Bookshops recommend the best novels to transport you to their hometowns

Sitting in a bar by this swimming pool. Sipping espresso. Looking into the far distance. There is loud music playing. This is heaven for all the ones who only like music when played loud. The sky is of a bright big blue, the day is almost too hot. Right next to me sits what seems to be a large family. An elderly woman, most likely in her eighties, she is tiny and wrinkly. There are a few who could be her children, and these also brought their children along to the gathering. One of the younger couples has a baby, wearing a onesie with round ears. They take family photos. Making memories. They do it in every line-up and arrangement possible. The young dad wears a t-shirt and cap that tells everybody how much he loves Miami. I never meet the grandpa and I probably never will. (Vinales, Cuba). 

Travel Europe. One place to visit for every month of the year

Europe, who doesn’t love it? The culture, the food, the people, the landscape. It is varied, fun, colourful, educating, Europe and its hundreds of towns, places, villages, beaches, and mountains. All that comes with this variety is just what everyone dreams of experiencing at least once in their lifetimes. Here comes a choice of places, always one to visit, for every month of the year. These are all tried and tested, many several times and in any case, tested in the month they are recommended here.

Murals in London’s East End - Free Self-Guided Tour

London's East End (and with it Shoreditch), is the perfect area to explore the history of English homes from 1600 to the present day at the Geffyre Museum, have dinner and something sweet at Ottolenghi, have an extensive browse for local designers (among other things) at the Spitalfields Market, browse all things cheap on Petticoat Lane Market around Middlesex Street, eat at the food hall in the Old Truman Brewery, have a drink and marvel at the interior decoration of The Ten Bells Pub (especially at the 19th century mural) or to visit Brick Lane (have you read that book by Monica Ali?). That street is as busy as it was ten years ago and people still love visiting this area, especially on weekends. One thing that makes it exciting for many is the street art in this area. 

Eyewitness Cambridge in the UK: Rachel Brown from Rachel On Route

Cambridge is a university town in Cambridgeshire, England. You find the town that was founded in the first century, roughly 80 kilometres north of the famous and beautiful capital London. Rachel grew up in the county of East Anglia, in the East of England. For armchair-travels to this part of the world, watch these three historical dramas: The Other Boleyn Girl, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The King's Speech, which were all filmed on location in Cambridgeshire.

Rachel is what one might call a proper bookworm; she likes fantasy, Russian literature, and graphic novels. No surprise she studied English and Creative Writing. Emma Thompson, actress, human rights activist and screenwriter and Zadie Smith, the novelist, essayist, and short-story writer both studied English literature in Cambridge too. Just saying. 

When Rachel doesn't write, read or travels, she cooks and eats, weight trains using kettlebells or cycles and strolls through Cambridge. One would go to Cambridge to visit the Queen’s College Moondial at Cambridge University, the Centre of Computing History, the King’s College Chapel or the All Saint’s Church, but there is more to discover. Rachel was so lovely to tell us about her hometown. She talks about an Elm tree, hot numbers, museums that are works of art and a haunted bookshop.

Travel Great Britain: Stroll through Marylebone in London

London has all these grand places to visit. There is Buckingham Palace, Madame Tussauds, the London Eye, the Tower of London and there is Westminster Abbey, but then, there is so much more. Have you ever wondered where you find an English village atmosphere, the grandeur of a Viennese cafe house, or where you can buy artisan Stilton in a ceramic pot and visit one of the sexiest bookstores in the whole wide world in the capital city of the UK? Come follow me, I’ll show you.

We will visit the London borough of Marylebone where we go for a wander along Marylebone High Street towards Oxford Street. In this part of town you find darling period architecture, enchanting mews and divine coffee shops. Marylebone and its pronunciation is a bit unclear, there are several versions, I pronounce it Mar-le-bon, others pronounce it Marley-bone or Mar-le-bone. From what I gather all different versions are accepted. Take the tube to as close as possible to Marylebone High Street, probably best to get off at Regents Park tube station on the Bakerloo Line (that is the brown one on the tube map).

Travel Great Britain. Wapping walking tour: Poverty, sailors, slaves, pirates and pubs

Whenever I am in London I think it is a shit hole of a place, my hands are constantly dirty, it is loud and it is grubby, there are too many drunks at night, using public transport at rush hour feels like a fight, one has to queue for literally everything from money to coffee, but weirdly, I love London so much. London, the capital city of the United Kingdom is worth a trip at any time of the year, no matter why or when you visit, you surely are going to love it. In 2014 a whopping 17.4 million visitors from overseas made their way to London for a reason.

After your visit to London’s top attractions like the British Museum, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tate Modern and the Tower of London right next to the Tower Bridge, keep on walking along the Thames, deeper into the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Friends were so very sweet to show me around Wapping, a part of town I hadn't visited before. 

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 Great Britain. Ian talks about Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

Ian is a British solo traveller. He likes to travel as light as he possibly can when he is on the road, and he loves to take photos as much as he loves to write. Ian admits that he isn’t great with languages but that he is prepared to go right down to the local level when he travels. He compares his travel style with the working style of a “barefoot doctor.” A person who is only trained very basically in medicine, and gets by with a few resources.

