September 6 to December 6. Three months was a long time. Felt longer than I expected. Covered a lot of ground. It was a great exploration of the world and of myself. Below, is one photograph for each place I visited. Many of these I did not write about (yet). Too busy experiencing. (Also, some may note I am posting this one month later!)

Helsinki

A tiny perfect island household in Helsinki Harbor as seen from the ferry to Suomenlinna.

Suomenlinna

The Helsinki Card included free ferry journeys out to this fortress island. I went twice! This image through a ruined fort window is from when I spent a whole day. But I went back again the next day just for a round-trip ride through the bay. All travel is improved by a boat ride–or two, or three, or four, or more.

Tallinn

Tallinna Linnahall was the antidote to the sometimes over restored and too cute old town. I want to come back here on a dark and snowy winter afternoon. More from Tallinn.

Riga

Each small country I passed through of course had its own complete suite of national institutions: theater, ballet, opera, etc. There was quite a lot of what looked like very interesting theater everywhere. The National Library of Latvia was an amazing visit at the end of a day wandering to some off-the-beaten-path art galleries and down by the water.

Vilnius

The good weather and the beautiful autumn afternoon light continued in Lithuania.

Warsaw

The Neon Museum was just one awesome sight in Praga. The rough and raggedy old district is still just barely visible under the new layers of gentrification. Exploring a couple of afternoons and evenings was perfect and I could imagine these rescued neons everywhere.

Treblinka

About Treblinka previously.

Budapest

Found Tommy Ramone’s childhood home along with many other things in Budapest.

Szentendre

Relaxing day trip by boat–of course–up the Danube to Szentendre.

Belgrade

I spent at least part of every afternoon and evening at the Kalemegdan in Belgrade.

Bar

Just a very short visit to Bar, Montenegro at the end of the second best train journey. Dipped my toes in the Adriatic, hiked up the hills, and visited the old fort of Stari Bar. I think that is the Church of St. John the Baptist through the gate.

Kotor

Ominous.

Tirana

Stayed in an apartment a little away from the center in a typical residential neighborhood. Good for a walk in the evenings.

Skopje

More about the Skopje Central Post Office.

Veles

Spent a wonderful day and had a good train adventure to and from Veles including a long walk out to Memorial Ossuary–Tomb to the Heroes of WWII.

Sofia

The Sofia tram network is absolutely amazing. I could go back and just ride all the lines all day, every day. This one passed through a huge park on its way out towards the Russian Embassy.

Plovdiv

After a quick chat with fellow travelers in Skopje, I added a side trip from Sofia to see the Roman ruins in Plovdiv. Just sitting in the theater late in the afternoon with a good book was perfect.

Bucharest I

After a serious error in hotel selection, I found myself in much better digs upstairs from Poor Old Yaki’s favorite restaurant (from the Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning.)

Chisinau

Chisinau turned out to be perhaps the most surprising city on my travels. Relaxing, beautiful parks, excellent food, culture, and some of the friendliest people I met. I spent the afternoons of both the first and last Sundays of my visit local style–walking and sitting by the shores of Lake Valea Morilor–enjoying the gorgeous light, people watching, cafes, and a good book.

Bucharest II

From the second night of protests against Călin Georgescu. I chose an interesting time to visit Romania.

Brasov

Wandering by the river under the city wall. This turned out to be the end of Sabbatical Part II–a little earlier than planned–but Transylvania, I will be back!

Tokyo

Back home to one of my favorite spots in Tokyo, TOP Museum in Ebisu.