architecture Archives - Page 3 of 4

We’re Going to the Balkans…Day after Tomorrow!

October 9, 2015Leave a comment

Where to start? My life has been a crazy whirlwind the past two weeks and I want to tell you all about it. Where to start…

David and I got back from our honeymoon on September 12. On September 11, a random on Linkedin added me to his network, and I confirmed about midway through the week on September 16. Turns out, it was a recruiter, and I ran through about six rounds of interviews with a major company in Seattle, let’s call them…Ahab’s Tea…and last week (September 30) received a ridiculously generous offer from them.

October 1, I put in notice with my current job, with my last day being Friday, October 9. Also October 1, I confirmed with Ahab’s Tea that I would start on October 22.

So…I know what you’re thinking – there’s a 12 day gap between those two dates. We’re taking a trip – looked around for cheap(ish) airfares, and landed on a trip overland, starting in Pristina, Kosovo, through Macedonia, and into Bulgaria.

Here’s what I’m most excited about, and what I’m reading to get me excited: Prizren o6.01.2010- Read more

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Miles of Aisles at the Riga Centraltirgus

October 7, 20152 Comments

It’s no big secret that I am a fan of markets. And while I’ve written about some of my favorite Baltic markets in Tallinn and Vilnius, I have yet to write about my great Baltic market love – the Riga Centraltirgus. honeymoon-jpegs-299_21287767668_o Read more

The Quintessential Latvian Towns of Cēsis and Kuldīga

September 24, 20154 Comments

When travelers think of the Baltic States (if at all!), it’s usually of Tallinn and Riga, the relatively well-touristed capitals of Estonia and Latvia. We loved Tallinn and Riga, but in our time in the Baltic States, we also wanted to get off the beaten path a little bit and discover parts of the region that weren’t as frequented by our ilk. honeymoon-jpegs-292_21287541390_o

The issue was that we were on a fairly compressed time frame in the Baltics – we had to be in Vilnius, Lithuania by a certain day in order to catch our flight to Malta (ugh), so most of the rural, provincial parts of the Baltics we could see would be in passing. Luckily enough, many of the small towns scattered throughout the Baltic States, and especially Latvia as we would find out, are small enough to be walked in a couple of hours, after which you can be on your merry way to your next capital or abandoned Soviet military installation. Did I mention I loved the Baltics? Read more

Getting out of Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia

September 18, 20158 Comments

There is no question that Old Town has a lot to offer any tourist – from backpacker to cruiser just in port for the day. We arrived in Tallinn at the end of Summer, still in the height of the tourist season. And while all of Tallinn travel can be rewarding, we found the true gems to be outside the UNESCO-listed Old Town.

View of St. Nicholas Church from Toompea Hill.

Top 5 Urbex Destinations of the Moment

July 26, 2015Leave a comment

I am a relative noob to the world of Urbex, but where I lack in experience, I make up for in time spent in internet K-holes. I’ve already built quite a list of places I’m keen on tresspassing – here are the five that are currently top of mind. Or, rather, the five that are currently living in my pipe dreams – I don’t have immediate plans to visit any of the places on this list, though I’m thinking that may have to change in the near future (especially looking at the Eastern Balkans…)

1) Gunkanjima/Hashima, Nagasaki, Japan

Forget Kyoto, Go to Nagasaki – 4 Reasons to Visit Now

July 22, 2015Leave a comment

Japan is the first place I ever traveled independently, and I devoted a significant portion of my life to the study of the place. I have lived in the country on three non-consecutive occasions, in and around the major tourist meccas of Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka. And while I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve neglected Tokyo in my various Japanese travels, I am fairly well versed of everything South and West of it .

There's more to see than just the Atomic Bomb Memorial — There’s more to see than just the Atomic Bomb Memorial

July’s 5 Travel Obsessions

July 18, 2015Leave a comment

I have written about my predilection for falling down rabbit holes before – see Chiatura, Georgia, what remains one of the highlights of David and my trip to the South Caucasus last winter. I fall down them all the time, so I thought it could be fun to keep track of my brain’s eccentric wanderings in the universe of travel. Especially now that I’m attempting to devote more time to working on this blog, I am becoming aware of more things to wrap my mind around than ever before. SO, here goes:

Hungarian Seccesionist Architecture, Subotica, Serbia

The synagogue in Subotica, Serbia - a prime example of Hungarian secessionist architecture. — The synagogue in Subotica, Serbia – a prime example of Hungarian secessionist architecture.

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Changing Plans, or the Baltic/Balkan Conundrum

July 11, 20154 Comments

So last I explained, my partner David and I had cancelled our plans to road trip around Tunisia due to some the terrorist attacks targeting tourists in Tunis and Sousse. While I was upset to cancel my plans to see the North African nation, I was also secretly excited to plan an entirely new trip to a new destination. For me, much of the joy of travel comes in the pre-work. I am a meticulous researcher and am prone to map comas – and the need for a location change provided me with an opportunity for both.

Tunisia was the plan - where to now? — Tunisia was the plan – where to now?

Church and Monastery Fatigue in Armenia – Echmiadzin, Khor Virap, and Noravank

July 10, 20154 Comments

Day 2 of our Armenian architecture ~~death march~~ leisurely exploration was actually our third day in Armenia. Our second day we kept to ourselves, and explored Yerevan on foot and via its super-awesome, and super-secret metro. We wanted to love Yerevan, but the feeling wasn’t super mutual – so Yerevan was a rough go for us. But that’s a story for another time.

Right now, though, it’s time to get pumped up – it’s time for more churches! Boom, bam, pow! Church time!

Tragic foreboding? The souvenir stand at Khor Virap, was closed.

UNESCO Industrial Landscapes – The Mainstreaming of UrbEx

July 8, 2015Leave a comment

While I was browsing my favored geography/travel news related outlets this morning, I happened upon a slideshow of the new UNESCO world heritage sites for this year. I used to pay a lot more attention to the UNESCO lists than I do today – when I was younger, UNESCO’s curated lists seemed to apply more to my travel style than they do now. That said, looking through the list of 2015 inscriptions was a bit surprising to me – included were several places I would have never thought of as being UNESCO World Heritage material.