Category: Travel and Personal Essays

A short journey across the Austrian border becomes a walk through Znojmo’s doors, worn façades, medieval paintings and churches. Along the way: echoes of the monarchy, glass, cherubs and late-afternoon light over the Thaya.

A photographic journey through doors and gates in China and Austria – from ancient temple entrances and Yunnan village doors to Viennese Jugendstil, with a few thoughts about the worlds we choose to open or close.

This post covers two major themes from my summer. First, I share a refreshing trip to the Kuenringerbad in Dürnstein, a natural swimming pond where you can swim right next to water lilies beneath a historic castle ruin. Second, I switch to the technical side of blogging. I share my recent experience cleaning up my…

A winter photo diary from Innsbruck, the Salzkammergut and the Dachstein region — finding unexpected beauty in a season I don’t even like.

An autumn photo diary through Vienna, the Wachau Valley, Melk Abbey and Český Krumlov, tracing Egon Schiele’s connection to the region.

When things go wrong, they can go very wrong. After years without serious problems, I recently experienced this first-hand. This post was supposed to be a lighthearted yin to the yang of my last article, which focused on the difficult living conditions of Chinese minorities. Today’s focus was meant to be the exact opposite—sea, luxury,…

Every Picture Tells a Story. Let’s dive into the rich tapestry of Chinese minority people, captured in photographs from the hinterlands of northeast China, specifically Qinghai and the border area with Tibet, taken between 1979 and 1982.

Vienna has once again been voted the world’s most livable city. In this post, I share my personal perspective on living here, without any tourist hype or nationalist slogans. Instead, I explore the true Viennese attitude and their famous dry humor—a classic balance of opposites where the highest global praise is met with a healthy,…

From Sharm El Sheikh to Petra and back to the Red Sea: a personal account of a long day, rose-coloured sandstone, Nabataean monuments and the people whose lives are tied to this landscape.

What makes a life feel happy, and how much can our way of thinking change? Personal reflections on gratitude, ambition, consumer culture and the present, with philosophical companions and a little humour.

A three-week spa stay in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, a painting from the Reduce series, and a few things noticed on quiet walks: old houses, a wooden bench, sheep in the shade and changing reflections on water.

From the Alps to the Egyptian desert and back, photographs through an aircraft window become studies in composition, light and changing perspective. With an introduction to The Magic Sea.

Details of hieroglyphs and tomb paintings draw my attention away from the panorama. A personal visit to the Valley of the Kings, followed by memorable encounters on the road.

Twelve days in Egypt brought underwater impressions, photographs of rocks and sand, and an unexpected meeting. A personal look at composition and the traces that resemble brushwork.

A childhood photograph of my brother, delighted with a bar of chocolate, leads from a Christmas greeting to thoughts about the Christkind, Santa, and the growing expectations surrounding the holiday.

A final look at my #WordlessWednesday series: photographs from Sri Lanka and elsewhere, the memories behind them, and my interest in the strange within everyday life.

A girl waving goodbye in Guilin, China, 1979. The last photograph in my #WordlessWednesday project, with thanks to everyone who followed the series.

Fish drying in Negombo, Sri Lanka, 2016. A photograph for #WordlessWednesday, with a hand reaching across the pale catch.

The Big Catch: a girl with her fish in a village near Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2015. Originally dedicated to participants in the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Busy painting the future: a large mural taking shape above a Beijing street, China, 1979. A photograph for #WordlessWednesday.

Soft drinks make their way through the medina of Fez. A photograph from Morocco, 2022, for #WordlessWednesday.

At readers’ request, more photographs from my September 2022 journey: Fès, the Atlas Mountains and Chefchaouen, with short notes on craftwork, colour and everyday details.

An adventure holiday light: my September 2022 journey through Fès, the Atlas Mountains and Chefchaouen, with photographs of streets, craftwork, animals and changing shades of blue.

Not much to see: bamboo, mist and a boat on a Chinese river, photographed in 1980. From my Wordless Wednesday series.

It must be one of those black wires. Hanoi, Vietnam, 2018. A street photograph from my Wordless Wednesday series.

The blind musician, Tianjin, China, 1979. A street scene from my photographs, shared for Wordless Wednesday.

Amok and curry, somewhere in northern Sri Lanka. A restaurant kitchen photographed in 2016 for my Wordless Wednesday series.

Even the horses jam here, too. Two accordion players in horse masks, photographed in Vienna around 2014.

Yes, no coffee today. A former Starbucks coffee shop in Shanghai, photographed possibly in 2017. From my Wordless Wednesday series.

Fish and chips, Asian style. A meal in Negombo, Sri Lanka, photographed in 2016 for my Wordless Wednesday series.

Missing those heartbreakers from Siem Reap. Four children photographed in Cambodia in 2015, for my Wordless Wednesday series.

Electricity Buddha, protecting the power supply. Dambulla, Sri Lanka, 2016. A photograph from my Wordless Wednesday series.

Nature reclaiming a temple wall at Ta Prohm, Cambodia. A photograph from 2015 for my Wordless Wednesday series.

Chaos Investment, Pudong, Shanghai, 2013. A photograph from my Wordless Wednesday series.

My 1988 business trip to Pyongyang brought an enormous hotel, an elusive dinner and a communications problem that was supposed to take two years to solve. A Chinese stratagem suggested another approach.

In 1988, an office renovation project took me to Kabul. A hotel escape after curfew, two men claiming the same name and a bag full of banknotes made it a journey I have never forgotten.

No drawings this time: a few photographs from Paphos, followed by a day in the Cypriot mountains and visits to monasteries.

A cheerful encounter in Shanghai, told in three photographs. From my #WordlessWednesday series.