Category Archives: Travel

Just a Cup of Tea

Posted on 2019-08-09 by

It’s really mystifying how Aachen could once have been such an important city. Charlemagne, Holy Roman Empire, coronation place of kings, and all of that in a city without a river. I am only here for a few days, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, Life, Love, Travel | Tagged | 5 Comments

Next trip: Antwerp

Posted on 2019-07-22 by

Another cat has contacted me, requesting me as her sitter. This time in Antwerp in Belgium. I am happy to oblige, because I have never been to Antwerp. And hardly to Belgium either, to be honest, where I have only … Continue reading →

Posted in Belgium, Travel | Tagged , | 4 Comments

A Walk along the Semmering Railway

Posted on 2019-07-19 by

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 , , , | 3 Comments

Canmore, the better Banff

Posted on 2019-06-23 by

In every country, there is a place that everyone, literally everyone, recommends you to visit. Actually, recommend is too weak of a word for the obtrusiveness: “You have to go there!” Instinctively, this raises some resistance with me, because I … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Ceaușescu in North Korea

Posted on 2019-06-19 by

When I lived in Romania, some people said about the long-term dictator, who was overthrown in 1989: “You know, in the beginning, Ceaușescu was not even that bad. After he came to power in 1965, he distanced Romania from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold War, Economics, History, Music, North Korea, Politics, Romania, Travel | 13 Comments

When Train Travel means Time Travel: on the Mennonite Express from Winnipeg to Toronto

Posted on 2019-06-18 by

This is the third part of the crossing-Canada-by-train trilogy, hence my recommendation to read part 1 and part 2 first. Otherwise, the whole story will go haywire and derail like a freight train, setting an innocent town ablaze. And you don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Religion, Technology, Travel | Tagged , , , | 32 Comments

Change of plans: Mariánské Lázně / Marienbad

Posted on 2019-06-07 by

Not quite last minute, but two days before my departure, the house-sitting gig in the Cotswolds in England fell through. That’s sad, because I had been looking forward to it. So, I sat here in Bavaria with a packed backpack, … Continue reading →

Posted in Czech Republic, Travel | Tagged | 8 Comments