Stockholm Syndrome: Falling in Love with Swedish Museums

ChatGPT created the title for this blog post, haha. Before I move on to Estonia, I wanted to share some highlights from the several museums we visited during the week in Stockholm. There’s the long-favorite Vasa Museum, with its well-preserved 1600s-era warship; the popular ABBA Museum (yes, it’s what you think); the modem art Photographic […]

Croatian Exploration

Much of my exploration time by myself or with some friends visiting from Asheville was spent hiking hills and mountains or lounging at beaches, two of my favorite activities! Some things are definitely worth repeating, such as climbing Croatia’s tallest mountain, Dinara. See this previous blog post about when I first scaled this peak back […]

Bosnia and Herzegovina

All along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast lies Bosnia and Herzegovina inland, to the east. This other former Yugoslav republic is often referred to as just B&H or even just Bosnia, though Herzegovina is its own district area within the country. B&H interrupts Croatia’s coastline for a short 20 kilometers (12 miles), providing the country with some […]

Whoa-atia

Truly, Croatia never fails to amaze and surprise with its spectacular beauty. Despite all the exploration I’ve already done over the past couple of years while spending months here total, there are still plenty of Croatian destinations I’ve yet to explore. For such a small country, there’s an embarrassing abundance of travel-worthy destinations. Equipped with […]

Fortress-Hopping

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year and a half since Colleen and I previously visited Croatia’s gorgeous Dalmatian coast. This time we rented a car, and so we have much more flexibility and opportunities. We’re staying in Tisno again (about halfway between Zadar and Split, if you know Croatia), but during this […]

Smoky Cove

Earlier this year, my niece Katelyn (my sister’s daughter) contacted me and said she’s long wanted to visit Iceland, and she wondered if maybe I’d like to travel there with her. With deep appreciation and excitement, I immediately answered yes, of course!! And I’m really happy I did! Katelyn is a wonderful travel partner — […]

Cairo, Part Two 🇪🇬

After finishing the Nile River cruise, we flew back up to Cairo for another two nights there. I’m not sure why Uniworld schedules the trip this way — I would have preferred to get all of Cairo up front. But anyway, on this return visit we got to visit the pyramids of Giza, the most […]

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 […]

Upper Egypt

Somewhat confusingly, upper Egypt is farther south than lower Egypt, but that’s just because of our concept of north and south. Upper Egypt is higher up altitude-wise, and logically the Nile flows from upper elevations to lower ones all the way to the delta in northern Egypt out to the Mediterranean. After Luxor and Kom […]

In a State of DeNile

First, allow me to express my deep gratitude for having such a wonderful and unforgettable travel opportunity with my father! I don’t take it for granted. He’s an excellent travel partner, up for nearly anything, and having amazing travel stamina, almost always getting up in the morning before I do, ready for exploration and new […]