The Passenger ⋆ Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.

February 8, 2026February 8, 2026

Planetenweg

The Planetenweg in Göttingen is a fascinating blend of science, art, and landscape – a miniature model of our solar system mapped onto the real world. Stretching roughly 2.5 kilometres through the city centre to the outskirts, it’s built to a scale of one to two billion. That means every metre you walk represents about two million kilometres in space. The trail starts near the Göttingen railway station, where the Sun is depicted. From there, you can follow the path through the city up the hill, tracing the order of the planets as you move farther from the railway station.

February 8, 2026

Haus Loufried

Lou Andreas-Salomé was born in 1861 in St. Petersburg and died in 1937 in Göttingen, where she had spent the last decades of her life and intellectual work. She moved within the great intellectual currents of late nineteenth- and early twentieth‑century Europe, shifting from theology and philosophy to literature and, finally, to psychoanalysis. Her life feels like a continuous journey between cities and languages, but it comes to rest, symbolically and quite literally, in Göttingen, where her grave still draws visitors who know her name more through others – Nietzsche, Rilke, Freud – than through her own books.

January 25, 2026January 25, 2026

Iberg

Rising gently above Heilbad Heiligenstadt, the Iberg mountain offers a rewarding and well-marked hiking circuit known as the TOP-Wanderweg „Erlebnis Iberg“. This route showcases the diverse natural and historical features of northern Thüringen. Although the trail involves a noticeable incline, particularly during the gradual ascent through the Langes Tal (‘long valley‘), the climb unfolds in a comfortable rhythm, making it suitable for anyone with moderate hiking experience. The path is well-maintained, with clear signposts and rest areas that invite you to take in the surrounding forested landscape.

January 4, 2026January 5, 2026

Lavorare a Milano

Last year my employer introduced a scheme that allows me to work twenty days mostly anywhere in the world. Something which feels like being made for me, but I decided to try it out first in an easy location and at a time when workload isn’t soaring high. That’s why I decided to work the week after Christmas at Milano, a city I had only briefly explored so far. It also gave me the chance to finally see the L’Ultima Cena (I always failed to get tickets) and the chance to explore the surroundings, including Bergamo, Brescia, Torino and a long-awaited return to Como.

January 4, 2026

Linate

Aeroporto di Milano Linate Enrico Forlanini (LIN) is one of the three major airports serving the Milano metropolitan area, alongside Malpensa (MXP) and Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY, far away from the city). Located just about seven kilometres east of the city centre of Milano, Linate primarily handles domestic and short-haul European flights, making it the most convenient option for travellers heading directly into Milano. Its proximity to the city allows for a quick transfer – usually less than half an hour – which has long appealed to business passengers and locals alike. Despite its compact layout compared to Malpensa, Linate is known for its efficiency, modern facilities, and rather civilised atmosphere, balancing practicality with understated Italian elegance.

January 3, 2026January 3, 2026

Brunate

The Funicolare Como-Brunate is one of those engineering marvels that beautifully blends practical transportation with scenic delight. Opened in 1894, it was conceived as a way to connect the bustling lakeside city of Como with the hillside village of Brunate, perched some 700 metres above. Initially powered by steam and later electrified, the funicular became a symbol of 19th-century ingenuity, offering both locals and visitors a reliable and fascinating ascent up the steep incline. Its red carriages, gently swaying as they climb, feel like a journey back through time – a reminder of how elegantly the past solved challenges of geography.

January 3, 2026January 3, 2026

Lago di Lugano

Straddling the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy, Lago di Lugano is one of those rare lakes that feels at once luxuriant and unspoilt. Its emerald waters wind between steep alpine slopes and densely forested hills, creating a semi-Mediterranean landscape that’s markedly different from the larger, more polished lakes like Como or Maggiore. The air here feels softer, touched by olive trees, camellias, and lemon groves that thrive thanks to the lake’s mild microclimate. What makes it truly special is the blend of Swiss precision and Italian flair: orderly lakeside promenades lined with elegant villas contrast with the lively warmth of the cafés and trattorie where Italian is the dominant tongue.

January 3, 2026January 3, 2026

L’Ultima Cena

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milano is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in northern Italy. Built initially for the Dominican order during the late 15th century, it occupies a quiet corner of the Corso Magenta district, offering a striking contrast to the city’s modern elegance. Its brick façade, modelled in the Lombard Gothic style, conceals a luminous interior remodelled under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who sought to turn this monastery into both a religious house and a dynastic mausoleum. Donato Bramante, one of the early masters of the High Renaissance, transformed the apse into a harmonious ensemble of light, colour, and proportion that typifies the transition from Gothic to humanist design.

January 2, 2026January 2, 2026

Pinacoteca di Brera

The Pinacoteca di Brera stands as one of Milano’s great cultural treasures, housed in a former Jesuit college that became a key site in the city’s artistic and intellectual life. Its origins trace back to the late 18th century, during the Napoleonic era, when artworks confiscated from churches and noble collections across northern Italy were brought together to form a public gallery. This was part of a broader Enlightenment vision, seeking to make art accessible to citizens and scholars. Over time, the collection grew under the direction of major curators and benefactors, transforming Brera into the artistic heart of Milano.

January 1, 2026January 1, 2026

Torino

The city of Torino, or Turin in German and English, lies elegantly at the foot of the Alps where the Po river flows through the wide plains of northern Italy. It was the first capital of unified Italy in the 19th century and long before that, the seat of the powerful House of Savoy. The city carries itself with a regal grace, visible in its Baroque palaces, arcaded boulevards, and grand piazzas that reflect both French and Italian influences. Its grid-like street layout, unusual for an Italian city, owes much to 17th-century urban planning, which lends Torino a sense of order and grandeur reminiscent of Paris rather than Roma.