The Ron Jolly Show

09/23/2026

Another photo drop from Austria, Innsbruck and Salzburg and a few shots from Bavaria section of Germany.

We dined on local cuisine like Weiner schnitzel, bratwurst, polenta, fondue, trout, apple streudel, etc in fine restaurants including one that dates back 800 years!
We tasted beer brewed by monks in a monastery dating back I forget how many centuries.

I often stared in wonderment at the paintings, sculptures and intricate relief work in these old buildings while also trying to picture how they designed and constructed such lasting works of art without power tools, cranes, or other devices we take for granted. Amazing what can be accomplished without television!

Thank you again to Collette Travel, it’s been a pleasure working with all of you. Your decades of experience was evident throughout this journey. Shoutout to our Collette host Ben who provided so much background info and history during our stops.

Thanks to WTCM NewsTalk 580 GM Chris Warren and to our fellow travelers from northern Michigan. May we meet again!

* A few photos in my earlier posts were shot by Brian Lindfors.

I always forget to take pictures or the ones I take aren’t worth sharing

09/23/2026

Funny, most highway rest stops and a few public buildings offered only pay (to p*e) restrooms. Only 1.00 or .70 Euro or Swiss Franc to pass through turnstile into clean restrooms. You could use credit cards at most. Wonder if that ideal will catch on in the USA?

We motorcoached from Bern to Innsbruck, Austria with a brief stop in Lichtenstein for lunch. Enjoyed the polenta and lentils, a local fave at an old local restaurant.

Innsbruck hosted Winter Olympics twice. We were able to go to the top of the ski jump and watch future Olympic hopefuls practice. T night, the ski jump is lit up providing the nighttime skyline against the backdrop of the Alps.

Posting video here with more photos to come.

09/22/2026

We started off in Bern, capital city of Switzerland. Local guide for Collette Travel (our tour hosts) walked us around the cobblestone streets of Old Town, similar to small towns of northern Michigan as they are lined with 2 and 3 story buildings with retail and restaurants at street level and apartments above except many of these buildings feature detailed architectural features and date back 4-5 centuries. I like the functioning shutters

There are many outdoor cafes full of people drinking coffee or beer, eating delicious meals ( most involving cheese), smoking (common), talking, and not staring at phones.

The roads are narrow so the cars and trucks are small. Did not see any of the large or mid- size SUVs or pickups common on our roads. Lots of buses, trams on rail and bicycles.

The Alps provide the breathtaking backdrop for every scene.

We traveled by motor coach to Thun on the river Aare. Besides the beautifully preserved buildings and bridges there is a dam creating a current used by some young men to surf in place.

Then it was a ride up into the foothills and through the lush, green valleys of the Alps where sheep, cows, and goats roam, all outfitted in handmade cowbells which can be heard from afar. We enjoyed a great fondue lunch followed by a lesson on making alphorns.

Lake Lucerne is huge. It would fit in well with our beautiful northern Michigan lakes. Another town full of outdoor cafes, locally-owned shops featuring cheese, pastries, chocolates, cowbells, souvenirs of all types and the usual mix of apparel, stationery, and other shops that lure my wife Laura inside of for hours.

Our incredible driver Marco effortlessly maneuvered the beastly coach up and around narrow mountain roads including the one leading to Mt Pilatus which offered heavenly views of lake and landscape 7,500 feet below.

And, great meals everywhere including the daily breakfast buffet at our top notch swissotel Kursaal.

Photo dump follows.

More memories tomorrow.

What a great group of WTCM listeners to travel with and a few others in the group from Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Grand Rapids!

09/21/2026

On our way home from Switzerland. Will post photo highlights tomorrow. Great weather and great adventure! Thanks Collette.

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

Thank you to all who still follow this page. I'll be posting a lot of new photos next week as we head out with Collette https://www.facebook.com/GoCollette and WTCM group to Switzerland.

Jerard, our contact at Collette, was in town last week and held a meeting at the WTCM studios to brief us travelers and answer questions about currency, AC adapters, weather, packing, etc. He's an experienced traveler and was quite helpful.

He dropped a hint that Collette may offer a trip to Italy next Fall with stops in Venice, Rome, Florence, Lake Como, and a few other places over 9 days! I will post info on this page and record announcements on WTCM if that pans out.

Before our meeting with Jerard we took a tour of the studios in our little building which inlcude WKLT The Rock Station, WTCM FM (our little country station), and WTCM NewsTalk 580. Jerard snapped these shots from the rear of the tour, hence the perspective.

Also, I'll be on with Jack Lane's Ask the Real Estate Guy again this Saturday, 8-9am. Looks like I'll be joining him a couple of times a month. (don't be surprised if Colleen joins us one morning!) And of course I'll be in the studio running controls and piping up occasionally on New Retirement Radio with Prout Financial Design tomorrow and every Thursday, 10-11am.

Retirement is going well. I do miss seeing Colleen every day and connecting with our northern Michigan audience, but I do enjoy spending more time with Lala exploring northern Michigan and sleeping in every morning!

Thanks again for your interest.

Ron

08/15/2026

FYI, I’ll be working with Jack Lane tomorrow on Ask the Real Estate Guy, 8-9am.

Let’s see how long it takes him to get around to talking about real estate.

07/31/2026

Hello! FYI, I'll be a guest on Ask the Realtor with Jack Lane tomorrow (8-01) morning, 8-9am. I think we'll be talking a little Tigers baseball.

06/18/2026

Happy Birthday Colleen Wares!

06/06/2026

One of the giants of contemporary American fiction is coming to Traverse City. Dave Eggers will be a guest at the National Writers Traverse City National Writers Series on June 12th.
If you are familiar with Eggers, if you enjoy reading and good discussions about the art of writing, if you are any kind of artist, you don't want to miss this event. Eggers had devoted his adult life to the craft of writing; fiction, non-fiction and memorable, award-winning children's books.
I've read several of his books, each one different. No recurring characters or detectable patterns (other than The Every which is a follow up to the brilliant The Circle!). Anticipating the latest Eggers book reminds me of buying albums by my favorite bands in the 1970s. Each recording was an artistic statement that reflected where the band members were musically and lyrically at that time, as opposed to a crass effort to cash in on their previous work by providing more of the same.
I'll post Eggers bio and webpage that has links to his books. I highly recommend any of them that I have read and probably all of the others, too.
He sponsors several nationwide organizations that encourage and assist young writers.
He's the founder of McSweeney's literary magazine, blah blah blah.
If you've never attended a National Writers Series event, this is the one to try!
BTW, Dave does not use social media. He replies to all letters written to him. Unique and original in so many ways.
Thanks NWS for bring Dave and other great writers to TC.
https://nationalwritersseries.org/author-event/dave-eggers/

Dave Eggers is the author of many books, among them Contrapposto, The Eyes and the Impossible, The Circle, The Monk of Mokha, Heroes of the Frontier, A Hologram for the King, and What Is the What. He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing company, and co-founder of 826 Vale...