a prologue of sorts.

you don't know the history between my friend Brian and me, but it's my turn.

i've visited him in the various places he's lived;
we've also taken short holidays together.

in recent memory we found ourselves near mt. hood, thoroughly unprepared for hiking in the snow.  in the end we decided to forgo the snowshoes, stick around the treeline, and ride inner tubes down the short snowy slopes of oregon ..

hiking, i can do; as for snow-tubing ..

this time is a little different .. an ocean's worth of difference.  being literate, dear reader, the title of this blog will leave little surprise for you.

this time, it's europe;
i'm cooling my heels in Helsinki, Brian's already in A'dam.

we're sticking west, but middle west: north of the mediterranean, south of scandinavia, in lands whose languages we've heard in school.  we're taking the train, too ..

the tentative plan.

.. and yes, i suppose it's odd that we're missing Paris entirely.  then again, both of us have the rest of our lives for the big ones, like London and Paris, München, Wien, Roma, and Istanbul.

i've left my 20's already, but i still like to think of myself as young .. so we're off to those places which could equally delight as cause regret.  let's head off to the places which are footnotes on histories and maps, like Lille and Reims.

maybe these will make good stories,
and maybe you'll enjoy reading them.