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Stories by Robert Isenberg

New Vrindaban Community, West Virginia

You might not expect a Hare Krishna temple in the hills of West Virginia, but the New Vrindaban community has been an active spiritual retreat since 1968. I recently took a road trip with my ...

Biking in Laos

When I arrived in Laos, I was delighted to find that bicycles are cheap, easy to rent, and can ride anywhere. Finding a bike was as simple as saying to my guesthouse owner, "Bike?" The ...

Catching the Holiday Spirit: Newtown, Pennsylvania

By nature, Philadelphia is a hectic city. The people are tough. The suburbs extend forever. The highways are always congested. Plus it was Christmastime, and family obligations amplified every stressful second. Philly is not my ...

New York City, 4 a.m. – 7 a.m.

I left Boston at midnight, bound for Pittsburgh, and I knew I'd face a layover. When I ordered my Megabus tickets, I knew the first leg would only last four hours. I knew I'd have ...

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester is usually a sleepy seaside town, known for commercial fishing and tourism. But when my girlfriend and I visited our friends Courtney and Chris, who recently moved to the area, the town was thronged ...

The Real Cancun, Mexico

“It’s totally safe, man,” said Sergio as he swigged his beer bottle and sucked on a cigarette. “Women walk around at night. Kids play in the streets. No problem.” My friends in Pittsburgh were horrified ...

Truro, Nova Scotia

"Truro is a hole," scoffed Timothy, a student from Halifax. "Don't go there if you can avoid it." But somehow I ended up in Truro – twice. This grim little town was nothing more than ...

Mount Washington, New Hampshire

I'm just glad I wasn't driving. The road that snakes around Mt. Washington is narrow and terrifying. There's no guardrail to prevent cars from flying off corners and smashing down steep cliffs. Just to make ...

Bargaining in Cairo

"For you," the merchant murmured, "three hundred Egyptian pounds." I guffawed. Three hundred pounds? For a little wooden lute? I wanted the rababah, to hang on my wall back home, but I wasn't about to ...

Eastern Market, Washington, D.C.

It felt like an Ottoman bazaar: Tables and tents formed a maze of narrow walkways, and everywhere I looked, I saw jewelry and CD's and hand-spun garments. Middle-aged woman sat in lawn chairs, wearing floppy ...

Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

I arrived in D.C. at 8 a.m., after a long night hunched in the seat of a Greyhound bus. Morning sunlight beamed, and as I hiked to Union Station, then to the Capitol, I realized ...

Savannah, Georgia

I was pressed for time. Only one afternoon to enjoy historic Savannah. So no museums. No carriage rides. No pints at the local pubs. Only one option: Walk around. But somehow this was enough. I ...

Polar Bear Plunge, Pittsburgh

When Bill invited me to jump in the Monongahela River, it was New Year's Eve, and I had knocked back half a bottle of champagne. "It's tomorrow morning," Bill said. "Just bring a swimsuit and ...

Hilton Head, South Carolina

Taking a much-needed break from my grandfather's funeral, I drove to Hilton Head for some sightseeing. I didn't know much about the island – only its reputation for golf courses and wealthy tourists. When I ...

The Balkans by Bus

"Just fly," my friends told me. "Or rent a car. The bus will take forever." The Balkan bus system is a confounding web of coaches and stations. Unlike in the U.S., there’s no equivalent to ...

Amsterdam, Holland

Amsterdam is a maze. Each hour, my friend Billy and I lost ourselves in alleys, canals and cobbled streets. The lanes connected at odd angles; they changed texture, defied logic. Where we expected to find ...

Sosua, Dominican Republic

"My friend, my friend!" the men called as we passed. They started as the sun rose, drifting out of their kiosks. "You are hungry, yes? Here is a menu!" "Pretty necklace for the lady?" "See ...

Dubrovnik, Croatia

"I hate Dubrovnik," my friend Amila hissed. "We go there every year. To us Bosnians, it's boring. All the tourists. Too expensive. I hate it." Perhaps. But to this American, no place is more epic, ...

221B Baker Street: Mr. Holmes, I Presume?

Like so many bookish boys, I devoured Sherlock Holmes stories. Years later, visiting my girlfriend in London, I discovered that 221B Baker Street, the detective's fabled domicile, was a "real" place. The Sherlock Holmes Museum ...

Rejuvenated Sarajevo, Bosnia

Before I visited Bosnia, I heard that Sarajevo was once revered for its beauty. Visitors were awed, during the 1984 Winter Olympics, by Sarajevo's sumptuous valleys and alpine mountains. When I visited the city in ...