Walled Cities are Worth Visiting

There is something about a walled city that intrigues me.  I do not know if it is the history of the site, as many have UNESCO World Heritage designation or, perhaps the romance.  In my mind, a walled city is connected to a castle, to a fairytale and to a prince and princess. The walled cities in Europe were the fairytale castle cities.

But then walled cities are also associated with war and wealth.  The cities and the castle were walled in to keep the invaders out. Most of these also had forts associated with the walls.  I saw these types of walled cities in South America and the Caribbean and North America, where pirates worked diligently to steal the gold and silver that the Spanish and Portuguese had stolen from the indigenous peoples.

Within the walls people were safer and better off than those who were kept outside the gates.  I think in the days when the walls were important, I, as a Jewish woman, would have been kept out of the gates.  But now, I can walk through these cities and enjoy what has remained.

I have been to many cities throughout the world that still have remains of the walls, and in places where the walls are complete. The highlighted ones are the ones I liked the most. With so many walled cities to visit, I have decided on my top walled cities, some of which I have visited more than once.

Jerusalem, Israel,  is my top walled city.  I lived there for a year when I was in college and had many wonderful experiences.  That was over 50 years ago and the world has changed dramatically since then.  But Jerusalem with its stone buildings, archeological sites and important historic religious importance, has to be number one. You cannot walk through the Old City, or walk along the walls without thinking about all that happened. In Jerusalem. You walk in the steps of our ancestors, wondering about their lives and the intersections of the continents that made Judea such an important part of the ancient world.  You cannot forget Jerusalem and how the sun reflects unto the buildings at sunset creating a glow to the city. (UNESCO World Heritage)

Ephesus, Turkey, is my second amazing walled city. If you have ever been to the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus it will stay in your mind forever. This once walled city that had three main gates was a port city. But over the centuries the port was filled in and the city disappeared. Now the spectacular remains, included the facade of the library, keeps your attention. If you have the chance, this is a place that needs to be visited.

Tallinn, Estonia, really does look like a storybook, fairytale town.  I enjoyed looking out of the walls to the city below and walking through all the shops.  It didn’t have the history or meaning for me as some of the other cities.  But I just thought it was quaint and lovely. (UNESCO World Heritage site)

The entrance to Lubeck, Germany, is so impressive. I thought it was amazing.  What was also amazing is that it survived the Second World War in somewhat good shape.  I loved the Braille 3-D map near the gate, where you could see the city in one place as if from above.  I enjoyed eating the Marzipan and strolling throughout the town.  But for me, seeing that a synagogue survived the Nazi era was important.   It survived because it was close to a church.  To me that seemed to have meaning.  If a church building could protect a synagogue, perhaps the people should be able to protect other citizens.  But as we see now, the world is not very kind or understanding. (UNESCO World Heritage site)

Number three is Vatican City, Rome, Italy. Both a city and a country in the midst of Rome.  I have only spent four days in Rome, but like Jerusalem, this city immerses a visitor in history.  Walking past structures that I studied in school is a bizarre experience. In my mind I could see the past that I studied. As we walked through the endless halls of wonders, I was overwhelmed by all the works of art from throughout the world. It was almost too much to see. Then to see the Sistine Chapel and later the St. Peters Basillica, I was done.  (UNESCO World Heritage)

Since I am discussing Italy, I must mention the lovely walled town of Como, Italy. We went to visit this walled city because my father suggested it. He had been involved in the textile industry for his entire career and used to travel to Italy all the time. Since we were in Milan, he told us we had to visit Como as it was once the capital of the Silk Trade. In fact, at one time there was a school to learn about silk there. Now it is a museum. I loved this city. We spent a day there visiting the museum, walking about and shopping. We ate lunch a little outside of town at a restaurant on the beach of Lake Como. I also must say, there is no car traffic in the walled old city. So it was a wonderful place to walk around and shop!

The college town of Guimaraes, Portugal, was also amazing. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has been a town for students since 1315.  We loved walking around the campus seeing the ‘modest’ student chapel, the spectacular library, the special dungeon for students who did wrong, and the room where students presented their work.  We were there near graduation, so we got to see a group of students having their graduation photos taking.  A great day.

After spending five days in Porto, Portugal, I feel like I really know this city as we walked everywhere.  Probably 30 miles over these days, from the lovely gardens, to the museums, to the port, across the bridge to the Port sellers, up the Funicular, just exploring this lovely UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the city’s walls have been demolished. But you can see them along the river and in a few areas. The most important part of Porto are the hills, the views and the gardens!

