Travel

Where the hell am I and Why won’t they leave me alone….

June 27, 2018
The gate to the Medina in Fes, Morocco

The gate to the Medina in Fes, Morocco

As a child of the 50’s and 60’s I spent many hours in the library reading National Geographic Magazines. The archeology and history were interesting but it was the exotic places that captured my imagination. No, it was not a young boys desire to see by chance the naked breast of tribal women…it was the totally exotic places that peaked my interest. One such place was Morocco with photos of veiled women, colorful villages, medieval medina’s, primitive tanneries and hooded men walking dark narrow passages in the Casbah. This was fertile ground for a would be vagabond. Continue Reading…

Travel

Break Year in Budapest…Part 2

May 21, 2018

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Once I made the decision to move to Budapest I then had to focus on the details…how to get a longterm visa, where to live, how to get around, where to shop etc. etc.  Any of you who travel in Europe and the Shengen Zone know that it is not so easy to exceed the 90 day visa rules. If you do want to exceed the 90 days then a whole new set of problems arise. Most of the western and northern countries have onerous financial requirements and a brutal application process. Thankfully Hungary is is a lot looser than say France or Spain. It helped that I used a resettlement company that my friend Jacob in Turkey recommended…HELPERS. Continue Reading…

Travel

Budapest…a break year!

May 14, 2018

The Danube in Budapest, Hungary

I first visited Budapest in 1985 and while it was not exactly love at first sight I will admit to being intrigued.  Having decided to go to Vienna for Christmas that year and after almost overdosing on Sacher torte and coffee with whipped cream (mit schlag) I took off for Budapest and my first look behind the Iron Curtain.

It was a very different world in the 80’s and stood in stark contrast to the elegant, highly refined Vienna. Almost no one spoke English in those days and the second language was Russian so it was pretty easy to be overwhelmed when trying to navigate the city and see the sites. I stayed in the Hilton Hotel on top of Castle Hill (one of the few places that spoke english) and had a view overlooking the Danube with its stunningly ornate Parliament building, elegant bridges and the skyline of Pest dominated by the dome of Continue Reading…

Travel

Unfinished business…returning to Zagreb!

November 14, 2016
Unfinished business…returning to Zagreb Croatia

The Art pavilion in Park Strossmayera

I knew that the few days I spent in Zagreb in June was not enough for me to get a real sense of the city so I came back to finish my exploration of the Croatian Capitol. Zagreb has a unique feel to it…both medieval and modern but with a heavy emphasis on the glory days at the end of the Austro Hungarian Empire. Even though the city dates back to the time of the Roman Empire it has a clouded history. The name “Zagreb” was first mentioned in records in 1094 but there is no known origin of the name…it’s a Croatian mystery. Continue Reading…

Travel

Sarajevo…Where East Meets West.

October 7, 2016
Sarajevo…Where East Meets West. Bosnia Herzegovina

Walking the old Ottoman section of Sarajevo

The trip to Sarajevo from Mostar is one of the most beautiful journeys in Europe. You can go by train or bus but the train was out of service, due to rail repairs, the day I wanted to travel so I was forced to take a bus.  They both travel a similar route through the Neretva Canyons but the train would have allowed me to take photos while hanging out a window. Although the bus was my second choice, it was still a breathtaking view winding through the mountains with the emerald green Neretva River running along side the road. It is a must see and do in this part of the world. Continue Reading…

Travel

Moving on to Mostar…the divided city

September 16, 2016
Moving on to Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

Beautiful Neretva River in Mostar

Leaving by bus from Split on a beautiful Croatian day, I was heading to Mostar. I decided to explore a bit of Bosnia – Herzegovina while on this holiday. What a bus ride it turned out to be. Heading south towards Dubrovnik the road winds along the coast with its little villages built on the sides of hills leading down to the blue green waters of the Adriatic. It is a rugged coastline…no large expanses of white sand beaches are found here. The beaches are coarse and rocky as they are in this part of the world but the majestic beauty of these steep limestone mountain’s slashing down into the sea overshadows the lack of “pretty beaches.” It is where the mountains, people and the sea are tied together in a timeless dance stretching back through time and civilizations. I can easily see the appeal of the Dalmatian Coast to the worlds travelers. Continue Reading…