An Edinburgh Evening
Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline above Scotland’s capital. This view from Calton Hill includes the clock tower of the Balmoral Hotel and the dense collection of Victorian and Georgian buildings that characterize central Edinburgh. Photographed at sunset in April 2026.
Berlin
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Berlin twice. The first time was in the early 1980s and the second time in 2018. The transformation was dramatic.
Berlin Before the Fall of the Wall
I visited Berlin in the early 1980s. Berlin was then a divided city. I stayed in the Western zone near the Kurfurstendamm, which at the time was the heart of Berlin. I took a one day bus tour to the East. We crossed through Checkpoint Charlie. The bus was thoroughly searched by East German border guards. In contrast, the American military just let us pass freely.
The West was vibrant with shops, restaurants and people everywhere, In contrast, buildings in the East still showed signs of the bombing it received in the war. There were Soviet style memorials throughout East Berlin.
Our East German guide was openly dispirited and seemed to be reciting a script he was told to speak, especially when he spoke of “warm relations” with the then Soviet Union. At the end of the day, I was glad to be back in the West where I felt free and comfortable.
Berlin in 2018
Kurfurstendamm
In 2018, I went back to Berlin to see an undivided, transformed and reinvented Berlin. The German capital was still under construction 73 years after the end of WWII. I stayed near the Kurfurstendamm so I could compare my experience today with the early 1980s. My hotel — Pension Peters — is a small owner-managed hotel, where I felt more like a temporary resident in a nice Berlin neighborhood rather than a tourist.
I saw the transformation of Berlin immediately. The Kurfurstendamm is no longer the center of town. The heart of Berlin today is in the former East, which was a shambles when I was last there. The Kurfurstendamm is now a nice shopping street in lovely Berlin neighborhood called City West but is no longer the heart of the capital.
The Heart of Berlin
In 2018, Checkpoint Charlie was now nothing more than a tourist attraction with actor guards who, for a few Euros, will pose with you for a nice picture. There was even a “Checkpoint Charlie” McDonald’s across the street. It certainly no longer inspires fear.
The heart of Berlin is dominated by the Brandenburg Gate and government buildings, including the embassies of the four former occupying powers: the United States, Great Britain, France and Russia.
Berlin is no longer occupied but the former occupiers are nearby as if to say: “We are watching.” Each of the four embassies has a rich history.
The Soviet Union was first of the four major occupiers to move into a post-War embassy in Berlin. The Russian Embassy in Berlin was closed in 1941 when the two countries went to war. Its reconstruction was the first project of the post-war years in the East Berlin. The embassy’s official grand opening was held on the national holiday of the former USSR, on November 7, 1951. It’s Europe’s largest embassy which sends a message all by itself. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became the Russian Embassy. (See also Rick Steves Berlin (p. 105). Avalon Publishing. Kindle Edition.)
The United Kingdom (UK) came next. The UK’s impressive new embassy was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on July 18, 2000.
France occupied its new embassy in October 2002. However, France formally opened it on January 23, 2003. That date was chosen as it was the 40th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty between Germany and France, declaring friendship between France and the former West Germany. French President Jacques Chirac presided. Marking the occasion, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Chirac issued a declaration affirming Franco-German friendship and their joint determination to “re-found Europe”.
The United States was the last of the four major occupiers to move into a post-War embassy in Berlin. The history of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin is especially complicated. During WWII, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin was severely damaged by Allied bombing. After the war, the embassy ended up just barely inside East Berlin in divided Berlin’s Soviet zone, straddling the demarcation between the Soviet and American sectors.
The Berlin Wall made the site of the former U.S. Embassy, still owned by the U.S. government, an inaccessible vacant lot. It was part of the security zone separating east and west Berliners. In 1967, the East German government demolished the ruins of the US Embassy building. However, the site became accessible after the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989. Even so, it remained a vacant lot until the 2004 groundbreaking for construction of a brand new U.S. Embassy. The newly constructed embassy opened on July 4, 2008.
The Brandenburg Gate is nearby. This is the center of Berlin. Since the 18th Century, the Brandenburg Gate has been a site for major historical events and today is an important symbol of the history of Europe and Germany.
