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Nirvana in Narva: Where Castles Clash
Exploring Russia and The Baltics When you travel the nerd way, you discover little gems filled with history and gorgeous views and experiences you’ll remember forever, even though you didn’t check off any boxes. Like these two little villages in rural Russia. I had read about Narva, Estonia in one of my all-time favorite books,…
Escaping Death & Arrest Exploring Mostar’s Abandoned Sniper Tower
Escaping Death & Arrest Exploring Mostar’s Abandoned Sniper Tower My most dangerous mission of this 35-day trip was to trespass and climb to the top of the abandoned Sniper Tower in Mostar without falling to my death or getting arrested. One day in 1992, this was a bustling bank building, filled with professionals and secretaries…
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Zone Tour: Is it Safe?
Chilling Experience: Chernobyl Tour You have a happy family with little children in the idyllic “atomic city” of Pripyat, Ukraine. Your husband works at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Then and now). You are privileged with wide flower-lined streets, the Soviet Union’s first supermarket, swimming pools, a cinema and a close knit community of…
Visiting Auschwitz
Visiting Auschwitz Concentration Camp Before boarding the 50’s era bus for the ninety minute ride to Auschwitz, I stopped in that really beautiful St. Mary’s church with Jesus hanging from above. So strikingly beautiful. Which only magnified the contrast with the day ahead. Stepped outside and it was the perfect day to visit Auschwitz. Bitterly…
7 Days in Germany, Austria and Poland
Summer 2019: First Leg of 35-Day Adventure This is the first leg of a 35-day adventure that will cover 5,000 kilometers and cover 11 countries. The entire trip entails: – Hiking in beautiful Bavaria – Brief stopovers in Vienna and Krakow – 10 days in Ukraine, including a tour of Chernobyl – Visiting Transnistria, a…
Hiking to Hitler’s House
Hiking to Hitler’s House If you’re a dictator with grandiose plans to dominate the world, it makes sense that you’d build a stunning home on top of a mountain with spectacular views over Berchtesgaden, in the heart of Bavaria two hours south of Munich. So this is Hitler’s famous Eagle’s Nest. You take a bus…
Best Day in Budapest: Walking into History
Best Day in Budapest: Walking into History (This was part of a four-day excursion in Budapest as part of a five-week trip in the summer of 2015. Contact me for more info on exploring Budapest as there is a lot to experience here.) I awoke to a beautiful sunrise and walked out the door at…
Hiking Hoverla, Ukraine’s Highest Mountain
Hiking Hoverla, Ukraine’s Highest Mountain We hiked this beautiful mountain as part of our 10-day adventure in Ukraine. You can read about the entire trip, including our adventures in Chernobyl and Transnistria, here. 60% of Ukrainians live below the poverty line. So why don’t you see any homeless people or people begging for money? I…
10 Great Days in Ukraine (Chernobyl) & Transnistria
I admit, it’s a weird trip. Who wants to go to Ukraine? But Chernobyl is haunting, Odessa mysterious, the Russians have invaded, a tenuous democracy is taking hold, and the future of the country is still unfolding. It’s the only place I’ve seen an old peasant woman taking a cow for a morning walk. We…
Lost in Rural Russia: 3 Unbelievable Adventures (with Naked Russians and Billy Joel)
3 Days in Rural Russia Moscow and St. Petersburg are amazing. Simply amazing. And I will share our adventures there soon. But what my son and I remember most about Russia is getting out of our comfort zone and venturing north of Moscow to two small villages. We had unforgettable adventures there that we still…
Climbing Germany’s Second Highest Mountain
Climbing German’s Second Highest Mountain Jesus was there to greet us as we scaled Germany’s second highest mountain. It was appropriate as we thought we were going to die twice. This wasn’t the plan. It was the first day off the plane. And a great way to power through jetlag. We were supposed to…
7 Perfect Days in Portugal
JUNE 2018 I did not go to Porto or Lisbon. I did not see one tourist attraction. And I had the best Portugal trip ever, exploring the mountain villages of northern Portugal. This trip was amazing because of encounters with an old shepherd and his flock and the “Portuguese Mafia” who knew America better than…
Better than Prague: Go to Český Krumlov
Visiting A Fairy Tale Village in the Czech Republic This past winter as I was looking at a map, I happened upon a small medieval village from the 1200’s south of Prague on the way to Vienna. It’s called Cesky Krumlov. As it turns out, it’s a little fairy tale city. Surrounded by a river…
Hiking with A Shepherd
Morning Hike With A Shepherd This is Mr. Augosto. He’s 74 and has been a shepherd his entire life. Every morning, after milking his cow and taking care of the other animals, he leads his flock into the highlands to graze for two hours. They know his voice and he knows theirs. After the morning…
Ever Been In A Turkish Prison? (Coming Soon!)
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Visiting Transnistria: A Communist Country That Doesn’t Exist
We Visited A Country That Doesn’t Exist: Transnistria (Read more here about our adventures visiting Chernobyl and Ukraine.) My guess is you have never heard of Transnistria. That’s because it is a country that really doesn’t exist. No country on the planet actually recognizes they exist as a sovereign state. Not even Russia! It’s a…
Bears & Beers in Transylvania (Coming Soon!)
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7 Unforgettable Days in Romantic Romania
JULY 2019 Romania is supposedly the brackish backwater of Europe filled with gypsies. We did not experience that in our week here. Instead, we found the rolling hills, mountains, and Transfagaran Highway nothing short of stunning. The little German villages throughout Transylvania ooze with charm, plus you get Dracula, roving sheep and shepherds, and the…
Sarajevo: Where Snipers Killed Civilians (Coming Soon)
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Sarajevo & Mostar: Why You Must Visit Bosnia
JULY 2019 This is part of a 35-day trip spanning 5,000 kilometers. To be honest, this part of the trip through Bosnia was an add-on. I had read reviews on Air B&B and walked away with the sense that this was a special place to visit. So I took a couple days from other places…
Adventures in Istanbul, Bulgaria, & Kosovo (Coming Soon!)
WINTER 2018 Who goes to Istanbul, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Kosovo in the dead of winter? Europe Nerd! Istanbul pushed me out of my comfort zone, but ultimately charmed me. I’ll show you the best way to see the Hagia Sophia and why you should skip the Blue Mosque for a stunning smaller mosque. I avoided…