Snake-tail

December 30, 2025

It seems fitting that just before New Years I come across an article on ending relationships. Female praying mantises are notorious for eating their mates during or after sex. According to Christopher Oufiero, head of the Towson University Mantis Lab, mantis has some of the most diverse camouflage strategies in the animal kingdom and much of mantis behavior, especially mating, remains a mystery. “Mantises are good at not being found. It’s kind of what they do,” says Lohitashwa Garikipati, a doctoral student at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. However, Oufiero and Garikipati were part of a study that found a dwarf mantis species in which males avoid this fate with an elaborate dance where it moves its abdomen. Sometimes this is sinuously like the coils of a serpent and sometimes jerkily like the tail of a rattlesnake. Their behavior inspires its name, the snake-tail mantis.

When I went online, I found the snake-tail mantises (Ameles serpentiscauda) are in an order of insects (Mantodea) that contain over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The discovery of the snake-tail mantis began with a chance encounter in the summer of 2024 when on a remote beach in Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. Battiston’s colleague Oscar Maioglio spotted some dwarf mantises on shrubs along the shoreline he thought resembled a known species of dwarf mantis (Ameles andreae), except that their wings were smaller than expected. He collected a few individuals to rear back in his lab. When he and Maioglio saw the specimens mating they knew these mantises did not belong to any other known species. The small wings and serpentine courtship dance of the collected specimens strongly suggested they belonged to a unique, never-before-documented species, and genetic analyses confirmed it.

One major open question is the function of these courtship displays. Whatever the deeper meaning, scientists theorize that performing a courtship dance reduces the male’s risk of the female eating him after mating. It seems to succeed as the researchers observed no sexual cannibalism among the lab-reared snake-tail mantises. “Why or how selection for this mating display may have occurred remains to be seen,” says Garikipati. “But I think it is an interesting clue that tells us that these little animals are probably a lot more complicated than we give them credit for.” There is some urgency behind Battiston’s eagerness to learn more about the snake-tail mantis. As far as he and his colleagues can tell, the new species is only found in a restricted area of a few hundred yards along the Sardinian coastline. While most of this habitat lies inside a protected area, increasing tourism and overgrazing by sheep and goats could threaten the entire species’ existence. To ensure the future of the snake-tail mantis, Battiston and his colleagues have proposed that the IUCN categorize it as Critically Endangered and recommended stricter measures to preserve its habitat.

THOUGHTS: While the male snake-tail mantis avoids the female abruptly ending the relationship, many human pairings end around Christmas and New Year’s. Psychology Today says the holidays highlight how reality may not match one’s ideal. The gift-giving, travel and parties also increase stress around money, a top area of conflict. Meeting parents or navigating whose family to visit creates further tension and pressure, along with a perceived pressure to “define” the relationship. The New Year acts as a natural reset point for evaluating life choices and can lead to a post-holiday breakup surge, causing January to become “breakup month”. While breaking up may seem like getting your head bitten off, at least you are not a (male) mantis. Relationships require work. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Last Fruits

December 27, 2025

Back in August I blogged about my first attempt to grow a second yield in my raised beds (2nd Crop). I replanted several of the vegetables that had done well in the spring (and that I liked). For some reason, few of the vegetables sprouted. What sprouted were the cabbages, cauliflower (both Brassica oleracea), and about half of the peas (Pisum sativum). When it looked like we were going to get our first freeze in November I had covered the plants with bed sheets held above the plants with garden hoops. I had done this in previous years and found it to be effective (and reusable). The peas were harvested and eaten in salads prior to our trip, but I just let the brassica go to see if they would ever mature. The cabbage never did head and the cauliflower never balled. I thought about tearing them out, but the plants still had robust leaves. Last week I finally gave up and pulled the plants. I did not know what I would do with them, but cabbage leaves were the garden’s last fruits.

