Category: Uncategorized

  • A Flood of Toxic Red Sludge: The Hungarian Villages of Kolontár & Devecser 10 Years Later

    You may have seen the red trees of Hungary on one of those “these look fake, but are real!” image galleries; at least that’s how I first discovered the Ajka red flood that tore through the Hungarian countryside in 2010. The disaster received a ton of press due to the shockingly visible impact of the…

  • Hungary’s Floating Houses: Lake Bakodi

    Hungary’s Floating Houses: Lake Bakodi

    My very last Ashlyn Adventure in Hungary was a short trip to the floating houses on the human-created Lake Bokodi. Always at the top of my list of uniquely Hungarian sites-to-see, it was only fitting to stop by before moving to Germany. I recently finished High on the Hog (Netflix — WATCH IT) and was…

  • 2020 Year In Review: Favorite Coffee, Snacks, & Restaurants

    This year’s food-in-review will be slightly different from 2019–do we even remember dining out during pre-pandemic times–because of course it will. “Hmmm…”, I think as I go through pictures, “I won’t have too many from 2020.” 87+ photos later… Despite nearly a full year on some sort of lockdown (give or take a few weeks…

  • 2020 Year in Review: Favorite Books

    My all-time favorite pastime, reading was a little difficult to focus on last year, but thankfully I read a TON of great books that I’m excited to share here. I made an effort to read more fiction in 2020 and this list (I hope) is a reflection of my favorite fiction and non-fiction titles over…

  • A Celebration of African American Gymnasts

    Queens You Should Know, in this case, let’s celebrate the many great American gymnasts of African descent; these women have done so much for their country, teams, and sport. For this year’s Black History Month I wanted to highlight contributions made by African American women to gymnastics in the US. Black gymnasts often suffer from…

  • 2020 Year in Review: Favorite TV Shows

    Locked down with nothing to do except watch tv–reading and being productive were beyond my mental capacity for most of 2020–I, like most of us self-isolating at home, spent a lot of last year binging tv shows. I definitely appreciated the distraction great tv provided me from my usual activities of panic-checking Covid-19 numbers and…

  • 2020 Year in Review: AllThe[Travel]Things

    2020 Year in Review: AllThe[Travel]Things

    Oh 2020, the year that… was. There’s absolutely too many things to say about last year in one post (maybe ten blogs?) so I’ll be sticking to discussing allthetravelthings here. Like so many, 2020 was a year of uncertainty, growth, and change for me. In terms of travel, in a pre-pandemic time we essentially had…

  • Queen in the North: Tromsø (Romsa), Norway

    Queen in the North: Tromsø (Romsa), Norway

    Last winter Chris and I visited one of my dream locations–Tromsø, Norway. Chris previously traveled to Scandinavian cities above the Arctic Circle for work, but this was my first time experiencing a place so northern! My main goals for this trip included experiencing Sami culture (the indigenous people in this region), see the Northern Lights,…

  • The Palace of Versailles & a Defense of Marie Antoinette

    The Palace of Versailles & a Defense of Marie Antoinette

    At the top of my Dream Destinations list since I first saw Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette, I absolutely loved wandering through the Palace of Versailles. The French government allowed Coppola to film on location and I hoped one day to visit not just the Palace, but more importantly (for me) the grounds, and…

  • Kraków, Poland: Kazimierz (Former Jewish Quarter)

    Kraków, Poland: Kazimierz (Former Jewish Quarter)

    [You can read my Kraków Guide here.] Oh, Kazimierz. My favorite neighborhood in maybe all of Europe? The former Jewish Quarter is unique, fun, and has a blend of new shops and historic sites. I love this quirky district and discover something new every time I visit. Located south of Old Town and north of…