-
Walking to Poland, Germany
•
Whilst visiting Germany’s Baltic coast, I realised I was staying only a couple of kilometres from the Polish border. Being Australian, the thought of being able to walk to another country had me giggling like a kid.
-
‘Morgen!’, Germany
•
While enjoying the breakfast buffet in several different hotels, I noticed something very cool about German culture.
-
Sarajevo – Siege City, Bosnia and Herzegovina
•
The first time I remember Sarajevo coming to our screens in Australia was for the ’84 Winter Olympics. The second time was for a long and bloody siege that mocked any notion of human rights and dignity.
-
Lost and Found in Translation, Balkans
•
I often find it funny how people who speak English as a second (third, fourth or fifth) language habitually use phrases that English people don’t. I am sure there are people all around the world right now saying the exact same thing about English speakers who learn their languages.
-
Leaving Kosovo
•
Sometimes leaving a country is a straight-forward, stress-free exercise. Other times, it is anything but.
-
A Walk in the Black Forest, Germany
•
The Black Forest. The name conjures images of dark, mysterious mountain woods, inhabited by wild animals and supernatural creatures straight from the pages of classic fairytales. I was in the neighbourhood, so thought I’d spend some time exploring this place of legends.
-
The Statues of Skopje, North Macedonia
•
Whoever was in charge of Skopje’s Statue Department clearly took the ‘more is more’ approach to their portfolio. The Macedonian capital has a lot of statues. And when I sat a lot, I mean heaps. Literally hundreds.
-
Vodici Ceremony, North Macedonia
•
When I checked in to my apartment in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje, the landlord mentioned that the following day was a public holiday. He explained that a ceremony, involving hardy souls plunging into the freezing Vardar River, would be taking place in the city, and that it’s something I might like to have…
-
The Sound of Lake Ngototo, New Zealand
•
Hearing kids nearby singing along to Chris Cornell had me reminiscing about seeing live music in the 1990s
-
The Storks of Poland
•
Apparently 25% of the world’s white storks nest in Poland, and therefore ‘every fourth white stork is a Pole’.