"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -Einstein

(Riding past the Guadalupe Mountains) I was planning to write about learning to throw axes during my last trip to Toronto. About how it reminded me to get out of my head and flow in the moment. That the moment I started laughing, that's exactly what would happen and my throws became more accurate. I'll...

Cost/day Green Patch camp in Jervis bays Booderee National Park is cheap as Chips, there is nothing here that asks you to spend money, only the camping pitch which is around $30 to $40 a night. This is money well spent for a beautiful haven of wildlife, woodland and beaches. If you have yourself a...

I recently had the experience to travel by car from Czech Republic to Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and back. I was in the company of my fiance and his mother, the latter speaking only Czech, while I speak almost only English. Our situation had an interesting dynamic, but we had a lovely week camping, walking around...

My husband and I are not very good planners but we like it that way. Many times we are minutes away from checking out of one hotel and have not yet made a plan for our next one. It happens quite frequently in fact. Or, as is the case today, our Thai visa is days...

(Working on this article in Austin - Vintage Heart Cafe) My last couple of articles have been a bit higher-level ( How lessons I learned while traveling have helped me through family tragedy and Becoming a better person via the kindness of strangers ). Today, though, I've decided to post something much more tactical -...

"I just graduated from college." "We just bought a house." "We just had a kid." "My son just started middle school." "I just started a new job." "Now just isn't the right time." We've all heard it. Hell, we've all probably said it. When making any decision that will result in a drastic lifestyle change,...

Out there in the world of the Internet, there’s a community of people. Whatever your focus in life, you can find a twitter chat, blog post, Facebook page or Instagram feed to showcase your interests and connect with others who have a similar concentration. Today’s online world has pros and cons just like everything else....

Cost/day Airlie Beach is a small town but quite competitive from business to business. All camping pitches we tried were no more than $25 which is very affordable compared with other campsites around Australia, but all vary in quality. The same competition goes for the bars and taverns that run the main beach street. Every...

Cost/day: $30 What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? Probably the strangest thing one sees in Brasov is some of the food, at least if you're from a country like the US. Seeing stuffed pig stomach and intestine sitting next to smoked whole heads is just something you don't come across every day in many...

Cost/day: $60-75/day including nearly all organic meals, outdoor adventures and lodging for three people. A single person or even couple could probably get away with around half of that by eating at local restaurants or finding a way to cook some meals. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? I hesitate to call it strange,...

I can't believe it's been eleven years since Rolf's first book, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel was published. I remember picking up my first copy, thumbing through, and thinking, "This guy... this guy has nailed it." I wasn't a new traveler, having been raised by gypsy parents, but that...

Happy 2014 to all of you vagabonds! As the dawn of another year begins, we here at Vagablogging are seeking out new contributors to join our ranks, sharing our vagabonding wisdom with a growing worldwide community of long-term travelers. We're looking for dedicated weekly contributors to post on vagabonding-related topics of their choice -- from...

In the final entry in my series of posts on the subtle but interesting variations in how European cultures celebrate Christmas, I take a look at one of the finest places to spend the holiday season, England. It’s not just a beautiful country with a joyous approach to the holiday; it’s also the spot where...

It's once again winter holiday season, which means it's time to tout my books as stocking stuffers for the travel lovers on your Christmas list. Vagabonding makes a great holiday gift for: College or high school students nearing graduation. Twenty- and thirtysomethings who don't like their jobs, are currently between jobs, or are considering a...

The holiday season is upon us and on every side we're being encouraged to buy stuff and to give because the holidays are about giving. But what do you do if someone on your gift list is a traveler and, like me, lives out of his backpack. There's no sense in giving a bathrobe to...

In 1885, a young lady just 21 years old read an article titled “What Girls are Good For” in a Pittsburg newspaper. Her written response to the paper impressed the editor so much, that he offered her a job as a writer, with the pen name “Nellie Bly”. Nellie went on to prove that women...

Cost/day: $50 What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? All of Cappadocia! The Fairy Chimneys, the cave hotels, and underground cities made it seem like I was on another planet. It was weirdly beautiful and peaceful. Describe a typical day: We spent a lot of time wondering around, trying local food, browsing the open air...

Having just come back from another great trip, I’m reminded again of the richness of Europe and the gifts it keeps on giving to any traveler willing to seek them out. I went to France on assignment for three mid-size, nationally-distributed magazines, and set to work almost immediately. It’s amazing how profoundly engrossing traveling and...

Recently I was asked by a magazine to look at possibilities for a travel article. Specifically about some Western European locale that featured prominently in World War II, but hadn’t been covered too widely. Turns out it was not an easy task. While scouring my map of Western Europe looking for places that hadn't been...