Amsterdam has a well earned reputation befitting a port town. “The Venice of the north,” the city is lined with canals between narrow cobblestone streets. Dark alleys beckon with all manner of seedy storefronts, smoky cafes venting out to the cross streets, and red hued windowed booths. Most any manner of hedonism and debauchery could […]
I’m not sure what I expected prior to visiting Belgium. In addition to a few movie references, I guess Belgium mostly evokes three things: chocolate, waffles, and beer. As it turns out, those three things are offered (at least in the quaint touristy areas) in an abundance that I could not have fathomed.
After a quick early morning train ride from Paris, we arrived in Luxembourg intending to immediately pick up some train tickets to Brussels. The plan was to have a nice relaxed day in Luxembourg and move along to Belgium in the evening for the next few days. When we inquired about purchasing our train tickets, […]
We’re not breaking any new ground in this part of our trip. We stayed in the “Drop of Gold” quarter near Gare du Nord. I would describe the area as a charming and multicultural hub that is brimming with character. The interwebs do at times describe this arrondissement in less flattering terms, calling it dicey […]
We closed out this trip back where we started, in Germany. We finished up our time in Munich, which quickly became one of the favorite stops for the group. After arriving in the late afternoon, we met up with a friend who is a police officer outside Munich. Our first stop was the Augustiner brewery […]
The train from Bratislava to Vienna was about an hour and had plenty of empty seats. We spent a couple of days sightseeing around town. The castles and churches are lovely, but the food scene seems to be where it’s at. Specifically, the dessert scene. There are lots of notable cafes with big cases stocked […]
Our train from Budapest left just after 5 a.m. for the couple hour ride to Bratislava. We had a reserved carriage to ourselves for most of the trip and managed to nap a bit before we arrived. We were all a bit tired when we got to Bratislava, so it’s hard to say much about […]
The overnight train from Krakow was not quite as nice as our prior overnighter, which isn’t saying much. The biggest change was no air conditioning. We left the window open, which kept the temperature ok, but at the expense of a whole lot of noise. Waking up in fits to a blur of Slovakian countryside […]
The overnight train from Prague to Krakow didn’t really provide an ideal night’s sleep, but it was restful enough to have us ready to face the day (that, and multiple shots of espresso) when we arrived just before 8 a.m. I woke up an hour or so before that and opened the window to the […]
We’re not charting new territory here. Eastern Europe is not part of the developing world. Stable electricity, clean drinking water on tap, and high-speed Internet are a given. With those things in mind, and with temperatures here (in Prague) approaching the 90s, there are a couple of things that are notably absent. The first is […]
Our flight to Berlin was over in what seemed like no time… A few light naps and we were there, ready to go (sort of) at about 0800 local time. We got our bags held at our hostel right outside of central station. The day started out pretty gray and cool and by mid-morning progressed […]
This trip has been a steady progression in comfort from the Spartan accommodations in the Marshall Islands, to the rugged and underdeveloped Micronesian state of Chuuq, to the traffic and chain restaurants of Guam, and finally now to Palau. Nice roads, streetlights, sidewalks, boutique stores and restaurants, numerous resorts catering to a large number of […]
Getting from Majuro to Truk/Chuuk was about a seven hour journey, with maybe only half of that being flight time. This was the real “pacific island hopper” experience. I must admit that I had had my fill of it by the time we got to our destination. Honolulu to Majuro was the first hop that […]
United Airlines has a route from Hawaii that hops through multiple stops in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, terminating in Guam. It’s a carryover from Continental Airlines, and it’s a reasonably economical way to travel through multiple stops in the South Pacific. This is the route we’re moving through, and we’re now a couple of […]
I’m not sure what I expected prior to our visit to the Philippines, but our short visit here has certainly been interesting. This is our first trip to an East Asian country that is primarily Catholic/Christian, a feature that likely has a role in some of the cultural features that set the Philippines apart a […]