Push the Panic Button My heart sank into my stomach as I walked towards the man at the desk in uniform. Why was he stamping passports? Would he stamp mine? But I wasn’t leaving the EU! Ker-PLUNK went the stamper. Usually a joyous sound for my ears, but the opposite this time. Inside I shrieked…
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The San Marino Situation San Marino taunted me from the map each time my eyes scanned over Europe. I’d been to Italy at least five times and each visit I’d neglected to see her. I think back to 2005, long before I got the travel bug, when I was “stuck” in Italy for days, wanting…
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Ferry Tales Half the fun was getting there. I suppose for residents of Finland and Estonia–and a few other places, like Gibraltar, Hong Kong, etc.–traveling to a completely different country via ferry is just everyday life. But for an American like me, this is a big deal. I’ve crossed a gazillion borders via bus, train…
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Amateur Hour on The Ramblin’ Randy Show 152 countries in and yet I still continue to make the amateur mistake of taking cab rides without first asking/confirming “how much.” To my credit, I actually almost always ask the cost first—95% of the time—but this was one of those rare instances when I didn’t. After all,…
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Extreme Layover I would’ve booked a longer stay in Riga, however at the time (October 2020), Latvia was the country on my itinerary with the strictest entry requirements, shutting out even many of its European neighbors. I figured if I’d get any hassle trying to enter the country, that officials might be a little more…
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Red Rover Red Rover, Can Randy Come Over? Usually the tickle in my tummy on the airplane comes from turbulence and/or a slight fear of flying (who would’ve imagined, right?) But this nervous feeling was from something totally different. As we touched down in Vilnius, Lithuania, I was the fifth passenger off. The anxiety increased…
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Last Stop: Liechtenstein Liechtenstein was the last stop (before heading home through Zurich) on my July 2020 European trip, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. Thankfully, the trip had worked out so well. I was so afraid of being turned back at each new border I timidly approached, but I’d successfully entered and…
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Road Trip! July 2020 was a tough time for any American to be traveling through Europe. For all intents and purposes, Americans couldn’t travel to Europe. And while the EU had opened its borders on July 1st, you were not permitted to enter on an American passport. Luckily, I’d been graciously given an “exception” by…
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