Can You Backpack Internationally in Your 60'S?: Of Course You Can!!

By Rosemary Van Vranken Ph.D

This book contains 171 pictures mostly taken by the author. Among the many that were taken by the author are of the piano on which Mozart played and wrote his music and a night picture (in Africa) of a male lion that had killed a zebra.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524614409

Rosemary Van Vranken Ph.D

The author worked as a professor in higher education and travelled all over the world later in life. She began her backpacking with her daughter, then with family members, then with friends, and sometimes alone. Her many pictures are accompanied by her many experiences—sometimes funny, sometimes sad. She points out her different experiences with the various cultures and how rewarding backpacking can be.

Book preview

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© 2016 Rosemary Van Vranken, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/08/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1439-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1440-9 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1441-6 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number : 2016910202

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Content

Introduction

ROME

FLORENCE—MILAN—BOLZANO

My Roots—Revo, Italy

VENICE—SWITZERLAND

AUSTRIA

GERMANY

Trip 2

Nuremburg

FRANCE

BRUSSELS

BRUGE

NETHERLANDS

CZECH REPUBLIC

ENGLAND

SCOTLAND

AUSTRALIA

TASMANIA

NEW ZEALAND

TAILAND

NEPAL

LONDON (to see Indian temple)

AFRICA

Baboons/Warthog

Crocodile

Female lions with cubs

Male lion and zebra

Elephants

Hyena and Wildebeest

Hippopotamus and White Rhinosorus

Giraffe and Baobab tree

Victoria Falls from Zambia side

Chobe National Park

Vultures and Steenbok

Male Kudo and Impala

Zebra and crested Guinefowl

Village in Zambia

City of Soweto

University of South Africa

IRELAND

DENMARK

SWEDEN

FINLAND

RUSSIA

BERLIN: Checkpoint Charlie

POLAND

Gdask

Warsaw

Krakow

Auschwitz

Polish Church and Village

Salt Mines

Epilogue

I began backpacking in the 90’s when I first went to Europe and met my daughter in Rome. For many years after that I backpacked with someone, either family or friend and traveled internationally. I backpacked by myself, once to Nepal and once to Spain and a few times to Europe. Many people have been encouraging me to write this book and, I have thought about it for many years. The things that began to motivate me were the changes that have occurred since the 90’s. I began to realize how fortunate I have been to have seen so many places. I was able one trip to visit 9 different countries and 21 different cities. And, what really blew my mind was how I traveled alone to Nepal and was guided by Sherpa’s. And if you plan ahead, one can see the world at any age. It is such a rewarding experience that will last you a life time. Staying at youth hostels instead of expensive hotels and taking the metros or buses instead of taxis can help cut costs. No wonder college students have been doing it for years. The book contains more pictures than dialogue so that the reader can understand what they are missing. For example, I have pictures of some of the temples in Dunbar Square, which in 2015 may have been demolished by a major earthquake. Below is a picture taken in Dunbar Square of one of the temples.

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Many older people like to travel via cruises. Many younger people like to travel via backpacking. When I was 59, my daughter was at the Loyola Rome Center. Since I had never been out of the United States she encouraged me to come to Italy. After a few phone calls to airlines, I came across a fantastic air price to Rome and back. This encouraged me to contact other friends of my daughter and a friend of mine to fly to Rome with me. I purchased a backpack and unknowingly was about to begin an international backpacking saga for many years.

After arriving in Rome my daughter Michele took us to see the usual sightseeing places such as the Vatican City, St. Peter’s square, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum and, of course, the Trevi fountain.

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While we were sitting in St. Peter’s square on the stoop, a young girl dressed as a nun came and stood in front of me. All she had with her was a large cardboard with pictures of Saints pasted to the cardboard. I said hello but she never answered. She just stood there for about 10 minutes until we got up to leave and then she left going in the opposite direction. It was all very bizarre.

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