STORIES&HISTORY Archives

How I Became A Citizen Of The World

Posted on2021-11-052021-11-06AuthorRenata67 Comments

How did I become a Citizen of the World? Why do I have these itchy feet? Where does this greed for exploring come from? Why this fascination with foreign customs’n’cultures? Was there a specific moment? Or did I get injected this yearning for travel in homeopathic doses?

Renata Green on the Beach in Split, Croati — For the first time on Croatian beaches.

I’ve put together five anecdotes about my earliest – and most impressive – travel memories that might explain a thing or two.

It’s really amazing what my brain remembers, how these trips sank in and anchored in my mind and soul.

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TIVOLI – Villas, Waters, and Wealth. A Day Trip from Rome

Posted on2020-11-062022-03-31AuthorRenata103 Comments

A day trip from Rome took me to Tivoli where I found mesmerizing villas and playful waters. In short, the remnants of Antique Roman wealth.

View of Tivoli from Hadrian's Villa, seen when visiting the Villas on a Day Trip — The so-called Poecile with the Roman Campagna in the backdrop.

Mind you, already Mr. Hadrian used to spend relaxing weekends at Tivoli almost 2,000 years ago.

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booking ahead versus walking in

Posted on2020-08-022021-09-26AuthorRenata Green2 Comments

Booking ahead or just walking in – what’s more advisable?
As I mentioned on various occasions, doing research on the internet, reading guide books, sketching routes, making reservations sometimes months before my trip to me is a big and important part of the fun. This way, your brain does already all the travelling before you – just like a scout.

A man opening the door to a hotel room that was booked ahead or the guest just walked in. — Booking ahead or just walking in – both has its advantages and disadvantages.

Those who need inspiration and guidance on how to plan a trip from scratch will find it in this post.

But planning and booking ahead is not only an extra portion of fun. It can also save you lots of time and money.

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From North German Ports to the Americas: Migration in the 19th and 20th Century

Posted on2020-05-232022-06-03AuthorRenata Green55 Comments

In the 19th and 20th centuries, millions of people left Europe for the Americas in search of a better life – choosing a migration route through North German ports.

sculpture called Die Auswanderer, emigrants, remembering Migration from North German Ports to the Americas — This sculpture called Die Auswanderer, hence emigrants, is standing on the shore of the river Weser. It remembers the seven million passing through the port of Bremerhaven. Actually, this statue by Frank Varga was donated by the German-American Memorial Association.

As a counterpart to the arrival halls in Ellis Island, several museums in German cities remember the adventurous journeys of the emigrants in transit.

this way to read the whole story >>>

The Ski Instructor of Sri Lanka

Posted on2020-01-132020-05-28AuthorRenata Green17 Comments

I’m often asked how it is to travel by myself. If I’m not scared. If I don’t get lonely. If I’m not afraid that the sky may fall on my head tomorrow.

A Ski Instructor by himself in a snowy landscape — No, Sri Lanka looks nothing like this. Definitely not.
(Photo: Sondrekv, Påske, detail, cropped to 2:3, , CC0 1.0)

The answer has always been no – and meeting Sri Lanka’s only ski instructor was clearly another proof that travelling solo is a great chance to come across people that open up to you in a blink of an eye.

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most instagrammable – till death do us part

Posted on2020-01-032021-10-11AuthorRenata Green30 Comments

Oh, the chase for the best motifs for instagram – it simply deteriorates the art of photography to artistic death. Also, it makes the world a dangerous – and endangered – place.

mural of a guy taking an instagrammable picture with death — You’d be surprised on how many pictures death is present – even though not always visible.

I love good photography. That’s why I hate Instagram.

this way to read the whole story >>>

Language Learning in Rome

Posted on2019-05-262020-11-30AuthorRenata Green4 Comments

I love to learn foreign languages; and travelling is my passion. Therefore, I joined a couple of courses abroad. For two weeks, I was learning Italian in Rome – and I’m telling you here how that went.

Sculptured heads at the Musei Capitolini in Rome — Learning is Fun: Joining all these shrewd heads in Rome.

this way to read the whole story >>>

Language Learning in Izmir

Posted on2019-05-222020-06-23AuthorRenata Green25 Comments

Since my two weeks of educational vacation in Rome were of such a great personal gain, two years later it was time to go back on the language horse. After many hours in front of the computer screen talking in rudimentary Turkish to a learning program, I decided to give Izmir a shot.