Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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About this blog

After teaching English for four years straight in Japan, I'm finally off to deal with the stir-craziness and curiosity that's ever a part of me. My girlfriend and I are off to Europe for an adventure of several months, after which I plan to take the Trans-Siberian all the way down to Vladivostok. From there I'll hop the next outbound ferry for Japan and before returning to work and starting grad school.

Post-trip note: It's been almost three years since this trip wrapped up, and I'm only now going back through the blog. After I make sense of and clean up everything, I'll eventually get the pictures up here. Incredibly, there are still about four entries that I never completed (!), so those will need finishing as well. Will this one day actually be complete? Time will tell. . .

• 1

  At the end of the crunch time   Kariya, Japan on Apr 7, 2007 8 pictures 0 comments
• 2

  Ankunft in Deutschland   Frankfurt am Main, Germany on Apr 8, 2007 7 pictures 0 comments
• 3

  Blue skies over Bavaria   Munich, Germany on Apr 10, 2007 14 pictures 0 comments
• 4

  Germany's most famous Schloß   Füssen, Germany on Apr 11, 2007 10 pictures 0 comments
• 5

  Boozing it up - monk style   Andechs, Germany on Apr 12, 2007 24 pictures 0 comments
• 6

  A picture-perfect fairy tale town   Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany on Apr 14, 2007 19 pictures 0 comments
• 7

  A daytrip to Austria   Salzburg, Austria on Apr 14, 2007 22 pictures 0 comments
• 8

  Paying respects to the victims of Nazism   Munich, Germany on Apr 15, 2007 16 pictures 0 comments
• 9

  Bohemian living   Prague, Czech Republic on Apr 17, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 10

  Fading grace   Prague, Czech Republic on Apr 18, 2007 29 pictures 0 comments
• 11

  A city once rich from silver   Kutná Hora, Czech Republic on Apr 19, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 12

  Rebuilding from the rubble   Dresden, Germany on Apr 21, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 13

  Moving on to the north   Hamburg, Germany on Apr 22, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 14

  Former queen of the Hanseatic League   Lübeck, Germany on Apr 23, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 15

  Where the rooster, cat, dog and donkey went . . .   Bremen, Germany on Apr 24, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 16

  Bidding farewell to Germany   Hamburg, Germany on Apr 24, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 17

  Canals and bridges   Amsterdam, Netherlands on Apr 26, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 18

  Out of the big city, into the tulips   Haarlem and Keukenhof, Netherlands on Apr 27, 2007 14 pictures 0 comments
• 19

  Whirlwind tour between trains   Brussels, Belgium on Apr 28, 2007 6 pictures 0 comments
• 20

  Goodbye blue sky   Madrid, Spain on Apr 30, 2007 5 pictures 0 comments
• 21

  Stately tourist town   Toledo, Spain on May 1, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 22

  Rain, tapas, flamenco and strains of Islam   Sevilla, Spain on May 3, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 23

  Where mosques and cathedrals merge   Cordoba, Spain on May 4, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 24

  Jumping trains in the Basque country   Hendaye, France on May 5, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 25

  A couple days in the city of lights   Paris, France on May 7, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 26

  Paying visit to the old memories   Amiens, France on May 8, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 27

  On the edge of Normandy   Pontorson (Mont St. Michel), France on May 9, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 28

  Poking into Bretagne   St. Malo, France on May 10, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 29

  Another long haul on the train   Nice, France on May 11, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 30

  Tax-haven on the sea   Monte Carlo, Monaco on May 13, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 31

  Succumbing to the rising tides   Venice, Italy on May 14, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 32

  Rain and shine in Tuscany   Florence, Italy on May 16, 2007 18 pictures 0 comments
• 33

  Holding up the Leaning Tower   Pisa, Italy on May 17, 2007 10 pictures 0 comments
• 34

  Three days in the Eternal City   Rome, Italy on May 20, 2007 41 pictures 0 comments
• 35

  A stop-over in Puglia's hectic metropolis   Bari, Italy on May 21, 2007 13 pictures 0 comments
• 36

  Scrambling around between connections   Patras, Greece on May 22, 2007 5 pictures 0 comments
• 37

  One night in the big city   Athens, Greece on May 23, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 38

  Out in the blue   Santorini, Greece on May 26, 2007 57 pictures 0 comments
• 39

  A Greek holiday weekend in hopping Mykonos   Mykonos, Greece on May 28, 2007 30 pictures 0 comments
• 40

