Since Christianization in the year 1000 AD, the church has been a center of community life in Iceland. The most photographed location in Iceland, arguably, is Hallgrímskirkja, a hallmark of the Reykjavik skyline and an architectural masterpiece which captures the natural beauty and splendor of the Icelandic landscape. However, in this post, I wish to […]
Heritage
The American Southwest – March 2016

There was no better place to think about life, death, and the American condition than on the roads of the great West.
Shintō – Goshūin

Goshūin (御朱印), Japanese for red seal, literally refers to only the stamped impression of a particular shrine or temple’s formal seal. Historically, devout (and literate) worshippers that donated a handwritten copy of a Buddhist sutra (although Buddhist monks, much like in Medieval Europe, spent much time copying scripture, this task was also popular as a […]
Tianjin

The Charm of Old Tianjin Recently, I went on a very impromptu trip to Tianjin, a major metropolitan area rather close to Beijing. Feeling a need to just get out of the house and do something, I left home at 4 in the morning and took the first train out. Located on the Bohai and straddling major […]