An alternative guide to Berlin

Berlin is a great versatile city with lots to see and do however long you are staying. There is of course a fascinating history behind the city and the divide between east and west. While all that is definitely worth exploring, it would be a shame to neglect the cool things present day Berlin has to offer. One of the best things about modern Berlin is all the different kinds of people and subcultures the city houses. Whether you're into alternative music, street art or fashion, sustainable goods or just a good cup of coffee, Berlin has it all. Not quite sure where to start? Here's a few pointers.

10 days in Croatia - part 3: Waterfalls at Krka National Park

Oh goodness, what a day I had when I went to visit the waterfalls of Krka National Park. The national park is located about halfway between Split and Zadar and it's easy to do a day trip from either town. There are organised tours available (some include a stop at Sibenik), but I decided not to overpay and hopped on the bus from Split myself. Arriving after a two hour bus ride, I went to the visitor center and purchased my ticket to the park including the boat trip to the falls. The falls were lovely, but not quite as big as I imagined (the ones at Plitvice NP where I went to later that week more than compensated for that though).

10 days in Croatia - part 2: Sunny Split, Croatia's second largest city

After my daytrip to Mljet I took the bus from Dubrovnik to Split, the second largest city of Croatia. The journey takes about 5 hours and follows the coastline for a major part, offering spectacular views. We left Dubrovnik just as the sun was starting to set, which made the whole scene even more beautiful.

My bus arrived in Split at 11pm and there I was met by the friendly hostess who I'd booked a room with. I stayed in her guesthouse the first night. This type of accommodation is very common in Croatia. People, mostly elderly ladies, will wait at the bus stations trying to persuade tourists arriving in town to stay in their room. The room I stayed in was actually a dorm, but it lacked the hostel 'feel' for me, so in the morning I moved to a 'real' hostel right at the edge of the old town of Split, a three-minute walk from the esplanade, or 'Riva' as the locals call it. I started the first day exploring the old town center with the Diocletian's Palace, an old roman palace built in the 4th century. The historic town is made up of beautiful light coloured architecture, has many laneways and cool places to explore and eat, and has a real beachy vibe.

10 days in Croatia - part 1: Dubrovnik and Mljet

On my three weeks mini tour of Europe, Croatia was my main country of interest. I'm not really sure what made me decide to go there in the first place. It wasn't really a country I'd been dreaming to go to for years; in truth, it's a country I hardly knew anything about. But I somehow got this great picture in my head of Croatia and it's turquoise waters and Mediterranean architecture so I booked a flight to Dubrovnik and outlined a route along the coast. I ended up visiting seven different places including two national parks and one island.

Human bone decorations at church in Czech: Sedlec Ossuary

When I started researching my visit to Prague, I stumbled upon a page about Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Bone Church. I got excited right away. I'd heard about this before! It sounds so magnificently creepy, I just had to see that with my own eyes. So I took a daytrip to this gothic attraction.

Two mistakes not to make when traveling New Zealand

I don't talk about New Zealand much, and that's not at all because I think it's an overrated country. In fact I think it's beautiful. Stunning landscapes like you can't imagine. But my time spent in New Zealand wasn't what I'd expected it to be, and that is mainly due to two vital mistakes I made when planning my trip. I'm not here to be a sourpuss, because truly, I did love New Zealand and it's still a travel experience I'll never forget. But I thought I'd share my 'wisdom' so you guys can learn from my mistakes.

Travel Throwback: Tasmania

About halfway into my first year in Australia I fell into this phase where nothing seemed to be going right. I decided it was time for a break from the city, gathered up some travel buddies through Gumtree, and flew from Melbourne to Tasmania. We hired a car, bought some camping gear and traveled around for two weeks. We hiked in national parks, saw more wildlife than ever (from wombats to snakes) and camped at exquisite private beaches. It may have been my favourite trip I've ever taken, and I don't understand why Tasmania is so greatly unappreciated, especially by mainland Australians. Any young Aussie I know chuckles when talked to about Tasmania and mumbles something about old people and marrying your cousin (what?). In a way though, I think the beauty of Tassie is that it's not too crowded with tourists. So here's some photographs I took on my trip to show just how stunning Australia's smallest state is, but don't share the secret with too many others.

Preparing for a trip: the pitfalls of travel planning

Is the anticipation half the fun? Or does it take most of the fun away? Some people like to plan every hour of every day of their holiday, others find their way when they get there. This is my view on travel planning and how I tackle it.

My next travel destination...

It might seem kind of silly that I'm taking an extended holiday right before going back to Australia, but there's a reason for this. During my year backpacking Aus, I met so many Europeans, I learned about a lot of countries and cultures and started wondering why I'd never taken advantage of having such a wide array of interesting places pretty close to home. So I'm doing that now I still have the chance. A travel friend showed me pictures of her holiday in Croatia and those blue waters got stuck in my mind, so Croatia it is! I'm starting my trip in the southern coastal city of Dubrovnik and will be traveling my way north, hitting a few islands and wandering in some national parks. Instead of just flying back to Holland, I'll drop by a few European capital cities on my way home: Budapest, Prague and Berlin. Might as well...

The trip shouldn't take more than three to four weeks. I'll be taking buses and trains from town to town and yes, I'll be doing it solo. Any tips are still very welcome. I can't wait!

Travel Throwback: Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

With Travel Throwback I take you back to past places I've visited. Today I want to talk about Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo is a lake and township in the middle of the southern island of New Zealand. I wasn't even originally intending to visit it, but the bus journey from Christchurch to Wanaka partly took me past an incredible landscape of snowy mountain ranges and clear blue water at its base. Just as I was admiring this stunning view, taking pictures through the window (unsuccessfully, as it always goes), the bus stops at the edge of this amazing turquoise lake. We were given an hour for lunch there. This was hands down the most incredible bus stop I'd ever seen.

Being a tourist in my own city + camera exploring

I've been doing my bit of planning recently for my next trip (Croatia for two weeks, with a few city trips on my way home). I'm making lists and maps of things to see and places to go, and have already started thinking about my pack list. One thing I've stumbled over is what camera to bring. During my travels in Australia and New Zealand I took a lot of photos using my Canon 40D. It was a pain to drag around 2 kilos of equipment in my daypack everywhere I went (and that's just having one lens), but I didn't want to miss out on getting that shot, and I’m glad I did bring it. Recently however, I bought a Sony NEX 5R, a mirrorless camera to replace my broken compact camera, and the results blew me away. It's a serious competitor for my Canon, so I started wondering if I should just leave my Canon at home next time around. To test my Sony further, and to try and break this dilemma, I made another list of touristy highlights… in my home city.

Things I learned from my gap year in a wealthy Western society

Ah, to travel when you're young. Discovering new cultures and experiencing completely new things, it broadens the mind, so the official cliché goes. I think we've all heard or read examples of people who've been abroad - usually Asia or somewhere else poor, far away, and totally different from home - coming back talking about this new respect for life, this new disregard for materialism (at least for a while), and so on.

I'm not mocking this at all. I think it's wonderful for people to get fresh ideas from traveling, whatever they are. I myself however, I didn't visit any poor nations during my year abroad. I went to Australia, which apart from some obvious contrasts like climate, wildlife and language, is not that different to where I'm from. And yet, I wouldn't hesitate to admit that the year I spent Down Under has taught me more than anything else I've ever done.