Santiago de Compostela, Spain, is another city with religious history embedded in its being.  The focus of those following “The Way,” the Camino de Santiago, as people focus on arriving at the Church of St. Andrew, or Santiago.  The walled city is easy to walk through, with all roads leading to the Cathedral.  I enjoyed our three days three visiting the museums, listening to the music, exploring the sites, and watching the pilgrims arrive at the spacious square in front of the Cathedral. (UNESCO World Heritage)

Old City, Barcelona, Spain.  Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in the world mainly because I love the work of Antoni Gaudi.   But I also loved walking through the old city and visiting sites there including the. Old synagogue, that still exists.  My heritage is from the Spanish and Portuguese Jews who fled north to Amsterdam. We have been to Barcelona two times, and each time I have found new places to explore.  Most of the wall is gone, although you can see it in some places.  And although the city itself is not A UNESCO World Heritage site, it has nine sites in the city that are protected by the UNESCO including seven Antoni Gaudi creations.

Leon, Spain, intrigues me.  Even though many of the walls are down, we entered through what was once the Money Gate, or Puerta Moneda, the entrance that lead to the Jewish area. This is the only gate of the city that remains.   It was amazing to walk the streets and know that Leon was once the home to a large Jewish community.   In fact, in Leon here were many reminders of the community that was destroyed, including an old synagogue that is now a church, which you can visit.

The walls of Loga, Spain, are amazing.  To see them from outside the walls makes you take a breath! But then to walk on the walls later and look out at those same places you saw it for the first time is also amazing.  The walls of Loga were the widest walls I ever walked up.  You could actually have a party there.  And I bet some people do, because there are houses that are built into the wall.  I also enjoyed walking through the old city. But it is the walls themselves that stand out. Although the city of Loga is not a World Heritage Site, these walls have the UNESCO World Heritage designation.

Edinburgh, Scotland, We walked the hill up to the Castle.  Then we walked up the hill in the Castle. Then we looked down upon the city from the top of the Castle. Then we walked down the long hill in the castle, out the doors of the Castle, down the long hill to a street with shops, including ICE CREAM.  What I remember most is the hills.  Most of the city we saw by bus.  Although Edinburgh was traditionally a walled city, much of the walls are now gone. However, the castle makes up for that.  (UNESCO World Heritage site)

The first time I visited Quebec City, Canada, I was on a cruise.  I wasn’t expecting it to be a highlight, I really wanted to see Prince Edward Island and all the Anne Shirley experiences.  But when we arrived in Quebec City and I saw the Funicular I knew I would like it.  I liked it so much with its French and English old-world charm combined together in one city, that we came back a few years later to spend an entire week staying in the old city.  I loved it. (UNESCO World Heritage site).

Just as an aside, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Charleston, South Carolina, both once had defensive walls surrounding them. These no longer exist. But both cities still have the charm of a walled city!

San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a place I have visited many times.  The first time was on my honeymoon.  I have visited it three other times.  Each time we were on a cruise.  The last time was a few months before the big hurricane came and decimated the island. During that trip we took a walking tour through the old walled city, La Ciudad, and even visited the Fort, walking throughout and looking out at the views of the ocean.  I cannot believe that I hadn’t done that before.  I was amazed by the teeny yellow house, La Casa Estrecha.  It was the first time I had seen a house built in an alley.  But since I have seen such a house in another country.    The day we walked around there were artists selling their work, and many people enjoying what was lovely weather. (UNESCO World Heritage site)

I remember the heat of Cartagena, Columbia, as we walked around the old city, the las Ciudad amurallada.  We visited several museums including the one dedicated to the Inquisition in Columbia, which mainly tortured the indigenous people.   My comment was that you did not have to torture anyone, just make the stand outside for hours without water. Between the heat and humidity, they would give in. Cartagena’s walls were used to keep the Pirates out because Cartagena is the port that the Spanish used to ship the gold and silver back to Europe.  Of course we visited the gold museum there, Museo del Oro Zenu.  It had the best air conditioning, which made us all happy!

I have visited walled cities on four continents, on islands in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Each walled city has its own charm. When I travel, I always try to visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites because they each have some special aspect that you do not see in other places around the world. Visiting walled cities makes you think about the people who figured out how to build them to protect their cities. The enormity of stability of these walls to last hundreds, even a thousand years, makes you think about how modern construction does not last as long.

Walled Cities are Worth Visiting. Enjoy!

Norway Churches Look Nothing Like European Churches!

Norway, the country of fjords, lovely scenery and peace.  We had a wonderful journey on our Norway cruise, entering three different fjords to visit communities that were established centuries ago.  In Eidfjord, Olden and Alesund, we visited the churches that in some ways define the communities and the calmness of Norway.

