Insect inclusions
Spit and Polish, Part 2
In part 1, we discover why the Curonian Spit along the Baltic Sea is so unusual and engaging (click here to read it). In this part, we polish up our know-how about amber, the Baltic…
Approaching the Hill of Crosses, Siauliai, Lithuania
Revered: The Hill of Crosses
Heading from Vilnius to Riga, we diverted a bit to visit the renowned Hill of Crosses (Kryžių kalnas) near Siauliai, Lithuania. It’s really just two coupled mounds beside a country road in the middle of…
Weathercocks, Nida
Spit and Polish, Part 1
In this part, we discover why the Curonian Spit along the Baltic Sea is so unusual and engaging. In part 2, we polish up our know-how about amber, the Baltic gold - finding the good,…
Finding ourselves at the labyrinth's center
Way Out: Seeking the Otepaa Labyrinth
A labyrinth is a symbolic journey…but it is a map we can really walk on, blurring the difference between map and world.” - Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking Incongruously, in a place known…
White Diana cafe, Ploshcha Square, Lviv
A Ukraine to Remember
Eastern Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration, Lviv We were hesitant about visiting Ukraine in the fall of 2015. Wasn’t there a war going on? Why would Czech car rental shops not cover travel there? How…
Headline - Frenzy: America's rabble rouser
In the Comfort Zone: “From America? Let’s talk politics.”
Many American travelers worry about attitudes toward Americans as they travel around the globe. Perhaps we’ve been unusual, but we have mostly found openness to us. Where Americans are common, as in Paris, our lifestyle…
Erkki Otsman sings Piaf's lyrics of love
The lyrics of love: Piaf in Tallinn
What is the language of love? The tongue-twirling lyublu? The kissy kissy amour? The caress of amore? The abruptness of love? The explosive finish to liebe? Or the business-like Estonian armastus? We thought about these…
Finding hundred year old graves from the Lubin cemetery upon a densely forested hill
Stones for the Departed: Return to the Ukraine of Our Ancestors
Gravestone, Shepetivka cemetery The custom in Jewish cemeteries is to place a pebble, or small stone, on the headstone at a grave site. In doing this, you affirm you remember the dead. It’s a custom…
Kadriorg, then and now
Tsar and Peace: Tallinn’s Kadriorg Palace
We were well aware of the broad historical sweep here in Estonia: how in the Middle Ages, the Danes along with merchants allied across the Baltic in the Hanseatic League kept control of the country;…
Rovinj Harbor
Delizioso: Enjoying Italian Pleasures in Croatia’s Istria
The Dalmatian Coast, the long finger of Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea, has long been praised for its shoreline delights, ancient ruins, myriad islands and historic cities like Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik. (Click here to…