A World of Views – Journalismusfest Innsbruck 2023

Innsbruck’s celebration of journalism is probably the most last minute festival I’ve ever attended. On the way back from my interrail trip I booked a 24-hour stopover in Tirol’s capital Innsbruck and when I checked the night before what events were going to be on, I came across the excellent and very well run journalism festival (12-14 May 2023), which had only started in 2022 based on a similar Italian festival.

I arrived on the first day and headed straight to the first event (pic below) I could fit in at Innsbruck’s super modern main public library. It was a moving and insightful discussion of the state of feminist protest in Iran in recent times. The all-female panel consisted of Vienna-based lawyer Shoura Hashemi, author and feminist activist Mina Khani, journalist, doctor and author Gilda Sahebi, both Berlin-based, and was chaired by Dunja Ramadan of Süddeutsche Zeitung. The candid and wide-ranging debate provided the audience, which consisted not just of journalists but also of many local people with an interest in current affairs, with an in-depth and partly quite personal overview of the situation of women living in Iran.

The second talk took place at one of the oldest bookshops in the Austrian city, the Wagner’sche Buchhandlung. South Tyrolean reporter and journalist Barbara Bachmann was interviewed by Daniel Puntas Bernet, the editor of Switzerland-based Reportagen magazine on the theme of reporting on animal stories – I couldn’t have been more excited! Bachmann first told us about researching and writing about Sandra, the first Orangutan to be granted legal personhood by a judge in Argentina, which was followed by the story of the often cruel fate of the galgos, Spanish hunting dogs. Together with some people I got to know at the wine reception afterwards, I headed to Treibhaus, the festival’s main hub and the venue for that evening’s Pussy Riot concert. Unfortunately, and of course unsurprisingly, it was completely sold out and I had to eventually call it a day and get some rest.

This was just as well as having an early night helped with getting up on time for the first event on Saturday morning (pic above), which was held in another Innsbruck ‘institution’, at the historic bakery Café Munding in the city’s old town. What a beautiful place with delicious hot drinks and pastries. It was the perfect setting for a relaxed paper review with Daniela Kraus, secretary general of the Presseclub Concordia and Rainer Schüller, deputy editor in chief of the Austrian Der Standard newspaper. I shared a table with a young Austrian journalist and two other friendly local women and had the best time, having arrived less than 24 hours earlier knowing no one in a city I had never been to before.

I managed to make it to two more events before boarding the train towards Bavaria. One was an incredibly fascinating discussion (pic above, in English with live simultaneous interpreting into German, very cool!) with journalists from Ukraine (Roman Stepanovych, Zaborona), Belarus (Alexander, Nexta, based in Germany), Russia (Galina Timtschenko, Meduza, based in Riga) as well as Sabine Sile of Media Hub Riga, in Latvia, whose organisation supports the wellbeing of journalists from various countries and backgrounds. The talk was chaired by Barbara Junge, editor in chief of die tageszeitung, Berlin, and German journalist and Russia expert Katja Gloger and over the course of an hour we gained a first-hand insight into the challenges and importance of independent reporting.

My last event (pic above) was with Romanian artists Lia and Dan Perjovschi, who were discussing their work, career and current joined exhibition at the Kunstraum Innsbruck. Their work includes performance, installations, drawings as well as collages and it was another event held in English, so even if you didn’t speak German, there were plenty of options throughout the weekend. Around lunchtime I very reluctantly said goodbye to the beautiful Tyrolean capital with its amazing views of the snow-topped nearby mountain ranges and the famous Bergisel ski jump (pic below) from the city centre and boarded another train.

Journalismusfest Innsbruck is the perfect example of why I love festivals so much. You get an excellent overview of a city’s cultural venues and locations, meet friendly, like-minded people along the way and the variety of the programme ensured that there was a huge amount of fabulous events to choose from. In fact, as with all the best festivals, it was really hard to make a choice. To top it all off, most of the events were free of charge (read more about the festival’s history and philosophy), so were accessible to all and also in physically accessible venues as far as I could see. Well done to everyone involved for presenting such a lively, interesting and varied weekend of events. I will most definitely try and make it to another one – this time for the full three days for sure!

Disclaimer: All photography Ⓒ Life is a Festival.

Madeira Flower Festival: Practical Tips for Visitors

If you’re planning on visiting Madeira during the ‘Festa da Flor’ in May, you might have some questions regarding the timing of your holiday and what to expect. As I attended the vibrant flower festival in Funchal in May 2022, I have put together this handy list for you, so you’ll get a quick overview and can be sure not to miss any of the highlights.

When and where does the flower festival take place?

The flower festival takes place in Madeira every April or May and while the main highlight of the festival is the flower parade in Funchal on the first Sunday of the festival, there will also be lots of related events on during the rest of the month. The updated information can be found on the official Madeira Tourism website, although I recommend you pick up a printed brochure from your hotel or the tourist office when you get there to confirm the exact times and locations for concerts and other happenings.

What are the main events?

