Hello again! It’s been eight months since I’ve written a blog post. Someone I met in Prague messaged a few weeks ago to ask if I was doing okay, since the last couple posts were so dismal. It took longer than I would have liked for things to improve—I came down with another month-long illness in September, which meant I had to cancel my postponed trip to Peru, and then I moved from NYC to Austin, with all the attendant joys of a long-distance move. There haven’t been many adventures to write about; aside from a long weekend in Bermuda and a birthday (my 35th!) in Disney World, I’ve just been dealing with life.
But now, finally, things are basically settled, and I have a ton of travel adventures planned for 2019. The fun kicks off tomorrow, with a ten-day Flash Pack tour to Costa Rica. I traveled with Flash Pack in November 2017 to Myanmar (yes, I still owe you the second half of that post; it’s outlined), and it was an amazing trip, so I’m excited to check them out on a different continent.
Even more so, though, I’m excited to get back to traveling. I was definitely in need of some major recovery time when I returned from my time with We Roam, but I never intended for that recuperation to last ten months. I went to Target today to buy travel cubes and Imodium (essential!) and found myself cha-chaing in the suitcase aisle.
I didn’t intentionally book a trip for Valentine’s Day; I’m enough at peace with my singleness that all the many, many posts I see of friends’ flowers only sting a tiny bit. This is a near-annual travel time for me, though, mainly because it’s six weeks out from the holidays—long enough that I’ve recovered from those, lost the weight I gained at Christmas, caught up with work, and become desperate to escape winter. And if you’re in an office, it usually lines up nicely with Presidents’ Day, so all in all, I highly recommend Valentine’s travel.
But this year in particular, when it’s been too long since I’ve felt the rush of stepping out of an airport into a country I’ve never seen before, I’m appreciating the significance of a Valentine’s Day trip, because I suspect that travel may end up being the love of my life.
When Mary Oliver passed away last month, many people shared these lines from “When Death Comes“:
When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
Oliver was a master at capturing the beauty of the smaller things, the ones you can find just outside your door, but these lines capture the passion I have for exploration farther afield. We place so much emphasis on finding a romantic partner, but there are other things to love and other ways to build a life.
For the past couple months, I’ve had the background at right on my phone, offered up by Flash Pack. The image amuses me, but it’s possible that for some of us, love and a passport go hand in hand. To paraphrase Carrie Bradshaw (less eloquent than Mary Oliver, but sometimes just as insightful): “If…you only get one great love, travel may just be mine.”
So off I go to reunite with my love, on the day designated for romance. Updates to follow, I promise!
My travels finally have an end date: I’m currently planning to head home on May 28. If I make it that long, I will have been gone for thirteen months. So with four months to go, I’m in the last third of the trip.
I’m also in a markedly different phase of the trip. Halfway through January, I left We Roam. I flew from Cambodia halfway around the world to South Africa and spent a couple weeks with my mom, on an Adventures by Disney trip that took us to the Garden Route and on safari. More on all of that—both the South Africa trip and the decision to leave WR—soon.
On safari!
From this point on, I’ll truly be flying solo. I have a few meet-ups planned—a We Roam friend whom I met in Barcelona will be joining me in Mexico City for her birthday and a longtime friend from my law school days is coming to Peru for the Machu Picchu trip finale. But I’ll be on my own day-to-day, setting my own itinerary, and making my own travel arrangements.
Just a couple weeks in, I’ve already exercised that freedom. Lately I’ve had some doubts about my ability to last until May. The first six months of my trip were pretty orderly; I was based in one city and generally took one side trip each month, usually just a long weekend, sometimes a week. It was manageable. But ever since late November, my travel has been out of control. In summary: Myanmar to Hanoi to Hong Kong to Hanoi to Da Nang to Hanoi to Ha Long Bay to Hanoi to Phnom Penh to Hong Kong to Siem Reap to Phnom Penh to Cape Town to Knysna to Kapama to Auckland. In the last two months, I’ve spent no more than eight consecutive nights in one bed.
So now I’m in New Zealand, and I was supposed to embark today on an eighteen-day road trip through both islands, making my way down to Queenstown, partaking in adventure sports and wine tasting along the way, and not staying in any hotel longer than two nights.
I just couldn’t do it.
I’m completely worn out from the last couple months. I’m in the beginning stages of a cold, which will either be mild or terrible, depending on how much I let myself rest right now. I’m jet lagged. I still have a lingering bit of traveler tummy; I don’t think my stomach has felt wholly well since I got to Asia in October.
And I’ve also been overwhelmed by work lately. I launched my own freelance book editing company, Hyphen, at the beginning of November. I’m extremely proud of how well it’s done so far. I just sent my 50th client invoice, I nearly doubled my target take-in for January, and I’m currently scheduling edits for early April. But I’m working much more than I was before, and it’s tough to do that with short-term travel and nonstop tourism. I was tuning out the guides on the bus in South Africa to work and finishing “one last paragraph” at lunch. You may have noticed that I didn’t write a single blog post in January; I didn’t have one spare hour.
A friend once used the phrase “emotional resilience,” and I’ve thought of it often. When I’m tired and stressed, my emotional resilience dwindles. Yesterday, I found myself having a mini-breakdown in the Waiheke ferry terminal, trying to get back to Auckland in the midst of a storm, and I realized I had fully drained my reservoirs and was no longer having fun.
So I’m accepting my physical, mental, and emotional limitations. I thought about just going home, to be honest, but winter and a terrible flu season are making New York less appealing. Instead, I’ve decided to head to Sydney early. I was scheduled to be there for twelve days at the end of February; instead, I’ll spend the whole month there and take in the city at a more relaxed place, with time for work and rest.
I’m a little disappointed in myself. Planning is my strength, and this road trip was impeccably planned. Part of me feels like I should just suck it up and execute it. But I know that it’ll be worthless if I can’t enjoy it. So I’m tucking the itinerary Word doc into my travel folder, with the tentative idea to come back next winter. And I hope that cutting myself a little slack here will allow me to fulfill the ultimate plan of staying on the road for a year.
At the end of November, I left Thailand a few days early to set off on an adventure within my adventure: a 12-day trip to Myanmar with UK-based touring company The Flash Pack. Ads for this company popped up on my Facebook feed, and I was eager to investigate as it’s targeted at solo travelers in their 30s and 40s who want nice accommodations but adventurous, authentic experiences—me, in other words.
