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Category Archives: Travel
Belgium goes into extra time
Those who are familiar with the weather in Belgium will understand why everyone here wants to leave for vacation as much as they can. That creates an enormous demand for house sitters and cat carers. Hence, immediately after house sitting … Continue reading
Posted in Belgium, Language, Politics, Travel
Tagged Antwerp, Brussels, Chastre, housesitting
2 Comments
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
Posted in Austria, History, Photography, Technology, Travel, Video Blog
Tagged hiking, mountains, railroad, train
4 Comments
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
Posted in Canada, Photography, Travel
Tagged animals, Banff, Canmore, hiking, mountains, Trans Canada Trail
12 Comments
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
Posted in Cold War, Economics, History, Music, North Korea, Politics, Romania, Travel
18 Comments
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
Posted in Canada, Religion, Technology, Travel
Tagged christianity, Toronto, train, Winnipeg
34 Comments
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
The Happy Hermit 