The most impressive event the majority of visitors are here for is of course the annual Allegoric Flower Parade in Funchal, which has been around since 1979 and brings a stream of colourful floats and groups of dancers in elaborate costumes to Madeira’s capital. They can be seen parading through Avenida do Mar, a scenic parkway along Funchal’s harbourfront, showing off floats that have been designed and built for months by local clubs from all around the island and been decorated with thousands of fresh flowers the night before. There is also a ‘Wall of Hope’ being created the day before the parade where children pin flowers to a wall as a symbol of peace in the Praça do Município and various other happenings in Funchal and other municipalities.

When is the Funchal flower festival parade and where does it take place?

In 2022 the flower parade started at 4.30pm on Sunday, 8 May, on Avenida do Mar proceeding west towards the cruise ship port. It took about 2 hours and it was a really fun experience. Just make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen, water and snacks, especially if you have children with you. The nearest public toilets are in Jardim Municipal and in Praça do Povo.

Is there an entry fee and do I need to book tickets in advance?

The parade is free to attend for all if you don’t mind standing. Just make sure you arrive about an hour early to get a good spot along the parade route. If you prefer a seat, there were grandstand seats available for around €40,-/person, which can be booked online or in person from the tourist office.

Where should I stay in Funchal for best access and least hassle during the flower festival?

Anywhere in the centre of Funchal is a great location as it is not a very large city. I stayed next to Jardim Municipal, which to me was the perfect spot as I loved hanging out in the kiosk cafe (snacks, drinks, free wifi) in the beautiful city park in the early evenings. The area between the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Diaz and the park plus along Avenida Arriage up to the Cathedral seemed to be the main gathering place for everyone in the evenings. There were free nightly live music concerts (popular, folk and fado music) from Thursday to Sunday and stalls where you could sample freshly made local ‘poncha’ and snacks plus buy various flower- and Madeira-related souvenirs.

What else is happening besides the parade?

The main Madeira Tourism website has an up to date list of all the events that are part of the flower festival, so you can plan ahead, but as mentioned above, there was plenty of free entertainment around the city centre that generally finished around 10pm. I also greatly enjoyed viewing the ‘best in show’ of the flower competition in a temporary pavilion along Avenida do Mar, where you could admire the most exotic types of flowers for free and buy bulbs and living plants at a stall outside. Plus you can get a close-up look at and pictures with the floats following the parade and the day(s) after as they get ‘parked’ near Praça do Povo by the harbour.

Anything else to keep in mind?

As I decided to stand on the harbour side of the parade route to have the best light for pictures, this meant that I had to walk all the way down to one end after the parade to get back to the centre as there was no way to cross the fence anywhere in the middle. If you are worried about not getting a table in a particular restaurant right after the parade as everyone else will have the same idea of course, by all means do book ahead. But in my experience there were so many restaurants and cafés in Funchal, you should easily find one to suit your taste and budget, even on very busy days. Just keep an eye on how many cruise ships are docked in the harbour while you are visiting (when I was there it was about 1-3 per day, but can be as many as 30 around New Year’s apparently). Check on pages like Cruise Mapper to find out more.

While the flower festival is certainly one of the highlights of the Madeiran calendar, the island has so much more to offer: awesome hikes, dolphin-watching, delicious food, tobogganing down city streets and swimming in natural sea-water pools being just a few of them. If you’re planning your first trip to Madeira, check out my one-week itinerary for first-time visitors with top tips on what not to miss!

Disclaimer: All photography Ⓒ Life is a Festival. Any prices mentioned may be different by the time you visit and may vary, so please confirm them before you go.

Arab & North African Womxn’s Arts in Glasgow: Dardishi Festival 2019

I first came across Dardishi (8-11 March 2019) when I attended Document Human Rights Film Festival in Glasgow last October. Having been looking forward to it for months, it was a shame I only managed to make it to two sessions on one day, but it still left a big impression.

My first event on Saturday afternoon was called ‘Diasporic Daydreams: Storytelling, Solidarity and Survival in our films.’ It was a wonderful collection of short films by Arab and North African female filmmakers living in diaspora creatively and positively dealing with ways how to overcome trauma. The showcase included documentary, animation, fiction and interview and my favourite was probably an animated short film movingly chronicling a displaced young Syrian woman’s dilemma of having to bridge two very different worlds. The pleasure of being at smaller, more grassroots festivals is getting a unique chance to discover cultural jems such as these, which highlight shared human experience and bring us closer together rather than divide us. Even better if a festival champions womxn filmmakers and artists who are still underrepresented in almost all walks of life. The curator of this event, researcher Sumaya Kassim, led an audience discussion after the screenings and empathised the importance of solidarity across cultures and genders in times of rising fascism and xenophobia.

The second event was a screening of Mai Masri’s award-winning feature in Arabic with English subtitles called ‘3000 Nights’. Its female protagonist, a pregnant Palestinian schoolteacher serving time in an Israeli prison, took us into a world that is as cruel as it is intriguing. This film definitely didn’t make for easy viewing, but another example of how such stories can help cross cultural barriers and remind us of our shared humanity where mainstream media or politics often fail.

Other events included a creative writing event, a children’s art and activism workshop and even a session on learning to DJ all of which gave anyone identifying as a girl or womxn plenty of opportunities to express themselves creatively in a welcoming and safe environment. For those of you not from Glasgow, the venue, the CCA right in the centre of Glasgow (including a veggie cafe), is a wonderful incubator of cultural events and there is guaranteed to be something interesting on if you are visiting.

