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.

Out of Slovenia. Glamping in rural Slovenia. Chateau Ramsak

Updated August 2023.

 

After the restrictions during the Yugoslav years, and everything that followed, Chateau Ramšak is finally opening its doors to the public. Is it worth the journey? I travelled through the rolling hills of Slovenia to find out.

Where to sleep like an angel in the European Green Capital Ljubljana

Updated March 2022.

Slovenia in southern Central Europe sits between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. For centuries it belonged to the Hapsburg Empire and from 1918 on to Yugoslavia. The country became independent in the summer of 1991, and in 2004 it became an EU member; its capital city is Ljubljana. There are many reasons to visit this town, and one of it is that it has won the European Green Capital Award.

Sleep like an angel in the old town of Ljubljana

Travel Slovenia. The European Green Capital Ljubljana

 Updated November 2022.

 

Do you know that there are Green Capitals in Europe? Europe is often referred to as the old world, but hey, it is the old world, true, but full of people with very modern ideas and views. Here is the thing. Slovenia in southern Central Europe sits between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. You will find the Alps, a limestone plateau region and also a tiny strip of coast on the Adriatic Sea in Slovenia. For centuries it belonged to the Hapsburg Empire and from 1918 on to Yugoslavia. The country became independent in the summer of 1991, and that after going through very turbulent times during the Yugoslav wars. In 2004 the country became an EU member; its capital city is Ljubljana.

There are many reasons to visit Ljubljana

Roughly 280,000 people call Ljubljana home. It was in the twenties and thirties of the last century, that the Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik changed the look of Ljubljana. He designed and built the University Library, the properties along the banks of the river Ljubljanica and the Three Bridges (Tromostovje) in the town centre. It seems as if the socialist Yugoslav years never happened, at least in the old town. Ljubljana has everything a traveller can wish for. You find a medieval castle and the old town with enchanting baroque-façades and lots of red and slightly crooked rooftops. Today cafes and bars line the banks of the river Ljubljanica. There are more than 14 festivals per year and thousands and thousands of cultural events. There is also a great street art scene.