Berlin is the city that makes my heart skip a beat. The historic buildings and streets define and narrate my lifelong obsession with Germany and its history like an interactive storybook. First, Berlin was the cultural center of the Weimar Republic era (between WWI and WWII) when the painters, filmmakers, musicians, architects, scientists, and great…
Tell me if you’ve heard this before: “Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for a long, long year, stole many a man’s soul and faith. And I was round when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain, Made damn sure that Pilate washed…
A kremlin, the fancy Russian word for fortress, is not an entirely rare sight across Russia but only one has the distinction of being THE Kremlin. Moscow and its Kremlin were founded in the 12th century. Prior to the 1900s many people lived inside the Moscow Kremlin walls just as they would in any village. Soviet…
In the Heart of Transylvania is Harghita County, home of the Szekelyfold. The Szekelers are a group of Magyar/Hungarian origins who formed a battalion of frontier guards that defended the land against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Ages.
Something bit me in Transylvania, and that is no joke. I kept a close eye on the painful new swellings and watched for any strange symptoms but they have healed, and now… I guess I’m… fine now. Before I begin, I found a video on Youtube that someone else filmed of Sighisoara that truly shows…
Bradley County is located in southeast Tennessee between the TN/GA State line and the Hiawassee River. It covers over 330 square miles and includes the cities of Calhoun, Charleston, and Cleveland, its county seat. This land was part of the Cherokee Nation’s territory prior to the arrival of white folk. Starting in the 1790s, visitors…
Just the name Salem conjures up imagery of witches, whether they are flying on broomsticks, sinking in a river, or burning at the stake. Salem is known for its history of early American witch hunts and subsequent psychological case studies on mass hysteria. It is synonymous with the persecution, torture, and murder of anyone who…
Townsend, Tennessee is a mountain town roughly halfway between Maryville and Gatlinburg, with Highway 321/Lamar Alexander Parkway running through it. Townsend got its start in the 1920s as a hub for the railroad and lumber industries. It is called the “Peaceful Side of the Smokies” and is just a mile or so from an entrance…
CAMPBELL COUNTY Campbell County, Tennessee is located in Appalachia between its Ridge-and-Valley Range and the Cumberland Mountains. Its northern border is the Kentucky State Line and it extends down to Rocky Top, Tennessee, just north of Knoxville. Jacksboro is the county seat, and Caryville, LaFollette, and Jellico make up the rest of the county. It…
It was all the fumes and sound and fury that you could ever dream of.
Cigarette butts were found to be scattered all over the inside of the Richards Mansion on the day of the murders, but the Richards family were non-smokers.
Etowah is a tiny town of less than three square miles. It is located in the East Tennessee region of Appalachia, where the state lines of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia begin to meet. Tennessee Avenue, also known as Highway 411, is the main street through town. Etowah is about an hour southeast of Knoxville,…
Dahlonega is a small town in North Georgia with around 8,000 people in less than nine square miles. It is located an hour southeast of Blue Ridge, or an hour and a half north of Atlanta. The city takes its name from a derivative of the Cherokee word for yellow or gold, as they were the…
Ohio has a program called Five Rivers MetroParks with initiatives all around the state’s southwestern region, and it is named after the five distinct waterways flowing into it. This blog is specifically about the public park system that Five Rivers MetroParks has created in Dayton, and will exclude the many additional and wonderful sites in…
Fire Blocks At the corner of N. Jefferson Street and E. Third Street, you will find yourself in Dayton, Ohio’s Fire Blocks Historic District. Several large historic buildings line both sides of Third Street as it extends from Jefferson Street up to N. St. Clair Street, the distance of one long city block. These buildings…
Ernest Hemingway brilliantly said “never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” Taking that to heart, I am so grateful for my friends that double as perfect travel companions. We have been to a lot of amazing places together and were each super excited to get back to Key West. Cayo HuesoKey West…
Driving the Overseas Highway from Key Largo to Key West takes about two hours if you do not stop, but there is no fun in that! Here are the two places you absolutely must visit in the Keys. Gilbert’s ResortThe FIRST stop you have to make is at Gilbert’s Resort in Key Largo! Gilbert’s is…
Fernweh 