Apart from film screenings (including a queer movie night), music and talks, there was also a lovely quiet space to hang out in between events, which required no ticket, was open to all and provided a respite away from the noisier aspects of the festival. A real effort had also been made to make the festival accessible in various ways: financially via sliding scale ticket options as well as in a physical sense to people of all abilities, including providing sign language interpreters.

I was delighted to hear that the volunteer-run festival has secured further funding for events throughout the year. You can also support Dardishi by getting on their mailing list, attend events and purchase some of their lovely and creative merch and zines, all created by womxn. Oh and if, like me, you had never heard of the Glasgow Zine Library before, do check out their events as well as the fabulous Glasgow Women’s Library.

Disclaimer: Life is a Festival was provided with tickets for the 2019 festival in exchange for a personal review of the event. Opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the same as the official views of the event organisers. All photography used in this blog post was taken by Life is a Festival.

Dog Days of Summer: Dogfest Bristol 2018

After having had such a great time at Dogfest South last year (see review) and being a huge dog lover, I gave the latest addition, Dogfest West (23-24 June 2018) in Bristol, a try this time around. The location for the festival was Ashton Court Estate, a huge park area just outside Bristol and, like last year, the weather was fantastic.

After grabbing some fresh drinking water from the Bristol Water fountain, with volunteers counting how many plastic bottles were saved by providing free filtered water, I did a quick round of the stalls before getting ready for The Great Dog Walk (see pic above). Sunday’s walk was introduced by TV presenter and dog lover Chris Packham and it took place twice a day with two route choices, 2km and 4km. Everyone can take part and the path luckily led into a foresty area with lots of shade, which I and the participating dogs were very grateful about. Unlike the one at Knebworth (Dogfest South), it is partly a little steep, so definitely wear trainers and bring a bottle of water to keep hydrated. We were back at the festival grounds after about 45 minutes (2km) and all the dogs taking part looked pleasantly tired. Right by the back entrance there were a couple of bone-shaped paddle pools for the pooches to cool off in, with some of them completely sprawled out in the water to make the best of the welcome refreshment.

There was also a diving pool again (see pic above), where dogs who love water could take a leap from a ramp or walk into the water to retrieve a tennis ball. Some had clearly got experience and loved being in the pool, while others were hesitating at the edge of it, longingly staring at the yellow ball bobbing in the waves, but unable to decide whether it was worth getting wet in order to get their prize. It was fun to observe, just make sure you queue early as it was busy pretty much all day.

Like at Dogfest South, all the stalls selling dog-related items, such as dog treats, harnesses, cooling blankets, dog shampoo and accessories or promoting animal charities plus all the food stalls were arranged in a large circle. The Live Stage was in the middle section of the large open field with bands entertaining dog parents and a very nice bar with deck chairs under a sprawling white canvas. This stage was also where festival founder and Channel 4 ‘Supervet’ Noel Fitzpatrick and his colleagues gave talks and advice on pet ownership and pet health (see pic below).

The Dogfest organisers had again provided lots of fun activities for dogs to try. Fourlegged festival goers could test various fun sports, such as flyball and agility, as well as hay bale racing and resist treats in the temptation alley plus there was a school for dogs, a dog activity ring and a dog show. Of course, I was busy petting lots of friendly dogs and puppies (!) all day and also got to speak to their owners. Some pooches were rescued from as far as Serbia, elderly Reg, the sheep dog had his own ‘regmobile’ built by his dad to take him around in and one girl had borrowed her friend’s dog so it could enjoy the event.

The food and drink village inlcuded plenty of different delicious options with pretty reasonable prices and enough veggie choices. I had a nice, large plate of Mexican food for about £7, my iced latte was £3.50. Other stalls sold wood oven pizza, fish & chips, Asian noodles, burgers, cakes and ice cream.

Of course, there weren’t just treats for the humans attending Dogfest. The fourlegged visitors were spoiled for choice with dog ice cream, healthy looking baked treats and evend drinks for dogs. I’m not so sure about the last one, but I observed several pooches licking their bowls of dog ice cream clean with a very contented expression on their fluffy faces. As one of the England Worldcup matches was on on Sunday afternoon, there was a TV screeen conveniently installed for the football fans taking a break from all the doggy activities with a cool pint or prosecco.

Dog welfare was a big priority at the event, with bowls filled with water available everywhere and stalls offering health checks throughout the day. If there was one thing I would suggest for future events, it would be to have more areas that provide shade, especially in these hot temperatures or also in case of more rainy weather. Make sure you bring enough sun protection, a cooling blanket or coat (see pic below) for your fluffy friend, a refillable water bottle and maybe an umbrella for some extra shade.

If your dog gets on well with other dogs, it’s definitely a fun day out and you could even make a holiday out of it by visiting nearby Somerset attractions, such as the Glastonbury Tor (dogs allowed but mind the sheep) plus White Spring Well and Temple, the historic town of Wells with its impressive Cathredral and Vicar’s Close, claimed to be the oldest pureley residential street in Europe, or visit the beautiful Roman City of Bath and Bristol with its Clifton Suspension bridge and its lovely pubs and cafes by the harbour.

