Tag: History
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A Whirlwind Trip Around Italy
After an hour’s flight from Vienna, we landed at the Rome International Airport early morning of June 9. This time, pooped from the grind of backpacking, we hired a private van to take us to our hostel east of Termini. The hostel didn’t have airconditioning units or electric fans, which exacerbated the already stifling summer…
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Budapest: A Buffet in Hungary
Hungary is a hard nation to pin down. Like its people — the fiercely proud Magyars — this East (or is it Central?) European country defies conventional associations tagged in the region, easily dodging the stereotypes thrown into this “other side” of the continent. Sure, it’s a member of the European Union, the NATO, and…
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Vienna: Guten Tag, Österreich
The hills are alive with the sound of music… not quite. With limited time on our hands and piles of laundry in our bags, the trip to Austria took to a different dimension. There were no Salzburg and Linz, but there was Mauthausen. There was no Stephansdom, but there was Schloss Schönbrunn. And there weren’t…
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Prague: Czechs and the City
It’s freezing and the hastily bought umbrella from a Jewish Quarter store is no use to the increasingly strong rains. The group — our group, plus a young American couple, another American middle-aged man, and a Swedish dude — tries very hard to raise the resolute commitment our Puerto Rican tour guide has. It’s one…
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Wilkommen in Deutschland 3: Cologne
Rains start to pound a little harder the next day and the temperature drops further, which makes our excursion to Cologne slightly uncomfortable. We sought refuge in the iconic Kölner Dom for a few minutes and try to listen to the sermon (it’s a Sunday) but we can’t understand a word since it’s in German. Sensing the…
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Wilkommen in Deutschland 1: Heidelberg
Situated at the crossroads of Western and Central Europe, Germany exerts a significant influence not just on the continent but on the whole world as well. This is, after all, the nation that gave us Einstein, Luther, Bach, Marx and MP3. While a relative newcomer as a political entity, Germany is a veteran in a…
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Paris: Je t’Aime
Hollywood, in its usual preference to bypass subtleties for in-your-face stereotypes, usually like to portray the French at, if not at their impossibly worst, their impossibly best. So, I thought, if travel writers and casual tourists alike wax lyrical about the French capital like superlatives about La Ville-Lumière are going out of fashion, then they’re probably leaving…
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England: London and Around
It’s hard to believe that the United Kingdom, a small country separated from Continental Europe by a narrow channel, could play such a grand role in world affairs. Many critical points in past events were gestated in this island off northwestern France, and numerous iconic figures have called the nation home. A once powerful empire…
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China: A Journey to the Middle Kingdom
When you think of China, you might envision sprawling cities, ancient wonders, and rapid modern development. In August 2007, I had the chance to experience just that—although six days was far too short to truly understand this vast country, it was enough to scratch the surface and catch a glimpse of its rich past and…
The Tourist Gaze 