My short review is that both Myanmar and Flash Pack lived up to my lofty expectations, and I highly recommend both. My time in Myanmar may well be the highlight in a year full of them, and I’ll definitely be taking another Flash Pack trip soon.
The details, however, are so numerous that I’m breaking this post into two parts. Our days were jam packed full of excitement.
Day One
I arrived in Yangon in the early afternoon. Flash Pack arranged a transfer, so it was an easy process getting to our (very nice) hotel, the Chatrium. My Myanmar welcome was an exuberant one, as Pope Francis arrived the same day. The streets were lined with people waving signs and bands playing; it made the start of the trip quite festive.
My roommate (Flash Pack sets up same-sex roommates for you unless you pay a single supplement) had left a note on my bed with the safe code, saying she’d see me soon, and we had a couple spare hours before we were meeting up to officially start the trip, so I grabbed my laptop and settled in at the lobby bar for a snack and a couple hours of work. This would become a pattern on the trip, unfortunately. Everyone else was on vacation, but I was still working remotely, so in our brief moments of downtime, my fellow travelers would hit the pool, while I hit my keyboard.
We met up at 4 pm for a quick overview. We had a local guide, Joshua, who traveled with us for the entire trip (and did an amazing job taking care of us and showing us his country). The maximum group size for this trip is 14, but ours was just 7—six single girls in our early-to-mid-30s and one poor, beleaguered (just kidding, he loved us!) man in his late 40s.
Then we left for sunset at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most famous site in Yangon. Unfortunately, clouds were rolling in just as the sun was coming down, so we missed the famous light on the pagoda, but it was still breathtaking at dusk:
We spent an hour or so walking around, observing different rituals. My favorite was the pouring of water on the Buddha at your day station (as with Chinese birth years, Myanmar notes birth days), as the woman on the left, a fellow Wednesday afternoon birthday girl, is doing.
And at night, people lit candles in a ring around the pagoda—almost otherworldly.
Joshua took us to dinner at a local restaurant where we had the first of many Myanmar beers, and then we got to know each other a bit better at the hotel bar before turning in. Every morning on the trip was an early one.
Day Two
Joshua led us on a walking tour around Yangon. It’s a bustling, modern, VERY traffic-laden city, but I loved how the people still had a distinctive Burmese appearance, and the street culture was thriving. As a remote worker, I especially appreciated seeing all the mobile offices set up on the streets. We Roam has a running “office anywhere” photo competition that provokes ridiculous photos in places where people clearly couldn’t work…but these people on the streets really living the idea of office anywhere.
I’ve always preferred to take pictures of places over people, but I couldn’t resist a few street scene shots as we walked around:
We made a brief shopping stop (the man in our group excused himself; we were a pretty stereotypical bunch) and had lunch before a couple hours’ break at the hotel. We then reconvened to visit the picturesque Kandawgyi lake, with reflections for days:
We had a skewer-filled dinner on what’s known as BBQ street, sitting outside a restaurant that housed the first of what we would come to call “adventure toilets.” (Squat toilets are still prevalent in Myanmar, and let’s just say that some of them are more adventurous than others.) The food was delicious, but outside we were targets for many children asking for money, some of whom stood there throughout the entire meal. There are enough tourists to Myanmar that they have the game down pat, but few enough that their attention is quite focused—though we eventually moved far enough off the beaten path that we were left alone.
Day Three
Our first travel day! The longest we stayed in any hotel was two nights; I wasn’t lying when I said it was a busy trip. We took a flight to Bagan and checked into the Aureum Palace Hotel, with one of the most appealing pools I’ve ever seen. Bagan is famous for their 3,000 ancient pagodas, and the infinity pool overlooked several of them. Joshua gave us the option of a local lunch and an activity or two, but once we saw the pool, we were done for.
We tore ourselves away a few hours later, though, to visit the first few of many pagodas. It felt surreal to see these structures just sitting out in fields, largely unbothered by tourists:
We were surprised and delighted to walk through an archway…
and see a field of cows with two old women minding them next to one of the pagodas:
Then we grabbed some beers and took a short boat ride out on the Irrawaddy River to watch the sun set:
Not nearly as impressive as the sunset coming up next; get ready.
We finished the day with dinner at a marionette show, an old tradition in Myanmar from the days when it was used to entertain the king. This wasn’t the favorite activity for a lot of the group, but I really enjoyed it. I’d been surprised before by how much I liked the Salzburg marionette theater; it’s an art form that requires a great deal of skill. And one of the performers we saw is apparently famous for his level of talent.
Day Four
The fourth day was one of my two favorites on the trip. (I can’t choose between them; don’t make me.) We gathered in the lobby at 5 am (particularly early since my poor roommate was up all night sick to her stomach, the first of many of us to go down, as is basically inevitable when you visit this part of the world), but we were excited despite our exhaustion, as this was the first time to go ballooning for most of us, including me.
We took a bus to a field for a safety briefing over coffee, then stood by, watching them inflate the balloons.
Once we were airborne, it was just magical and somehow peaceful, despite being sixteen people in a balloon basket.
When we got back to the hotel, we quickly changed clothes and then hopped on slow-moving scooters to explore more of Bagan’s pagodas. The pagodas themselves were beautiful, but the best part was the journey, rather than the destination. Driving a scooter down a dirt road, pulling over to the side of the road to let a cart and oxen past, calling hello (Mingalaba!) to much speedier motorcycles passing by. It was a ridiculous amount of fun.
Though all the pagodas were pretty, I enjoyed the story behind the one below. After having to repair the top portion repeatedly after earthquakes, they finally said, eh, let’s just make it gold. Why not?After another tasty meal, we passed up afternoon activities in favor of a few more hours at the pool and one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen:
Day Five
We hit the road again, waking up early for a flight to Heho airport and then a couple hour’s drive to Kalaw. I, sadly, felt very under the weather, just congested in my head and my chest and generally rundown. When I go on my next Flash Pack trip, I’ll be much better rested; constantly on the move like I am now, I feel like I’m just one errant sneeze and bad night’s sleep away from collapse. So I missed the hike that everyone else enjoyed while I took a five-hour “nap,” but I can tell you that the drive in was lovely. We were up in the mountains, on twisty turny roads; we’d moved from suffocating heat to chilly breezes; yellow wildflowers bloomed everywhere.
Unexpectedly, Kalaw has an excellent Italian restaurant; a man from Italy married a local woman and is turning out delicious pasta and pizza. I rallied enough to join the group and eat spaghetti carbonara (carbs are great for your immune system; it’s science) and then had a Nyquil night.
