Films set in the European Union

In this article, you find film recommendations that allow you to travel to all 27 European Union states from the comfort of your armchair. From silly to classic drama to modern-day hits, all films offer a unique perspective. All stories provide insights into the complexities and experiences of life in each EU country. These films explain socio-political dynamics, society, history, and cultural dynamics while being set on location.

Travel the World: A few of the most beautiful libraries

Updated: January 2025.

 

Endless rows of bookshelves with kilos if not tons of books. Libraries are an ode to lifelong learning; they are temples of education. On a city trip, libraries are ideal places to spend some quiet time. The amazing atmosphere one experiences, when surrounded by books amplified by stunning architecture, is an exquisite experience. Follow me around the world. If you are a curious traveller, a bookworm, and a fan of architecture, you are going to want to visit all these magnificent libraries.

Guide to Aarhus. Smilets By – City of Smiles

Queen Margrethe II reigns over Greenland, Faroe Islands and Denmark. Copenhagen, The Kingdom of Denmark’s capital, is trendy. You can easily fall in love with it on your first visit. Wait till you see the rest. Aarhus was named the European Capital of Culture. I visit when it is icy cold, but I can see that it must be fantastic in summer also, with lots of cycling paths and inviting terraces near the water. I walk everywhere, seemingly everybody walks or cycles through town, it is that small. People flock to Aarhus for the Northside Festival in and the Aarhus Festival in summer. Here is why you should make your way to Aarhus. See more of Denmark than Copenhagen; you will  get a better impression of the country. 

Travel: Fact-checking populist tales - This is the truth and nothing else

Squirrel in South Africa

Is the world safe, is Europe in trouble, is Europe on the brink of collapse? These are probably the questions everybody asks right now or has been pondering about for a while. I saw a clip of a local newspaper where a fellow Berliner in his 70s stated that he is so upset because security measurements on Munich Christmas markets are so much better than the ones in Berlin. This guy obviously never travels, or at least he hasn’t been to Munich’s Christmas markets recently. I visited many of them this year and also a few in Berlin, there is no difference in security whatsoever, at least for the untrained eye, I mean I’m no double agent, no idea what goes on behind the scenes. It is all pretty much the same. I wonder where people take these statements from. Who puts these ideas in their heads? Why do they spread information about things they haven’t even experienced themselves? I have to admit, chances are that guy is in the know because he is a double agent.

Travelling is so exciting. The people, the food, the passion, the fun. Nothing is ever only black and white. It pays off to talk to locals and try to understand their point of view, try to understand their way of life, and with understanding them comes empathy. This year I visited South Africa, the Czech Republic, Greece, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, UK and Denmark. I will tell you about the experiences I had this year on my travels. Wherever I go I ask people about the situation in their country, how they feel about it, and about their opinion about populism and the rise of right-wing parties. I do things like this a lot and people usually don't mind to have a chat.

Follow me around, to learn where I felt threatened and unsafe.

Eyewitness Copenhagen – Traveller and Tour Guide Rikke

Wouldn't you like to learn about Copenhagen’s history, and hear about the town's many secrets? You simply ask Rikke. 

Rikke lives in a suburb of Copenhagen but spends most of her time in the inner city. She is a freelance tour guide and has been working with Copenhagen Free Walking Tours ever since the company came to life in November 2012. And that is not all; she spends her evenings with Pub-Crawl Copenhagen where she also works as a guide. 

When she isn’t busy guiding people around town she takes whatever chance she can get to see the world.

Rikke was so very lovely to tell us about Copenhagen. Trust me she knows best what is hot, and amazingly enough, it also involves bees ...

The Touristin: Three words that characterize Copenhagen?

Rikke: Cosy, trendy & historic,

The Touristin: How do you get around Copenhagen?

Rikke: Most people bike around Copenhagen, I walk. I live a little bit out of the city centre, so most days I take public transport into town. Copenhagen is easy to walk, but when I do need a bike, I can always rent a city bike. The city bikes are all over the city, and as long as you just need to get from A to B, it’s not too pricey.

The Touristin: What is the best kept secret about Copenhagen?

Rikke: Right behind the busy Christiansborg Palace there is the cosiest little quiet garden. You won’t read about it in your guidebook. It’s the kind of place you stumble upon, which is what makes it so special.

