Margilan Day Trip: Silk, Worms, and Dresses
Khushnud and I were chatting at the pottery wheel, as always. For two people from different cultures, different generations, different religions, and opposite sexes, we found no shortage of things to talk about. At first, all we shared was a common language, Russian, and a love of pottery. Within a […]
The Student Becomes the Teacher
But by the third day, I had settled into the rhythm of life in the studio. We ate breakfast of bread, cheese, and tea and then Khushnud and I spent the morning at the pottery wheels, throwing new pieces, decorating, and trimming whatever had dried enough to handle. Before long, it […]
Detained at the Uzbek-Kyrgyz Border
While Julia was busy taking pottery classes, I got my ass in trouble. Funny story. When we arrived in Rishton, it was already dark outside, and we barely saw the surroundings. But as we settled for the night at the pottery studio, I looked at Google Maps on my phone […]
Pottery for Pets
I woke up the next morning with my heart fluttering. It was the first day of my pottery retreat. I threw on older clothes I didn’t mind getting dirty with clay and hurried outside. I hadn’t really seen the courtyard the night before. We arrived after dark, when little was […]
First Lesson. Rishton.
It was late evening, and we had just arrived at the pottery studio of one of the most famous ceramic artists in Uzbekistan. We were exhausted and sweaty and weren’t sure if our long day of travel was over or if we would now need to look for alternative accommodation. […]
The Norwegian Grocery List
As I mentioned in the previous post, restaurants in Norway are very expensive and Norwegians cook most meals at home. We followed suit. This meant a lot of grocery store trips to the point where we knew the standard Coop Prix and Bunnpris store layouts by heart. In smaller towns […]
Norway: Table for Two, Please!
Food has always been an essential part of travel for me. I’ve always been an adventurous eater, from grubs to scorpions, cow brains, and alpaca. Except for an occasional refusal to nibble on a fried guinea pig, I am usually game to try anything locals eat and always fully immerse […]
A Brown Slice of Heaven
Remember last year we went to Türkiye and came back to write the entire post about leblebi – a Turkish snack that impressed us so much. On our trip to Norway this summer, something similar happened. And we are here to tell you about the most iconic Norwegian food item […]
Norway: It’s a Bad Day for a Hike
Most of the hikes we did in Norway required almost zero planning. Look up some good hikes in the area, take enough water and snacks to last the round-trip, wear weather-appropriate layers, and off you go! The Besseggen hike in Jotunheimen was a notable exception to this rule. It’s a […]
Norway: It’s a Good Day for a Hike
This is going to be our 25th post about hiking on this blog, and I don’t think we ever actually acknowledged or explained just how much we enjoy hiking or how much that influences our travel itineraries. In fact, my own sister, to whom I talk multiple times a week, […]
Polar Plunge. Literally.
As we moved through fjords, in many beautiful spots we saw one common type of construction-slick, modern, wooden containers, often with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water. Some were built on the bank of a fjord; others were floating on a jetty connected to the shore via a bridge. They looked […]