Getting into the Festive Spirit with the Hyper Japan Winter Festival 2017

I attended Hyper Japan for the first time in July this year (review here) and loved everything about it, so I was keen to see what the Christmas edition would have in store. The Japan-themed event was again taking place at Tobacco Dock in London (24-26 November 2017) and was brimming with craft stalls, a Japanese food court, and lots of traditional Japanese products, such as handmade pottery, colourful chopsticks, speciality tea, sweets and clothes, including lots of cosplay outfits.

Japan is a fascinating place to visit and after two visits I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what there is to see. It was great that there were a lot of lesser known travel destinations represented at Hyper Japan and I enjoyed learning about them from their enthusiastic local representatives. The guys in the picture below, for instance, are from Susaki City on Shikoku Island and had mini versions of their mascot ‘Kochi’ with them plus the human-sized version appeared on the Hyper Live stage.

Probably my favourite part of the winter edition of the festival was a fantastic Illuminight exhibition, a display of traditional and modern illuminated objects, which ranged from a room filled with giant paper fish (made by local residents and first displayed at the Yanai Goldfish Lantern Festival in Yanai in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Honshu Island) to tiny, fragile ‘akari’ (light) pieces made from real autumn leaves. It was just beautiful!

I also loved the ‘geta’ (sandals) and other intricate ornaments made from glass.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Japanese event without lots of pastel-coloured ‘kawai’ (cute) items and it was great to see that even the staff working at the event – like these two Japan fans from Tofu Cute – were having a lot of fun.

The food court was back, too, and fans of Japanese food were again spoilt for choice with numerous both savoury and sweet options available, from steaming bowls of ramen to ‘Takoyaki’ (ball-shaped snacks filled e.g. with squid) and even mulled sake as a winter warmer. There was also a chance to sample some sake concoctions created by professional mixologists as part of the Sake Cocktail Awards.

Those who had a bit of time on their hands and who felt like creating some original Christmas presents for their loved ones, were able to join various paper craft and felting workshops with expert teachers. But don’t be fooled, it is a lot harder than it looks and takes a lot of patience and precision. The results look impressive though, like the framed artworks in this picture.

When I visited on Friday, the opening day, the Hyper Live stage again hosted a variety of Japanese acts, from the very modern, Dream Stage Idol Competition Runner Up Aimi Ikenaga (if you’ve never heard of ‘Idols’ before, BBC Storyville recently did an interesting documentary called ‘Tokyo Girls’ on it), to the more traditional, but with a modern twist, e.g. a live performance by calligraphy artist Taro Fukushika.

If you missed Hyper Japan this time around, don’t worry, it will be back from 13-15 July 2018 and visits to the Japan Centre and various London-based Japanese restaurants and pop-ups should tide you over until then.

Disclaimer: Life is a Festival was provided with a press pass for Hyper Japan. Opinions expressed are those of the author. All photography used in this blog post was taken by Life is a Festival.

Maritime Vibes at Hamburg on Tour Festival 2017 in London

The first thing that greeted me when I arrived for Hamburg on Tour in London last weekend were a couple of smiling, oversized sailor statues outside the Boiler House venue in Shoreditch. Hard to miss! As was this free festival put on by the marketing team of the German port city of Hamburg for the first time in the UK.

I had been invited to Hamburg in September for a visit during Reeperbahn Festival and thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring the creative, down to earth Northern German city. The London event aimed to present the best of the city’s festivals, sport, film, street art and beer and coffee culture on 20 and 21 October 2017 and by Saturday night, I felt like I was back in Hamburg for the weekend, what a great party!

But let’s start at the beginning, which, for me, was a speciality coffee cupping session with Speicherstadt Kaffeerösterei in the workshop corner of the Boiler House venue. At that time, there weren’t all that many visitors yet and it felt a bit like your usual travel trade show, with stalls to browse and tourist brochures to pick up.

As soon as the first band, the Nathan Ott jazz trio, got on stage, however, things started picking up and more and people came through the doors to celebrate Hamburg and its many cultural offerings. I had invited a number of friends (from the UK, Germany, USA) along and we had a great time tasting some German craft beer (them) and making my own lemonade from fresh limes (me) at a charity stall.

One of the highlights of the weekend was Stefanie Hempel’s Beatles Tour, the London version (pic above). Her longer, actual tour takes you through the streets of Hamburg’s red light and music club district where the Beatles had their first break as a band and spent two years in their late teens in the early sixties. Stefanie soon had our group singing along to ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and other Beatles hits, accompanied by herself on ukulele and we got talking to lots of other Hamburg fans from around the world afterwards.

Hamburg and its surrounding area are also a great hub for festivals of all kinds: music, film, arts, literature. The London event included sample sets by bands such as Hundreds (see pic above), Odeville and UK-based To Kill a King. In addition, you could watch short films about Hamburg and get up-close to the brand new Elbphilarmonie concert hall by putting on virtual reality glasses for a 360 degree tour, which impressed my friends, who hadn’t been there before. Definitely worth a visit on your next trip to Hamburg!

