Travel notes 2025
Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Budapest, Cologne, Lucerne, Munich, Oxford, South Tirol, Traunstein, Vienna, Zurich
Basel
September It may be that nowhere else in the world does luxury come across as effortless and well‑put‑together as at Hotel Les Trois Rois in Basel and its three‑star restaurant, Cheval Blanc. Pretentious as it may sound, even chandeliers and culinary finesse here seem so subtle and unobtrusive that one almost loses sight of them, retaining only an impression of restful sleep and agreeable food. That this celebration of consistency is by no means guaranteed, but rather the result of well-considered and long-ingrained architecture as well as daily practiced, meticulous professionalism, hardly needs to be emphasized.
Berlin
June/October Am I still familiar with the city I live in? Walking around Berlin with guests from the UK and the US, I noticed how long it had been since I’d last strolled aimlessly through the streets, discovering new neighborhoods and bringing my knowledge up to date. Daily life and work have turned me from a flâneur into a creature of routine who could use a break in his own city. What if I booked a room and spent my next vacation in Berlin, as if I didn’t already live here anyway?
Bonn
August The former federal capital has the air of a sleepy small town stuck in the 1970s. The sluggish river; opening times still like in old West Germany; a railway crossing with barriers among low-rise residential houses where civil servants water their front gardens. Between them: the UN campus and outposts of political institutions. It wouldn’t take much to turn this place into the setting for a Cold War spy thriller.