August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
Tag: Soviet Union
FINLAND | Enjoying the white nights of Helsinki
In the summer of 2025 I went to Helsinki in Finland when Midsummer was celebrated. On this longest day of the year Finnish people head into nature and celebrate what it means to be a Finn. I decided to stay in the capital for one and a half week to get a real first impression…
BRUSSELS | La Fabrique en ville – Villa Empain – Chalet Robinson – Winter Wonders – Rêve d’Asie
When Frank, Steve, Philippe, Nicolas, and I meet up, it’s usually in Antwerp. But Nicolas being a Brussels resident, it was time for the rest of us to go to the capital of Belgium. That’s what we did on 29 November 2025, the opening weekend of Winter Wonders, the Brussels-Capital Region‘s Christmas Market.
DESSAU | Technikmuseum Hugo Junkers Engineering Museum
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
REVIEW | ‘A Century of Belgian Comics’ at the Comic(s) Art Museum Brussels by the Belgian Comic Strips Center
In October 2024, my former ZiZo colleague and first and foremost comic strip specialist Geert De Weyer reported on the new permanent exhibition at the Comic(s) Art Museum by the Belgian Comic Strips Center in Brussels. Now in January 2025, I took the time to go and visit.
ANTWERP | Bunkers found during excavation works Vrijdagmarkt
During excavation works for the redevelopment of the Vrijdagmarkt in Antwerp, archaeologists found two underground bunkers from the Cold War. They date from 1955-56 and could serve as shelters in the event of nuclear disasters or bombings.
EUROPEAN UNION | Pride events do raise awareness for LGBTQIA+
As more than 200 organisers of LGBTQIA+ pride events gather in Portugal for their biggest ever annual conference this weekend, new data from the European Commission shows that awareness of EuroPride is thought to be at an all time high.
ICELAND | A day in Reykjavík
Iceland in November and December? Really? I saw an Icelandair promotion on Instagram which I couldn’t resist. The catch? It had to be late November to the start of December 2022. But I could – easily – enthuse Oriol to come along for a road trip in the South and West of Iceland.
Vienna 2021
Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany,…
Karlovy Vary
Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany,…