The Art Historian's Guide to... Archives

The Art Historian’s Guide to Vienna on a Budget

My blog has a very strong niche and I've never been vague what it is about: Cultural travel. As you know, this means museums, churches, and all the geeky stuff mixed with the personal musings of an art historian who spends most of her time with her head stuck in the middle ages. If you ever read anything about white water rafting or bungee jumping on this blog it would mean that either a) the blog was hacked or b) my body was taken over by aliens. Seriously -- I'm the cultural travel girl, and I always will be. And I [...]

By Julika|2015-11-09T10:50:55+01:002014/12/04|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: Austria, Europe, The Art Historian's Guide to..., Vienna|13 Comments

The Art Historian’s Guide to Berlin in a Day

Okay, I know the title of this article sounds insane. And believe me, it was quite the insane project. Berlin is huge -- even more spread out than New York City! And it's a common mistake for people visiting (or moving to) Berlin to think it'll only take 20 minutes to get somewhere. The truth is, it usually takes rather 40 minutes. Or even more. This city is huge! Remember how I tried to find hipster Berlin last summer and totally failed, because I underestimated how diverse and big Berlin is? Back then, I had given myself less than forty hours [...]

By Julika|2015-02-21T14:26:58+01:002014/10/10|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: Berlin, Europe, Germany, The Art Historian's Guide to...|12 Comments

The Art Historian’s Guide to Falling in Love with Frankfurt

It's awkwardly quiet on the train leaving Frankfurt main station on this Tuesday afternoon considering there's no empty seat left. People are even standing in the hallways, but they are quietly looking at their phones, or reading. Rarely anyone speaks. I watch the long shadows created by the late afternoon September sun fly by the window and wonder: What is it that fascinates me about the city I just left? A city that apparently doubles its population during office hours? The people around me wear dark suits and expensive bags. They are business people working in finances and investment banking. [...]

By Julika|2021-12-22T16:54:38+01:002013/10/17|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: Architecture, Europe, Frankfurt, Germany, The Art Historian's Guide to...|18 Comments

The Art Historian’s Guide to Not Being A Perfect Traveler

If you've been reading my blog for a little while, you know that I easily get carried away with describing architecture, or with my enthusiasm for medieval manuscripts. I think of myself as an art historian with a desire to travel as a way to explore culture and history around the world. I claim to be a bookworm and museum-junkie. And if you had gone to school with me, you probably would have hated me for being way too competitive about grades. (During my undergrad I once even had a nervous breakdown and cried for half an hour in my [...]

By Julika|2013-06-23T22:21:30+02:002013/03/26|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: Art, Museums, The Art Historian's Guide to..., thoughts|37 Comments

The Broke Art Historian’s Guide to Sightseeing in London

When it comes to money, London has a horrible reputation. And it's true. When I learned how much rent my friend and host Sarah was paying for her shoe-box sized apartment, I couldn't believe it. Or when we bought a few groceries for breakfast -- fruit, cereal, yoghurt -- and paid more than 20 ₤. Without a doubt, London is just crazy expensive. However, this doesn't necessarily apply to sightseeing. (Unless of course you want a picture of you and wax-Britney-Spears. What can I say, you have your reasons, right?) Honestly though, I was positively surprised how much you can do [...]

By Julika|2015-05-29T09:03:17+02:002013/01/10|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: England, Europe, London, The Art Historian's Guide to...|17 Comments

The Student Art Historian’s Guide to an Ugly Home Town

Doing what's best for you career may eventually lead you to places where you never ever thought you would end up at... When I was about to be done with my Bachelor's degree I searched for a suitable Master's degree to follow my previous studies all over Germany. I had very specific ideas of how I wanted my course to be like and found three universities to apply at: One in Jena, Thuringia, one at several cities in Bavaria (everything is special in Bavaria), and one in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. In the end, I decided to study in Siegen starting [...]

By Julika|2014-01-12T20:38:37+01:002012/07/09|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Germany|Tags: Europe, Germany, The Art Historian's Guide to...|3 Comments

The Future Art Historian’s Guide to Rome

A little flashback - The trip to Italy was planned by my school as a senior field trip with my art class in September 2006. Art was my major in high school, and I just couldn’t wait to go to Rome to spend one whole week full of visiting churches, museums, palaces, and gardens in Italy’s ancient capital. I mean, how could I attempt to be an art historian and not be beyond excited about going to Rome? My teacher took her job seriously, and I am pretty sure that we have seen basically everything of art historical relevance in [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:57:53+02:002012/04/24|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: Architecture, Art, Europe, Italy, medieval, Rome, The Art Historian's Guide to...|1 Comment

The Future Art Historian’s Guide to Paris

I have to be honest, this trip was actually trip organized by my school back in June 2006, which offered all students in my class, who were taking courses in art or French, a trip to Paris. A once in a lifetime chance to go to Paris for a small amount of money to improve my French and see the probably most important art museums in the world?! How could I not say yes to that! You now probably think that I am just showing off some “been there, done that”-attitude, although I had to sit through boring guided tours, [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:58:18+02:002012/04/01|Categories: Art History, The Art Historian’s Guide to…|Tags: Architecture, Art, churches, Europe, France, medieval, Paris, The Art Historian's Guide to...|1 Comment