The Touristin: What is your favourite borough/suburb/area in Copenhagen and why?

Rikke: Besides the inner city I really love Nørrebro. Nørrebro is the most multicultural area you will find in Copenhagen and it really reflects in the shops and in the whole atmosphere of the area. It’s a busy area where you will never be bored people watching!

The Touristin: The best place for a hot chocolate or coffee in Copenhagen?

Rikke: If you are into coffee you must visit Coffee Collective. They roast their own coffee every single day and quite a few of their baristas have won national and international prizes for their coffees. You can find them on the trendy Jægersborggade in Nørrebro and also in Torvehallerne by Nørreport Station.

The Touristin: What is one restaurant we must try out while in Copenhagen?

Rikke: You must try Bror. It’s this cosy little restaurant that focuses on new Nordic food. The dishes are traditionally Danish but with a modern twist. They only use the very best ingredients, which are sourced from northern Europe. However, if you are on a tight budget go to Københavner Caffeine on Badstuestræde, it’s a traditional Danish restaurant with the friendliest staff in town. The servings are large, and you definitely get value for money!

The Touristin: Where would we meet you on weekends?

Rikke: As a tour guide the weekends are always busy. This is when we show most people around the city both during the day on our walking tours and at night on our pub-crawls. So, on weekends you can be sure to find me in the inner city of Copenhagen, walking and talking while enjoying the company of people from all over the world.

The Touristin: Do you have a favourite museum/gallery we all have to visit when in Copenhagen?

Rikke: I have always loved the Museum of Danish Resistance. Unfortunately the museum burned down in 2013. While we are waiting for it to reopen, my favourite museum is the National Museum. They have permanent and also temporary exhibitions that change throughout the year. Right now there is an exhibition called "The White Busses." Definitely check it out if you are in Copenhagen at the moment; it runs until 3rd January 2016.

The Touristin: What are some of your favourite places to shop for A) groceries and B) clothes?

Rikke: Torvehallerne is this great place when going grocery shopping. You can get meat, fish, dairy, greens and everything in-between.

Clothes shopping I mostly get done in Magasin du Nord. It’s an old department store in the middle of Copenhagen that has absolutely everything when it comes to all the trendiest brands. You can find lots of Danish design here, both clothes and interior.

The Touristin: What souvenir shall we bring back from Copenhagen?

If you want to bring home something that is not the typical Copenhagen souvenir, I recommend Bybi honey. The Bybi honey is this really cool project run by homeless people in Copenhagen. They keep bees throughout the city - even on top of the City Hall! They use these bees to make the most delicious honey. It is sold in different places in Copenhagen, and one of the places you can get it is in Torvehallerne. I recommend you buy a gift tube with five different honeys from Copenhagen, they all vary completely in colour and taste!

The Touristin: Thank you so much for your time Rikke. I wish you all the very best with your tours, lots of fun guiding visitors around Copenhagen, and safe travels always.

Would you like to know how I feel about Copenhagen? Read Hej Copenhagen - How I fell in Love in just one Weekend.

From Berlin with love

Travelling? It makes you thirsty for more of this thing called life

Travelling does the craziest things to you. It goes like this. At the beginning of this year, as I was in Botswana, when I saw the wildlife I was convinced that I will do more birdwatching when back home. Easy, go to any lookout point and start. In Zimbabwe I wanted to become a freedom fighter, whereas soon after in Cape Town, South Africa I knew I need to buy a farm in the Karoo and live happily ever after. I mean, thinking of it, an apartment in Clifton with a view of the ocean would equally do the trick.

Travel Denmark: Esbjerg - Art, architecture, UNESCO listed nature and drip coffee

Having been to Altona in Hamburg recently I learned that, in 1868, they built a replacement harbour for Altona somewhere in Denmark. Who would have thought that Altona in Germany was once Denmark’s most important North Sea Port? The new port was built in Esbjerg in Jutland. Esbjerg is the main town for Denmark's oil and offshore activities and remains a working town. I decided to visit to experience how far away from Hamburg this harbour would be. I visit Denmark’s fifth biggest city to follow that story of the past, just to make it complete and to understand how interwoven Altona’s and Esbjerg’s history is. 

My expectations were rather relaxed, I thought this surely isn't going to be as exciting as a trip to the capital city Copenhagen. But as it happened this town is not how I expected it to be, it has indeed everything you would need for a relaxing trip.

