Night Market Dining.

At Summer Palace.

Mao Zedong’s Car at Military Museum.

Summer Palace

Local Party Officials

Rush Hour.

Beijing Zoo.

Beijing Zoo.

For adventures in China, CLICK HERE

Hong Kong, while less exotic than it used to be, is probably the most thriving city in the Far East. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is more than just a city – it is really more like a small country as seen here in this fast paced panoramic. Hong Kong was our final stop before heading back to the United States.

FOR ADVENTURES IN CHINA, CLICK HERE

We have been in Shanghai for the past two days and just now the photo uploading is working properly. Getting here was not easy. Our connecting flight from Beijing was cancelled ( as were all flights to Shanghai ) and we had to take an overnight train. Today we leave for Guilin and the wilds of Guanxi Province,South China. Here are some random photos. ArcticTropic will catch up when we arrive in Hong Kong late next week. We have been shooting beautiful video with the GoPro, but the videos would take hours to upload on slow hotel speeds.

Lamasery Ulanbaatar.

Roadside on the way back to Ulanbataar.

At the Statue of Genghis Khan.

Boom Town Ulanbaatar.

On the Plexiglass floor 1000 feet above Pudong from the Shanghai TV Tower.

FOR ADVENTURES IN MONGOLIA, CLICK HERE

There is no better way to explore the glorious metropolis of Istanbul than with a citizen of the city. ArcticTropic was very fortunate to be hosted by Nezih Çavuşoğlu – a renowned artist in Turkey and increasingly throughout Europe. He descends from an old Ottoman family and was educated in Switzerland and the United States.

On the day I arrived Nezih sent his driver to pick me up at my hotel. As it turned out, his work was being auctioned that evening at Istanbul’s top gallery.

Sold !

More works by The Artist.

Fame !

The next day I arrived at Nezih’s beautiful apartment overlooking the Bosporus, with a view from Europe to Asia. His work graced the walls. From there we left for a cruise up and down the Bosporus – featured earlier on ArcticTropic Blog.

With Artist Nezih Çavuşoğlu before Yachting in the Bosporus.

With his wife Gulsen.

Istanbul by night is incredible. We feasted in the top restaurants.

Partied in the most exclusive clubs.

Then aperitifs at other artists houses.

ArcticTropic thanks our gracious host Nezih,who showed Istanbul in an incredible way that no one else could.

FOR ADVENTURES IN TURKEY, CLICK HERE

Today ArcticTropic was invited on a private yacht tour by a renowned Istanbul artist who will later be featured in the Blog.Time and bandwidth constraints in the hotel make posting difficult at this time. Today was an incredible fall day with temperatures in the 70s – in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

From Asia looking to Europe.

Turkey is extremely patriotic – the nation controls a good portion of this part of the world.

The entrance the Black Sea.

Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz pops in for a visit.

Though it is mid October temperatures in Bulgaria are springlike, in the upper 70s during the day.

A view from my hotel, high above the city.

This woman has seen history – has lived under Ottomans,Russians,Germans, Communists and now under a free regime.

Haggling the price down a few Stotinki.

Behind the ancient doors. Quirky wireless connection in the Hotel Lepzig here in Plovdiv makes it impossible to upload more pictures at the moment.

Sofia is one of the most religiously tolerant cites in the world, which would be a more peaceful place if their example was followed everywhere. These pictures are taken within a one block radius of each other.

Prayer Calls 5 times a day.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral where photos were allowed.

An Oasis of Peace.

The Royal Synagogue.

Kalemegdan Castle overlooks the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers – the most important trade and military corridor in the Balkans. It is also where the Military Museum is located.

Serbia has been at war for almost all of its’ 1000 years of history.

World War II was unimaginably brutal.

In May , 1999 a $ 2 Billion US Stealth Bomber was shot down during the Kosovo War – just outside Belgrade. The pilot forgot to put on the “invisible switch”.China ( their Embassy was bombed by the same plane) then bought the wreckage from local farmers and now have a Stealth Bomber of their own.The Serbians are extremely friendly to Americans considering the rather recent hostilities.

Entrance to the Main Castle.

Kalemegdan Castle from below.

Berlin is just 4 hours from Nuremberg on a high speed bullet train across the former East Germany. The Brandenburg Gate, barricaded for years by the Soviets, is now where East and West unite.

The Reichstag is once again the seat of German Power , since the Capital returned to Berlin in 2000.

There is still a 100 meter section of the Wall. East and West are nearly indistinguishable in this area, but becomes more evident further East.

In memory of those who tried to escape.

A Communist World Clock in the Alexanderplatz.

The East German Secret Police, the Stasi, were charged with keeping an unwilling population within the clutches of Communism. All of East Germany was under survellance from everyone else- the watchers were watched by others. The Stasi prison located in Hohenschönhausen is a grim reminder of when the power of the state gets totally out of control. Hohenschönhausen itself, an area of East Berlin set aside for top Party officials and intelligence services did not even exist on maps.

There are hundreds of cells in the facility. Prisoners were held here for years for imagined and real crimes , including thoughtcrimes against the State. Interrogations went on for days at a stretch. The Stasi used very little physical torture , but they were experts at mental torture, achieving complete breakdowns in order to ge the desired confession. While the Berlin Wall fell in November,1989, prisoners here were not freed until Reunification Day on October 3,1990, finding out for the first time that the State for which so much of their lives had been wasted , existed no more.

Commie Hi-Tech.

THe Rubber Room. After several months in complete silence and darkness the victims were ready to confess to whatever crimes the Stasi told them to.

Vanished brand of a vanished nation.

In the former East Germany, on the way north from Munich to Berlin.

FOR ADVENTURES IN GERMANY, CLICK HERE

Heidelberg, called Germany’s most beautiful city by Winston Churchill, was spared the vicious bombing raids received by other unarmed, militarily non-strategic cities at the end of the War. As a result its’ Old City is intact, almost unchanged since the 16th century. It is here where the Director of ArcticTropic lived as a young boy ( Father was transferred here from New York ) and where fascination with travel developed. Above is the Castle, Schloß Heidelberg.

One of the Castle’s turrets, destroyed by the French in the mid 18th century. Much of the castle is still intact and houses a winery, a restaurant and a museum.

The Alte Brücke, built across the Neckar in 1587.

The Alte Kirche , St.Vitus, in Handschuheim. Built in the 12th century, the church retains it’s original clock.

The Boyhood Home of the ArcticTropic Director at Bergstraße 69.

The Hotel Ritter, where we stayed. Very centrally located, built in 1400. Only drawback – the € 10 per day wifi is also slow and ancient.

Spring Sunset over the Old City and the Neckar.

FOR ADVENTURES IN GERMANY, CLICK HERE