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Category Archives: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Collecting Countries

23 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by lexklein in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Greece, Peru, Spain, Tibet, Travel - General

≈ 18 Comments

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Country count, in-depth travel, places visited

Lately I’ve noticed that some world travelers seem rather unappealingly attached to their “country counts.” It is certainly tempting to do; once you do start seriously wandering the globe and the count does start creeping up into impressive numbers, it is hard not to get a little, let’s just say, aggressive about adding places. Why not sneak over to Colonia del Sacramento for a day while in Buenos Aires and add Uruguay to the tally? Or take a day trip to Montenegro from Dubrovnik to bulk up the Balkans score. I’ve done both of those myself and enjoyed them immensely, but (I’d like to think) not just to notch two more nations. I gave my son grief this summer for driving a car over the Bosnian border from Croatia for a grand total of fifteen miles, and I joked that he could not really say he’d been to Bosnia & Herzegovina. His facetious response/rule? If you have something to eat or drink in a nation, it counts. So a cup of coffee later, he had added a new country!

World mapAll silliness aside, for all my wide travels, I’ve discovered in myself a preference to go deep – to spend a whole trip in one country or even one region. Beyond this, I’ve also gone back to many countries more than once when I just couldn’t get them out of my head. Yes, I could use my hard-earned money and vacation time to add another place to my list, but on a second or third trip, I can dig deeper than the main tourist sites and really get to know a place, or I can branch out and visit lesser-known cities or areas. And I just love the feeling of going back somewhere and feeling almost like a native; it’s so satisfying to really feel attached and connected or, even better, to know every little shortcut in a town and even give directions to someone else in a city halfway across the world.

Greece was one of the first places I visited multiple times. I had gone there as a child with my Greek grandparents, attended a camp in my teens, funded my own way there one summer during high school, and returned years later with my own family. Spain, too, became a favorite after a study abroad program and two subsequent trips to see new places and revisit old favorites, and France (notably Paris) has managed to insert itself into almost every western European trip I’ve taken.

The first country with which I truly fell in love, though, was Peru. I distinctly remember getting on the plane after trekking the Inca Trail and spending a little time in Cusco and Lima. I looked longingly out the window and just knew I would be coming back. In fact, I was back on a plane by myself a mere five months later to further explore the Cusco area and the Sacred Valley. I stayed in a small neighborhood in Cusco and fancied myself a Cusqueña; I walked all day, shopped in the local markets, and took a few day trips to Pisac and other towns along the Urubamba River. Rather unbelievably, I was offered the opportunity to go back again four months later to help lead a small group of visitors for a microcredit organization, and a year after that, I repeated that trip. Other than Peruvian tour guides, I may be one of the few people who has visited Machu Picchu three times in less than two years! I am now certainly the go-to source on Peru among my friends.

Inca Trail - Peru 093I have an even deeper connection and infatuation with Tibet, a country that is difficult to get to once, let alone twice. I originally went to Lhasa as part of a bigger trip to China but, again, before I’d even left this mystical city, I knew I was destined to go back and see more of both Lhasa and Tibet overall. A year later, I was back on the roof of the world and, this time, I hired a young man I had met on the first trip to take my daughter and me deep into the countryside. We spent days bumping along dusty roads on the Tibetan plateau. We stopped in raggedy little towns and ate with the locals; this eventful ride culminated in a brief stay and trek at Mount Everest’s north base camp, a place I had often imagined from all my reading. If I could, I’d jump right back on the brutal flights necessary to deliver me to spiritual Tibet yet again.

Tibet 2011 - Lex 191But other lands do call. One of them is Russia, the land of some of my favorite authors and a place that has long attracted me through its history and literature. In January, I will finally walk the streets of Anna Karenina and Raskolnikov, and in the bitter winter cold, I hope to experience in some small way the plight of so many pre- and post-revolution Russian characters, both real and fictional. I will see as much as I can, but after the Russian feast, I will do what the country-counters do – I’ll stop in Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland for a small bite of dessert on my way home!

