by Jan Burak Schwert
“Sarajevo is ready for tourists,†read the article in the London Times. Pictures of red roofs and snow-capped mountains leapt off the page. Bosnia had emerged from the 1990’s war and rebuilt its infrastructure, but tourists had yet to discover the country. It was time to visit.
Flying from Italy to Sarajevo, I [...]
by Jan Burak Schwert
Ron and I had just arrived in Prague and needed a room for the night. We parked our car and walked for more than an hour, looking for a vacancy.
Rain pelted the sidewalk and it was getting dark, but my husband and I kept moving. We found ourselves on a street lined [...]
by Patricia Dreyfus
We were hanging on to the roll bar of the open Land Rover, as the driver careened down the dirt track, through the thick overhanging trees. Early that morning we crossed the Rapti River which is the boundary of Chitwan National Park in Nepal. We were holding a pass that allowed us to [...]
by Patricia Page
Growing up, I believed my missionary grandparents had been eaten by cannibals. That was one story. Another was that my grandmother had been buried in the middle of the Fijian jungle in a hollowed-out tree trunk. That didn’t quite jibe with having been eaten but was a more appealing image. I’d also heard [...]
By John Dalton
My son Chris thinks I should stop roaring down fire trails on my mountain bike. He hasn’t told me this directly - he uses his mother, my wife Marilyn, as an intermediary, knowing full well I’ll get the word. I have, and I’m unconvinced – even though I’m 67 years old.
Through the years [...]
By Jan Burak Schwert
An encounter with a stranger in a small Umbrian town helped me understand the depth of a country’s grief.
Even in medieval Trevi, I wanted to check my email.
“Intairnet?†I asked, arms outstretched, typing in the air. Several people pointed to the north edge of the village, but I couldn’t find an [...]
By Jan Burak Schwert
I’ve always been a Willie Nelson fan. So the first time I traveled to Texas, I headed straight for Austin and Willie’s hangout, the Broken Spoke. When he didn’t show up, I had to settle for some old black and white photos on the wall.
I drove to San Antonio for a conference [...]
by William Raney
Central Coast, British Columbia
6:15 AM:
I roll over. Speck of light. Time to get going. Today’s the day we cross Queen Charlotte Sound. I flip on the diesel heater and ease myself out of bed. They say you don’t need so much sleep when you are old, but if [...]
by Jan Burak Schwert
A man walked in, and my jaw hit the floor. I’d never seen the man before. It was my husband.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
My husband Ron and I had traveled to Konstanz, Germany in search of his ancestors. The city, on the banks of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) [...]
by U. Joy WoodersonForget sky-diving. Forget hiking the Himalayas. This senior woman had one adventure goal in mind—riding the waves of my beloved Indian Ocean once again.
On a blustery October day in Missouri, I carefully folded my swimsuit into the suitcase in anticipation of my return to my homeland, South Africa, and the beaches of [...]