Is travelling all about the food?

If you ask me which country in the world has got the best food I would say Cambodia. The food I had there was simple, lots of vegetables and rice and all these exciting flavours. But again, how can I pick just one country? 

What about those perfectly cooked Paccheri Pasta in cream of Provolone del Monaco cheese garnished with black truffle slivers I ate in Italy? Once I tried Avocado Toast in Australia I was lost forever, it is now a breakfast staple of mine. My olive addiction started in Spain ... And then there are Koeksisters in South Africa, grilled vegetables, halloumi cheese and balsamic glaze in Athens, Greece, homemade bread in Botswana … and the list goes on. 

In Australia, breakfast is only complete with Avocado toast

Foodie moments enhance the experience of travelling

All these foodie moments surely enhance the experience of travelling, since most dishes were created over a period of time, most often centuries, and are deeply rooted in each countries culture. 

If you travel you often find food you have never seen before. That is what happened when I went to Cambodia, where I saw they sold fried Tarantulas at the roadside and on markets. A Cambodian lady at a market in Phnom Penh told me the country’s population started eating spiders during the Khmer Rouge regime when food was scarce to most people. Whenever I tell this, people get all disgusted and say they would never eat things like that. I always answer, don’t be a hypocrite, it is just the same as eating a cow, a rabbit or a pig. To me, there is no difference at all. It is funny how people’s perception of things gets blurred easily out of, let’s call it, ignorance.

Visit local food markets

When you visit local food markets you can be sure to learn most about the country you visit. This is where people do their grocery shopping, no matter their income or their age or gender. You will surely meet a wide variety or to be more precise representative sample of the local population. Some of my favourite markets are the Farmers Market in San Francisco, USA, the Mercate del Rialto in Venice, Italy, the Churchill Island Farmers’ Market in Victoria, Australia, the Toul Tom Poung (Russian Market) in Cambodia, the Neighbourgoods Market in Cape Town, Torvehallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the ever so popular Viktualienmarkt in Munich, Germany.

Recently I travelled to Positano in Italy for no other reason than to visit restaurants, and I had the best foodie time ever. Now I know where to eat in one of Italy's prettiest villages. It takes a lot of effort, true, to visit a place for its food alone, but try it, there is nothing to lose.

Where is your favourite foodie place? 

From Berlin with love

Sustainable travel. Fashion Revolution Day

You travel a lot? You love to get free stuff? You think if something isn’t free it should at least be inexpensive? We all have said this at least 100 times in our lives “You have to visit XY, it is so cheap”.

Fashion Revolution. Same same but different - only 1 dollar  

When running after all these super cheap things, we should not forget at what price that comes. Just think of all these markets with rows and rows of stalls selling t-shirts for 1 Dollar. After I asked myself what it might cost to produce a t-shirt I

10 of the most vibrant food markets in the world

Farmers' and also food markets are places where traders are passionate about their wares. I try to explain this with a mushroom. These markets are places where someone not only sells you any mushroom but the mushroom that person truly believes is the best mushroom out there. Farmers know the story behind the mushroom, they might even remember the day they started mixing the right ingredients for the compost before they put them in their dark rooms. Or they can recall the very day they went out to gather mushrooms in the forest. They know how much effort it takes to get the perfect product, they respect their food naturally. It is so very lovely to see this pure affection for a product. My secret tip for a great experience at farmers markets is, to start chatting to the farmers. You will most certainly hear the most amazing stories about the food. A visit at a market is about connecting growers and consumers. Do you get that at your local supermarket?

These markets are places where locals and visitors have been buying their wares for decades if not centuries (at least that is the case in some parts of the world). If you are on vacation and visit a market you will be part of that community, if only for a short time. You sure will be able to try food staples you can only get at this particular place, and you will most certainly be longing for these things forever. It is almost as if you tasted the place, literally. A market tells you a lot about a town, you will find out about the relation people have with their food. Why do people eat? What do they want to express? Do they want to express anything at all?

How to best describe food markets? Take passionate farmers and regional food and scatter them around a beautiful landmark. Add the excitement and hunger of locals and visitors, and finish off with the scent of herbs, spices, bbqs and freshly brewed coffee. If that isn’t a recipe for a feast, I don’t know what is.

