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Recent Posts
- Schöntal and Berlichingen
- Winter is no Excuse not to go Outside
- Lisbon in the Time of Corona, Cholera and Cocaine
- North Korean Motivational Music
- Last Sunset of 2021
- New Year’s Eve Walk
- One Hundred Years Ago, the Digging began – December 1921: Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
- A Shortcut through the Nuclear Power Plant
- Well, I guess I have to travel to Singapore then.
- “Slow Trains to Venice” by Tom Chesshyre
Category Archives: Austria
One Hundred Years Ago, an Ex-Emperor wanted to have another go at it – October 1921: Karl of Austria-Hungary
Zur deutschen Fassung. After World War I, four empires lay in ruins. The former rulers dealt with sudden unemployment in very different ways. The Russian Czar Nicholas II got himself shot. The Ottoman Grand Vizier Talât Pasha got himself shot. … Continue reading
Austrian Border Control
When you’re smuggling Italian cigars while hitchhiking across the Alps, the imposing Austrian customs checkpoint near Nauders will give you a brief scare. But it was Sunday morning and the soldiers were apparently attending church. Or they didn’t want to … Continue reading
Mauthausen
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Berichts. My hosts in Linz are exceptionally gracious hosts. On the morning of the farewell, they cook, bake, puree, flambé and prepare food as if I weren’t a humble little fellow, but a horde of a … Continue reading
Posted in Austria, History, Holocaust, Photography, Spain, World War II
Tagged Linz, Mauthausen
8 Comments
Hitchhiking against the Skeptics
“Nobody will give you a ride during a pandemic”, people said. Well, I had to find out for myself. Continue reading
Posted in Austria, Germany, Travel
Tagged Amberg, Ammerthal, hitchhiking, Linz, Mauthausen, Passau, Vienna
15 Comments
A Chinese in Vienna
During some meeting of some committee of some sub-organization at the United Nations in Vienna, I got to know a young lady from China. Qian was doing an internship as a simultaneous interpreter for Mandarin and English. Simultaneous interpreters are … Continue reading
Strangers in the Park
Hier geht es zur deutschen Fassung dieser Geschichte. I had two days left in Boston before returning to Germany, and I didn’t know anybody in the city. The year was 2009 and, as far as I knew, the internet hadn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Austria, Bolivia, Life, Love, Photography, Romania, Serbia, Travel, USA
Tagged Belgrade, Boston, Cochabamba, racism, Targu Mures, Vienna
23 Comments
How to cope with the Heatwave (3 steps)
This is Sisi, my friends’ cat that I am currently watching in Vienna. She is clearly suffering from the heatwave, too. Her advice in this kind of weather: “Don’t move. Sleep as much as possible. And don’t go to work.” … Continue reading
A Walk along the Semmering Railway
At first glance, the landscape in the Vienna Alps looks idyllic. But the expert’s eye realizes immediately that something is missing here: a railroad! Because how are the people supposed to enjoy the picturesque landscape if they can’t get there … Continue reading
Posted in Austria, History, Photography, Technology, Travel, Video Blog
Tagged hiking, mountains, railroad, train
4 Comments
Birthday Walk from Vienna to Bratislava
Zur Originalfassung auf Deutsch. It had been storming and thunderstorming the whole night. That was good, because the air was clear and it was ten degrees cooler than the oppressive July average. Perfect for hiking. On the other hand, there … Continue reading
Posted in Austria, Photography, Travel
Tagged adventure, birthday, Bratislava, Carnuntum, Danube, Devin, hiking, nature, Slovakia, Vienna
15 Comments
The Happy Hermit 