Locked in a Cambodian Hotel Room

We kind of ran out of places to travel. With a three-month limit in the Schengen zone, our only options seemed to be to go back to somewhere we have already been during this pandemic. But also, the days in Greece were getting cooler and shorter and my only item of cold-weather clothing was aContinue reading “Locked in a Cambodian Hotel Room”

Above and Below Cephalonia

The sea disappears below Cephalonia, flowing into the crevices of its shore and passing through a network of underground caves that lead some fifteen kilometers across the island to the underground lake of Melissani where the salt water mixes with the fresh water of the lake before draining once again into the sea on theContinue reading “Above and Below Cephalonia”

If There Is No Ithaca

There is nowhere in the world like Ithaca, an island lost in time and myth in the Ionian sea. Home to a population of only 3000, the island has been a long lost home to the countless souls who have traveled the wine dark seas with Odysseus over the past 3000 years in the manyContinue reading “If There Is No Ithaca”

Island of Cliffs and Caves

Lefkada became an island some 2500 years ago when Corinthians settlers built a canal through the narrow strip of land on the north tip that connects to mainland Greece. A pontoon bridge now connects the island to the mainland and it was over this that we drove on our way to Lefkada town. A crumblingContinue reading “Island of Cliffs and Caves”

Driving a Marathon

The Greek soldier Philippides ran from the town of Marathon to Athens in 490 BCE to announce the Greek victory over the Persians. Or maybe he ran to Sparta to call in reinforcements. The truth behind the legend is lost in myth and retellings like so many of the historical stories of ancient Greece. EitherContinue reading “Driving a Marathon”

What the Oracle Said

Located high above the Gulf of Corinth on the steep slope of Mount Parnassus is the center of the world. For many centuries pilgrims, generals and kings made the journey here to receive the advice of gods. The history of the Oracle at Delphi is shrouded in a cloak of myth and stories buried underContinue reading “What the Oracle Said”

Cloudy Days in Switzerland

Switzerland is a place that I have returned to many times, but each return seems to be spaced more years apart from the last. Landing in Switzerland this time, after more than ten years since my last visit, I feel a bit nostalgic for those things that are Switzerland to me. Not mountains or chocolates,Continue reading “Cloudy Days in Switzerland”

Banja Luka Farm

The capital of the Serbian Republic and largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Sarajevo is Banja Luka, a city that could be considered in many ways the polar opposite of Sarajevo. Before the war both these cities consisted of a mixed population of Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. During the war, populations were forcibly resettledContinue reading “Banja Luka Farm”