In which Zach heads south in Ramadan 2010 to visit ancient Karak Castle, a crusader fortress perched on a mountain. Despite the heat and the need for water-drinking secrecy, it was an excellent and educational trip

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In which Zach ventures “across the river” for the second time to visit the famous city of Nazareth, Jesus’ childhood home. Although not packed with places to visit, the schwarma sandwiches were delicious and the new companions he met were superb.

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First, I have to say shame on you Vienna for not offering the ‘City Name’ Card the same way that Innsbruck and Salzburg do. Although I’ve enjoyed my time in the city and the weather has been at Jordan-levels of lovely, it’s been a lot more difficult for me to see things [...]

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In which Zach makes his way east from Salzburg to the heart of the Austrian Alps, makes a new friend, and goes mountain climbing up a frozen snow-filled stream.

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It’s bedraggled and after two days already seems like the stiffness is going out of its joints. But for only 7€ to defend me from the nonstop downpour thar has been coming down in the beautiful Austrian city of Salzburg, it was worth it. The silhouette of Mozart emblazoned on the side is a cute [...]

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I’m really starting to wish I had brought my laptop with me. There’s a definite dearth of open wifi access points in the buildings we’ve been staying in thus far rendering my iPod touch moot. I thought I could get by with just borrowing my friends’ laptops but since there’s no wifi in the housing [...]

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