The Palace of Parliament, Bucharest
It is not the symbol anyone in Bucharest would choose for their city, but the massive Palace of Parliament lands in every visitor’s awareness like a walrus in the penguin exhibit. Conceived by… Continue reading
Category Archive: Europe
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The benefit of an alpine lake
Today I would have taken my group to “mad” (entirely sane) King Ludwig’s fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle. Folks invariably enjoy it, albeit amazed at the tourist swam. Afterward, we sit down to a picnic… Continue reading
King’s Day Anyway
The Dutch sky hadn’t decided if it was going to rain or not when I snuck out of the hotel around six in the morning. The student staff of the best hotel in… Continue reading
The bones I found in Derbyshire
Waking up in the English countryside is always a good way to start the day. I lay on warm sheets and listened to the absence of bustle as our hamlet in the Peak… Continue reading
Reminder in a Ukrainian cemetery
Gabryela Zapolska was a feuilletonist. It’s okay, no one else knows what that is either. I only mention it because Gabryela’s name is in the Latin alphabet on her grave at Lychakiv Cemetery… Continue reading
People you meet in train stations
Pasazhyrskyi was exactly the sort of name I wanted for Kiev’s train station. Add the neo-baroque interior with its multi-level chandeliers hanging from cavernous ceilings, and starkly decorative interior levels that were simultaneously… Continue reading
Two days away
My next tour starts in two days, and I know what the hardest part will be. A tour is an odd blend of likelihood and happenstance, earned probability and inevitable surprises. Will we… Continue reading
What are you going to do now, Paris?
Standing in front of Notre Dame Cathedral I had a lot of answers. 12-14th century, Judean Kings, and here are 10 things you can do tonight. Another 21-day tour almost finished, I was… Continue reading
Scared to go to Turkey
The walls were solid and strong, despite the detritus of old neglect in the corners, the spray painted confusion, and the sense of old cigarettes. And everywhere, the kind of shadows you’re supposed… Continue reading
Ghosts in the grocery store
Waiting in line at the grocery store made me think about torture and secret police. Around me shoppers huffed their indignation at slow cashiers, one of whom looked ready to cry, but my… Continue reading
