Neanderthals

On Saturday I rented a car and drove up north of Zagreb to explore a bit. First I visited an excellent and thorough museum about a large Neanderthal find (the largest Neanderthal bone collection in the world), then after a drive through some beautiful autumnal countryside scenery in the mountains, I explored an old hilltop […]

Budapest, Hungary

I arrived in Budapest (Hungary is “Magyarország” in Hungarian, for the curious) on Wednesday. No more Poland, no more Slovakia. I’m still on the Danube, though. Colleen and I visited on a short day trip from Vienna with some friends back in 1998. I don’t remember much about Budapest from that trip, other than the […]

UFO Spotted

On Monday I rode an elevator to the top of the “UFO”, an observation deck above the main bridge into the city. I’m always a sucker for high city views. Today’s limerick: There is a bridge with a tall towerThe castle nearby projects powerParted by the DanubeVisited by this noobOn this city it’s hard to […]

Build it and they will come

Bratislava is building like crazy, and as you can see in the photos below, there are already many tall buildings, with more on the way! City photos: Today’s guest dad joke: I normally write my own, but I see I’m not the only game in this town! (From a local restaurant) Today’s travel quote: To […]

Statuesque

Years ago, in the 90s, Bratislava city leaders decided to put some unique statues up around the old town to help draw visitors, with these not being directed to anyone famous or even to anyone particular at all. Here are a few: While in power, the Communist government built a big road that slashed right […]

Neighborhood Art

There’s an old neighborhood in the northern part of Wrocław where residents have taken to creating various art projects at the base of multiple buildings. This enhances the aesthetic appeal of what are otherwise quite drab old buildings. The facades (without art) of some these buildings are shown in the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of […]

Wrocław, Poland

I said goodbye to Sofia on Tuesday, and to Colleen on Wednesday. By the time you read this, Colleen will be back in Asheville. I took a bus from Prague to Wrocław (pronounced like “vroht-swav”, with the ł character sounding like w), enjoying several hours of the Czech and Polish countryside. Back in November 2017, […]

Cold War Bunker

Once per month, the municipal district of Prague 2 (our favorite neighborhood) opens an underground shelter built in the late 1950s and early 1960s for civil protection. It could house up to 1,300 people for 72 hours in case of aerial bombardment, and it includes toilets, showers, a first aid room, a power generator, multiple […]