Author Archives: zijerem

At the end of our last Russian vacation, we ended up back in the same place as our first- Moscow, of course.  The idea was to catch as many of the highlights we missed last time as possible… and we … Continue reading →

The next step in our small Russian tour, after a couple day detour in Kazan (practically the midpoint of Yekaterinburg and Moscow) during which we went to a show of purportedly the world’s only cat trainer, which ended up leaning … Continue reading →

My wife and I will be leaving Russia in a matter of weeks, which is incredible to me.  As is ever the case, time flies, so I’m particularly glad of the timing of Russian holidays.  The big celebration here for … Continue reading →

The last stop on our grand trip was a bit of a bonus.  I noticed pretty much every flight back to Kazan stopped over in Istanbul, for at least 6 + hours, so I figured, why not double that layover … Continue reading →

Romania wasn’t high on my to-do list before planning this trip, but once my father learned of my job in Russia, he’s mentioned it in his conversations with customs at his job (his seed company has a surprisingly international and … Continue reading →

Our train trip from Krakow to Budapest was the best yet- a first-class, two-bed compartment on a nearly empty train we scored by greasing the palm of our attendant with seven dollars worth of leftover zlotys.  No, I don’t think … Continue reading →

After spending most of the day at the physically and emotionally exhausting Auschwitz, it was a relief to return to Krakow, settle in to our hostel room, and take it easy.  We did venture out to the nearby Market Square, … Continue reading →

I saw many beautiful palaces, museums, castles, rivers, mountain vistas, and much more in our three week trip across Eastern Europe, but none of them made quite the impression, or will stick with me quite as long as one quiet field … Continue reading →

When we first began to plan this central European trip, Jeonghee and I were in agreement as to our most anticipated destination- Prague.  The very name inspires romantic visions of soaring castles and exotic churches, all of which we saw … Continue reading →

After Salzburg, just like Mozart, our logical next stop was the big city of Vienna.  After centuries as the seat of the enormously rich and powerful Hapsburg Empire, Vienna has been positively stuffed with palaces, museums (that used to be … Continue reading →