matthew

I decided to see a bit more of Turkey while I was here, something beyond Istanbul.  So, I went to Izmir for two weeks, because it gave me the opportunity to visit Pamukkale and Ephesus.  More on that later. Izmir is Turkey’s third largest city and sits on the enormous Bay of Izmir.  The bay […]

Istanbul:  A great city by any other name.  And it has had a few.  Other names, that is.  Starting in the olden days, the site has been regularly inhabited since at least 3,000 BCE.  The Greeks established the city of Byzantium in the 7th century BCE.  Later, the Roman emperor Constantine established his capital here

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

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

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

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. 

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.

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

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

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,