When looking at historic routes across the Alps it is interesting to contrast it with modern trans-alpine traffic. What are the top 5 routes across the Alps today? Here it is worth noting that we have road and rail routes today. Even if they often run in parallel, there are interesting exceptions. Let’s look at …
We look down Menenstraat towards the center of Ypres from the same position at Menin Gate 100 years apart. Behind us, the street crosses the rampart and moat of the old fortifications and leaves the town towards Menen. Narrow, three-story brick houses line the cobbled street. It leads to the famous Gothic cloth hall …
Late December is not an appealing time of the year to go outside for a walk. The days are very short and the weather is often overcast, taking away even more light. Snow is rare and the scenery therefore mostly brown and gray. I still feel that it is worth getting outside and enjoy nature …
Office buildings, car dealerships, fast food restaurant and retail outlets line up for five kilometers on both sides of the road that leaves Frankfurt to the east. The Hanauer Landstrasse seems to have nothing to do with a historic route. But then again, you can find one of these traces of the past: Hidden between …
The Elbe estuary in Hamburg is a natural obstacle for modern land-bound traffic. Yet the harbor made Hamburg into a traditional trading city. The old Elbe tunnel is part of both, the harbor and the means to cross the river. It is a hidden gem of industrial heritage in the vibrant city. 19th century …
Globalization may be a modern buzz word, but it is reality in Hamburg for more than 100 years. The city built a whole warehouse district in the late 19th century for precious goods from around the world: the historic Speicherstadt (literally: warehouse city). If you’re in Hamburg, make sure the historic Speicherstadt is on your …
Imagine a railway pulling super-heavy trains across a mountain range in the Arctic. That’s the Ore Line from Kiruna to Narvik. There are several ways you can explore this impressive route. Iron ore from the mine at Kiruna in Swedish Lapland is shipped by this railway for more than 100 years now to the ice-free …
Do you think the following scenario sounds alarming? A group of 80 explicitly peaceful people walking 400 km to the sea to pick up some salt on the beach. You probably come to the same conclusion as the British Viceroy in India: “It does not keep me awake at night.”, said Lord Irwin in 1930. …
Would you travel with a huge balloon-type vehicle filled with explosive gas across the ocean? The 1930s saw a brief period when airships had a technological edge over planes and transatlantic Zeppelin flights made an early service across the ocean possible. German airships are generally known as Zeppelins after Count von Zeppelin, the German …
Revolution had broken out in Russia in early 1917. The First World War had taken it’s toll on the country and unrest led to the end of Tsarism. The war however continued under the new government. Russia’s enemy, Germany, wanting to end fighting in the east, sponsored Lenin’s return to Russia. This led to the …