When I went online, I found cabbage leaves are completely edible, including the outer ones. The texture and flavor will vary from the inner leaves. Both types of leaves can be used raw in salads, cooked in soups, sautéed, or even used as wraps for other fillings. The outer leaves are tougher but also more nutritious due to their exposure to the sun and can be blanched or used as wraps or stuffed as rolls. The inner leaves are more tender and sweeter and are good for raw applications. All the leaves should be washed to remove dirt and checked for insects and bad spots before preparation. I ended with a large pile of outer leaves and a smaller pile of inner (sorta) leaves that I decided to make into sauerkraut anyway. I washed the leaves, cut out the woody stems, and sliced the outer leaves for over an hour before the amount of work made me rethink processing the entire pile. Instead, I went with what I had and then processed the smaller pile of inner leaves in the same way. Sauerkraut was still a long way off, so I put the bowls of last fruits in the refrigerator

Two days later (today) I decided to finish processing my last fruits. I added salt to the bowls of leaves and kneaded it for 5 minutes to break the leaves down and then packed them into quart jars, one for the outer leaves and another for the inner. Working with my last fruits got me motivated to work the tomatoes frozen tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum) from August into more canned pasta sauce. I added two red onions (Allium cepa) and three cans of diced tomatoes from the pantry along with spices and simmered it for four hours to render it down and meld the flavors. While the sauce was finishing up, I brought the water bath to boil to sterilize four 1-quart jars and lids. While I only used three, I have found it is easier to not use a jar than try and prepare another jar while everything else is ready. I transferred the sauce into the jars, added lemon juice (for acidity), and let them boil for 45 minutes. My last fruits were finished.

THOUGHTS: When we went to dinner with our gardening friends just before Christmas, I told her I had harvested my last fruits and planned to make sauerkraut. That was when she asked if I had started planning what to grow in my beds and containers next year. While I have begun to think about next year, there is hardly a plan. That is the thing about gardening (or farming), you can never stop planning, or you will quickly get behind. The same can be said for reaching out to those who need help. If you do not plan and then act to make a difference, you will be overcome by apathy. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Tortoise

December 24, 2025

Inside Monday’s newspaper was a USA Today article on a dog being trained to help with relocation of a threatened species in Florida. Gerry-Anna Jones, a trainer at Goldstar Puppy Academy in Fort Pierce, is training Echo, a 3-year-old male husky-shepherd mix, to sniff out a small fake scented shell so the reptiles can be moved and protected before their habitat is developed. Florida’s building boom is having a disastrous effect on the reptiles which are a 60-million-year-old keystone species whose burrow provides food and habitat for about 365 species of bugs, reptiles, rodents and other mammals. Before 2007, developers could bury them alive, which suffocated or starved them. Since being deemed a threatened species, they must be relocated. Relocations have increased 358% on the Treasure Coast from 178 in 2014 to 816 in 2021, compared to 66% in Florida from 6,730 in 2014 to 11,171 in 2021, according to Neal Halstead, research director and lead instructor in the authorized gopher tortoise relocation agent training program at the nonprofit Wildlands Conservation.

When I went online, I found the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae native to the southeastern US. The genus Gopherus contains only tortoise’s native to North America. The species has forefeet well adapted for burrowing, and elephantine (stocky) hind feet, a feature common to most tortoises. The front legs have scales to protect the tortoise while burrowing. Individuals are dark brown to gray-black in color, with a yellow bottom shell (plastron). A projection on the throat (gular) is evident on the front (anterior) plastron where the head projects from the shell. The female has a flat plastron while the male has a concave plastron that is generally longer than the female. The adult upper section of the shell (carapace) length ranges from 6 to 11 inches (15 to 28 cm), with a maximum of 16 inches (41 cm), and is at least twice as long as it is high. Body mass averages 8.8 pounds (4 kg), with a range of 4.4 to 13.2 pounds (2–6 kg). They are the only extant species of the genus Gopherus found east of the Mississippi River. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the gopher tortoise as “vulnerable”, primarily because of habitat degradation. The animals are considered threatened in some states while they are endangered in others. The gopher tortoise is the state reptile of Georgia and the state tortoise of Florida.

Jones is working with Echo to switch from scent samples to live tortoises now that he knows his job, with a goal to have Echo ready for field work by spring 2026. “He has been able to pick up the scent,” Jones said, “This morning (December 18), he hit on a burrow.” She trains Echo to zigzag through the landscape until he smells a live tortoise. After pinpointing a location, Echo will lie down next to a tortoise or its burrow. Handlers will work with a registered gopher tortoise agent or researcher to collect data and move the animal to a permitted recipient site if needed. At the recipient site, the tortoise ideally will become habituated to its new home range over several months to prevent the tortoises from homing back to their old burrow. Jones believes the collaboration between the Goldstar Academy and Gopher Tortoise Alliance is a major step toward conservation.

