“Even in Kyoto, hearing the cuckoo, I long for Kyoto.”
Bashō wrote this haiku in the 17th Century, but you can imagine how it might resonate today. Kyoto is Japan’s ninth largest city, but one of the most visited in the country for its concentration of temples teasing tourists with a time travel adventure to a romantic era of Japan full of geisha, samurai, and whatever else the gawking western imagination can conjure up.
It’s easy to picture a local squeezing their way through crowds that are clambering to visit a temple they saw on TikTok. Fed up, the local might think to themselves, “In Kyoto, hearing the tourist, I long for Kyoto.”
But Kyoto’s still out there… If you know when and where to look. And if I, the cuckoo tourist can figure it out, so can you.
Osaka. It’s a city that thrives on contradictions—fast and pristine public transit shuttles the masses between modern towers that cast shadows over a rich and complex history that’s seen it all, from the Shogun’s siege to the city’s eventual rebirth.
But I’m not just here for the history. I’m on the hunt for some good eats.
And here, food isn’t just fuel; it’s an explosion of flavor. From crunchy takoyaki covered in a rich umami-driven sauce to the overloaded okonomiyaki underneath the neon glow of Dotonbori, Osaka demands you dig in and savor every chaotic, glorious moment.
And it’s here where I begin my two-and-a-half week trip around the country with stops in ‘Ninja City’ Iga where I learn about the region’s connection to historical ninjas before running in the Ninja Trail Run for my final ultra of the year, Kyoto to meet with an old friend and sample vegan Japanese food between temple treks, and Tokyo to continue the feast before ending with a week in Okinawa.
The Berlin Wall—such a strange and brutal thing to think about. Concrete, barbed wire, machine guns, and the unthinkable idea of one city split down the middle, cutting off families, friends, and entire lives.
Berlin was once a battleground for ideology—two competing worldviews divided by 100 miles of hatred. When the Wall fell in 1989, it wasn’t just bricks that came crashing down—it was a monumental shift in history, and with it, the end of an era of division that lasted nearly 30 years.
Yet, despite the euphoric celebrations and cries of freedom, the scars left by the Wall still linger. The Berlin Wall Trail is an unnerving, sometimes uncomfortable, but ultimately necessary journey through this fraught history.
Let’s travel it together with 10 essential stops on the Berlin Wall Trail, each one a story unto itself.
Görlitz and the Zittau Mountains: two places in Germany I’ve long wanted to visit, tucked away in Saxony.
When I was in college, I did a summer internship at Silver Pictures on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California. During that time, I racked up all kinds of credit card debt to pay for gas and groceries while working that unpaid internship and unpaid production gigs.
Suffice it to say, I realized L.A. wasn’t exactly the place for me. Now I live in Berlin, but if I ever change my mind, I can just go a few hours outside the city. It’s not Hollywood, but “Görliwood”—a nickname given to Görlitz because of the number of movies filmed here, like Inglourious Basterds and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Ralph Fiennes even wrote a note thanking the city for being “the best location ever.” That’s high praise from the Dark Lord himself.
Vacations are meant to be a time of relaxation and exploration, yet many people find themselves stressed and unable to properly enjoy their time away. If you’ve ever been on vacation and felt overwhelmed by thoughts about work or logistics, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is prevalent, especially in the United States, where a staggering number of vacation days go unused each year.
In this blog post, we will explore actionable strategies to reclaim your vacation time and truly benefit from your travels.
Strasbourg. It’s a quiet morning in the half-timbered village turned European capital city. But there’s not much time to linger as thunderstorms are threatening, and I have a date with the forests just outside of nearby Saverne, where the ancient Celts once roamed in the Vosges Mountains and castle ruins stand tall, like Château de Haut-Barr, otherwise known as the “Eye of Alsace,” with its not-at-all-ominously-named Devil’s Bridge.
