Keeping up
The last 2 – 3 months have been a rush. I’ve been flying all over Europe, rushing from one place to the next, barely sleeping in my own bed. At the end of October I was in Romania for Halloween, straight through to Greece for work. Then after one night…
Persepolis still manages to impress
Around 550BC Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire. He first defeated the Medes and from there the empire grew conquest by conquest. It became larger than any empire had been before. Cyrus himself built a palace at Pasargadae. His successors preferred other locations. Darius I founded a new capital…
To the roots of religion
Zoroastrianism is a religion I had never heard of until I went to Iran. And yet it influenced many of the worlds main religions, like Islam, Judaism and Christianity. It is one of the oldest religions still practised and the oldest one believing in one god: Ahura Mazda. It became…
Arriving in Iran
Before our plane landed, a warning sounded over the speakers: “We strongly recommend you to wear a head scarf before exiting the plane.” I felt uncomfortable, constantly checking if it was still on my head as I walked to the terminal. I as nervous because I didn’t have a visa…
Teufelsberg: where history turned into art
After the second world war Berlin was a mess. There was rubble everywhere and the people, a lot of them women, started to clean up the streets. This resulted in some rubble hills, that are now the highest points in the city and are often surrounded by park. The 120…
Banja Luka’s best
Banja Luka is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second biggest city. It’s located in the North of the country, close to the border with Croatia. I had never thought to go to Banja Luka and it’s certainly not on the tourist radar where I am from, but I wanted to explore a…
A little gem called Lukomir
It was August. It was hot. It may not have been the best time to go hiking. But I’d heard about this day hike. I’d seen photos of this day hike. I’d been looking forward to this day hike. I was going to do this day hike! So I set…
Day-tripping from Sarajevo
With only one week of holiday, I didn’t have time to explore Bosnia and Herzegovina on my normal slow pace and so I opted to do some day tours from Sarajevo. After exploring Tuzla for a day, I took an early bus to the capital. As we drove into the…
A summer holiday after all
After visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina as a tour leader a few times, the country has simply stolen my heart. Ever since setting foot in it for the first time, I’ve been wanting more. I can never get enough of Sarajevo, with it’s gorgeous old center, the many shops, the fabulous…
All the way to the throne
In the North-Eastern corner of Germany you can find the beautiful Jasmund national park. This ancient natural area still has forest that have stood her since the ice age and has dramatic cliffs diving into the sea. It’s the perfect area for nice long walk in the shade of the…