Joe Mabel: My travels

2001-2002, 2006

Romania

Romania 2001-2002: From November 2001 until late May 2002 (and again for a month in May 2006), I worked in Bucharest, Romania; I returned as a visitor for about ten days in December 2014. These are my letters home, slightly edited. This portion of my web site got a nice write-up in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentul Zilei (literally "The Events of the Day"), one of Romania's leading newspapers. Several Romanians have written to me to say that it is the best commentary on Bucharest by a foreigner that they have ever read, so I must have been doing something right. Enjoy!

Back in 2002 I tried to provide some useful information about visiting Bucharest, Romania. Other than museums etc., this is probably now of mainly historical interest.

1996

In 1996, I spent three months in Europe, roughly equally split among Barcelona, the rest of Spain, and Central Europe + Northern Italy. Most of the following derives from my letters home during those three months, although I have gone back and added a few stories from briefer visits since then.

Joe 
Mabel circa 1995

My journey begins

Overview (Europe '96)
Cybercafes (hopelessly outdated)
In Prospect (thoughts before the trip)
Madrid: An unplanned adventure

Extremadura

Caceres & Trujillo
(American) Marranos in Trujillo
Public Displays of Affection
Merida

Castilla

Segovia
Madrid: Okupa

Andalucía

Ronda
Cuevas de Pileta
Granada, Cruz de Mayo, and Rain

Barcelona

Go in Barcelona
Culture
A Quiet Day in Barcelona With Candide
Walking in Barcelona
Anarchism in Catalunya Today
People in Barcelona
Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona
A great Romanesque museum
From Mar to Montaña
Zoo Story

[Children in the Plaça del Sol (photo)]


Madrid again

More Madrid

[Safe Harbor (photo)]

Northern Italy

Cinque Terre
Florence
Bologna

Central Europe

Austria
A letter from Budapest
Budapest: In the Court of the Crimson King
Prague (vs. Budapest)
Prague: Palac Akropolis
Berlin
Berlin, Football, and German Nationalism


Paris

Paris

Barcelona one last time

Castellers: A Tall Story

...and Home

In Retrospect (thoughts after the trip)

[Paris street scene (sketch)]




All materials copyright © 1996, 2001, 2002 Joseph L. Mabel

All rights reserved.

"copyleft": With appropriate notification and appropriate credit, non-commercial reproduction is welcome: contact me if you have any desire to reproduce these materials in whole or in part.




Last modified: 23 February 2021

My e-mail address is jmabel@joemabel.com. Normally, I check this at least every 48 hours, more often during the working week.