Voyage Sagas

A Weekend in New York City (Part 3) … More metro rides, this time we were entertained with some youngsters bringing in much-needed afternoon energy with a break-dance performance. I enjoyed such a complementary event. We hopped off across the East River and strolled around Brooklyn neighborhoods. It was a sight for sore eyes & feet. The vertical Manhattan island prohibited our eyes from wandering beyond a block or two. Here we were treated to quiet residential areas and sidewalks lined with trees. The breeze and falling trees hinted at the looming fall season. We marched on to the waterfront, where others like ourselves kicked back and took in the view. It is pristine to see Manhattan served on a platter with Long Island and the Brooklyn Bridge fitting in the view. It felt so serene as I gazed at the sun setting by the waters. Panoramic Manhattan skyline & Brooklyn Bridge, New York City (2018) Copyright © Kidus Assefa 2023 We walked around some more and headed to the Brooklyn B...

A Weekend in New York City (Part 2) … Last night was very short; today is going to be long. I didn't get much sleep but still had all the energy to take on the day's plan. Lucky for us, our location is convenient, so we grabbed a quick breakfast. I had a whole-grain breakfast panini with eggs, tomatoes & avocado. Everything felt within reach as we strolled into Grand Central Station, a couple of blocks away, to catch a subway. Ahhh, the New York metro. I love how I can go anywhere with these trains. Life would be impossible (or very expensive) without the metro. It is a lifesaver. I was entertaining the idea of being an art dealer around this time. Our first stop for the day would be a game-changer had I continued down that line. We waited for opening hours to start and went into MoMA – the Museum of Modern Art . The six floors of vast gallery space were enough clues of the treasure trove between these four walls. Noticing a donor list with names like Rockefeller, Getty, an...

A Weekend in New York City (Part 1) I’ve always said if you had categories of all “kinds” of people, you would find at least one of each kind of person somewhere in New York City. You would realize this right away once in the big city. It is a concrete jungle where the trees have jungles within, the river networks are underground, and the critters share tight [public] spaces. New York City is a lot to take in, and it would take anyone a lifetime. I once heard it would take you five years non-stop to eat at every restaurant in the city. I have been here before and had a blast, but I was 12 years old. This time I was determined to make the most out of it and observe more sharply. My aunt offered an unplanned weekend there. I couldn’t resist the offer, so we were off. We started our drive from Silver Spring early in the morning. I was excited to spend some time on the road; I have come to enjoy long drives more than ever. We drove past Washington D.C. and Baltimore (where I had visited a ...

Ascending the Alps … A peaceful night passed, and the morning sang new beginnings. I am not much of a football (soccer) fanatic nowadays, but I love the sport very much. I wasn’t the type to support my local team, but whoever played the most captivating game with flair at the time captured my heart. For those uncertain about where I’m going with this, I’ll spill the beans and say Milano is home to two giants of world football. They are competing rivals and sworn enemies that ironically share a home. This derby can sometimes spiral out of control and require authority intervention. The A.C. Milan stars were like superheroes to me. I couldn’t believe the day had come when I could visit my dream pitch. The plan was to start driving after lunch. We hurried and grabbed our luggage because this was also our last day in Italy. We parked our car at a train station parking lot and took the metro to the San Siro . The previous UEFA Champions’ League Final had taken place here, and the remnants w...

Ciao Malpensa This vacation had to be one of the most anticipated trips I have taken thus far. I had never set foot in Europe aside from airport layovers, you can imagine. I was thrilled to hear that I could visit Italy and make my way to Switzerland with a Schengen Visa. This one stamp granted me access to any European country, whether a member of the Union or not. I am a summer child who has associated the most colorful memories of my childhood with summertime in the northern hemisphere. July presented an unforgettable itinerary I eagerly awaited to exploit on one of the hottest summers Europe experienced until that point. It was deja vu mixed with rebirth when I looked out the passenger boarding bridge windows at the Malpensa Airport (MXP) . That classic smell of heated asphalt and fresh air with an Italian flavor hit me before entering the airport for a brief moment. There was almost no memory of what had happened before I boarded the plane and now. It was as if I teleported here. ...

Ankober to Debre Sina (Part 2) … After a quick breakfast and a slightly late start, we hiked down the face of the same mountain we had climbed the previous day. There was growing confidence following the last challenge. Team chemistry was also helping lift our spirits as we learned more about each other. Temperatures rose as soon as the sun peeked at us from above the nearest peak. You would expect the landscape to become familiar after a while, but it is quite the contrary. Every twist and turn reveals more spectacles that overwhelm the eyes in their varied transitioning beauty. There was such varied terrain it looked like a mosaic of patched fields with a charming off-set order. It sometimes looks like the rice paddy fields of Indonesia or tea fields in Sri Lanka. Cattle herders and shepherds, along with their livestock, enjoyed their boundless resting and grazing spots. It was something out of a fairytale as we continued our quest for hours, seeing multiple streams, small churches, ...

Ankober to Debre Sina (Part 1) Backpacking is a physically demanding activity involving hiking and carrying necessary gear, sometimes food, for an extended trip. This would be my first time backpacking, and I was last to board the bus after being picked up near the northern A2 highway exit via Legetafo. I requested the van’s passenger seat, and it was saved for me. I hopped in and began to take in the distant views of the countryside just beyond the city area. It was a beautiful Friday morning, the perfect time to escape the city chaos. We passed by plenty of schoolchildren and workers heading into the city while we went in the opposite direction. We drove by the old settlement of Sendafa, then Aleltu and Sheno, crossing multiple checkpoints (both reasonable and unreasonable), with officers inquiring about our intentions and destination. We started to get a grip of the landscape beyond here and ventured further into Northern Shewa. The pace of life began to slow down the longer we drov...