Two were small churches in the tiny towns of Eidfjord and Olden.  Both towns were located at the end of beautiful and long fjords.  Although the outside of these buildings is different, the insides were so similar.

In Eidfjord, we walked up a long hill to reach the Old Church.  Along the way we saw a Viking Exhibition, showing how homes were built with grass roofs.  We had magnificent views of the hills in front of us and the town below.   Just before the Church was a black marble monolith with a butterfly on the top commemorating three who died during WW2 fighting the Germans. In front of the church was another engraved monolith from the early 1900s.

The Church, dedicated to St. James, was built of stone in 1309! But the best part of the church’s story is that it was built by a wealthy woman named Rike-Ragna in penitence for leaving her husband to die on a rock after an argument. Her tombstone is in the church!

I loved the plain wooden pews and was intrigued by the branches that were attached to the aisle side of the pews.  They made me think of reindeer.  But according to what I read, they were for men to hang their hats!!

It is simple, peaceful and calm inside.  To me the perfect place to speak to God or repent a sin. The altar of the church is simple with a wooden grill in front and then a simple painting.

The most amazing stone walls surrounded both the church and the cemetery in Eidfjord and Olden. I have the best photos of the wall in Olden.

The second church in Olden, Norway is a much bigger and newer building.  The original church was also built in the 14th century, but it was destroyed.  This church was built in 1759. Called, of course, the Old Olden Church, it was replaced as a parish church in the 1930s and became a museum used for special occasions.

The inside of this church is very similar to the Eidfjord church, although it has a vaulted ceiling.  But the pews are made of similar wood and the alter area is very similar with the grill area in front. For these pews, many of the little doors to enter them were carved by the families who sat there. Some of the pews and the doors are from the original church built in the 1300s. 

I have since learned that this is the only church in this area of Norway that is built in the shape of a crucifix or cruciform. They hoped that building it in this form would protect it from the strong winds.

The third church we visited was much more European in flavor.  The church in Alesund is a beautiful marble and stone building.  When we visited it was undergoing some repair work, hence the scaffolding around the building.

The first church was destroyed in a fire in 1904 which destroyed most of the town. This building was completed in 1909 and is much more ornate than the churches we visited in Olden and Eidfjord.

The other difference is that you do have to pay to enter this church, which is a functioning church and closed during funerals and other times.

The beautiful altar area of frescos and stained glass is really stunning.  These were made by town Norwegian artist, Martin Enevold Thomt and Oddvar Straume.  The wooden vaulted ceiling and the organ areas were beautifully carved.

There was also the carved face of a young girl that caught my eye. I have not found any information about it.  So if someone knows who she is, I would love to know!!

Besides the beauty of the building, what made is special for me was the young woman playing the piano while people visited the church.  It was calming and peaceful. Her music added to the experience. 

Surrounding the church is a small cemetery as well as a monument to those who died in World War 2. 

I find it interesting how different these churches were from the extremely ornate and lavish cathedrals and churches I have visited throughout Europe. Personally, for me praying in a calmer environment seems more suitable to prayer. Although the European churches are lovely in their way, I find it unsuitable to prayer…too much going on.

https://hardangerfjord.com/en/eidfjord/attractions/eidfjord-old-church-966383
https://kringom.no/en/stryn/old-olden-church
https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/alesund-church/13921

Lollipops just bring me joy

As a child I loved (and I still love) lollipops.  There was something exciting about holding one in my hand and checking every now and then to see how much more I had until it was done.  You could not do that with a regular piece of candy! Too Gross!

The only poem that I wrote when a teenager that I can still remember by heart is the one I wrote about lollipops:

Lovely little lollipops

Sitting silently, staring.

Sending Sweet Signals

To Teeny Tiny Tummies

My original poem, which was published in my high school newspaper’s literary section, said “Sending Sexy Signals.”  But over time I think I realized that lollipops are not sexy at all, but they are extremely sweet.

By the time I was a teen, I became obsessed with Tootsie Roll lollipops.  Well not all of them, just Red Raspberry.  YUM.  The exciting part was opening the wrapper to see if I had the shooting Star.  If you had the shooting Star on your wrapper you had good luck and fortune. 

There are pages and pages on the internet related to the Tootsie Roll lollipop shooting star. Some people believed that if you found the star you got another lollipop for free.  I NEVER believed that.  However, I absolutely do believe that getting the Star was special.

When I was a mother with young children, I carried several red raspberry Tootsie Roll wrappers with Shooting Stars in my wallet for years, okay I’ll be honest, for DECADES.  For some reason my type of magical thinking told me that the Shooting Stars on a Tootsie Roll wrapper would help protect my two children.  Intellectually, I knew this was not true, but my heart said, “It can’t hurt!” 

