Uncategorized Archives - Where Next, Baby?

January 26, 2025January 26, 2025

Spring in the Baltics: Casting a Nervous Eye to the East

The canola was in its spring bloom in the Baltics in May. The vast fields of vivid yellow against the brilliant blue sky created a natural Ukrainian flag. Yellow and blue flags are omnipresent across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Balts are incensed and frightened by Russia’s unwarranted war against their fellow former Soviet state. …

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May 28, 2023June 26, 2023

Latvia beats US to win bronze in world ice hockey championship

"Latvia! Latvia! Latvia!" By chance we are at the Dome Square in the Old Town of Riga as the Latvian national hockey team beats the team from the United States in the world hockey tournament! Even though our team lost we were delighted to be part of this excited crowd! Check out our video: https://youtu.be/Ynkyd4PSj0k

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March 22, 2023May 22, 2023

Passage through Patagonia: breathtaking sights from a special tour

Patagonia is one of the most dramatically beautiful places on earth.

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March 8, 2023May 21, 2023

Encountering Crime in Chile: A Lesson Re-Learned

It was bound to happen sooner or later. In our case, it was later. After decades of safe international travel to more than 70 countries, we had a violent encounter. Walking down a sunny street in Santiago, Chile, mid-day in a nice neighborhood, we felt safe. Big mistake. And we should have known better. I …

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January 2, 2023May 22, 2023

Croatia Redux: a beautiful country gets more visitor friendly

Our last trip through Croatia was 17 years ago. At that point, just 10 years after its devastating but triumphant War of Independence from the former Yugoslavia, Croatia was still finding its footing. Many roads were nearly Third World; the buildings pockmarked from bullets and missiles; the memorials to the war dead front and center; …

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October 8, 2022October 8, 2022

Inundated in Italy: tourist crowds pack the Amalfi coast

The travel industry is in overdrive in 2022, and it is not handling it well. Flight cancelations, lost luggage and airline employee shortages are throwing wrenches left and right into long-dreamed-of post-pandemic travel plans. Italy’s beautiful Amalfi Coast was apparently much lusted after, as an always popular destination. But currently, it’s 50% more popular. Folks …

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November 20, 2020September 25, 2022

Packing your travel essentials for the great wide world

Over two decades of travel to ~70 countries, we've uncovered some tips and tricks for packing that can make the difference between comfort and complaints. If you’re a bit “high maintenance” like me, you should put some thought into your packing. It could lead to you having your own “travel drawer” of invaluable and quickly …

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April 16, 2018January 19, 2020

China Travel: Observations from booming China

China Is Booming. At least that's how it looks as we wind around the outskirts of Xi'an. Endless miles of new 35-story apartment buildings look like a giant boy bought out the giant Jenga factory and is placing the pieces on their ends toward infinity. He’s filling gaps literally on a daily basis. The Chinese …

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September 21, 2017January 19, 2020

Visit to North Macedonia: Tracing Mother Teresa’s childhood wanderings through the streets of Skopje

We came to Skopje, the capital of what is now called North Macedonia, in early morning with cold dew drops still dotting all surfaces. This was to be an attempt to see the city as Mother Teresa saw her birthplace. Though of Albanian descent, the woman who would become St. Teresa of Calcutta was born …

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September 19, 2017March 15, 2021

Captivated by Croatia: yes, it looks just like ‘Game of Thrones’

Croatia has a stunningly beautiful coastline with cities like Dubrovnik and Split that are well worth a visit. But I’ve got to say, this was a country where the people we encountered were not overly warm – at least they weren’t to us. We kind of pride ourselves in meeting, engaging and befriending locals. It’s …

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