I was not prepared to visit the Auschwitz concentration camp. I bought tickets in advance, saved the address, and arrived early. I asked others about their visit and educated myself about the history. Still, I didn’t fully understand what I was getting myself into. I was unprepared for the shock of human depravity – for confronting a site where mass human extermination occurred. But I was also unprepared for, and unexpectedly shocked by, my encounters with the people taking the […]
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Signs Throughout Krakow, Poland.
If I ever own a brick and mortar store, you can bet that I’ll have a unique sign. I have learned a thing or two from Europe about the value of a lovely sign. One city stood out above the rest, however. Nearly every sign in Krakow caught my eye and made me want to stop and snap a photo. Perhaps I was paying more attention since I had recently read this post by Travel Gumbo about the signs of Krakow. […]
What You Don’t See in My Travel Photos.
I became more than a little bit obsessed with traveling shortly after we moved to Germany. Unfortunately, the arrival of my sudden wanderlust coincided with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. I had already been dealing with various health issues due to early onset osteoarthritis, but figuring out how to deal with a lot of pain while living in a foreign country was a much bigger challenge. I was discouraged by the pain ravaging my body but determined to travel despite it. Although […]
Visiting the Wurstelprater Amusement Park in Vienna, Austria.
The Wurstelprater amusement park is located in Wiener Prater, a large public park in Vienna (Wien), Austria. While there is a lot to see and do in the massive park, Wurstelprater is special because it is the oldest amusement park in the world. Publicly opened in 1766, it currently features the iconic Wiener Riesenrad (a Ferris wheel), 13 roller coasters, a Madame Tussauds, and plenty of other fun attractions. Prater is open 24/7 year round and some venues, such […]
The Value of Fleeting Friendships While Traveling.
Sitting on a train in Thuringia we received a resolute “nein” from the train conductor – the kind that meant we had made an expensive mistake. To our dismay we were informed that the “Regio120” train ticket we had purchased was not actually a regional ticket. As we tried to work out a resolution amid frustrations about the vague Deutsche Bahn guidelines that have fooled us twice now, a young woman turned around in her seat to help us communicate […]
Love Locks in Europe.
Love locks; for some they are physical representation of unbreakable love. For others, they are considered an eye sore or even vandalism. Regardless of how you feel about them, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to avoid seeing a few no matter where you travel these days. In fact, the only European country I’ve visited where I haven’t encountered them was Spain (although I’m sure I could have found some if I’d tried). I’ve been cataloging them throughout my European […]
6 Interesting Things to Know About Zurich.
I had some extra time while I was planning our trip to Zurich and so I happily browsed the internet and soaked up lots of details about interesting Swiss city. While I was a mostly blank slate to start with – I didn’t know anything about Zurich except that it has a lake and it’s in Switzerland – I think most people will find these facts fascinating! Six interesting things about Zurich: 1| It’s not the capital of Switzerland. Not only […]
The Berlin Bears.
Unlike the Schweinfurt pigs, I didn’t need to work hard in order to find the Berlin bears. I saw four in my first ten minutes in the city after dropping off the car. In the end I photographed 24 of them, although I saw a few more than that. The Buddy Bear movement started in Berlin in 2001 during their Buddy Bear Berlin Show. The idea behind the bears was to welcome people to the city with raised arms, which are […]
Street Art Samples in Tarragona.
We had just one day to wander the streets of Tarragona, Spain, after our great but exhausting day at PortAventura World. There was abundant street art and graffiti throughout the city, which we’ve come to expect from European cities. Here are my favorites from what we saw that day. C is for capacity, or rather lack of it. This heart is referencing the fair that was held in October 2015 (on Capacitat Day) for people with disabilities. Safety pins […]
Amsterdam from the Water: Our Canal Boat Tour.
After several attempts to book a private boat tour with a local, seeing excessive lines and wait times at the docks, and being told at the boat tour booking office that all the boat tours were full, I was afraid that a boat tour wasn’t going to work out for us. Mr. Meena decided we should just walk along the docks until we found one we liked, and so we did. The tour cost €32 for both of us and lasted for […]