Another fun session which was offered at Hamburg on Tour was a street art workshop with award-winning artist and illustrator Macha (pic above), who taught participants to create their own graffiti stencil designs, which were then transferred to a wall near the festival venue to add to a larger work created especially for the event.

For those not so much into art and culture, football was another topic for the weekend. Hamburg on Tour had invited Ewald Lienen, FC St. Pauli’s technical director, as well as Nick Davidson, who has recently published the first English-speaking book on the famous and quirky Hamburg football club. There is even an FC St. Pauli fan club in London, so you can watch the games with other fans in a local pub.

All in all a fantastic event, which goes to show that this creative approach to marketing a city to visitors in such a refreshingly different way is definitely a great idea. Don’t forget to check out my Reeperbahn Festival 2017 review and my Solo Travel Guide to Hamburg for more travel and festival tips. I’m already thinking about another visit for some more festival fun.

Gothenburg Travel Guide – Using the City Card, Festivals & Island Hopping

The first time I went to Sweden I visited its capital Stockholm and absolutely loved it. But I’d also heard lots of good things about Sweden’s second city Gothenburg (or Göteborg in Swedish), so I decided to head there this time around. It has a lot of great museums and other attractions, many of which are included in the City Card, and lots of cultural and arts events all year round, such as the Göteborg Film Festival (January), popular music festival Way Out West (August), the Göteborg Book Fair (October) and also a large culture and arts festival, Kulturkalas, which happend to be on from 16-20 August 2017 when I was visiting.

The Kulturkalas Festival

Göteborg’s culture festival Kulturkalas has hundreds of free events for all ages happening around town every August and attracts huge numbers of visitors. As I was pretty lucky with the weather, it was a pleasure walking through the city’s parks, which were decorated for the festival and offered lots of things to try and lots of yummy pop-up food stalls. If you’re travelling with children, there are many craft workshops to try, even metalwork and I saw many small kids proudly pulling along little wooden carts, sometimes with a teddy bear in it, which they had made themselves. But there are also walking tours, a bus tour of all the churches of different religions around the city and non-stop live music on many stages and on some street corners. The main information tent is near Kungstorgsplatsen and the volunteers are happy to help you with finding events. Alas, most of the programme is in Swedish, with a smaller section in English, but they also have a great website, where you can search for individual types of events or by date. My favourite event was a contemporary dance performance at the Göteborg Opera, for which you just had to pick up a free ticket beforehand. I checked earlier that day and of course it was sold out, but decided to return just before it started and got a ticket without any problems as there are usually some returns. So never give up when someone tells you something is sold out (this applies to most events I go to in any city or country btw.).

Is it Worth Getting the City Card?

I was lucky to have been given a 48 hour City Card to try, but would definitely buy one anyway, as it included many cool attractions as well as (unlike in Stockholm for instance) public transport (buses, trams AND ferries). The City Card starts at SEK 395 for 24 hours, SEK 545 for 48 hours and SEK 695 for 72 hours. This does sound like quite a lot if you’re on a budget, but a public transport ticket already sets you back SEK 90 for one day (a single trip is SEK 29) or SEK 180 for three days and you can easily do enough sightseeing in 1-3 days to get the best out of your card. All attractions mentioned below are included in the card, but don’t worry, you can also have a great time exploring the city on foot and for free if you like.

What Should I See? 

This is, of course, entirely up to your own travel preferences. As the weather was so good while I was visiting, I decided to spend two of my four days just exploring the islands (more below), but there are plenty of high-quality museums to keep you busy all day, such as the renowned Gothenburg Museum of Art, Maritiman (a collection of historic ships to explore in the harbour), Universeum (a science centre with a rainforest and ocean zone, open until 8pm on weekdays) and the Volvo Museum, if you’re a car lover. Sadly, the one I really wanted to see, the design museum Röhsska, is closed until June 2018. Next time. You can also get an amazing bird’s eye view of Gothenburg from Utkiken (86 meters high, stop Lilla Bommen near the Opera). Make sure you time your visits well, i.e. leave the attractions that are open longer until the evening, e.g. Liseberg Amusement Park (often free concerts, but be aware that rides are not included in the city card).

Bus and Boat Tours

Seeing any harbour city from the water is always the best way to get great photos and Gothenburg was no different. I had time for a Paddan Canal Tour (normally SEK 175), a flat open-air boat with live commentary in Swedish and English by a tour guide. This was awesome as it had picture opportunities galore (e.g. of the Feskekorka, the city’s fish market) in just 50 minutes and even went into the harbour (don’t sit in the front and on the side if you’re afraid of the odd splash of sea water!). I also did a 2.5 hour Archipelago Tour with live commentary in Swedish and English (normally SEK 280) on a historic ship from 1881, which is perfect if you’re in need for a break from all the sightseeing (coffee, cake and lunch can be bought on board, card only, no outside food allowed), but can take a good chunk out of your visiting time, if you’re on a tight schedule. Instead I recommend a visit to Brännö island (20 minutes by tram to Saltholmen, 15 minutes on the ferry), where you can have lunch by the sea or go for a swim or a walk in the same time. I also did one of the short 50-minute Bus Tours (normally SEK 189, from Stora Teatern near Kungsportsplatsen) in the morning as it gives you a quick overview of the city’s history via a recorded commentary in a number of languages. There are also plenty of walking tours for a leisurely guided stroll through the city.