THOUGHTS: While Echo is being trained to find the gopher tortoise, other dogs are being trained to locate other species. Dogs are used in surveys with the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) prior to construction to protect critical habitat. Dogs find Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) to aid research on reptile diseases by the St. Louis Zoo. Dogs located the

once-thought-extinct western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) in California’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I was impressed that the kids were able to determine which hand their treat was in! The association between wolves and hunter–gatherers began 17,500 years ago and they are the only domesticated large carnivore. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Garbage Patch

December 17, 2025

When I opened my MSN browser this morning I found an article on life flourishing in the open ocean. This is a mix of natural, surface-dwelling ocean creatures and resilient coastal species that use floating plastic as rafts to colonize the open sea, forming new (artificial) ecosystems even as they face dangers from entanglement, plastic ingestion, and toxic contamination. This biological hotspot is also an ecological nightmare as the plastics disrupt feeding, growth, and development of other marine animals. Life on the plastics includes coastal species like barnacles (subphylum Crustacea), bryozoans (Phylum Bryozoa), anemones (class Anthozoa), and crustaceans (Subphylum Crustacea) that were carried from home by currents from the 2011 Japan tsunami. Open-Ocean species like violet snails (Janthina exigua) and blue button jellies (Phylum Ctenophora) also thrive using floating plastic for shelter and feeding. The non-biodegradable plastics allow these diverse communities to form and even reproduce, bringing life to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

When I went online, I found the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or Pacific trash vortex, is a spiral (gyre) of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean. The patch is located roughly from 135°W to 155°W and 35°N to 42°N and originates from the Pacific Rim, including countries in Asia, North America, and South America. Despite the common perception of the patch as giant islands of floating garbage, it is of low density (4 particles per 3.1 yd² or 1 m²) which prevents its detection by satellite imagery or boaters or divers in the area. The patch is a widely dispersed area consisting primarily of suspended “fingernail-sized or smaller” (often microscopic) particles (microplastics) in the upper water column. Researchers from The Ocean Cleanup project claimed the patch covers 620,000 square miles (1.6 million km²) and consists of 50,000 to 142,000 tons (45,000 to129,000 metric tons) of plastic as of 2018 and has grown to twice the size of Texas. By 2024, the group had removed more than 1 million pounds (453592 kg) of trash from the Patch.

Rehabilitating the Garbage Patch poses a significant challenge due to its immense size and location far from any country’s coastline, making it difficult for any nation to bear the financial responsibility for cleanup. Various international organizations have pledged to stop the growth of the Garbage Patch. Charles Moore (who initially uncovered the patch in 1997) is actively involved in raising awareness through the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. The Ocean Cleanup, led by Boyan Slat, aims to eliminate 90% of ocean plastic pollution by 2040. The organization is developing technology to extract plastic from the oceans and intercept it in rivers before it reaches the sea. Their approach is to concentrate the plastic in “artificial coastlines” before collecting and removing it with a long U-shaped barrier that directs the plastic towards a retention zone. The group’s collection exceeds hundreds of tons (90+ metric tons) and continues to grow. While microplastics dominate the patch, 92% of the mass consists of larger objects like plastic lighters, toothbrushes, water bottles, pens, baby bottles, cell phones, and plastic bags. The patch contains around 6 pounds (2.7 kg) of plastic for every pound (0.45 kg) of plankton. A similar patch of floating plastic is found in the Atlantic called the North Atlantic garbage patch.

THOUGHTS: As plastics are being removed from the Garbage Patch the question remains about the life that exists there. A team of scientists found almost every piece of plastic removed was carrying (mostly invertebrate) life. On average, each plastic item carried about 4 to 5 different species and nets and ropes tended to have especially dense communities. Nature seems to adapt to humans’ worst levels of pollution. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

PFAS

December 09, 2025

While perusing the newspapers which had been held in my mail while I was gone (yes, I have gone paperless, but they send hardcopy), I came across a USA Today article on a new bill to allow fire departments across Wisconsin to have access to new technology to fight forest fires. The bill would make firefighting foam derived from ground-up soybeans eligible for a Department of Natural Resources grant up to 50% of the cost of acquiring supplies, equipment, and training related to forest fires. Dave Garlie, the chief technology officer for Cross Plains Solutions, has been working on creating foam using organic materials for years. In a November 4th hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Revenue, Garlie said using soybeans is not a new idea as the substance was used before the 1960’s. When PFAS was introduced, it took over the market as the foam was easier to handle because it did not go rancid and it was not as thick of a solution as the soybean paste.