  Speed tour of the big city   Athens, Greece on May 30, 2007 21 pictures 0 comments
• 41

  Startling revelations   Patras, Greece on May 30, 2007 4 pictures 0 comments
• 42

  Back in Italy   Naples, Italy on Jun 1, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 43

  Dodging Vespas   Naples, Italy on Jun 2, 2007 29 pictures 0 comments
• 44

  Shrouds, mountains and palaces   Turin, Italy on Jun 4, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 45

  Former queen of the Mediterranean   Genoa, Italy on Jun 4, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 46

  Red porticos and university students   Bologna, Italy on Jun 6, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 47

  Past glories of Byzantium   Ravenna, Italy on Jun 6, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 48

  Fog on the ramparts, head in the clouds   San Marino, San Marino on Jun 7, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 49

  Under the shadow of Vienna   Trieste, Italy on Jun 8, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 50

  Tinges of Venice   Piran, Slovenia on Jun 9, 2007 14 pictures 0 comments
• 51

  Stopping into Europe's biggest cavern   Postojna, Slovenia on Jun 10, 2007 15 pictures 0 comments
• 52

  A day's stroll around Slovenia's little capital   Ljubljana, Slovenia on Jun 11, 2007 28 pictures 0 comments
• 53

  Fairy-tale scenes in the rain   Bled, Slovenia on Jun 12, 2007 15 pictures 0 comments
• 54

  Haunted by the rain   Zagreb, Croatia on Jun 14, 2007 21 pictures 0 comments
• 55

  A look into life in the Republika Srpska   Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jun 14, 2007 13 pictures 0 comments
• 56

  Watching a town get back on its feet   Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jun 15, 2007 25 pictures 0 comments
• 57

  The Balkans in a microcosm   Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jun 18, 2007 38 pictures 0 comments
• 58

  Daytrip to the old Turkish seat   Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jun 19, 2007 20 pictures 0 comments
• 59

  (Re)building bridges   Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jun 20, 2007 15 pictures 0 comments
• 60

  Cruise ship central   Dubrovnik, Croatia on Jun 21, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 61

  A step into the world's newest country   Kotor, Serbia and Montenegro on Jun 21, 2007 25 pictures 0 comments
• 62

  A retreat to the relative comfort of the mountains   Cetinje, Serbia and Montenegro on Jun 22, 2007 25 pictures 0 comments
• 63

  Down the Montenegrin "riviera"   Budva, Serbia and Montenegro on Jun 23, 2007 22 pictures 0 comments
• 64

  No rest for the wicked   Bar, Serbia and Montenegro on Jun 24, 2007 27 pictures 0 comments
• 65

  Last stop in Montenegro   Ulcinj, Serbia and Montenegro on Jun 25, 2007 22 pictures 0 comments
• 66

  Concrete hodge-podge in technicolor   Tirana, Albania on Jun 26, 2007 1 picture 0 comments
• 67

  Skenderbeg's old stronghold   Kruja, Albania on Jun 27, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 68

  Moving southwards   Berati, Albania on Jun 28, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 69

  Exploring the steep slopes   Gjirokastra, Albania on Jun 29, 2007 0 pictures 1 comment
• 70

  Bunker spotting   Tirana, Albania on Jun 30, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 71

  In the lands of St. Clement   Ohrid, Macedonia on Jul 3, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 72

  A visit to Macedonia's second city   Bitola, Macedonia on Jul 3, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 73

  When earthquakes meet 1960s Communism. . .   Skopje, Macedonia on Jul 5, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 74

  Disputed territory and nascent state   Prishtina, Serbia and Montenegro on Jul 6, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 75

  Chasing monasteries and missing buses   Peja, Serbia and Montenegro on Jul 7, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 76

  Winners' spoils?   Prizren, Serbia and Montenegro on Jul 7, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 77

  Biding my time before the night train   Tetovo, Macedonia on Jul 8, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 78

  A significant change of scenery   Subotica, Serbia and Montenegro on Jul 9, 2007 25 pictures 0 comments
• 79

  And the rain returns. . .   Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro on Jul 10, 2007 26 pictures 0 comments
• 80

  Wild child of the Balkans   Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro on Jul 13, 2007 25 pictures 0 comments
• 81

  Revolutionary city   Timisoara, Romania on Jul 16, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 82

  Beyond the once formidable Iron Gates   Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Romania on Jul 17, 2007 15 pictures 0 comments
• 83