But over time, the wrappers disintegrated, and my body aged, making eating lollipops not part of my diet.  Although occasionally, if I see them at an office or a store counter for children, I do ask if I can have one as well.  My love of lollipops is always with me, even if I cannot eat them.

The art display at Minneapolis Airport.

In July of 2025, when flying to Iceland with a layover at the Minneapolis Airport, my Lollipop love got a sparkle of joy.  At the airport, near my gate, there was display of ceramic tiles by a local artist.  One of the tiles caught my eye immediately:  a lollipop forest.  I immediately took a photo of the display.  The joy in the art reminded me of the joy I had as a child enjoying a lollipop.

We boarded our flight; we went on our vacation; then to be with our daughter and her husband as they were having a baby.  The month went by quickly.  We flew home.  Life intervened.  When I thought about the Lollipop Forest, it was at odd moments. But I thought it was just going to be a nice memory.

This year around Mother’s Day, when I was asked what I wanted, I had no idea.  But I was strolling through all my photos.  My ICloud account was filling rapidly.  Photos were overwhelming my account.  I really had to delete photos and videos I didn’t need.  While scrolling, I saw the picture of that lovely lollipop forest. Wow! That would be a great Mother’s Day gift!!!

Luckily, I took a photo that included information about the artist.  I found the artist online, and to my delight, “White Birds Flying over the Lollipop Forest” was still available for purchase.  I still get a smile on my face when I think about how happy that made me!

The Lollipop Forest at my house.

My Mother’s Day gift arrived a bit late, but it’s absolutely lovely.  It is hanging where I can see it from my chair as I crochet.  When I look at the Lollipop Forest, remember my poem, my Tootsie Roll Stars, my love of lollipops and just enjoy this sweet line of lollipops.

Lollipops just give me joy!

I am not advertising that you buy anything from this site.  But this site provides a good history of the Tootsie Roll Shooting Star myth:  https://www.candyfavorites.com/pages/unwrapping-the-tootsie-pop-wrapper?srsltid=AfmBOoov4srdr2hmXjDoyjXD5i5eAdN53bih-L0lT-i0BW4T12hTz3aB

https://www.susanfeigenbaum.net/statement

Music, Dance, Culture and Unusual Places In Portugal and Spain

While I covered most of our experiences in Portugal and Spain, there are some special places and experiences that just did not fit into my other blogs.  So here I am doing a potpourri of unique and joyful events and places.

Our boat, used to move salt or seaweed.

Did you know there is a Venice-like city in Portugal? I didn’t. But near the coast is the city of Aveiro. A large channel was dug in the early 1800s opening the town to the sea and canals were cut to bring the water further in and for transportation as the city became an important part of the salt and seaweed industries.  Although these two industries are no longer important, the canals have become a way for tourists to view the city.  We had a wonderful time on our boat ride through the canals viewing the scenes from the boat.  Later we had a chance to walk the streets that line the canal.

A sardine store.

In Portugal, sardines are an important food source and export industry.  Wherever you go you can see sardines for sale and/or you can eat them.  In Aveiro, the city with the canals, there was a lovely store just filled with different canned sardines for sale!  Since I love sardines, I loved seeing this store. I had joy from this little bit of heaven for me.  Later in our trip I purchased some to take home.  I didn’t take a photo of that sardine store, but later on I found another one!

In Spain there is a large area of mussel farms in the Rias Baixus estuary.  We had a lovely boat ride along the mussel farms and learned how the mussels grow and are harvested.  Those who enjoy mussels (NOT me) had a delicious lunch of mussels and shrimp.  I enjoyed watching the birds try to steal the food from the boat and from the others in my group trying to eat!  And YES, of course they served us wine on the boat!!

Before we went into the estuary, we looked at it from above at a wonderful little park on a peninsula bordering the estuary.  There we encountered the Tilting Rock and beyond it a wonderful lookout to view the area from above.

The town of Coimbra and the wonderful grounds of the university had more to offer us as we experienced Fado, the sad and emotional music of the students. Originally sung and performed with guitar by men dressed in black with capes and hats, now occasionally a woman also performs.  We went to a performance by three men that was so interesting.  Lots of longing and drama in the music.

After we left Coimbra we visited the seaside resort of Costa Nova. Wow, I fell in love with this resort. The beach is long and wonderful.  But the fun part are all the brightly colored and striped homes along the beach.  It was great fun to walk up and down the beach to admire them and have a cool drink, which we did. Many cities in Portugal and Spain had designs in the walkways which were made up of little squares of marble and granite. I liked this dophin.

