After a year apart, Maddy and I reunited in Poland. She was going to a philosophy conference in Warsaw. "Meet me there and you can come with me," she said, with her characteristic optimism. "But...I'm not a philosopher...are you sure they'd let me in?" I hesitated. "Of course!" The next week I was skipping to the train station … Continue reading The Philosophy of Warsaw
It’s ice cold outside in Ljubljana, but we’re among hundreds of people walking the streets. At the foothills of the snow-capped Alps in the middle of winter, you’d expect people to be huddled around fires in the warmth of their homes. But it’s exactly the opposite. Slovenian women pass by in thin cardigans, high heels … Continue reading Joining the Festivities in Ljubljana
With two of my precocious students, sisters Teresa and Bara Balatkovy, I decided to do a photojournalism project in the style of Humans of New York. This is the third installment. We walked around Liberec and Bara interviewed strangers on the street about memorable moments in their lives and Teresa photographed them during the interview. Both … Continue reading Humans of Liberec Part III
Kutna Hora. Winter 2015. There's an eerie spirit about this place. It's quiet and mysterious. Peace is felt in silent reverence for the dead, on flowers placed atop cemetery graves, and whispers. 40,000 skeletons of forgotten humans decorate and furnish a church that gives this small town fame. We are here to see and believe it. The Church of Bones is a sacred … Continue reading The Church of Bones: Kutná Hora
Dresden for the day--It's always a good idea. The train from my town in the Czech Republic to the capital of Saxony is only a 2-hour journey, so sometimes I wonder why I don't make this trip more often. Previously, I'd only been for Dresden's famous Christmas market and, with all the distracting hand-painted nutcrackers, stollen, and chocolate-covered things, … Continue reading Daytrippin’ in Dresden
"Glacial corries contrast with bare-stone ridges, large alpine meadows with timber cottages down in the valleys, the murmur of waterfalls with the mysterious silence of peat bogs, while regal Mount Sněžka, queen of the peaks, lords it over her lofty realm. All this awaits you in the Krkonoše." [CzechTourism.com] After reading the passage above, how can … Continue reading Tramping in the Krkonoše Mountains
Back in October, we decided we wanted to to drive to the sea. The closest sea is the Baltic, and I’d never been, so we started planning a road trip to Poland. But those plans changed quickly when my boyfriend Filip's best friend called and told us they’d rented a big house on a German island for … Continue reading An Island Called Rügen
Wedged between my 40-pound bag and the window, I force my hand to hold a pen instead of my drooping head, heavy from three well-lived nights in Paris. As I write, our train speeds away not a minute soon or late, and the city of love disappears in a hurry, without saying goodbye. I prop my feet up and try to find a … Continue reading Little by Little: Farming in Le Mans, France
In Paris, John-Scott says, "We are all here, just waiting for you," like he knows I need that little bit of reassurance, and I do. I'm on the plane now, waiting for takeoff and, though I've been flying by myself since I was 12 years old, the miracle of flight still shakes me. Fierce, solo … Continue reading Vive la Fête!
For weeks, I'd been talking about the beach; for the first time in my life, I missed it. I grew up in sunny, coastal Jacksonville, where sea, sand and sweat practically pumped through my veins. On my first trip abroad, I went straight to the tropics. My body was comfortable with the uncomfortable effects of the … Continue reading Escape to Český Krumlov
Joc Cousteau 