journey

The Eternal City in January offers a particular kind of solitude. Tourist crowds have temporarily receded, leaving space for a more contemplative engagement with Rome’s layered history. I’ve taken a small apartment in Trastevere for the month—my first extended stay in a single location after nearly two years of perpetual movement. Each morning, I cross […]

There’s a particular quality to Pisan light in December—crystalline, precise, carrying both warmth and chill simultaneously. Though my initial visit coincided with the tail end of literary events, I’ve found myself lingering in this city whose winter character offers a different kind of inspiration than its more famous summer persona. The tourist crowds have thinned

Inspiration rarely arrives through expected channels. I came to Warsaw with literary intentions but found myself instead immersed in the 67th Warsaw Autumn Festival (Warszawska Jesień)—Poland’s premier contemporary classical music event that transforms concert halls, churches, and unconventional spaces across the city into laboratories of sound exploration. The experience has proven unexpectedly nourishing for my

There is something about geological extremes that resets the human perspective. In the past month, I’ve found myself drawn to landscapes that speak of time’s immensity—first the ancient granite formations of Karelia in northwestern Russia, then the otherworldly limestone chambers of Damlatas Cave in Turkey. These contrasting environments—one vast and exposed, the other enclosed and

Cities reveal themselves differently after sunset. Budapest, already mesmerizing by day with its neo-Gothic parliament and art nouveau facades, transforms into something truly magical in the evening hours. For the past three nights, I’ve been attending performances at the Budapest Summer Festival, where the illuminated Chain Bridge and Buda Castle provide a backdrop so spectacular

Cities reveal themselves most honestly during moments of collective celebration. This past weekend, I discovered Belfast in precisely such a state of joyful self-expression during Culture Night—an annual September event that transforms the city’s streets into an expansive, democratic canvas for artistic expression of all forms. I stumbled upon this festival entirely by accident. Having

The Rijksmuseum’s halls were hushed despite the crowds. We moved slowly through the galleries, pilgrims paying homage to a master of light and silence. The Vermeer exhibition—the largest retrospective of his work ever assembled—has drawn visitors from across the world, all of us seeking something in these luminous, enigmatic canvases. What strikes me most about