The Awe of Vienna's National Library

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom.

The 'Floating Earth' in Hannover

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom. 

Location: The Maschpark in Hannover. 

The 'Floating Earth' exhibition was a temporary installation by Luke Jerram. 

I turned up to admire the New Town Hall and adjacent parklands one day in May 2024, and there it was. 

Colourful Trinity Church - Bansko, Bulgaria

All photos taken by Epiphanie Bloom.

Going with the Erratic Flow

Yesterday I attended a panel comprised of queer neurodivergent writers taking place in Qtopia, as part of the Enqueer Literary Festival. Each of the four writers had their own distinctive style and worked really well together, articulating aspects of their writing practice to a packed theatre. 

I appreciated the persistence of these marginalised souls in getting their work out there, and it made me want to revitalise my writing practice. 

There was attention paid to the multiplicities of possibilities out there in writing, if only one reaches out and captures the moment. Discarding the censor, or bypassing it. Deviating. The beauty is in the unique makeup of the writer's soul - combinations of words only they can imagine. 

Building the self through reflective typing is another concept that came up - setting out on a journey to revive your awareness of what's going on in your interiority. Too often life whizzes by at high speed, and we're left struggling to process what just happened. The wisdom of the writer is to untangle, clarify and reassert one’s internal logic. 

Oh sure, mental activity resists clear categories. Where there is a search for internal order, it responds to eternal chaos. Without each other, they are meaningless. But perhaps we can make peace with a 'semi-organised mess'. At least, that is something that helps me. 

Worlds within Wien (Vienna)

I had a number of attractions in mind to see in Vienna, but upon learning that they had a “World Museum” in the Hofsburg castle complex, I made an impromptu decision to prioritise it over the Schonbrunn Palace or the Albertina. 

While Austria had never colonised the countries of far away continents, it had produced plenty of wealthy adventurers, some of who had carried off beautiful and/or valuable items from the nations they had interacted with. 

I was amazed to see a shiny, brown musical instrument, patterned with red, from Algeria, a nation which is quite mysterious to me. Other highlights included a regal Mexican headdress with huge green feathers, Native American shoes which looked like something a modern fashionista would love, the full armour of a samurai uniform (complete with a dragon on top of the helmet), and Indonesian sculptures of mythical creatures. I was also impressed by the African collection, which included red and purple velvet robes worn by the king of Ethiopia. They were embroidered with a golden thread in a pattern resembling flowers, befitting royalty. In the same room, sculptures from Benin depicted its former social hierarchies, while conjuring up the military might of the kingdom through its elaborately armoured soldiers. Representations of big animals like lions and crocodiles rounded off this collection, and spoke to a sophisticated arts scene in that country. 

My one complaint about the World Museum was that the items weren’t given enough room to breathe. Often a corner of a painting was obscured by the next item, almost as if the curator cared more about the collective impact of each display case than the integrity of each individual work. Was it a lack of respect for world cultures?

To go against my own theory, there was a sign explaining how Austria was complicit in the Western colonial mindset, and encouraging visitors to allocate equal respect to the cultures of the rest of the world. Hmm. 

Savouring a hot chocolate in the museum’s café afterwards (as well making do with a Thai green curry which was utterly devoid of flavour), I overheard a young person in a headscarf conversing with a more typical-looking Viennese local about antiracism measures. They were in agreement that white people had to get out of the way of people of colour trying to effect change, because asserting their lack of understanding in how to help them was creating more harm than good. 

This was admittedly the closest I came to a meaningful conversation in Vienna, but it’s something. The conservative atmosphere of the city rubbed me the wrong way, but I did enjoy the many splendid sights I saw (such as the National Library, the Belvedere Palace and the Kunsthistorisches Museum). The World Museum stands out as a symbol of Austrian effort to appreciate the worth of other nations, and come to terms with its own problematic history as a result.

