matthew

waiting on a visa

Long story short:  I spent a month in Austria and Switzerland.  I thought it would be a nice Euro ski trip.  Silver lining (part I), I saved a fortune on ski lift passes.  It was the warmest February on record.  Dragging around two bags, one of which is ski bag, isn’t a lot of fun. 

With a stop off at Lake Tahoe and Reno, I made my way to San Francisco.  I went to SF to submit my paperwork for a D7 Retirement via to Portugal.  I was able to hand in over my papers with only minor difficulty.  I reserve the right to change my opinion subject to actions

Ok, so I’m back in the US of A after 18 months.  My current long-term plan is to get a visa to move to Portugal. Why Portugal?  Portugal is an incredibly laid-back country.  One day, I saw a bus stuck at a corner, unable to make the turn because someone had parked their car on

What can I say?  Munich is Munich.  A great city with a lot of beer halls, a famous festival, and the dirndl.  The Bavarian dialect is quite strong, so good luck with your high school German.  Oh, they can understand your Hoch Deutsch, but there’s a good chance you won’t understand them.  I find it

Porto sits on the Douro River, just a few miles from the Ocean, but it doesn’t feel like it.  The hills of the city provide great views, but the city also creates views of its own.  The city is known for wine (especial sweet, fortified Port wine), but has a surprising number of craft beer

I headed north from Lisbon to see what life was like in a smaller town.  And it was nice.  Braga is the fourth largest in Portugal, about a quarter of the population of Lisbon.  When I visited, they were having an arts festival called “Noite Branca”, or white night.  Three nights of music and art,

August in Lisbon.  Once again, I am out of sync.  The Locals have left Lisbon for seaside, and only us silly tourists remain.  Summer heat and panting tourists.  That’s what I love. The weather, though, has been surprisingly nice.  Highs of 28C (82F), with a constant breeze.  I can’t speak for modern buildings, but the

I have traded Tbilisi, and weather in the 30s C, for Prague and the low 20s C.  And just in time, too.  The temps in Tbilisi are now in the 40 to 45 C range, or 104 to 113 F.  Ouch.  Too hot. Prague is one of those beautiful and historic cities.  It was not

Everyone told me to visit Georgia, so I did.  Unfortunately, I was a bit too late.  Inflation, and the influx of young Russians, has gobbled up all the great bargains.  It’s not that Georgia has become expensive, but that it is no longer silly cheap.  Georgia has a long, and varied, history.  So long, that