Also nearby — and not to be missed — is Germany’s parliament — the Reichstag — which was opened in 1894 and remained in service until 1933, when it was severely damaged after being set on fire. The Reichstag fire occurred one month after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. After World War II, the building fell into disuse; the parliament of the German Democratic Republic (the Volkskammer) met in the Palast der Republik in East Berlin, while the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (the Bundestag) met in the Bundeshaus in Bonn.
The building was not properly restored until after German reunification on October 3, 1990. And what a glorious restoration it was. The German government chose British architect Norman Foster to lead the effort. Foster constructed is a large glass dome atop the Reichstag with a 360 degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. The debating chamber of the Bundestag, the German parliament, can be seen below. A mirrored cone in the center of the dome directs sunlight into the building, and so that visitors can see the working of the chamber. The dome is open to the public and can be reached by climbing two steel, spiraling ramps that are reminiscent of a double helix. The Dome sends a message that the people are above the government, as was not the case during the Nazi era. After its completion in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament: the modern Bundestag. The views are impressive. Entry is free but advance registration is required.
Other Berlin Sites
I also enjoyed visiting:
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Hitler’s Bunker (Führerbunker), where Adolf Hitler committed suicide at the end of the war. It’s now an ordinary parking lot. Germany does not want to create a shrine out the place where Hitler perished.
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Topography of Terror (Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre) has interesting exhibits documenting Nazi crimes. During the Nazi era, the headquarters of the Secret State Police, the SS and the Reich Security Main Office were located at the site.
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The German History Museum for its candid exhibits about Hitler and the Nazis era.
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Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, the site of the main political prison of the former East German Communist Ministry of State Security, the Stasi. I found the visit informative and chilling. East Germany went from one form of oppression to another form of oppression. It’s sad, terrifying and once again demonstrates what unchecked power can do.
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Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial) has almost 3,000 symbolic pillars next to the U.S. Embassy in the heart of Berlin. It was designed by New York architect Peter Eisenman, who is Jewish. It opened in 2005. Eisenman explains that the “project manifests the instability inherent in what seems to be a system, here a rational grid, and its potential for dissolution in time.” The Memorial brings home the magnitude of the Holocaust.
Germany is creatively and thoughtfully reinventing its capital city. The transformation since the end of WWII is astounding.
It’s Important to Have Your Own Space on the Internet
Om on big publishing platforms:
No matter how often this happens, we don’t learn our lessons — we continue to till other people’s proverbial land and keep using their social spaces. Whether it is Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Medium, we get trapped in the big platforms because they dangle the one big carrot in front of our eyes: the reach, the audience, and the influence.
And we keep doing their bidding — they use our social networks, our work, and our attention — and, in the process, help make their networks gigantic and indispensable. We become pawns in their end game. And then they change the rules of the game — after all, if you own the league, you make the rules.
I have known the truth about social platforms. I quit Facebook and Instagram years ago, and candidly I am better for it. I don’t need 5000 friends — 15 good ones will do. And as far as sharing photos — I am happy that I have about a thousand people interested in my photographic work instead of 100,000 followers on Instagram.
Film: ‘The Art Dealer (L’antiquaire)’
The Art Dealer (L’antiquaire) is a beautiful 2015 French film about a young Parisian woman portrayed by Anna Sigalevitch. She’s searching for paintings stolen from her Jewish family during WWII.
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing who is in the hit French series Spiral does a nice job portraying the woman’s husband.
The cinema-photography is excellent and the slow uncovering of unflattering facts reveals what war brings out in human nature even among those not in power.
Finding Readers One at a Time
Sophia Efthimiatou, head of writer relations at Substack, explains that it’s ok to start writing with a small audience:
You would think known writers with large audiences have it easy here, but the pressure to succeed is felt more among them. The stakes are low if you are not at all known. There is no audience to lose, only one to gain. And gain you will. Perhaps when you start your only subscribers will be your best friend, your lonely neighbor, and your aunt–who can’t even read English. And then, one day, a fourth subscriber will roll in, a total stranger. That person will be there just to read you.
