A freelance travel writer since 1998, Christian has written or co-written some twenty guidebooks, two travel apps and a host of related articles for magazines, travel websites and UK newspapers. Clients have included Rough Guides, Dorling Kindersley, AOL, Tripadvisor, Ink Media and UK newspapers The Telegraph, The Independent and The Sunday Times. In North America he's covered much of Canada (particularly the Rockies) and Colorado; in Europe he has focused mainly on Germany (particularly Berlin), Austria, Scotland and Tenerife. Even when not working he likes explore, usually on one of his ten bicycles.
Central Scotland is Scotland’s doorstep region, providing the transition between the Lowlands to the south and the Highlands to the north and west. This pretty much gives the region a full range of Scottish attractions – from castles and battlefields, to abbeys, beaches, wildlife reserves and venerable golf courses – all of which help make Central Scotland a destination in itself....
Any one of our Scottish regions or destination will probably be able to provide you with enough to see and do for most shorter vacations, but if you’re come a long way you might want to see quite a bit of the country or be certain not to miss those things that really interest you. Key Scotland Trip Ideas With...
Aberdeenshire and the adjacent regions of Angus and Moray together make up the gentle hill country of Northeast Scotland. Here, just east of the Cairngorms, the land flattens out and transitions into agricultural areas, rolling golf links, cliffs, sandy beaches and the pretty fishing villages of the Moray and Banffshire Coasts. It’s a wealthier part of Scotland thanks in part...
Scotland, a fiercely independent little country on Europe’s fringes, is so packed with history and charm that exploring it is well worth a few weeks of anyone’s time. Many potential visitors will already be familiar with the classic Scottish set pieces before they arrive: tranquil lochs, heathery glens, hilltop castles, brooding mountains, idyllic beaches, pretty coastal villages, and homey pubs...
The Rhine may start in Switzerland and empty into the North Sea in the Netherlands, but for much of it’s length it’s a German river and one that’s far more meaningful to that nation than just the sum of its parts. Several national legends are rooted here and have helped make the river quintessentially German in the national psyche. And...
The large port city of Hamburg may be pivotal to Northern Germany but many towns and beauty spots nearby feel a world away from big city life. So removed that the region is best known for its Baltic and North Sea coastline. For it’s size Germany’s seaside is relatively small, so much cherished, particularly since the end of the 19th...
Skyscrapers dominate Frankfurt like no other city in Germany and few in Europe. This and its location on the river Main has earned it the nickname of “Mainhattan” which sums it up rather nicely. With its giant financial and communications industries, it’s certainly a thrustingly commercial place that dominates the surrounding province of Hesse and as well as a good...
The Ruhr region (Ruhrgebiet) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s most densely populated and heavily industrialised region. Yet, unlike many European industrial areas, it still has enormous might and potential. So it’s wealthy too and this money has been put to excellent use developing a more attractive side to the region by promoting modern culture an architecture yet...
Berlin is a complex place known for many and conflicting things. It’s hard to pin it down or sum it up, though its grittiness, attitude and hip self-confidence mean its increasingly dubbed “The New York of Europe.” Certainly Berlin revels in all forms of urban life, but also brings to the table an equally fascinating collection of relics of its...
The Black Forest is Germany’s largest and most beautiful forest and a bit of a show-stealer within the immensely prosperous southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. And that’s saying something, as there’s serious competition here. Its landscapes also include a huge stretch of the Rhine – replete with vineyards – which bulges into the vast Lake Constance (Bodensee) to bask in a near...
Germany is famed as Europe’s industrial powerhouse – Volkswagens, BMWs and Mercedes’ sit in driveways the world over – but less known is that its culture is every bit as well-developed. In terms of UNESCO World Heritage sites – places of global cultural importance chosen by the United Nations – it’s in the world’s top five countries. Many of these...
A good 700km from anywhere of similar size and often nicknamed “Winterpeg” for its heavy snows, Winnipeg is well used to being self-reliant and making the best of things. And its success at entertaining itself with great foods, shows and festivals provide some of the best reasons to visit, though the city’s trading roots also provide several worthwhile historical sights....
Next to nobody visits Canada to visit Saskatchewan, and even Canadians seem to love poking fun at the province and the dullness of its prairies. But this is predictably unfair; those who bother to leave either of the two straight and rather dull highways (Hwy-1 & Hwy-16) that allow you to zip across the province in half-a-day have some real...
Nowhere in Canada seems as unpromising but ends up being as rewarding as the province of Manitoba. Its origins stem from bursts of commercial activity (furs then farm supplies) in and around what became Winnipeg. This city’s the biggest place for around 700km (430 miles) in any direction, and it says volumes that the nearest big city is Fargo, North...
Statistically, the Canadian Prairies are one of Canada’s less visited regions and often elicit groans from many Canadians – right before they tell you how dull their cross country drive was across the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta. And yes, this is a 1400km drive through flat farming country, where the sweep of giant fields leads geometrically to...
Clinging to the top of a 100-meter cliff that towers over the broad St-Lawrence River, Quebec City can boast of being North America’s only walled city, and it exudes a charm usually associated with medieval Europe. Its tight network of cobbled, winding, 17th-century streets are lined by proud old stone houses, elegant parks and squares that all beg to be...
Montreal buzzes like no place in Canada. It’s the country’s second largest city – two million, with another two million in adjacent towns – and the world’s largest French-speaking city outside Paris. It’s undeniably rag-tag: with its congested writhing highways, hectic intersections, potholed roads; medley of new immigrants from all over the world; and its iconic, yet often awkward, architecture....
Outside its two great cities – Montreal and Quebec City – Quebec is a very different place: its tidy provincial towns are mostly just modest hubs with little of great interest, leaving the rural landscape to become the main attraction. Fortunately it’s up to the task: rolling hills in the south provide all sorts of day-trip destinations for the big...
More than anywhere else, Quebec is France’s great New World legacy and Francophone culture is more stridently championed here than anywhere else in the world. This has long made Quebec Canada’s problem child: a province so determined to carve a future in line with its past that it often ignores the culture and trends in the rest of Canada. The...
Toronto is arguably Canada’s most important city – and at 6 million it’s certainly by far the largest. Yet just as the New York feels a world apart from most of the USA, and London’s very different from the rest of the England, Toronto doesn’t feel too representatively Canadian either. This is one very big, very cosmopolitan city, whose role...
In travel the greatest surprises and excitement generally lie in the unknown, so places that I knew little about or had the lowest expectations of were often the most remarkable.
A week long stay in a Tanzanian village stands out: the accommodation ended up being a solo stay in an old missionary house looked after by a maid who cooked amazing dishes over an open fire and seemed determined to seduce me. Better still, two locals who took me under their wings to show me around: a monkey colony; various waterfalls; the country’s oldest man (124!); a cow being slaughtered by hand; and the questionable delights of banana beer. They also helped stop me falling through a wooden bridge at night, which was every bit as unexpected as the rest!
Many underrated places are less than a day trip away. Often finding a new activity in them is enough for a fresh perspective and experience. In terms of countries, Germany’s the most underrated: travel is easy and there’s a little of everything there.
Bicycles travel at the right speed to fully appreciate everything: every breeze, hill and sight. You can to stop for photos at a moment’s notice; easily get off the beaten track; enjoy justifiably pouring over maps and earn a sense of achievement. And by the end of the day you’ll deserve a big meal and probably have a good night’s sleep waiting too.
It’s me that’s foreign.