Author: Joseph

  • Romania: The Mountains

    Among my more vivid memories of Romania are the mountains. I hiked in the Carpathian Alps, and marveled at the Transylvanian countryside. My heart, however, was claimed by the beautiful rolling hills of the Bukovina, or Moldavia, in the northeast of the country. Life was slower, absolutely focused on farming in the Bukovina. A hike…

  • Romania: Bucharest

    We spent almost a week on our own at the beginning of the trip in Bucharest. The city, in spite of being a bit ragged and rough at the edges after years of Soviet domination, is a city of wonders and beauty. Small Orthodox churches, never empty, are scattered around the city, even in the…

  • Norway

    Our sibling trip just before the arrival of COVID was to Norway. My sisters and I, one niece and one brother-in-law met in Bergen where we spent a few days enjoying the city. We then boarded a Hurtigruten ship (a very comfortable mailboat), that made stops all along the coast from Bergen to Kirkeness on…

  • Norway, Northern Lights

    My sister Abby took most of these photos. Just when we thought we were going to miss the aurora borealis completely we had several nights of magnificent sightings.

  • Sicily, 2019

    There was expected disorder at the Catania airport as we searched for our rental car, but after directions from five or six people, we claimed the car and set off for Ragusa, a delightful city perched atop a steep hill. Ragusa, Modica and Noto were among beautiful cities we explored on Sicily’s western coast. Noto,…

  • Malta

    It was good to be back in Malta. My first trip was in the early 1990s, when I was on my way to Tunisia. Much has changed, as the island is more prosperous and certainly far busier. My hotel had two exposures (each with a balcony) looking over the Grand Harbour, site of the 1565…

  • England, Ely

    Ely is a charming, small cathedral town atop its hill in the midst of largely now-drained fens. I had expected a hill more like Mont St Michel, but was pleased to find a knoll instead, especially as the train station was at the foot of the hill. The present cathedral is the third on the…