Day Six
Back on the road, via bus this time, we started with an hour’s drive to the Green Hill Valley Elephant Sanctuary, where we fed elephants who were mercifully retired from the logging business they’re still used for in Myanmar and gave one of them a scrub down in the river.
I felt better but still not one hundred percent, so I was almost glad to spend most of the rest of the day in the car, on a long four-hour drive to Inle Lake. We did have one fun stop, though, at an umbrella workshop where a man made these gorgeous creations by hand, whittling the wood on a foot-powered machine to make the frames. I bought one, obviously (a little one). Once again, this was something the rest of the group wasn’t super jazzed about—though I believe they appreciated it more once they got there—and I was like YES, UMBRELLAS! Basically 34 going on 85; don’t mind me.
The Pristine Lotus Resort was maybe my favorite of our hotels; I wish we could have stayed more than one night. They designed the rooms to look like boats on the water from the balconies, and the setting on the lake was marvelous. We arrived just in time for twilight.
As you can tell, I had an incredible journey. In editing this post, I had to do an adjective search; I used the word beautiful SEVEN TIMES in the first draft. But it really is; am I right?
Stay tuned for part two, which includes my other favorite day in Myanmar!
Earlier this year, I wrote a post about how I’m not bored when I take beach vacations alone. And I’m not…but sometimes I am lonely. Beach vacas are prime spots for couples, after all. More than that, though, sometimes resorts make it way more awkward than it needs to be.
I took off by myself for, after a stopover in Bangkok, five nights divided between two islands: Koh Kood and Koh Chang. They’re two of the three Trat islands—located to the east, close to Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, they can only be reached by taking a ferry from Trat, a tiny, one runway, propellor-plane airport about a forty-five minute flight from Bangkok. The remoteness of the islands is part of the allure; they’re less populated and touristy than the more famous stops like Phi Phi.
Koh Kood in particular feels like another world. There’s one main road that winds around the island, with only a few shops and restaurants, by which I mean huts on the side of the road—no chains here, not even 7-11 (a staple in much of Asia).
The awkwardness started when the driver from the resort met me at the Trat airport. Apparently the resort told him he was picking up two people, so I had to communicate across a language barrier that it was, in fact, just me. It continued as I went through the various transit stages: He drove me in a van to a checkpoint, where I got a ferry ticket and transferred to a golf cart. The golf cart drove me to a ferry, and that driver carried my bag onto the boat and made sure I got a seat. Another driver met me when the ferry dropped me off on the island, and he drove me to the resort in the typical open-air pickup truck retrofitted with bench seats, while a hotel employee sat in the back with me and told me a bit about the island as we drove.
The most awkward moment came when we arrived at the hotel. A line of about six employees stood out front to greet me with a chorused Thai hello. They presented me with an orchid garland and then insisted on taking my photo before I checked in—they never delivered the print as promised, though; perhaps they also recognized that it was a bit sad.
I blame forced luxury for all of this nearly as much as traveling alone. I love a nice room, a high thread count, and plenty of amenities, but beyond that, I generally want to be left to myself. The hotel, High Season, was very nice, but as one of only two five-star resorts on the island, it seemed like they felt pressure to provide services that felt a little performative. But the fact remains that it would have been far less uncomfortable if I were traveling with another person.
I spent a quiet day and a half on the island. It poured for much of my only full day, a huge tropical thunderstorm that woke me up when it started at 5 am, and I spent the morning hiding behind my mosquito-netted bed with a cup of coffee. I appreciated how isolated the resort felt, though—I only saw a handful of other people; after the welcome greetings, it was quite peaceful. And, when it wasn’t raining, it was lovely:
I then took a ferry, by which I mean a mid-sized speedboat, to Koh Chang, a larger and more populated island. My resort was a little less fancy but a lot more of a bargain, so there was mercifully less fanfare. Though when I checked in, I of course got the, “Are you alone? Really, just one? No one is joining you later?”
Just. Me.
The resort, The Dewa, was much busier, though, so I was surrounded by more couples and several families as well. It always feels strange to me to see couples my age with a baby, even though it’s more than normal now that I’m in my mid-thirties.
The most awkward moment came when I was in the shower one afternoon and housekeeping started knocking at my door. I was in the middle of rinsing out my hair, so I couldn’t do much. I exited the bathroom in a towel just as a man from housekeeping was coming in. He apologized and left quickly, yet not a minute passed before he knocked on the door again. In fairness, it was to give me delicious cake, but give a girl a second to put on a robe. Or give a girl a second person to answer the door.
Other than that, it was standard—every night, for instance, the hotel restaurant set up candlelit tables on the beach. It was very romantic, but I put my game face on and ate there anyway. I watched the sunset alone:
And the fire show alone:
And I enjoyed myself, as I nearly always do. Traveling alone, particularly to places seemingly designed for couples, is sometimes sad and uncomfortable, but it beats the hell out of not going.
I left New York on April 29; this month in Chiang Mai is my seventh on the road. I’m not quite halfway through—currently planning to head back sometime in June probably—but it seems like a good moment to pause and take stock.
I was feeling a bit melancholy in September, thinking about how I don’t feel like I’ve changed much on this trip. Prior to this adventure, the most extended time I’ve spent away was a seven-week study abroad program in college. That was my first time leaving the country (apart from the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, which hardly counts), and I grew so much. During my last week, navigating the streets of London alone—and pre-Google maps, for the record—I had an epiphany: that I didn’t want to keep heading down the road to early marriage with my small-town boyfriend, that I wanted to see more of the world, and I wanted to see much of it alone.
Well…mission accomplished, 20-year-old Jennifer. She might have revised her wish slightly had she known just how far the scales would tip away from love and marriage, but that’s a topic for a different day. To today’s point, I think that with such a grand experience, I was expecting this journey to be similarly revelatory. But six months in, I’m still epiphany-less. To be fair, I’m in my thirties now. I’ve lived in five different cities, moving from coast to coast, worked numerous jobs in three different industries, and dated…quite a few men. I may be past the epiphany stage. Still, I am growing a bit, pushing my boundaries and learning new things—here are six of them.
1. I can go anywhere.
Before this trip, I’d traveled solo more than most people I know, but there were places I felt hesitant to go and things I wasn’t sure I could do. My solo travels were limited to Europe, the Caribbean, and one trip to Buenos Aires. I wasn’t sure I could navigate Asia alone. I’d never rented a car in a foreign country. I had a strange aversion to buses.
