July 21.  I drove to Sovata on the way to Odorheiu Secuiesc.  Sovata had been recommended to me, though I didn’t know why.  I drove through really pretty mountains on […]

July 19. I awoke and headed to Mănăstirea Neamț.  It was early, 8:30am, but there was already a mass underway in the fortified church.  I donned long pants, long sleeves, […]

July 17. I awoke in a corn field, a cold wind blowing, and drove to Carei, the county seat of Satu Mare.  It looked like a dingy conglomeration of crumbling […]

July 16.  I awoke early and packed, then spent half an hour talking with Katalin and storing 4 bags that I didn’t want to shlep with me on my travels.  […]

July 10.  I slept in, awoken by fierce thunder.  A powerful storm ensued, complete with tumultuous rain and thunder and lightning, only to clear in the afternoon.  It was a […]

July 7. I bolted out of bed at 7:30am, suddenly aware that I had parked in someone’s driveway and that they needed to go to work.  The hazards of trying […]

July 4. I had forgotten that it was the 4th of July.  A call from my very close friend Tom reminded me, and hearing his message made me feel like […]

July 1.  I awoke in the small room in Zuberec that I was sharing with Beata, Monika’s daughter who is very gifted in languages and working as a Swedish translator […]

June 27.  All my life I have dreamt of hiking in the Vysoké Tatry (the High Tatras), which are the highest mountain range in Slovakia and Poland with an area […]

June 23. I packed and left Kismaros for Gödöllő, about 20 miles northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. The town is home to the Szent István University, the main education institute […]