Hiking near Paris The Parisian Banlieue – a term covering anything from just outside of the city limits to villages and small towns a one-hour railway journey away – has a bad reputation, not all of it undeserved. But for every town over which a pallor of tristesse – actually, the bitterness of exile –…
Day Trip from Paris Remember when I took you on an unexpectedly adventurous journey from Pontoise to the outskirts of Auvers sur Oise? And I promised you: no more bad surprises? Today, I am going to keep that promise. The Auvers-sur-Oise Van Gogh knew The first thing you will notice when crossing the bridge into…
Hiking in Germany What is KONUS? Holidays are expensive things. For most families, they are easily the biggest item in their annual budget behind life’s essentials such as food, shelter and transport (such as the family car). Travel and accommodation make up the largest chunk of holiday expenses, but by the time the holiday starts,…
Churches – Europe is so full of them because, for centuries, they were the focal points of community life, much like football and baseball stadiums are in the modern world. If you go hiking a lot in Europe, pay attention to the architecture and see if you can you pick out the different styles of the Churches…
Barcelona has a Secret In the shadow of Barcelona’s Palau Nacional, near the former bullring of the Plaza Espanya, you can find one of the city’s best kept architectural secrets: Ludwig “Less is More” Mies van der Rohe’s celebrated “Barcelona Pavilion” The pavilion, one of the masterpieces of modernist architecture, was constructed in 1929 for…
Hiking in France We headed back to the Mediterranean for some unfinished business. The Sentier Littoral Revisited Last year, my son and I visited the southern French town of to hike along the Sentier Littoral, the footpath that stretches along the entire length of the country’s coastline. When we inquired at the local tourism office for…
Walking in Barcelona Architecture in Barcelona One of the great joys of walking through Barcelona is discovering the great architecture that the city’s grand boulevards have to offer. Whenever you look up on one of the main streets in the city’s grid-like “new town”, you will not need laser eye surgery to be sure to see…
French Riviera Walks How about this… … a short walk through the prettiest town in France, topped off by a visit to one of the world’s most famous gardens, with splendid views over the Mediterranean Sea throughout? Menton, in the extreme southeastern corner of France, combines the best of France – a downtown area of…
Guest Post: Hiking in Asia Go Hiking in Vietnam Although Vietnam’s major cities – Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh – are very much on the up and up, no Vietnam holiday is complete without experiencing this country’s remarkable, iconic countryside. Misty green hills terraced with rice paddies, oxen working the fields, tended by folk in their…
Hiking in Barcelona Atop Montjuic Whereas the sea, all over the world, is made of one piece, mountains are nature’s true individuals. You have to meet them in person to properly know or even get a first meaningful impression of them. Statistical information of whatever sort or content is of no assistance here and can, at…