Julika, Author at sateless suitcase

Of Baguettes and History – Jardin du Luxembourg

Most of the time, it just takes a pretty picture on Pinterest or a scene in a movie and all of a sudden I'm not able to get my mind off of Paris. This city is everywhere -- in the movies, the commercials, the fashion magazines. And every time I see it, I'm reminded of how I cannot wait to go back. For me, Paris is the almost surreal contrast between picture-perfect movie settings and the edgy urban agglomeration. Its beauty is so out there and so subliminal at the same time, that it is almost impossible to describe Paris in [...]

By Julika|2014-09-22T23:52:36+02:002014/02/11|Categories: Destinations, Europe, France|Tags: Architecture, Art, Europe, France, Paris|12 Comments

Photo Essay: Pretty Frozen Germany

It's of kind strange that I write so many posts based on weather, but somehow, weather is a big mood catalyzer for me: Spring provides me with so much new energy, summer is just my favorite season of the year, fall makes me nostalgic but also appreciative of the beauty of changes, and winter -- well, winter is always tough. Of course, I find winter beautiful from time to time. At least on those rare days with white powdery snow and blue skies. But most of the time, winter in Central Europe is just gray in gray with more gray. [...]

By Julika|2014-02-02T15:13:08+01:002014/02/02|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Germany, Göttingen, Photo Essay|22 Comments

Seven Free Geeky Things to Do in Dublin

Ireland has always been one of the many places on the (endless!) list of countries I needed to see someday. I wanted to go for the countryside and landscapes, for the green endless lawns, and steep impressive cliffs. But besides seeing a glimpse of Ireland's amazing landscape, I found an abundance of cultural highlights! I don't mean to do Dublin any injustice, but what I heard about the city before going centered a lot around whiskey and Guinness. Honestly, I had people telling me that there is not too much you can do in Dublin. They couldn't have been more [...]

By Julika|2021-06-16T18:44:59+02:002014/01/26|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Ireland|Tags: Art, castle, Dublin, Europe, Ireland, Museums|25 Comments

January Sunshine in Göttingen

I've only really lived in Göttingen for about five weeks now. I'm still discovering something new every day. I still search for coffee shops and restaurants on yelp and try to find my new favorite. I'm still getting used to the speaking melody of the people living here and I still have to learn all the insider shortcuts. But I’m also slowly starting to feel at home. Last year I realized (once more) that starting over somewhere new is never easy, but that it is worth all the struggles if you don't give up. I'm a stronger and more confident [...]

By Julika|2014-03-09T23:49:02+01:002014/01/12|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Germany|Tags: Europe, Germany, Göttingen|24 Comments

New Year, New Unpredictability

It's both beautiful and terrifying, the idea of a blank page. All empty and untouched, meaning anything could happen. A full range of possibilities. And yet, endless possibilities also leave room for fear, doubt, and that stupefying feeling of being simply overwhelmed with everything that could be done. Where to start? The first sentence is always the hardest one, and the sight of a blank page is not always easy. But as soon as you're over the obstacle of that first blank page, those other 364 pages will fill up steadily. I love the thought of a blank page, a [...]

By Julika|2014-01-26T10:15:17+01:002014/01/05|Categories: Specials|Tags: Europe, Germany, thoughts|30 Comments

My 2013 Highlights via Instagram

I've done a lot of review posts this year and you might hate me for it already. Fair enough. But I love reading reviews and I also love writing them. The idea of the year ending makes me nostalgic. I like reminiscing. And honestly, I'm one of those 21st century people with the attention span of a Buzzfeed list -- I mean, what offers more entertainment than a list of photos with witty headlines? Especially during the holidays when there's not much time to spend hours reading online in-between all the family dinners? I'm won't go all "27 Inappropriate Outfits [...]

By Julika|2014-03-09T23:46:39+01:002013/12/30|Categories: Specials|Tags: Europe, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, The Netherlands|20 Comments

Photo Essay: Christmas in Germany

Above everything else, 2013 was the year in which I really got into photography. I still have to learn SO much about it, but I love images more than ever. I feel more comfortable about letting photos tell the story and what I want to say -- and maybe, the words don't even come to me as easily as the ability to spot an aesthetic combination of composition, light, and shapes. In 2013, I really enjoyed doing seasonal photo summaries of my life in Germany. In many ways these photo essays were just random everyday observations, but I cherished how [...]

By Julika|2013-12-25T09:49:30+01:002013/12/25|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Europe, Germany|18 Comments

All You Need to Know about German Christmas Markets

I won't lie, winter in Central Europe is not fun. It's dark, it's cold, it's depressing. The sun sets in the afternoon and most daytime is spent inside with the lights on. It usually only starts snowing when Christmas is over and when everybody is ready for spring. (The heaviest snow storms I experienced actually happened in April!) And no, it's not romantic and cozy to freeze in the dark. The longer winter lasts, the crankier people around you become in Central Europe. However, there is one tiny exception to all the Central Europe wintertime depression: Those four weeks before [...]

By Julika|2014-11-29T22:16:32+01:002013/12/20|Categories: Specials|Tags: Europe, Germany, Göttingen|24 Comments

Around the World in Coffees: The 2013 Edition

About one year ago, I collected all my coffee photos from my previous years of travel and combined them in a photo essay called "Around the World in 80 Coffees". This post didn't cover the whole world, nor 80 coffees, but it presented a view of the world through the eyes someone who loves coffee and travel equally. From fantastic Portuguese galois on the beach to spectacularly good espressos in hip London coffee shops like Prufrock, 2012 was a great year in "caffeine travel" for me. So I ended my 2012 coffee post with the resolution to travel more and [...]

By Julika|2014-03-20T09:21:40+01:002013/12/09|Categories: Specials|Tags: Belgium, Europe, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, The Netherlands|24 Comments

A New Beginning

A while ago, I read an article on some kind of semi-dubious internet site introducing a study on the latest posts of all WordPress blogs out there (at least, that's what I remember the article being about). Interestingly enough, two thirds of all the blogs out there had their latest post starting with "Sorry I haven't posted in a while". I immediately swore to myself that I would never start I post like that. If only to not appear in this kind of statistics. But well, sometimes, life simply gets in the way of writing and creativity -- and I [...]

By Julika|2014-05-28T09:45:09+02:002013/11/24|Categories: Specials|Tags: Europe, Germany, Göttingen, thoughts|43 Comments

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