Island Hopping on the Archipelago

The main reason I’d come to the West Coast was to be by the sea and to explore the archipelago just off the coast. The Southern Archipelago islands are car-free and can be reached by ferry in 15-30 minutes. Simply take a tram to Salholmen and any of the ferries from there (pick up a free booklet plus a map of the islands on board plus a timetable as some are more regular than others). The ferries are very comfy and generally have clean toilets, which can be useful when you’re out and about all day. My favourites were Brännö and Vrangö and I’ll post separately about how to plan a trip there. Make sure you bring a credit card, as many places in Sweden do not accept cash.

Fika Breaks, Shopping for Local Products & Dog-friendly Travel 

My only regret during my four-day visit to Gothenburg was how little time I had to check out the city’s many great music venues, street art, cafes and shops. I did have an evening stroll through the Haga district and made an effort to spend a morning walking around the city centre plus enjoying a ‘fika’ (Swedish for coffee break) in the lovely secluded courtyard of Da Matteo cafe on Vallgatan. There is a cluster of cool shops in the same block (Swedish design, clothes, second hand books, flowers) plus some food trucks for a great lunch option, so it’s fantastic if you’re short of time. I also happened to find lots of cute dog sculptures all around town and the Gothenburg tourist office website even has a dog-friendly guide to the city.

Meet the Locals

Swedish people are generally relaxed and friendly folks, but most of them tend to be on the reserved side. So in order to experience life like a Swede, West Sweden started a great initiative called Meet The Locals. You can browse a list of people and activities online (visiting a farm, meeting for coffee, going on a boat trip) and get put in touch with your chosen local. I tried this but due to a lack of time on my part as well as my local’s part, we didn’t actually manage to meet up. However, I still had lots of nice conversations with people on trams, in cafes mostly while visiting the islands and due to my dog project Cuddle a Dog a Day (so many cute Swedish dogs!). I also randomly met another translator at a bus stop who invited me to his home, what a lovely gesture, which also gave me an insight in Swedish everyday life.

Of course, all of the above only scratches the surface of what there is to see and do in the West Swedish city of Gothenburg. I’m most definitely going to return for another visit as soon as I can! Feel free to leave a comment if you have additional tips or questions. You can also find more pictures and videos of my trip on Instagram and Twitter.

 

Disclaimer: Life is a Festival was provided with a 48 hour City Card by the lovely people at Goteborg.com. Prices are as of August 2017, please confirm them online before you go. Opinions expressed are those of the author. All photography used in this blog post was taken by Life is a Festival.

Where Tradition Meets Pop Culture: Hyper Japan Festival July 2017

If the aim of Hyper Japan, which took place from 14-16 July 2017 in London, is to get you excited about Japanese culture and about visiting Japan, it definitely did a top job! I’ve been to Japan twice, once as part of a twin town exchange staying with host families and exploring cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara and then nearly a decade later visiting my friends again during a round the world trip. It’s a fascinating country with stunning scenery, super friendly people, lots of cultural events and festivals to explore and the most yummy food you can imagine.

So I was very intrigued what Hyper Japan would be like. Most of the people I met had been a few times and I could easily see why. There was just so much on offer. They had a large live music stage, Hyper Live, where I saw some Japanese bands like electronic music outfit REOL (really loved their energy and sound, even though I normally never listen to this kind of music) and Fuku Mariwo (see pic above, who plays the traditional nagauta string instrument, but has a modern sound and also had a fantastic dancer with her). After the concerts, you could line up for a ‘meet and greet’ with your favourite artist and get CDs and other merchandise signed.

There was also another spot where acts performed on the lower ground floor, including Tokyo Rickshaw (see pic below), a J-pop boy band outfit, who had the crowd clapping along in no time. It was really interesting getting an insight into the Japanese popular music scene and the band was a big hit with the mostly younger London festival goers. Lots of them were dressed in elaborate cosplay outfits (see pic above, a world I know nothing about, but which was fantastic to experience) and the atmosphere was generally lively, friendly and fun. I had a quick look around the gaming and anime centre as well, where you could try out lots of new games and consoles with your friends.

A big part of Hyper Japan are the numerous stalls offering handmade or branded ‘kawaii’ (cute) products, which is a huge thing in Japan. Not having been exposed to so many pastel-coloured fluffy toys, buttons, bags, outfits and accessories of all types since my last trip there, it was great to browse the stalls and speak to some of the vendors, including Hideyuki Izumi (see pic below) who creates elaborate hand-painted resin necklaces and rings. Many of the stall holders are on Etsy and really loved their creativity and enthusiasm. There were also lots of stalls for traditional and pop-culture clothes and a Japanese pottery shop. Although I did quite well not buying a lot early on, resistance was pretty much futile once I saw a ceramic bowl with a rabbit motive and matching chopsticks and also ended up purchasing some unicorn festival earrings (a work-related expense, really!), animal stickers and other kawaii stationery.

