David S. Demarest

Bridging cultural divides with a camera.  Offer to
take someone’s photo with their camera, and all
of a sudden, you are best friends!

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Two days ago I said I wasn’t planning on posting, but here I am anyway!
We arrived in Greece yesterday, opting to take the Metro into the city. What a fantastic system! It is clean, secure, fast, and moves a really large number of people. Forty minutes from the airport for Euro 6 [...]

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It seems nowadays all one has to do is make a plan - and something will arise to get in the way.  Problems at work, sickness, family issues, parent’s health - the list goes on.  But who expects a volcano!
This past weekend was one of discussion, indecision, and eventually, decision.  We watched the news of [...]

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Two years ago next month I embarked on my journey around the world.  As those of you who have followed by blog know, it was an intense four weeks that took me to China, Thailand, India, Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria.  With time to reflect, and in trying to explain my trip to others - [...]

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Recently I received a posting from a friend, peer, and past Windermere manager.  His message reminded me that I had failed to update my story as presented on this blog, and that it was time to do so as much has changed since my last posting.
As you may recall, I returned to work as manager [...]

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My break from work of three months - one might call it a sabbatical - is about to end.  Today I return to work.
In late May, after returning home from overseas, I promised to write some closing words on my travels.  To facilitate doing so, I would like to start first with some specific comments [...]

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More than a few days have passed since my last post, and many more miles have been covered!  Those miles include, of course, the flight home on Monday from Vienna (12 hours in the air and a nine hour time change).  But those miles also include travel by train from Ljubljana in Slovenia to Salzburg [...]

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Go ahead, try saying the name of this capital city of Slovenia five times fast!
Flew to Zagreb yesterday with no problem, took the bus from the airport to the bus station, walked to the train station, got a ticket to the capital of Slovenia - and somehow missed the train even though I was sitting [...]

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Today I leave for Zagreb, after a very pleasant stay in the Old Town of Dubrovnik.   Comfortable lodging, good food, some wine and beer, history, people watching, music in the evenings, and the ocean.  What more could one ask for in a place to visit?
Took a passenger ferry south to Cavtat for the day yesterday.  [...]

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I have covered a lot of ground since my last posting in Sarajevo.  I took the bus from Sarajevo to Mostar, about a three hour trip.  The countryside was beautiful - high mountain, rivers, lakes, and sadly - lots of bombed out structures and cemetaries.  In looking at the gravestones anywhere I have stopped, there [...]

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