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Here’s to Beer

20 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by lexklein in Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Germany, Himalayas, Iceland, Ireland, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Slovenia, Tanzania, Tibet, Travel - General, United States

≈ 7 Comments

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Beer

My recent Friday Photo of some Guinness kegs in Dublin got me thinking about beer. The nectar of the gods is always a big part of my travel enjoyment. Before you think me a sot, let me say that I am simply an enthusiastic social drinker who particularly relishes a cold beer after a long day of trekking, sightseeing, or laboring.Ireland 2010 053One of my fondest beer memories is from a trip we took to the Monteverde cloud forest area in Costa Rica. Our family joined a larger group to work for nine days in Santa Elena, CR, where we mixed concrete by hand, dug trenches, hauled concrete blocks, and built bookshelves, among other duties. At the end of each long, hot day, we were filthy and exhausted. When we arrived back at our humble hostel each night, the dilemma was what to do first: quench our thirst and relax our aching bodies with a drink, or clean ourselves up? ImperialAs the days passed, the original binary choice of Beer or Shower morphed into a multivariable quandary expressed as Beer-Shower-Beer? or Shower-Beer-Beer? or Beer-Beer-Shower? or (screw the shower!) Beer-Beer-Beer! Imperial was definitely the ale of choice here, regardless of whether it was consumed before or after the bathing.

A good, local beer after a long day of trekking is also a marvelous reward. At dusk in the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania, we enjoyed many a Safari, Tusker, or Kilimanjaro outside our tents. African beers

On the Inca Trail in Peru, we became quite partial to Cusqueña Dark, while in Glacier National Park in northern Montana and Canada, we consistently grabbed a Moose Drool out of the cooler. Asia is not a high point for beer, but once we had acclimatized in the Himalayas in Nepal, we enjoyed a Gorkha or Everest most evenings after a day on the Khumbu trails. And a cold and rainy Mount Fitz Roy climb in Argentina was blissfully followed by two delicious home-brewed dark and blonde beers at cozy La Cervecería in the tiny town of El Chaltén.

Balkans & E Europe 2013 035Even a casual sightseeing day is enhanced by a good beer during or after. The light and dark Sarajevska brews in Bosnia & Herzegovina were both excellent at the end of a travel day, and in Düsseldorf, Germany, we drank our way through a day-long layover at the Braueries Uerige and Zum Schlüssel, both famous for their altbiers.

Iceland June 2014 133In Iceland, we happily whiled away several afternoons in Reykjavik with some Brios, Gulls, and Egils, and we tamed our post-trek PTSD after a particularly daunting mountain hike with a good Borg Úlfur draft.

Iceland June 2014 187And then there’s Ireland, oh Ireland! A real Guinness Draught the minute we arrived in Dublin at 10:30 am and a weekend full of Murphy’s Irish Stout, Harp Lager, and so many more rich and creamy Irish ales. Ireland 2010 087A “beer from the roof of the world,” a Lhasa, perked up a lunch at 11,000+ feet in Tibet, an Ožujsko welcomed us to Dubrovnik, Croatia, and we lingered over a luscious Laško in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

China and Tibet 2009 410

 

Balkans & E Europe 2013 447Another dark beauty, a Książęce, bid us farewell on our last night in Krakow, Poland … and on that note, I’m off to the fridge! Cheers!

Balkans & E Europe 2013 864

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A Grave Situation

06 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by lexklein in Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, France, Greece, Poland, Travel - General

≈ 10 Comments

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Buenos Aires, Cemeteries, Greece, Kazimierz, Krakow, La Recoleta, Paris, Pere-Lachaise, Sarajevo

What is it about cemeteries that attracts visitors and photographers? Some find it morbid and bizarre to walk around among gravestones and the dead, but I find most cemeteries to be peaceful and hauntingly beautiful places to spend an hour or two.

A rainy morning in Père-Lachaise Cemetery is one of my favorite memories of Paris. The weak morning sun seeping through the mist and illuminating the cobblestone walkways was the perfect backdrop for the mossy headstones engraved with famous names. Any reader, musician, artist, or just plain citizen of the world can appreciate a reflective stroll by the resting places of Proust, Molière, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Seurat, among many others.

Paris 2012 103Paris 2012 124Paris 2012 112  An Ottoman-era cemetery high above Sarajevo is an incredible vantage point for seeing the valley in which this embattled Balkan city lies. The stories of snipers shooting down from these hills during the Seige of Sarajevo come frightening alive with this view, and the 15th century setting adds to the drama of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tangled history.

Balkans & E Europe 2013 117Balkans & E Europe 2013 124Eva Perón’s grave is but one small reason to venture into La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. As in Paris, the architecture of the tombs is spectacular in itself, and the narrow lanes arranged in a grid pattern evoke almost a neighborhood feeling among the tiny buildings. An abundance of cats and cobwebs adds to the mysterious allure here.

