As if taunting me that my days here are numbered, I find myself alone on the train today, for the first time since I got to Holland last year. My sister never lets me “go astray” at any time during my stay here, maybe trying to be the mother bear that she is. This entire […]

We spent most of Christmas day on the road. We traveled from 12 noon to 9 in the evening, with three stops in between, from Austria to Switzerland. Our gas-station-stop-overs had the best view of the Alps. During the entire trip, we were surrounded by icy ranges of mountain after mountain. Endless. Even the succeeding tunnels, […]

I didn’t realise that my 50th day in Europe would be the day before Christmas. I think this was the best Christmas eve celebration I’ve ever witnessed. We were two hours early in the queue. The eve mass was starting at 2330; we were there at 2100 waiting for the gates of the Salzburg Cathedral […]

Not only did we set out to see Europe in a short time, but also to travel on a shoestring. We found ourselves in Salzburg — home to Mozart and the “Sound of Music” and both needed to be experienced. First, we dealt with the latter. No, we did not join a guided tour like […]

Day 1 Today started my road trip of a lifetime. We plan to cross five borders in 10 days. I’ve once done a seven-city trip in 12 days around the Philippines. Now, we’re doing five countries in a little over a week. Let’s see how things work out. The eight of us — my sister, […]