Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to see the Carnival Cavalcade in Diekirch, Luxembourg. This was such a fun and unique experience. There are about 100 photos in today’s post, so this will be a long one. Getting there I started my day by accidentally sleeping until noon. Thanks, rolladen and jet lag! I sprang from bed, got dressed as quickly as possible and grabbed my things, before running out to catch the train. We’re a little outside town, so I have to take a bus to the train station. There was, unfortunately, only 5 minutes to get from the bus to the train, once I got to the central station,…
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Saint Petersburg and the Ballet
Morning time After a late night, I barely dragged myself out of bed in time to get dressed and have breakfast before the tour guide arrived. The weather has been warmer, so at least my layering routine is slightly more brief. Though my level of exhaustion is making me just forgetful and I put my socks on before my tights and put my camera in my coat pocket, then move it to my backpack, then panic when I can’t find it. It takes a lot of effort to just get myself together. Yusupov Palace I met with the tour guide and we walked half an hour to Yusupov Palace. We…
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Train Life
Tales from the Rails A roommate Just before the train departed, another person joined my room. An older guy, traveling for work. He introduced himself and immediately he was kind of a jerk. After exchanging names and where are you from, I don’t really possess enough Russian to have deep philosophical conversations. At which point he begins speaking English with me, asking why I am traveling alone. And how can you travel alone when you can’t even speak the language. Ok, condescending jerk. We don’t generally expect tourists to be fluent in every language of every country they visit. I have done just fine until now and I don’t like…
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Final Day in Mongolia
Breakfast and walk Unable to sleep, yet again, I awoke around 5 a.m. I showered and readied myself for the day. Today is again the coldest day so far this trip, at -26C, so I finally break out the snow pants that I’ve been itching to wear. They don’t fit well: they’re made of a waterproof outer layer that doesn’t stretch at all, squishes my trunk flat…now I don’t know what I’m going to do with all that junk. And they make crinkly noises when I walk, but they are made for this exact purpose. I went downstairs for breakfast and I’m not sure there are any other guests in…
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A Day in Mongolia
An Early Start The fire in the wood stove goes out overnight, so they come to your room at 6 a.m. and light a new fire so that when you wake up, it’s warm enough to get dressed. There was a large stack of firewood in the room, so I made sure to add a few extra before bed, and then slept so well. It’s so quiet here. The animal print blankets they left me with were awesome, very warm. So I had no problem staying warm. I woke up at 5, with my nose quite chilly. There were still plenty of embers in the fireplace, so I tossed in…
