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Uppsala, or how to tame a barbarian
In 1070, the German monk Adam of Bremen wrote a chronicle known as the History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen. At the time, this archbishopric claimed missionary rights over the Scandinavian countries, so it was only natural that Adam should take great interest in the peoples and habits of these lands to the north. One…
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Lisbon, or how to discover the world and lose yourself
If you take the tram from central Lisbon and straight west (a modern tram, unfortunately, not one of the city’s famous antique ones), you will reach the neighbourhood of Belém in less than an hour. This is a more tranquil, open-spaced part of town than the city centre, with its narrow, busy streets. It is…
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Bruges, or where cities go when they die
A man walks the streets of Bruges at night. He is a widower these past five years. When his wife died he moved here, since this city, like his wife, is dead. Evening after evening he spends wandering aimlessly along the grey, deserted streets, thinking of death, of the dead. On one such night, walking…
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Paris, or why we hate
Visiting Paris can be an overwhelming experience. You may be struck with the so-called Stendhal Syndrome: the state where you are so overcome by the beauty and opulence of a place that you simply collapse under the weight of the impressions. More likely, you will experience the more aptly named Paris Syndrome, where you discover…
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Cremona, or the year technology peaked
In 1637, an Italian monk by the name of Fulgentius Micanzio wrote an acquaintance who was considering purchasing a violin. On the advice of an expert, Micanzio could assure his correspondent that the best instruments were to be found in the city of Cremona. What makes this letter so particularly interesting is that the expert…
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Strasbourg, or the day Europe split in two
Strasbourg, with its quarter-million souls, has a curious small-town feel to it. Intersecting the street grid is a parallel network of picturesque canals. Bridges crossing the waterways are in summer adorned with magnificent floral decorations, and along the banks lie centuries-old half-timbered houses, as colourful as the flowers. The atmosphere is as much that of…
EUROPA RECONDITA
AN ITINERANT JOURNAL ABOUT HISTORY, CULTURE AND BEER