Argentina & Uruguay Dec 2012 453Argentina & Uruguay Dec 2012 468

 

Argentina & Uruguay Dec 2012

In Krakow, there are two fascinating cemeteries in the Kazimierz neighborhood, the “New” (1800s) and “Old” (1500s) Jewish Cemeteries. Oddly, the “new” one feels more ancient than the older one (also known as Remuh), perhaps because so many of the headstones are aslant and covered with moss. The older-growth trees half block the sun, dappling the toppling graves with light and shadow.

Balkans & E Europe 2013 825RemuhWhen I thought back on a number of trips, I was astonished to realize just how many other cemeteries I had visited, from the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, to Arlington National in Washington, D.C., Montparnasse in Paris, and St. Louis in New Orleans.

Among all these monuments to mortality, perhaps the most emotional was an overgrown plot in Vasta, Greece, where I located the rough stone under which my great-grandfather lies. Grand or humble, cemeteries can be a quiet step back in time and a surprisingly serene way to spend a few hours outside on my travels.

Vasta grave

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Friday Photos: Color, Color Everywhere

25 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by lexklein in Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Nepal, Photos, Just Photos from All Over, Travel - General

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beijing, Bosnia & Herzogovina, China, Mostar, Nepal, Pashupatinath, Tianenmen Square

Favorite day …  favorite photos!

Tianenmen Square columns, National Day, 2009 (PRC's 60th anniversary)

Tianenmen Square columns, National Day, 2009 (PRC’s 60th anniversary)

 

Tika powders for sale at the entrance to Pashupatinath temple, Nepal

Tika powders for sale at the entrance to Pashupatinath temple, Nepal

Stari Most

Stari Most (Old Bridge) in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

 

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I’m a restless, world-wandering, language-loving, book-devouring traveler trying to straddle the threshold between a traditional, stable family life and a free-spirited, irresistible urge to roam. I’m sure I won’t have a travel story every time I add to this blog, but I’ve got a lot! I’m a pretty happy camper (literally), but there is some angst as well as excitement in always having one foot out the door. Come along for the trip as I take the second step …

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Southeast Asia – March 2023

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Today we’re off to Marsaxlokk, a small, traditional fishing village in Malta. These brightly painted Maltese boats are called “luzzus,” and I couldn’t get enough of them!
Day 1 in Malta is all water and walls.
FINALLY made it out of the U.S. for the first time in 2 years. 😀🌴☀️
Road trip final stop: Grand Teton National Park. We may have saved the best for last. The Tetons startled us every single time we rounded a bend and saw them jutting up from the sagebrush. The park gave us these amazing peaks, wildflowers, horses, huge skies filled with every kind of cloud, and our own cozy little national park cabin. We’ll be back here for sure! #grandtetonnationalpark #tetons #wyoming #roadtrip #hiking #horses #cabins
Road trip stop 8: Yellowstone National Park. The north and northeast sections blew me away - full of wildlife and lemon-lime fields under dreamy skies. The western parts had their moments; the geothermal features were better than expected, but the traffic even worse than anticipated. All of the crowds were for Old Faithful, probably my last-place pick for things to see in the park. #yellowstonenationalpark #montana #wyoming #roadtrip #wideopenspaces #nationalparks #oldfaithful
Road trip stop 7: Beartooth Highway - deserving of a post all of its own. We drove east out of Bozeman, over two hours out of our way, to catch the start of the Beartooth Highway in Red Lodge, MT, and drive its full length back west to arrive at Yellowstone’s NE entrance. This exhilarating, eye-popping road covers 68 miles of US Route 212 from Red Lodge to Cooke City/Silver Gate and crosses Beartooth Pass at almost 11,000 feet. Worth the wide detour and the zillions of photo stops along the way … at least I thought so! #beartoothhighway #beartoothpass #montana #yellowstonenationalpark #roadtrip #detour

Recent Posts

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WHERE I’VE BEEN

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Follow me on Instagram too!

Today we’re off to Marsaxlokk, a small, traditional fishing village in Malta. These brightly painted Maltese boats are called “luzzus,” and I couldn’t get enough of them!
Day 1 in Malta is all water and walls.
FINALLY made it out of the U.S. for the first time in 2 years. 😀🌴☀️
Road trip final stop: Grand Teton National Park. We may have saved the best for last. The Tetons startled us every single time we rounded a bend and saw them jutting up from the sagebrush. The park gave us these amazing peaks, wildflowers, horses, huge skies filled with every kind of cloud, and our own cozy little national park cabin. We’ll be back here for sure! #grandtetonnationalpark #tetons #wyoming #roadtrip #hiking #horses #cabins

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