She’s right. One thoughtful reader who finds value in something you’ve written is enough.
Blog About Whatever You Want to Share
Ben Werdmuller on what you should write about on your blog:
Whatever you want to share. That’s the long answer and the short answer.
What you shouldn’t worry about is whether what you’re sharing is valuable. If you want to share it, it’s inherently valuable: a reflection of who you are and how you think about the world.
If you want to use it to build a business, then do that. If you want to share more about yourself, then do that. There are no wrong answers.
This is such a simple answer and the best one I’ve seen.
JungleDragon: Sharing Wildlife Photos
JungleDragon is a social wildlife community for fans of nature. It’s mission is to facilitate the creation of the largest resource of nature imagery on the planet. The site offers an engaging, social and friendly way to find and contribute images and other content.
The site was created by Ferdy Christant, a talented photographer. The site is free to use. I am a member and am enjoying it. If you’re interested you can follow me there.
Father Pitt: A Public-Domain Photo Treasure of Pittsburgh
If you’re interested in Pittsburgh, the blog Father Pitt offers a wide-ranging collection of photographs of my hometown.
The author remains anonymous, but the site is maintained with care and updated regularly. Each photo is accompanied by thoughtful descriptions, and the entire collection is released to the public domain under a CC0 dedication—making it both a visual resource and a gift to the community.
Toulouse: Light, Stone, and the Quiet Confidence of a Great City
Toulouse doesn’t shout. It doesn’t need to. France’s fourth-largest city has a way of revealing itself slowly—through the glow of its pink brick at sunset, the hum of its cafés, the youthfulness of its streets, and the golden light that pours across the Garonne River as if the whole city has turned its face toward the sun.
I had the privilege of visiting Toulouse as part of a group organized and led by Sarah Diligenti, Executive Director of the Alliance Française of Washington. She is a native of Toulouse, and her affection for the city is contagious. As a long-time member of the Alliance, it was a joy to see her hometown through her eyes. The experience felt less like tourism and more like being welcomed into someone’s place in the world.
The Beautiful Light Along the Garonne
If Paris has the Seine and Lyon the Rhône, Toulouse has the Garonne—and its light is different. Warmer. Wider. More relaxed.
Stand along the Quai de la Daurade in the late afternoon and you’ll see why photographers adore this river. The sun drops low, raking the facades of old brick warehouses and convents, and the water turns a deep metallic blue. The dome of La Grave seems to float. Couples sit on the steps. Friends carry bottles of wine. Life takes on a certain softness.
The Garonne begins high in the Spanish Pyrenees at the Pla de Beret and flows 529 kilometers northward through southwestern France before merging with the Dordogne to form the Gironde estuary, eventually emptying into the Atlantic near Bordeaux. Toulouse grew because of this river—because of its trade, its silt, its life—and the city still orients itself toward it.
Place du Capitole: A Stage Set of Grandeur
Every visitor eventually drifts toward the Place du Capitole, the city’s true living room.
Place du Capitole at sunrise. Toulouse’s city hall and theatre stretch across the square in rose and cream — regal but never pompous.
The square is enormous—regal without being pompous. Its pale stone surface reflects the sky, and the façade of the Capitole, Toulouse’s town hall and theatre, stretches across an entire block like a Renaissance stage set painted in rose and cream.
Sit with a coffee and watch the square turn from morning bustle to afternoon languor. At night it becomes cinematic: couples posing under the arcades, groups of students weaving past, street musicians tuning their guitars. Sarah brought us here first, as if to say: this is where the pulse of the city can be felt.
If you want to understand Toulouse’s confidence, start here.
Couvent des Jacobins: Light You Don’t Expect
From the outside, the Couvent des Jacobins is easy to miss—just another brick wall on a quiet street in a city full of brick walls. But step inside and everything changes.
The light is astonishing.
The light here is unlike any other Gothic space in Europe — quiet, weightless, and unforgettable.
