Tomsk
Welcome to Siberia, a remote wilderness where cold means -35°C… Initially, I thought, the stereotypes were true. I stepped off the plane at six o’clock in the morning (after a very bumpy landing), having arrived …
Category: Country
Anti-Café does not mean Anti-Hello
Softly spoken, now in English, now in Russian, he welcomes us, explains the concept: ‘It’s all about atmosphere. You can feel it.’ Here, there is unlimited tea and coffee, there’s toast and jam and biscuits, but that’s …
A Day at the Dacha
Once upon a time, in the very north-west of Russia… This is fairy-tale country. This is the land of silver birches and vast lakes and peace. There is not a single car to be heard …
From Russia with Love
This is difficult. I knew it would be. Russian is a difficult language. I decided to study it because I wanted to be challenged, and I have not been disappointed. Before coming here, I loved the …
København
Walk through the city. Use your feet, your eyes: see the sun sparkle off the water: reach the harbour, the sea, the space. Boats trace paths across gentle waves; and the sun, chased by careless …
Addicted
Bleak, bog-ridden, beautiful. Here I am again. I said I would not return, I would never return, but here I am. Too late, I ask myself why. The roar of the cannon is still ringing …
A Café with a Difference
Schön, dass du da bist! Can you hear the music? Can you see the happy faces, the warm light glowing through the window – just there, beyond the archway, across the courtyard? Come closer, have …
Row, row, row your boat
Pain was never like this before. Pain that whips your breath away, that snatches all your energy from you in a matter of seconds. You can’t think, you just hear the screams. Three – two …