On Polish independence day, Chen and I took our scooters over to Poland. November isn’t exactly the best scooter weather in Eastern Europe, but we made do anyways. On our way from Berlin to Frankfurt an der Oder, we passed Read more…
By: Jane Jacobs In fewer than 300 pages, Jacobs dispels the myth that cities grow as a result of rural work. She uses examples as ancient as Çatalhöyük from 7000BC to as recent as the stagnation of the American economy Read more…
By Kate Ascher Penguin publishes a number of Ascher’s illustrated books on engineering such as The Heights, dissecting buildings, and The Way to Go, dissecting modes of transportation. The Works dissect how a city operates and combines elements from her Read more…
Except the Library of Congress, Massachusetts has two of the largest collections in the US. One in Harvard University and one in the Boston Public Library. Although its collection is immense, the impressive architecture is what draws people to the Read more…
Personally, I’m a fan of rococo furniture and baroque art to the likes of Rubens, but sometimes I also venture into renaissance pieces by Cranach to appreciate their religious significance. Impressionism and pointillism, I’m afraid, are a bit too new Read more…
Systems of Survival By Jane Jacobs Jacobs’ most famous work was the Death and Life of American Cities, which anchored her as an influential thought leader on urban life in the 20th century and beyond. Systems of Survival, as stated Read more…
Yes. This is where Evian water comes from, but the picture of the mountains on the bottle had me fooled. Evian water is not from an alpine glacier but from protected sources of groundwater in the area. In fact, Evian Read more…
The town of Bulle is in the Gruyère region where the cheese took its namesake. Being near the dairies and pastures that produce the famous Gruyère cheese, the significant Gruyère castle, and the nearby Cailler chocolate factory in Broc, has Read more…
Just like the Glaubenbielenpass, the Glaubenbergpass connects the UNESCO Biophere Entlebuch with the Haslital valley. Being between Luzern and Interlaken (as well as on the way to Thun and Bern), it is a popular shortcut for locals. If you get Read more…
Between Thun, Interlaken, and Brienz, Brienz is the littlest of the three siblings. Thun is a major city in the Bernese Oberland Region and Interlaken a traditional resort town, so the hotel proces in nearby Brienz can be a steal Read more…