Now I’m spending my birthday alone in Bangkok this week, I’ve rented cars in Germany and Croatia and just mapped out a road trip through both New Zealand islands, and I’m about to book a bus to Chiang Rai. There are still a few places in the world I’d choose not to go (I have a lot of Feelings about the harassment of women in many parts of the Middle East, for instance), but I feel completely confident that wherever I want to go, whatever I want to do, I can figure it out.
2. I still have so much to learn about the world.
A couple months ago, someone messaged me on OkCupid and asked whether I was traveling to learn more about the world or myself. Though that’s somewhat oversimplified—you’ll always be doing a bit of both—it made me realize that perhaps the reason I don’t feel like I’ve changed a great deal on this trip is because I’ve already invested a lot of time into self-growth over the years. I’m looking to discover the world, rather than find myself.
The first couple months I was just spinning with all the changes, but starting in Berlin, I’ve made a conscious effort to learn more about the places I’m visiting—not just where the best restaurants are, but a bit about the history, culture, and current political climate. I’m trying to read at least one work of fiction and one of nonfiction each month and to read the local news. It’s highlighted how little I learned in school, where history classes generally stopped with World War II. Even in a relatively familiar country like Germany, I realized I knew almost nothing about the Cold War and how it still affects Berlin. With a place like Thailand, I’m a blank slate. It’s all connected, though, especially in our rapidly shrinking society, and I feel like I understand the world a bit better than I did a few months ago.
3. Where I am has a huge effect on how I feel.
When I decided to move to NYC from Houston about five years ago, my dad was not pleased, to put it mildly. We were talking about it over dinner, and he said, “I don’t understand why you can’t stay here. Some people are just happy wherever they are.”
I could only reply, “Okay…but I’m not one of them.”
I’ve really always known that about myself (oh, how I itched to leave Oklahoma growing up), but this trip has made it even more clear. I’ve felt at home in about half the cities I’ve visited. In Barcelona, Berlin, Belgrade, and now Chiang Mai, I’ve been markedly more cheerful and productive. In Prague, Split, and Seoul, I watched more TV, ate nutritionally worse food, and left the apartment less often. For my own wellbeing, I need to be somewhere that energizes me.
What’s interesting is that this trip is changing my idea of where that might be. Before I would have told you that I need to be somewhere with a million things to do, a big city with lots of culture. But there’s loads to do in Seoul and very little in Belgrade and Chiang Mai. This is going to sound so simple and silly, but I think what makes me feel most content is having several good restaurants and coffee shops, places at which I enjoy hanging out, within walking distance. If it takes too much effort to get somewhere, I wind up staying home.
4. I actually like being alone.
I’m clearly comfortable being alone, or I wouldn’t have named my blog Girl Flies Solo. But for some time now, I’ve had this question in the back of my mind: do I really enjoy being alone, or have I just become comfortable with it out of necessity? The past six months have confirmed that yes, I actually do appreciate spending time by myself. I’m not a hermit; I need regular socialization as well. But I get cranky if I don’t have enough quiet time alone.
And on the flip side of this, I am finally ready to give up trying to be a group person. For much of my life, I’ve felt bad about not being adept in a group setting. I’ve been awkward and uncomfortable on the cheer squad, in a sorority, as a member of Junior League. And while there have been numerous benefits to traveling with We Roam, there have also been many times in which being part of a group has made my experience worse. I’d rather focus more on the places I’m in than the people I’m with…and that’s okay.
5. The more I see, the more I want to see.
I’ve added more places to my list than I’ve checked off this year: Northern Croatia has a truffle festival in the fall. How have I not yet been to Seville and Granada? And those are just the places I haven’t visited at all; there are many more where I’m desperate to spend more time: That day trip to Timisoara, Romania was not enough. I need at least three months (a year? a lifetime?) in Berlin…but maybe a winter home in Chiang Mai.
Many travelers keep track of the number of countries they’ve been to, which is fine; I do it, too (loosely…I think I’m somewhere in the low 30s at the moment). But I feel certain I could visit every country in the world and still not be finished traveling. Each place I’ve been has inspired me to explore further and more deeply.
6. I can travel as much as I want…but I don’t want to travel full time.
I think the greatest gift We Roam has given me is the knowledge that I can travel long-term and work on the road. For reasons I still can’t quite fathom, it just never occurred to me. I had a remote job and a desire to travel more, and I was still sitting in my apartment in New York, planning a one-week vacation here and a two-week trip there. Ridiculous! I love spending a month in a destination—it’s enough time to feel like you understand a place, to see a bit of the surrounding area, to know if you want to spend more time there, and to get your work done in the process. I’m definitely going to continue traveling this way in the future.
But this trip has also made me realize that I don’t enjoy being on the road semi-permanently. I like having a home; I miss my bed and bookshelves and closet. I haven’t become one of those nomads posting a photo of myself on a mountaintop with a long explanation about how I’ve left everything behind and now I feel so freeeeee! This lifestyle has some amazing benefits, but like everything else, it has its drawbacks, too. I think my ideal going forward will be having a base in the States and taking around two extended trips a year. But we’ll see what unfolds.
For now, as ever, onwards. I can’t wait to see what I discover in the next part of my journey.
First of all, let’s be clear: there are a million things to do and places to eat in Hong Kong. In five nights, especially since they were jetlagged nights followed by 95 degree days, I barely scratched the surface of all the city has to offer. I actually just decided to remedy that and booked a follow-up trip for December. But, nevertheless, I did manage to check a couple things off my Hong Kong to-do list. Here are a few favorites.
Things to Do
1. Mount High West
I can’t take any credit for my favorite thing I did in Hong Kong; I was just going to head up to the Victoria Peak viewing platform like every other tourist. Instead the expat friend I made led me on a trail around the platform and up over 500 steps to the top of Mount High West, which has an even better view than the Peak, in my opinion. (And there’s something to be said for having to work for it rather than taking an elevator.)
We got up there just as the sun had set over the islands:
And we watched as the darkness grew and the lights came on in the city:
2. Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden
I’m going to squeeze these technically separate spaces into one entry, since they’re physically connected. Chi Lin Nunnery is a Buddhist complex entirely constructed out of wood, with a lovely lotus pond-filled courtyard:
Nan Lian, just across the street but connected by a bridge so that the structures flow seamlessly into each other, is a beautiful traditional Chinese garden:
Together, the two form a peaceful respite from the bustle of Hong Kong. Though they’re just a couple blocks from the subway and surrounded by skyscrapers, they’re quiet and almost make you feel like you’re in another time.
