Why I Love the London Tube Map
I love maps, as my many posts on this site make clear. It’s hard to pick a favorite, since there are so many maps in this world with so many designs and purposes. Still,...
Tagged: Europe
Die Firmenländer von Deutschland: A German Brand Map
After my map of “The Corporate States of America” became a hit, I decided to do a second one for our northern neighbor. “The Corporate Provinces of Canada” hasn’t been quite as popular, but...
American Musings on Scottish Independence
On Thursday, September 18, 2014, Scotland will vote on whether to declare independence from the United Kingdom. As an American of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry, I have been following the debate. I’ve never...
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
You don’t often hear people talk about the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, at least not here in America. But even though the United States was not a direct party to this pact, the Treaty of...
The Real London Bridge
You’ve never seen London Bridge, even if you grew up in London. You may have seen a bridge called “London Bridge”, but it’s not the famous bridge of verse and song. The original bridge...
The Rise and Fall of Neutral Moresnet
Borders can cause a lot of problems. I’ve already talked about how shifting rivers can create odd little enclaves on the landscape. But borders can be tricky even when there aren’t rivers involved. This...
Homage to Catalan
If you’ve ever been to Barcelona, you might know that they don’t speak Spanish. It comes as a shock to many first-time tourists, but the language spoken in Barcelona isn’t Spanish. It’s Catalan. I’ve...
Smacked in Madrid
It was my first day in Spain. After an unexpected date, I met up with my friends and we checked into our hostel. After dropping off our luggage, we took a walk around the...
Park Güell: High Atop Barcelona
Jamie and I got off the subway and walked back above ground. I was expecting a large expanse of grass, but instead I saw a dense urban streetscape. “I thought you said we were...
An Unexpected Date
I once had an unexpected date in Madrid. It started when I got to Barajas Airport six hours before my friends did. It was a long time to wait, so I decided to check...
