The Psychology of Travel

Working in Berlin

Working in Berlin

Berlin has played an important part in my life: it was the first place I visited on my trip to Tibet and I spent a month there in 1986, before the wall came down, and I was lucky enough to …
Kayaking in Sweden

Kayaking in Sweden

When I was a kid we lived in a white house by the Firth of Forth, an estuary just north of Edinburgh. The house was so close to the sea that waves would splash into the garden when it was …
The Paradox of Sweden

The Paradox of Sweden

I’m staying in an old military base on one of the thirty thousand islands that lie outside Stockholm. From where I am sitting I can see massive cruise ships pass by, en route to the capital city, making their way …
I was Wrong About the Romani Gypsies

I was Wrong About the Romani Gypsies

For many years I thought I knew the answer to the problems faced by the Romani Gypsies: education. If we could just make school more appealing to this population their situation of marginalisation would gradually end, and they would learn …
What I Learned from Camping

What I Learned from Camping

My first thought about camping is that I don’t want to do it: it’s cold and wet outside and even thinking about what I would need to pack sends a shiver down my spine. So much easier to sit in …