Canals, Rivers and Lakes as Hiking Highlights Water is our most important resource, the only one – apart from air – that we absolutely and unconditionally cannot do without. We can survive for days, for weeks even without food, but if we do not drink, we die. No wonder that few idyllic landscape pictures, whether…
Churches – Europe is so full of them because, for centuries, they were the focal points of community life, much like football and baseball stadiums are in the modern world. If you go hiking a lot in Europe, pay attention to the architecture and see if you can you pick out the different styles of the Churches…
French Riviera Walks How about this… … a short walk through the prettiest town in France, topped off by a visit to one of the world’s most famous gardens, with splendid views over the Mediterranean Sea throughout? Menton, in the extreme southeastern corner of France, combines the best of France – a downtown area of…
Guest Post: Hiking in Asia Go Hiking in Vietnam Although Vietnam’s major cities – Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh – are very much on the up and up, no Vietnam holiday is complete without experiencing this country’s remarkable, iconic countryside. Misty green hills terraced with rice paddies, oxen working the fields, tended by folk in their…
Hiking in Barcelona Atop Montjuic Whereas the sea, all over the world, is made of one piece, mountains are nature’s true individuals. You have to meet them in person to properly know or even get a first meaningful impression of them. Statistical information of whatever sort or content is of no assistance here and can, at…
Kurt Vonnegut says that unusual travel suggestions are Dancing Lessons from God So, of course, we could not decline the offer of travelling to Genoa, even if this meant that we had to change our carefully laid out travel plans at the shortest of short notices. The story is this: we had been planning to…
Hiking trails near Paris The Parisian banlieue has a bad reputation, not all of it undeserved. At its worst, the urban sprawl beyond the Parisian city limits is an uncomfortable and possibly even dangerous place (for those of you who haven’t seen the movie La Haine, think of the South Bronx or Tower Hamlets), while most…
Where to Go in Germany An Old Peep Show Machine In the age before computers and video games, itinerant amusement parks in the 30s to the 50s were the place kids and adults could have some fun. At the end of our day hike on the Siebengebirge south of Bonn in Germany, we chanced upon these…
Day Trip from Paris Here’s What Hitler did in Compiegne One hour away from Paris lies the quiet provincial town of Compiegne where not one but two recent chapters of European history were completed. If the 30 Year European War from 1914 to 1945 was a drama in five acts, Compiegne was the stage of…
Innsbruck During our recent trip to the Travel Bloggers Unite conference, we also had the opportunity of spending a few days in the city of Innsbruck. Our impression: the Tyrolean capital looks perfectly set as a hub for hiking excursions in the area, but – for some reason – appears determined to miss this opportunity….
