Welcome to Wander We Go. I’m Alex.
I write about life in Zürich, travels throughout Europe, and musings on both.
All in Travels Elsewhere
One afternoon after Biennale, we were walking back to our apartment from Arsenal just as the sun was setting. The whole sky turned pink, then a fiery orange, outlining the gondoliers heading back to the grand canal and the distinctive domes and towers of the Venetian skyline. There is really no other city like this.
During our recent trip last September, we swapped Heineken for craft beer, skipped the Red Light District and coffeeshops, and didn’t just go to one, but four(!), museums. Fair warning: this post is a long one, but it’s compensated with lots of pictures! This Venice of the North is just so gosh-dern photogenic. Read on for Amsterdam, revisited.
Zagreb is beautiful, but slightly rough around the edges. Just the way I like my cities. Eastern European-style architecture mixed with communist-era structures with graffiti and intricate street art. There’s a creative, artsy energy that is palpable, and meshes perfectly with all of the galleries, theaters, and strong cafe culture. Smoking, drinking, strolling, chatting seems to be the way of everyday life. Zagreb is one of those places that is both stuck in time and ultra-modern.
Now, I knew the Germans were serious about their beer. In order for it to be even called beer in Germany, it must be brewed according to the Reinheitsegot (literally, the “Bavarian Beer Purity Law”), which only allows for the three ingredients of water, hops and malt. It’s been brewed this way for centuries. Breweries started in German monasteries, back when drinking beer was safer than drinking water. The monks knew their stuff (and how to start a lucrative international business). I knew German beer was a point of pride. I just didn’t know why.
As you may have guessed, this post is all about waterfalls. Or more specifically, where to find them in Croatia. Plitvice National Park may get all the fame and glory (the nickname for this park is the poetic “Land of the Falling Lakes,” after all), but it’s not the only national park in Croatia with numerous cascades and clear turquoise pools. Krka National Park is beautiful in its own right.
I’m not sure if Istria is one of the “best-kept secrets” in the country, but I had certainly never heard about this region before planning our trip. And even then, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Previously, when I thought of Croatia, a couple standard things came to mind: Dubrovnik, the blue blue blue water of the Adriatic, and Plitvice National Park with all it’s waterfalls. Northern Croatia never really even crossed my mind. But I am so, so happy we made it there.
From here on out, whenever I hear the phrase, “a city nestled in the Alps,” I will always think of Innsbruck. You hear that phrase a lot, mostly in travel writing, especially in articles about Switzerland or Austria. But if there was ever a place that accurately embodies this phrase, Innsbruck is it.
Nuremberg. Famous (more like infamous) for yes, the WWII war crimes tribunals and hosting massive Nazi party rallies, but also more breweries per square capita than anywhere else, a charming medieval old town, teeny tiny little sausages, and an area literally named after Switzerland (Franconia Switzerland) because it, well, looks just like Switzerland.
