Too Square to be Hip
A narcissist's guide to travel and culture
Once filled with life, the palace Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, stands elegantly above the waters of the pond that surrounds it. Once filled with boats, the pond surrounding the Saxon House of Wettin has not seen its family since it was pried away from the during he Soviet occupation. …
Forget Jordan’s “Visa On Arrival”, the Jordan pass exists! This is the best alternative to buying a temporary visa to visit the country. It waves to visa fee to enter the nation for a similar price to the actual tourist visa while as packaging it with over forty attractions, including the word famous Petra! I …
As I child I remember seeing a photograph of Dresden in ruins. Taken from above, one could take in the breathtaking devastation imposed on the city, debris filled streets lined with crumbling walls were all that remained of once lively homes, as if they were unburied carcasses in a pilfered cemetery. On a nearby building, …
A land dotted with fulsome farms, powerful rivers and bountiful forests, Poland is a pastoral paradise. This is reflected in the character of the Polish people, who have a intrinsic connection to the land and its harvests. Yet, it is a small region tucked in the southern tier of the country that has captured the …
Every time I visit Poland, a friendly pole will ask me “Will you go to Zakopane” and when I answer no they suddenly become animated and end with “Well… You Really Must Go To Zakopane”. After multiple visits to the country I can finally say that their love for their mountain paradise is not misplaced …
Exhausted after exploring the incredibly beautiful hillside city of Banská Štiavnica, I retreated to my room in a nearby penzion (inn) called Stary Hostinc, near the Svätý Anton Manor house. Before I could lay my head down I felt my stomach rumble and an inextinguishable hunger set in. It was high time to assuage my …
The belle of Slovakia, Banská Štiavnica occupies a stunning geographic location. Nestled in the green hills of Slovakia, and almost untouched the by uncaring hand of modernity, it is one of those rare places on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain that has been able to escape unscathed. Like its neighbor Banská Bystrica, Banská …
The second city of the Czech Republic (after Prague) and the chief city in the province of Moravia, Brno has a big city feel in a tiny footprint. This busy university town was once known for being at the center of the munitions industry and was home to Československá zbrojovka, an arms factory and the Zweigwerk aircraft …
At the center of the Southern Bohemia, with its quaint rolling hills, stands a town both fair and lively. Its name is Tábor, named after the biblical Mount Tabor located in Israel, but also the literal translation of the world “camp” in Czech, a testament to its humble origins. For those not aware, this was …
Everyone knows Salzburg, it is the quintessential place the comes to mind when thinking about the Austrian Alps. Not only was the city (and the verdant green hills that surround it) featured in the famed flick, The Sound of Music but it has been one of the de-facto tourism destinations when visiting the Alps. Due …
