Europe - More to come
Car Free Adventures In Europe
I have had a great interest in Europe for many years. My first trip to Europe was in the early 1980's. I had friends to visit, contacts in a lot of places, plenty of time and the exchange rate was the best in years for the dollar. Over a year in Europe, over a year and a half in African and returning to Europe for another year in Europe added up to nearly four years out of the US in the early to mid eighties.
Highlights were many but would have to include half a summer squatting in Amsterdam, visiting friends in south France, time with Yugoslavian friend in and near Beograd. Then several months with my best friend from college who was living and teaching in an English language school near Roma. That visit, along with an Italian woman I met in Innsbruck, Austria and would see more of, were the experiences that led me to my great appreciation for Italy at the present time.
That first year in Europe ended when I went to Africa and traveled overland from Kenya to South Africa by way of Lake Tanganyika and back to Kenya by way of Dar es salaam. I returned to Europe for over another year including a summer in West Berlin and a lot more time in Italy and much of a summer with a bike in Corsica and some bike riding in mainland Italy.
Fifteen years later in 1999, I returned to Europe with focus on Italy. This time I bought a bike soon after arriving with the intention of doing a lot of bike touring. That trip included bike riding on the Amalfi Coast, staying in Praiano a Mare, a small town on the Amalfi Coast for two weeks where I traded mural painting in a restaurant for a nice room overlooking the rocky beach and time for exploring the Amalfi Coast. I left the Amalfi Coast biking most of the way to Sicilia. I took a train in Sicilia to Avola, south of Catania and Syracusa where I had friends from the visit to Siciilia in the mid 1980's where I had painted my first wall mural.
I painted another mural for my friend I first met fifteen years earlier, made local friends and explored by bike that southeast area of Sicilia. Then, I biked part of the south coast of Sicilia, took a train to Palermo where I stayed for several days and then took a ferry to Cagliari, Sardegna and biked half way up the east side of Sardegna to Cala Gonone, a small sea side town a friend in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast suggested I visit. That was good advice. Again, I traded my mural painting skill for a place to stay and meals for a couple weeks, made friends with a small scuba diving business and traded more mural painting for scuba diving and another awesome place to stay.
By the time I made another visit to Europe in 2022, thanks to activist involvements in Eugene opposing the computer chip factory and helping to stop a sizable highway project, that biographical period described earlier in the Primer, I had gained a new interest in transportation and urban land use which lead quickly to an interest in pushing back on cars. So I became aware of various examples and efforts at car push back in Europe and I wanted to visit these places known to be bike friendly and other places known to be pushing back on cars. I had also gained an interest in a town in Sardegna which would be a primary destination later in the trip, simply as a travel destination.
I did visit that town in northwest Sardegna, Alghero. In the summer of 2023 I gained a strong affinity both for the town and the nearby geography of hills, coastline, nuraghi, peninsulas, sea cliffs, cork tree forests, winter weather and beaches. Most recently, the winter of 2024/25, I rented an apartment in Alghero for 3 months. During that time, did a lot of bike riding, worked on writing the Primer, made local friends and developed a deeper appreciation for this relationship with Alghero and northwest Sardegna.
Link HERE to read more about travels and Europe and to see foto galleries of visits to Europe since 2022 with focus on Italy, public places and pushing back on cars. That's three visits, 2022, summer; 2023, summer; 2024/25 over the winter.
The map below shows all travels to Europe except 2024/25. That visit was only near Bergamo and then three months in Alghero.
Car Free Adventures In Europe
I have had a great interest in Europe for many years. My first trip to Europe was in the early 1980's. I had friends to visit, contacts in a lot of places, plenty of time and the exchange rate was the best in years for the dollar. Over a year in Europe, over a year and a half in African and returning to Europe for another year in Europe added up to nearly four years out of the US in the early to mid eighties.
Highlights were many but would have to include half a summer squatting in Amsterdam, visiting friends in south France, time with Yugoslavian friend in and near Beograd. Then several months with my best friend from college who was living and teaching in an English language school near Roma. That visit, along with an Italian woman I met in Innsbruck, Austria and would see more of, were the experiences that led me to my great appreciation for Italy at the present time.
That first year in Europe ended when I went to Africa and traveled overland from Kenya to South Africa by way of Lake Tanganyika and back to Kenya by way of Dar es salaam. I returned to Europe for over another year including a summer in West Berlin and a lot more time in Italy and much of a summer with a bike in Corsica and some bike riding in mainland Italy.
Fifteen years later in 1999, I returned to Europe with focus on Italy. This time I bought a bike soon after arriving with the intention of doing a lot of bike touring. That trip included bike riding on the Amalfi Coast, staying in Praiano a Mare, a small town on the Amalfi Coast for two weeks where I traded mural painting in a restaurant for a nice room overlooking the rocky beach and time for exploring the Amalfi Coast. I left the Amalfi Coast biking most of the way to Sicilia. I took a train in Sicilia to Avola, south of Catania and Syracusa where I had friends from the visit to Siciilia in the mid 1980's where I had painted my first wall mural.
I painted another mural for my friend I first met fifteen years earlier, made local friends and explored by bike that southeast area of Sicilia. Then, I biked part of the south coast of Sicilia, took a train to Palermo where I stayed for several days and then took a ferry to Cagliari, Sardegna and biked half way up the east side of Sardegna to Cala Gonone, a small sea side town a friend in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast suggested I visit. That was good advice. Again, I traded my mural painting skill for a place to stay and meals for a couple weeks, made friends with a small scuba diving business and traded more mural painting for scuba diving and another awesome place to stay.
By the time I made another visit to Europe in 2022, thanks to activist involvements in Eugene opposing the computer chip factory and helping to stop a sizable highway project, that biographical period described earlier in the Primer, I had gained a new interest in transportation and urban land use which lead quickly to an interest in pushing back on cars. So I became aware of various examples and efforts at car push back in Europe and I wanted to visit these places known to be bike friendly and other places known to be pushing back on cars. I had also gained an interest in a town in Sardegna which would be a primary destination later in the trip, simply as a travel destination.
I did visit that town in northwest Sardegna, Alghero. In the summer of 2023 I gained a strong affinity both for the town and the nearby geography of hills, coastline, nuraghi, peninsulas, sea cliffs, cork tree forests, winter weather and beaches. Most recently, the winter of 2024/25, I rented an apartment in Alghero for 3 months. During that time, did a lot of bike riding, worked on writing the Primer, made local friends and developed a deeper appreciation for this relationship with Alghero and northwest Sardegna.
Link HERE to read more about travels and Europe and to see foto galleries of visits to Europe since 2022 with focus on Italy, public places and pushing back on cars. That's three visits, 2022, summer; 2023, summer; 2024/25 over the winter.
The map below shows all travels to Europe except 2024/25. That visit was only near Bergamo and then three months in Alghero.
