Travelers love to bond over shared experiences – the good ones, the bad ones, and the ugly ones. Typically (and by typically I mean most certainly) night trains fall into the latter two categories. Anyone traveling Europe needs to experience a night train once. And, if after that one time you decide that the night train is not for you – that is OK. There is nothing more frustrating than other people pushing their travel standards on you. Yes, night … →

After the fiasco of attempting to hitchhike to Belgrade – I finally caught a bus and arrived. Exhausted from all the efforts, I hadn’t booked an accommodation. I gave one of the people outside the bus station holding signs a shot and decided on the hostel that was a stones throw away across the street. There was no sign for the hostel or anything, but such is the Balkan area. The “hostel” smelled overwhelmingly of smoke and, despite the hostel … →

Since I am traveling on a railpass I try to maximize the amount of trains I take and avoid any other forms of transportation that requires me to pay. I decided to go to Sarajevo because there is a train directly connecting Sarajevo to Belgrade, then I can take an overnight train from Belgrade to Sofia. Looking at the train schedule online, I realized that the only train to Belgrade leaves at 6am so I set my alarm, packed my … →

We could see islands from our vantage point during out morning hike, and we decided as we looked out over the horizon that we wanted, at some point that day, to be on one of those islands. Kayaking was deemed the best way to get there, so at around 6pm we set out on a trek to an island where we could go cliff jumping, swim and enjoy the crystal clear water. Jimmy and Kate hopped in one kayak, while … →

Gil and I made a special trip to the 55th Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition. The exhibition is held once every two years and is the leader of international art exhibitions. Over 30 permanent national pavilions in La Giardini host each nation’s chosen artists and works to display at this “world fair” type art show. See the complete list of countries represented as well as the selected artwork here. Two central exhibitions also displayed international works – The Encyclopedic Palace: … →