As the gray season begins to take hold of Poland, I'll be posting more photos of past voyages and also links to travel pieces I've had published online. Here's a little glimpse of Taiwan. I went to visit Steph, who was diving at Ocean World in Yehliu. There weren't that many photos worth posting. We are really spoiled today with digital cameras. The part of the trip that has really stayed with me all these years is Snake Alley. Apparently it has changed a lot since then, although the cobra show remains for frat boys who brave the risk of hepatitis [View Full Entry]

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We took a quick trip over to Berlin to celebrate the day we met ten (!!!!) years ago on a small Pacific island called Guam. If someone had told me then that we'd be celebrating our ten years together in Berlin, as residents of Europe, I would have been very surprised and overjoyed. So, where will we be ten years from now? Given our lifestyle...anyone's guess is as good as ours. I love Berlin. Such a cool vibe. I think living so close to it will be the thing I miss most about living in Poznan when we move on next [View Full Entry]

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I was told that Helsinki is a bland city - no character to the architecture, nothing interesting to see. I was told that Finns aren't very nice. So, I didn't expect much from Helsinki. I took a ferry over from Tallin. As it pulled into the harbor, two very imposing buildings came into view - regal cathedrals sitting on hills overlooking the city. That sight alone was enough to make me disregard anything I'd been told about Helsinki. I found the architecture of Helsinki to be austere, but very elegant and unique from any other European city I've visited so far. [View Full Entry]

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Bog (n.) -An area having a wet, spongy, acidic substrate composed chiefly of sphagnum moss and peat in which characteristic shrubs and herbs and sometimes trees usually grow. I spent five days in Estonia, more days than in any of the other countries. It might seem like it's not enough time, three days in a country, but the Baltics are really small, and the countryside is not so different. Estonia is the smallest, but it had something I found intriguing - BOGS. And lots of them. Even the word bog sounds mysterious and almost sinister, like something that lives deep in [View Full Entry]

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I traveled by bus - to my surprise, a very comfy, clean bus - through Lithuania and up to Riga, Latvia. As soon as we crossed over into Latvia, everything had a tidier, more manicured look. Lawns were mowed, gardens pruned. There were no dilapidated houses slumping by the side of the highway. Everything seemed to behave itself. Riga is more grandiose than Vilnius. There were just as many tourists, but they got swallowed up in the vastness of the city. There's a definite Russian feel to Riga - in fact, more than half of the residents are Russian. I spent [View Full Entry]

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Four countries. Twelve days. I traveled by plane, bus, train, taxi, boat, and my own two feet. My first stop was Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Vilnius was my favorite of the Baltic capitals. Unlike many other European cities, most of its old buildings have not been restored. It's a city that seems totally at ease with decay and the passing of time. The Uzupis quarter has declared itself, like Christiania in Copenhagen, independent from Lithuania. It has its own president and constitution. I had time for one trip outside the city. Wanting to escape the crowds, I chose Kernave ove [View Full Entry]

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Photos from my return to the Carpathian foothills to visit my cousins on my grandmother's side of the family. It had been one year since I was last there. Unfortunately, the trip from Poznan is 12 hours by train and bus. I now know enough Polish to be able to communicate with those who don't speak English. Pascal (and everyone at the Klozyks) now calls me "Julka"/pronounced "Yulka", which means "little Julie". We also visited the Pierog's, who are cousins from my great-grandmother's side. We had an awesome time with everyone. I feel like I've known my Polish family my whole [View Full Entry]

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Summer in Europe has never been my favorite time to travel. Too many ice cream wielding tourists, surly service people, and eternal lines for everything. This didn't matter so much in Copenhagen, though. Neither did the (mostly) rainy weather. We saw Viking artifacts and Runestones at the National Museum; Christiania - a part of the city that declared its independence from Denmark decades ago and is in grave danger of being shut down by the Danish government; Nyhavn - a tiny,tiny old port situated on a canal, and, finally, a parade of Santa Clauses from around the world. We walked and [View Full Entry]

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Here are a couple of photos Pascal took of a huge storm we had. A couple hundred tries and just as many screams of merde! later, he got some awesome lightning shots. The other photos are from the place I was working at for a couple of weeks out in the Wielkopolska wilderness. I finally have a lot of free time, so we'll be traveling around more. Next stop, Copenhagen. Stay tuned... [View Full Entry]

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Yes, you read it right. Today is my one year anniversary in Poland. I'm still amazed that I managed to fulfill my wish to move to the country of many of my ancestors. The past year has taught me a lot about the huge differences between Polish and Polish-American culture. Polska hasn't turned out to be as I expected, but this hasn't necessarily been a bad thing. I've been able to meet some of my cousins and see where my grandparent's families originated from. My job and living situation have exceeded all of my expectations. Pascal has adjusted to life here [View Full Entry]

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