• Home is where good coffee isn’t

    June 21, 2026 - By 

    Some years ago, my (now) husband and I moved to our current rental here in Munich. Let’s say that we have quite a good deal given the housing situation in one of Germany’s most expensive cities to live: we have a small house, small enough to have to make compromises to make it work, but with a garden, in a residential street, accessible enough to be in the city centre in 20 mins, while allowing us to be far from the hustle of traffic after a 5-minute jog. The house came furnished, which sounded practical at first, but it turned…

  • India and Me, Iniyan. Together with a book review.

    May 15, 2026 - By 

    Every heartbeat is a universe of possibilities Title: Shantaram Author: Gregory David Roberts (often referred to by fans as GDR) Original Publication Date: 2003 Genre: Epic Novel / Semi-autobiographical Fiction / Adventure / Crime Setting: Bombay (Mumbai), India, Timeline: Primarily the 1980s. Last year, I went to India for my friend Nivedita’s wedding. I was very lucky to attend not only an Indian wedding, but the most beautiful Indian wedding. It was my second time in the South Asian country; the first time was some 8 years ago with a backpack, when I was younger, more adventurous and would do anything to squeeze a few…

  • The Moon: Humanity’s Oldest Clock and Newest Frontier

    April 26, 2026 - By 

    Often, it is easy to ignore the world around us and take Earth for granted. Given this reality, for a normal person, what’s out there in space can be so fascinating and at the same time so disproportionate in terms of dimension that it takes one of the following categories: irrelevant against our daily and global struggles, or evocative, making us imagine and almost feel everything we could achieve and become.  Our only natural satellite, the Moon, probably falls in all of the above. In the same way that the first missions to put humans on its surface sparked curiosity…

  • What a Fruit Parody Taught Me About the Future of Culture

    April 7, 2026 - By 

    Fast food didn’t make restaurants obsolete Disclaimer: This quote isn’t mine, I first heard it here. However, it made me want to keep pulling the thread. The context of the discussion has nothing to do with restaurants and fast food, but with fruits. I particular AI generated fruit in a Love Island parody. I’ve watched all episodes availabe to today, and I can’t say it was worth every minute, but in how many ways don’t we spend too many hours dumb scrolling? From the series of videos (in Tik Tok format) one can extract the essence of the real show…

  • The Identity of the Cook: Why Every Household Makes the Best Torrijas

    March 23, 2026 - By 

    In Spain, we call them torrijas, and they are usually eaten at Easter. For me, the best moment to make torrijas is when spring has just begun: the days are longer and sunnier, but it’s still too cold to have breakfast in the garden. Every year, they bring back the same memory: visiting my brother in Latvia at Easter, when he asked me to make them for him and his host family. When his host mum came into the kitchen, her eyes lit up and she said, “I know this dish, my mum used to make it.” Unfortunately, I don’t…