An Atlas Obscura Walk in Chicago

Guide books often funnel people to over-loved places. Atlas Obscura, “the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders,” is a good resource to locate uncrowded, off-beat places to spice up a walk. The information is crowd-sourced, so it needs to be treated with caution. For example, a “machine gun nest” near our home is simply… Continue reading An Atlas Obscura Walk in Chicago

The Time I Sneaked onto a Night Train from Communist East Berlin to Prague

August 1972. My brother and I stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin. We had just arrived from London on our first flight ever. The flight was cheap by 1972 standards: just £14. In 2018 pounds that’s £181 (US$230), a lot of money for us: I was an undergraduate, and my brother… Continue reading The Time I Sneaked onto a Night Train from Communist East Berlin to Prague