Novelist, blogger at www.flybynightpress.com, and lover of world travel and cultural immersion.
We brought our new American intern, Claire, with us to Bruges, Belgium last Saturday. The weather was beautiful, and Bruges, a vibrant and bustling city, was at her finest. Corona conditions have limited the number of tourists, so the streets were busy but not overly crowded. Claire was able to see some really old houses, … More First Trip to Bruges, Belgium: A Step Back in Time
Claire Pothier is a young American student who is doing an internship with us at Fly-By-Night Press. We took her with us to Amsterdam last weekend to introduce her to the Netherlands and get her into the travel spirit. Later in the month we’ll be visiting some other places. In the video below, you can … More First Trip to Amsterdam
I didn’t steal my first Dutch bicycle, I salvaged it from a local train station. It had been abandoned since February and stood rusting in the rain and frost, there in the bushes, until I finally decided to take it home in April. With some elbow grease and a new back tire I would have … More The Dutch Cycle of Life
Marten (with an “e’) shares his fresh cross-cultural insights after his three-week road trip from Chicago to Seattle and how it felt different from travelling in Europe,.. and what things he wishes he could have brought home with him to Holland.
… More Marten (with an “e”) Visits America
(Excerpt from The Tales of a Fly-By-Night by V M Karren) I first heard about it as a young boy. I was never able to forget the word even though I didn’t fully understand what it meant. When my brother and his friends spoke about it, they spoke with awe and reverence. In America the … More Don’t Look Back!
Injured as young man in Ukraine in 1993, author Val Karren finds himself stuck in a hospital in Vienna. … More Viennese Hospitality
Marten (with an “e”) gives you his best travel tips for avoiding the boring and irrelevant attractions in Europe’s most visited cities, and some great spots in some of the continent’s up-and-coming travel hotspots that might be off your radar. Let Marten (with an “e”) help you navigate past the tourist traps and find the “best” food that Europe has to offer to discerning globetrotters.
… More Marten (with an ‘e’) shows you Europe.
A new work of cultural fiction from VM Karren, The Plucked Hen, will whet your appetite not only for travel to France, but make you hungry for the approaching holiday feasting! … More France: The Glorious and the Maddening
Do you have a favorite motto, phrase or mantra that keeps you positive or motivated? Maybe it’s something from a favorite book, or a quote from someone you admire. I have many of these: ‘Stay calm and carry on,’ ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going,’ and of course, ‘when life gives you … More Luctor et Emergo
The fourth excerpt of Fate & Longing in Lisbon reveals a brewing conflict between the Law of Fate and Murphy’s Law. Our poor postman is caught in the middle. … More The Immutable Law of Murphy
