Tag: Backpacker
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A Story About Amsterdam
Originally this post was going to be a rant about how disastrous my attempt at getting to Amsterdam turned out to be, then I decided that no one really wants to read about me getting screwed by United Airlines. So, we will move along in a more upbeat manner. I plan on ranting a bit…
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The Mysterious Ruins of Nan Madol
If you’re a history buff or you’ve spent any wasted time watching shows like The Unexplained, Ancient Aliens, or Unbelievable then you’ve probably heard of the ruins of Nan Madol. The quick overview is that Nan Madol is an archeological site on the east side of the island of Pohnpei, in Micronesia. It was the…
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Bratislava. Good God, i’m in Eastern Europe!
Alright, it’s time to start with a straightforward confession. I went to Bratislava for the Eurotrip jokes. I’ve seen that movie about 50 times (a conservatively low number) and have always loved the Bratislava part. I also confess that I knew the city didn’t look like it was portrayed in the movie. No cities really…
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More Observations from the road. Another round of stuff that I noticed while backpacking around europe.
It’s never during the excitement of the experience that you tend to notice the oddities of the world. It’s during the quiet down time, when you’re stuck in an airport or sitting quietly on a park bench or waiting out a transfer at the train station that you notice something about what you’ve experienced was…
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Vienna, Austria. Two Days is not enough time.
I confess that I wasn’t naturally attracted to Vienna at the beginning. I needed a place to stay, that was a quick train ride from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, and Vienna fit the bill. it was big, had lots of stuff to do, was easy to get in/out of, and was a straight…
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Poland, Part 2. Learning history at Auschwitz, Birkenau, and the wieliczka salt mine.
A Quick Overview If you spend more than a brisk afternoon in Krakow, or spend any amount of up-front time researching things to do when you get there, you will come across the obligatory Concentration Camp/Salt Mine Day Trip. It is absolutely guaranteed. I think I first stumbled across it in Prague when searching for…
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Israel Part 3. Jerusalem, Everyone’s Holy City.
Jerusalem is a city that, I think, defies description. How you choose to try and describe it completely depends on the point of view you bring with you. Ancient, storied, troubled, and revered; the city is a gathering of cultures, treasure seekers, religious zealots and pilgrims of every type. That statement is true even today.…