Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.
About this blog
After teaching English for four years straight in Japan, I'm finally off to deal with the stir-craziness and curiosity that's ever a part of me. My girlfriend and I are off to Europe for an adventure of several months, after which I plan to take the Trans-Siberian all the way down to Vladivostok. From there I'll hop the next outbound ferry for Japan and before returning to work and starting grad school.
Post-trip note: Whew! I forgot about this thing! Actually, believe it or not, I haven't quite finished fixing pictures (currently left with the Russia shots as of March 2009). Life has been busy, needless to say, but I still hope to put all the pictures up here eventually.

Loading Map
There are 144 entries in this blog
-
1
At the end of the crunch time -
2
Ankunft in Deutschland -
3
Blue skies over Bavaria -
4
Germany's most famous Schloß -
5
Back in Munich -
6
Boozing it up - monk style -
7
A picture-perfect fairy tale town -
8
Munich encore -
9
A daytrip to Austria -
10
Paying respects to the victims of Nazism -
11
Bohemian living -
12
Fading grace -
13
A city once rich from silver -
14
Back in Prague -
15
Rebuilding from the rubble -
16
Moving on to the north -
17
Former queen of the Hanseatic League -
18
Where the rooster, cat, dog and donkey went . . . -
19
Bidding farewell to Germany -
20
Canals and bridges -
21
Out of the big city, into the tulips -
22
Whirlwind tour between trains -
23
Goodbye blue sky -
24
Stately tourist town -
25
Rain, tapas, flamenco and strains of Islam -
26
Where mosques and cathedrals merge -
27
Jumping trains in the Basque country -
28
A couple days in the city of lights -
29
Paying visit to the old memories -
30
Back in Paris to pack -
31
On the edge of Normandy -
32
Poking into Bretagne -
33
Another long haul on the train -
34
Tax-haven on the sea -
35
Succumbing to the rising tides -
36
Rain and shine in Tuscany -
37
Holding up the Leaning Tower -
38
Three days in the Eternal City -
39
A stop-over in Puglia's hectic metropolis -
40
Scrambling around between connections -
41
One night in the big city -
42
Out in the blue -
43
A Greek holiday weekend in hopping Mykonos -
44
Speed tour of the big city -
45
Startling revelations -
46
Swinging through Bari once more -
47
Back in Italy -
48
Dodging Vespas -
49
Shrouds, mountains and palaces -
50
Former queen of the Mediterranean -
51
Packing up for Bologna -
52
Red porticos and university students -
53
Past glories of Byzantium -
54
Fog on the ramparts, head in the clouds -
55
Under the shadow of Vienna -
56
Tinges of Venice -
57
Stopping into Europe's biggest cavern -
58
A day's stroll around Slovenia's little capital -
59
Fairy-tale scenes in the rain -
60
Haunted by the rain -
61
A look into life in the Republika Srpska -
62
Watching a town get back on its feet -
63
The Balkans in a microcosm -
64
Daytrip to the old Turkish seat -
65
(Re)building bridges -
66
Cruise ship central -
67
A step into the world's newest country -
68
A retreat to the relative comfort of the mountains -
69
Down the Montenegrin "riviera" -
70
No rest for the wicked -
71
Last stop in Montenegro -
72
Concrete hodge-podge in technicolor -
73
Skenderbeg's old stronghold -
74
Moving southwards -
75
Exploring the steep slopes -
76
Bunker spotting -
77
In the lands of St. Clement -
78
A visit to Macedonia's second city -
79
When earthquakes meet 1960s Communism. . . -
80
Disputed territory and nascent state -
81
Chasing monasteries and missing buses -
82
Winners' spoils? -
83
Biding my time before the night train -
84
A significant change of scenery -
85
And the rain returns. . . -
86
Wild child of the Balkans -
87
Revolutionary city -
88
Beyond the once formidable Iron Gates -
89
Sweating it out between sculptures -
90
Firmly off the tourist path -
91
Another sea of concrete -
92
A true historical Wallachian town -
93
Suffering under the heat wave -
94
Dracula's old haunts -
95
Taking it too easy -
96
One bad discovery and a long, long train -
97
Is this still Romania?? -
98
Scruffy capital of Harghita county -
99
A busy day of looking around Covasna -
100
Morning visit to Târgu Secuiesc -
101
Into Southern Bucovina -
102
Walking 15km through the countryside in the rain?? -
103
Scaffolding overload -
104
Shaken down for $3.30 -
105
Into a nation that doesn't officially exist -
106
Unassuming castle town on the Dniester -
107
The old cave monastery site of Orhei -
108
Queuing Ukrainian style -
109
Bloody visa run-around -
110
Exploring the Mother City of the Eastern Slavs -
111
Getting back to a Central European scene again -
112
An ideal spot for a castle -
113
Another day out to a castle town -
114
Polish traces -
115
The quintessential Soviet 'Hero City' -
116
Best Indian this side of the former Iron Curtain -
117
Ex-communist backwater on valium -
118
Arrival point in Lithuania -
119
A sudden shift in style -
120
A relaxing day by the lake -
121
Returning to Vilnius -
122
Lithuania's second city -
123
A night of packing before a weekend away -
124
Out to the coast -
125
Enough of the rain already! -
126
Root-canaled and Russia bound -
127
City of spires -
128
A quieter air of old Latvia -
129
Back for the bus -
130
Second city and university center of Estonia -
131
Another night in Tallinn -
132
A day in Finland -
133
Catching the onward bus to St. Pete's -
134
Old kremlin town -
135
Eastwards to Tatarstan -
136
Beyond the Urals -
137
Siberia's old capital -
138
Hopping back on the main Trans-Sib line -
139
Halfway through the rail tickets -
140
Grey skies over grey city -
141
Shifting clouds over Baikal -
142
End of the long (rail)road -
143
Touchdown into Nihon -
144
Back where it all began. . .