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Bremen Town Musicians
What do perestroika, the Brothers Grimm and this statue in Riga, Latvia have in common? Depends on your understanding of history, especially during the early 1990s, when Europe was going through winds of change. View of St Peter’s Church in Riga On one of those wet afternoons while in Riga, my travel buddy and I managed to find ourselves in front of St Peter’s Church. Originally built more than 800 years ago, turns out it is one of the city’s most important monuments. And while only a few walls and pillars are what remain of the original construction, it still has some of the most amazing Gothic architecture. The highlight,…
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Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
When you’re traveling to a new place, there’s as much sightseeing you want to do in a day. At some point, you’d give those tired legs of yours a break and park yourself somewhere. It has its perks, believe me. Yup, discovering and savoring the local brew is one of those perks and joys of traveling. Chilled or at room temperature. In a mug or straight from the bottle. At a roadside joint, a local pub, or an outdoor café… it doesn’t matter. It’s a chance to mingle with the crowd and do as they do. Sit back, stretch those weary legs, watch as life goes by, and appreciate what…
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Go against the flow
There’s always one amongst us all. The one who does the exact opposite of what’s expected. The backbencher. The loner. The rebel. The one who breaks the rules because they’re meant to be broken. The one who veers to the left and thinks it’s right while everybody else is wrong because they are right. Right. There’s one amongst us all. And there’s a bit of that person in all of us. Right, Happy Hour, I say. Cheers to all! Like this post or want to read it later? Pin me.
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Conversations by the canal
There’s nothing more enjoyable than having a conversation with a good friend or two, however banal the topic may be. Never mind the hordes of wide-eyed tourists, like myself, sailing by in gondolas, clicking snaps like this, so we can post them on social media later. 😇 Like this post or want to read it later? Pin me.
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Discover a surreal part of Budapest
Memento Park is like Disneyland, communism style. It’s home to 42 statues, busts and plaques of socialist heroes fictional and real. Rather than being consigned to the dustbin, they’ve found themselves another home today, albeit not where they would have expected Entrance to Memento Park A bit of history 63 years ago, in 1956, Hungarian students and citizens demonstrated in Budapest demanding reforms. One of their demands was the dismantling of Stalin’s monument in a park in Budapest, that was ironically, only installed seven years earlier as a gift from the Hungarian people to the Moscow and its leader. They proceeded to break the statue, leaving only the boots on…
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Bevar Christiania
Christiania is one of Copenhagen’s, and Denmark’s most popular destinations. In fact, for many residents, it is a way of life that started as a social experiment and continues to thrive today. Always controversial, this Freetown is much loved by many, including locals and tourists. Graffiti spray painted on the outside walls of Christiania The only reason I wanted to go to Copenhagen was to see the Little Mermaid, perhaps the city’s most iconic statue, and based on the fairy tale of the same name, written by Hans Christian Andersen. As luck would have it, she wasn’t there. Instead, she had been shipped off to an exhibition, somewhere in China.…
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And then, there are days…
Days when you don’t necessarily want to talk, you still crave company. Days when it’s okay to sit around, doing nothing. Days when spending an hour with each other is more satisfying than just whiling away a few hours. Those are days. Like this post or want to read it later? Pin me.
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Once upon a time in Venice.
When mobile phones didn’t have the cameras they do today. When cameras were analog, and every film cost you a fortune. When every click mattered, and you’d only know how good or bad it was, once you’d developed it. When you were getting older, and yet felt younger. And a trip with Contiki across Europe on a bus was your best introduction to travel. Saluti! Like this post or want to read it later? Pin me.
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Discovering Brahehus Castle
A drive from Stockholm to Copenhagen take can anywhere between seven to eight hours, depending on traffic and how quickly you want to get from point A to point B. I like my pit stops. In fact, the more, the better. Once you are outside Stockholm city limits, find and get onto the E4 highway. This is an excellent motorway (though it can get monotonous) and stretches all the way to Helsingborg. From there, it’s not too far to the Öresund Bridge that connects Sweden with Denmark. Keep an eye on the road signs as you wouldn’t want to miss out on Gränna. In about four hours (for me it…
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The train from Oslo to Stockholm
In Oslo, we had time on hand and no clue on where we wanted to head to, or when. Which is how, walking around one evening, we found ourselves, quite by chance, in front of Oslo Central Railway Station. After a bit of discussion, we figured Stockholm was the prime next destination, and bought our rail tickets for the next day. I know there are various modes of transport between these two cities. A direct flight takes about an hour, but that isn’t as much fun. Besides, getting ready and heading to the airport a couple of hours before the actual flight can be a drag, especially when you know…
