89 articles tagged with architecture
When I tell my PE students about my travels, their eyes light up most at stories with a sense of discovery. That's exactly what Meridian, Mississippi offered me last spring—a weekend of uncovering layers of Southern history that felt like...
Standing at the edge of the world's most haunting coastline, where the cold Atlantic crashes against one of Earth's oldest deserts, I found myself mesmerized by the brutal beauty of Namibia's Skeleton Coast. The shipwrecks half-buried in sand tell stories...
When I first arrived in Graz last spring, I expected the UNESCO World Heritage old town and the futuristic Kunsthaus to dominate my experience. *Mais non*, this Austrian city had other plans for me. As someone who appreciates craftsmanship in...
Like the rings of a tree revealing its age, Hong Kong's skyline tells the story of its remarkable journey through time. Having spent three decades analyzing municipal budgets, I've developed an eye for how cities allocate resources to their built...
As someone who has spent two decades examining international trade disputes, I've developed a particular fascination with how cultural heritage sites function as living archives of both commerce and community. Singapore's Chinatown stands as perhaps the most compelling example I've...
There's something magical about Portugal that speaks to both my German precision and my adopted American sense of adventure. Having traversed this stunning country three times now, I've refined what I consider the perfect 10-day journey between its two crown...
The first time I visited Boston with my son during his college search years ago, we dutifully followed the red-brick Freedom Trail like most tourists. While those iconic sites certainly deserve their fame, it wasn't until my third visit—last October,...
The train lurched forward as we snaked through Sri Lanka's central highlands, the carriage windows framing a theatrical performance of misty mountains and emerald tea plantations. But as we pulled into Ella station—a colonial relic with its weathered wooden beams...
I'll never forget the moment I first glimpsed Graz from the Schlossberg hill. The terracotta rooftops spread out like a patchwork quilt, punctuated by that unmistakable blue dome of the Kunsthaus—looking like some friendly alien spacecraft that had decided to...
When most travelers think of Pakistan, cities like Lahore and Karachi typically dominate the itinerary. Yet Faisalabad—Pakistan's third-largest city—offers a fascinating mathematical symmetry in its urban planning that immediately captivated my analytical mind. Originally designed as a market town during...
The morning light catches on pink granite facades as I sip my coffee at an outdoor café in downtown Saint Cloud. There's something deeply grounding about this Minnesota city that reminds me of the prairie towns back home, yet with...
As someone who's spent years examining passports at border control, I've developed a fascination with places that exist primarily as news headlines for most people. Afghanistan—particularly Kabul—has long been such a place. This spring, I finally followed my curiosity and...
Alright, so I've just spent a proper mint weekend in Worcester, Massachusetts – and no, not the OG Worcester back home in England! This American Worcester's got some serious hidden history that knocked my socks off. Who knew this industrial...
Standing at the edge of Cliff Walk, where meticulously designed landscapes meet the untamed Atlantic, I'm struck by the perfect urban tension Newport embodies. These Gilded Age mansions aren't merely ostentatious displays of wealth—they're physical manifestations of America's complex relationship...
As someone who has navigated both Frankfurt's precision-engineered streets and rural Mexican pueblos, I've developed a sixth sense for spotting the historical layers that most tourists miss. Chicago - that magnificent beast of American architecture and ambition - holds so...