Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia: An 80 Year Anniversary I’ll level with you for a moment. While planning the perfect Turkey trip itinerary, Lonely Planet and every other tourist guide out there would have you believe that the moment you step into the Hagia Sophia, your life will change. Angels will sing […]
On Death and Drowning in Lycia: The Rock Tombs of Myra and Kekova Sunken City Southern Turkey is hugely popular with travelers, but most will stick to the beaches of Antalya or Alanya. What most miss, and perhaps the most interesting part of the province, is the many centuries of Greek […]
Austria’s Benedictine Melk Abbey Lest you think Austria’s Wachau Valley is all bike trips and vineyards and crumbling castles, it seems worth mentioning that there are quite a lot of ancient monastic orders that have set up shop in the region as well. There are around 50 historic abbeys in […]
The Kutna Hora Bone Church: Life, Death, and Silver in Bohemia At first glance, Kutna Hora seems like any other once-prosperous European town. Big churches, beautiful cobblestone streets, and a central square that serves as the heart of the city and the center of life. If you haven’t ever heard […]
Terezin Concentration Camp: Visiting the “Model Ghetto” History isn’t always pretty and so, by extension, with travel. There are so many dark parts to our collective pasts, whether you happen to be in Prague or America or Cambodia or… anywhere really. Learning about these things in a book, at school, […]
Wachau Valley Bike Tour: Austrian Wines and Crumbling Castles Vienna is not, on the face of it, Europe’s most active or adventurous destination. My average day in the Imperial City involves exploring lots of traditional coffee houses and the historic Old Town, and only very occasionally something like a bike ride through […]
Hey there! I'm Stephen, this is my travel blog, and that's me in the poofy hat.
I'm a photographer / writer traveling since 2008, and I've been doing my best to visit amazing places.
My current focus is Central Asia, because for a hiking and camping enthusiast it's as good as it gets.