I was in Ukraine in 2013 during my first big backpacking and hitchhiking trip and in 2021 when I returned as a digital nomad. The first time, I entered overland from Slovakia to Uzhgorod, visited Lviv, Kyiv, then took marshrutkas and eventually switched to hitchhiking to go to Simferopol, Yalta, and a short stop in Sevastopol before hitchhiking out of Crimea to Odesa. This was all before the war and before Crimea came under Russian control. The second time, ahem now, is in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. Jonas and I flew from Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Kyiv in Ukraine. It was Jonas' first time in Ukraine and we intend to stay here the full 90 days that our entry stamps allow. Because it was my second visit, I knew much better all the things I wanted to do in this country than before. Though I'm currently in this country, there are some things I won't be able to do on… Read more >

When I'm not talking to people or sleeping, I'm most likely reading a book in a park. If the weather allows that. Here's an incomplete list of books I've enjoyed while on the road. Dreams from the Endz by Faïza Guène While staying in Belgrade for one week during the Danube kayak trip in 2024, we had an Airbnb with a magnificent book shelf. I knew I wanted to pick one book to read out of this abundance of choice. I settled on this translated novel (original title: Du rêve pour les oufs) since it's about the immigrant experience from Algeria to France and the precariousness of living in Europe without permanent status; a topic I feel I haven't engaged enough with. To me, immigration is the original form of travel. This book was a wonderful read about the dual belonging voiced by Ahlème, a young done-with-your-shit woman who has too many challenges on her plate. Also, Algeria is a… Read more >