A Very Brief Visit to Belgrade, Serbia
The short visit to Belgrade, Serbia, as part of our Viking River Cruise, was a bit unsatisfying. To get to the bottom of Belgrade, one would need a lot more … Read more
Tom Bartel
My 10 Rules for Driving in Romania
I have driven is many countries. And there are many I would never drive in. And then there’s driving in Romania. It’s so wacky, it’s even a little funny.
The Wooden Churches, Maramures, Romania
The history of the wooden churches of Maramures, which dot the villages of north western Romania is an interesting one. The Maramures region is primarily an Orthodox, or Greek, Christian … Read more
The (Second) Biggest Office Building in the World
As most American school kids can tell you, the biggest office building in the world is the Pentagon. As any Romanian–school kid or not–can tell you, the second biggest office … Read more
Night View of the Danube, Budapest, Hungary
As you walk around Budapest, you’re confronted constantly with lovely Danube vistas, day and night. In fact, the buildings that line the river make up collectively a view that’s been … Read more
The Fantastic Painting of Matthias Church, Budapest
The Matthias Church at the top of the Buda castle hill has been through many iterations since the first church was built on the site in 1015. The first building … Read more
The Circus, Budapest, Hungary
We sure do spend a lot of time in museums and churches and the like. So we thought we’d break up the week in Budapest with an old style–read Eastern … Read more
Danube and Parliament, Budapest, Hungary
Kris and I have been in Budapest for a week now, and we’ve spent much of that time walking along both sides of the Danube, crossing the bridges and strolling … Read more
The Palace District Tour, Budapest Hungary
Editor’s note: Do you want to learn more about Budapest…from home? As a result of the 2020 pandemic, Context Travel has introduced an excellent series of virtual seminars. These live, … Read more
Climbing the Cinder Cone at Lassen National Park
Since we’ve been traveling, I’ve done some bold (for me) things. I’ve hiked 120 km in the Guatemalan jungle. I’ve climbed Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. I’ve hiked most of the … Read more
