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A Demolition, and other forms of unplanned entertainment in Europe
It was a dinosaur. There’s no other way to describe the gnashing, crushing jaws, and the swaying neck that toppled the wall into rubble and sent the roof collapsing. In minutes, smiling faces were buried under piles of Lisbon ceramic roof tiles, twisted rebar and mangled air conditioners. We were fascinated, pausing longer than intended…
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BREXIT in the Algarve, Portugal
In a place where grocery stores carry no less than five varieties of British cheddar and every village has at least one Indian restaurant, the Brits are no strangers to the Algarve, Portugal’s beach paradise. So it’s no surprise that when we stepped out the door this morning we couldn’t help overhearing conversations taking place…
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Commitment, Europe’s Bridges and How to Finally Free Your Toddler from the Curse of the Pacifier/Binkie/Dummy
In Europe, bridges don’t look like they used to. Over the course of years, many famous bridges have become weighed down with excess metal in the form of padlocks. Tradition, hearsay and plain nonsense suggests that two lovers who fix a padlock to a bridge and throw the key in the river will seal their…
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Rick Steves is in Romania! Why Romania?
A year and half ago as we prepared for our move to Romania, we started doing what we always do before a move – read up and watch up. We gathered literature and guidebooks and watched movies and travel shows. We had a Lonely Planet travel guide, but I wrote Rick Steves and asked if…
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The Danube River and Serbian playgrounds
This week finds us traversing Eastern Europe in our silver station wagon, keeping our eyes peeled for scenic potty stops, street food and playgrounds. On Monday we drove through southern Romania and crossed over the Danube River into Serbia. On the Michelin map, this route is highlighted in green, which signifies a scenic route. The…
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Elevating the Arts – Craiova, Romania
Nestled in a wide valley in south, central Romania, Craiova surprises. One of the pleasures of settling in one place for a year is being able to observe change. One of those changes in Oltenia is the effort to develop Craiova’s downtown pedestrian district. Last year we strolled the downtown and saw ramshackle, historic facades…
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It’s Easter this side of the Schism
Everything is cancelled this week. School, programs, events, regular meetings. Talk to friends, “Can you get together?” Sorry, we’re busy getting ready for Easter. What could you possibly be doing for an entire week to prepare for Easter? By default, I viewed their Easter preparations through my cultural lens. This celebration was far in the…
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Chicken under Pressure
Some time ago a reader mentioned they were looking forward to new recipes inspired by our time in Romania. I have no new flavor combinations to offer or undiscovered vegetables to introduce today, but I do have my new favorite method. Pressure cookers aren’t common North American kitchens, but as a non-electric, efficient, flavor-preserver appliance,…
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A trip through the ages and around the world – Romania’s village museums
One of Romania’s most impressive cultural and educational sites is the Astra Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization in Sibiu, central Romania. Spread over more than 200 acres, it is Europe’s largest open-air museum, with historic structures- windmills, barns, churches, houses – from around the country transplanted on the lush terrain. Romania’s diverse geography necessitated equally…
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Transylvania’s Big Three – Brașov, Sighișoara, and Sibiu
First things first, a linguistics lesson. In Romanian, the ‘ș’ makes the English ‘sh’ sound. Thus, these notable Transylvanian cities are Bra-shov, Sigee-shwara, and See-bee-oo. (Bucharest, for that matter, is pronounced Bucharesht in Romanian). These cities are a huge draw to Romanian tourism and culture. Built by Germans who migrated to central Romania at the invitation of Hungarian kings between…
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will travel with kids 