The best places to visit

If you are looking for underrated beach towns in California, check out the wide array of things to do in Seal Beach! California’s beach towns are famous all over the world.  A lot of visitors come to our shores in search of the lifestyle and vibe that is presented in TV shows and movies. On the contrary, residents and connoisseurs of the area miss the authenticity many towns had before the booming age of travel.  It has been said that ‘Old California’ does not exist anymore near big population centers. But, I digress.  I have found my slice of ‘Old California’ not that far from Los Angeles. Context Seal Beach , the northernmost city in Orange County, is that piece of peacefulness that stands out from other beach towns I have visited in Southern California. Seal Beach was originally known as Anaheim Landing because it was the boat landing and seaside recreation area of the nearby city (which is inland).  There was even an amusement park which operated before Disneyland.  In the 20

You love traveling? Maybe even staying in one place for a bit longer than just a few days in order to feel the atmosphere?  You adore shopping at the supermarket around the corner, bargaining at the local market and flirting with this cute bartender working at your new favorite café? There is just one problem: Communication. Speaking the local language facilitates a lot of things, from finding friends to asking for the way. It quite simply brings you that much closer to really getting to know a culture. photo by Franco Folini Luckily there is light at the end of the communication barrier tunnel. What you need is – language school. Rather than googling the subject and signing up for the first program that pops up, it’s worth looking into things a bit more, following these tips: Compare prices – searching for a language school, you will quickly notice that there can be big differences in the price of the course. Get well informed with what is included and which extra costs might be

After falling in love with Barcelona and its awesome architecture, I was reluctant to board the morning AVE train bound for Seville. I'd only had a few days in Barcelona, after all — not nearly enough time! But Seville, a city I've wanted to visit longer than anywhere else in Spain, was calling. And so I went. Seville, located in Spain's southern Andalusia region, has always been intriguing to me. With its flamenco soul and Moorish history, I knew I would get a glimpse into a completely different side of Spain here. I did a couple of tours, spent a day at the spring Feria (more on this later), and generally just let myself get wonderfully lost in the narrow streets of Seville's Old Town. Thankfully, Seville completely lived up to my expectations; I quickly found myself falling in love with yet another Spanish city. Here are some of my favorite photos from my four days in Seville: The covered walkways at Plaza de Espana, built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposit

The Post Office in La Paz, Bolivia I almost never write these sorts of “advice” posts, let alone location-specific ones, but I was inspired by the fact that, after sending a box to Canada the other day, word got out at the hostel that I had gone through the experience and many people asked me how it was done. I often send boxes home while I travel as I am forever tempted to buy things at the many markets along the way. I’ve also been buying all of my Christmas presents while travelling, so I often need to unload my bag and send a few kilos home. I’ve had a good track record when it comes to packages actually being delivered, and, as I heard that Bolivia’s post is quite reliable, I decided to send some gifts home through here. Here’s how I did it. 1. Make sure you have two copies of your passport, as one will go inside the box and the other will be kept for their records. Photocopy places are all over La Paz and it should only cost you 1 Boliviano for two copies (about 15 cents

Berlin, 11. of April, Skype chat with Katja: Katja: Hey Nina, want to go on a press trip to Norway? Me: Is the earth round? I had never been to Scandinavia before, so going on this trip was a no brainer. Being able to get away from work for a few days was a nice added bonus. Not only was this my first trip to Norway, it also was the first time I ever had a proper timetable to a trip I was on, something I was curious about and confident that I would be shown everything there was to see. The programm set up by the guys over at Visit Norway promised a visit to the Trondheim Jazz festival, a fishing tour and various fancy dinners… 3 weeks later there I was, sitting on a plane to Trondheim, the heart of a region called Trøndelag, located in central Norway. Arriving at the airport, the first shriek of a seagull instantly let me know that I would like it here – any place with seagulls around makes me happy. We were a small group of 6 journalists from all categories of journalism and age.