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Berlin: A Barrier of Colour and Creativity

It’s essentially an art gallery. But in this gallery the paintings aren’t hanging on the wall, they’re painted on it. And the gallery is outside on a busy sidewalk of an equally busy road. Sounds unlikely? Well, read on… I’d imagine that most people will at least have heard of the Berlin Wall – the …

Berlin: A Disconcerting Experience

One of the most unexpected sites we visited in Berlin was the headquarters of the GDR Ministry for State Security, a building of which has been converted into the Stasi Museum. The museum has exhibitions showing how the Stasi, the secret police, controlled almost all aspects of life in the DDR, the German Democratic Republic. …

Berlin: The Abandoned Symbol that Became an Icon

One of the most charming icons of Berlin I discovered on our trip were the Ampelmännchen – the “little walking men”. Originally designed in 1961 in East Berlin, these charming pedestrian traffic signals are one of the few East German symbols to have survived German reunification. Not only can these charming walking men be seen …

The City and the City The City and the City

A little while back I read “The City & the City” by China Mieville. It’s a story about a city that, for some inexplicable (or in my case forgotten) reason has been divided into two totally separate cities. As a citizen of one city you are not permitted to acknowledge the existence of the other …

Fiction Becomes Reality

When I was in high school I went through a protracted phase of devouring any novel or movie I could lay my hands on that was set during WWII. Even now, every now and then I’ll settle down to enjoy a book that’ll take me back to this period in history. So it’s no surprise …

Falling Back into the Habit

I know, I know, it’s been ages since I published an article. It’s certainly not for lack of anything to write about. After all, I recently got back from an amazing trip to Germany and Poland about which I have lots to share. I also need to gather my courage and write a final post …

The Best Way to Follow My Next Adventure

I can hardly believe it! After the fairly relaxed planning phase of the past few months, followed by the utter chaos of getting everything finished over the past few days, we’re finally off on our latest adventure – Berlin, Krakow and a number of exciting places between the two. I’m going to continue posting articles …

The Blind Tourist Travels Again

I know, I know – it’s been a while since I posted about a place where Fiji is welcome. And I will do so again soon, I promise. But you see, we’re busy planning our next overseas trip and I wanted to let you know where we’re off to this time, namely, Germany and Poland. …