I wondered if I was doing myself a disservice, waiting so long to visit Kraków and Poland as a whole. As much as I hate to admit it, you do lose a bit of sense of wonder when you travel constantly. Would I greet Kraków with the enthusiasm of my early twenties? Or be underwhelmed and head to …
This year I achieved a long-held travel dream: visiting Christmas markets in Germany. It’s crazy that I haven’t done this until now! I remember visiting my first German Christmas market, albeit in another country — it was during my semester in Florence in 2004. The market was set up a two-minute walk from my apartment …
What struck me first about Western Australia was just how sparsely populated it was. I would follow our route on Google Maps for hours and think, “Okay, we’re finally getting to a real town now.” And that town would be, essentially, a gas station. You’d think I’d get used to it. But even after ten …
If there’s any country that I visit often but need to explore in more depth, it’s France. Again and again I overlook other regions in France in favor of spending all my time in Paris, a city I find difficult to resist. But recently I had an opportunity to see a bit more. There were a few days in …
Caution and Payoff My guard is up as I land in Cartagena. Not only is this my first time in Colombia, it’s my first time in South America since 2008. And that trip was just to Buenos Aires, which one could argue is Europe’s most southwesternmost point. This trip is different, even for a seasoned …
Should I have allotted more than two nights for Corfu, the largest Ionian island off the coast of Greece? Of course I should have! For me, Corfu was meant to be a stopover en route from Santorini to Albania. I flew there via Athens with two intentions: to see the UNESCO World Heritage-listed old town and …
While Sicily is full of beauty everywhere you look, you’ll find many of its best treasures in the eastern part of the island. The east is home to active volcanoes, ancient ruins, Baroque cities, and gorgeous beaches, not to mention fabulous food and world-famous wine. Why concentrate on the east in particular? Sicily is a big island, the …
Image: travelFREAK Albania was the country I was most looking forward to visiting this summer. It fit my dreams — home to a fascinating culture and some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe, yet a bit of an underdog. A Balkan country I hadn’t visited yet? Sold! But the biggest factor was meeting two lovely Albanian girls …
Splashes erupted from the side of the sailboat. Giant brown sharks thrashed out of the water, surrounded by silvery tuna, each of them vying for the fish bits thrown on the surface of our daredevil crew. Sharks. Sharks were waiting for us. And it was time to dive in and swim among them. Snorkeling with Sharks …
In the jungles of northeast Guatemala, not far from the Belizean border, you’ll find Tikal National Park — one of the largest Mayan complexes in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the beginning, everyone I know who had been to Tikal had gone to see the sunrise. Watching the Mayan pyramids emerge in …