Alsace just might be the most visually Disney-like place I have ever been to. Every town and village is candy-colored. Every half-timbered storefront beckons like the Witch’s house in ‘Hansel and Gretel’, with their candies and pretzels and storytelling signs. Roses and wisterias snake up facades and fountains. It’s almost too whimsical, almost fake. But…
Over nearly two decades I have traveled all around France. I would love to spend the next decade popping into any of its corners for a weekend or a month, whenever I get a chance. Yet there is one area of the country that has captured my heart like no other place in the world.…
I cannot believe it has been more than 4 years since I wrote this post, about my dream travel destinations. I also cannot believe how much travel I have done in that time, culminating with the most insane 2018: 26 journeys, 24 of them – international, including to 5 new countries. I visited places I…
There are places you dream about visiting, but when you go there, they fail to live up to the hype. There are places that in real life turn out just as postcard-perfect as you want them to be. And then, once in a great while, you encounter one of those really rare things – a…
While a boat cruise is unmatched when it comes to taking in the beautiful curves of the Rhine River Gorge, the main advantage of touring the Rhine Valley by car is that it gives you a chance to explore the area in much greater detail. And there is so much to explore! There are 25…
My college boyfriend had three crushes: Asian girls with giant racks, me (not Asian, no giant anything to speak of) – and Germany. I could never understand that third one: for me, Germany was not country to be visited. It wasn’t even a place — but a concept. Growing up in the USSR, I was…
This is not a post about my “Bucket List.” Oh how I hate the use of this term by travel bloggers*. You guys do know what it means, right? Things to do before you “kick the bucket.” Before YOU DIE. Which, barring a tragic accident, is about half a century away for most of you.…
I mean – just look at this place. Where have I seen this before…? Even their souvenirs looks like they were taken straight from Elsa’s and Anna’s wardrobes (that’s a “Frozen” reference for you heathens). I never thought any place in the world could have too much whimsy for my liking, but Tallinn came close…
Home & Away 