A deep inhalation spurred by exertion brought crisp alpine air into my lungs, and I used it as fuel to continue on up the Via Alpina, a 2,000-kilometer-long hiking trail that curls from one end of the Alps to the other.
Hut-to-hut in the Swiss Alps
The valleys of Lago Maggiore
Lost up a valley in the southern Swiss Alps, a series of old shepherding villages stand frozen in time.
Insider’s Guide to Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is the best city in Germany. I promise I'm not just saying that because I've lived, studied, and worked here for 5 years; it's just a city that draws people in. Freiburg is a small city at the threshold of the Black Forest, but don't let the name scare you, because it's... Continue Reading →
Thailand, so hot right now
The perfectly-square Old Town of Chiang Mai is a compact 1.5 miles on each side, yet the density of temples apparently rivals the concentration of churches in Rome.
Japan, Chapter III: Nara to Kinosaki Onsen
My final three days in Japan, which I spent patting wild deer amid temples in Nara, inhaling cheesecake in Osaka, and disintegrating in the volcanic hot spring waters of Kinosaki Onsen.
A taste of Iceland
The Land of Fire and Ice, they call it, which could only be more fitting if they mentioned the rest of the elements too.
A lungful of cloud
I stand at the edge of a blank canvas. Featureless mist swirls in its depths. My gaze hungrily scans the emptiness, but I find only ghosts and shadows. The light pulses: dark to light and back again; the sun is doing its level best to break through the veil. Functionally blind, I must rely on... Continue Reading →
A series of fortunate mistakes
Or that one time I accidentally went hiking in the Andes
Relaxing adventures on the island of Madeira
“Hold out the back of your hand, like this” the portly produce man tells me, showing me his fist with his fingers curled under. He picks up a small passionfruit with its top cut off: a tiny natural bowl filled to the brim with gelatinous seeds. He takes an appropriately tiny spoon and fishes out... Continue Reading →
Hiking Madeira
Waiting in line to board the plane from Basel to Funchal, I suddenly found myself engulfed in a sea of Germans in peak physical condition. Their feet were clad in hiking boots and their were bodies covered in Jack Wolfskin adventure gear (which is Germany’s answer to Columbia or Carhartt). While “Wolfskin Germans” are something... Continue Reading →
Pisa and the Cinque Terre
Our graffiti'd train is swallowed by a long tunnel almost immediately after we leave the platform in Pisa. I keep staring at the blackness outside the window anyways, hoping for something more interesting to look at than the featureless back of the gray seat in front of me. Within a few minutes I’m rewarded with... Continue Reading →
Cappadocia
It was dark and frigid when I woke up, a winning combination that would send most rational people scurrying back to bed. However, the promise of surreal adventure drove me out of my warm room and out into the night. The sky was just beginning to brighten from gray to pale lilac when our van... Continue Reading →
Drei Tage, Drei Abenteuer
Three days, three adventures 1.... Waking up early on a Saturday morning is one of those unfortunate ideas that never seem to work out. It sounds so grandiose the night before: ah, yes, I shall sit upon my porch and watch the sun rise over the mist-clad Black Forest hills, but the reality the next... Continue Reading →
Staufen
One of my favorite things about the Freiburg region is its incredible public transportation system. Coming from America, where public transportation is an unreliable and pathetic joke almost everywhere, I am floored by this [largely] punctual, clean, efficient, available, and wide-spread system that is actually used by the majority of residents. Even more fantastic is... Continue Reading →
Window Seat Odyssey 