General Archives ⋆ The Passenger

May 31, 2024June 23, 2024

Pit Stop

Every year the eyes of the world turn to Monaco for the Formula 1 Grand Prix when the fast cars race through the narrow streets of the city and pass along the Casino as well as the Port Hercule. But Monaco as one of those microstates in Europe, fully surrounded by France, is always worth a visit. It is reigned by prince Albert II, became independent from France in 1489, has 40,000 inhabitants (thereof 8,000 citizens) and can be considered one of the safest places in the world with one policeman and -woman per inhabitant.

May 31, 2024June 4, 2024

Respectueux du climat

When I had given myself the mission to visit my hitherto unseen European microstates (Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Andorra) I immediately thought that this should be possible in an eco-friendly manner. Reaching Liechtenstein with Deutsche Bahn and SNCF was hassle-free, but the trip to Monaco was a very long one with many things that could go wrong. I tried it anyway.

May 16, 2024June 25, 2024

Cruising

Millenium bridge seen from ferry boat, London

Visiting London also means visiting the river Thames. I’ve spent many hours at its riverbank, crossed it endless times via bridges and using the Greenwich foot tunnel. So far I hadn’t taken the opportunity to go by boat on the lifeline of the city which is an easy pleasure: you don’t need to find a commercial tour operator, there are ferry boats that you can use just like any other means of transport. You can just tap in and out with your credit card and it doesn’t cost a fortune.

April 17, 2024May 20, 2024

Rand

Traveling the touristy areas of South Africa means that you can pay everywhere by credit card and you don’t need cash (except for tipping and car park guardians) – that’s nice, but you would miss out the beautiful South African banknotes decorated with different animals and having Nelson Mandela on every single one of them. It is in use since 1961 when South Africa changed its status from being a British Dominion to a fully independent republic.

March 22, 2024March 25, 2024

Eschede

I’ve been using high-speed trains in Germany very often and always felt secure. Travelling by train is one of the most secure means of transport and there are many technical measures that ensure this, including the European Train Control System (ETCS), dedicated allowances to use a railway track as well as automated braking the train if the train driver is not responding or the train too fast. When travelling by car you have a 164 times higher risk to get injured than in a train. But even a system like this can never be 100 % secure and we all had to learn that on June 3rd, 1998, when the most severe accident of European high-speed trains happened close to a small city in Lower Saxony.

March 22, 2024March 22, 2024

Bergen-Belsen

The horror of Bergen-Belsen evolved over time. First, this place located between Celle and Soltau was a military training ground, then it became a camp for prisoners of war from France, Italy and the Soviet Union. From 1943 on the SS turned parts of the camp site into concentration camp; some of the Jewish inmates were planned to be exchanged against Germans detained outside of Germany, others were transported further on to extinction camps. At the end of the World War II concentration camps close to the battle zones were evacuated and tens of thousands were brought to Bergen-Belsen. Overall 38,000 humans died on this soil while the concentration camp was operating. Unfortunately around 14,000 died after the liberation because of illnesses and bad supply.

January 18, 2024January 21, 2024

Crossrail

I hadn’t been to London for over four years and when I headed through the underground of the Heathrow airport towards the Heathrow Express I noticed a major change in public transport: the tracks used by the high-speed train to Paddington are now also used by the new Elizabeth Line colored in purple. The new line was created in a project called Crossrail, because it is a connection from East to West throughout the city – opened in autumn 2022.

October 8, 2023December 22, 2023

Place of warmth

It was 4 am when the lights of თბილისი appeared at the windows of the plane taking me to Georgia. A driver picked me up and drove me through the capital city that was still completely asleep. I dropped my bag at the hotel and sat in front in the dark, surrounded by stray dogs. A quick look at the watch: 5 pm, time for a coffee from one of the 24/7 shops and a walk through the empty streets to enjoy sunrise over the Mtkwari river.

October 6, 2023December 22, 2023

City of the winds

Bakı is a city like no other. The capital city of Azerbaijan is shaped by the fossil resources available at the shore of the Caspian sea: oil and gas. They’re owned by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and create visible wealth and they are so widely available that they even remain unused and create continuously burning mountains and bubbling mud volcanoes. An endless number of horsehead pumps are moving around the city, three skyscrapers are shaped like flames and there is even a religion (Zoroastrianism) that worships the flame.

October 3, 2023November 19, 2023

ibis Baku

The city of Bakı offers a wide range of hotel options: from the typical high-class and upper class western hotel chains (easily bookable via the Internet) to charming smaller hotels especially around the inner city İçəri Şəhər. Most tourists seem to prefer the latter and book local hotels and apartments close to the historic city center.