Mar 20
Cloister, Convento de San Esteban
In Spanish the expression for “handwritten” is “de mi puño y letra” – of my fist and handwriting. Today I was flipping through my Spanish notebook when I came across a page scribbled with several verses, an early attempt to write a poem on Salamanca. Read more
Mar 15
Late afternoon shadows
After a day of exploring the hutong I was on the way back to my hotel when I came across a mesmerizing sight at Jingshan Park. The smog of the previous day had disappeared, and the rays of the late afternoon sun were sparkling off the gold leaf adorning its west gate. Intrigued, I paid the 2 yuan entrance fee and went in to take a look. Read more
Mar 13
Winter scene at the Summer Palace
Even in the smog, the lake is undeniably beautiful. Nearby the vendors offer bags of freshly grilled corn on the cob and skewers of candied Chinese hawthorns. I am observing the frozen waters from the Pavilion of Heralding Spring, where the weeping willows are the first to bud and the ice already broken. Read more
Feb 28
Beijing traffic
It is just after midday and a band of hungry window shoppers are congregating around a pile of sizzling lamb skewers. Like a lunch signal the steam wafts off the grill and into the cold winter air, alerting the crowd of potential buyers to its presence. Read more
Feb 25
A Beijing icon
On a frigid Saturday morning, Niki is waiting on the main road outside my hotel. She has hailed a taxi, and as we climb in I can hear her utter the name of our destination. “Tiantan nan-mer.” We are heading to the Temple of Heaven. “If you don’t speak with a Beijing accent,” Niki says, referring to the pirate-like ‘r’s, “the taxi drivers won’t understand you.” It’s been barely two days since my arrival, but I can already feel the city’s tones creeping gently into my Mandarin. Read more
Feb 20
Unlocked – inside the palace garden
When a Chinese dynasty is overthrown, tradition dictates that the old palace must be razed to make way for a new one in its place. But in the summer of 1644 the Manchus broke with the age-old habit, sparing the already fire-damaged residence of their predecessors a similar fate. Instead the new rulers would set about restoring the 15th-century marvel to its former glory. Read more
Feb 18
Morning at Tiananmen Gate
On the northern edge of Chang’an Avenue, a towering red wall guides me towards the gate at Tiananmen. To my left thirteen lanes of traffic thunder past a column of barren trees, their branches throwing long winter shadows across the paving stones. Read more
Feb 2
Brno Cathedral from Špilberk Hill
In Brno, there’s a reason why the cathedral bells announce the noon an hour early. Back in the 17th century, when virtually all of Europe was embroiled in the Thirty Years’ War, an invading Swedish army swept across the lands of the Czech Crown. Olomouc, the historical capital of Moravia, was occupied and left in ruins; Prague would eventually fall in 1648. Read more
Jan 25
The first time we crossed into Eastern Europe, it was on a train from Vienna to Prague. We had just completed a road trip across Switzerland, spent a few days soaking up the magnificent Austrian capital, and now it was time to check out a city known for its dreamy spires and pastel-coloured beauty. Read more
Jan 10
The Olza River, marking the international border
It’s New Year’s Eve, 2008, and we are in the northeastern corner of the Czech Republic. Along with my mother and sister I’ve made the trip to one of the country’s lesser-known regions, located right along the Polish frontier. This pocket of Eastern Europe, I am told, is called Cieszyn Silesia. Read more
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