Instead of finding a hostel or a nice bed and breakfast, Gabe and I use airbnb.com to find our one night’s worth of accommodation in Paris before heading to the Loire Valley. Gabe found us a small apartment located behind a small art studio. The pictures and reviews on airbnb looked promising, so we were [...]
While in Berlin, I venture out of the city and visit another concentration camp, Sachsenhausen. This time, despite being prepared for what to expect and what to feel, the experience was still equally chilling and disturbing. The camp, which was used for mostly political prisoners, had a similar structure and daily routine to that in [...]
Both the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin make an architectural statement equally strong to its exhibits. The Jewish Museum, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, starts on the bottom floor as a series of zigzagging hallways. These hallways then help to divide the museum into three areas– Continuity with Germany history, Emigration from [...]
Berlin’s art, music, museum collections, and memorials all sum together to create an atmosphere that includes something for everyone. Although there is much I could mention on this topic, I will describe one encounter I have with said culture on a night I decide to go to a nearby jazz club. This contemporary jazz club, [...]
Berlin is a very livable city, and by this, I mean there is so much to see and do for both locals and tourists, that it seems it would never become dull. If something one day brings me to Berlin for an extended period of time, I will not complain. Its full history, albeit very [...]
I get to know Munich through the NewEurope Free Walking Tour. At first, I am skeptical of the tour as a large number of people make their way to Marienplatz. Large groups, soft speaking tour guides, and crowded cities are all part of an equation that usual pushes me towards a self-guided tour. However, I’m [...]
A message repeated throughout the many museums and monuments of the Holocaust is that retelling its story is critical so as to prevent anything similar form happening again. I fully agree with the message and the sentiment; however, I feel that it ignores the many examples that have occurred between WWII and today. I will [...]
I get up early and make my outside the city via train and towards the Dachau Concentration Camp. I have an idea of what to expect from museum exhibits I’d seen, books I’d read, and explanations I’d heard. However, soon after arriving, acquiring an audio tour, and making my way through the camp, I realize [...]
Feeling more at home while traveling can be a challenge. Sleeping in hostels, constantly meeting new people, and not having go-to restaurants or cafes can be fun but also tiring. Although Stockholm is about 5500 miles (8800 kilometers) from San Francisco, I met up with several friends, had a chance to try their go-to restaurants, [...]
The Swedish Kronor didn’t go as far as I was hoping. Even the public transportation is expensive in Stockholm. As a result, to stay on budget, I try to maintain a high calorie to kronor ratio, and ideally about 10 to 20 calories/kronor. (One US dollar is about 6 Swedish Kronor.) This meant that along [...]