State Pharaoh

Many of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs ruled over a united Egypt (both upper and lower), controlling a vast area along the Nile. We could understand the huge distance covered because we had taken an hour-long flight from Cairo to Luxor, traveled farther south along the Nile by ship to Aswan, and then flown on another […]

Czechmate

This nine-week trip is winding down now, with just a few days left. Prague is the only city I’ve visited during these weeks where I wish I had more time. Everywhere else I’ve felt sated, and comfortable to move on. That said, I’m excited to return to Asheville, mainly to be able to see Colleen, […]

Around Lisbon

As I got my bearings better, I found myself enjoying Lisbon more, especially after finding additional good food options and not walking through the worst areas of town. As it turned out, near my apartment was a great collection of diverse restaurants, and not just Nepalese! Though I ate Nepalese four times (two different restaurants, […]

Incoming Sea

On Monday I took an afternoon trip out to suburb resort towns Cascais and Estoril, which are on the Atlantic Ocean. In walking between the two along a beachfront promenade, I was surprised to see how high the seas were and how the waves were often crashing over the promenade itself. It wasn’t windy or […]

That Sounds Fishy

Seafood is very popular in Portugal, unsurprisingly given its long coastline. For historical reasons from 500 years ago and a connection to Newfoundland in Canada, the Portuguese love cod, which they have to import. Grocery stores sell huge salted and dried codfish fillets called Bacalhau, which are rehydrated before preparation for eating. Apparently these could […]

Unique Food Options

Most days, and sometimes multiple times per day, I’ve had airborne sticky silken threads blow onto my face while in Bratislava specifically. I don’t know if they are leftover spider webs silk worm threads, or something else, but you can see them flying by in the air. Anyone know what that’s about? In walking around […]

McDonald’s Going Green

In a follow-up to an earlier post photo regarding a McDonald’s sign being black (instead of red), it turns out that all European McDonald’s use different colors than those traditionally used in the US. There’s no red at all anywhere on outside signage or buildings that I’ve seen. And actually, it’s not black, but deep […]

Crack Cow

After finishing up with Wrocław, I took another FlixBus ride, this time to Krakow, also in Poland. I was here once before, with my brother in 2005. The past 17 years have been kind to the tourist scene, and while I really like Wrocław, it clearly isn’t on the tourist radar yet like Krakow is. […]

Polski Stuff

Under license from Fiat, Polish versions of this car brand were manufactured or assembled in Poland, called Polski Fiat. These cars were popular during Communist times due to their simplicity and relative affordability. Here’s a legacy one I found in town: Polish restrooms are often marked with symbols to indicate the intended sex. It’s not […]