Armchair Traveler debuts January 8
Tue, Jan 8 2019, 4:15pm
Join us for UMRA’s first Armchair Traveler program on Tuesday, January 8, at the Highland Park Community Center and Library in St. Paul. UMRA members Jean Kinsey, Craig Swan, and Lynn Anderson will show their pictures from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mongolia, and Germany.
The program will run from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. but we have the room from 4 o’clock so come early to socialize. Each presenter will have 30 minutes to show and talk about their photos and answer questions. Armchair Traveler, intended to be an occasional series of informal travelogues, is a new initiative of UMRA’s Social Activities Committee.
Jean Kinsey will show pictures of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of the seven Emirates that comprise the UAE. Dubai is the federation’s largest city and commercial and financial center, housing hundreds of multinational corporations, major medical centers, shopping malls, and dizzying skyscrapers. Jean’s pictures will show us the incredible architecture of Dubai, including Burj Khalif, the world’s tallest building. Abu Dhabi is the center of the oil industry, home to United Arab Emirates University and branches of several international universities. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and gold sprinkled cappuccinos depict the eye-popping wealth in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s second-largest city and capital.
Craig Swan will show pictures of Mongolia, a land of crystalline lakes, great swathes of grassy plains, and ancient desert. Although the modern world is impinging on its nomadic culture, Mongolia still evokes a time when Genghis Khan and his warrior horsemen thundered across the steppes to establish the largest land empire the world has ever known. Craig and his wife, Janet, visited Mongolia in the summer of 2014 during Naadam, an annual festival also known as the “three manly games” (although today women participate in two of the games.)
Lynn Anderson will show pictures of Germany, where she lived for three years in the early 1970s. She took groups of U of M students there to do research in 1981, 1988, and 2003, and has visited many more times. Berlin will be the focus of her pictures, but we’ll also see a bit of Bentheim, Cologne, Heidelberg, Munich, and Münster. Berlin is Europe’s least expensive capital and offers incredible art, architecture, culture, performances, unique neighborhoods, lovely green spaces, and captivating glimpses into history and politics.
Join us on January 8!
—Lynn C. Anderson
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
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