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 …

Inside Varosha Ghost Town + Louroujina Pocket + Kokkina Exclave, on the Atilla Line, Turkish Cyprus

The 180km long United Nations Buffer Zone aka Atilla Line or Green Line divides Cyprus (Source: http://www.militaryhistories.co.uk and own) There are 330.000 ethnic Turks living in the unrecognised "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", and 1.300.000 ethnic Greek living in the UN-recognised Greek "Republic of Cyprus" in the South. After being predominantly Greek or Byzantian since …

Raid on Rockall

After our daring visit to the Pirates in Puntland, Mr. Masel Tov called again. His latest mission impossible: a Raid on Rockall. This lonely rock in the middle of the North Atlantic ... ... is claimed by Britain since 1955, and incorporated into Scotland since 1972. Illegally - because international law doesn't allow the appropriation …

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 …

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 …