Archive for August, 2008
Saturday, August 30th, 2008
Who Needs Rome, Venice and Tuscany?
When we decided to spend a week or so in Italy before crossing into France, we were nervous about battling the onslaught of tourists that converge on Italy during August. Many Europeans take off the ENTIRE month of August and hit the road. We knew the big towns and regions would be swamped, so we […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Italy by Derek
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Hay, Man
For the past few days, we’ve been driving through Northern Italy, where the scenery looks something like Under the Tuscan Sun meets The Sound of Music. Which is to say, it’s incredible. We’ve crossed over a number of high mountain passes that have landed us in valleys full of fields of hay, where the smell […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Italy by Shanna
Monday, August 25th, 2008
Eastern Europe, Naturally
Trying to picture Eastern Europe before I ever saw it, I always envisioned lots of communist bloc housing. And also cabbage. And clouds. After having spent about six weeks there, I can report that it has at least the first two of these things in ready supply. As it turns out, though, Eastern Europe also […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Slovakia,Slovenia by Shanna
Sunday, August 24th, 2008
The Next Prague (and the Next and the Next and the Next and the Next)
Frequent travelers like to seek out places that are more off the beaten path and less expensive than their well-known counterparts, places they can claim as their own well before their fellow globetrotters have even heard of them. Twenty years ago or so, these travelers discovered Prague, in the Czech Republic, and they fell in […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Poland,Slovakia,Slovenia,Ukraine by Derek
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
Getting Hungary
The twentieth century was a tough one for Hungary. Until then, the nation had been one half of Austria-Hungary, one of the most powerful empires on earth. World War I brought widespread destruction to the land, both during and after the actual conflict. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians were killed in battle, and under a […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Hungary by Shanna
Saturday, August 16th, 2008
At Evil’s Epicenter
Auschwitz. Even the name of the infamous Nazi death camp sends a chill down my spine. Although the camp and its neighbor, Auschwitz II (also called Birkenau), are both in Poland, they were the setting for a living nightmare experienced not only by Poles, but by people throughout Europe. From places as far away as […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Poland by Shanna
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Insane in the Ukraine
To many, “Eastern Europe” signifies the old Communist bloc – an area of the world continuously grey and bleak, with long lines filled with desperate people waiting hours to score a loaf of bread or a piece of meat. Fortunately, these stereotypes are mostly a thing of the past. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Romania,Ukraine by Derek
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Tracking Dracula ’til the Cows Come Home
When you think about Romania, one of three things probably comes to mind: (1) Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 in the ’76 Olympics; (2) the draconian rule of Nicolae Ceausescu1 ; or (3) Dracula himself. (After all, the count who was the inspiration for the evil character is said to hail from Transylvania, an area in central […]
Comments Off on Tracking Dracula ’til the Cows Come Home - Posted in Romania by Shanna
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
Just Your Typical Bosnian Vacation
Considering that Bosnia is most recently known for a gruesome war that ended just 13 years ago, I’m guessing that there aren’t many people out there who put Bosnia and Hercegovina (aka “Bosnia”) at the top of their list of vacation destinations. In fact, it wasn’t on our radar screen until we looked at a […]
4 Comments » - Posted in Bosnia by Derek
Monday, August 4th, 2008
In Defense of Dubrovnik
In 1776, the Republic of Dubrovnik became the first foreign state to recognize a small, upstart republic known as the United States of America. The people of Dubrovnik had, for centuries, guarded their own freedom against incursions by larger, wealthier states. It seems they were eager to support others who wanted to do the same. […]