3. Islands!
I had a lot to learn about Hong Kong geography on my first visit, continually looking down from various windows and viewpoints and requesting that whoever was nearby explain what I was looking at exactly. Hong Kong is made up of the Kowloon peninsula and over 200 islands—including Hong Kong Island itself. So on my last full day in the city, I hopped on a ferry to investigate one of the outlying islands: Cheung Chau.
The process of getting to the islands couldn’t be simpler; you can use the same Octopus card you use for subways and buses to scan into the ferry. It was, as per usual, hot as hell, but I sweated it out for a bit to get some shots of the city as we cruised away:
I chose Cheung Chau almost at random and didn’t have an agenda really, just a desire to explore another aspect of Hong Kong. There’s a beach and a small swimming area if you’d like to do that, and it’s a popular windsurfing spot if you want to kick your water activities up a notch. If you’re ready to hike up a hill (I wasn’t after climbing to spot #1 the night before), there are some pavilions and outlook spots to visit. But just by wandering around, I came across a vibrant temple:
And I also found some gorgeous street art, a lantern-lined street, an altar at the base of a spectacular tree, and more:
I found the excursion to be well worth the 45 minute trip; the small island had a different, slightly more mainland, vibe than Hong Kong proper.
Places to Eat
To be honest, one of my favorite “things to do” in a new city is to try places to eat, and Hong Kong provided no shortage of those. From street food to pizza to fine dining, everything I ate in HK was delicious.
1. Tim Ho Wan
Billed as the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, with three starred locations in the city, and more locations around Hong Kong and the world, Tim Ho Wan is famous for its baked barbecue pork buns, and as I type this, I am craving one desperately.
I went to the Sham Shui Po location at an off hour (basically as soon as I’d checked into the hotel) and got a seat right away, but it was crowded—mostly with locals who were ordering extras and packing them into the tupperware they brought with them. They get enough tourists that they make it easy with English ordering cards, but it still feels like a pretty authentic experience.
I deeply love high tea, and this one was excellent. They sat me in a corner booth with views for days (views are everything in Hong Kong), and the tower was filled with treats: four kinds of cake, scones, and savory snacks and sandwiches. None of that cucumber and mayo nonsense either; think burrata and pesto instead. I feasted and alternated between staring out the window and spying on the ladies who lunch set.
I love a super fancy meal, and Tin Lung Heen, a two Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant in the Ritz Carlton on the 102nd floor of the ICC (the giant building across the water in the nighttime city shots above), more than delivers. I go into tasting menus knowing that not every course is going to be something I would have chosen for myself, but my hope is that one item I wouldn’t have picked blows me away. And that’s exactly what happened here: I generally find lobster to be overrated (I know, I’m a monster), but the wok-fried lobster with spring onion was incredible. I didn’t even get a picture; sorry, too busy eating.
And beyond the food, the atmosphere and service were perfect. When I looked over my shoulder, a server rushed over to direct me to the restroom. When the table by the window finished, they asked if I’d like to have my dessert there. Flawless.
Hong Kong, I’m not done with you yet—more to report in a few months.
Last week I boarded yet another ferry to travel to Dubrovnik. I’d intended for this to be the last city on my island hop, but since I detoured home and then to Tisno, it was a completely separate trip—so a 7 AM, six hour ferry ride, it was. (Technically the ferry is only supposed to take four and a half hours, but it was massively delayed on the way there and back, so I don’t buy it. If you’re hoping to go straight from the ferry to the airport, plan accordingly.)
I was a little tired after the back and forth, and I might have skipped Dubrovnik entirely, but a new friend on the trip decided to join me for the first night. She provided exactly the motivation I needed to get my butt out of bed and to the ferry dock.
Day 1
Our adventure got off to a late start—not only was the ferry slow, but the Airbnb host left us sitting at a cafe for over an hour. Luckily, I’d packed a lunch, so we ate chips and shared a peanut butter sandwich while kicking things off with a couple beers, which we regretted as soon as we saw how many steps were involved in reaching the apartment. Once we made it up there, though, we realized the view was more than worth it.
After Instagramming our fill from the windows, we walked down into the old city. Walking in the gates, you truly do feel like you’re entering an ancient castle. We were instantly charmed.
Not quite satiated from half of a sandwich, we proceeded to snack our way through town, starting with a 10% off happy hour pizza, followed by iced coffees. Thus fortified, we were able to scout an actual destination, D’Vino Wine Bar. We sat on stools in an adorable alley and each had a wine flight, while sharing an exceptional cheese plate with goat cheese and fresh ginger.
Then with just a couple hours until dinner, we had to work up our appetites again, so we decided to walk the city walls. The views were fantastic, and while the walk had a few (a lot) more steps than we’d anticipated, it wound up being my favorite Dubrovnik activity. It’s crowded no matter when you go, but aim for early in the morning or, like we did, an hour before closing when you get the golden hour light.
By the time we completed the circuit, it was nearly time for dinner at Nautika. The restaurant overlooks the water and the city walls, and everything—the views, the service, the food—was delightful. We started with scallops covered in flakes of black truffle, then had sea bass and tuna. The portions are relatively small, but the flavors are excellent. With dessert, we tried two of their signature cocktails. Our waiter served my whiskey-based drink in a teapot, and I was very. very. happy.
We turned in early, but the beach club down the hill, Banje, had the music going, so we opened the windows and felt like we had the best of both worlds, listening and lying in bed.
Day 2
We had a leisurely breakfast on a patio in the old city (just pick one; they’re very similar), and then we powered up the steps to get to the cable car. The wait was a little long and a lot hot, but eventually we made it up the mountain to take in the view:
If you only have time for one touristy activity, I’d pick the walls over the cable car, though both were fun. I said goodbye to my travel companion, as she decided to Uber to the ferry from the top of the hill, and I went back down the way I came.
By then it was mid-afternoon, and I didn’t have quite enough time to visit the island of Lokrum (pictured above) or head to the beach, so I finished exploring all the twists of the old city. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan (I’m not), there’s a lot to see—I accidentally settled in for a short break on what I thought were just some picturesque steps and then ran away after the fifth group walked by filming themselves yelling, “SHAME, SHAME.” Ugh.
