Julika, Author at sateless suitcase

Photo Essay: The Medieval Wonderland of Maulbronn

Last August my family and I were driving down to Southern Germany where one of my cousins held a post-wedding family barbeque (because she before eloped in Denmark with her Nigerian husband -- I love how multi-cultural my family is!). Somewhere on the road, in-between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, I spotted a sign saying 'Maulbronn'. I knew I had heard this name before, and was pretty sure it had something to do with the Middle Ages and art. I blurrily recalled one of my first semester art history professors mention Maulbronn in a lecture. Without really knowing what to expect, I [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:31:10+02:002013/02/18|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Architecture, churches, Europe, Germany, medieval, Photo Essay|10 Comments

Photo Essay: The Windows of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague

It's no secret that my favorite art historical period is the Middle Ages. I really can't tell you how that happened (it is a quirky favorite period after all), but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Gothic cathedrals. These gigantic churches that were built as high as possible without any help of cranes or measurement technologies. All the builders wanted, was to praise God with sanctuaries that were symbols for a heavenly afterlife. And now, almost thousand years later, some of these churches still stand. They survived depredations and sometimes even bombs. Although our modern world can [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:31:23+02:002013/02/11|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Architecture, Art, churches, Czech Republic, medieval, Photo Essay, Prague|18 Comments

On Duties, Delays, and Due Dates

I know my obnoxious obsession with alliterations becomes a little annoying already (yay, two in this sentence alone! This is what happens if you have attended way too many poetry lectures than necessary). But these three Ds are honestly what my life is about right now: Writing duties, delaying them, and the everlasting anxiety for my Master's Thesis' due date. I'm probably committing blog-suicide now (and when I decided to choose a blog name that even Google corrects!) -- but I really have to cut back. I completely underestimated how much effort you have to put into a really good blog. [...]

By Julika|2013-09-04T23:36:50+02:002013/02/07|Categories: Specials|Tags: thoughts|18 Comments

Photo Essay: The Ancient City of Évora

Portugal's (architectural) history dates back until ancient Roman times. Unfortunately there nowadays is little proof of the old Roman colony Lusitania anymore. Solely one little city in the central Portuguese region of Alentejo stands out, because it is home to the ruins of an ancient Roman temple. During the Roman reign, the city of Évora began to flourish, and in the first century A.D. this Corinthian temple was built. It was partly destroyed in the following centuries, but is classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site today. The Roman Temple of Évora This ancient architectural highlight is surrounded by a gorgeous medieval [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:31:28+02:002013/02/04|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Architecture, churches, Europe, medieval, Photo Essay, Portugal|6 Comments

Too Old for a Family Vacation?

I've been writing a lot about my fall visit to Croatia, but as you might have realized - I've been weirdly vague when it came to personal pronouns. I didn't have the guts to see it in written words yet... But to be finally honest: It was a vacation with my family. Yes, I am 25 years old and spent a vacation with my family. My sisters and I in Baška The last time I went on a family vacation I had just turned 17. My parents had rented a cozy little apartment on the Costa Blanca in Spain, which was [...]

By Julika|2013-08-07T22:04:52+02:002013/01/31|Categories: Specials|Tags: Croatia, Europe, thoughts|27 Comments

Photo Essay: The Ruins of Rome

You might call it procrastinating (and it probably is), but I've been going through photos and reminiscing quite lot lately, and found some gems from former trips around Europe... And since I'm unfortunately tied to my desk for two more months, I wanted to share a little of my Rome-back-in-2006-reminiscence with you. Rome, of course, was art historical heaven to me. A city with more than 400 churches (and this girl loves churches!) that is also home to the most fascinating buildings, sculptures, murals, fountains, paintings... everything. The ruins of the Crico Massimo What I liked best however was how [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:31:55+02:002013/01/28|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Architecture, Europe, Italy, Photo Essay, Rome|16 Comments

Studying Abroad in Europe – Myths and Reality

Studying abroad in Europe always comes with a reputation. Among all students the European study abroad programs are rarely mentioned without some of these words accompanying it: Beer! Shots! Party! Beach! Surf classes! Sangria! More Party! Drunk girls! Hot surfer guys! A beer at the beach. The essence of studying abroad? After all, the European study abroad program -- called "Erasmus" -- allows students from all over Europe to study in any other European country without paying anything. Moreover, you'll even get a financial aid ranging from 80 to 800 €uro (yeah, guess how much I got) depending on your [...]

By Julika|2013-05-29T12:31:51+02:002013/01/25|Categories: Specials|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, Portugal, study abroad, thoughts|27 Comments

Photo Essay: Capturing Croatia

The ten days I spent in Croatia in the fall of 2012 feel like they are ages away... Every once in a while though - meaning every time I get too annoyed with cold feet and German winter - I go through my photos again, and dream myself back to pebble beaches, shimmering blue water, narrow cobblestone streets, and delicious seafood. I know my previous Croatia posts have all the corny clichés covered, but I still wasn't sure they captured this beautiful Balkan country adequately. Sure, I had never imagined that water could naturally be so very blue like the [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:32:03+02:002013/01/21|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Croatia, Europe, Photo Essay|11 Comments

The Beauty of Budapest

You are probably annoyed by my complaining about being pretty much broke right now, so let's just reminisce better times for a while... Back in 2011, Steffen (aka the boyfriend) was working full-time and had a few savings left to splurge. He has always had a passion for photography and since he then had the money, he decided to finally invest into a Nikon DSLR (smart choice!). And he also gave me an amazing present for Christmas: A vacation at whatever destination I wanted to go to (even smarter choice!). I mean, I know how it sounds (and I did [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:39:53+02:002013/01/19|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Hungary|Tags: Architecture, Budapest, Europe, Hungary|19 Comments

Air Castles

I don't even know if "building air castles" is a proper English expression, but the German expression "Luftschlösser bauen" is a very fitting description of my life right now. Of course, I'm probably not the only clueless 25-year-old out there, who has absolutely no idea what to do with her life. But I don't even have the vaguest idea. So instead, I flee to hide in my shiny pretty air castles. Let me tell you how this usually works: On Thursday, a friend of mine posts photos of her New Zealand road trip on facebook. I research everything about a New [...]

By Julika|2014-01-28T17:31:52+01:002013/01/15|Categories: Specials|Tags: thoughts|23 Comments

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