Earth’s a pretty beautiful place. Last year I had the chance to explore new places on it and revisit old ones. Here’s a look back at some of my 2016 wanderings.

Fun travel stats

Countries Visited: Netherlands, Germany, England
New passport stamps: 5
Flights taken: 10
Trains taken: 6
Phones lost: 1
Hostels/Hotels/Couches slept on: 26

Favorite gear

More gear details available at the end of this post if you’re interested

Now without further ado, a non-comprehensive compilation of photos from 2016…

California

My favorite perspective of SF’s Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden. Much zen

An awesome local showed me a couple cool haunts around the city. This is her dog Zeus posing for a portrait in the haunted Sutro Forest

The remains of the Sutro Baths

In-N-Out Burger noms, animal style

Much love San Francisco

Germany

The Reichstag building showing off its colors at twilight

The Brandenburg Gate and tourists galore

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Cathedral

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel and its dancing figurines in Munich

Munich’s Olympic Stadium. No field tours (or grass) unfortunately

Nuremberg Sausages and a lot of love for German food and beer

Netherlands

One of Amsterdam’s many canals during Christmas season

Morning frost on a misty day in Amsterdam

City lights, Amsterdam

One of Brouwerij ‘t IJ’s many tasty beers. The Zatte and Columbus were on point

The Molenmuseum de Valk (a windmill museum) in Leiden

London, England

The London Eye

The Old Bailey, London’s and Wales’ main criminal court (and also the star of a great V for Vendetta scene)

Big Ben

Maryland

A lot of outdoors going on here, Catoctin Mountain Park

Views along the trail, Catoctin Mountain Park

Only the finest of noms: pan-seared, bacon-wrapped, beef hot dog cooked over a wood fire, served on a toasted bun

Breakfast goodness

Moon rainbow, Assateague Island

Stargazing at Assateague Island

West Virginia

Swimming cove along Seneca Creek. Not pictured: freezing water temperatures

Washington, D.C.

The White House

The talented folks of Queue (the band)

DC splores in the Smithsonian Castle Garden

Greenery at the National Arboretum

Virginia

Sunrise at Old Rag Mountain

Nature looking pretty neat

Farewell 2016. Here’s to another year of good people and new experiences in 2017

Addendum: Gear list

Golden Fox chukkas – I picked these up after my beloved Clarks from last year fell apart from miles of abuse. So far they’ve held up nicely across dirty, rocky trails and stream crossings to cobblestone streets and sticky bar floors
Hat – Not much to say here. Blocks the wind and keeps my head warm
Koss Fitclips headphones – a godsend on long flights, public transit, and in hostels. They stay on my ears, sound solid, and cost ten bucks
Anker Powercore 13000 – great for charging my phone at campsites and keeping the music going on planes, trains and buses. It’s half a pound and charges my phone 4-5 times over
Power adapters – let’s me plug my electronics in no matter what country I’m in
Toothbrush – got to keep the teeth clean
Glasses – it’s nice to see sometimes
Canon 6D – my trusty camera. I’ve been using it with the 35mm f/2 or 50mm f/1.8 lenses (also pictured) lately for awesome low-light performance and lots of creative control
U.S. Passport – pretty handy for getting into other countries
Dream Essentials sleeping mask – helps me catch some daytime naps on planes, trains, buses and in bright hostel rooms. Pros: contoured so it isn’t pressing on my eyes when I sleep. Drawbacks: it sort of looks like a bra
Icebreaker wool long johns – so much warmth. Long john’s are the way to go on cold hiking trips and in chilly cities
Levi’s jeans – comfy on city and nature splores and classy enough to wear out to restaurants and bars
REI wool socks – warm, durable, and perfect for hiking trips
Not pictured: iPhone for taking photos on the go and a Kelty Cosmic Down sleeping bag I picked up at a garage sale that’s so warm I have to zip it open on cool Fall nights

2016 Wanderings