Let me tell you about trains. Trains are awesome. I’m beginning to realize that the reason train travel is non-existent in the states is because it would really make no sense in our country. Nevertheless, I love trains. So in my head, I have this 14 hour overnight to Rome all planned out – we’ll […]

Anddddddd, we’re back. Safe and sound at our comfortable couch surfing hosts place, eating dinner with my uncle in his hotel restaurant. Nice to see the cowboy again, listen to war stories, talk about the UN’s response to changing drug laws in the US, and get a hug from a family member.  The big reason […]

On Easter Monday, woman of Slovakia wake up to cold water and a beating stick. It was described as a type of trick-or-treating. The women get beat, then give the men money or sweets. Needless to say, the men really enjoy the tradition, which is supposed to keep the woman beautiful (and it seems to […]

Hater’s goinna hate, cheater’s goinna cheat. Budapest is a cloudy city ruined by Nazi’s in the 40’s, communists until the 90’s, and tourists after that.  I’m not talking about those DSLR loving flowered shirt tourists carrying paper travelers checks and staying at the local Radisson. I’m talking 19 year old American students who are cool […]

I’m just now beginning to appreciate what our couch surfers gave us in Turkey. For 4 nights, we enjoyed the college age company of new friends, who applied Turkish hospitality to us (they payed for pretty much everything) and took us to their favorite spots. The 3 roommates were having a friend reunion of sorts, […]

It was like being at a Beatles show in 1965 wearing the latest fashionable boots surrounded by people speaking the same language as you in a country where people should be speaking a different language, and yell at people in that language when they try to push up front, but when the music starts everyone […]

My favorite band is a politically driven reggae rock band from Boston, and tonight they played at a small music club in Vienna. We flew from Istanbul to Vienna for this concert, the first of 3 on our trip. I read an interview once that claimed stations in Germany play this band on the radio […]

From the beginning of time, man has wanted 3 things: woman, food, and roof. As human evolved and created more sophisticated societies, they developed a luxury in which to enjoy the other wants. Walking the streets of Vienna, man got ‘roof’ right in this city. We didn’t set foot into a single paid attraction. For […]

When a person visits a country, a city unknown to them, they feel alienated, alone in a world unknown to their self. When a friend is made who is familiar with this alienation, you are one with the unknown. This is what brings us together with Turkey. Our couch surfing host Mustafa has given us […]

The Sultanhamet area of Istanbul is full of the attractions that pull tourists into the great city and make great promotional videos. The Blue Mosque, Ayasofia, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, and countless other mosques and sites are all protected by the old city wall along the rim of the waterfront. Walking the streets of this […]