Whimsical Maps
I travelled to Europe for 10 days, but this isn't about that. At least all of that.
Kiwi.com is a budget online travel agency that lets you book flights for less by connecting two or even three flights using what's called a “self-transfer.” Instead of airlines guaranteeing the layover connection, the travel agency usually covers the cost of a flight delay or cancellation by replacing it with another, which happened to me when I arrived in Reykjavik late last month. Fortunately, their layovers were several hours and up to 24 hrs long. This is fine for me if I am traveling with a few extra days of availability, in which case my connecting flights took about 4 of the 11 days of travelling (one day wasn't counted since it was flying over the Atlantic and a stop in Orlando). Iceland Air even offered free voucher for around $24 USD to use at the airport restaurants due to the delay (which was due to thunderstorms departing O’Hare over an hour late (which felt like forever on the tarmac).
On my return flights, kiwi.com made the bold itinerary arrangement of requiring a self transfer from not the same airport (where you simply exit security area and re-enter), but two airports in England spaced far apart from North and South of London (Stansted & Gatwick). It required three trains and and a minimum of £40 in tickets, plus 22 hrs of layover. To call this convenient and budget is a bit of a stretch, although since I’ve never visited England before, I thought it would be an acceptable compromise (I took a stroll in downtown London because why not). Admittedly, planning a trip around a flight deal (just under $700 round trip, excluding hotels and train transfers) can seem like planning around the airline’s off peak season, rather than my own convenience.
Late April is usually warm enough not to freeze without packing too many clothes (and saving on fees by opting out of check-in luggage and even carry-ons), but picking the right transfer city can be tricky. I usually try to take at most one transfer or non-stop if available, but knowing in advance when I will be flying is rare so that is usually cost prohibitive. There was a roundtrip available to Turin, where I ended up visiting, for around $550 in mid-March, but by the time I booked at the end of that month, I could only find a budget one-way ticket ~$330 with 2 transfers, requiring me to find a return flight a few weeks later before they increased nearly $300 due to the Middle East and peak season approaching.
Taking six planes to reach one destination and return is pretty odd, but apparently it's the norm in the hub and spoke network. I don't wish to become a frequent flyer, but I've been in the same state most of my life that I felt like I needed to travel more. I don't think connecting flights count. Or at least they shouldn't, unless I start to make it a habit of traveling just to visit the layover cities- like those NY Times articles “48 hrs in x city” (except 3 or 22).
Reykjavik
Reykjavik is a really nice airport for spending a couple hours. My layover was only 3 hrs, but it got moved back because of the thunderstorm delay. I didn't spend much time longer there because I had to make another stop in Copenhagen, where apparently they use Jude Law’s likeness in a billboard ad around the airport. Oh, also, some other people in Iceland also look like Bjork :)
Copenhagen is also a nice airport, with plenty of places to sit or eat, and there's a 7-11 pre-security that isn't too expensive. The only thing I don't recommend is arriving too early at the departures area for the budget airline wing, the F Terminal, because it's lacking in working USB chargers and the seats are quite Spartan. The restaurant area is like an indoor mall, and my layover was nearly 24hrs. Just about the only thing I could think of wanting in Copenhagen was searching for Niels Bohr's cat (because who knows what Heisenberg talked about in 1941?) Maybe he told Bohr, “here, take my cat.” And what if that cat is still alive? Questions no one asks.
I flew to Turin because I browsed some real estate in the months prior. I may or may have not bought something in the area. I only did a virtual tour, because touring in person can be a large fraction of the purchase price. At what I was searching. But I also travelled because in 2024 I started to gain weight, and I gained nearly 20 lbs in a year. So I was not active enough, and I needed a new environment. I read a few articles years (many) back that in the Colorado Rockies, and at high altitudes, the body produces more white blood cells to counteract low-oxygen atmosphere. I also recall reading that Colorado residents have the amongst the lowest average weight.
So I wanted what I dont't have- access to a high altitude residence. I want my wbcs working for me, and I'm lazy unless I'm completely transported into an environment where I will easily get into the right routines. Going on a walk in Italy is a lot more relaxing than having an F-450 with a coal chimney rumbling by.
My first few nights at 1000+ meters above sea level took a slight adjustment. I couldn't sleep because I was lightheaded and dizzy. Even taking a step and raising my thighs to climb stairs took extra effort, like I weighed more, but could feel all my muscles from all the walking. But after a few days I felt like I was breathing fresh air, and was much more eager to go on longer walks. I walked 5 km up a mountain to reach my village, and a couple days I walked up and down another hill to reach another town.
I also adjusted my diet, eating only apples a little bread and mozzarella and a few snacks like roasted corn kernels (mais). After six days I was already losing weight, as I could fit into a tighter belt slot.
