philosophical musings, biographical rhapsody, and dispatches from the world…
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Ah, das schöne Berlin! (Oh, beautiful Berlin!)
(May 29 – June 8, 2026) I met Bastian my second year living in Finland, as he moved into my old apartment when I transferred out of the first-year furnished room into the long term unit across the hall. Born to a German dad and Finnish mother, he grew up in West Berlin until he…
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Critical Mass – Berlin: When Bikes Rule the Road
(May 30, 2026) Berlin has the capacity to present one with the most unexpected scenes and experiences, whether events or people. Within 1.5 hours of arriving to the city and the apartment of Bastian, another of my friends from uni days in Finland, we pedaled off to the hip Kreuzberg neighborhood for a quick bite…
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Lest we forget (Gdansk, Poland)
(May 26 – 29, 2026) I left Vilnius at noon on the 26th for Poland, another country I had yet to visit previously. Wanting to arrive in Berlin by Friday afternoon in time for something ‘special’ my friend Bastian had promised me, I had time to pick another stopover on the way for three nights.…
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Į sveikatą! (Vilnius, Lithuania)
(May 23rd – May 26th, 2026) “Eeh svay—kah–tą!…?..?”. The two young women, one a brunette dressed eloquently in flowery pastels, the other a blonde darkly robed with a punky façade, looked at each other then back at me, a smile inching slowly from the corner of their mouths. -“Į sveikatą”. We toast. They return speaking…
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The Constitution of Užupis
Užupis is a funky bohemian neighborhood of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and is separated from the main city by the river Vilnelė. In fact, its name means “beyond the river”. It is often compared to other artistic, laissez-faire, and alternative settlements such as Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen or Montmartre in Paris. It even declared…
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Passing through Parnu (Estonia)
On May 22nd I boarded a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia, to properly begin my journey over land (and sea) from my point of origin. Estonia is another incredible and fairly unknown country to many. It has a deeper history than Finland in that it is located on the European mainland and traded hands…
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We can’t call people without wings angels, so we call them friends
As detailed in my prior post, “Matka aloittaa kotona”, Finland provided me the foundation of my adult life and the closest group of friendships that I have developed in my lifetime. While I quickly obtained a level of Finnish language knowledge superior to many foreigners comfortably residing there for years, English is near universally spoken…
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Matka aloittaa kotona
The journey starts at home. Well, at least for me, I regard Finland much as a second home, as strange as that may be for an American from a middle class upbringing raised in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. Having pursued my university studies from 18 to 22 at the Helsinki School of Economics (now…
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How to Pack for a Journey
How do you decide what to take with you on an open-ended year-long trip to places not entirely known? The answer is not entirely one-size-fits-all, nor should it be, but a clear adage is ‘less is more’. Another is most certainly, ‘no wheels’ – cobblestones, dirt paths, stairs, hills, and horse carts don’t always accommodate…
