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Eastern Europe

VIsiting Auschwitz

I went to Auschwitz and Birkenau today, and it was a challenging experience. I hated my guide. It was a hot day here in Poland and the trip over in a minivan with 6 other backpacker-types already proved challenging. Feeling anxious, my heart was beating fast and I was imagining myself being transported to the […]

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Eastern Europe

Leaving for Auschwitz

I leave for Auschwitz in an hour. Even that sentence has an ominous quality, as if I’m going there not as a visitor but as a Jewish captive and can hear the trains rolling in on the tracks and there is a bustle about of people and suitcases, children and old people with canes. I’m […]

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Eastern Europe spirituality

Loving the Choo Choo

I started this a few days ago, prior to departing Bulgaria: I realize that I haven’t written much since I’ve been on this journey, and I suppose there are a few reasons for that. One is that since leaving France, I’ve met up with Lidia at a beach resort area in Bulgaria and I find […]

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Eastern Europe home life

Home, the Ground of Love, and Flights of Fancy

I’m sitting here in Bulgaria and over the past day have been feeling homesick – not acutely, but definitely missing my home. Partly it may have to do with the strangeness of the reality of the place I’ve been here, a touristy tacky beach resort called Golden Sands, compared to the incredible natural beauty of […]

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Eastern Europe speaking the truth ukraine

Speaking the Truth and On to Istanbul

Off I go – onward from Ukraine. I really had a wonderful time there, especially in terms of adventures of the heart. Beyond relationship, though, Ukraine, while interesting to me, is just not a place that touches my heart so much. It’s beautiful, can be romantic in beautiful cities such as L’viv, and has lovely […]