europe travelogue 2003-2006

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Posted in Traveling at 7:46 pm by Administrator

My friends have commented more than once, that I seem rather preoccupied with things like anniversaries, lengths of time in general, destinations, itineraries, maps, and even random to-do and have-done lists. I suppose there is meaning for me in location and duration. I find myself frequently keeping records of where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, or plans for the future.

July 17, 2006 marked 3 years to the day that I left Seattle. Anyone who knew me then, knows that I had spent the better part of my twenties struggling and developing (through my various concepts and communities), trying to learn how to manage my life and more importantly, to enjoy it.

I hope these last three years have somehow been the result, or even the reward, of all that work but I in all honesty I’ll never really know what is responsible for it. But somewhere I have discovered, at least partially, the power to just live, quite freely in fact, a much more external rather than internal existence. And while of course that doesn’t mean I don’t have my assorted crises, I consider it a miracle to have had this chance.

For those of you who are not quite sure what I’ve been doing for the last 3 years, here’s a little list that basically sums it up:

• Teaching English (and learning it)
• Travelling
• Learning German and bits of other languages
• Studying (primarily) European history and absorbing its culture(s)
• Meeting a very odd mix of people

So in honor of this preoccupation with lists and places etc, and to mark the 3 years, I’ve compiled a summary of my travels. While there are a million stories attached with all these names and dates, I have decided here just to list them. It traces my English Teaching certificate training in Prague, to the teaching contracts I’ve had in Bosnia, Kosovo, Poland, and Germany, with all the smaller trips that I’ve made in between.

The list is actually a very precise record of everywhere I’ve been in the last 3 years. The boldfaced listings are places that I stayed for longer than a visit, either to teach or get taught, and I have listed trips within those longer stays underneath the boldface. And since March of 2004 I have been living in Berlin, taking trips when I can, between teaching English classes, and taking German ones (Ich liebe Deutsch!).

July 17, 2003 Flight from Seattle, WA, USA

July 17-22, 2003 New York, USA

July 23-26, 2003 London, England

July 26-31, 2003 Barcelona, Spain

July 31 – September 10, 2003 Prague, Czech Republic (Teaching Certification Course)

September 16, 2003 Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

September 2-7, 2003 Harrachov, Czech Republic

September 10-22, 2003 Brataslava, Slovakia Budapest, Hungary Podgorica, Montenegro Budva and Kotor, Montenegro Dubrovnik, Croatia Sarajevo, Bosnia

September 22 – October 30, 2003 Tuzla, Bosnia (Teaching Contract)

October 17-19, 2003 Mostar, Bosnia

October 30 – November 9 Zagreb, Croatia Budapest, Hungary Cluj-Naboca, Transylvania, Romania Sighisuora, Transylvania, Romania Bucharest, Romania Sofia, Bulgaria Skopje, Macedonia

November 9- December 18, 2003 Pristina, Kosovo (Teaching Contract)

November 14-18 Thessalonika, Greece Athens, Greece

November 27-30 Belgrade, Serbia Novi Sad, Serbia

December 18-January 4, 2004 Sarajevo, Bosnia Maribor, Slovenia (to be honest, bathroom break) Vienna, Austria Graz, Austria London, UK Prague, Czech Republic Berlin, Germany

January 4 – March 7, 2004 Brodnica, Poland (Contract)

January 10 Torun, Poland

January 17-19 Warsaw, Poland

January 24-26 Poznan, Poland February 6-8 Berlin, Germany

February 14-15 Torun, Poland

February 21-23 Poznan, Poland

February 28-29 Gdansk, Poland (Danzig) Sopot, Poland

March 7, 2004 – Present Berlin, Germany (Teaching Contracts)

March 17-24, 2004 Malaga, Spain Algecires, Spain Tangier, Morocco Marrakesh, Morocco Essouarria, Morocco

April 8-13, 2004 Viersen, Germany Liege, Belgium Aachen, Germany Dusseldorf, Germany

May 20, 2004 Dresden, Germany

June 4-6, 2004 Prague, CZ

July 9-11, 2004 Kopenhagen, Denmark

July 18-24 London, UK Cardiff, Wales, UK Tredegar, Wales, UK Merthyr Tidfyl, Wales, UK

September 24-26 Prague, CZ

November 4-8 Rome, Italy

December 9, 2004 – January 8, 2005 Seattle, WA, USA Toppenish, WA, USA Salt Lake City, UT, USA London, UK

February 2-6, 2005 Venice, Italy

March 18-20, 2005 Leipzig,

Germany April 22-24, 2005 Zurich, Switzerland

May ?, 2005 Szczecin, Poland (Stettin)

May 12-16, 2005 Zittau, Germany Goerlitz, Germany Gorszalacz, Poland Liberec, Czech Republic

May 26-29, 2005 Barcelona, Spain

June 3-4, 2005 Prague, CZ

August 21-September 4, 2005 Riga, Latvia St. Petersburg, Russia Moscow, Russia Vilnius, Lithuania

September 23-30, 2005 Naples, Italy Island of Ischia, Italy Senise, Basilicata region, Italy Lipari Islands, Sicily Messina, Sicily

September 30 – October 2 Zittau, Germany

December 23 – 30, 2005 Manchester, England Lancashire, England London, England Brighton, England

February 24, 2006 Neuruppin, Germany

May 5 – 8, 2006 Amsterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands Den Haag, Netherlands Leiden, Netherlands Haarlem, Netherlands

May 19 – 22 Liverpool, England Lancaster, England

June 8 – 11 Budapest, Hungary Regular trips Potsdam, Fuerstenwalde, Demmin, (Germany)

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Planned trips 2006 August 2 – 6 Prague, Czech Republic Harrachov, Czech Republic

October 25 – November 14 Delhi, India Agra, India Pushkar, India Varanasi (Banares), India

November 14 – 16 Istanbul, Turkey

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Future plans

2007 Move to Spain? Move to Buenos Aires, Argentina? Look for a graduate program in history/education?

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