Our last stop in France was Strasbourg, a city that, like the rest of Alsace has passed back and forth between France and Germany numerous times. Today it is the seat of the European Parliament, one part of the complex system of governance that rules the European Union. It seems like a fitting place for such an institution, along the […]

On the road again… That may not be my greatest photo ever, but one of the cutest things about French rural roads were the rows of trees planted along the sides. Here, the trees are well-spaced away from the road, but in other places the trees were quite close, often squeezing roads down to only one lane wide. But these […]

After leaving Carcassonne behind, we drove along the northern edge of the Pyrenees and eventually up into the foothills to reach Mendive, a tiny village of about 200 people. One of those people just happens to be an amazing advocate for children’s participation in political decision-making, and was the first person Jess was headed off to meet with in order […]

Before you start reading, a warning. This post is a bit epic–and that’s after I split off half the material and put it into some later posts (coming soon). Our last few weeks were packed. So, feel free to take it in chunks. You’ve been warned. – – – We left Vienna on September 20th, and for the first time, […]

After leaving Germany (we’re going back there in a week!), Jessica and I went to visit two countries we’d never been to before, the Czech Republic and Austria, specifically spending time in Prague and Vienna. Both were amazing, though we only barely scratched the surface of what these two capital cities held. For better or worse, we spent quite a […]

Jessica and I spent the first week or so of September wandering the streets of Munich and then walking across the Bavarian countryside. One of the first things we learned about Germany is that they don’t mess around on the masking front–they take COVID pretty seriously. We thought people were pretty good about masking in Italy (though less so in […]

Jess and I have just settled into an apartment in Prague for the coming week and I need to write up our experiences in Munich and hiking around Bavaria, but I thought I’d take a minute to answer a question Nirshan asked about the “huts” in the Alps. It’s a good question, because there is quite a wide range. I’m […]

Hey folks! Sorry it’s been so long. We finished our trip in the Dolomites several days ago, but it took me a while to go through the 1500 or so photos I took, so…if you’re here for (way too many) photos of stunning mountain landscapes, you’re in the right place. But, let me back up a bit… We spent the […]

After leaving Sarah to her fate (she is safely back in the US), Jess and I headed south to Moneglia, a tiny seaside town on the coast between Genova and the more famous (and once-upon-a-time quaint) Cinque Terre. Our goal was to slow down and relax for a few days. Mission accomplished. Honestly, there’s not much to say. We took […]

Last week, after finishing our alpine adventures, Jessica, Sarah, and I headed south to the Piedmont region of Italy. Specifically, we set out to trek from town to town in the region around the city of Alba, an area famous for its Barolo wines, rare black and white truffles, and for being the birthplace of Nutella. Sadly, I actively dislike […]