In a world where the pursuit of “authentic travel” has become a coveted badge of honour, being a tourist comes with a sense of shame. The commercialisation of tourism has birthed an industry that promises curated adventure—an oxymoron that has us believing that discovery can be neatly packaged and pre-arranged. Handheld exploration through guided tours… Continue reading In Defence of the Tourist: The Paradox of ‘Authentic Travel’ in the Age of Commercialisation
Category: Georgia Tech Europe
Visual Diary of My Semester in Europe
Home Is Where I Am
Home is where I am. It’s the place I inhabit. Call me shallow—home moves with me. It’s really not that deep. We constantly project ourselves onto our surroundings and what I see around me becomes home to me. The cold is now home. Bright orange is home. Cora is home. Metz is home. In the… Continue reading Home Is Where I Am
The Collective Lens: A Reflection on Visual Redundancy
Perched on a weathered stone bridge that arched gracefully over the crystalline expanse of Lake Lucerne, I found myself enveloped in a scene that seemed to have leaped from the pages of a postcard. The gentle breeze carried the faint scent of water lilies and the distant melody of church bells, harmonizing with the rhythmic… Continue reading The Collective Lens: A Reflection on Visual Redundancy
Bao
https://drive.google.com/file/d/130sr3txCLSRoNz1DaDs_sU-QlNPRk5JY/preview
Resilience and Renaissance: Gare de Metz-Ville’s Century in Transit
On y salue une ambition digne d’une cathédrale, et ce n’est qu’une tourte, un immense pâté de viande. Gare de Metz Ville, an architectural marvel—or so they say. It astounds us with its Romanesque style and a steeple, supposedly designed by Wilhelm II, but nothing soars; everything is contained, squat, and compressed under a lid… Continue reading Resilience and Renaissance: Gare de Metz-Ville’s Century in Transit
Voices of the Past: Verdun’s Tale of Remembrance and Reconciliation
I knelt. As I brought my face closer to the small square glass pane, the image of a jumble of ribs, limbs and skulls emerged with stark clarity. The innocuous window framed a haunting tableau of mixed German and French soldiers’ bones, a macabre mosaic of skeletons intertwined, forever bound by the anguish of war… Continue reading Voices of the Past: Verdun’s Tale of Remembrance and Reconciliation
We could do better: The Fading Beauty of Roman Ruins
Standing amid the ruins of the Kaiserthermen, I was struck by the Romans’ commitment to architectural magnificence. The massive stone walls, the labyrinthine corridors beneath the arena, and the remnants of the heated chambers were puzzle pieces of an era when these baths were not just places for cleansing but also hubs of social interaction… Continue reading We could do better: The Fading Beauty of Roman Ruins