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Reporting from Christiania

Copenhagen, DK (View on map)
Posted 14 Jul 2008:

So Denmark is supposed to be the happiest country in Europe? Inhabitants of Christiania, a community living on a deserted army terrain south of Copenhagen`s city centre, have less flattering opinions about the Danish society. They hold their fellow Danes for selfish, uncaring and indifferent. Christiania is a self-declared autonomous part of Copenhagen, inhabited by roughly 1000 people and visited by many more than that every day. Danish law has been suspended, which means that Christiania is the only place in Denmark where marihuana and hash are freely available. Here`s a quick glance behind the scenes of Christiania:... Read more

It all happens here (2)

Berlin, DE (View on map)
Posted 1 Jul 2008:

After yesterday`s introduction of Berlin`s recent history, it`s now time to look at how much East and West Berlin are still different today. `Not at all`, some say. `Still quite different`, says the majority. East Berlin seems to be suitable for everything related to students, modern art and parties. West Berlin is business-related and cares for the `established arts` rather than the anarchist type. What else is typical for either of the two halves?... Read more

Border issues

Bratislava, SK (View on map)
Posted 5 Jun 2008:

Once upon a time, inhabitants of Bratislava were known for their speaking three languages fluently: German, Hungarian and Slovak. Bratislava has a range of international and historical names, including Preslavasburch, Pre?porok (Slovak), Posonium or Istropolis (Latin), Pressburg (German) and Pozsony (Hungarian). The city was only finally baptised Bratislava when the first Czechoslovak Republic was created in the early 20th century. Little of the international image of Bratislava survived the communist era, but recovery is on the way.... Read more

Ostrava fusion

Ostrava, CZ (View on map)
Posted 30 May 2008:

Once proudly known as `The Steel Heart of the Republic`, the city of Ostrava is now back to what it used to be before communism came to Czechoslovakia: a collection of provincial towns located at the confluence of the Oder, Ostravice and Opava rivers. Chimneys are no longer seen as a sign of progress but as a source of pollution. Ostrava is now looking for new ways to repair its image and regain some of its old grandeur.... Read more

Communist showcase

Nova Gorica, SI (View on map)
Posted 28 Apr 2008:

Today is the last day of my stay in Slovenia. I am reporting from Nova Gorica, a small city right next to the former separation between the worlds of communism and capitalism. Nova Gorica was built shortly after World War II. It served as a compensation for the Yugoslavian loss of territory to Italy, decided upon by the allied forces.... Read more

Little Paris

Bucharest, RO (View on map)
Posted 19 Mar 2008:

Once upon a time, Romania`s capital Bucharest was known as `Little Paris`. Many of the buildings constructed in the early 1900s were modeled after existing buildings in Paris, and even the city lay-outs of Bucharest and Paris were similar. Unfortunately, only few of resemblances survived a combination of communist restructuring and the 1977 earthquake. A handful of fa?ades and road signs in the city centre have kept the Parisian tradition alive but most of Bucharest now consists of huge apartment blocks, with no apparent city centre. ... Read more

Napoli profile

Naples, IT (View on map)
Posted 31 Jan 2008:

My next city in line does not have the best reputation ever. I arrived in Naples last night and walked straight to the youth hostel before seeing anything. After a good night`s sleep, I left the hostel this morning to find some locals to tell me about the city. Hoping to find out whether it`s really as bad as people in Rome and everywhere else wanted to make me believe.... Read more

La vie parisienne

Paris, FR (View on map)
Posted 1 Dec 2007:

Paris, the city of love.. You for sure see more people kissing and embracing each other than in a random street of Estonia. But it`s not all gold that blinks. Living in Paris is not something everybody is made for. Life is speedy and expensive, the streets are full and people are not always friendly to one another. Pale faces would make visitors believe that Parisians have grey blood and small weights in their face to expose their wrinkles to the maximum gravitation possible. They can even be recognised by their walking speed! Metro-boulot-dodo (Metro-work-sleep) quite well sums up what living in Paris mainly consists of. ... Read more

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