It was definitely time to take a shopping break and I headed to the Hyper Theatre just in time for a fascinating talk with Japanese anime creators. Most of the people in the room knew all about the different series and films and were thrilled to be able to ask Michihiko Suwa (Detective Conan producer) and Atsushi Maekawa (screenwriter of Dragon Ball Z, Fresh Pretty Cure etc.) questions on their career and their latest releases. Afterwards I had a chat with the two interpreters, Chie Kutsuwada and Inko (see pic below), who are actually both manga artists and illustrators themselves, fantastic!

This session was followed by a talk by travel experts from Tokyo, Wakayama and the islands of Okinawa. While I’ve been to Tokyo during my past trips (but was surprised to learn the mega city also boasts beaches and forest trails), I had not heard much about the beauty of Wakayama prefecture before, which is centrally located near Osaka and Nara and offers lots of outdoor activities, onsen (hot springs) and opportunities to stay overnight at various Buddhist shinto temples. Sadly, it is also where an annual dolphin hunt still takes place in Taiji every September (as highlighted in The Cove documentary), which I’m sure even lots of Japanese people are not aware of, so do check out The Dolphin Project. Okinawa is a group of beautiful islands with lots of historic sights and stunning beaches in the Pacific Ocean which I’d love to explore in future. On the ground floor level were also stalls from different travel providers to help you put together the perfect trip to Japan or plan a language holiday.

This was followed by a visit to the Sake Experience, which I got to try for free, but would have been well worth the £15 as you get to try 24 (!) sake from different regions of Japan and learn lots about them from the producers. We were moving around the nine stalls in small groups and in mine (see pic below) were a Glaswegian woman, an English guy living in Japan as well as two Nepalese girls. We had so much fun trying the very different flavours and talking with the sake experts. Most of the traditional ones were a bit too strong for me, but I absolutely adored all the sparkling sake (think Prosecco) and there was even a ‘jelly sake’ to try. We got to rate them all afterwards and vote for our favourites at the end of the tour. It was just as well there was so much delicious and authentic Japanese food on offer in the food court to balance out the sake experience, and these included cooked savoury dishes, sushi, desserts and ice cream and veggie options were available, too.

Somehow the day went by in no time and I could totally see why people would spend the whole weekend here. The 3-day programme is really varied and there were lots of tables and chairs to sit in the courtyards if you needed a break from all the shopping and excitement plus the location (Tobacco Dock, near Shadwell Station in East London) is easily accessible. There were also some great Japanese craft workshops on offer (which could have probably done with a brighter and less tucked away space) and documentary screenings, both of which I would have loved to have done as well, but simply had no time for.

I was very impressed with my first visit to Hyper Japan and am hoping to also make it to the winter edition, which will take place from 24-26 November 2017.

Disclaimer: Life is a Festival was provided with a press pass for the 2017 festival in exchange for a personal review of the event and mentions on social media. Opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the same as the official views of the event organisers. All photography used in this blog post was taken by Life is a Festival.

Glastonbury for Dogs: Dogfest 2017

While a certain huge live music event was taking place elsewhere in the UK, I headed to Dogfest for a day, which was promoted as ‘the ultimate summer festival for dogs’ and that’s exactly what it felt like! I’m not sure if I could have enjoyed myself even more if I had been a pooch, but I certainly had an amazing day. What started out in a field behind Channel 4’s Supervet Prof. Noel Fitzpatrick’s Surrey practice (pictured below with his border terrier Keira) is now a huge event happening on two consecutive weekends, Dogfest North in Cheshire on 17 and 18 June and Dogfest South on 24 and 25 June 2017, which I attended, at Knebworth House near Stevenage, about half an hour north of London.

Getting to the Festival (hitchhiking with dog lovers included!)

As the directions to get to the festival site looked pretty straightforward online, I hopped on a train and then the 44 bus from Stevenage bus station, asking the driver to drop me off at Manor Farm, the nearest stop along a country road. So far so good. It looked like a 10-15 minute walk, at most, and I quite enjoyed the idea of it, yet alas, despite GPS on the phone, I ended up following a road that took me further and further away from the venue, so confusing. I ended up trying to wave down other festival goers from the side of the road and was super lucky lovely dog owners John and Katherine let me hitch a ride with them and Jack Russell Dodger (see pic below) in the backseat. It still took us and seemingly quite a few of the other dog enthusiasts a number of wrong turns until we were finally on the right track, but when we eventually arrived, it was like getting off at the kind of playground any dog-loving adult would enjoy: dozens and dozens of dogs of all shapes and sizes with their owners in tow were making their way to the main entrance. I could barely contain myself, it made me so happy to see all the wagging tails and excited pooches pulling at their leads.

Venue

The festival was spread out on a field behind Knebworth House, which was much larger than I expected, with many interesting stalls lined up around the edges of it. There were all sorts of accessories and nutrition for dogs on offer (including some useful looking dog cooling coats for hot weather), as well as holidays with dogs and health checks and grooming (weight management, ticks, canine massage etc.) and various stalls by dog and wildlife charities (even one for cats). I also spoke to Pete of Cold Feet Huskies, who had brought some of his dogs along and races them around the UK and further afield. I could have easily spent a couple more hours just taking a look at all of these. The food options were also quite varied (burgers, burritos, English fare, falafels, ice cream, proper coffee) including some good veggie choices.

