Time flies...

Wow! 4 months!

It's hard to beleive that 4 months have already passed since Sarah and I returned from our trip around the world. That's over half the length of the trip itself. By comparison, in the same amount of time which has passed since we returned home, Sarah and I saw Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile, the Moai of Eastern Island, Tahiti, New Zealand, Tasmania, taken a motorcylce trip through Vietnam, saw Angkor Wat in Cambodia and been to India.

In comparison, it feels like we've barely done anything since we got back.

People say "time flies when you are having fun" but I don't know if that's necessarily true. Instead, I think time flies when you are going about a routine life. Time flies when you can wake up and sort of drift through it on autopilot. When you don't need to actively be considering where you are and what you are doing, that's when time flies. Or to quote another phrase, this one by John Lennon, "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans."

But, at the same time, it's not like Sarah and I have been just sort of drifting along with glazed over looks on our faces. In fact, for the most part the opposite has been true. The time since we've been back has been filled with activity: Moving into our new apartment, going back to work or job hunting, making wine, watching my borther and sister-in-law move to California, cooking Thanksgiving for my family, celebrating the holidays with Sarah's family in Texas, getting caught up on comics, movies, art and music, and on and on.

In fact, if anything, our schedules have been too busy.


Sarah and I just a couple of minutes after New Years 2008, a year older and -with any luck- a world wiser.

Also, to those of you out there in the Interweb, who might be considering doing a trip like this, but are affraid of loosing your job, I have something to tell you: Don't worry. Honestly. As someone who left his long term job, only to return and find a better job, at a more fullfilling company (on, in my case, Foundation), for even better pay than I was making when I left all I can say is that going on the trip might have been the best professional decision I ever made. Honestly.

(Though I will admit that it was a bit touch and go there for a bit when I got back.)

Finally, I'd like to end this with a final thought. The other day, I was looking through the photos from the trip, when a thought drifted through my mind:

"God, that seems like a lifetime ago."

And, as soon as it did, I stopped. I could hardly believe I thought it. But, in some regard, it was already true. That thought made me sad. Time flies.

The Complete Photos: Germany

And last but not least: Germany. Or, rather, Munich. We just had one day in Munich, but that was still enough time to take a tour and drink some beer! Then, we were headed home...

RTW: Germany

The Complete Photos: Hungary

...or, perhaps I should have titled this "The Complete Photos: Budapest," since that's all we saw of Hungary. Still, Budapest was the last little breather we had before we headed home. I remember being frustrated a lot because we couldn't find a place to stay, were running out of money, it was raining and we thought we had bedbugs... yet I still think fondly of Budapest.

RTW: Hungary

The Complete Photos: Romania

We were in Romania for only two nights, but we impressed with what we saw: Transylvania, "Dracula's Castle," Brasov. I'd definitely like to go back and explore all of Eastern Europe more someday.

Here's the 50 or so photos we took while we were there:

RTW: Romania

The Complete Photos: Bulgaria

Happy Birthday to me! It's crazy to think back to celebrating Sarah's Birthday on the other side of the planet, in Vietnam. And now, we are back to life as usual in Seattle. But, even if my Birthday can't be in an exotic locale, at least Sarah is helping me celebrate it in style: Last weekend she arranged for me to have a massage, and tonight she is taking me out for a nice dinner. Thank you, honey! I love you!

Anyhow, back to Eastern Europe. We took exactly 100 photos in Bulgaria. Of the Eastern European countries we visited, we probably saw the most of Bulgaria... but still, that only amounts to two cities. Still, I really enjoyed our quick visit and would be happy to have the opportunity to explore it more some day.

RTW: Bulgaria

The Complete Photos: Turkey

Sorry. It's been a couple of days since I last posted here. I've been fairly busy with Holiday stuff and job hunting. But, I also have some good news attached to that: I've found a job! I will begin my new job at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation next Monday. Luckily, I'm nearing the end of our travel photos, so hopefully I'll finish things up here before leaping into my next adventure... going back to work after a nine month vacation.

Anyhow, somehow we managed to take over 400 photos during the two weeks we were in Turkey. I know that a couple of things, like Istanbul's Hagia Sofia, really brought out both Sarah and mine's inner-shutterbug. So, while it's a lot of photos, I'm actually not to surprised.

RTW: Turkey

From here on out, the photo collections will probably get a lot smaller. Our final two weeks of our trip are divided over 4 countries... so sadly, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Germany will have fairly small collections. Stay tuned though!

The Complete Photos: Egypt

When people ask me about Egypt, occasionally, my response goes something like this: "You have to remember that Egypt has probably had tourism longer than any other country in the world. As a result, they've figured out how to work over tourists better than any other country."

That said, for each hassle we experienced in Egypt, we also got to experience one truly amazing thing after another: The pyramids, the Nile, Abu Simbal, Luxor, and on and on. See for yourself...

RTW: Egypt