Writer, Explorer and Travel Philosopher
Planet of the what…?
Let’s talk about Planet of the Humans, the controversial new documentary produced by Michael Moore.
I figure we might as well talk about something, since travel’s off the cards for the foreseeable future. Rather than vanish into sedentary obscurity, I decided to use the blog to write about whatever crosses my desk: current reading, current events, the distant past, or the afterglow of an interesting film.
The travel section of London’s Skoob books…
The future looks bleak for travel writing — at least, for the highly commercialized side — but I don’t think this is true for travel literature. They aren’t the same thing.
I’m great at social distancing. No one does distancing like me.
How are you coping with being jailed at home?
I could do this self-isolation thing for months. It doesn’t bother me at all.
Okay, at this time of year I’m missing the biergarten. There’s nothing like a cold draft on a hot summer day after a weekend bike ride.
Tibesti region, northern Chad
I’m not optimistic about our current situation. I think this pandemic marks a historical turning point, one we were already moving towards but which is now accelerating.
We talked about this in previous blogs on the future of the European Union, the future of travel, and other post-pandemic changes.
What’s the future of post-pandemic travel?
In recent blogs, we’ve talked about the future of the European Union, and other changes we might see in the wake of the Great Pandemic.
In this instalment, I’d like to bring things closer to home and talk about the future of travel.
A silent power station on the Teltow Canal
It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in Berlin, but it doesn’t feel like spring is in the air.
The biergarten are shuttered. The parks are roped off. And many of the ice cream parlours are closed.
Abandoned hotel in the Azores
In my last blog, we talked about what the future of the European Union might look like in a post-pandemic world.
I’d like to add a few more random predictions as we pull back the lens to consider the globe.
(Photo: REUTERS/Regis Duvignau)
In a previous blog, I promised to share my thoughts on the post-pandemic future of Europe, in particular for North American readers who may not be following developments on this side of the Atlantic.
Travel’s off limits for the next several months, so we might as well talk about something.
Hamsters on the loose in Berlin (Photo: imago images/7aktuell)
It’s not surprising that the culture which gave us specific words for a brilliant idea you get while drinking but end up regretting later (Schnapsidee — I get a lot of these), and for the perverse sense of satisfaction at taking joy in someone else’s pain (Schadenfreude) should also have a term for hoarding.
Pariser Platz on COVID-19 nights (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
I’m not a disease expert by any stretch — though I have been sick in several third world shitholes.
But it feels like anyone with any sort of public platform is expected to take a position on the COVID-19 pandemic. It certainly had a paralyzing impact on travel.
