In the wee hours of the morning, worshippers, and visitors alike form a long line outside the Schlosskirche in the town of Wittenberg in Germany on a quiet Sunday morning. The occasion? The reopening of the church where Martin Luther posted his ’95 Thesis’ on after its renovation. Among those Read more
The real reason why I wanted to go to Hannover was to see the Waterloo Column. Why does Hannover have a column to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon? In fact, the Kingdom of Hannover actually used to be in a personal union with the monarch of the United Kingdom until Read more
When asked which German city is my favourite I’d always say Dresden. Even though it had been bombed flat in WWII the spirit of the people there were not destroyed and the city was rebuilt as it looked before the war. In a stunning effort between artisan builders and modern Read more
Constructed in the mid-1980’s to a then-popular sci-fi high-tech style by Norman Foster, it is one of the centrepieces of Hong Kong’s stunning skyline. Along with the Bank of China Building, Cheung Kong Centre, and IFC 2, it is one of the most iconic buildings in the world. By day Read more
Easily reachable by S-Bahn and tram, the Reichsparteitagsgelände in Nürnberg consists of several monolithic structures over a large land area. The most famous of those buildings is the Zeppelinfeld where a Cathedral of Lights was set up during Nazi Party rallies to create a sense of religious fervour. Tens of Read more
Asia’s last remaining greyhound racing track closed in June of 2018, so I decided to pay it a visit just before it closed. Greyhound racing has a significantly lower profit than horse racing, a brief glance at the information board reveals that each race has less than $10 000 in Read more
This iconic attraction in Paris is a real cash cow for the French tourism industry. It has been the subject of many controversies, scientific experiments, and postcards. Constructed for the 1898 World’s Fair it was supposed to be taken down like all the other exhibits, but it was maintained as Read more
Located in Postdam less than an hour away from Berlin, this group of palaces is almost as spectacular as Versailles from the outside and ten times more fun because the outdoor area is free for all to admire. Though I would recommend bringing a bicycle there because the S-Bahn is very Read more
Or the Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum, named after the famous Grimm brothers who wrote fairy tales such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Red Cap (Little Red Riding Hood). This is a fitting name for a central library of the university that once managed the German State Library – Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Read more
Although the VPL has dozens of branches all over the city, my favorite location is the central library in downtown Vancouver. You might have noticed that I have an affinity for libraries having visited the Peabody Library, the Grimm Zentrum, and the Library of Congress on several occasions The central Read more