Traveling With Judi . . . .

Wishing all of you the Merriest of Christmases and Happiest of Holidays - and a wonderful 2019 filled with JOY, Love, Happiness and lots of travel (or time at home.... whatever makes YOU feel the most fulfilled in Life)!!! As I sit here on Christmas Eve Day (sipping on homemade chicken soup with a sweet dog to keep me company), I'm pondering Life.... as well as the excitement, the challenges, and the JOY of travel!! I'm feeling a bit guilty that I'm not outside in the "momentary sunshine" exploring more of what this city has to offer, but then I remind myself that I'm a Traveler, not a Tourist!! As a Traveler (in it for the long haul), it's important for me to relax and enjoy the Peace of this moment in order to prepare me once again for whatever's next when I'm on the move!! The more I travel, the more I'm learning that to keep up with this pace of ever-changing landscape on a long-term basis, I have to allow a bit of ebb and flow to my ...

I made it to Budapest for the second time in three weeks (really?!?!?....has it only been three weeks?!?!?), and I'm happily ensconced in a homey AirBnb not far from where I'll be dog-sitting over Christmas on the Buda side of the city! I still wasn't sure when I left Wrocław if I would come straight to Budapest after Prague, or maybe visit Vienna, Brno and Bratislava this week (as I had originally planned), but after all that overnight-bus/up-and-down-stairs exhausting travel (and talking nonstop for almost two weeks straight - which can wear down an introvert!!!), I was leaning towards a few days of "settling into Budapest" before having to take the dog up and down MORE flights of stairs for 3-times-daily walks!! But....as I sat on the bus from Wrocław to Prague last Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think, "If I could guarantee my travel days would run as smoothly as my trip to Prague has gone thus far, I’d probably visit ALL those Christmas Ma...

Wow!! What a wild ride since I last posted (and I mean that literally and figuratively)! I knew in advance I was going to have to suffer through an 11-hour overnight bus ride from Budapest to Wrocław so I could get there in time for the next Angloville Program, but it was MUCH worse than I expected!! The bus broke down about halfway, then they sent us a replacement bus that was already packed with overnight riders to Warsaw (so we were packed in like sardines), and THEN.....they unceremoniously dropped us off at the CLOSED bus station (in the pouring rain) about 3 hours from Wrocław (and told us we would have to figure out our own transportation to get to our destination and purchase all new tickets.... Geeez)!! This last bit of information was shared in Polish by the bus driver who spoke NO English, but thankfully there was a nice passenger who translated the information - or we might have just stayed on the bus and ended up in Warsaw!! (Not really.... I was already on top o...

I had planned to post something about my current adventure BEFORE I left, but it just never seemed to come together because I was feeling excited - but ambivalent - about this Adventure! So here I am in Hungary (a couple hours outside of Budapest) - it's 5:00 am and I can't go back to sleep - and I guess now's the time! I'll be in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia - and then warming up in Spain!! - for the next few months, and it's all unfolding nicely! It's been almost a week since I left the U.S., and it's been a bit "discomboobling" to fly 18 hours (with no sleep) - get DEATHLY ill with the flu (or maybe food poisoning)...ugh!!! - spending 48 hours in my AirBnb wondering "what in the world was I thinking coming here?!?!...and I wanna go home!!!" - then meeting up with the other English-speaking volunteers for a City Tour of Budapest in the FREEZING cold weather and remembering why I enjoy traveling (it's ALL about...

It's been 4 months to the day since I left Portland, but it feels like lifetimes ago in so many ways!! Pam left EARLY this morning, so we've said our good-byes, and now I'm just sitting at a cafe in the Dubrovnik airport waiting for the final "leg" of my 2017 Italian-Balkan Journey!! I made it through security, customs, etc., and am now waiting a few hours for my departure (where I'll fly to Munich, then Venice..... stay overnight in Venice....then fly Venice to Amsterdam to Detroit to South Bend to see my Indiana Fam and meet my newest great-niece, Katelyn)!! A "piece-of-cake" trip that will get me there in a mere 40 hours!! One of the disadvantages of traveling without a plan and just trusting that the details will unfold as they are meant to is that sometimes it takes longer (and costs more) than originally expected! I had planned on flying in and out of Venice because I figured by June I'd be able to take a ferry from Pula (Croatia) ...

I think Pam and I might have a bit of "post-Mostar-depression" or else we're just getting to the end of the line on our travel timeline! We made it to Dubrovnik last night after another perilous bus ride (where the only options were to pretend to sleep, stare out the window, or watch the bus driver like a hawk to see if he's going to try to pass the car in front of us and make it in time to miss the oncoming traffic)!! I always choose the "look out the window and obsessively take pictures - even if they are all blurry and don't turn out because he's going too fast!!" option if at all possible!! I just assume all will be well (it's gotta be, right?!?!?), so I might as well relax as much as possible and enjoy the journey!! I learned this lesson the first time I went to Guatemala and rode on the crazy Chicken buses! I made sure I had life/health insurance and a Will written out "just in case" and figured that was all I could do to cont...