Author: melmalinowski

When time came to fly from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Moscow, the competitive leader was Aeroflot Russian airlines. I got a lot of kidding about how awful this would be. The reality was rather different. I flew on a new, Russian-made jet, quite comfortable, with an attentive, efficient crew, and even a sandwich and drink on…

I have come to Vilnius, Lithuania because my grandmother Anna Skinder was born here. I had not known of the long history of this prominent city of the Baltic area. One interesting thing I discovered: Vilnius has one of the fastest internet speeds available to the general public in the world. I asked a local…

My hosts in Bergamo insisted that I must visit the ‘high city’, the old section of Bergamo up on the hill surrounded by the city wall. It is one of the largest well-preserved city areas dating from the middle ages that I have seen. In this picture, you can see it in the middle distance.…

  On my way from St. Moritz to Bergamo, I passed by Lake Como. I took the ferry out to Bellagio, an old, traditional Italian town that has preserved much of its character. [vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1474561582237-9d88e52c-1124-1″ include=”2731,2733,2734,2730,2729,2727,2726,2725,2724,2723,2722,2721″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

I came to Chamonix to hike the Walker’s Haute Route, 116 miles from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. (Walker’s is not a name, it means ‘to walk’. There is a winter ski version of the Haute route also) The Haute route passes by some of the most noteworthy peaks in the European Alps, including Mont…