About six or seven years ago, my wife and I were hiking along the Neckarsteig –– a 128-kilometer trail from Heidelberg to Bad Wimpfen. It’s claim to fame is that Mark Twain hiked around these parts way back when the worst thing you could say about Germany was that it has a complicated language.
At the end of one of the stages, we stumbled upon this local festival. Everyone was out in traditional dress, having a beer, and it remains one of my favorite travel memories in 8 years of living in Germany.
The Neckarsteig isn’t a trail anyone outside of Germany or maybe even this region of Germany has ever heard of. So in this video, I’m going to share with you everything you need to know about hiking in Germany and how to find these off the beaten path hiking trails so you can make your own special Wandererinnerungen (hiking memories).
Whenever people ask me for travel tips in Germany where I live or Europe in general, they always want to know the same thing.
They want to know how to get off the tourist trek and travel off the beaten path.
I’ve lived in Europe for eight years, I’m now a German citizen, and I’ve had the good fortune to travel and run around the continent from the munros of Scotland to the mountains of North Macedonia and everywhere in between –– all by foot, bike, or public transit.
So in this post, I’m going to share with you some of my top tips for finding those destinations off the beaten path and how to actually get to them.
Use Reddit
First up, use Reddit.
Reddit is a great tool for asking and getting answers to your travel questions. Almost any country will have its own Reddit and there might even be a sub-Reddit dedicated specifically to travel in that country.
Before you post any questions, I would do some searching within the Reddit to see if anyone has already asked your question, because repeat questions are generally frowned upon. If you don’t see it, then go ahead and post, asking people for some of the best off the beaten path destinations in that country and you’ll surely get tons of answers.
You could even google, for example “off the beaten path France reddit” and find some answers in other Reddits, like this one on solo travel.
Google reliable locals
Speaking of Google, you could also just Google “off the beaten path… in fill in the blank.” I feel like people have forgotten that blogs exist.
It’s not all Tiktoks and Reels, people!
Blogs are still out there, and in my opinion, you’re more likely to find local creators with thoughtful advice, like Lindsey Tramuta –– who’s lived in Paris for years, has written books about it, has a podcast, and even a newsletter.
She’s quite literally a triple threat or a mirepoix, if you will, of expertly crafted Parisian media.
I was desperate to avoid the overly touristic sights during my first trip to Paris. So I bought a copy of her book, The New Paris, featuring various restaurants, pastry shops, coffee shops, and breweries that Parisians themselves would happily visit. I remember one of the restaurants we visited because of the book actually only had a menu available in French, which I presumed was as good an indicator as any that tourists don’t usually make it over there.
That or something about the way i carried myself simply exuded French sophistication… Yeah, probably not.
So trust those local creators and be wary of anyone posting about off the beaten path destinations in a country that the creator doesn’t live in.
I’m not saying people can’t visit a country and get a good grasp on some off the beaten path destinations. They can.
But speaking as someone who makes things, I know that the pressure to feed the beast is real.
So some people will go on a trip and turn their content into a reel for “off the beaten path destinations” in wherever they just visited, mainly because they know it’s information people want.
But they might not necessarily have the best information if they were just on a week-long vacation. So just be a little discerning of your source.
Embrace slow travel
My next tip admittedly won’t be possible for everyone, but I’m going to share it anyways because it worked for us.
This past May, my wife Melanie and I spent the entire month in Caldes d’Estrac, a beach town about an hour north of Barcelona. We were living and working at this new coliving spot called Kalima. If you’re interested in learning more about that, I have a documentary all about it on my YouTube channel.
Because we were based in this small town for a month, we were able to visit all the other little towns and villages nearby, like Mataro, Villasar de Mar, and Sant Pol de Mar. Not to mention we had plenty of time to get up into the hills and mountains right there in Caldes d’Estrac where there wasn’t another tourist in sight.
So that’s the tip!
If you work remotely and have the flexibility to do a little slow travel, base yourself in one place instead of moving around constantly, and take day trips to the towns nearby. By sitting still in one place, you can meet some locals and ask them where they recommend traveling. It opens up a lot of possibilities if you can be a bit more spontaneous about it.
