Leif Pettersen
Who wants to know? Oh, all right…
My third-person bio is as follows:
In 2003, Leif Pettersen was “Kramered” by an unbalanced friend into leaving his idiot-proof career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and embarking on an odyssey of homeless travel writing. Despite no leads or training – and a dubious grasp on grammar – his “unhinged contempt for reality” drove him onward and he somehow managed modest success.
Leif’s weakness for pretty girls first brought him to Romania in 2004, where the low cost-of-living compelled him to stay. Speaking the language, having an apartment and owning a 1990 Dacia 1310, it’s said Leif needs only to learn tuica distilling to gain honorary Romanian citizenship.
Leif keeps a wildly popular blog going about life as a travel writer at KillingBatteries.com.
So, to sum up: freelance writer, homeless, wino.
In addition the massive undertaking of this web site, I have also written about Romania and Moldova in the following capacities:
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“Tiraspol” a feature article for LonelyPlanet.com
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“Iasi; The Final Frontier” for Global Traveler magazine
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The Romania and Moldova sections for the The Europe Book, a weighty coffee table book covering every country in Europe
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Updated the pages for both countries for LonelyPlanet.com‘s Worldguide
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Wrote about the Danube Delta for Lonely Planet’s “Lonely Planet 2007 Bluelist
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Blogged his 2007 Romania visit for Gadling.
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And of course, wrote/contributed to the chapters for Romania & Moldova for Lonely Planet’s “Europe on a Shoestring” (publication November 2009), “Eastern Europe” (publication October 2009), and “Romania & Moldova” (publication May 2007 – next edition comes out in May of 2010!)
When I’m not LP’s willing updating machine for Romania, Moldova and Tuscany, I can write with authority on countless other destinations and topics, and do for several publications including Global Traveler magazine and MSN.