I deboard the train in Frankfurt, and am surprised to find pay phones at the station. I thought this species went extinct with the typewriter and VHS tape. I toss in a few euros and call my Couchsurfing host, Christian, who says he´s standing in front of the nearest McDonalds. Like most Europeans, he´s neatly [...]

Karin, the woman whose home we are staying at in Villach, needed to travel overnight to Vienna for business. She wasn’t willing to let us stay alone in her apartment, so we needed to spend the night in Vienna as well. Only one problem. The European soccer championships, held every four years, are happening in [...]

“I thought Italy would be the highlight of the trip,” Kim said, “and Austria would just be some place we pass through. But wow.” We exited Italy with  characteristic mishap, buying train tickets that departed Florence at 2 a.m. instead of at a more reasonable hour, for the sake of saving 10 euro. (We promptly [...]

Kim and I load our backpacks with everything we need for a 2-day hiking and camping trip; the dress shoes, books and shampoo find a storage locker. With packs on our backs and SPF 50 on our faces, we wander down roads, up roads, across roads, slowly winding south through Tuscany. Brick and stone give [...]

When we arrived in Rome, it wasn’t without characteristic mishap: us staying awake all night so we could catch a 3 a.m. cab ride to the airport; Kim getting sick as soon as we arrived at baggage claim, and spending the bus ride to the camp ground clutching a barf bag. Matt flew here with [...]

I spent the weekend in Santa Cruz, Portugal,  a second-home community for the wealthy of Lisbon. It features aqua blue waters and enormous surf. During my visit, the beautiful sands were empty. The second-home dwellers all stayed at home in Lisbon because the weather was supposedly “cold.” (The Portugese seem to have a very liberal [...]

Welcome to Lisbon, Portugal! I arrived here by bus two nights ago and was promptly greeted by Frederico, a 34-year-old father of two whom I met on Couchsurfing.com. He’s currentl also hosting a twentysomething Asian-American couchsurfer from Brooklyn. We all share a single-room studio in the heart of Lisbon´s commercial district, just by the water. [...]