Author Archives: annablennow

A Bothersome Cold. A Stendhal-day in Regensburg

Posted on February 25, 2018 by annablennow

The nineteenth-century author and flâneur Stendhal once wrote that the best way to experience a new place is to wander aimlessly in whatever direction that whim dictates. Without planning and without knowing beforehand, the cognitive faculties turn acute, and the … Continue reading →

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Alp Adventures (1)

Posted on March 2, 2017 by annablennow

When I arrived in Innsbruck it was already dark. Although it was mid-February, I could not feel any of that snow-cold winter air that I had been looking forward to. The train station was a modern creation, and stretched out … Continue reading →

Posted in Guidebooks, Journeys | 1 Comment

Everything is going to be OK. Uppsala and the 110-year-old guidebook

Posted on August 26, 2016 by annablennow

Since I often write about trains, some people assume that I am interested in trains. I am not. Trains are crammed, dusty, uncomfortable, full of noise and breadcrumbs and stains and toilets out of order. They wobble and toss from … Continue reading →

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Travel and the sense of time – with Baedeker in Italy

Posted on May 28, 2016 by annablennow

When we travel, something happens with our sense of time. We can travel fast, and stay for a long time when we get to where we’re heading. We can choose to travel slow, but stay only for a short time … Continue reading →

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Itinerary VIII, Ponte S. Angelo to Porta Asinaria, second part

Posted on April 26, 2016 by annablennow

Starting point: Piazza Pasquino Einsiedeln instructions: In sinistra                                                In dextra Sancti Laurentii in Damaso Thermae Alexandrinae   … Continue reading →

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Paradise, or Where Does Italy Begin?

Posted on February 27, 2016 by annablennow

For a traveller to Italy from the north, there is no possible way of ignoring the Alps. Whether you are Hannibal, a medieval pilgrim, a Grand Tour pleasure seeker or an airborne tourist of the 21st century, the Alps are … Continue reading →

Posted in The Journey to Rome | Leave a comment

The low door. A mind-travel to Oxford

Posted on December 8, 2015 by annablennow

It began with a twig of ivy this dark December morning, a little piece of intense greenery in the bleak autumn grass next to a grey stone wall. ”The eye has to travel”, Diana Vreeland, legendary fashion editor, once said. … Continue reading →

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Itinerary VIII, Ponte S. Angelo to Porta Asinaria, first part

Posted on November 1, 2015 by annablennow

Starting point: Ponte S. Angelo, east side Einsiedeln instructions: In sinistra                                                        In dextra … Continue reading →

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Going slow or flying fast – instructions for promenades in Rome

Posted on October 29, 2015 by annablennow

In Madame de Staël’s novel Corinne, or Italy (1807), when the protagonists of the book are heading for Tivoli, lord Nelvil drives the four-horse carriage himself and enjoys the speed of the drive, since ”speed seems to enhance the sense … Continue reading →

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Itinerary VII, Porta S. Pancrazio to Porta Maggiore, ninth part

Posted on October 27, 2015 by annablennow

Starting point: piazza di S. Maria Maggiore Einsiedeln instructions: In sinistra:                 In dextra: Sanctus Vitus             Forma Lateranense. Monasterium Honorii                     … Continue reading →

Posted in Itinerary VII: A porta Aurelia usque ad portam Praenestinam | Leave a comment