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still learning travel lessons, in brno
i am learning to be a minimal packer, and i’m starting to feel pretty good about it. when i go on a trips for just a night or two, i can fit everything in a normal-sized backpack, for sure. i even pride myself on certain packing choices, for instance, my tiny slipper socks. i bring those for some extra comfort on the road, because sometimes you need something between winter boots and socks for padding around the room or property. also, my lightweight cotton bathrobe. easily doubling as an after-swim cover-up, it’s much nicer to throw on over pajamas or underwear when you need to run out to the shared…
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spring in south bohemia: to-do list
i love making lists. at any given time, there are so many thoughts flying around my brain that list making is really the only way to harness these ideas. normally, i do this offline. i feel odd putting myself out there too much on the internet (really!), but i thought this time (only?) it might be fun to share with you a peek of my spring to-do list. so now that it’s spring (happy spring! how great are all of these extra daylight hours?), here’s what is on my mind…. a day on the river as i mentioned briefly talking about my hopes for this year, no year is complete…
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preparing for a central european winter
winter is coming, friends! well, not too soon, but just soon enough to start thinking about whether or not you have the right stuff to last these cold, frosty months in the heart of central europe. the first winter i ever spent in europe back in 2007 was memorably freezing. as we followed our tall danish-german professor around berlin, the wind seared through my jacket like a hundred tiny unforgiving knives, while he seemed completely unfazed. we were all from the continental west coast, and we all were dying. i bought a couple of cheap coats at one of the various kurfürstendamm h&m’s, but none of these coats were big…
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thirty by thirty: my oslo stopover
thirty countries by thirty. i suppose it’s a silly distinction, and not one that i actually achieved, having gone to my thirtieth country, norway, at about three months past my thirtieth birthday. so the term “thirty during thirty” is reallymore accurate. (prepositions are so pesky, aren’t they?) this is one of the things that brought me to norway, not to mention that i’ve been hoping to go there for awhile and it is the last of my ancestral homelands to be checked off the list. the other major reason is that it cost the same to obtain a ticket with a stop in norway (if not cheaper) as it did to fly directly…
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how i travel often (on a teacher’s budget)
it’s not a secret that ESL (english as a second language) teachers in europe aren’t the wealthiest lot (although i have heard a different story about asia– that’s where you can really rake in the $$). no, for us here on the european continent, the job is a labor of love, but one that puts us very near many intriguing and interesting new places to visit. my travel list is always a mile long and it never ends. a day after returning from a trip, i am already thinking of the next destination! in my three years abroad (yep, i just hit big three! hooray!), besides getting acclimated, settled, and…
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unique czech gift ideas
it’s tough to figure out a meaningful gift to bring home from your holidays sometimes… especially a product actually made in the country and not shipped from china with “prague” emblazoned on it. why not try these ideas next time? totally czech, and your loved ones will definitely appreciate them. 1/ becherovka, the most popular herbal liquor choice! made from a secret blend of over 100 herbs and minerals from the karlovy vary region. (i don’t recommend trying to bring czech beer- too much hassle) also recommended: slivovice or moravian white wine. the more homemade/local, the better. 2/ oplatky, especially the kolonada brand. they’re round wafer cookies that come in many…
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honeymoonin’! stories from bloggers
hey y’all– i’m currently in greece on our long-awaited honeymoon! as an attempt to have as unplugged a trip as possible, i’ve rounded up some of my married lady expat-blogger friends to talk about how awesome their honeymoons were. i hope you enjoy their stories! how long have you been married for? in january we celebrated our four year anniversary.where did you go for your honeymoon? las vegashow did you decide to go there? there were a few factors that led us to las vegas: 1) we did not want to be cold and that cancelled out a lot of places in january, 2) we were on a budget and…