When I went online, I found PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water and stain resistant qualities in products like clothing, carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging, and firefighting foam. PFAS are a group of synthetic organofluoride chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. Different organizations use different definitions for PFAS, leading to estimates of between 8,000 and 7 million chemicals within the group. The family includes 5,000 compounds which remain in both the environment and human body over time (persistent). The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation, and altered thyroid hormones. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicity database (DSSTox) lists 14,735 unique PFAS chemical compounds while 7 million are listed in PubChem.

Garlie started to hear from firefighters who were afraid of using PFAS, and he started looking into using soybeans again. It is safer for firefighters to use, as well as community members nearby. When soybean foam is deployed, it breaks down naturally, so there’s no need for a pricey cleanup, or for water filtration. During the hearing, Garlie told lawmakers testing at Chippewa Valley Technical College has shown that the foam is just as successful at putting out fires as PFAS-containing foam. The soybean product could also lessen firefighters’ exposure to toxic PFAS in an occupation that already exposes them to numerous toxins every fire. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population. The use of soybean-based foam could also help drive up domestic sales of soybeans. While it will not make up for the loss of trade with China, it will help in the long run. Senator Howard Marklein, listed as a co-author on the bill, said, “This is good for farmers, good for our fire departments and good for the environment.”

THOUGHTS: Several companies have ended or plan to end the sale of PFAS or products that contain them as PFAS producers have paid billions to settle litigation claims. Studies have shown that companies have known of health dangers from ingestion of PFAS since the 1970’s. The PFAS market includes the chemical production side (US$28 billion in sales globally pre-2023) and rapidly growing related markets like treatment, testing, and waste management, (from regulations) with projections reaching tens of billions. According to ChemSec, external costs for remediation of contamination, treatment of related diseases, and monitoring of pollution, may be as high as US$17.5 trillion annually. While health concerns were not enough to end production and sales, it seems the cost of remediation may. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Christmas Pickle

December 05, 2025

After a nearly two-hour bus ride our tour arrived at Neuschwanstein Castle today. The castle is a 19th-century palace on a rugged hill of the foothills of the Alps in the south of Germany above the incorporated village of Hohenschwangau and the narrow gorge of the Pöllat stream. Since 2025, the castle has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, “The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria”. According to Guinness World Records, it is the tallest castle in the world at 213 feet (65 meters). Walt Disney used this castle as a model for Disneyland. When we arrived on site there was snow on the ground and the castle was shrouded in fog. The walk to the castle began with a 30-degree incline that took me 30 minutes to navigate. After a brief rest we began the last 15 minutes of the walk that shifted to a 45-degree incline. When our appointed 5-minute entry slot arrived we began a 25-minute tour that took us to the top (fourth) floor. Although the trip was tiring, it was well worthwhile. As our tour continued to Oberammergau our guide told us of one of the Christmas traditions celebrated by her family while growing up, the hiding of the Christmas Pickle.

When I went online, I found Christmas pickle (Weihnachtsgurke) is a game of hiding a pickle shaped Christmas ornament among the branches of the tree. While supposedly a centuries-old German Christmas tradition, most Germans have never heard of it, but it is beloved by many families in the US and UK. After decorating their tree on Christmas Eve, the parents hide a pickle ornament among the branches. The first child to find the pickle on Christmas Day receives an extra present or good fortune for the coming year. In some stories, the pickle-hiding game is a centuries-old German tradition that has been passed down through generations. In others, a captured German-American soldier was saved from starvation on Christmas Eve during the Civil War by eating a pickle. Other people believe the tradition is related to St Nicholas resurrecting three boys who had been murdered and hidden in a barrel of pickles. Anyone familiar with traditional German Christmas will see some flaws in the story. Germany celebrates the arrival of St. Nicholas on December 6 rather than Christmas Eve and children open their presents on December 24, not Christmas Day. The biggest problem is that few in Germany have ever heard of it. A December 2016 survey by YouGov found only 7% of Germans had heard of Weihnachtsgurke, and only 6% of families practice the custom.

