Somewhere in a hotel room in central Moscow, steps away from a frenzied nationalist Victory Day rally, Nathan shares a mini-bar white wine with writer Alexa van Sickle and talks about her sorta-homeland Austria. Her epic roadtrip story, Farewell to the Alps, took her across her country in search of beer, wine and booze. Along the way there is plenty of thinking about nationality, belonging, doctored wine and subpar whisky.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices