Four times a year, or once every 12 weeks, the national parliament in Bern is open to the public on a Saturday. One such Saturday, I roamed into the halls of legislation in both the upper and lower houses of parliament. While the Nationalrat is something of a House of Read more…
Bern is the capital of Switzerland and is a little bit of a special potato. It feels like a city, looks like a city, and has the infrastructure of a city, but is not the largest city in the country. The trams run for just 20 minutes before reaching the Read more…
Some cities like Neuchâtel have a castle, but the Stockalper Schloss has a city. Most well known for its quadrilateral castle, Brig is actually an urban agglomeration of Naters and Glis. The Stockalper Schloss can be visited for free, but the hourly guided tours cost a few Francs and are Read more…
Having lived in Berlin for a year, I’ve taken the opportunity to travel to as many German states as my class schedule to allow. Learning German in the process and writing a paper on Nazi Architecture has helped me gain a local perspective of its history. I have returned to Read more…
My first contact with Kansas City was probably when I heard the Beatles’ song Kansas City/ Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey when I was about 12 years old. Then in my first year of university I met Sam, a friend from the same prayer group who was an exchange student in Hong Kong for Read more…
Located just a little ways from Toronto, Hamilton is a quiet lakeside city with a lively and artistic downtown area. It’s perfect for a morning stop on the way to Niagara Falls with plenty of cafes that are open even on weekend mornings. Although it shares the same name as Read more…
Headquartered on the shore of Lake Geneva in Geneva, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is one of the most well-recognised international organisations in the world to the likes of the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, which are both in the neighbouring area. Once a year, the WTO selects Read more…
Geneva already has a Doctors Without Borders, so allow me to make this pun: CERN is science without borders. Located underground across both Switzerland and France, the donut-shaped LHC is over 26km in circumference and advances scientific knowledge. It’s too complicated for me to understand so I’d highly recommended you Read more…
Recently, I’ve been averaging about 6000km by rail a month and have been reflecting on my levels of carbon emissions. One of my longest journeys took me from Geneva through Bern, Basel, and Frankfurt to reach Berlin on an overnight journey. While I was pondering on how much carbon I Read more…
Originally built for the League of Nations in the first half of the 19th century, the United Nations’ building in Geneva is a major focal point of global politics. With the UNCHR, the ILO, UNHCRH, WTO all in Geneva, it’s no wonder that Geneva hosts delegations from almost every country Read more…