Even though it’s incredibly touristy, I decided to check out Buza Bar, basically built into the cliff. It’s ridiculously crowded, but the ocean views are lovely. I then had an early dinner at Kopun and ate rooster (capon) prepared in the traditional way, which I highly recommend.
I had to get up early the next morning, so I headed home and spent the evening watching the sun set from my apartment’s window. My Airbnb called itself “Apartment Perfect View,” a surprisingly honest description.
Day 3
On my last day, I took a day trip, booked through Viator, to Mostar, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mostar—as you can tell from the name—is famous for Stari Most (old bridge). Originally built in the 16th century, the bridge was completely destroyed in the war in 1993 and reconstructed in 2004 with the help of global donations. We arrived just in time to see a member of the Mostar Diving Club jump off the bridge, a leap they make a few times a day.
Beyond the bridge and the bazaar, there isn’t too much else to see in Mostar, but I appreciated learning a bit more about the history of the region on the guided tour. It made me realize just how little I know—I had no idea the country was divided into Bosniaks (generally Muslim), Serbs (Orthodox), and Croats (Catholic) and that the presidency is comprised of one person from each of these groups, who fill a rotating chair position.
Though Mostar was full of tourists, the country is in the early stages of tourism. You can still see some of the ruins from the war around town, and our guide was generally pessimistic about their recovery. I bought a few books to help me better understand, but I’m glad I was able to visit in person to gain some context. And I love these guided tours for solo travelers; it would have been difficult to replicate this experience on my own.
On the way back to Dubrovnik, we stopped at Kravice Falls—not quite as beautiful as Krka, but very pretty. The description of the tour unfortunately failed to mention this, so I didn’t think to bring a swimsuit, but I had a nice sit on the riverbank.
We returned in the early evening, and I grabbed a quick pasta dinner before watching the sun set once more and packing up my things for the long and early ferry ride back to Split.
Dubrovnik is one of those places that’s incredibly touristy but still manages to hold onto its appeal. I’d recommend it over Split, should you be deciding how to spend your time; while Split is technically larger, Dubrovnik’s old city is much more impressive. If you’ve been, let me know what you think in the comments. And check out my Instagram for more photos of these magical places.
Last Saturday, I boarded a catamaran to visit the island of Vis, the first stop on what was supposed to be a 10-day vacation, hopping to Hvar, Korcula, and Dubrovnik. The very next day, I returned home to Split, tired and sweaty and annoyed.
I haven’t made a secret of the fact that Croatia is not my favorite. I’m not really an ocean person in general—I enjoy the occasional beach vacation, but more of the “stay in a hotel that’s two steps to the beach and go to that beach every day and read a book while a waiter brings drinks” variety, rather than the Croatian “hike to this random rocky outcrop or take a scooter halfway across the island and walk across some pebbles to swim in the sea.” I think I’d like Croatia okay in June, but in August (particularly this August), it’s just not my idea of a good time.
So I got to Vis, and it’s cute and all, but it didn’t take my breath away. Then I met my (very sweet) Airbnb host who took me to the apartment…where I realized that I had royally fucked up.
I made my reservation both too early and too late. Too early because I was still in Berlin, where it was rainy and chilly, and the importance of air conditioning was not at the forefront of my mind. Too late because by the time I had booked, there were approximately two apartments to choose from in this little town.
And the apartment was stifling. By the time my host finished describing tours and telling me where the best beaches were (on the other side of the island…and the closest beach was a 40 minute walk away), sweat dripped down her face. I left all the windows and the balcony door open and left for dinner, hoping it would be cooler when I came home.
It was not. And I was in a foul mood because I’d dropped my knife and spattered gravy all over my favorite shirt, and it took a literal hour to get the bill. So I waited and watched Felicity on my laptop, hoping it would cool down as the night progressed. Around 3 AM, I finally dozed off, and I think I slept for a solid 15 minutes or so as I lay there, hot and miserable.
At 10 AM, I dragged my sticky, sweat-coated, unrefreshed self out of bed and decided I’d had enough. Vacations are supposed to be fun, and I wasn’t having any. I re-packed my stuff and got on the noon ferry back to Split.
Hi, Vis! Bye, Vis.
As frustrating as it was to waste time and money like that, I did learn a few lessons from the experience that I hope I can keep in mind as I travel:
1. I can’t do everything.
I’ve always said that I want to travel (almost) everywhere. Now I’m on this adventure, and I’m getting to experience so many different places. But I’ve felt such pressure to do more. If I’m in Croatia, I must do all the things there are to do in Croatia. Islands! Waterfalls! Go go go go go! And if in addition to seeing Croatia, I can fit in a side trip to a neighboring country, too, so much the better.
But, in month four of my trip, I’m realizing just how unfeasible this is. I’m tired. I don’t have time to prepare for all these adventures, either practically or psychologically, so I’m not enjoying it when I get there. Instead…
2. I need to prioritize what I really want.
The night before I was set to leave on the trip, my roommate for the month noted how unexcited I seemed about it. She wasn’t wrong—I haven’t really dreamed of seeing these islands; it’s just the thing you do in Croatia, so I was doing it.
The thing about joining We Roam is that while I can choose my itinerary, the individual countries are set. The upside is that sometimes I discover a place like Berlin that I had no idea I would love so much. The downside is that sometimes I spend a month in a country I don’t like.
But I do have control over my side trips, so it’s silly to plan those based on some external idea of what I *should* be doing. Instead I need to look at a map and figure out where I can go that excites me and ignites my sense of adventure. If I do that and still find myself in a spot I don’t really want to be, though…
3. It’s okay to bail.
I don’t like quitting things. Even if it’s just a vacation, quitting feels like failure. And it sucks to lose money. But I think what sucks more is sitting alone on an island (or wherever), miserably holding fast to your principles.
I tweeted something last month that still resonates with me:
I’ve regretted quitting things because I was lazy but never because I was unhappy.
That’s particularly true when it comes to something like vacation, where pleasure is the sole purpose. And the best thing about it is…
4. Bailing makes room for things I enjoy more.
You’ll get the full story in another blog post soon, but since my island hop was a bust, I decided to accept an offer to visit the little town of Tisno, where I wound up having the best two days I’ve had since I joined the trip. And that never would have happened if I’d stayed, sweaty and sad, on the island of Vis.
