Author Archives: arleebug54

East and west – A last look at Lithuania

Posted on December 11, 2015 by arleebug54

The day I left Vilnius for Berlin, I took one last walk around the Old Town. As you can probably tell, this little burg has stolen my heart, and I hope to return before too long. This set of signs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The bravest person I know

Posted on December 6, 2015 by arleebug54

During my time in Batumi, Georgia, I met a number of strange and wonderful expats from a variety of countries, mostly young and full of piss and vinegar. I remember with great fondness one night listening to young Ukrainian and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

More adventures in Vilnius

Posted on December 4, 2015 by arleebug54

Okay, that last post on the Jews was a bit heavy, but as I just said to someone in an email, it demanded to be written before I could move on to anything else. I believe that these stories must … Continue reading →

Posted in Lithuania | Tagged | 1 Comment

Jews in Vilnius

Posted on December 3, 2015 by arleebug54

WARNING: THIS IS NOT A HAPPY OR FUNNY POST. IF THIS TOPIC DOES NOT INTEREST YOU, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ALONG TO ONE THAT MIGHT. As I travel about Eastern Europe, I spend a great deal of time paying my … Continue reading →

Posted in Lithuania, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Vilnius is “quirky,” said the NYT…

Posted on December 2, 2015 by arleebug54

…and of course that’s exactly the kind of thing to get my juices flowing. Ostensibly, the purpose of this trip to Lithuania is (ahem) research on the memoir I’m writing about Uncle Bob, but that photo will probably take 15 … Continue reading →

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Budget travel zones

Posted on December 1, 2015 by arleebug54

This trip, I’ve decided to see how low I can go – in terms of ticket prices and weight carried. These things are connected, but we’ll get to that in a minute. For this latest trip to Lithuania and Berlin … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel - planes, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Itchy feet

Posted on November 30, 2015 by arleebug54

It’s been a little quiet here in blogland for a while – a  busy fall in Maine with lots of time spent reading about and discussing current events and the political landscape at the moment. These topics could certainly fill … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The rise and fall of “Christian Europe”

Posted on September 7, 2015 by arleebug54

I first went to Hungary in August of 1992. It was a very hot summer; at the Olympics then being held in Barcelona, I remember seeing TV footage of horses and riders getting completely drenched by multiple hoses before heading … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Fond Farewells, aka “To Sir with Love”

Posted on September 6, 2015 by arleebug54

One of the few downsides to the teaching profession is the routine and inevitable conclusion of a term, usually an emotional and physical lump of dough filled with many too many things to do baked with too little sleep and … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching in Japan | Tagged , | 3 Comments

A trip to the sake brewery

Posted on September 2, 2015 by arleebug54

We are in the waning days of my time at IUJ. The temperature has dropped into the reasonable range, the trees are beginning to show bits of color, and the rice fields have morphed slowly from the verdant young green … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel - Japan | Tagged , | 4 Comments