Had a chance to see some of these places shaped by years of conflict and war. If you wanted you and your family, friends and townsfolk to stay alive, then you fortified your place. No wall, no life. The old phrase about finding the best real estate is "location,...
Rooms With a View
While we're on the idea of traveling, I'm thinking it might be helpful to explain the process of travel by showing you some of the places I've stayed. And more importantly, the view from the window. This is what I see from the window of my place today in Sighisoara,...
In the Carpathians
Me too. I never knew what the Carpathians were or are. Turns out the Carpathians are a mountain range poised majestically in the west part of Romania. And the royal family of Romania chose these mountains for their summer residence. But they had to build a palace...
Zagreb, Croatia: “And Now for Something…
Completely Different." I wonder if our friends in the Monty Python troupe ever predicted that the phrase they made popular would ever be used to introduce contemporary art from Croatia. Tis time for a break from my political commentary to take an art break. So...
Build This and the People Will Kill You: Bucharest, Romania
For once I'm writing as I travel. Today I took this photo of the world's second largest administrative building. The largest is the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The building you see here is the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania. It was ordered in 1983...
Sarajevo: from Winter Olympics to the Middle Ages
In 1984 this historic city hosted the Winter Olympics to world-wide acclaim. In part, that success flowed from the proximity of great mountains for skiing and bobsled. Little did anyone know eight years later those mountains would host an invading force that would...
Podgorica, Montenegro
A lonely dog rolls On the carpet of a sidewalk cafe. Basking in the joy Of spring sunshine. The waiter makes an half-hearted effort To schwoosh the dog away. Instead the dog gets A scrap of something And happily makes his way. Moments of kindness Ring louder Than...
Walls and Diplomacy: Dubrovnik, Croatia
This stunning fortress town perched on the clear blue Adriatic Sea is clearly a world heritage view. But what is most unique about Dubrovnik is its people's history of surviving. Yet surviving while striving for and achieving justice, peace and fairness. This once...
The Warriors of Malta
I was surprised, well maybe I wasn't. No, no I was surprised to hear how mighty this little nation has been.Back in 1565 the tyrannical Ottomans lay siege for several months, but they finally gave up. But the story goes back a bit further than that. This was the...