“Paderborn is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and “born”, an old German term for the source of a river.”
– Wikipedia, Captain Obvious
It’s kinda funny that I had never been to Berlin before this trip, but I’d been to Mannheim, Heidelberg and other small places no one else ever went to. I decided to follow that up by visiting Paderborn…
“Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin.”
– Nikita Khrushchev
I had been in Germany a couple of times, but always smaller places like Mannheim, Heidelberg and others I can’t even remember… I had never been to Berlin so I decided now was the time… And the Berlin Wall was on my Bucket List.
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“The experts are right, he thought. Venice is sinking. The whole city is slowly dying. One day the tourists will travel here by boat to peer down into the waters, and they will see pillars and columns and marble far, far beneath them, slime and mud uncovering for brief moments a lost underworld of stone.”
– Daphne du Maurier, Echoes from the Macabre: Selected Stories
I visited Venice in 1998 with my friend, Christin. We were on interrail and decided to pop by the city of water… Turns out water creates humidity, who’d a thunk? What I remember mostly about my trip here back then is dying from the heat.
I had completely forgotten how incredibly beautiful Venice really is.
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“Ah, it’s good to get away from home… You know, TRAVEL a bit… I bet you feel this way too…”
– Andreas
Teh Kollektiv [SIC] usually take a trip together once a year for a weekend. We take turns deciding where to go and it’s always the greatest of fun ❤ For obvious reasons we weren’t able to do this last year and we put the trips on hold for a while because of my trip, but when I realized I would be back in Europe for May I contacted La Familia and Andreas got to planning where to go (as it was his turn).
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“Every step that you take, could be your biggest mistake.”
– Coldplay
We are conditioned from an early age to recognize what is “smart” to do. Pay attention in school, get good grades, figure out what “you would love to do”, take classes that put you on track to study these things, excel in these studies, get a job, get an apartment, find a partner (who’s run the exact same race) and make some new little people who can perpetuate the cycle.
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“The best place to buy a puffer fish Christmas ornament for my tree”
– Me
The train from Taipei to Kaohsiung (not high speed) takes about five hours and the trip i quite scenic. If you avoid weekends and peak hours you are pretty much guaranteed a window seat too, and the ticket sellers are more than happy to accommodate your wishes.
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“It is not worth it to sacrifice the interest of the country for the sake of my son.” – Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese military and political leader Chiang Kai–shek joined the Chinese Nationalist Party in 1918. Succeeding party founder Sun Yat-sen as leader in 1925, he expelled Chinese communists from the party and led a successful unification of China. He died in Taipei in 1975 and there is an impressive memorial built in his honour.
“How did you invent the imagery? The answer is simple. I invented it by pushing away everything that is unnecessary. I create an empty space and then the images find me. I don’t go find them – absolute quiet and then I just stood still and within days my place was crowded with images.” – Narcissus Quagliata
It may seem strange, but at the top of my list of things to see in Taiwan was the Formosa Blvd MRT Station. A metro station in Taipei.
“Nagoya? I heard about Nagoya, saw it on the map, I just didn’t think anyone actually got off the train there…” – Nathanael
I did a short pitstop in Nagoya just because I had time, and completely mis-calculated so my Japan Rail Pass expired while I was there… Moronic, but fortunately not fatal. Not even to my budget.
“Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style, but Osaka has the biggest heart.” – Vikas Swarup
I had heard that Osaka used to be called “Naniwa” (like the StarCraft player!!11). Reason to go!
Just kidding. I went to Osaka to eat food and see the lights. In true Annie-form I found out about the castle just one day before I arrived 😛 Typical me…
bakoyma.com 