Istria to France
August 23, 2022. I camped on the beach near Pula, falling asleep to the sound of the Adriatic lapping against the shore. I awoke to the sound of cars driving […]
Category Archives: Roadtrip blog
Slovenia
August 19, 2022. I woke to a wet, miserable mess. Everything felt damp, but miraculously my tent fly had held up and kept me dry. Thank you, trusty gear. I […]
Lungau, Austria
August 15, 2022. I hadn’t slept all night, spiraling with anxiety about whether my housemate would agree to move. Bleary eyed, I checked my email and there it was—his message […]
Hallein, Austria
August 12, 2022. I woke to a damp world. Everything was wet—tent, gear, me—but I had actually slept pretty well, considering. I drove down to the base of the park, […]
Bavarian Alps to Salzburg
August 9, 2022. I woke up in a pile of dog poop. Not the best way to start the day. I packed up camp, determined to find coffee and something […]
Munich
August 6, 2022. Arriving in downtown Munich was no small feat—first a ten-minute walk to the metro, then a half-hour subway ride. But I bought my €9 ticket and made […]
Landsberg am Lech, Germany
July 31, 2022. I’ve visited my childhood friend Anne a few times since 2010, my first time in Europe as an adult. Her father had worked with my mom at […]
The Romantic Strasse
July 28, 2022. I was sad to leave Ursula. Her kindness and comfortable abode had provided a valuable respite. I left reluctantly, heading to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, but traffic […]
On to Schwäbisch Hall
July 18, 2022. I slept in till 10. It took me a while to get moving—washing clothes, showering, making breakfast and lunch, clearing out the car, tidying up the house. […]
Along the Neckar
July 16, 2022. I woke up to a cool morning, a refreshing change after the heat of the previous days. It’s been sweltering, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s […]
Leaving Bonn
July 12, 2022. I woke around 9 having slept poorly due to worry. I’d been tossing and turning thinking about the two months remaining and had no idea how I […]
On to Germany
July 4, 2022. Today was a slow start—I woke at 10 and headed to breakfast, where Coosje and I talked for a few minutes. I thanked her for her kindness, […]
Exploring Eibergen
July 1, 2022. Given that I hadn’t gone to sleep till 1 a.m., I had a better sleep than expected. I woke with a start, worried Roel and Coosje were […]
Brussels to Eibergen
June 29, 2022. Another bad night sleep. This time chocolate was the culprit. After only three hours of sleep, I rolled out of bed at 8:45, went to my favorite […]
Wandering Through Bruges
June 26, 2022. After breakfast with my friends, I packed up for Bruges—well, almost. I made it halfway to the car before realizing the keys were still back at the […]
Ghent, Belgium
June 22, 2022. Even though it was hot and I hadn’t slept well, we had had a special solstice watching the sunset and I was grateful to be here. Hendrik […]
Reims to Ghent
June 20, 2022. Exhausted from the past few days, I slept in and didn’t wake up until 10. I set off to find a sunshade, a pillow, and some groceries—just […]
Dinan to Reims
June 16, 2022. The place we were staying at was lovely—peaceful, green, and full of character. I wandered around the yard in the morning and ended up chatting with a […]
Chichester to Dinan
June 13, 2022. Tension between Shawn and I carried over from the night before. I woke knowing Shawn wanted more time to see the Roman villa and offered to ask […]
Bath and the Cotswalds
June 11, 2022. We woke up to a really nice breakfast at our place—surprisingly good, especially considering it was included in the price of our hotel, which was very reasonable […]
Across the Channel to Cornwall
June 8, 2022. I woke at 7am after three hours of sleep and felt miserable—my cold was worse, and my body protested every movement. We left late, at 7:30, and […]
Landudec to Commana
June 4, 2022. I regretted having to retrace my steps for the forgotten pillows. My anxiety manifested as a nightmare. I dreamt I had slept through my alarm and not […]
Locoal-Mendon to Landudec
June 1, 2022. I had a nice chat with our hostess over breakfast. My French was steadily improving, and I enjoyed understanding more nuance. She and her husband were wooden […]
Rennes to Carnac
May 24, 2022. Bretagne Rules the Waves. A punny reference to “Rule Brittania, Brittania Rules the Waves”, a patriotic British song oft heard at Dickens Faire. The names “Brittany” (French: […]
Remembering Brian
Brian Stoll met me slogging up the road toward Boquete Tree Trek Mountain Resort. I’d been walking about 40 minutes when I heard a car approach, and not thinking he […]
Gay Paris
May 16, 2022. This was my first time in Paris as an adult. My experience as a 5 year old on our European camping trip doesn’t count. All I remember […]
Southwest Coast of Costa Rica
May 3, 2023. I hadn’t planned to wake at the crack of dawn, but knew I had to wake early as it could take much of the day to go […]
Back to Boquete
April 29 – May 2, 2023, Panama. I had hurt my knee in Bocas del Toro and was worried I wouldn’t be able to continue with the trip. It had […]
On to Boquete
March 30, 2023. My benefactors headed north through terrible roads which required a 4 wheel drive, and for two hours we wound our way down the hill and along the […]
El Valle de Anton
March 25, 2023, Panama. I was in Panama City, standing in line for the bus to El Valle de Anton. A woman in line said her brother had a house […]
Panama City
March 14, 2023. I arrived at my local airport in San Jose, CA with a few hours to kill. I was feeling sad about leaving home, and Shawn was kind […]
Hungary to Slovenia
June 18, 2018. I awoke in the outskirts of Amstetten, Austria, within a stone’s throw of a sign indicating that this was a biologically sensitive area. On my way to […]
Austria
June 12, 2018. I had to repack the tiny Citroen, which took two hours. It’s amazing how much longer it takes when you have a small space. Everything has to […]
Budapest and Bratislava
June 4, 2018. I arrived in Budapest the day of my dental appointment with Dr. Windisch, an implant specialist whom I’d found several years earlier when I was in Greece […]
Six Days in Oahu
Thursday May 13, 2021 – I’d been jonesing to be anywhere but home for over a year. COVID had been particularly hard on me, as I am migratory. I had […]
My Misadventures
I’d been dreading my dental visit to Loveland, Colorado for weeks. Not the dental part, but getting there and back. Being a penny pincher, I planned to drive, but after […]
Portugal
May 25, 2018. Having driven across the Minho River to Valença, I headed back to Tui, a charming village with narrow cobbled streets only a stone’s throw away across the […]
Basque Country to Galicia
May 18, 2018. I woke to the chill sea air of Donostia-San Sebastián (aka San Sebastián), and broke camp quickly so I wouldn’t be discovered. As I drove into town, […]
Pyrenees
May 14, 2018. I woke on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in Bielsa after a cold night. I had stayed in a nice place and took my first shower […]
Haute-Garonne
May 3, 2018. It was a crazy day. I was behind in packing, even though I’d started weeks before, and was glad Shawn was giving me a ride. He helped […]
Lisa Karpinski 