and Harrisburg isn’t even listed!

So first we went to Lake Garda, a scenic, large lake in Northern Italy, where we stayed in the lakeside town of Sirmione. We toured the ruins of an enormous, beautiful Roman villa. Boy, if you had money in Rome, what you could build puts modern mansions to shame.

Then to Bellagio, in beautiful Lake Como (the view from our balcony at the top of the post). An idyllic place. Bellagio is built into the side of a number of steep hills, so boy, we are getting our cardio every day. Our friends Ana and Eric Robbins form Atlanta are staying with us for a few days, so today we rode hard many miles almost straight up. Thank goodness for ebikes!



This has all been vacation, and soon we will go on to Switzerland, where the work begins - appointments in Basel and Zurich to meet with people working in peacebulding and conflict studies. In the meantime, just trying to relax and detox the soul.

A wedding in the Alps

Jun 9, 2024



After Munich we went to the little Austrian village of Kitzbuhel, where the elite go to ski (it is the most valuable real estate in Austria). In the summer, it is a little less upscale. Fun wedding, Val’s nephew, Chris, married Alisha, whose family are Kitzbuhel regulars. Lots of meat, lederhosen and even some yodeling, from this colorful character who sang for us:



She even sang “Edelweiss,” much to the delight of the crowd, who joined in.

Salzburg, Austria was next to hand out with a couple of Val’s siblings and their families, all in for the wedding.

(Side story: Val’s older brother, Peter, was in the Navy Seals when he came to our wedding in 1984, and met and fell in love with Val’s maid of honor, Karla. Three months later they eloped to Salzburg, and honeymooned in Kitzbuhel.)

Salzburg is very proud of the Sound of Music. Peter and Karla and family took the Sound of Music Tour. While we did not, we did manage a picture of Val in front of the actual gazebo where Leisl sang “I am sixteen”:





The gazebo was at the amazing Schloss Hellbrunn estate, where the building hid fountains everywhere - amazing feats of engineering for the 1600s. The owner liked to seat his guests and then turn on the hidden fountains and soak them (but not him) - and by protocol of the time they were not allowed to rise until he did. Salzburg was an impressive and interesting city. For example, you will be fascinated to know that Salzburg has the “largest Dwarf garden in Europe.” And of all the many, many dwarf gardens I have visited, it was certainly the largest.



From there we drove through the alps to Hall in Tirol, a lovely town where we stayed for a night, and then to Alta Badia, a gorgeous area high in the alps, but so high up I could scoop up and hand Val a snowball.

(Side note. We had to pack for nine weeks in Europe, including wedding dress clothes, warm enough clothes for the very chilly high-alps, and light clothes for the 90-degree weather of Europe in the summer. I don’t advise traveling like this.)

One final point. It is still difficult for me to travel through Germany and Austria, and at each place I visit I can’t help thinking “I wonder if the Jews of this place hid in those mountains I’m seeing, or whether the SS officers lounged around in this estate in Kitzbuhel.” Salzburg famously publicly burned Jews in 1492 and expelled the rest, so it did not have a Jewish population again until the 19th century. That lasted less than 100 years, as the Jews of Salzburg were all killed again. It is challenging being Jewish and traveling in these countries.

Now, on to Lake Garda and then Lake Como. More later!

Ciao, Paul

The journey starts... in Munich!

Jun 5, 2024

Who would have ever guessed that this sabbatical would kick off with a nine week trip to Europe (nine weeks!) starting in, of all places, Munich. Only for two days, but being in Germany still feels strange to me (though I have been here a number of times before). Being in Munich, where I have not been, feels even stranger.



How ironic, and yet suitable, to begin this journey of building a peace and dialogue center in the city that was dubbed by the Nazis as the “Capital of the Movement.” While the government was centered in Berlin, the Nazi party headquarters were in Munich and the city was know for its many Führerbauten (“Führer-buildings”), some of which still exist.

The famous Munich Glockenspiel in Marienplatz Square,
we got to see it in action as the figures marched around at noon.

Munich is also only 20 minutes from the Dachau Concentration Camp. Valerie, my intrepid better half and ethical conscience, traveled to Dachau today. She went there to bear witness. I cannot even bear the burden of going there.

Perhaps this project is a kind of penance. I have never been able to watch movies about the Shoah, visit the camps, read accounts. I feel guilty about it, not being willing to bear that pain after the unthinkable agonies those millions (including a number of my relatives) went through. If I help create a center for peacebuilding, reconciliation, to help mediate conflict, perhaps I have contributed in a small way to “never again.”

This is the vacation before the work starts. Off to a wedding in Kitzbuhel, then a few days in the Alps, then to Bellagio. I know, life is rough…