When you abandon your armchair, you have two hands free – one for a map and one for your camera!
To inspire you, here are some images of a recent trip I took to Istanbul, Frankfurt, Rome, Casablanca, Lisbon, and Athens.
The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Bozdogan Kemeri (Aqueduct), Istanbul
Eminonu, Istanbul
Cruising the Bosphorus, Istanbul
Miniaturk, Istanbul
A model of the Fortress of Europe, Istanbul
The smallest mosque in the world lies in Miniaturk, Istanbul
The ancient Turkish city of Marmara: larger than (em, in) life
If you don’t eat your hotel’s continental breakfast, there are plenty of stray kittens in Istanbul who will!
The stunning Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Sultanahmet, Istanbul
Beyoglu, Istanbul
Looking out on the Bosphorus, Istanbul
Roemer Square, Frankfurt, Germany
More of gorgeous Roemer Square
Frankfurt, Germany. Does anyone know why there is Greek inscribed on the bridge??
Not something you see every day… in Frankfurt, Germany
Frankfurt Hbf (train station)
Foro Romano, Rome, Italy
Rome: This is what I look like with no makeup and too much alcohol. I have no idea who the woman is to the right
The Coliseum, Rome
Foro Romano, Rome
These Roman guys were too expensive to pose with, boo hoo
The Foro Romano
The Spanish Steps, Rome
The view from the Spanish Steps
The Imperial Fora, Rome
What Rome looks like in the morning when you’re really jet-lagged
The Piazza di Spagna, Rome
I have no idea what this is/was! (Rome)
A final shot of the wondrous Coliseum
Outside the medina in Casablanca, Morocco
Hassan II Mosque
Another view of the gorgeous mosque, right on the shores of the Atlantic
The urban scene in Casablanca, Morocco
People-watching in Casablanca
The beach scene, Casablanca
Suburban mosque, Casablanca
Closest thing you get to a boardwalk in Casablanca
Casablanca
The courtyard of Hassan II Mosque
Beautiful Casablanca
Casablanca
The beach scene, Casablanca
Downtown Casablanca
Another view of Hassan II Mosque
Mohammad V Airport, Casablanca
Aerial of Casablanca
Approaching Lisbon
The Golden Gate Bridge doppelganger: the Ponte 25 de Abril Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
The Monument to Discoveries, Lisbon
Baixa District, Lisbon
The Lisbon tram
Jeronimo Monastery, Lisbon
Torre Belem, Lisbon
Jeronimo Monastery, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon
Aerial of Lisbon
View of Athens, Greece from Filopappos Hill
You don’t really go to “the park” in Athens — you go to “the rock”
View of the Acropolis, Athens
Here I am after climbing to the top of Lykovittos Hill, Athens
The Roman Forum in Athens
Aerial of Athens
The Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
A final look at Athens and Lykovittos Hill
Here are some images of a recent trip I took to Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Croatia.
The Brandenburg Tor, Berlin
Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
Parliament Building in Warsaw
The Hard Rock Cafe next to the Palace of Science and Culture
The Hofburg Palace, Vienna
The Hundertwasserhaus residential living experiment in Vienna
Viennese fountain
The Charles Bridge, Prague
Prague skyline
Zagreb, Croatia
St. Mark’s Church, Zagreb, Croatia
The capital of Slovenia
Ljublana
Budapest
The Danube, Budapest
Hungarian Parliament in Budapest
Bratislava Castle, Slovakia
Here are some images of a recent trip I took to Russia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Sweden.
Cruising past the Kremlin on the Moscow River
Starbucks Coffee — a morning godsend in any language? (Moscow)
St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
The Kremlin, Moscow
Financial district, Moscow
How to ease anxiety over the language barrier? Learn the alphabet and the place names, and you’ll go far.
Novodevichiy Convent, Moscow
These port-o-potties might not go over so well in the U.S.
Soviet architecture, Moscow
Homage to the Soviet space program, VDNKh Exhibition Center, Moscow
Steller’s Sea Eagles, Moscow Zoo
The Siberian Wild Boar, Moscow
Tourist fun, St. Petersburg, Russia
Cruising along the Neva River, St. Petersburg, Russia
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
Church on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia
Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg, Russia
Smolnyy Convent, St. Petersburg, Russia
A final look at Russia: Red Square, Moscow
Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki, Finland
Why hug a tree when you can live under one? Helsinki, Finland
Vilnius Fortress, Lithuania
Vilnius Cathedral, Lithuania
A “Blow Me Babushka” band member on the streets of Riga, Latvia
The House of Cats, Riga, Latvia
One of many summer solstice decorations found around Riga, Latvia in June
It appears that after 23 years without Communism, the Latvians still haven’t quite figured out how to put together an effective advertisement
Outside the medieval walls of Tallinn, Estonia
Kadriorg Palace Gardens, Tallinn, Estonia
Flying over suburban Stockholm, Sweden
Grona Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
$75 buys… one night at this windowless hostel room in pricy Stockholm, Sweden!
Main harbor, Stockholm, Sweden
Local office worker taking in the rare 80-degree lunch hour sun
Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden
Adolf Fredriks Church, Stockholm, Sweden
Baby reindeer at Skansen, Stockholm, Sweden
Skansen Park, Stockholm, Sweden
Quintessential Stockholm, Sweden
In case you’re not sure, this isn’t Exit 2A… oh wait it is. Time to head home!
The Anxious Traveler 
Awesome photos here of the Russian architecture. It is so amazing! Thanks for posting. I found this very interesting!
You did a great job of shining the spotlight on parts of the world I am unfamiliar with. Perhaps we will need to add some of these destinations to our growing list of places we must see. Your photos are fantastic. – Mike
Love your photos and comments. Amazing architecture, some unusual sights. Thank you for sharing.
absolutely some of the best photos, from a ‘proper’ traveller! excellent. love it. such a good eye.
Some fab pictures! Travelling is the only way to go… and learn… and explore. Great that you chose to break the anxiety in this way.
Great stuff! Love the architecture! More places to add to my bucket list!
Thanks for the follow! 🙂
Seems like a great trip, series of. Love the house under the tree
Absolutely amazing pics its just so beautiful and tempting.
Thanks for sharing and follow as well.
Stunning photos, wow!!
Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing as I have not travelled to these destinations.
Beautiful photos. They make me want to pack my bags and go, but first I have some blogs to read. 🙂
Stunning, amazing, beautiful, thank you for sharing a part of your life with us on your blog. Clarabelle
And thank you for sharing your beautiful songs with us on your blog 🙂
Wow!! I think that just about sums it up 😉
Beautiful pictures just perfect. Many many thanks 🙂
Showed these shots to my son, not yet 7, bc we’ve been learning European geography and history this year. Yeah, I don’t know why the Greek hangs over a German bridge. And that woman looks like she does have makeup on and doesn’t seem overboozed.
lol.
Love the pictures, and many are familiar from my travels.. I thought though that it was too many pictures for one post and IMO each country deserved it’s own post and those pictures displayed. I especially liked the Turkey pictures, I desire so much to visit there again.
Beautiful vistas. Loved the charming kitty cat and the ferocious gladiator, too – although not too keen on him harming you. 🙂