In Amsterdam, sunshine is a rarity (despite what photos or postcards may depict). But when the sun shines, the city is magical. Sunshine dances off the canal waters onto old brick buildings; locals and tourists cruise by in boats; families and pet-owners pile into Amsterdam’s parks and every (outdoor) chair at every café is packed… Read More Amsterdam snow days
In November/ December 2012, the UN Climate Conference (COP18) took place in Doha, Qatar. Expectations were low from the start, with most parties setting their sights on 2015 when world leaders are expected to construct an agreement strong enough to stay below 2° Celsius of warming. Doha served as a bridge: from the former agreement, towards a… Read More Doha hope: UN climate meetings, suburban sprawl – and a potential for city cycling?
The City of Bonn, Germany sits on the Rhine River and has historic roots dating back to the Roman period. It is also the birthplace of the famous composer Beethoven – a pride point for the city. Bonn, population circa 325,000, boarders Germany’s wine producing region to the South, and to the North, the cities… Read More Bonn: cycling down by the River Rhine
People go to Paris for different reasons: for fashion, for shopping, for museums or monuments, for romance or for fun. We took the train from Amsterdam to Paris (as it were, for the final leg of the Tour de France). It was a sunny summer Parisian weekend, good for exploring the city’s highlights. In addition to… Read More Paris: big, green & bicycle-friendly
While Paris is famous for the Louvre & the Eifel Tower, it also has a world-class metro system featuring 300 stations & 16 lines, covering 10×10km of central Paris. What is not accessible by metro, is serviced by bus or bicycle – including Paris’s Velib bike-sharing system, with 200,000 bicycles & 1800 docking stations. There is simply… Read More Paris: public transport and entertainment in one
Short & sweet, but worth watching this short video. Leave it to the Dutch to find fancy new ways to make cycling safer, more convenient – and high-tech. BBC discusses with innovative designers of cycling infrastructure on possible future strategies to increase cycling in the Netherlands (more than current rates!!) One of the key messages… Read More Futuristic cycling
I was in Geneva, Switzerland for the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. I attended the 24th Meeting of the Parties (MOP24) as a writer with IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin. The Montreal Protocol is hailed as the most successful environmental treaty of its kind, signed by 197 countries.… Read More Geneva: free public transport for tourists, but locals prefer the bike
My first impression of Berlin was boxy, geometric and structured. This, however, deserves some context. I stayed next to its central train station (Hauptbahnhof) which opened in 2006 on the border of what used to be East and West during the Berlin Wall (1961- 1989). Today in and around this area stand many of Berlin’s most impressive… Read More Berlin: a big city with history (and bicycles)
Copenhagen is famous for its walking streets & the colourful buildings of Nyhavn – best explored by foot or bicycle. It is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world; and this is no accident. The city is planned that way. Already in the 1970s, stubborn and foresighted architects &urban planners challenged the Danish capital to… Read More Copenhagen Colour
As a child I spent a lot of time in the garden with my parents: flowers with my mother, vegetables with my father. We moved a lot, and it was important (at least for my mother) that when we moved into a new house, the flowerbeds were there and waiting. Although not quite guerilla gardening,… Read More Balcony Garden Bliss
The Urban Observer 