Category Archives: Travel
Just a Cup of Tea
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
Next trip: Antwerp
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
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
Canmore, the better Banff
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
Ceaușescu in North Korea
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
When Train Travel means Time Travel: on the Mennonite Express from Winnipeg to Toronto
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Artikels. 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. … Continue reading
Change of plans: Mariánské Lázně / Marienbad
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
Splendid Isolation
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
A Train full of Old Men – from Edmonton to Winnipeg
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
“Couchsurfing in Iran” by Stephan Orth
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
The Happy Hermit 