And Now, the Rotel: A Rolling Hotel for the Brave Tourist

Is it a bus? Is it a hotel? Is it a mirage? Why, it’s the Rotel, of course! That’s a rolling hotel, to you and I. The brainchild of Georg Holtl, German entrepreneur and one-time actor, Rotel had its first passengers in 1945, taking them on the short journey from Tittling to Passau. Then, in…

How the World’s Largest West African Voodoo Collection Ended up in a Water Tower in France

Strasbourg is famous for its massive Christmas markets, white wines and fairytale architecture, but this city also has a unexpected cultural treasure – hidden in a 17th century water tower. The Chateau Vodou is home to the largest collection of Voodoo artifacts (Vodou is the French spelling) in the world. It includes over 1,200 pieces,…

A Brief Guide and History of Travelling Experimentally

When you next leave the house, turn right. Then turn left. Then right again, followed by another left. And by Jove, I think you’ve got it! Do this until you’re blocked by an obstacle, whether that’s a dead-end, a river, or a sheer drop. Congratulations, you’ve just completed your first act of travelling experimentally. Alternating…

Stargazing for Aliens, not Celebrities, on the French Riviera

As it turns out, the French Riviera caters to more than a few of our favourite holiday past-times: channeling Brigitte Bardot, building sand castles at the beach and … tracking down aliens? About an hour north of the seaside city of Nice, into the mountainous terrain where Provence meets the Cote d’Azur; at the end of a…

10 Reasons to Visit the Only Country Where North Koreans Can Take a Permanent Vacation

When I first began researching Kyrgyzstan, a country I’d honestly never heard of, bordering China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, I thought I was going to be discovering a mini North Korea. For Kyrgyzstan is the only country in the world where North Korean citizens can stay for an unlimited amount of time (if they can manage to get past…

The World’s Smallest Country Hides a Real-Life Garden of Eden

At less than a fifth of a square mile, The Vatican City is officially the world’s tiniest country. As the seat of the Catholic church, it’s also a cultural institution and a major museum that was welcoming nearly 7 million visitors a year before the pandemic. Unbeknownst to most of the tourists however, is the…

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The Underdog Dining Club of Paris

They’re not hip, they’re not sexy and they’re certainly not in the Michelin guides – they are the underdogs; the restaurants that call out to us for some reason or another. They might be hiding away in an unpopular neighbourhood, serving cuisine from a conflict country or just unwilling to keep up with the times.…

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The New York Cocktail Trail

Trying to determine the exact moment a cocktail was invented is an elusive task, like trying to pin a particularly slippery olive at the bottom of your Martini glass with a cocktail stick. In much the same way you can visit virtually every old inn or hotel on the American East coast to be met…

Thousand Islands Is So Much More Than a Salad Dressing

If there’s a reason why I’ve been deprived of the real Thousand Islands all my life, I’m going to blame it on the salad dressing. Because lo and behold, this European has just discovered that it’s a real (and quite magical) place, not just an orange sauce for dipping my crudités, and that I need to…

Wild Card Destination Du Jour: The Unsung Secrets of Sarajevo

Sarajevo might be quite unlike any other city in Europe. Nestled in a valley surrounded by the beautiful Dinaric Alps, it is a beguiling mix of old world cultures, where centuries of Ottoman Empire rule meet the grandeur and elegance of the Austro-Hungarian Hapsburgs. Wander through the maze of cobbled winding streets in the Old…