Tag: Travel Writing
-
Gimme Shelter
The sound ripples across the surface of the crowd, invading each ear as it moves. Waves pummel three small bones in the middle ear and ignite vibrations in the cochlea fluid. Ripples in the fluid kickstart 25,000 nerve endings, transferring the vibrations into electrical impulses and sending them to the brain via the auditory nerve.…
-
Bywater, New Orleans
The sun bears down on the morning like it has something to prove. The heat is heavy and moist and raises sweat from the pores. UV rays search for patches of exposed skin and torch them in minutes. Anywhere else, the temperature would be a real distraction. But here, pinched between St. Claude Avenue and…
-
Zen Camp, Poland
Along a winding dirt road in the Polish countryside rests a model Japanese village. Its wooden bridges connect manicured pathways, while its pools reflect images of clouds as they dance across the sky. A stream trickles below the bridges and feeds into the mouth of a man-made pond. Tadpoles wiggle their tails like rudders near…
-
Vilnius, Lithuania
When I thought about Lithuania, only a few images sprang to mind. I imagined rolling hills of greenery and rural settings. I imagined glimpses of forests where trees leaned against the edges of potato fields. I saw old women walking along the roadside, hunched at the back, tired from shouldering sacks of onions. When thinking…
-
Helsinki, Finland
Raindrops plunge into the Baltic Sea, fusing together like infants returning to their mother’s womb. They’re fast and audible as they plop against the surface and dissipate. Tonight, their brothers and sisters will cool with the evening and morph into snowflakes. They’ll drift through the air and coat the rooftops and city sidewalks in a…