Back in my most beloved city, München (Munich), the first thing I wanted was to visit the Viktualienmarkt. It is my tradition to buy strawberries here, as just a simple and sweet thing I look forward to. Viktualienmarkt is an open air market spanning several city blocks. Most cities have a farmers market but this tops anything…
After a whirlwind week of road tripping from München to Bad Kötzting near the Czech Border, along the Alps to Schloß Neuschwanstein and back to München again, I was ready for a solo retreat to Heidelberg. Heidelberg’s official song “Ich Hab’ mein Herz in Heidelberg Verloren” translates to “I lost my heart in Heidelberg” and was first recorded in…
Berlin is the city that makes my heart skip a beat. The very buildings, monuments, and street names define and narrate my lifelong obsession with Germany and its history like an interactive storybook. First with the Weimar Republic era when the artists, filmmakers, musicians, architects, scientists, and great writers who emerged during this time birthed…
Something bit me in Transylvania, and that is no joke. Segesvar (Hungarian) aka Sighisoara (Romanian) aka Schassburg (German) is a striking and well-preserved medieval Transylvanian city in Romania that was originally founded by Saxons in the 1100s. Like Biertan, it is a Unesco World Heritage Site. For a few days I kept a close eye on…
Here is my article that was published in KnoxZine last year. This fall, I was presented with the opportunity to visit Russia, a goal on my bucket list since childhood. After researching, brushing up my language skills, and obtaining a visa, I refined details with a travel companion and a close friend who resides in Moscow. Once…
At the suggestion of several friends I visited Historic Rugby, Tennessee to find out what is so special about the tiny village. Rugby was dreamed up as a religious cooperative Utopia in 1880 for England’s wealthy, idle younger sons who pitifully did not inherit the fortunes of their elder brothers and were too proud to…
I moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee when I was 19. It was an unfortunate time because the industrial plants and historical sites were not yet open to the public for touring. The mall was wheezing its last breath, the used books/music store was going under, and hardly any of the places you can find entertainment…
The tiny town of Sylva, North Carolina has been growing. With scarcely over 2,500 people in a 3-ish square mile radius, there is a surprising amount of diversity and culture. Sure, it has the usual cluster of cafes-shops-and-restaurants, but it gets better. Feel like checking out a Drag show and dancing the night away to…
West Nashville is a different side of Nashville than I’m used to, not the gritty East Nashville with dimly lit dives, rock venues, and grub pub types places; certainly not the honky tonks and goth/industrial clubs and late night jukebox bars my friends and I have haunted over the years. My sestra and her hubs…
Something about the Greek Islands has always called to me. Greece is so different from any other country in the Balkan region and holds an air of mystery. My song pick for this entry is “Greek Song” by Rufus Wainwright. Oddly it’s the song I get stuck in my head and have to sing loudly…
There are always aspects of each trip that do not fit in with other blog entries or lack the substance to fill out an entry of their own. A lot of them are goofy and have nothing to do with the trip or the country I am in, just kind of a universally comical experience. Some…
Norris is a small East Tennessee town known for its lake, marinas, state park, museums, and giant Tennessee Valley Authority dam. Like most small towns surrounding Knoxville, new businesses are springing up and outdoor areas are being developed for tourism, drawing day-trip lovers like me to explore. Sweet Cafe Not too often am I surprised…