I recently listed to the audiobook of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck, by Sarah Knight, and I highly recommend it. It’s all about not giving a fuck about things you don’t actually care about so you have more fucks to give on the things that you do. This whole post is very much in line with that philosophy: when it comes to side trips, I need to do a better job going forward of allocating my fucks.
Last Friday, I set off alone for a German road trip adventure. I had a rough start: I’d scoured the car rental sites looking for an automatic (I know–I’ve tried to learn how to drive a stick…someday, I hope) and thought that I’d found the perfect deal with Sixt. But when I got there, they told me that I couldn’t rent the car I’d reserved because my license was issued less than two years ago. They were baffled by my explanation of moving states and having to get a new license; I was baffled by this ridiculous rule. It took nearly two hours and a lot of yelling, but I finally hit the road…in a far shittier car than I’d anticipated, but oh well.
ON THE AUTOBAHN
The Autobahn is the German highway, and it’s achieved mythic status for many in the States. I have to admit I was a little disappointed–there are in fact speed limits on much of the highway. A friend of mine has the mailed traffic ticket to prove it (I may get one soon as well, who knows). But moreover, there’s just a shit ton of road construction. It felt like every few miles, the lanes were reduced and narrowed to the point where I was gripping the wheel in a panic. The fact that there were two sets of lines on the road didn’t help matters; many people straddled lanes as they drove. It also poured rain on half of my driving days, making speed impossible.
Yet there were a few stretches where it lived up to my expectations. I couldn’t do much in my go-kart of a car–there were times when I was in the far right lane going 150 kmh (about 93 mph) while other cars whipped by me. It’s a far more active sort of driving overall. If someone is moving faster than you, you’d best get over.
BREMEN
Because of the delay, I didn’t arrive in Bremen until around 4 pm. But that was just enough time to do what I wanted to, and I was pleasantly surprised by the town. My hotel, the Atlantic Grand, was perfectly situated just steps from the main square, which was completely adorable.
I started off with a visit to a small museum. Bremen houses the first museum dedicated to the work of a female painter, the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum. While I enjoyed her expressionist works, I really loved the temporary exhibition of Slawomir Elsner, his works featuring subtle crosshatching and a blurred, vague effect, as seen at right.
I then wandered through the Schnoor, the oldest part of Bremen and very picturesque. There are a ton of shops and galleries; I had to seriously resist temptation. I settled on ice cream instead, in the Schnoorkuller flavor–it’s traditionally a cake, but it worked nicely in a cone.
I wandered back through the main square and snapped the obligatory pic of the Bremen Town Musicians statue. I kept wandering into the less pretty, but more functional, part of town, and since I had a little time to kill before dinner, I read on the grass for a while beneath the Kaffee Muhle, a windmill turned cafe. I also took my favorite photo of the trip there:
I had dinner at Grashoff, a little bistro that was perfectly fine. Then I watched the sun set over the river and went to bed to prepare for the next day’s drive.
KASSEL
Kassel is the main reason I embarked on this trip. Every five years, the city hosts Documenta, a massive, month-long art exhibition spread out over many venues across town. 2017 brought Documenta 14, and with it, the Parthenon of Books: a life-sized replica of the Parthenon in Athens, constructed from 100,000 copies of banned books and built on a former Nazi book burning site. I came across an article about it on Facebook, noticed it wasn’t far from Berlin, and decided I had to go. And so here it is, in all its glory:
My visit to Documenta 14 suffered a bit from my lack of time to plan. I really needed a couple of days to see more of the exhibition. But it was early afternoon when I arrived, the booklet describing the various exhibits was 50 pages long, and every venue I saw had a line wrapped around the block. So I decided to be satisfied with getting to see what I most wanted to, and my only other touristy stop in town was the Grimmwelt.
The Grimmwelt is a museum dedicated to the Brothers Grimm, and it’s nearly as magical as the stories. The building itself is lovely, as you can see, and they have exhibits set up from Z-A, many of which are interactive. In addition to seeing some old documents and household objects, you can talk to a magic mirror on the wall and walk through a forest of trees that whisper at you.
The town was a little overrun with art lovers, so I wasn’t able to get dinner reservations. I wound up at a pizzeria (pizza is never a bad idea), notable only for its giant portions, and walked some of it off on the mile and a half trek back to my hotel. I wouldn’t stay at the Grand La Strada unless I had to. It’s allegedly four stars, but it’s stifling, and my room had crimson shag carpeting that I was reluctant to walk on.
I almost had a very quick stay there indeed. My final stop on the trip was supposed to be the famed Neuschwanstein Castle. The night before I set out, the forecast was clear. By evening in Bremen, the forecast was for nonstop rain when I was supposed to go but spotty the day before. I contemplated leaving Kassel at 3 AM to get there by opening hours, a day earlier than I’d planned. But by dinnertime in Kassel, the forecast was fairly wretched for both days, and I decided I had to abandon my castle dreams. It was incredibly frustrating to come so close, but I thought it was better to let it lie than spend hours of effort when it would likely end up disappointing me. So I went ahead and slept in, then drove on to my final town.
ROTHENBURG OB DER TAUBER
Rothenburg odT is a tiny tourist trap of a medieval town–but it is, admittedly, very cute. The Burg-Hotel, where I stayed, was absolute perfection, from the exterior, to the sweet elderly man who insisted on carrying my suitcase up three flights of stairs (not pictured, sorry, haha), to the view from my window.
There isn’t much to do in the town except wander. There’s a small Christmas museum and a preserved medieval home-turned-museum, but neither seemed worth the price of admission. Instead, I simply wandered, through the park that gives you an outside view on the walled city…
through the center of town…
and through a narrow walkway on the walls themselves for a rooftop-level view:
Dinner that night was the best of the trip, at the Hernschlosschen restaurant (part of a hotel). Popcorn soup, a perfectly (not) cooked steak, and truffle fries with actual shavings of truffle. The dream, basically.
And with the perfect meal, my road trip came to an end. Though I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to, I did thoroughly enjoy all that I saw. And just the road trip itself was an accomplishment for me. I travel by myself frequently, but there are still many things I’ve been hesitant to do solo–renting a car in a foreign country was one of them. As this trip progresses, I’m slowly expanding the boundaries of my comfort zone.
As you might suspect from my blog name, solo trips are necessary food for my soul. I’d been feeling particularly run down after the first six weeks of my global adventure, so I was eager to run to the lakes and have quiet time with my Kindle and some pasta.
