Here is a sampling of photos from our two years in Europe, in no particular order. Clicking on the image loads a full-res version.
At home on the road
Our first trip to Croatia was in the fall of 2011. Flying into Zagreb airport, we immediately embarked on a week-long road trip. Our route took us to an amazing national park (Plitvice), then a seaside Istrian town (Rovinj), and a mountain lake resort in neighboring Slovenia (Lake Bled) before arriving back in the Croatian capital for our return flight home. We had no intentions of entering the Zagreb city center, but we were early and thought it would be better than wasting time in an airport bar. After finding suitable parking, we explored the area immediately surrounding the central train station and Tomislav Square. Our short visit that afternoon consisted of little more than walking around, taking a few photos, and visiting a cafe for a drink and a bathroom before continuing to the airport. However, both Fara and I left with an inexplicable feeling that there was something special about Zagreb and we had to come back for another visit. Fast forward to early spring 2018, we’re only a few months into our world tour and finally making good on our vow to return since that chance encounter more than six and a half years earlier. Our intention was to spend a couple of weeks exploring Zagreb before continuing on to other locations in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Instead, it became our temporary home base for the rest of the spring and into summer. As I write this in March 2019, we’re now planning a return trip for next month.
Continue reading “At home on the road”Happy New Year 2019
I hope everyone had a good Christmas (or Hanukah) and New Year’s filled with family and friends. Despite vowing to never experience another winter in a cold climate, Fara and I spent Christmas with our friends in Dublin again this year. The running joke has been that we aren’t welcome back next year. At least the weather has been a lot milder than last year with highs in the low 50’s and no real precipitation to speak of. As the calendar rolls over to 2019, we are house-sitting three adorable labradoodles in Wicklow County, less than an hour south of Dublin. Continue reading “Happy New Year 2019”
BAtB: The Home Stretch — Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
We are nearing the end of our Balkan adventure. The home stretch, if you please. We left Bucharest, Romania with two weeks left on our Croatian car rental and over 1000 miles of road between us and Zagreb. The meandering route would take us through four cities in three different countries. Sometimes old habits die hard and we have to remind ourselves why we prefer to travel slowly. Continue reading “BAtB: The Home Stretch — Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina”
BAtB: Vampire Free Transylvania
Our Transylvanian adventure was anchored by a house-sitting gig in a small Romanian village. During the sit, exploration was limited by day trips that could be completed between our morning and evening responsibilities with the pets. In the weeks before and after the sit, we were able to visit many of the popular sites less inhibited. Continue reading “BAtB: Vampire Free Transylvania”
One year on the road
On the evening of August 15, 2017 we boarded a flight from Los Angeles to London, from there we would catch our connecting flight to Stockholm, Sweden. Depending on how you want to count things, this was the official start of our overseas nomadic adventure. It is now one year later and we are still going strong. Continue reading “One year on the road”
BAtB: Life in a Romanian Village
We arrived in mid-May to the small Transylvanian village of Blăjel for our next house-sitting gig. In the previous month we had been traveling through the area and scheduled a lunch to meet the homeowner and her pets in person before committing to the sit. We thought this would help prepare us for the experience. Little did we know that living in the Romanian countryside would be a bit like stepping through a time warp to a more simple time. Continue reading “BAtB: Life in a Romanian Village”
BAtB: Budapest, Two Cities for the Price of One
Budapest had always been on our short list of places to visit, but up to this point of our adventure had not bubbled to the top as the obvious next destination. In mid-April, a good friend from Portland was passing through Europe on business and wanted to meet up with us for a short vacation on his way back to the States. Budapest met all the requirements of being near our current location, with convenient transportation options for our friend, and plenty to do and see while we were there. Continue reading “BAtB: Budapest, Two Cities for the Price of One”
Daytime Budapest (photo gallery)
Budapest at Night (photo gallery)
