Wedged between the Dniester River in eastern Moldova and the Ukrainian border exists a small country unknown to most of the world’s population. Transnistria is home to over half a million people but you won’t find it on a world map. The UN recognizes Transnistria as a part of Moldova, Continue Reading
Norway: Living on Excess
Every August, a number of hitchhikers from around the world gather somewhere in Europe to meet new friends, reconnect with old friends, and celebrate the life of freedom that they have discovered through non-consumerist travel. The location of each Hitchgathering is decided whenever somebody suggests a good spot that fits Continue Reading
What I’ve learned by traveling with minimal money or plans
To skip directly to the list, click here. Otherwise, read on about how this type of travel became my lifestyle over the last couple months. There are infinite different ways to travel. When many people picture travel, they imagine all-inclusive vacations consisting of beaches, spas, fancy restaurants, and Continue Reading
Balkan Hospitality
I arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, after dark and without a clue where I was going, but luckily the guy who gave me a ride was willing to call the person I was staying with, take me into the city center, and drop me off at her apartment. This was the Continue Reading
Rainbow Snowball Caravan of Abundance
Due to a brutal hangover, most of my third day in Novi Sad, Serbia, was spent laying on a couch, eyes half-shut, half-staring at my computer screen, vowing never to drink rakija again. Something productive did come out of this lazy day, though, as I read the blog of the Continue Reading
Paradise in Slovenia
Slovenia, a tiny country of only 2 million people, a bit smaller than New Jersey, contains some of the most impressive natural beauty in all of Europe. Unlike other parts of former Yugoslavia where mountains and rivers are littered with trash, nature seems to be a prized value in Continue Reading
From the Baltics to the Balkans, via Wrocław
I left the Baltic countries in a truck driving to Olsztyn, Poland. It was 10pm in Kaunas, Lithuania, and I was at a very empty gas station asking the few cars that came by if they were going in the direction of Poland. Finally, after about an hour of no’s, Continue Reading
The Great Hitchhiking Adventure: Baltics
The route 4 weeks 2,923 miles 58 car rides with strangers $0 spent on intercity transportation $0 spent on accommodation It all started as I sat in a friend’s apartment in Darmstadt, half working on editing a research paper (my job while traveling) and half scrolling through my Facebook Continue Reading
Pomona Reunion: Balkans to Berlin
Europe round two started off on a good note when the Norwegian family sitting next to me on the airplane bought me a sandwich and beer and offered to let me stay in their house for the night. I politely declined the offer, as I had a connecting flight at Continue Reading
The Land of Fire and Ice
Iceland is one of the most beautiful places in the entire universe. The tiny island of 323,000 people contains every landscape from black sand beaches to rocky fjords to lush mossy green valleys to 1,000 meter deep ice caps to giant standalone volcanoes. Due to the volcanic nature of the Continue Reading