France
France
Those in my close circle of friends when I lived in Europe and spent a lot of time with me will know that I’m not always as kind to French mannerisms as I am to their neighbours. I enjoy spending Read more…
Italy
Italy
Italy is a very strange place if you don’t understand it and it starts to make sense to you the more time you spend there. I found Italians to be spontaneous and practical – traits that make their run-down cities Read more…
Switzerland
Switzerland
I have had the pleasure of enjoying the clear lakes, snowy peaks, grassy knolls, and fresh produce of Switzerland for over a year when I lived in Geneva. When I arrived in 2019, I made myself a commitment to learn Read more…
Cities
Kaiseraugst, Switzerland
Called Augusta Raurica in ancient Roman times, this city was named after Augustus Caesar. Like Avenches and Brugg, it was the largest city located along the trading route between the Italian peninsula and Alemannia via the Swiss alps. It has Read more…
Cities
Brugg, Switzerland
“Brugg” sounds like the German word for “bridge” and its name came from having a bridge that crossed the River Aare connecting a major trade route between Italy and Germany. The municipality has a little bit of everything, it was Read more…
Cities
Avenches, Switzerland
If a tourist were to look for sites with Roman history, they might think of visiting Italy for entire Roman towns, or going to the south of France for arenas still used for bull fights, or seeing Hadrian’s wall in Read more…
Cities
Romont, Switzerland
Romont is one of those towns that are easy to miss. It’s not along a motorway and it’s not even along a smaller B-road. In fact, you have to turn off a B-road and onto a country road with no Read more…
Cities
Fürstenwalde, Germany
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…
Books I Like
The Economy of Cities
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…
Books I Like
The Works, Anatomy of a City
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…