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lost in vary
we interrupt this slovenia post barrage to bring you dispatches from the 49th annual karlovy vary international film festival in beautiful karlovy vary, czech republic. today is the final day of this year’s fabulous festival, and i felt like talking about it. so here we go. after figuring out how things are done last year, alex and i came in ready to conquer the festival. we got in the secret “good line” at the box office an hour early and were first to get our tickets! we definitely learned that the key to film festival success is GET THERE EARLY, and we aced it so hard. this year, we spent…
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how i travel: apartment rentals
i’ll be the first to admit that i love a good hotel stay. nothing makes me feel more pampered then cozying up in a fluffy white robe and ordering some room service. but being young, generally underemployed, and and on a budget, this isn’t economical nor does it make much sense. for the past eight years i’ve mostly stayed in hostels, sometimes pensions or bed and breakfasts… but in the past couple of years, coinciding with my switch to becoming a slow traveler, renting an apartment (or a private bedroom in a shared apartment) has become absolutely the top option. although a hostel or hotel makes more sense for a…
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twenty-first century paris (an itinerary)
in october and november 2012 on my way to prague, i made a two week pit-stop in paris between london and berlin. before this i had spent only a few days there eight years before, so i was thrilled to experience the city for an extended amount of days, this time with alex who had never been to france. now, inspired by reading the paris wife, i wanted to share about my fourteen day parisian experience and what my itinerary looked like. i sublet a tiny studio apartment in the 13th arrondissement while the resident (a russian artist) was on a holiday in the states. her rent was about the…
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liebster award
i have to be honest that i had no idea what a liebster award was before amy bestowed it upon me. (thank you!!) it’s a blog award given by other bloggers to highlight quality, entertaining blogs (usually, that have less than 1,000 followers). and with this honor, i get to nominate a couple blogs that fit this description that have been on my radar for awhile and deserve recognition. then, the nominees can choose to answer eleven questions from me on their blogs. you can also choose to pick eleven random facts about yourself, but i figured answering eleven questions was good enough for me. my nominees? on the road…
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mein leipzig
i spent the first half of my birthday busing to leipzig via prague and dresden. i’m not sure at what point i thought that booking 5:40am bus tickets outta ČB was a good idea, but on the morning of my twenty-eighth birthday, it did not feel like one. (fortunately a pitstop at starbucks helped!) i’d never been to leipzig before but because alex and my mutual favorite band was playing there on my birthday night, so the plans were made for us! i quickly settled into our gorgeous flat in südvorstadt near connewitz, a neighborhood that i immediately took a great liking to. it felt strange to be somewhere so like…
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three important places
hello friends. this week i’m sharing three important places with you all. funny thing about these choices is that i’ve lived in all three! the place i’ve been that i love the most? i have to say my “second home” of berlin, germany. i’ve written extensively about it and why i love it before, but in a nutshell, berlin is fascinating. i can be easily bored in one place, but there is always something new to discover in this city, not only because it is just so darn HUGE but because it’s ever-changing. it’s a place where you can feel free to do whatever you want without judgement. artists, entrepreneurs, immigrants,…
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brno
if someone told me earlier “in a week, you’ll travel to brno for the day”, i would’ve wondered whaaaaat would ever compel me to undertake that. but my father (whom i haven’t seen in 3+ years) was on business from singapore, so it would be almost criminal not to meet up after being so close! brno, the second largest city in the czech republic, is almost four hours away by bus which isn’t exactly day trip material. but you know what? brno it is! because sometimes plans change! as my mind surely did as i stepped off the bus and was greeted by the warmest sun on my face i’ve felt…
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normal
maybe because it’s the middle of winter and there’s not much to do besides the usual, but recently, i wake up out of bed, get ready, and go about my normal routine giving absolutely no thought to the fact that i live in the czech republic. even to overhear czech spoken on the streets sparks no wave lengths out of the ordinary in this brain of mine. this slavic language that’s all around me doesn’t even sound that strange anymore. or, i’ll be walking down a beautiful cobbled street on my way to a lesson and pay it absolutely no mind that i live in a foreign country. instead i’ll…
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A Broad, Abroad: Secrets for Traveling Europe on a Budget
since i embarked on my very first trip to europe in 2004, fresh out of high school, i have learned an enormous amount about how to travel on the cheap. i am the self-professed queen of frugality (as well as a euro budget travel vet) and i cringe at paying full-price for anything. so here’s a list of excellent tips that i use all the time that will allow you to travel even in western europe for dollars a day. and even if you no longer like to travel on such a budget, these tips are just plain smart and will help you save money for the part of your…
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Makin’ Plans
although it may seem too early, january is an excellent time to begin travel planning! the weather’s pretty crap (ours is hovering just above freezing with never-ending slush rain) making it both tough and undesirable to venture out on day or weekend trips around the region. best thing to do: trip research with a nice steaming mug of tea. and try not to hide out in the house… too much. the first item that is looming over our heads, or at least mine is THE WEDDING: when the heck is it going to happen? planning a wedding when you live abroad is daunting and really almost impossible when we don’t…
