After the 1989 Velvet Revolution and subsequent 1993 partition of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it seems apparent that the Czech Republic took the nicer cities in Bohemia and Moravia while Slovakia got the gem of the Tatra Mountains. Hard to say who got the better deal. Spent a few days climbing in Slovakia's High Tatra Mountains National Park and checking out a castle. Today I arrived in Vienna. $1 ≈ 0.79€ Mt. Rysy I had previously contacted a guide through the Tatra Mountains Guide Service about day climbs of Rysy and Gerlachovský štít, the highest peaks in Poland and Slovakia respectively. Ervin called me at the pension after my arrival last Thursday and we established a pickup time of 7:30 am Friday morning which was nice as it allowed me to get breakfast ... read more

...at Arktic Fresh Food, home of the best hamburgers in Olomouc but more on that later. The rest of the Czech Republic after Prague was a mad dash through another popular tourist destination, the castle at Český Krumlov, followed by 2 subdued places in Moravia, Brno and Olomouc, which were practically devoid of tourists compared to Bohemia. Arrived in Kraków this morning on the overnight train from Olomouc. Very nice and comfortable ride in a 6 person couchette. Took a 2½ hour walking tour at 11 am after settling in at the hostel located at the edge of the Old Town. Tomorrow Auschwitz, Wednesday tour the salt mines and Kraków's Jewish Quarter, and Thursday down to Slovakia and the High Tatra Mountains. That's the plan anyway although I'm not sure how much longer I can keep ... read more

That would be Miami Beach, FLA. Arrived MIA ~7 am local time this morning, promptly board the Airport Express Flyer bus to Miami Beach, and was soon sitting down to breakfast at a deli that I frequented sometime in the last millenium. It used to be a strict Jewish deli. It is now Jewish-Cuban fusion but it works. I think the previous owner sold the business and retired to Florida where he was already living much to his chagrin. As a bonus the deli had multiple TVs showing ESPN highlights of the Boston Celtics resounding and pivotal game 2 road victory over the pesky Atlanta Hawks. A vintage performance from Paul Pierce (36 points, 14 rebounds) offest the loss of Rajon Rondo (suspension) and Ray Allen (ankle). Boston is now 5-1 this season without their opening ... read more

Updated trip report from December's climb of Aconcagua. Note: $1 = 1 ARG peso and at the time of the trip $US1 ≈ 4.3 pesos. Day -3, 12/8/2011 - Left Seattle around 8:30 am for Atlanta where I connected to the Buenos Aires flight. The long, uneventful flight to Bs As left around 8 pm. Sadly no upgrade since it was a frequent flier ticket but that did not preclude me from asking. At least I had an exit row for the 10 hour flight and was able to soundly sleep between dinner and breakfast with the aid of 1 milligram of lorazepam. Day -2, 12/9/11 - Arrived on time in Bs As, cruised through immigration and did not have to pay for the 10 year validity entry permit since I purchased it last year. Sweated ... read more

Finally sorted through my plethora of photos and posted (in no particular order) the last blog entry from my Summer 2011 trip to Turkey. İstanbul was the final stop on my travels in Turkey. It is an amazing city. Note: Turkish capital 'I' is dotted to distinguish it from the undotted capital 'I.' 'I' is pronounced like a schwa 'ə' while 'İ' is a long 'e.' 1 US$ ≈ 1.75 Turkish Lira (TL) Accomodation and Food Booked 3 nights at AAE Aquarium Hotel through Hostelbookers for the price of 225TL/night which is the hotel's only attribute I can comment on because they were full when I arrived. No problem as they put me up right across the street at Albion Boutique Hotel which was very nice. Good Turkish breakfast, complimentary bottled water, air conditioning (surprisingly unnecessary), ... read more