Leaving a Mark

Seeing great artwork has always inspired artists to create new pieces. In my case, that involved rubbing a crab (the drawing a blatant ripoff from a seafood restaurant I visited one time as a child) into the lush orange shag carpet hanging in the Tate Modern. That piece, Untitled (1993) by Rudolf Stingel, was created …

Northern Charm

While I wasn't one of those five-year-olds with an entire train-themed bedroom, I did look forward to seeing the National Railway Museum in York, England for months (perhaps had I read more history the "Richard III Experience" would have possessed the same draw...). It didn't disappoint - I spent the entire day gawking at huge …

Slovakia is Doomed

A fully equipped knight, helmeted and carrying a rather large sword, stepped off my Budapest-bound train as soon as it reached Slovakia. I don't know his intentions but I can say that he boarded the train from some random station in Czechia (Aside: I think the 'Czech Republic' was a much better name) in the …

Making French Girls Laugh / Pretzels

I didn't think I was asleep as my train to Munich was passing through the Slovenian countryside until I woke myself up with a loud, singular, goose-like 'HONK'. I wasn't the only person who heard it either—I noticed a really pretty French girl* my age a few rows down start giggling and whispering to her …

Easily Bought Off

I was in a pretty bad mood standing in the sun during my transfer at Aversa. Not only was my train to Pisa late, but the bathrooms were locked and there was no café open (To be fair, it was a Sunday. Still, it meant that I wasn't going to have dinner that night...). An …

Enjoying Trains Too Much

Somehow, I managed to wake up for the tour I booked of the DMZ. It feels like some sort of surreal movie set when you stroll around the sites. You walk in a crouched position through Tunnel Number 3 and the shiny granite (partially covered in coal-colored paint in a lame attempt by the North …

Places to Take Kids in Central Japan

When shrines and temples start looking the same, it might mean that they actually do look pretty similar. I'd like to think that I was just getting a little tired of them, though. Thus, going to the JR Railway Museum last Monday, in the less-than-famous Saitama City, seemed to be a good respite. I ended …