Photos of Hannover, Germany

Part of my 2012 travel adventures

Hannover is one of Northern Germany's biggest cities, known for the annual IT exhibition CeBit, the rock band Scorpions and for being one of the nations most most boring cities. I had few hours to kill on a Sunday afternoon in Hannover, before I took the train to Frankfurt. I took a stroll around the city center and took some pics.

1. My impression of Hannover

Hannover wasn't as bad as I imagined to be. There are some pretty interesting buildings found around the center, but two hours was more than enough for me to finish the sightseeing. I was a little tired, though, so I didn't go to too many spots.

2. My images of Hannover

The main station or Hauptbahnhof was under renovation.

This part is called Kröpcke.

Sunday afternoon in Hannover's center: Ghost town. Compare this to Taipei.

Sportsscheck Hannover: A post-WWII generic building inhabiting a department store.

Altes Rathaus or Old Town Hall.

The nearby Marktkirche (Market church) is Hannover's famous landmark.

This part looks medieval.

Kreuzkirche is another famous church in Hannover.

I like the green patina on the top of the tower.

The Marktkirche again. The spire tops at 97m, it's pretty impressive.

The old Hannover: Quite idyllic.

The red bricked gems of Hannover.

Aegidienkirche was partly destroyed during WWII and is kept as a ruin.

The church used to look like this

The new Town Hall from 1913. Looks like a palace.

Norddeutsche Landesbank Hannover, a modernist something.

3. Hannover in conclusion

Hannover is good for a short stroll. If you're taking the train from north to south Germany and you need to take a break, do it here. The center and the most interesting sights are not too far from the main station and can be reached by walk. But don't expect too much from this city, it is what it is - Hannover.

instagood #1: Taipei in Grey photos

Dark times are upon us

Taipei 101

Taipei is grey, dark, gloomy. Few exceptionally beautiful buildings stand out from the rest of the generic cube-shaped concrete bungalows plastered with tiles, that are covered by a thick layer of condensed smog. I'm walking between these cubes every day, and when it becomes unbearable, I increase my pace and escape to the complete opposite world: the Taipei Metro. It's not surprising, that the city is cleaner and more pleasant underground instead of the above, because it reflects the Taiwanese soul and all its inner torment.

Scooters and tiles: Convenience instead of aesthetics?

Golf 1: A German soul trapped in Taipei.

The morning motorcade.

The moment when the train hits you.

Morning commuters not feeling any joie de vivre.

Being a tall girl in Taipei must be interesting.

Escalation of motion in another world.

Expectation and nervousness.

Does the 9 year old boy know, what face-off means?

And the escalators at the main station still roll without ever stopping.

[UNIQUELY TAIWAN][All photos by MKL, 2012]

New blog design for 2012

Entering a new era

Click on the image to see how my blog should look like on your screen.

My blog has recently entered a new era: I've redesigned some parts over the weekend and today is official launch of my blog's new fancy outfit. How do you like it? The design was inspired by Apple.com, I've used the Myriad Pro font on the sidebars and in some pages, such as About me. The content bar stayed the same, no sizes have changed. The background is light grey and I've rounded the edges and added box-shadows. I like the effect, because it softens the previously sharp edges. I always liked simple, light and clear designs more than complicated ones with black background and white font.

I am well aware, that this layout won't look that good on other browsers, especially on old versions on Internet Explorer. Please, if you use those versions, I'm sure a beautiful blog design isn't really one of your priorities. This new design looks best on Safari and Chrome, Modzilla is not bad either, at least on my iMac, but on my wife's old Windows laptop it doesn't look that good anymore. The biggest risk are the box-shadows, if they are not supported, the whole layout looks very weird. But at this point want to offer the best for those who expect the best (for example Mac users) and hope that the rest will upgrade soon. Hope dies last.

Two of my most popular posts in the recent months are related to Taiwanese women.

