“To Pilgrim” – A journey in search of a higher plane. Our pilgrimage was the Camino De Santiago, a 650km trip from St. Jean Pied de Port in southern France to Santiago in Spain. We completed 250km over 10 days. We were told on our first night that every pilgramage should include some suffering. We …
I’m singin in the rain (hail)
Romania! What another gem of a country. We went in search of Dracula’s castle and found some great hiking, old school villages, and a new friend from Australia! Transylvania has all the tourist trappings you would expect from the location that inspired the famous Dracula character. Matt constantly did his best Count Dracula impression from …
The Ukraine
After we left Poland we headed to the Ukraine which turned into another surprisingly great destination. We actually ended up staying for about 10 days and we would both highly suggest everyone should visit if they have the chance. The highlights for us were: public transportation, Chernobyl, and the Crimea. The Chernobyl tour was pretty …
Aushwitz-Birkenau
I think I will continue to process the experience we had at Aushwitz-Birkenau, and will likely never fully grasp the enormity of it. The tour we did will likely not be a highlight of our 10-12 months but it could be one of the most important. My experience with WWII has been quite distant. Sure, …
Take a Hike
Europe redefines Old. Every city we have been in has an Old Town, maybe an Old Castle, and certainly Old Ruins. When I say Old… I mean 12th -13th century Old. This place makes Calgary’s historical buildings look like diaper clad children! We have climbed Old town hall’s, and marveled at the architecture of Old …
Shooting “Shit”
It would seem that when the Soviets left the Baltic States they left a few things behind…like AK-47’s. So we decided we should try shooting them! In Tallinn people were buying these guns with lead in the barrels and bringing them on to their cruise ships. As our guide said: “you were happy, we were …
“I Want to Ride My Bicycle…
I want to ride it where I like…Bicycle! Bicycle!” (Any chance to quote Freddy should always be taken.) We certainly rode our bicycles..for 10 straight days. We rode over paved roads, on gravel roads, on a major highway, in sun, rain, and wind. It was the absolute PERFECT way to gain a great sense of …
Matt’s Take on: The ordinary
“Hunny, would you like breakfast?” Ordinarily, at home, most breakfasts include cornflakes (or fruit loops or some other nasty sugar filled cereal for those under 14), maybe some toast, orange juice and coffee. When we got out for brunch, an ordinary order is likely bacon and eggs or pancakes. This is pretty universal at home …
Oh those Russians!
Russia has had some “great” (?) rulers for the last 3-400 years or so, and it would seem that our romp through St. Petersburg (Pietr) gave us a chance to get up close and personal with a few! To get you into the right mood to read this post, I strongly suggest digging out your …