The train arrived at 3 a.m. We descended from the passenger railroad car, groggy and disheveled, into a dimly lit platform, the edges of which were swallowed by the night. Kolya, our team captain, silently motioned, and we marched down the platform behind him. I was 19 years old, and […]
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The world is shocked by the unprecedented Russian aggression in Ukraine. But the sad truth is that it was very much precedented, by Russian aggression in Georgia in 2008. Much like Ukraine, Georgia began eyeing integration into NATO, which led to a deteriorated relationship with Russia and eventually to the […]
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On February 24, we planned to post about El Salvador and Victor’s surfing attempt at Las Flores beach. Then, Russia invaded Ukraine, and blogging about travel became irrelevant. I was born in Ukraine, in the tiny village of Ponornytsya in Chernihiv Province, because the hospital of Korop, a slightly larger […]
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In the summer of 2009, we went to France to “chase the light”. When I initially announced my intentions for this trip, Julia gave me a confused look and asked me to elaborate. I explained that we would start in Paris, visiting as many art museums as we possibly could, […]
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We weren’t planning on heading north in Albania. It’s a completely mountainous region, with narrow and steep roads, wholly unsuitable for inexperienced travelers such as Victor’s mom. And we have explored so many other mountain ranges in the past – the Rocky Mountains, Smoky Mountains, Swiss Alps, Andes – that […]
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