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📸 Photo Essays: Make-up Edition
A little bit of housekeeping this week: I realized I forgot to post my photo essays from our Danube River cruise trip. Well, that’s not completely true. I posted my Turkey, Hungary, and Croatia photo essays, but then I got sidetracked with life, and forgot to post Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. In putting together my…
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🌍 River Cruise Wrap-up, Part II: The Challenges and Rewards of Traveling in Eastern Europe
Last year we traveled through nine Eastern European countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the spring, followed by Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania on our recent Danube River cruise. And the one thing that unites all of them is a chapter that Western Europe simply doesn’t have: the Soviet Occupation Chapter. But…
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🇷🇴 Bucharest: A Herd Free Last Day
I booked an extra day in Bucharest, so we’ve broken free of the herd – on our own today! Switching Hotels We’re switching hotels this morning. Not sure when/if I’ll be in Bucharest again, and I wanted to stay at the famous spy hotel, the Intercontinental Athénée. During much of WWII, Romania remained unoccupied and diplomatically…
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🇷🇴 Disembarkation Day: Bucharest and the Ghosts of Ceaușescu
Good morning from Romania! Disembarkation day. Everyone off the ship, and onto the herd buses by 0745 for the 1-1/2 hour drive to Bucharest. Beautiful sunrise as we left the ship. The Herd Tour d’Jour Our herd tour today was 8-1/2 hours. This was 6-1/2 hours past my herd tour patience limit. Saw a lot…
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📚 Destination Bookshelf: What I’m Reading Before Our Danube River Cruise
Before we take a trip, I always try to come up with a reading list that connects with our upcoming destination(s). I usually gravitate toward my favorite genre – historical fiction. I find historical fiction helps make history more accessible and relatable. My husband is more of a non-fiction guy, but I don’t have the…