Back to the Sparks [2]

3. Germany itself!

Having spent months in Hannover in the last two years, some of the shininess of it has worn off, but I managed to find new ways to stay awake to its appeal: Arriving in the final month of spring, I witnessed a warm glow which deepened as summer set in. The reds of the Old Town reached their epiphany, complementing the burgundies, golden yellows and purples of the flowers dotting the centre.

I explored the city through its food scene, revisiting old favourites like Masa (Afghan cuisine), The Bavarium, hof:geflüster (typical German cooking) and Bar Celona (continental European), while discovering great Thai, Mexican and Indian restaurants. Sometimes I opted for cakes at Café Konrad, the apple torte at Kreipe CoffeeTime, and bubble tea at Meet U. On one occasion I tried Belgian-style chips with a cheddar cheese sauce, satiating my curiosity about the flavours of this street food. 

At the supermarket, I tried a species of peach that I’d never seen before. There was a strawberry stall one tram stop over, so I indulged in the ruby fruit a couple of times. And, finally I tried a variety of chocolates which were local to Germany, all of which were mouthwatering. 

I’ve already written about my trips to Coppenbrügge, Hameln and Cologne, but not yet about Aachen:

Aachen’s citizens were almost universally friendly to me and my family. I think it’s the friendliest German city I’ve ever been to, making it easy to enjoy. With plenty of beautiful sights to fill up three days, we took in the mosaics with geometric patterns luxuriating in the cathedral, UNESCO-recognised jewellery and sculpture, life-like paintings of natural settings in the Couvens Museum (once an upper class dwelling), and the tasty local dessert of Printen (gingerbread).

I also enjoyed the layout of the buses, seemingly designed to facilitate communication among the residents, with rows turned to face each other, and some forming a horseshoe - people could conceivably hold a mini conference here!

The city council had recognised the longevity of many of Aachen’s businesses, adorning their shopfronts with a simple, circular sign showing how many years they had been in operation. One pharmacy had been continuously open for 360 years! Every fifth or so shop was emblazoned with one of these green signs, speaking to a respect for tradition.

If you remember the plans I had for travelling around Germany (which largely fell through), Aachen wasn’t among my final list of destinations. I didn’t really know anything about it until circumstances intervened and my parents decided to bring me there, but it turned out to be a happy occasion. I can say that I have savoured one of Germany’s hidden gems!

Back to the Sparks

This year I rediscovered the joy of familiar places which had become disappointing, or threatened to become so, in my mind. 

1. The Netherlands

Having spent all of three days in the place, most of them rushing through Amsterdam, I had left with the impression that the locals were unfriendly and the architecture wasn’t my cup of tea, but upon my return to Maastricht I was given some warm words of advice for tackling the photo museum by its receptionist, as well as given tips for how to hear that night’s André Rieu concert if I didn’t plan to buy an official ticket. The low-rise architecture of this southernmost city was calming, and could even be charming. 

Our taxi driver offered that Rieu was a likeable individual, having stayed unpretentious and maintaining close ties to the community. Indeed, at the concert the orchestrator exalted his hometown, and visibly relished bringing all sorts of international talent for the audience to enjoy. 

And then there was the phenomenon of lower gender inequality than I’m used to.

We spent less than 24 hours in Maastricht, but it was enough to open up an appetite for deeper exploration in the Netherlands. I now want to visit The Hague, Utrecht and maybe Giethoorn. 

2. Portugal

With locals so receptive to travellers, I felt mostly at home. A comforting warmth nestled in my chest, and I didn’t want to leave.

I’m interested in visiting Madeira, Sintra and maybe the Algarve. I would also be happy to return to Coimbra, which I fell in love with. In this small but scenic city, a stranger noticed my mum and I on the bus, and upon disembarking at the same stop as us they helpfully suggested we buy a bus card valid for multiple rides. Instructing us on where to buy the pass and how to use it, I was aglow - it didn’t make financial sense for us to get this deal, but I was grateful for the warmheartedness of the local.

[More soon…]