The Masonic Hotel + Museum + Cigar Bar in Loket, Bohemia (“Montenegro” in Casino Royale)

Loket (formerly called "Elbogen" in German, which translates as "elbow" in both languages) is one of the most pictoresque medieval towns in Europe, in the Bohemian part of today's Czech Republic. Loket and its gothic castle stand high above a bend (elbow) in the river Ohre ... and stood in as film location for "Montenegro" …

7 Days, 7 Continents, 7 Marathons

Thanks to my dear friend Richard Donovan, the ultra endurance runner and extreme event organiser from Ireland, I was able to witness his World Marathon Challenge first hand, without having to run: 7 days, 7 continents, 7 marathons With more than 40 participants from a dozen countries. Foto taken at the start in Capetown. https://vimeo.com/375248997 …

Dark Tourist or Bright Traveler ?

Welcome ... to the other side ! (Foto taken in Bhutan, the gross happiness dictatorship) - "Dark Tourist" is a deliberate propaganda word, to discredit those brighter travelers who refuse to be programmed by television and take an effort to see reality for themselves. "Dark Tourists" go to Miami, Mallorca, or the Military. Bright tourists …

Neu-Schwabenland, Antarctica

Welcome to ... Mysterious Antarctica! Few have ever heard of Queen Maud Land (or Dronning Maud Land in Norwegian), but even fewer of New Swabia (or Neu-Schwabenland in German). Go figure why ... Capetown Airport (South Africa) is one of the two main entry points to the white continent, together with Punta Arenas (Chile). After …

Hosted in the FARC mountains: Marquetalia, Colombia

The Colombian mountain territory of Marquetalia was declared an autonomous republic by the "Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia", or FARC, in 1948. FARC co-founder Jacobo Arenas (pictured right), surviving the government invasion of Marquetalia, wrote a book called "Diario de la resistencia de Marquetalia" ("Marquetalia Diary") in 1972. FARC founder Manuel Marulanda "Tirofijo" is pictured …

Red Bull Hangar 7 in Salzburg

... been here so many times, finally found the energy for a well deserved blog entry:   Hangar 7 is Didi Mateschitz' daring collection of big boys toys and tickles for culinary tongues, a private hangar at Salzburg's W. A. Mozart Airport, right off the highway border with Germany, at the bottom of mythical Untersberg, …

A Traveller de luxe at Ernst Jünger’s house in Swabia

Under the spell of Jünger's private collection of literature, travel memorabilia and personally delivered bulletholes to the helmet of English soldiers (WW1).   Ernst Jünger (1895-1998) is arguably Germany's most unerring writer, he was definitely the most manly, and - attaining age 102 - he was certainly the bravest. I became attracted to Jünger's lonely …

Who is a sophisticated traveler?

The meaning of "sophistication" has its ancient roots in Greek: sophia = wisdom. In the days of classical beauty, wisdom was inherently linked to aesthetics, defined by rational order and harmonious proportions. This was in stark contrast to later medieval gothics (brought by Barbarians) or modern shard deconstructivism (by another tribe from the East), which has found its extreme …

ETIC – Principality of Sealand

On the occasion of the 7th ETIC - Extreme Traveler International Congress, an exclusive group of 25 of the world's most extreme travelers flew in, all the way from Japan, Thailand, Russia, the USA and Europe ... ... to meet at The Pier Hotel in Harwich - and to travel onward to one of the …

Aleppo (Syria): perfidious ISIS-Battlefield, secret NATO-Bunker, destroyed Grand Bazaar + famous Baron Hotel

We want you to come to Syria - in peace ! Because of the Western sanctions, there are currently only 3 international flights to Damascus (from Baghdad, Moscow and Tehran), so most foreign visitors, journalists or NGO staff enter Syria overland from the Lebanese border, pictured here. After a night drive of 2.5 hours, directly …