Too Square to be Hip
A narcissist's guide to travel and culture
The small hamlet of Boalsburg, just south of State College is a strange – yet fascinating place. Home to the largest collection of Columbus artifacts in the western hemisphere, its claim to fame, one wonders why it is not better known. Yet, this obscure town remains as it always has, a calm escape into the …
I visited China back in 2012, long before the election of Chinese strongman Xi Jinping. At that time I views the Asian country as a ripe candidate for a slow transition to democracy. Clearly I was wrong, the formally open and transforming Chinese panda has once again begun to shut its doors to the outside …
On a frosty fall day, I made my way out to Lake Minnewanka. This is an unfortunate time of the year where the glacial lake is not yet frozen for recreational use nor is it warm enough to swim. What this time of year does provide is the beginnings of frost on the glacial tips …
The city of Bellefonte in Central Pennsylvania is famous for one reason, it has produced five (5) state governors an extraordinary number for a city of its size. This post should be read in conjunction with my overview of State College located just to the south. Both these cities can easily be visited at the …
China’s economic powerhouse, Shanghai is more then the sum of its skyscrapers. Beneath the thin veil of glass and steel lies a truly unique world metropolis. Thus when one evokes the name Shanghai, an image of tall slender skyscraper clustered on the Bund river appears. Shanghai is much the modern city that you would imagine …
If any place has adapted to the post soviet world, it would Kraków. The old royal capital has emerged from its grey soviet cloak with a renewed vigour. A visitor today would not believe that this once small agrarian city, with a dusty old town, would become one of the tourism capitals of Europe. With …
The treasures of the old imperial kingdom are buried far inland, away from the modern center of power of the modern Chinese state. Buried and forgotten it lied in waiting for its day of discovery. Although many had heard the stories of an ancient mausoleum buried near Xian, it was a simple farmer tending to …
Geography Chester is located in North-West England, not far east of the Welsh border. It is part of the county of Cheshire, south of Manchester and built on the river Dee. History Antiquity Chester was founded as Deva Victrix, a roman Castrum (Fort) in 79 A.D. on Celtic land. The name Deva likely from the …
Exploring Decew Falls Growing tired of the commercial attractions in Niagara Falls (there is only so much money you can gamble away!), we headed out for a hike in St. Catherine’s. You will likely have a hard time finding parking nearby due to the popularity of this attraction so you may have to drive up …
Gjirokastër Fortress, Albania Possibly my favourite castle in the Balkans, this castle has a sordid history. Set among the spring backdrop of melting mountain snowcaps, imposing Gjirokaster Fortress looms above a city of stone and slate below. Located 336 meters (1,102 ft) in height, the structure must be accessed by ways of a steep, winding, …
