Erika Bisbocci
Erika is an avid traveler and explorer of over ninety countries on six different continents. Since 2011, she has spent time studying Arabic in the Middle East, teaching English in Namibia and working as a flight attendant for a major US airline. When not traveling overseas, she loves exploring her own backyard in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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Traveling to Transistria: The Country that Doesn’t Exist
Ever heard of Transnistria? Before researching Moldova for my Eastern European course in university, I hadn’t either. And that may very well be because—according to the United Nations and every other government in the world—Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria is a country that doesn’t exist. Where (and What) is Transnistria? Transnistria is a little strip of land about 20km wide that fought fiercely for its independence from Moldova after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Though nobody takes it seriously, Transnistria remains adamant about its place in the world. The…
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Is This Still Europe? Visiting Chisinau, Moldova
Last Spring, I took a course called Ethnicity and Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe because I felt as though, despite my familiarity with the area as a tourist, I knew next to nothing about its history. In the course, we studied the ethnic makeup of the countries, their postwar histories and life before and after Communism. The class gave me an informative, sweeping history of the area that served as a reference point during much of my trip. The course also gave me the opportunity to study one particular…
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Painted Monasteries of Bucovina Romania
Bucovina offers a glimpse into pre-industrialized Europe. Situated in the upper righthand corner of Romania, the bucolic region is a place where natural and architectural treasures have yet to be discovered by mainstream tourists. In Bucovina, daily life hearkens to a simpler time. It is a land where horse carts rule the streets, where livestock roams freely, and where old couples sit in the shade, spitting sunflower seeds and watching daily life go by. Northeastern Romania is not only a romantic vision of the past, however. Concealed amongst its rolling…
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Travel in Transylvania Romania: Things to See and Do
Transylvania’s forested mountainsides and time-warped cities are forever embedded in the popular imagination. Even before arriving, most visitors can picture this fairytale land of haunted castles and fog-draped mountains. The region’s mere name conjures images of haunted stories, where Count Dracula emerges at night to suck on the blood of the innocent. But as mythical as it seems, Transylvania is a real place. Its castles are some of the most beautiful in Europe and its cities are off the beaten path gems. Though it lies smack in the middle of…
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The Wooden Churches of Maramures
We began our journey in Romania by flying into the tiny Cluj-Napoca airport and venturing into Maramures–a region that has been culturally and geographically cut off from the rest of the country by the Carpathian Mountains. It has also, somewhat surprisingly, been left out of most tourist itineraries. Undoubtedly, tourism in Maramures will pick up in the coming years, for the area has a wealth of cultural, natural and historical attractions. But for now, the area remains untouched and virtually unexplored. Traveling in Maramures was like stepping back in time. In this small…
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Playa Fronton
After our day trip to Playa Rincon, I was a bit afraid that the other beaches in Las Galeras would be slightly disappointing. Yet, Playa Fronton proved me wrong. Playa Fronton and Playa Rincon are like two sides of paradise. While the beauty of Rincon is characterized by the uninterrupted sections of white sand and clear blue waters, I found Fronton to be impressive in an entirely different way. There was something untamed about the beach that was awe-inspiring and majestic. Playa Fronton is even less well-known than Playa Rincon…