Our guide pointed out a souvenir store where we could buy a Christmas Pickle. I toured the other shops before deciding to get a Christmas Pickle for my son and his family as a nice way of sharing a German tradition as we are of German descent. When I asked the cashier where I could find a Christmas Pickle, her response was, “Was is pickle, I do not know this word.” I broke out the translator on my phone and typed in my request, which was displayed on my screen in German. “Ah, gerken!” Then she showed me a wooden pickle for 24 Euro. She saw the look on my face and told me to wait while she found a cheaper version upstairs. While I waited, I Goggled “Christmas pickle” and found this was not a German tradition, but an American tradition that has only recently spread to Germany. When I shared this information with the clerk, she told me she only keeps the Christmas pickle for tourists. I did not buy a Christmas pickle for my son and his family.

THOUGHTS: When my guide asked if I found a Christmas pickle I just laughed and said I had. I knew nothing would be gained by telling her what I had learned. I have found that traditions come from all sorts of origins, and the origin is not as important as the joint celebration it brings to a family or community. Sometimes it is better to just keep your traditions alive (no matter where they come from) to bind us together in a shared belief. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Glockenspiel

December 04, 2025

Our walking tour of Munich was timed so the first section of our walking tour would arrive in the city center in time for the sounding of the bells at noon. On arrival our guide asked if we had seen the bells of the Ankeruhr clock in Vienna (what?? must have missed it). This unusual Art Nouveau work was created by Franz von Matsch in the period between 1911 to 1914, and Franz Morawetz the court clockmaker had made the clockwork mechanism. Although the city square was the site for the largest Christmas market in Munich, the bells had nothing to do with the markets. The bells and figures were added to the town hall in 1908 and consist of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The mechanism is powered by solar power and is only semi-automatic, as it needs a player to turn the levers at the exact right times 364 days a year. The glockenspiel at Munich is the largest in Germany and the fourth largest in Europe.

When I went online, I found glockenspiel is a percussion instrument that originally consisted of a set of graduated bells, and later a set of tuned steel bars (a metallophone). These are struck with wood, ebonite, or even metal hammers. The bars are arranged in two rows, the second corresponding to the black keys of the piano. The name glockenspiel is German (“bell play”) and refers to the sound of small bells. The very first instruments to carry this name did indeed consist of a set of small bells which were played either by a group of musicians or struck by means of a complex mechanism. At the end of the 17th century steel bars began to replace the bells. Initially they were only a substitute for real bells, but this arrangement of metal bars soon developed into a musical instrument of its own and retained the name “glockenspiel”. Like the xylophone, the glockenspiel is a great favorite with children. Carl Orff used it from the 1930’s for his Method. The children’s instruments have a smaller range, are tuned diatonically, and have bars resting over a frame like a trough. Lower-pitched glockenspiels have short resonators and are generally known as metallophones.

The glockenspiel of the Munich New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) on the central square (Marienplatz) attract huge crowds every day for reenactments of two events from Munich’s city history. The first is the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V and Renate of Lorraine, in February 1568 when a jousting match in honor of the bride and groom took place on the square. The Bavarian knight (of course) triumphed over his opponent from Lorraine. The lower floor shows the famous Coopers’ Dance (Schäfflertanz) is a guild dance of the coopers (Barrel makers) originally started in Munich. Early documented cases of Schäfflertanz are dated by 1702 when the Münich magistrate approved the performance of the dance as a well-established tradition. For a long time the date 1517 was prevalent in the literature originating the legend that the tradition started after the 1517 plague to revive the spirits of the people “to lure them out of their houses”. There are no records of any plague in Münich at this period. Still, the 500th anniversary was celebrated in 2017. There is no clear indication of the origin of the seven-year cycle, but since the early 1800’s the custom has spread, and it is now a common tradition over the region of Old Bavaria.

THOUGHTS: We waited in the city square to see the glockenspiel along with a select group of 3000 of our closest friends. We had been told the figures did not move until the third song. First came the church bells (always the priority) followed by a introductory number. The third number set the first group of jousters in motion and the fourth featured the dancing coopers. The finally was the cock crowing three times. Our guide had warned us that time had not been good on the crow mechanism and he was right. It sounded more like the honking of a goose. It felt good to join others in a century-old tradition. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Sound of Music

