A review by halfcactus
Twisted Travels: Rambles in Central Europe by Jessica Zafra

informative

4.0

Traveling is intense—you are entirely alone, among strangers, who speak a language you don't understand, in a terrain alien to you. You find that the regular life you declare to be boring is actually comfortable and that you, in fact, love it. The purpose of travel is to remind you of that.

This has been an honest and very informative travelogue written from the POV of someone who's not afraid to figure out how to get to places herself, who's knowledgeable and genuinely interested in the history, literature, and people of the places that she visits, and most of all is Filipino. Her passing interjections about Manila's transportation and the Philippines' history are off-the-cuff and cutting.

I really enjoyed her mapping out the inconveniences throughout her travels and longing for her cats, and the way you can see her interests and mindset in the routes that she takes and the conversations that she has. A part of me wishes that this were a larger book with colored photos for reference, but I like that it's tiny enough to fit in your handbag and serve as a travel guide.