Category Archives: Travel

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 | 7 Comments

Splendid Isolation

Posted on 2019-05-03 by

This house in Newquay is a good symbol for how Britain sees itself in Europe. The house probably believes that it is self-sustainable, while relying heavily on commerce and cooperation with the mainland. In the Cornish Guardian, a letter was … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Politics, Travel, UK | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

A Train full of Old Men – from Edmonton to Winnipeg

Posted on 2019-04-17 by

In the first part of this Trans-Canadian railway trilogy, the prior perusal of which I recommend for reasons of strictly following the timetable, I had written about the historical importance of the railway for the establishment of Canada. The current … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

“Couchsurfing in Iran” by Stephan Orth

Posted on 2019-04-16 by

Couchsurfing, staying with hitherto strangers for free, is a good way to get to know a country and its people. It’s even more rewarding in countries where you don’t speak the language and where you are sometimes a bit lost … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Iran, Travel | Tagged | 9 Comments