We had other musical events as well.  Did you know that the people of Northern Spain are the origins of Celtic music. In fact, the people fled north to the islands that are now Great Britain and are the original Celtic immigrants.  We had the pleasure to see a show of their music, dance and singing.  YES, they use bag pipes!! But my favorite was the women playing songs using a sort of tamberine/drum and then using spoons for a song.  So much fun!

The first night in Santiago, we also got to see a troop of musicians performing across from the Church.  It was entertaining and joyous.  I think the pilgrims really enjoy their evenings after their long journey.  There is music throughout the town.

On another day we visited the World Heritage Site of Las Medulas, which shows you how you can destroy mountains with water.  The site of an ancient Roman gold mine, Las Medulas are the remains of mountains that were destroyed by the Romans who injected water into the mountains to mine for gold.  It is the most unusual landscape.  Honestly was totally unexpected and really worth seeing. 

Unfortunately last year there was a major fire near the area, actually right up to it. So all around us were blackened trees and shrubs and the grass was gone. But in a way it was more interesting because we were able to see the ancient Roman paths cut through the area.  And a beautiful new viewing site was built.

There were so many wonderful experiences and places to see and explore. Some times we felt we needed a vacation from our vacation. But in reality the memories these places and the poeple who we traveled with will stay with us. It was a most glorious and enjoyable experience.

My Newest Appeal To Facebook Oversight Board May 2026

Another invitation to go to the Oversight Board of Facebook.  This is the eleventh time I have been invited to submit a complaint.  The following is the post I complained about this time.  It was one of three I submitted about this person. Another post I reported by this person was taken down because it actually called for violence against Jewish people. 

This is what I wrote to the Oversight Board.  I doubt anything will happen.   But I keep trying.

“This person constantly publishes hate speech against Jewish.  Here is the one I am upset about that you did not take down.  I am bold faces the part that is disgusting: THESE ARE EUROPEAN JEWS MURDERING INDIGENOUS PALESTINIANS BECAUSE SOME JEW, 3400 YEARS AGO CLAIMED THAT “GOD GAVE THE JEWS THE PALESTINIANS’ LAND”.  OR, THAT IS THE EXCUSE.  REALITY IS THAT THEY ARE SOCIOPATHIC, SATANIC MONSTERS.

This post is filled with lies. There were no Palestinians 3400 years ago, the Jewish people were there before there were any Palestinians, and in fact the people who live in Gaza are mainly Egyptian.  And this person consistently is expressing Jew hatred. But actually, is this a real person, since the picture associated with the page is Arafat. It could be a bot.

Again and again, you offer me the chance to go to Facebook’s oversight board because of my continued complaints about antisemitism online.  I should not have to keep telling you that this hate speech against Jewish people is untenable and Meta needs to be better at deleted it.

I should not have to see comments like: “The Austrian painter was correct.”  “Mossad did it”.  “They were promised for 3000 years.”  The AI horrific depictions of Jewish people.  The constant lies about Israel. The calling for deaths of Zios and J3w$.  The hateful joking about Jewish people being killed or attacked or injured on streets, saying they deserved it. 

There is absolutely NO reason to allow it.  When you started Facebook and other social media platforms, you PROMISED people as SAFE PLACE to connect with others.  IT is no longer safe.

IF you CANNOT self-regulate, then it is time for these social media platforms to be shut down or to have the government passed laws to regulate them as they have in Europe.  You can clean up social media.  DO IT!”

I should have also said that the majority of Jewish people in Israel are not of European descent. The majority of them are Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews who were forced out of Moslem Arab countries in the late 1940s and 1950s, or they are from African countries like Ethiopia. It is also time for these lies about Ashkanazi Jews not really being Jewish or not recognizing that Jews come from all over the world, Europe, Asia, Africa. And all are united by their Jewish heritage. Along with the lies about aparthied. It is difficult to be apartheid when Jews are all colors and all nationalities.

Even though I am a firm believer in a free press, I now believe that Social Media does need to be regulated. If they cannot stop this online hatred, they need to be regulated. Facebook can stop it. There is no law that says Facebook must allow this hatred. It really is not about free speech, it is about Facebook not doing what it should be doing according to its own community standards.

In Eurpoe, they haveThe Digital Services Act (DSA) which introduces rules for online services used by European citizens in their everyday life. This law outlaws Holocaust deniers online, while the USA does not have laws to stop these lies. See the website below for more information about the Digital Services Act. It is not a panacea, but it is a start. The USA needs a similar Act.

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act