From Texas to Beyond

Local, Near and Far: Our journey of exploring the world.

Category: Guest Blogger

Durrës Albania - The Durrës coastline
The Durrës Coastline

Two Nights in Durrës, Albania

December 23, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Guest Blogger and my good friend, John Seale, took us to Vienna, Austria, after which he left the conventional European vacation behind with destinations in Kosovo and Albania. John is one of my frequent travel partners, from across Texas to the other side of the world (2 trips to Kenya). From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you his unique perspectives on travel, along with some fascinating locations. Today, we conclude John’s four part series with his trip to Albania.

Albania has more tourism than neighboring Kosovo, but I had the pleasure of seeing it during a short add-on to my time with my wife and sister in Kosovo. Make sure you read my previous post for more information about the region and its history. Because of the common language and good roads, you can easily add a trip to Albania to your visit to Kosovo for a more unique experience! While Albania is a large country with acclaimed beaches and mountain villages, if you only have a short time, I think Durrës is well worth your visit.

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Day Trips from Prishtina - The Gračanica Monastery
The Gračanica Monastery

Why You Should Visit Kosovo: Day Trips from Prishtina

December 10, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Guest Blogger and my good friend John Seale bring us a four part series on his recent journeys, beginning with a brief layover in Vienna, a look at Kosovo’s capital city, and continues today with day trips from Prishtina into the countryside of Kosovo. John is one of my frequent travel partners, from across Texas to the other side of the world (2 trips to Kenya). From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you his unique perspectives on travel, along with some fascinating locations in Kosovo and Albania.

Prishtina is where you will most likely begin your vacation in Kosovo, but it isn’t where your trip should end. Add some day trips from Prishtina to your itinerary! The rest of the country has plenty to see and do, perhaps even more than the capital city. While Prishtina is a very cosmopolitan city, where the culturally Muslim population looks and behaves much like the rest of Europe, as you get out to the smaller cities you’ll find great diversity.

Kosovo has beautiful sights and wonderful culture. While getting around to these destinations can be challenging (see the previous post), if you make these journeys, you will be rewarded handsomely.

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Prishtina, Kosovo - Skenderbeu Square in Downtown Prishtina
Skenderbeu Square in Downtown Prishtina

Why You Should Visit Kosovo: Prishtina

November 9, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Guest Blogger and my good friend John Seale bring us a four part series on his recent journeys, beginning with a brief layover in Vienna and continuing today in Prishtina, Kosovo. John is one of my frequent travel partners, from across Texas to the other side of the world (2 trips to Kenya). From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you his unique perspectives on travel, along with some fascinating locations in Kosovo and Albania.

Europe is a small continent where numerous ethnic groups are smashed together in close proximity. The Balkans are the same way, but on an even smaller scale. The sheer number of countries that Yugoslavia broke into (7) tells you how diverse the region is. My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Kosovo and Albania in 2015, as my sister has lived there for a number of years. Kosovo is ethnically and linguistically Albanian, but for several years it was yoked with Serbia, with whom they share almost nothing except mutual dislike. Since their independence, Kosovo is now a nearly unknown destination for tourists.

Prishtina, Kosovo - The Newborn Statue, a Make-Your-Own-Art Kind of Thing

The Newborn Statue, a Make-Your-Own-Art Kind of Thing

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Père Lachaise Cemetery - Stained Glass Through a Quatrefoil
Stained Glass Through a Quatrefoil

The Art of Paris: Père Lachaise Cemetery

October 22, 2015 / / 0 Comments

I proudly introduce my sister, Rachel Cabal, as a guest blogger.  Mom and Dad would would pile us in the van and take off for 1-2 week vacations across the US.  They officially gave us the travel bug.  We have spent time traveling in Texas, Belize, and recently met up in Madrid.  From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you her unique perspectives as an incredibly talented care giver for the aging.  Rachel is a Licensed Recreational Coordinator for skilled nursing units, specializing in geriatrics.  Today Rachel is sharing her perspective on The Art of Paris.

Every day I get to go to work and encounter elders. I hear stories about spirituality, life’s work, family, loss and celebration, and TRAVEL. Reminiscing about travel is a favorite activity for our elders and they invite me to present my impressions of places they traveled years before. In my Paris presentation, I included Père Lachaise Cemetery.

You might imagine that a review of a cemetery wouldn’t be an interesting topic for folks in their later years, but I love to share that I understand death to be a part of life and that cemeteries are tangible celebrations of lives. Père Lachaise is a visual, physical, and spiritual experience not to be missed when visiting Paris.

Père Lachaise Cemetery - Jim Morrison's Grave

Jim Morrison’s Grave

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Austrian National Library on the Heldenplatz
Austrian National Library on the Heldenplatz

Layover: Vienna in an Afternoon

September 24, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Today, I proudly introduce our first Guest Blogger and my good friend, John Seale. John is one of my frequent travel partners, from across Texas to the other side of the world (2 trips to Kenya). From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you his unique perspectives on travel, along with some fascinating locations. In this four part series, John takes us to Vienna, Austria, after which he leaves the conventional European vacation behind with destinations in Kosovo and Albania.

My wife Katie and I planned nearly the perfect itinerary for a three-destination trip. The weak Euro was making European travel cheap, and the threat of terrorism was making Kenyan travel cheap, so we were combining a visit to my sister with a visit to a former ministry I volunteered with for years. Most of our long-hauls were overnights so we could sleep, and we even had a long layover in Chicago, where my wife has family.

The only problem was a long layover in Vienna, Austria. Unfortunately long, really – over 9 hours. I’ve done my fair share of long layovers in airports, and nobody likes them. Naturally, therefore, I started looking to see if it was enough time to have a valuable visit to this beautiful, historic city. Turns out, it was plenty of time, and I’m here now to share how we did it and how you can make it work on your long layover too. Continue reading

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