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…
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 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…
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 (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…
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 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…
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…
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…