Ian is a delight to talk to; he is such a very tolerant and friendly person. I’m so very glad, that he spent so much time, to tell about Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in Great Britain. Enjoy the ride, read his in-depth info about his home region.

Speciality Coffee Places in Edinburgh Tested by a Coffee Snob

Am I cursed, ever since I have lived in Melbourne (Australia)? Probably yes. Over all these years I was surrounded by antipodean coffee snobs. Seven years were long enough, to turn me into one too. And now I can’t go back to drinking ordinary coffee. Read this to learn more about Espresso based drinks. I love walking, really love it, I walk a lot. And over and over again, it proves to be the best way to randomly find places and spaces. A woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do right? While in Edinburgh recently, I tried to find good coffee places. Here are the independently owned coffee places I found, as I was walking the streets of Edinburgh.

Eyewitness London. Writer Jennifer Klinec

Who wouldn’t want to know how life in Iran, the country between Iraq and Pakistan, is? The Canadian Jennifer Klinec spent time in the country and wrote about her experiences in The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran.

“Jennifer Klinec abandons a corporate job to launch a cooking school from her London apartment and travels to countries most people are fearful of, in search of ancient recipes and delicious things to eat. 

Her quest leads her to Iran where she wraps her hair in a scarf and hunts out a local woman to teach her the secrets of the Persian kitchen.” 

Food? Travel? Intercultural competence? I had to read the book

When Jennifer Klinec, she is a bit of a serial-traveller (for her cooking school she went to places like Burma, Ethiopia and Yemen), talks about travelling you instantly want to go and see more of this world. The way she describes food makes you hungry. Her raw honesty feels overwhelming at times. Jennifer talks about things in a through and through humble way, she never sensationalizes her time in the Islamic republic. Jennifer learns from her hosts and respects their beliefs. She envy's their community spirit, and is elated when she is invited (and if only for the time being) to become part of it. At the same time the reader feels that she knows what she wants.

Reading the book you learn that people in Iran are indeed open to dialogue with foreigners, and that they find ways to brave restrictions imposed on them. Jennifer’s story is a somehow bizarre one, but also so very ordinary, it could happen to literally everyone. On the very last pages, and up until the moment when tears roll down your cheeks, and not one moment sooner, you will read how her story ends. 

Finishing the book, you will have a strong desire to know what she is up to now. A sequel would be fantastic.

Jennifer Klinec lives in London, England and was so very lovely to tell us about her hometown. 

------------------------ 

THE TOURISTIN: Three words that characterize London?

Jennifer Klinec: Loud, proud, ever-changing.

THE TOURISTIN: How do you get around London?

Jennifer Klinec: I walk everywhere. I'll even walk an hour each way to the cinema. It's good for my head and because London is always changing it's the best way to try and keep track of all the new places constantly cropping up.

Eyewitness London. Paula Gardner from Scarlet Thinking

I was so very lucky to recently meet Paula Gardner from Soothed in the City. You know, there are so many people out there, who brag about how many countries they have seen. I strongly believe it is all about what one does on vacation and not about how many places one visits. We had a long chat about this theory and Paula was so very lovely to agree to get interviewed. 

Paula lives in London where she runs her own PR Agency Scarlet Thinking and gives advice on Social Media strategy. The world is full of beautiful and interesting women, and today you are about to meet one of them.

Travel Great Britain: Street Art in London

It is not a secret when I say a trip to London is so worth it, right? There are millions of people who know that already. When in London it is astonishing that you can walk from street art clad areas to historical places, to the sheer shopping heaven of let’s say Marylebone High Street. Do these places co-exist happily, do they clash, or do they secretly dream that the other wouldn’t be there anymore? Are these places real or are they only there to entertain the crowds? Most often tourists see the exciting sights, and about London people say they "like the punks". Sounds a bit 80s to be honest, where are they?

Looking at street art makes you think about stuff, it makes you questioning things. OK, I get there are people who are oblivious to questioning anything ever. The great thing about street art is that it is freely available to everyone, and there really is no need to buy a ticket to participate and to get inspired. Often it seems street artists have no problem to create impeccable pieces of art overnight. Different street artists use different tools and art forms, to create stories, and so far there is hardly any literature to explain their messages. As in, and we all remember that moment vividly, “please write an essay where you explain what Van Gogh had in mind when he put these lemons next to a vase …”. This leads me straight to my next thought, oh dear, are future teachers going to torture innocent school kids with questions about Banksy’s dreams? So much to think about, isn’t it?

Come with me to look at street art on and close to Hanbury Street in East London

Illustration by Phlegm. Butterflies by (to me) unknown artist

Red Post Box by D7606

Borondo

Art by JANA & JS

Murals by Martin Ron and ROA (from left to right)

Grafitti by Stik

How do you feel? Does art influence your life? Can’t wait to hear from you. Thank you so much in advance. For many more London ideas you have to read The Travel Writers' Ultimate Guide to a London Heathrow Layover. 

From Berlin with love