I’ve always wanted to board a West Coast Express train ever since I found out that Vancouver had a commuter railway. But only having five trains a day in each direction made it hard to catch, especially when I lived in Vancouver instead of out east. So one day, I Read more…
Some readers may be surprised to find out that a large portion of Oktoberfest (or Wiesn as the people of Munich call it) actually occurs before October, with all but three days in September. Open from 8am till past midnight every single day of the week, there’s no shortage of Read more…
I got my driver’s license when I was 18 like any other guy who’s loved cars even since I could walk. I learned to drive in about three months and did my driving exam with a 5-speed manual Toyota Hiace commercial van. It was a hell of a van when Read more…
John F. Kennedy famously proclaimed the words “Ich bin ein Berliner” during a speech in West Berlin. In his speech, he described how Berlin was at the forefront of the battle between the ideologies of East and West. What he meant to say was that he was one with the Read more…
What better way to celebrate Einheitstag on October 3rd in Berlin than a long weekend of Rotbratwurst mit Brotchen and basking in the sun with an ice cold Paulaner’s? Less than one generation ago, the Berlin Wall fell and the image of a divided German people still haunt our memories. Read more…
Called “Tag des offenen Denkmals” in Germany, I discovered this gem by pure coincidence. I was itching to visit the Berliner U-Bahn museum at Olympia-stadion Station in the west end of Berlin. The museum only opened every second weekend of the month so I thought the second Saturday of September Read more…
Open air concerts, fireworks, meeting Benjamin Franklin in the flesh, and having huge hot dogs for lunch, all this means the 4th of July in Washington, D.C. I’ve only watched movies about Americans having barbecues and setting off fireworks on this festive date and never experienced it myself. Being there Read more…
Cold, very cold, especially in winter when temperatures dropped to -35C at night. Well it was night almost all the time. The journey began with a Skype call with Seth, a friend of mine who was living in France at the time. He really wanted to see the northern lights Read more…
Just before I started university, mother thought it’d be a splendid idea to visit Paris. Me being me, I made the most out of this trip by suggesting a day trip to Brussels. Mother was very careful with money, but it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t take up a good Read more…
Father and I went to Shanghai in 2015 and we agreed that we should totally try out the more or less complete CRH network. The stations were huge and disorienting non-places with plenty of shops and waiting areas. It felt more like an airport than a train station. The train Read more…