Try coliving
On that note… Coliving, like what we did with Kalima, is another great way to travel off the beaten path. But not just for wherever it is you’re doing the coliving.
Inevitably you’ll meet people from all over the world and stay connected on social media. Those are instant, obvious contacts to reach out to if you ever happen to travel to wherever they’re from. And even if they are from a relatively touristy city, they can still recommend off the beaten path destinations nearby and maybe even show you around to some of the local spots in town.
How to physically travel off the beaten path
Now before I share my favorite way to travel off the beaten path, I want to talk a little bit about how to actually, physically reach these destinations off the tourist trek.
Some places might actually be pretty easy. I’ve traveled in eastern Europe to places with few international tourists, but they still had rail or other means of public transit, so it was actually pretty easy to get around.
Remember, off the beaten path is relative. Your “hidden gem” is someone else’s regular hangout.
But on that note of public transit, the further off the tourist trek you go, the more difficult it might be to find accurate information on buses and trains. Google Maps is sometimes a good source, but I always check and double check with Rome2Rio.
This is my go-to site for any and all tricky travel transit needs. I don’t know why but sometimes Google Maps just doesn’t have all of the information.
For example, with my recent trip to North Macedonia, I needed to get from the capital Skopje to Bitola for the race. On Google Maps, it looks like a disaster. But on Rome2Rio, I found a direct train and then a bus to Ohrid to take after the race.
But probably the best option is to actually find and download any local transit apps associated with the region. Another example…
When I was in Wales, I needed to go from Brecon to Cardiff. Google Maps gave me options with transfers and I couldn’t find anything much better on Rome2Rio.
But when I was out on a run, I noticed a bus terminal in Brecon. When I got back to my hotel, I looked into routes with that bus company and found a direct bus to Cardiff. Easy peasy.
Sometimes private bus companies don’t show up on Google Maps, so that’s where Rome2Rio or downloading local transit apps especially come in handy. Just don’t forget whether you’re looking on Google Maps or Rome2Rio, you make sure to use the actual date and time you’re traveling.
I know that sounds a bit like “have you checked your spam folder” advice, but I’ve worked with people who swore there was no transit option because they were looking, for example, during the evening in the US when it’d be the middle of night in Europe. So just keep the times in mind.
Heritage travel
Alright, now my favorite tip for traveling off the beaten path –– and this is one I’ve used time and time again in my own travels –– heritage travel.
Early on in my Düsseldorf days, I did 23andMe and went down a genealogy rabbit hole. Also, for wildly obvious reasons, it’s hard not to think about Jewish heritage when you live in Germany.
Because of heritage travel, I’ve traveled to places I never heard of until I researched my family history and I ended up forming some of my favorite travel memories, like when I visited Bardejov, Slovakia and toured the region with a local who’s made it his mission to help refurbish the local synagogue. Or in Sighet, Romania where I walked the streets where my great-grandmother grew up.
I was even invited to cook at a Jewish food workshop at the Elie Wiesel Memorial House. (Quite possibly the best batch of kasha varnishkes that town’s seen in 70-some-odd years, if I may say so myself.)
This caused a domino effect of sorts of more off the beaten path travel, because I also crossed the border on foot to Solotvyno, Ukraine where my great-great grandparents apparently lived. Then, I took an old overnight train from Sighet to Bucharest.
In both Bardejov and Sighet, I was almost always the only foreign tourist around, which for some travelers, is basically the dream.
I’ve also used heritage travel to find distant cousins in places like Vilnius, Lithuania and Prague. Obviously neither Vilnius nor Prague are ‘off the beaten path’ in the popularized sense, but by having a local connection, I was able to see those cities through their eyes and get a unique perspective that most tourists will never have.
So do some digging into your family history and you might also end up with a list of destinations to visit you’ve never heard of as well.
And I promise you that those memories will be far more meaningful than, say, being the billionth visitor to the Eiffel Tower.
