Watkins Glen Grand Prix, New York

Watkins Glen is a beautiful place, not so much the streets and the town, but the Watkins Glen State Park. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I will post some views from the park within the next week. Despite the beautiful park, Watkins Glen, population 2,149, is best known for car races. The original Watkins Glen Grand Prix (see above) was held in 1948 on public streets with a 6.6-mile course that went through the center of town. Eight years later a permanent facility was built, and since then Watkins Glen has hosted all sorts of car racing events.

Happy Birthday, Mozart

Mozart was born on this day in 1756.  He died just short of his 36th birthday, but what a mark he left. A few years ago I bought a 170-CD box set of Mozart's complete works. Simply amazing. It's hard not to wonder what else he might have done if he had lived longer. Here's a postcard of Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg, Austria. You can still visit it today.

Here's a close-up of the street scene. It looks staged, doesn't it?

And here's another card of Salzburg from about 1960.

More from Wyk

Continuing yesterday's post...

The North Sea island of Föhr is very flat; the highest elevation is 43 feet. Since it is also relatively small (32 square miles),  you can bicycle around the entire island easily in a few leisurely hours, with stops to look at thatched-roof houses (some dating back to the 1700s!) and dikes and Holstein cows. Föhr and the village of Wyk can be reached by ferry from the mainland Germany at Dagebüll.

During low tide you can walk to the neighboring island of Amrum in ankle-deep water, but at your own risk; the tide can come in very quickly. Fog is another menace. It can quickly surround you, leaving you unsure which direction you came from. Here I am many years ago tempting fate, with the island of Föhr in the background.

If you want to sit on the beach in Wyk, the beach baskets provide shelter from the sun and the wind. You can also sit up above the beach and listen to outdoor concerts played in that little building in the foreground.

I never rode on this little vehicle, but it looks like fun.

The flag you see above is not a Dutch flag flown upside down, but the flag for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. This was a card my grandmother and great aunt sent just before a big journey  with seven suitcases! They may have been coming to visit us in the United States.