Globetrotters Writer Spotlight — Dean Rodina
I love to travel because…
My wife and I run our own businesses and have since we were married — the last time either of us got a regular paycheck George Bush Sr. was in office. Most of my time is spent either coding or writing.
Travel allows me to forget for a while the nooks and crannies of my business — even when I’m traveling for work, it’s still different. And ideas that have been percolating in the back of my brain get a calm moment to emerge in a foreign country where no one knows me or needs anything from me.
I’m typically abroad two weeks at a time, a couple of months a year. It’s become a necessary brain reset. Except for a few US trips, I pretty much only travel in Europe, because that’s what I like, and I chose my business to be able to do just that.
My number one travel activity is…
Walking.
I like to walk around the cities, walk around the countryside, sit with a cup of coffee and stare at nothing in particular for as long as I feel like it. I also enjoy loitering in art and history museums, particularly those I’ve visited many times, for the same reason — no rush to see anything, just relax and either think about whatever (no business problems!), or just as often not think at all.
I come from…
A long line of people who didn’t do a whole lot of importance or move around much. Most of my ancestors moved from Europe in the great mid-late 1800s migration and managed to pretty much avoid every war anywhere, all while farming, running gas stations, or fixing people for chickens (my great-grandfather was a country doctor). We were quite poor, so traveling the world as I do now is a true privilege.
I work as a…
An entrepreneur — or, less grandly: I’ve found that like most of my forebears, I’m unemployable. None of us take direction well. When I’m told to do something my immediate instinct is to do the exact opposite, even if the task is something previously I wanted to do.
My wife and I run several websites, but for the last couple of years, I’ve been involved in a software startup doing some really cutting-edge things. Or so we hope, since the edge keeps moving.
The best place I’ve been is…
Colorado. I moved here by choice and while I love to travel — a lot — the mountains are my home. The higher and snowier the better.
In my spare time, I like to…
Hike, anywhere in the mountains.
Ski. As often as possible, and anywhere I have a decent chance of survival. Which, given my relative lack of coordination, is far more limiting than you might imagine. But luckily we live in a small town with a small, family-owned set of runs (Wolf Creek), so it’s all good.
I read (and attempt to write) science fiction. Also Fantasy, Westerns, 18–19th century English writers. My favorite novel is Pride and Prejudice. Favorite author is Dickens, though both Max Brand and Roger Zelazny are contenders. The books I’ve enjoyed the most recently are the John Dies at the End series.
My top travel tip is…
Pack grapefruit seed oil and Pepto Bismol. I used to get some kind of food-borne illness once+ a year when traveling. Now, after any dicey meal or strange feeling deep in the mineshaft, I dose with grapefruit seed oil and Pepto Bismol, the combination of which (or extraordinary luck) have kept me from tossing my cookies for about a decade. Note: I’ve never found Pepto Bismol abroad, which is why I always pack it.
Do the research on grapefruit seed oil yourself: weird, but it works. Props: I got that tip from Timothy Ferris (i.e. his book — don’t know the man personally).
If I could live somewhere else, I’d live…
Just outside Salzburg, Austria. A lot greener than Colorado (more rain == less sunshine), it has beautiful mountains, and is a lovely little-ish town. Good food, with stellar regional food as well as plenty of Asian restaurants and good Italian as well. Skiing not far away. Lovely Christmas market. Very close to Germany and Italy. Plus, while I never want to live in a big city, I do love to visit many of them. And Salzburg is a straight and fairly short shot to the best Stadt on Earth.
My favorite way to travel is…
By foot. But when that’s impractical (say, Florence to Munich) I like the train — again, usually more relaxing. The Autobahn (or Autostrada) are a lot more stressful than the quiet zone on an ICE (Intercity Express train).
Three lessons I’ve learned from traveling are…
- Travel, itself. For some reason, most people don’t, not really — I don’t consider Disney World or Vegas ‘travel’ — more like America times three with the best parts removed — though I know that’s a bit snobbish. As to international travel: while the full planes nowadays make it seems like everyone and their third cousin are popping off to Greece, in reality, my myself, wife, and children are the only people I personally know who have passports with pages full of stamps.
- Gratefulness. Because it wasn’t destiny that I get to backpack around Europe two months a year. And my younger self working all those fast food jobs could barely imagine being able to fly to Switzerland or Amsterdam or Prague for work. Or fun.
- While there are always jerks in every country, people are often astonishingly kind. So be nice, non-judgmental, and recognize everyone does their own thing their own way.
And while only 3 lessons were asked for, I add these in no particular order: In America, never stay in a hotel chain with ‘Inn’ in the title; the train schedules in Germany are no longer to be trusted; I’ve stopped renting cars in America and take Lyft instead because the rental companies uniformly stink (and Uber drivers are too often gross); in Europe, the three-day city-wide tram ticket is always worth it; travel with one backpack — the freedom of movement is worth the lack of ‘stuff’; but if you’re going to the Christmas Markets, bring or buy an empty suitcase.
Gute Reise!
