Samarkand

When someone asks me to name an exotic place, I name Samarkand. Just the name of the city delivers images of times past--the Soviet Era, the height of the Silk Road, the Turkic nomads, Genghis Khan, and the majesty of the Islamic influence. The city is literally at the crossroads of so many different civilizations--the Persians, the Indians, the Chinese, the Turks, and the Russians.

I first came across this city when reading about Marco Polo's travels. When I became interested in Islam, I read about the significance of Samarkand. And now I'm reading about the history of the Turks and images of Samarkand enter my mind again. After being to both Istanbul and the Astrakhan in 2007, I can kind of guess how it might be there. I've met a few Uzbeks while I taught in Russia, but I never asked them about Samarkand. All I know is that it was pretty rough living there. I wonder if the standard of living is better than it was 10 years ago.

Neuschwanstein

My father had a poster of this German castle in my childhood home. It fit my image of what a castle should look like. As I got older, I discovered that not many other castles look like this. It was something like out of a fairy tale, and that was exactly the intention of the "Swan King" Ludwig II who ordered it built.

In high school, I had a fascination with all things German and I would often dream of visiting and even living in this castle. My fascination with German ended quickly and so did my dreams of Schloss Neuschwanstein. What ended those dreams was finding out that the castle is relatively new compared to most European castles. No king really resided there and was never part of the Middle Ages or the Renaissance.

But still I would like to visit this castle and the Alpine region of Bavaria where it is home. Germany has always been a destination for me, but the closest I got was waiting in a departure gate in Frankfurt twice with flights between Russia and the States.