Columns rise like palm trees, splitting the vault in a pattern unlike any other Gothic space in Europe. Sunlight filters through tall windows and dances across the floor, illuminating the famously delicate “palm tree” column that seems to hold the heavens together. The effect is both austere and uplifting—one of those places where the air feels different, as though centuries of contemplation have seeped into the stone.
It is a place you stumble into once and remember forever.
A City of Students—and Their Energy
Toulouse is often called La Ville Rose for its pink brick, but it could just as easily be called La Ville Jeune. It is one of the largest student cities in France—home to over 100,000 university students across institutions like the University of Toulouse, Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse II Jean Jaurès, and the renowned engineering school, INSA.
This youthful energy is everywhere: in the packed terraces, in the narrow streets around Place Saint-Pierre, in the late-night laughter that spills out of wine bars. The city feels alive because its average age is young—and because young people shape its rhythm.
Toulouse at Night: A Mood All Its Own
After dark, Toulouse becomes reflective.
Lanterns glow under the arcades. The river absorbs the city’s lights and sends them shimmering back. The soundscape softens—just footsteps, distant music, the hum of a bicycle. Something about the combination of brick, shadow, and sky makes your mind wander. It is a place that invites thought, memory, and stories.
The night feels gentle yet filled with possibility—like a city that understands both its past and its future.
Notre-Dame de la Dalbade: A Quiet Gem
Visitors often overlook Notre-Dame de la Dalbade, but it deserves a moment.
Named for its once-white facade (la dalbade meaning “whitewashed”), the church stands in the Carmes district and is crowned with one of the most striking ceramic tympanums in France—a vividly colored Last Supper that seems impossibly bright against the brick surrounding it.
Inside, the church has a deep stillness. Sunlight falls in thin beams across the nave, revealing a space filled with the scent of wood and incense. It’s the kind of place that makes you slow down without realizing it.
Marché Victor Hugo: The Beating Heart of the City
If you want to understand how well Toulouse eats, go to Marché Victor Hugo.
It is crowded—in the best way. Fishmongers calling out the day’s catch. Butchers slicing lamb and duck confit with practiced precision. Cheese counters overflowing with pyramids of chèvre, sheep’s milk tommes, and wheels of Roquefort. Produce stacked in brilliant color.
This is not a tourist market. It is where Toulousains shop, gossip, argue, flirt, and order a glass of wine upstairs before lunch. Even if you buy nothing, the atmosphere is irresistible.
The Majesty of Saint-Sernin
And then there is Basilique Saint-Sernin, one of the greatest Romanesque churches in Europe.
The nave of Basilique Saint-Sernin, one of the great Romanesque churches of Europe. Columns and arches draw the eye toward the light.
Its octagonal bell tower rises above the low roofline of the city like a compass point. The church was once a major stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, and its size reflects that history—immense, solid, welcoming.
Inside, the columns and arches draw your eyes forward, as if the whole building wants you to move toward the light at the apse. It feels ancient in the deepest, most dignified way.
Toulouse Stays With You
Toulouse isn’t the first French city many travelers think of—but perhaps that’s why it feels so rewarding. It has beauty without pretense, history woven into daily life, and a warmth—of people, of light, of brick—that stays with you long after you leave.
It’s a city that doesn’t need to impress you. It simply does.
I left with the quiet glow of having been there, and the pleasure of seeing a city through the pride and affection of someone who calls it home.
Helen Reddy (1941-2020)
Singer Helen Reddy, born in Melbourne, Australia in 1941, died in Los Angeles on September 29, 2020, at the age of 78.
Her first hit came in 1971 with a cover of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar. It remains my absolute favorite of her songs — tender, emotional, and beautifully sung. A year later, she released what would become her signature anthem: “I Am Woman.” It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1972. Reddy was the first Australian-born artist to top that chart — and the first to win a Grammy.
I’ve always loved Helen Reddy’s music. Her voice was strong and expressive, and her songs made an impression that lasted. “I Am Woman” was more than a hit — it was a declaration of presence and power, especially at a time when those words carried weight.
Reddy’s life wasn’t easy. She had a kidney removed at 17 and lived with Addison’s disease. Still, she built a career that was both groundbreaking and lasting, and her music continues to resonate.
