Europe
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Podcast about Visit to Krakow, Poland
More Details: Podcast about Visit to Krakow, PolandA few weeks ago, through my Twitter account (ilivetotravel), a friend connected me with the Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast ( http://amateurtraveler.com/ ). Chris Christensen runs this website and he interviewed me a couple of weeks ago to share my experience visiting Krakow and the neighboring region. Being interviewed is not necessarily a daunting thing in…
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A Quick Switzerland Sampler Trip
More Details: A Quick Switzerland Sampler TripBack in the times when I lived in Paris, a fellow expat and I decided it would be a great idea to leave Paris a Friday afternoon and head down to Switzerland by car for the weekend. It was actually crazy and last minute but most definitely worthwhile, even if rushed. We realized we would…
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The Lake District in Austria
More Details: The Lake District in AustriaAs I sat waiting for my haircut today, I looked around for a magazine to read. Usually, these places don’t have anything I particularly want to read but lo and behold, there was a National Geographic Traveler magazine. I felt maybe these 5 minutes of waiting for my turn would at least be tolerable. An…
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Enjoying Delicious Food in Krakow, Poland
More Details: Enjoying Delicious Food in Krakow, PolandWhen preparing for my trip to Poland, I got asked a lot: “how will the food be?”. I honestly was not aware myself of what to expect as I had not researched the topic. Is food in Poland more like in Germany or more like in Russia or neither? Was Polish cuisine going to be…
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Last Day in Krakow, Poland
More Details: Last Day in Krakow, PolandAlright, vacation is almost over, I am on my last evening in Krakow prior to heading back home. Morning flight at 5:30 AM to Prague, then another to JFK, and then Atlanta. It will be hard but sitting down for a long time sounds good after all the walking I have done this week. I…
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Wadowice: Birth Place of a Pope
More Details: Wadowice: Birth Place of a PopeAmong the key figures of the 20th century is the late Pope, John Paul II. He not only was a giant in the Catholic religion but his role in the fight in his country against Communism (and with consequences in the rest of Eastern Europe at that time) was pivotal to big change. We took…
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A Somber Day in Auschwitz – Birkenau
More Details: A Somber Day in Auschwitz – BirkenauComing to Krakow is not a complete visit if one does not make the short trip to nearby Auschwitz and its counterpart, Birkenau, where more people died than in Auschwitz itself. Clearly this entry will be more somber than my usual. To get to Auschwitz, we took a mini bus from the bus station. We…
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Visiting Czestochowa | A Pilgrimage in Poland
More Details: Visiting Czestochowa | A Pilgrimage in PolandThe main reason for visiting Czestochowa is to see the spiritual heart of Poland, if you will. The Black Madonna – a key religious item (supposedly painted/carved onto a table by St. Luke, the Evangelist) and an item also tied to Polish history – resides at the Jasna Gora monastery/fortress. I was expecting to be visiting…
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Going under at the Wieliczka Salt Mines near Krakow
More Details: Going under at the Wieliczka Salt Mines near KrakowAmong the many great things to see in Krakow, many are actually OUTSIDE of Krakow. Wadowice and the Wieliczka Salt Mines are both great examples. To get to the Wieliczka Salt Mines, a UNESCO world heritage site, one can take bus 304 from Krakow or a mini-bus (same prices, but less comfortable than the main…
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Switzerland: Lausanne and the Lavaux wine region
More Details: Switzerland: Lausanne and the Lavaux wine regionGuest post by friend and fellow traveler, Chris Sanders. After a few tortuous days on the Tour de Mont Blanc (see my related post), my wife and I were looking for a place in which to relax and recover…and we wanted to stay in the region…it didn’t take me long to decide on the perfect…
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From Atlanta to Krakow – Planes, Train, Bus and Automobile
More Details: From Atlanta to Krakow – Planes, Train, Bus and AutomobileI am in Krakow! This blog post (and the next few) will be written during a trip. Nice change for me and maybe for the readers?? Just arrived in Krakow yesterday late afternoon local time. A flight Flying to Warsaw via Amsterdam with KLM went without a hitch aside from the possessed kid on…
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Suomi Five! A Repeat Visitor
More Details: Suomi Five! A Repeat VisitorGuest post by Chris Sanders – an almost Finn… Ok, so the title of this entry requires some explanation….Suomi means “Finland” in Finnish – its how the Finns call their country. So where does the “Five” come in? Well, let me explain… Recently, I was pondering all the places I’ve visited outside of the US…