Oil be honest, the UAE surprised me

I spent a few nights in Abu Dhabi with a friend and his very hospitable and generous family. In preparation and while there I learned a lot about the UAE and the region. I had never been anywhere near here before, and I flew over most of the height and width of Iran from Azerbaijan […]

Bucharest, not Budapest

Friend (?) of the blog Vlad the Impaler founded Bucharest in the mid-1400s, so it’s a relatively young city in this region of the world. Its population is over 2 million, and despite still recovering from WWII and decades of crushing communist policies and neglect, it’s now quickly regaining ground. It’s even ranked as one […]

Gjirokastër and Corfu

Two of the most interesting destinations on this two-week trip were definitely Gjirokastër, in Albania, and Corfu, in Greece. I loved it in Gjirokastër, and wish I had stayed for a night or two, instead of just visiting for a few hours. It has tons of good ingredients, like a giant castle, an old Ottoman […]

King Zog’s Villa and Skanderbeg’s Bust

The most unique (and somewhat frightening) place I’ve explored in Albania so far was King Zog’s former villa in Durrës. It was worth visiting Durrës for this attraction alone, despite it not even being on my original list of places to see while there. The archaeological museum in Durrës was closed for renovations (as was […]

Shqipëria (Albania) Intro

I’m celebrating the conclusion of the Czech language course with a vacation to the southern Balkans, visiting three countries new to me: Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo. First up: the land of the eagles, as the Albanians themselves call it, Shqipëria! Albania is admittedly a country I formerly knew very little about, and I still […]

Sarajevo (part 2)

The previous post on Sarajevo described some of the highlights from a visit to Sarajevo, and this current post provides additional insights into this great city, with focus on the Ottoman side and on the annual Sarajevo film festival, which was coincidentally finishing up during my visit. If you plan to visit Sarajevo one day, […]

Malbork and Westerplatte

While Gdansk itself offers plenty to see and do, there are many destinations close by, but outside the city, which are also worthwhile visiting, including both the world’s largest castle and the site where World War II was initiated. Malbork Castle, a 30-minute train ride from Gdansk, may be my favorite castle I’ve ever visited. […]

Warszawa, Polska

Warsaw, Poland’s capital and most populous city, is surprisingly approachable and fun. Nowy Świat, the main street leading to the old town, is very pedestrian friendly, with dozens of high quality restaurants, bars, and stores along a stretch of over a mile. And the old town itself, with not a single building left standing by […]

Eurovision, Lithuanian-style

Summary: I attended a live Eurovision Song Contest qualifier for Lithuania while in Vilnius! TL;DR Details: For decades now, I’ve been intrigued by the motley collection of songs across all musical genres from acts from around Europe (and now beyond) that constitute each year’s Eurovision Song Contest. From ABBA’s winning performance of “Waterloo” in 1974, […]