Turin
I hadn't realized how French-inspired Turin was, but due to its proximity shares a lot of architectural similarities.
It's also fashionable, but Milan is also known for that. I imagined Turin to be more like an Italian Manchester, with automotive blue-collar jobs from the two Fiat plants, but that would be a little oversimplified. Turin was also Italy's first capital, so a lot of its history is older. And as far back as Roman times, like Porta Palatino:
I don't have any specific attachment to Turin, other than it's different and familiar enough to be desirable to be near. I wasn't interested in buying property in the the city proper since the prices are higher, but it's nice that there's an extensive train and bus network that I can still get to where I want to be.I also visited Torino when I was six and remember only a small bit, mainly in pictures.
There's a lot of “solarpunk” in the parks:
There's also a lot of classical architecture, or baroque:
Also, small streets that are nice to walk through:
I also checked out this building after reading about it in the news a few months ago:
In February or March I spent nearly an hour reading about Askatasuna, thinking it it was a Basque political party or government in exile, only to realize the centre just took its inspiration and name from it.
It's wise to read travel alerts when planning a trip to somewhere, but this wasn't an actual alert or on any travel advisories. But I did notice it on the front page when I searched “Italian news,” just being curious what events are going on in Italy and Turin.
It's always a good idea to get a different viewpoint because at first I thought of comparing an analog in the U.S to the social centre but seemed hard pressed to think of one. There certainly are more in Italy and other countries, as the only thing that comes to mind is Slab City, but I think that is a poor comparison, since it attracts a lot of meth addicts. That said, the December eviction of the social centre led to 50,000 protesters, and Turin has a population of 855,000 for the city proper, and at least 1.8 million for the metropolitan area, so the idea of a city like Chicago having 3-6% of its population protest an eviction is quite foreign in this generation. Maybe 90 years ago this was more common, when there was a larger social safety net?
Also, according to Google Streetview, the windows in September 2024 featured many more portraits of militants holding guns, whereas in the picture I took a few days ago, only one portrait remained.
It's likely rising real estate prices had a lot to do with it. A building like that might cost millions today to purchase in any major city, thus increasing pressure on affordable living is driving average earners further from the city centre. That said, some centres like Askatasuna are fairly ideologically opposed to market prices in general, so it's not a simple comparison to suggest they got “priced out.” There is quite a bit of graffiti in Turin less touristy areas, and quite a bit of anti-capitalist slogans can easily be found.
The eviction reminds me a bit of the movie “Goodbye, Lenin” where the terminally ill mother walks outside to notice a half statue of Lenin being transported by a helicopter, and advertising balloons fill the sky while her children try to hide the new reality from her:
It would be a cynical new world if the Askatasuna window space were replaced with “Your Ad here,” or worse, “Your militant pose here” (for a fee). (5/13/2026 Edit: To be fair, the photos appear to be WWII-era partisans, who played a very pivotal role in helping the Allies win the war, although their allegiance shifted occasionally- sometimes derisively, whoever was winning the war- even welcoming the Soviets liberate Germany might be derisively favored over the “Western” Allies. Curiously, the leftists could also be accused of misappropriating partisan imagery for a cause that doesn’t have the same pull as it used to. Fighting fascism in 2026 appears a lot different than it was in 1943. Then again, society’s failure to identify contemporary fascism could give credence to their cause) I could probably say there's a Baudrillard angle to this, such as fourth stage of simulation. Also, this is just a travel log. Please do not confuse me for a journalist because I show up months later and after the tear gas clears.
Whimsical Maps?
I wrote this post on a smartphone, and I didn't have access to a paint program, so that will be in a new post. To preview, it's like that Reddit /terriblemaps but wishful for travelling. It will be a short post but I didn't want to mix too much with this one thematically (should travel really be a catch-all? Sometimes no.). Let's say it involves renting a VHS in Rome like that Seinfeld episode where George goes to the library and asks who is currently checking out “Breakfast at Tiffany's" and a shorthand for several European countries (mottos, and what they're known for, or what comes to mind). And that one scene in Indiana Jones 3 where Indiana goes to Venice and wants to break the code for finding the hidden passage. There, that was the only thing I wanted to see in Italy. It was actually my first time in Italy in 26 years. The last time I was in Italy, it was Jubilee, and smoking was not yet banned on the regional trains. I shared a seat facing two Italians of Romanian origin who smoked on a long train ride, and indirectly , in my face. How much nicer it is now that smoking is banned in confined spaces, but many Italians still love their cigarettes. This SNL skit is quite accurate:
Yes, I am far more self-deprecating than some might allow. But then again, it could be because I've insulated myself from Italian culture so long as an American that my amusement doesn't count as self-deprecation.