Given the fact that I'm very busy and update less in recently, my blog is doing surprisingly well. My main blog has around 250 subscribers in Google Reader and between 2500 and 3000 daily page views in recent weeks. Last whole month was 75.000 page views, which is not bad for a Blogger blog. I've also passed the 1 million page views mark this year, currently is over 1.1 already. The comments have become less, because I'm not really engaged in the blogosphere (no time) and a lot of my posts are rather informational than thought-provoking. But that suits me: I'm trying to slowly grow my resource on Taiwan and travel and I have no pressure to do it fast. I will also enhance my pages and unify the way my content can be found. I want a simple and easy to navigate blog with great content and a very broad resource. I think I'm doing quite ok.

Related: [ABOUT MY BLOG][All screen caps by MKL, 2012]

China compared to Taiwan

China and Taiwan through the eyes of a British girl and my commentary

Today I chanced upon an interesting blog written by a British national, a female globetrotter, who permanently travels around the world. Among other countries, she spent some time in Taiwan and in China and the experience she had in these two could not be more different. While in Taiwan, random people helped her, a girl she knew from online took leave just to bring her to Sun Moon Lake and paid for her food and transportation, while in China she was scammed, pestered by local tourists and spat at. Are you surprised? Check some excerpts from her posts below:

1 Taiwan experience

"I soon discovered that she’d [Lia, a girl she knew from Twitter] actually taken the day off work just so that she could spend the day hanging out with me." [...]

"During our day together Lia showed me all of her favourite shops and places to eat that I definitely wouldn’t have discovered if I’d been walking around alone. We went for lunch and Lia insisted on paying for everything..." [...]

"A while later I discovered that Lia had phoned her boss to book the following day off work too – just so that she could take me to Sun Moon Lake herself."

"...she had also arranged for her Mum to drive us there and spend the day driving us around whilst we explored the area." [...]

"Her Mum insisted on buying me lunch as well as paying for us both to take an amazing cable car ride over the lake and nearby mountains."

"As I said goodbye to Lia and her Mum they handed me a present they’d secretly bought without me noticing – a small keyring with my name on it in Chinese characters."

"Wherever I went in Taiwan, I experienced people approaching me just to say hello and see where I was from. At any time where I was walking around completely lost with a map, people would come up to me to see where I needed to go – and if they couldn’t explain in English how to get there they would take me there themselves. I was invited to my hostel owner’s grandmother’s house one evening to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival, so that I wouldn’t be alone." [...]

• From the post: Taiwan has the friendliest people in the world

2 China experience

A very graphic screen cap from the blog. Is this really true?

"Within the first few days I was scammed [...] after two weeks of pure torture I couldn’t take any more and booked my flight out for the very next day." [...]

"I spent three hours lugging my backpack around in Xi’an on a ridiculously humid day, desperately trying to find my hostel [...], when I was suddenly bombarded by a coach load of camera-wielding Chinese tourists who immediately began squealing manically."

"I was completely surrounded within seconds and couldn’t break free from the crowd." [...]

"I JUST WANT TO FIND MY HOSTEL, THAT IS ALL I WANT!" I shrieked at the woman who was busy arranging approximately 24 children around me in a circle. [...]

"From that moment forward I started to go insane. I bought a huge pair of sunglasses and would walk around hiding my face in a magazine." [...]

"In China it is not considered rude to spit in public, and so they do it everywhere." [...]

"One time, I got back to my hostel to find that somebody had spat in my hair." [...]

"Within days of arriving in China I was struck down by the most horrifically agonising stomach cramps of my entire life. [...] How do they get away with selling out of date food in all their grocery stores?" [...]

• From the post: Why I hated my time in China

The worst part that happened to her was falling for the Shanghai Tea Scam [must-read].