This was my first time in Lugano, and if you’re unfamiliar (as I was), it’s a little town that’s just barely in Switzerland, a breath away from the Italian border. Only the currency is Swiss, really–they speak Italian, the food is Italian…though that famed Swiss efficiency does appear as well. It’s beautiful, especially when viewed from the water:
I flew into Milan and took a very easy and cheap (20 euro) hourlong minibus ride with Jetbus, straight from Malpensa Airport to the Lugano train station.
I arrived on a Sunday afternoon, so most of the shops were closed, but I dropped my bags at the Hotel International au Lac, strolled through town, and settled into a lounge chair at Mojito Tropical Lounge, a lakeside outdoor bar that’s crowded at 6 pm and spilling over at 10 (or 18 and 22, if you will).
To be honest, though, I only know it’s spilling over at 10 from walking by on my way home–if you’re reading this post expecting scandalous tales and late-night adventures, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. This was a recovery trip for me, so it was straight to bed after dinner and no alarm clock.
Dinner was delicious, though–I encountered a dish I haven’t seen before, which always excites me, a matcha tea pasta with a bell pepper and yellow tomato coulis at La Cucina di Alice. I followed it (unnecessarily, but when on vacation) with a tasty veal stew and creamy blancmange, then rolled myself back to the hotel.
On Monday, with a rental stand just across the street tempting me, I decided to hire a boat. Everyone I’ve told this to has been shocked: you just RENTED a BOAT…BY YOURSELF? I was a little nervous truthfully. I haven’t driven a boat since I was a teenager, and I barely drive a car anymore since I moved to New York. But I needn’t have worried. Without a boat license, I got the Barbie Jeep of speedboats; I pushed the throttle up, expecting it to roar, and instead I putt-putted across the lake.
But it was delightful to be out on the water. I cruised (inched) past the Swiss-Italian border, saw a few more little towns from the water, took a dip in the lake–the deepest lake in Switzerland, if you’re into fun facts–and enjoyed the lunch I picked up from the grocery store. The views were even more stunning on the water than the shore.
After a brief rest, I headed to dinner at Grotto della Salute. I decided to eat outside the center of town, and while Lugano has a very easy-to-use bus system, I didn’t check the times, and as it turns out, the bus I needed ran only every half hour in the evening. Then I didn’t realize that I had to request the stop (buses in Prague automatically make every stop), so I had a bit more of a hike than I’d anticipated.
The restaurant was none too pleased when I showed up 25 minutes late for my reservation, but I eventually got a table outside under the massive tree that shades their terrace and had a wonderful meal of lemon and pecorino cappellaci (similar to ravioli) and iberico pork tagliata. The restaurant had a very local vibe–patrons tooled up on their scooters, the people at the table next to me had their large dog sitting under the table, and the menu was in Italian and German. I honestly love when there’s no English option.
On Tuesday, I considered my options: I could take the funicular to the top of Monte Bre. But it was a hot day for a hike, and after just two months of travel, I’m already growing weary of climbing to the top of things to look at the view. I could go to the museum next door, LAC. When I previewed the exhibitions, though, there wasn’t anything I was longing to see. In the end, I decided to indulge myself and do what I actually wanted: lounge by the lovely garden pool. Again…vacation!
I left early for dinner so I could stroll slowly through the park on the way. And I’m glad I did; it was the perfect final view of Lugano.
I’d saved the best for last with dinner: Arte al Lago, a one-star Michelin restaurant that sits right on the lake. I had the four-course menu, which was very well-executed–my favorite course was a cucumber and watermelon gazpacho with a spicy mint sherbet. But the setting really made the meal for me. When I got there, the shades were closed, and I watched the light play across the sculpture on the wall. Then, when the sun had dimmed enough, they raised the shades, and I watched the day fade as birds and boats skimmed across the water.
My days in Lugano were perfectly pleasant. The town won’t knock you over with charm; it tends towards luxury brand stores instead of boutiques, and the streets have only a little of that winsome wind. But there were very few Americans in June, which I consider a huge plus; I only heard two or three people speaking English. Add to that a shimmering lake and appetizing cuisine, and Lugano is well worth a visit.
For the past couple months, I’ve had the background at right on my phone, offered up by Flash Pack. The image amuses me, but it’s possible that for some of us, love and a passport go hand in hand. To paraphrase Carrie Bradshaw (less eloquent than Mary Oliver, but sometimes just as insightful): “If…you only get one great love, travel may just be mine.”
bby at 5 am (particularly early since my poor roommate was up all night sick to her sto
Billed as the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, with three starred locations in the city, and more locations around Hong Kong and the world, Tim Ho Wan is famous for its baked barbecue pork buns, and as I type this, I am craving one desperately. 
I deeply love high tea, and this one was excellent. They sat me in a corner booth with views for days (views are everything in Hong Kong), and the tower was filled with treats: four kinds of cake, scones, and savory snacks and sandwiches. None of that cucumber and mayo nonsense either; think burrata and pesto instead. I feasted and alternated between staring out the window and spying on the ladies who lunch set.
truly do feel like you’re entering an ancient castle. We were instantly charmed. 
e started with scallops covered in flakes of black truffle, then had sea bass and tuna. The portions are relatively small, but the flavors are excellent. With dessert, we tried two of their signature cocktails. Our waiter served my whiskey-based drink in a teapot, and I was very. very. happy. 
Though Mostar was full of tourists, the country is in the early stages of tourism. You can still see some of the ruins from the war around town, and our guide was generally pessimistic about their recovery. I bought a few books to help me better understand, but I’m glad I was able to visit in person to gain some context. And I love these guided tours for solo travelers; it would have been difficult to replicate this experience on my own.
I started off with a visit to a small museum. Bremen houses the first museum dedicated to the work of a female painter, the 
I wandered back through the main square and snapped the obligatory pic of the Bremen Town Musicians statue. I kept wandering into the less pretty, but more functional, part of town, and since I had a little time to kill before dinner, I read on the grass for a while beneath the 
The Grimmwelt is a museum dedicated to the Brothers Grimm, and it’s nearly as magical as the stories. The building itself is lovely, as you can see, and they have exhibits set up from Z-A, many of which are interactive. In addition to seeing some old documents and household objects, you can talk to a magic mirror on the wall and walk through a forest of trees that whisper at you. 
and through a narrow walkway on the walls themselves for a rooftop-level view:
On Tuesday, I considered my options: I could take the funicular to the top of 