December 03, 2025

We decided to go on the Danube tour because Melissa wanted to see the Christmas markets. My sister and her husband had gone on the Danube tour several years ago in late November and told us when they took the extension the Christmas markets were already in full swing. We booked a tour that left on the 25th of November (two days before Thanksgiving) and ended on the 1st of December. We arrived two days early to overcome the jet lag that can accompany overseas travel (and did for us!). That also meant we did not have to plan anything for Thanksgiving, a meal that is always difficult for two. A (somewhat) traditional meal was served on the ship with turkey (sliced white and dark meat), mashed potatoes and stuffing (sort of), and cranberry sauce with pumpkin pie for dessert. I have had potatoes and stuffing at other meals on board and while ok, the consistency is much different than I am used to in the US. The extension included four days before we fly home on December 6th. I noticed the extension was called the Sound of Music Tour, but I was not ready for what that entailed.

When I went online, I found the Sound of Music is a 1965 musical film (Rodgers and Hammerstein) based on the 1949 book by Maria von Trapp. The story is set in Austria on the eve of the German annexation (Anschluss) and tells the story of Maria who takes on the job as governess of the large family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the seven children and eventually with the widowed father, Captain von Trapp. A former submarine captain, he is ordered to accept a commission with the German navy but opposes the Nazis. The captain and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children. The family left by train to Italy, then traveling to London and the US. The film version made the escape more dramatic by having the family hide in the cemetery before escaping over the mountains to Switzerland on foot. Many of the songs have become standards, including the title song, “The Sound of Music”.

Our Sound of Music tour started with a panoramic coach drive through the mountains. At every stop and turn we were told about how the movie had used such and such location for filming, even though it had nothing to do with the von Trapp experience. The scenery was amazing and at one stop I saw several dozen lake trout, all about 18 inches (45 cm) long, swimming along the shore (that was not included in the musical). As we passed several locations the guide played appropriate songs from the movie over our bus sound system. Many of the guests sang along, some becoming very animated. On arrival in Salzberg we saw the façade of the villa used in the film (not the von Trapp villa) and the gazebo used in the film (“I am 17”). The gazebo was from the film but not the von Trapp villa and had been moved several times because tourists were harassing the owners. The tour continued the following day as we passed four or five Salzberg sites used in the film but were far removed from the family. The church where the couple were married is still an active convent.

THOUGHTS: While the tours were focused on the Sound of Music, we also passed the birthplace and several residences of Wolfgang Motzart. These were of keen focus in Vienna but seemed of only passing interest (to our guide) in Salzburg. We did get to the cathedral of St. Peter and its large Christmas market. They had amazing pretzels. It was interesting to see many Chinese tourists poising and dancing and singing the screenplay of the movie as they passed through the film locations. Like so many things, we give the customer what they want (or we think they want). When telling the difference between reality and what we would like to be, the facts seem to be harder to discern. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Concentration

December 01, 2025

We began yesterday with a panoramic tour of Linz, Austria. While the city was nice, a “panoramic” tour meant we rode a tram to see important buildings. Even bundled up it was cold (30F/-1C) and the fog made it difficult to see anything more than a few hundred feet (60 m) away. The river port was a 20-minute walk from the main city and the Christmas market (our reason for the tour) did not open until it was time to return to the ship. While several stayed, we had scheduled a bus trip that afternoon that left us just enough time to eat a fast lunch. We piled into the bus, and our guide took us for a tour of Mauthausen, Hungary. Mauthausen is a small market town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria located about 12 miles (20 km) east of Linz. I had not paid much attention when we had signed up for the tour but was aware this was the site of one of the many German work camps established from 1933 to 1945. Our guide informed us the difference between a prison and a concentration camp was there was never a trial for the people detained there.

When I went online, I found the Nazis had no plan for concentration camps prior to their seizure of power in the German government on January 30, 1933. The concentration camp system arose in the following months due to the desire to suppress tens of thousands of Nazi opponents in Germany. The Nazis used the arson attack on the German parliament building on February 27, 1933 (Reichstag fire) to consolidate power and as the pretext for mass arrests. The Reichstag Fire Decree eliminated the right to personal freedom enshrined in the Weimar Constitution and provided a legal basis for detention without trial. Historian Jane Caplan estimated the number of prisoners in 1933 to1934 at 50,000, with arrests perhaps exceeding 100,000. Eighty per cent of prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany and ten per cent members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. About 70 camps were established in 1933, in any convenient structure that could hold prisoners, including vacant factories, prisons, country estates, schools, workhouses, and castles. The early camps were heterogeneous and fundamentally differed from the post-1935 concentration camps in organization, conditions, and the groups imprisoned.