3 Conclusion

China vs. Taiwan is a very interesting comparison: Both share common roots, yet the people are so different (or is it like comparing a mountain with a molehill?) I'm not surprised by her experience, but I wonder, if she wasn't a white girl, how the experience would be like. Fact is, being white in this part of the world sparks a lot of interest and emotions among some of the locals: curiosity, contempt, interest, despise, admiration, mistrust and a mix of positive and negative clichés - I'm speaking from my own experience. Interestingly, when the author first time stepped on Asian soil (which happened to be Taiwan), she also seemed to be holding some negative cliches about Asians in general. For example, when a random girl invited her to her apartment to help her with directions, this is what the blogger thought: "As we walked along together I was silently freaking out, as different scenarios played out in my mind. Was she going to drug me and keep me as her sex slave? Maybe she going to sell me on the white slave market? Was I about to become part of a real life human centipede?!" Meanwhile she explained this part in the comments below. It sounds very extreme to me, maybe that's because I already spent over 2 years in Asia, but for her it was the very first time. It's understandable to think this way, if someone is not an openminded and generally positive person, but I don't condone it. The author's posts are definitely polarizing, but I felt them interesting to share, because I would like to see a vibrant discussion on the topic in the comments.

• Do you think what she wrote is generally true or too subjective? Did you find it interesting?
• As a white person in China/Taiwan, do you get positive or negative reactions from locals?

Related: Zhongguoren vs. Daluren

Photos of Heidelberg, Germany

Part of my 2011 European travel adventures

Heidelberg is one of Germany's most famous small towns. It's known for a beautiful old town and a famous university. I had a weekend to spend in the region and chose to pay this beautiful medieval gem a visit. This is definitely one of the must-see places for every Germany enthusiast out there.

1. My impression of Heidelberg

Heidelberg is very cozy, it truly has a small town feel to it - I like it a lot. But it's very very long, very stretched along the Neckar river. When you arrive to the main railway station, it takes some time to reach the old town, but their tram system is very convenient and affordable, which makes taking overpriced taxis unnecessary. What is a little disappointing is the fact, that only one long street in the old center is where everything is going on. The side streets are a little neglected, not in the sense of being dirty, to the contrary, but there is not much to see or do. The castle above the medieval core is one of the highlights, same as the river Neckar with a beautiful stone bridge. All in all, Heidelberg is definitely worth a visit, it's very touristy, partly kitchy, but it has a rich history and many treasures to discover.

2. My photos of Heidelberg

Heidelberg main railway station upon my arrival.

Inside the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof building.

I went to the Ibis hotel near the railway station - great price and awesome hotel!

After taking a brief rest, I decided to explore the city.

The main station and tourist information center.

An S-Bahn train.

This sculpture is called S-Printing Horse.

I decided to walk instead of taking tram, because I had time. This is a suburb of Heidelberg, which I decided to explore first.

Walking around that area, I spotted this beautiful church.

And another one right nearby.

A popular bubble tea shop, it was full of people. Taiwan's soft power on display?

Close to the center and the never-ending Hauptstrasse.

The Hauptstrasse or Main Street is the most crowded part of Heidelberg.

It's 1.6km long street reserved only for pedestrians, one of the longest in Europe.

It's full of domestic and foreign tourists.

This singer garnered a lot of attention.

An empty side street.

Hauptstrasse again.

Korean American youngsters were singing pop songs.

Marktplatz with street performers and the Holy Ghost Church.

Holy Ghost Church or Heiliggeistkirche, located in the heart of the old center.

The beautiful House of the Knight or Haus zum Ritter, today a hotel.

Another part of the Marktplatz.

Lots of Asian tourists on the Marktplatz, it's very vibrant here.

A statue of Mary called Kornmarktmadonna, behind is the majestic castle.

Kronmarktmadonna.

Karlsplatz, a famous old square, where the Heidelberg castle is seen very clearly.

The zoomed in castle. I was too lazy to go up there.

The promenade along the Neckar river is called Am Hackteufel.

The river Neckar.

The old town from the river banks.

The Old bridge or Alte Brücke.

The Gate of the Old bridge or Tor der Alten Brücke, Heidelberg's famous landmark.

3. Heidelberg in conclusion

Heidelberg is unique and has a very special ambiance. It truly feels like you're thrown a few centuries back in history, when you walk around the old town. Compared to some other small towns in Germany, Heidelberg is very touristy and might be a turn off for those of you, who prefer a more peaceful stroll along the historic center. For someone like me, who's living in Taipei, seeing a lot of people was no shocker - I truly enjoyed my exploration of this gorgeous town and recommend visiting it to everyone.