Where Could I Go?
Unless something falls through, our house will be sold next week. I guess technically, I’ll be a little homeless while my wife and I wrap up details of the divorce and I prepare for what’s next.
I’m planning to put stuff in storage and rent some short-term apartment while I prepare to go on that writing trip I wrote about a little over a week ago.
I’m drawn to Eastern Europe and I hope that’s where I’ll end up. The first place I considered was Thailand, but Thailand is a hot place and I’m happier in cooler climates (but Thai food is so good!). After Thailand, I considered Estonia. Estonia is an intriguing place because it’s a country that cares about technology. It’s where Skype was created. As I drifted around the map, I started to really focus on Budapest, Hungary, and then a couple days ago, I learned about Dubrovnik, Croatia. If you don’t know about Dubrovnik, take a look at these images! My best friend in college was from Poland and he taught me how to say “She has nice face” and “She has nice breast” in Polish, so if I choose Polland, I have something to say when I get there.
Really, I don’t know where I should go and really I doubt it matters. Life isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey.
This is a trip about stretching myself and doing things outside of my comfort zone. I don’t particularly enjoy going to the grocery store alone. Staying in a hotel alone is even less fun. The idea of going to a different country without Luria’s partnership is the single most scary thing I can imagine and that’s exactly WHY I have to do it. Doing things that scare me tends to be worth it in the end because I grow. I want to grow. I also want to write. The main purpose of this trip is to write a book and I registered what I think is a great domain, awaytowrite.com. While I’m away, I will produce a show or maybe more than one that I will publish through Mevio.
If you know anyone in Eastern Europe who could answer questions, I’d appreciate an introduction. My email address is neal at geekbrief dot com.
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Neal, look for a FB friend request from me with some info.
What a great choice you have before you. Estonia has always fascinated me as well. Have you thought of Bulgaria? Great art and architecture.
How about Northern India?…out of the heat…as lovely as Switzerland. I’m looking at a Mercatur and there are so many fabulous places…Mali with such beautiful people. I once interpreted for a man from Madagascar who said the music there was so complex that we westerners were rarely able to follow it. Who wouldn’t want to hear that?
I was in Japan only for a short time but found it fascinating. Turkey has so much it would take years to begin to see it all. In the end, it doesn’t matter. I have never been to a country where there weren’t kind and interesting people and I’m sure if you go with an open heart and a willingness to listen more than you talk, you will find the same. Blessings on your journey.
Prague, cant go eastern europe without visit Prague, its beautiful. fc as you said Warsaw, and Bucarest.
Also not so east Germany and Switzerland are pretty cool too. Maybe not east but Italy and Grece are awesome.
Good look on that.
Hi Neal,
I love traveling. Due to my previous work at the UN and just because I love traveling I have been to 51 countries.
2 years ago I spent a month in New Zealand. This is the one I recommend to you
Check out some of my photos (it is not very up to date…)
http://norai.net
Neal,
I have been living in Germany for almost 20 years and was a professional tour guide for many of them. My speciality was Eastern Europe, so ask away. I would suggest Slovenia as a great place to hang out for a while. Everyone (almost) speaks English, the people are super nice, the prices are not too bad, it’s EU, and lovely. By the way, ask anyone who has traveled by themselves, you have to choose to be alone. You meet all kinds of people when you are alone, more than when you travel as a couple or group.
Are your two cutie dogs with a good loving home. Sydney and I forget the other one’s name. They are so cute. I will be following your adventure and wish you well. I do not travel just work at my desk but get to work at home.
The girls are going to stay with a good friend who loves dogs. They are the only reason I don’t want to do this, but I know they’ll be well cared for.
With going over seas and working on your book does this mean you’ll no longer be a part of GeekBrief?
Well, I guess now I understand why you didn’t respond to this question. I can’t believe there won’t be any more Geek Briefs!
I’m envisioning a male version of Eat, Pray, Love. That would be very cool! At any rate, you might want to follow the adventures of Micahel Straus at http://www.michaelstraus.org/ taking a trip of unknown adventure throughout Asia. I’m thinking your adventure might be slightly calmer and you might want to remind yourself of that every now and then! Godspeed!
You should check out Moldova.
Have you considered Ukraine? It’s the same region and if you’re planning to rent a car there are some beautiful places to go see there.
You could visit Kiev (culture, architecture) and the Black Sea coast (esp. Crimea). And if your interested in nuclear horror you could also make an excursion the Chernobyl.
I have thought about Ukraine! In fact, one day I was browsing around Ukrainian websites and some how, Google decided I spoke Ukrainian already and switched from English. Took me a while to figure out how to switching back.
You can come here in Romania in Bucharest, you can get a one bedroom apartment for about 200 euros in a nice (but not central) zone.
Here in Bucharest a lot of people know enough English to answer your questions and are a lot of supermarkets where you can go weekly and pay by credit or debit card and you don’t have to say a word you put your product in the cart, go to one of the many registers put your products on the conveyor belt show your credit card, enter your pin, sign, take your cart to a taxi and you go home.
Here’s a site where you can search for a apartment:
http://www.imopedia.ro/
If you want to live in a more quiet environment you can either get an apartment in Villa or a house (will cost more)outside Bucharest or look for a home to rent in a rural zone or in a small or medium town but there won’t be a lot of English speakers.
In Bucharest the smart way is to travel by subway but the subway doesn’t cover the entire city so you need to take the tram or bus or a minibus.
If you plan to rent in the northern part outside the city will cost more than in the south and only ways to travel is by minibus (more regular) or by regular bus (not so regular).
In the south part outside the city you can find an apartment in a recent (2006-2009) villa for less money and you’ll be closer the southern station of the subway and you’ll cut a lot of costs by traveling by subway and you’ll be in the center of the city in 30 minutes.
The subway stations are modern looking with a lot of LCD screens and have air conditioner so you won’t sweat in the summer and will be worm in the winter.