From 1938 to 1945, the Mauthausen concentration camp was at the center of a system of over 40 subcamps and was the main site of political, social, and racist persecution by the National Socialist regime on Austrian territory. Mauthausen was originally intended as a work camp to extract the granite blocks from the associated quarry. These blocks were used to build camp buildings as well as building material for the surrounding towns. The outbreak of the war shifted the workers’ emphasis to forced labor in the surrounding industries. The tone of the group was hushed as we toured the site. The dense fog was thicker as we rose above the city and many of the locations were pointed out with, “if you could see, down there was . . .” The fog seemed appropriate as much of the site’s history had been shrouded in secret. Like many of the camps, as the allies got closer the emphasis shifted toward cleaning up the evidence of atrocities. Of a total of around 190,000 people imprisoned here, at least 90,000 were murdered.

THOUGHTS: Rather than denying the concentration camps past or trying to make it more palatable, the Mauthausen Memorial is maintained as a site of political and historical education. Its task is to ensure public awareness of the history of the Mauthausen concentration camp and its subcamps, the memory of its victims, and the responsibility borne by the perpetrators and onlookers. At the same time, it seeks to promote critical public engagement with this history in the context of its significance for the present and future. George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. The same still holds. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Vienna

November 28, 2025

Yesterday we continued our trip along the Danube River to Bratislava, Slovakia. Bratislava is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. The city has deep historical ties to Hungary and served as its capital and coronation city for centuries and is now the capital seat of Slovakia. Bratislava borders both Austria and Hungary, making it the only national capital in the world to have land borders with two other sovereign states. After the Ottoman conquest in 1526, Bratislava (then Pozsony) became the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 until 1783. Eleven Hungarian kings and eight royal consorts were crowned in the city’s St. Martin’s Cathedral. “Bratislava” was adopted as its name following World War I (1919) after it became part of Czechoslovakia. After an afternoon walking tour of the city and a lively evening of entertainment (dancers and operetta), we departed Bratislava late last night and continued our way up the Danube River toward Vienna.

When I went online, I found Vienna is the capital and largest city (2 million inhabitants) of Austria. Its larger metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.9 million, representing nearly one-third of the country’s population. Vienna is the cultural, economic, and political center of the country, the fifth-largest city by population in the European Union, and the most populous of the cities on the Danube River. The city lies on the eastern edge of the Vienna Woods (Wienerwald), the foothills of the Alps that separate Vienna from the more western parts of Austria. The city sits on the Danube and is traversed by the Vienna River (Wienfluss). Although surrounded by Lower Austria, the city lies 31 miles (50 km) west of Bratislava, Slovakia, 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Hungary, and 37 miles (60 km) south of Moravia (Czech Republic). The Romans founded a fortress (castrum) at the site in the 1st century CE called Vindobona, which was elevated to a town (municipium) with Roman city rights in 212. In 1155, Vienna became the seat of the Babenbergs (976 to 1246) and was granted city rights in 1221. The Habsburgs succeeded the Babenbergs during the 16th century and Vienna became the seat of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, a position it held until the empire’s dissolution in 1806. With the formation of the Austrian Empire in 1804, Vienna became the capital of the Austrian and all its successor states.

Our morning in Vienna began with a panoramic (bus) tour of the major sites of the city followed by a walking tour of the interior. This tour took us from the old city gates (no longer in existence) toward St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We had toured St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Bratislava, but this was named for Stephen I, the first king of Hungary reigning from approximately 1000/1001 until his death in 1038 CE. Although his parents were baptized, he was the first of his family to be a devout Christian. Stephen led the Church in Hungary to develop independently from the archbishops of the Holy Roman Empire and encouraged the spread of Christianity by meting out severe punishments for those ignoring Christian customs. He became the principal patron saint of Hungary. St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna is named for the first martyr of Christianity according to the Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 6). During the modern era, Vienna has been among the largest German-speaking cities in the world and host to major international organizations. In 2001, the city center was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

THOUGHTS: One excursion in Vienna is a concert by the Vienna Residence Orchestra that features some of Vienna’s most beloved music, including Strauss waltzes and Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This is a bucket list for Melissa I am grateful to share. Sharing each other’s expectations and hopes bonds relationships. The more the better. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.