We don’t write heaps of accommodation reviews here on Sophie’s World. Can’t be just any boring old accoms, you see. It has to be unique, like a lighthouse, say. Or a shipping container. Or an exceptionally beautiful hotel. Or a combination hotel/refuge for asylum seekers/artists’ workshops. Or haunted. Every once in a while, something special […]
The Principal Manchester: a gorgeous space in a gutsy city
You know how you sometimes wander around – or drive around – a city, searching for the hotel you’ve booked, increasingly wanting to put a curse on the annoying SatNav lady for leading you astray yet again? Well, that won’t happen with The Principal Manchester. You simply can’t miss this impressive Baroque building with a […]
Grandhotel Cosmopolis: a concrete utopia
In Augsburg’s old town, Grandhotel Cosmopolis is perhaps the most curious hotel in all of Germany; certainly the most unusual I have seen. This particular Grand hotel, you see, functions not only as a hotel, but also as home for asylum seekers, as artists’ studios, open work-spaces, a venue for concerts, exhibitions and other artistic […]
Qube hotel Heidelberg – a review
On a recent visit in Heidelberg, I stayed at the cool, contemporary Qube Hotel. This award-winning boutique hotel is privately owned and has a particular focus on the environment as well as allergy sufferers. Walls are painted with a special ecofriendly (and allergy-friendly) paint. Natural plaster rather than wallpaper, wooden- and stone floors rather than […]
The Four Seasons Hotel in Baku: Graceful and luxurious
I arrive at the Four Seasons Baku on a scorching day in early July. It is so hot, entering the Beaux-Arts lobby is a relief in itself. Not only is it deliciously cool. It’s also beautiful, with marble floors, glittering chandeliers and a sweeping, grandiose staircase with wrought-iron railings. Comfortable chairs and sofas are scattered […]
The Waterhead: A Boutique Hotel in the English Lake District
Do you keep up with World Heritage? If so, you will have noticed that the English Lake District was just added to the list this month. And deservedly so, in my not-so-humble opinion. We arrive in Ambleside on a lovely April day. I simply plugged Waterhead into the GPS, and after leaving Manchester airport behind, we […]
#Emiratesairline Business Class Review
On a cold February day, I boarded an Emirates flight from Oslo to Dubai, to swap snow for sand for a few days. The 6.5-hour flight is served by a Boeing 777-300ER, on a route that has only been in operation for a few months. I was here as a guest of the airline to […]
Welcome! I'm Sophie - writer, dreamer, negotiator, wanderer, mum - in search of the world's curious places. Mostly with my daughters, sometimes solo. The girls share their take on it, too.
- Chasing shadows in Czechia
- Whimsical Giethoorn – a photo essay
- A Tale of Two Villas
- Vienna to Graz via the Semmering Railway: A UNESCO Kinder Egg
- Gori: birthplace of the world’s most infamous dictator
- Lovely Lucerne: 4 hours is but a glimpse
- World at a Glance: Flemish béguinages, a 13th century women’s movement
- Belgian Belfries
- The Palmyra Hotel in Baalbek: Wacky, Weird and Wonderful
- The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
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Katrin: What a bizzare experience to have! Maybe the citiz...
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Anne-Sophie Redisch: Love unusual finds like this plantation. Thanks fo...
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Jeanette Brunet: I was in Edinburgh in August of 2015 for 9 days. W...
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