Coming Soon…
Istanbul, Turkey
Cairo, Egypt
I was very excited to visit Cairo and to see the wonders of ancient Egypt. My first impression of Egypt is that I would never want to drive here. Nope, never. The thing about driving in Cairo, is you have to understand the recommendations. The dashed white lane-lines are recommendations. Use them in any way …
La Marsa, Tunisia
As Ramadan was winding down—Just a week left to go—I went to La Marsa, Tunisia. About as close as you can get to Sicily and still be in Africa. Still, it was Ramadan so restaurants were closed (although work had begun in earnest to complete renovations before the restaurants would reopen). Museums were also closed …
Casablanca, Morocco
The train from Marrakech to Casablanca was good. It was no Austrian train, natürlich, but it was good. It departed on time. That’s always a good sign. And it arrived only a few minutes late. Not bad. The first-class coach was comfortable and the ticket only cost $14. I could have saved a couple of …
Marrakech, Morocco
Morocco is a country that I have never before visited. I can now cross it off the list. The Red City of Marrakech (also, Marrakesh), which is neither the Moroccan capital nor its largest city (which are Rabat and Casablanca, respectively), was founded in the 11th century in the middle of the arable Haouz plain. …
Good Bye, Wien
In my time in Vienna, I have only met one person who said they would live somewhere else. He has lived in Vienna for over twenty years and said he would live in the south of France or in Spain if he didn’t have to live in Vienna. Don’t know why. Everyone else loves it. …
Innsbruck, Austria
I took a short trip over (4 hours by train) to Innsbruck, Austria’s 5th largest city. Innsbruck has a population of 130,000, while Vienna, the nation’s capital and largest city by far, has a population of 1.9 million. Innsbruck is surrounded by mountains, nestled in the Inn valley, straddling the Inn River. Vienna is not …
Vienna, part II
Turns out that Vienna is really boring. I realized this as I was lying on my bed, foot elevated, Achilles tendon throbbing for the 17th consecutive day. Boring! Even the ceiling is boring. I’m sorry. That was a lie. My Acchilles tendon did not throb for 17 days straight. Maybe 5. By that time, another …
Vienna, Austria
Ah, Österreich! But first, the train from Zagreb. Could have taken a bus, but trains have bathrooms! And bar cars! For about the same price as the bus, you can ride the rails like a hobo. Sadly, the train runs only once per day. At 7:27 in the AM. I, as you may have noticed, …
Zagreb, Croatia
You want history? Read any one of the other blogs about the Balkans. Paleo…Iron…Rome…Ottoman (but just a smidge) …Austro-Hungarian…Yugoslavia…Croatia…War. In the early 1990s, ethnic Serbs living in ‘Croatia’ rejected Croatian rule and fought to join with Serbia. The fighting ending shortly after it started in 1991—that’s is not to say it wasn’t horrible—with a United …