Winter in Kyrgyzstan: Snow Camping at Ala-Archa The long frozen Bishkek winter takes it toll on my traditional pastimes. Growing up in Louisiana, deep in the US south, my love for the outdoors has always extended to camping and hiking and multi-day backpacking but given the locale usually only the warm-weather […]
Travel Words
The Museum of Innocence: Love and Madness in Istanbul
The Museum of Innocence: Love and Madness in Istanbul It’s all an elaborate and precisely constructed lie: a museum built to tell the story of a self-referential book created around the contents of the soon-to-finish museum. A tale of love and loss, but mainly madness, which is entirely fictional but […]
Kumtor Gold Mine: Kyrgyzstan’s Fine Line
Kumtor Gold Mine: Kyrgyzstan’s Fine Line Between Ecology and Economy Standing squarely at the heart of countless clashes, the Kumtor Gold Mine is equally one of Kyrgyzstan’s most important economic contributors and one of its most controversial environmental and investment considerations. The Kumtor Gold Mine is located high in the mountains […]
The Kutna Hora Bone Church: Life, Death, and Silver in Bohemia
The Kutna Hora Bone Church: Life, Death, and Silver in Bohemia At first glance, Kutna Hora seems like any other once-prosperous European town. Big churches, beautiful cobblestone streets, and a central square that serves as the heart of the city and the center of life. If you haven’t ever heard […]
Wachau Valley Bike Tour: Austrian Wines and Crumbling Castles
Wachau Valley Bike Tour: Austrian Wines and Crumbling Castles Vienna is not, on the face of it, Europe’s most active or adventurous destination. My average day in the Imperial City involves exploring lots of traditional coffee houses and the historic Old Town, and only very occasionally something like a bike ride through […]
Vienna Coffee House Culture: A Melange of Everything Wien
Vienna Coffee House Culture There may well be any number of things I appreciate more than a historic cafe with a cozy atmosphere and superbly tasty coffee, but anytime I’m in Vienna the memory of those others seems to get lost in the search for the perfect Wiener Melange. Vienna Coffee […]