  Sweating it out between sculptures   Târgu Jiu, Romania on Jul 18, 2007 30 pictures 0 comments
• 84

  Firmly off the tourist path   Craiova, Romania on Jul 19, 2007 33 pictures 1 comment
• 85

  Another sea of concrete   Pitesti, Romania on Jul 20, 2007 23 pictures 0 comments
• 86

  A true historical Wallachian town   Curtea de Arges, Romania on Jul 22, 2007 47 pictures 0 comments
• 87

  Suffering under the heat wave   Bucharest, Romania on Jul 25, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 88

  Dracula's old haunts   Târgoviste, Romania on Jul 26, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 89

  Taking it too easy   Bucharest, Romania on Jul 27, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 90

  One bad discovery and a long, long train   Târgu Mures (Marosvásárhely), Romania on Jul 29, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 91

  Is this still Romania??   Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely), Romania on Jul 30, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 92

  Scruffy capital of Harghita county   Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda), Romania on Jul 31, 2007 0 pictures 1 comment
• 93

  A busy day of looking around Covasna   Sfântu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy), Romania on Aug 1, 2007 0 pictures 2 comments
• 94

  Into Southern Bucovina   Suceava, Romania on Aug 2, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 95

  Walking 15km through the countryside in the rain??   Suceava, Romania on Aug 5, 2007 0 pictures 1 comment
• 96

  Scaffolding overload   Iasi, Romania on Aug 6, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 97

  Shaken down for $3.30   Chisinau, Moldova on Aug 8, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 98

  Into a nation that doesn't officially exist   Tiraspol, Moldova on Aug 9, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 99

  Unassuming castle town on the Dniester   Soroca, Moldova on Aug 10, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 100

  The old cave monastery site of Orhei   Orheiul Vechi, Moldova on Aug 11, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 101

  Queuing Ukrainian style   Odessa, Ukraine on Aug 13, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 102

  Bloody visa run-around   Kyiv, Ukraine on Aug 16, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 103

  Exploring the Mother City of the Eastern Slavs   Kyiv, Ukraine on Aug 17, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 104

  Getting back to a Central European scene again   Chernivtsi, Ukraine on Aug 19, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 105

  An ideal spot for a castle   Kamyanets-Podilsky, Ukraine on Aug 19, 2007 0 pictures 1 comment
• 106

  Another day out to a castle town   Khotyn, Ukraine on Aug 20, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 107

  Polish traces   Lviv, Ukraine on Aug 22, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 108

  The quintessential Soviet 'Hero City'   Minsk, Belarus on Aug 25, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 109

  Best Indian this side of the former Iron Curtain   Brest, Belarus on Aug 26, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 110

  Ex-communist backwater on valium   Hrodna, Belarus on Aug 26, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 111

  A sudden shift in style   Vilnius, Lithuania on Aug 30, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 112

  A relaxing day by the lake   Trakai, Lithuania on Aug 30, 2007 0 pictures 1 comment
• 113

  Lithuania's second city   Kaunas, Lithuania on Aug 31, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 114

  Out to the coast   Klaipeda, Lithuania on Sep 2, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 115

  Enough of the rain already!   Siauliai, Lithuania on Sep 4, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 116

  Root-canaled and Russia bound   Vilnius, Lithuania on Sep 4, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 117

  City of spires   Riga, Latvia on Sep 5, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 118

  A quieter air of old Latvia   Cesis, Latvia on Sep 6, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 119

  Second city and university center of Estonia   Tartu, Estonia on Sep 9, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 120

  A day in Finland   Helsinki, Finland on Sep 10, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 121

  Old kremlin town   Novgorod, Russia on Sep 14, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 122

  Eastwards to Tatarstan   Kazan, Russia on Sep 19, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 123

  Beyond the Urals   Yekaterinburg, Russia on Sep 21, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 124

  Siberia's old capital   Tobolsk, Russia on Sep 22, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 125

  Halfway through the rail tickets   Omsk, Russia on Sep 23, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 126

  Grey skies over grey city   Novosibirsk, Russia on Sep 24, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 127

  Shifting clouds over Baikal   Irkutsk, Russia on Sep 27, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 128

  End of the long (rail)road   Vladivostok, Russia on Sep 30, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments
• 129

  Back where it all began. . .   Kariya, Japan on Oct 2, 2007 0 pictures 0 comments