Without A Path

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Off The Beaten Path Travel Guides

Amsterdam-Travel-Guide-Without-A-PathCleveland Travel GuideCosta Rica Travel Guide Without A PathGermany Travel Guide Without A PathPlaces To Visit In MoroccoRust Belt Travel Guide Without A Paththings to do in verona off the beaten pathWarsaw Travel Guide

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About Me

About Me

Welcome to Without A Path, the place for all things off the beaten path travel and experiences around the globe. I'm Joe Baur, a travel author (Talking Tico), filmmaker, podcaster, and photographer, sharing my experiences and expert advice on how to travel like a local from Rome to El Salvador complete with recommendations on language learning, books, movies and even podcasts. When I'm not writing here, I'm the host of the Without A Path travel podcast, co-host of Beyond Borders, and editor of trivago Magazine. Have questions? Send an email. Otherwise, happy scrolling. Instagram // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube // Email // Press

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Latest Posts

  • Ahrtal, Germany

    Ahrtal Adventures: Wine, History, and Hikes Galore

    July 15, 2019

  • Leverkusen Halbmarathon: Running Through City Streets and Forest Paths

    June 23, 2019
  • Duesseldorf-Brueckenlauf-2017

    What is the Deal with Alkoholfrei Beer on Race Day?

    May 23, 2019
  • Lisbon to Sintra Train Ticket

    Lisbon to Sintra Train and the Transit Angel

    May 16, 2019
  • Günter Blömer

    Günter Blömer’s Mühlenmuseum in Bergisches Land

    May 11, 2019
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  • Got this done yesterday as my #BourdainDay contribution. (For those who don’t know, the celebration was setup by Bourdain’s colleagues at @roadsandkingdoms, encouraging fans to do something on his birthday that would be Tony-approved.) . I’ve said for a while now that if I ever got a tattoo, this would be the first one. Sometimes it even felt like it was already there. I knew I wanted a train, a CLE for Cleveland on the front, and for it to be on my left shoulder. . I also knew I wanted to get it done in the city of Cleveland. I did some research and found @colleencoffintattoos. I missed her during a holiday visit at the end of last year, but made sure to get on her schedule when I knew I was coming back for a summer visit. And damn, I’m glad I did. . Cleveland’s the first place I lived where I ditched my car to live car-free. The US in general is known to be very car-centric and not many people would peg Cleveland as a place you could live happily without a car. . But when I moved downtown about eight years ago, I realized my car was a nuisance and a financial albatross. It brought me nothing but stress and I hated being in one. I wish I could say I had the motives of an eco-warrior, but I honestly didn’t think about that until much later. It was about finding a way to be happy in my day-to-day and Cleveland taught me that I can do that by walking, biking, and taking transit to get around. . I’ve since moved around, but I wanted this tattoo both to remind me of my family and where I first learned that I don’t need to do something just because everyone else is doing it. I can ride my own rails and switch tracks whenever I please. . What tattoos do you have and what do they mean to you?
  • I grew up in this town, lived here for about 18 years, and have visited at least once a year ever since yet I’d never come out to this park before. To be fair, I was told in junior high *not* to go there because that’s where people sell drugs. . But I put on my big boy running shorts and went through anyhow—and as you can see, it’s gorgeous. . No drugs though...
  • Hitting the trails and hills from whence I came. . 📸 @melanielbaur
  • I recently interviewed an expert on selfies. We discussed how we take them and why some people risk their lives taking them. Perhaps the most interesting point was that most people think negatively of other people taking selfies and find their own selfies to be funny and ironic, not like everyone else taking selfies by the pretty view. . I pondered this very topic while sitting on a wooden chair left on the banks of the Ahr River, thinking to myself, “Someone clearly set this up for Instagram. How ridiculous!” . I then turned to my wife and asked her to take my picture.
  • Alright, so I’d like this to be my street with a train stop around the corner in one direction and more trail into the mountains in the other direction. . I’ve been told this is unrealistic... . What’s your dream living scenario?
  • An absurdly enjoyable weekend was had hiking and running around the hills of Germany’s Ahr valley, drinking the local wine and dancing to “All Night Long” in between.
  • “You’re always hiking!” I get that a lot. Perhaps comparatively, sure. I hike a lot. But within hikers, I’ve never really accomplished much of anything. Not for lack of wanting to. I’d set my eyes on some country, some mountains, some...thing...and say “One day, I’m hiking it all!” But the time is just never there to buzz off for months at a time. That’s when I decided to look for a challenge that fits into my schedule now, and I found the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg—150 kilometers of trail over the Brocken (northern Germany’s tallest mountain) through the Harz countryside. Believe it or not, it’s the furthest I’ve consecutively hiked and the first time I completed an entire thru-hike, even if it was just five days. Still, it was a challenge I needed and nature is always a mental refresher for me, especially the Harz forests, just as it had been for Goethe who was inspired by the region for scenes in Faust and Heine who came for the same regenerative benefits I’d been in search of as well. If you want a glimpse of the trail, I’ve got stories in my profile. More words coming soon. Have you ever completed a thru-hike?
  • My reward for hiking 106 kilometers through the Harz mountains—Quedlinburg. It’s like walking through a literal freaking popup book.

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