Chris Backe's Blog, page 94

10 of my favorite travel blogs – and why they’ll be your favorites too

Every so often, I’m asked which travel blogs I read.

I’d reckon artists get asked whose art they enjoy, chefs get asked where they enjoy eating out, and so on. It’s a nice way of picking someone’s brain on a subject they know well – presumably the artists know art and the art community well enough to have some favorites. Same with chefs and food.

I didn’t really have a response – until now.

A quick word before starting with the list. First, these are in no particular order. Second, no one pai...

7 things I wish I knew about Switzerland before going

Despite having plenty of time to research our epic trip across Europe, there’s plenty of stuff that can still take you by surprise. Be more prepared than we were!

It’s easy to forget you’re still in Switzerland.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

With the country primarilydivided into French and German portions, it’s only when you look down at your currency that you might remember you’re still spending Swiss francs, not euros. To be sure, the affluence is easy to spot most anywhere in the country, and...

Bucket List Challenge: Iceland

During our recent, epic trip across Europe, we ‘only’ got to Egypt, Tunisia, France, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Italy. Three months just isn’t enough time to see all the magic Europe has to offer, so we’re already thinking about our next trip.

Quick note: I was asked to share my Iceland dreams by Guide to Iceland, but all opinions and views are my own.

Geothermal hot springs in the nude

No, I won’t be sharing any pictures of this one. You’re welcome.

Iceland’s hot...

September book reviews: chicken feet to crystal baths and exploring Sydney

Once a month, I put together the books I’ve readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.

A quick disclaimer: review copies were provided or downloaded for free, and links may be affiliate links. These reviews cover the version of the book Ireceived, not necessarily the version that’s currently available. A newer or updated version may be available – check for yourself using the links below.

From Chicken Feet To Crystal B...

Random pictures: the ‘stuff seen for sale around Medellin’ edition

Since moving to Medellin, we’ve seen plenty of oddball stuff (though not as many oddballplaces– it seems the city’s been so busy constructing things like libraries and parks that it hasn’t yet had a surge of weird places. Either that or I’m just having a tough time finding them.) On today’s episode of Random Pictures, I’d happy to present some of the weirder offerings we’ve seen for sale over the past couple of months.

We made a special effort to reach one of theMario Bross burger restaurant...

On slowing down and smelling the roses: travelers share their stories

For those just tuning in, I’ve been part of the ‘slow nomad’ world since 2008 – South Korea from 2008-2013, Thailand from 2013-2015, and Medellin, Colombia from mid-July 2015 to the present. There are many ways to travel, from the full-time, always-on-the-go traveler to the ‘settle down somewhere for months or years’ travel.Speed isn’t the goal –sustainable travel that you enjoy is.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve reada few travel bloggers beginning to slow down from a full-time travelin...

28 Protips for Traveling Around Cairo, Egypt

Cairo held a lot of intrigue, being our first African city and also the very first leg of our recent epic Europe trip. It’s going to take some time to get to all the major cities we spent some major time in, so enjoy this opening Protips post. In general

Learn the numbers. The world might call them Arabic numbers, but in Egypt they’re different. There’s only 10, and they’ll make life so much easier. Don’t worry aboutpronouncing them, just understanding what they look like. Friday is the Mus...

An introduction to Tunisia: five things you give up, and five things you get

“Tunisia? Where’s that?”, you might be asking. You might recognize it as a Northern African country from your Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?days, or you might be left baffled as to why anyone would want to visit the Sahara. In truth, the coastal city of Tunis and much of the touristy areas don’t feel like the deserts at all – geographically it’s close, but there’s lots of green around.

After the two recent (and tragic) attacks in 2015, you might rightfully be wondering if it’s safe t...

Would you rather go to the Tulip Museum, a secret Catholic church, or a museum about Fluorescent Art?

The newest book in the Choose a Way series is live! Written by Amy Hardy and edited / designed by yours truly, it’s a great collection of 40 places to see and enjoy in the Netherlands’ most interesting city.

It’s free on chooseaway.com right now and $0.99 on Amazonuntil August 30th.

The floating flower market – one of the many ways to enjoy the water in Amsterdam. Photo credit: Amy Hardy, thehardytraveller.com.

What’s a Choose a Way book?

Choose a Way books are interactive travel guides th...

Guest post: Ostia – the ancient Roman port city that’s better preserved than Pompeii

This is another guest post by my awesome wife, who took in a lesser-traveled slice of Romeduring our three-month trip across Europe. Warning: this post is pretty long!

There are a lot of destinations featured here on One Weird Globe. With most of the more off-the-beaten track places, it’s not hard to see why they’re not on the beaten track – no matter how good a place is, if it’s hard to get to, if it’s only of interest to a few people, if it’s just too small to be worth most people’s while,...