The Fragile Survival of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The 240-year-old Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has officially been saved from a scheduled shutdown, passing into the hands of the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute, according to the official announcement.
While the sale prevents total extinction, it underscores a harsh reality. Thirty-four years after the Pittsburgh Press ceased operations in 1992, the city was once again staring down the terrifying possibility of becoming a major American metropolitan area without a daily newspaper.
The immediate crisis has been averted, but the victory is bittersweet. The paper that survives is undeniably a diminished version of its former self—a quiet reminder of the fragile, shrinking state of local journalism.
I recently finished The Old Man on Hulu. It held my attention and kept me company on the elliptical trainer, but I was never convinced by Jeff Bridges as an old man with almost superhuman strength.
Julia Butterfly (Dryas iulia) — Butterfly Experience, Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, Maryland
A Julia Butterfly (Dryas iulia) feeds on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) at the Butterfly Experience, Brookside Gardens' South Conservatory, Wheaton, Maryland. One of the faster-flying butterflies in the exhibit, the Julia is common throughout Central and South America and is a frequent presence in butterfly house collections worldwide.
The End of an Era: Demolition Begins at the Former GEICO Headquarters – Chevy Chase, MD
The beginning of the end for a Friendship Heights landmark.
After 67 years in Friendship Heights, the former GEICO corporate headquarters is being prepared for demolition and redevelopment. Designed by architect Vincent Kling and completed in 1959, the 26-acre International Style campus served for decades as a familiar landmark at the border of Montgomery County and Washington, D.C.
With GEICO’s relocation to downtown Bethesda now complete, activity on the site accelerated today as heavy equipment, staging flatbeds, and a Bay Crane arrived on-site. The transformation of one of Friendship Heights’ most recognizable corporate campuses is now visibly underway.
For more history about this property check out the Streets of Washington Substack.
Resurfacing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — Washington, D.C.
A rainy Memorial Day view looking east toward the Washington Monument across the drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. As part of preparations for the nation’s 250th anniversary, the 6.75-million-gallon basin was emptied for repairs, leak mitigation, cleaning, and resurfacing. The project includes application of a new protective coating in a custom blue color that will replace the pool’s long-familiar gray floor. Tarps, equipment, and standing rainwater covered the site as work continued toward its planned reopening.
The Terrible Towel Going to Paris
The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading to France! 🏈🇫🇷
As part of the NFL’s 2026 international lineup, the Steelers will play the New Orleans Saints in the first-ever regular season game in Paris. The historic matchup is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 2026, at the Stade de France.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 PM local French time (9:30 AM ET). Check out the full Steelers 2026 Schedule for more details.
I enjoyed Ondřej Trojan’s “Under the City” photo essay for LFI. He beautifully captures the quiet, isolated, and deeply human moments shared by strangers in the Prague metro system.
“I want to capture moments of stillness, when people are forced to pause, even if only for a brief moment, during their busy day. This motif of calm amidst the bustle of the city is also one of my main themes beyond this public transport series.”
Scotland - 2026
I just posted a gallery of photos from my recent trip through Scotland, capturing everything from the historic streets to the Highlands.
You can view the full collection here: Scotland Photo Gallery.
Viewing Niagra, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
A visitor stands before Frederic Edwin Church’s Niagara (1857) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. When the painting debuted, audiences were stunned by its scale and sense of immediacy. Long before large-format photography, cinema, or digital media, Church created an experience that seemed to place viewers at the edge of the falls themselves. The exhibition traces how artists have interpreted Niagara over the last two centuries, from romantic spectacle to cultural symbol.
The Bridge of Sighs: Gateway to the City of the Dead
The Bridge of Sighs in Glasgow, built in 1833 by James Hamilton, crosses the Molendinar Ravine and connects Glasgow Cathedral to the Necropolis. Its name echoes the Venetian bridge, but here the “sighs” were those of funeral processions making their way to the Victorian cemetery beyond.
The stone structure in the foreground forms the bridge’s monumental gateway. The Molendinar Burn that once flowed beneath was culverted in 1877, leaving the bridge today to span a roadway and parkland rather than water.
