The bell tower of Lujia Catholic Church (陆家天主堂钟楼), in the town of Zhelin (柘林) in Shanghai’s Fengxian district. It was built in 1891, and the wing was used for livestock in the late fifties, and destroyed a decade later. The tower was stripped of its bronze bell, but was spared because it had the word […]
The St. Francis Church of the Eastern Shi Family (东施家圣方济各堂), built in 1896. Historic Pudong wrote about it before, but I never knew where it was. Then Eva cycled past it and sent me the location, but she didn’t dare to enter alone because of stray dogs. I couldn’t see those stray dogs today, but […]
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The 300-year-old Shangchizhai Pharmacy (上池斋药店) in Xinghua (兴化) in Jiangsu, still in use today. The tiles on the floor are said to be imported, I actually found this out later. I did not take a good look at the floor ones and now really regret it. (The ones on the counter caught my eye, as […]
This question pops up now and then on Reddit and Twitter, and I’ve no plans to fill this blog with travel advice — listing the top ten restaurants or hotels in Shanghai — but I did start to wonder for myself, what places I’d advise to friends coming over to Shanghai for a visit. First, […]
Cycling with my brother from our hometown to Kampen and back, along the river the IJssel — which in this season has flooded the summer dikes and is held by the winter dikes. Such a long bicycle ride with my brother is always one of my favorite things to do when back home. 46 kilometers […]
The forest around my hometown. Soft ground under your feet, a hundred shades of green, leaves rustling in the wind, and paths that go on and on. Not a single path is the same. Nature has left dozens of markers to let you know exactly where you are, or how to get back. There’s a […]
After attending the world’s biggest tech event, it’s nice to go to a place without any cell phone signal: Calico Basin of the Red Rock Canyon, near Las Vegas. ‘No cell phone signal’ isn’t a metaphor or anything. Having my Uber drop me off here wasn’t an issue, but when I finished the trail, I […]
Outside the office, we see lots of people walking with big boxes of toys and go to see what’s happening. Three ‘cowboys’ are standing next to a pile of stuff like fake Legos, Barbies, and bikes, yelling if you register for a free creditcard you can pick a box, even a bike! Lots of people […]
We’re walking at the quay and a single bird is hopping around, a Chinese starling. Eva, gnawing on a corn cob, throws a kernel, but the bird doesn’t bite. An old man behind us says: “She won’t eat that.” We’re all like “Ah, how do you know?”, and the man replies “She’s my pet, I […]