Come with me on a tour around the world, and see the most vibrant food markets ...

Eyewitness Copenhagen: Regitse Rosenvinge

Having visited Copenhagen during summer, I started wondering what do locals do with their life in Copenhagen? I asked blogger Regitse Rosenvinge from the blog Byrosenvinge, and she was happy to share her experiences with us.

THE TOURISTIN: Three words that characterize Copenhagen?

Regitse Rosenvinge: Open, creative, social.

THE TOURISTIN: How do you get around Copenhagen?

Regitse Rosenvinge: Usually by foot or train and bus.

THE TOURISTIN: What is the best kept secret about Copenhagen?

Regitse Rosenvinge: I don’t know how much of a secret it is, but there’s an entrepreneur spirit growing in all parts of the city. It has been developing for years, but I believe we really see “the benefits” of it at the moment. You see motivated people working from their laptops in Cafés and office communities in all parts of the city, which is very inspiring. Furthermore, several initiatives on supporting entrepreneurs have been launched as well during the last couple of years; an important step.

Travel etiquette. When did you last steal a clothes hanger from your hotel room?

Again: anti-theft hangers

I know, I know, I know it is likely that you never ever did steal a hanger from a hotel room. But most of the times I am about to put my clothes into the wardrobe of a hotel room I have to fight with these silly hangers.

If none of us would never even plan to steal a hanger why do we have to deal with the theft proved ones? Would the world not be a better place if none of us would have to struggle with these hangers anymore? One step at a time, right? Next time you are about to take a souvenir hanger from a room, think of your fellow travellers first. And maybe, hotels will soon start to use normal hangers. Never stop dreaming ...

Where do you draw the line, have you ever stolen from a hotel room? Looking forward to hear from you.

From Berlin with love

Magically floating street artists

I first saw these magically floating street artists beginning of August in Copenhagen, Denmark and only a week later, last weekend in Hamburg, Germany. 

Looks like a pretty innovative illusion to me. I had never seen this before in Australia. I am still excited about it, whereas the rest of the world probably has known it for years? Not too sure.

In Copenhagen I just overheard a conversation where a guy had obviously just told his very young girl how it works. 

The girl asked her Dad how he knows that and he answered that he had read it somewhere. He was hero-daddy for the moment, but it’s sad he took away the magic of the floating street artists.

Travel Denmark. Copenhagen - Breakfast and a browse at TORVEHALLERNE

There is this friendly neighbourhood market I just stumbled across by chance. What better way than to start the day with breakfast in town ...

TORVEHALLERNE - a neighbourhood market

The two steel market halls, which resemble greenhouses, form TORVEHALLERNE. Here you get pretty much everything you would expect to get at a neighbourhood market. Bread, fruit and veg, coffee, flowers, cheese, cupcakes, juices, olive oil. 

While I stroll around to take a few pics I even got invited to do some more. I love this friendly and open minded attitude of the stall holders. They most certainly were not your average “don’t-take-a-pic-I-am-special-and-stash-up-the-apples-in-a-very-certain-way-person.”  

Having a coffee and watching the people, old, young, couples with their babies in prams, locals and tourists doing their grocery and/or souvenir shopping for the weekend, it was an excellent start into the day.  

TORVEHALLERNE. Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 Copenhagen.

Hej Hej. From Berlin With Love

Travel Denmark. Hej Copenhagen – Stay at retro Hotel Alexandra

For days I surfed the net and asked friends and acquaintances in order to find the perfect place to stay in Copenhagen. I could still not make up my mind. At one point I had a pretty brilliant idea. I vowed to book the first search result, which comes up on the hotel booking page. I typed in Copenhagen and the first result was a stylish looking hotel. It could have gone horribly wrong really, it was thrilling. I am happy I 'dared' to book our stay. 

Travel Denmark. Hej Copenhagen – How I fell in Love in just one Weekend

The very first thing I noticed is that no one smiles back. It hit me like a hammer when I over and over again smiled into lots of unmoved faces. I later read that Danes are independent and not so much into serving others; hence why shall they give a smile to a stranger? They seem not to be so much into social pleasantries as I am used to from Australia. 

As soon as I started interacting with people at stores, cafés or restaurants I experienced everyone as friendly, approachable and easy-going (Hey, it’s Copenhagen).