Dog Activities

There were lots of great activities for the dogs to try including my favourite, the diving pool! There was a long queue all day for pooches to go for a swim in the tempting looking clean water as it was a pretty hot day. Some of the dogs were not quite sure if they really felt like giving it a go, but others couldn’t wait to jump into the waves, splashing the assembled audience with water left, right and centre. It was so much fun to watch and no doubt even more fun for the dogs who took apart. Other activities included learning to do agility with your dog, dog competitions, a ‘school for dogs’, hay races and a ‘temptation alley’.

Dog Welfare

I was a little bit concerned about this before attending the event, but as far as I could see anything humanly possible had been done to make sure the dogs were all right. There was a first aid and show vet on site plus containers with fresh water spread around the field (which some of the smaller breeds quickly identified as ideal paddling pools), some tented areas with hay bales for owners to sit on and one particularly nice tent with tables, chairs and a bar at one end, so you could enjoy a nice glass of cool wine and your dog could rest in the shade right opposite the ‘super stage’ where Noel Fitzpatrick did his talks and live music performances were on all day. I was generally very impressed with how well the hundreds of dogs got on with each other. Hardly any barking (apart from excited yaps!) could be heard all day and the event clearly attracted responsible dog owners and well-adjusted pooches. If you have a puppy, attending Dogfest could be a good opportunity to socialise it in a friendly environment, all the puppies I met and petted looked very happy indeed, including little Anakin, the Chihuahua (pictured below).

The Great Dog Walk

At 3pm hundreds of dog owners and their pooches gathered for the great dog walk in aid of The Humanimal Trust across the grounds of Knebworth House, either for a 2km or 4km stroll, and Noel Fitzpatrick brought his little border terrier Keira along for a short talk before it started. Once it was all go, the many happy smiley dogs dragging their owners across the field were a real sight to behold. Walkies on a giant scale!

Unconditional Love

Having seen ‘The Supervet’ Prof. Noel Fitzpatrick only on TV before, it was great to hear him speak live about his own career and the lives of animals and people him and his team were able to make a difference to. Some of the dogs from the TV programme, who had meanwhile fully recovered, were also present, which was lovely to see. He also talked enthusiastically about his charity, the above mentioned The Humanimal Trust, which aims to “reduce, refine and replace animal experiments with reciprocity – which means that we only sponsor research that helps animals with naturally occurring disease, not through the use of experimental models.” It’s a ground-breaking idea to help humans AND animals, so both species win, not one at the expense of the other. Noel spoke about the huge amount of unconditional love being present in this field on this day and how our love for our pets can really make a difference to our own and other people’s lives.

Pawmazing Day

All in all, it was a great day out for dogs and humans alike. My advice if you’re coming by car and are bringing your dog would be to either get there very early or in the afternoon in order to avoid the at times longish queues to get into the car park right beside the main entrance. If the weather is very hot, it might even be better to take a train and a cab (it cost only £6 for a single taxi trip from Stevenage rail station, which I should have opted for on the way there, too). And don’t worry if you haven’t got a dog, I don’t either as I travel too much and I still had an absolutely fabulous time. In fact, everyone was so friendly, I got chatting with quite a few dog owners and heard so many inspiring stories of rescues finding a forever home and friendships between dogs and humans, it was actually quite emotional. One of them was Blarney (see pic below) who was adopted from Ireland. It’s also a great opportunity for those looking at getting a dog to find out which breed or type of dog would be suitable for them, ideally of course a rescue dog, as there are so many of them waiting to be adopted in shelters around the country.

Cuddle a Dog a Day

If you’d like to see a few more pictures and some videos of chocolate lab Dizzy diving into the pool, the dog and duck (herding) show as well as footage of the Great Dog Walk, do check out my Cuddle a Dog a Day Instagram account. I started it in April this year as my daily goal is to pet at least one dog a day (or any fluffy animal really) and it’s been a great way of documenting the cute dogs I meet (pictured below are Spanish rescue Killick and Pomerian Lola) and of connecting with other dog lovers from around the world. I follow back genuine dog/dog parent or other animal lovers’ accounts.

Not all Dogs are so Lucky

Lastly, spare a thought and maybe a few pounds to abolish an altogether different event, the horrifying Yulin ‘festival’ in China, which is sadly happening again right now (despite millions of people signing petitions and protesting around the world) and involves the torture and slaughter of thousands of dogs and cats. No animal should ever have to suffer like this. Find out how you can help and maybe consider minimalising animal suffering in your own community by reducing or cutting out meat from your diet and learning about vegetarianism or veganism.

Disclaimer: Life is a Festival was provided with a complimentary ticket for the festival.

 

The Future of Wellness: A visit to Balance Festival 2017

With wellness having been such a trend for big city dwellers in recent years, London is the perfect place to put on an event like Balance Festival, which was held for the first time from 12-14 May 2017 in East London’s Truman Brewery. It is aimed at ‘Londoners embracing a healthy lifestyle’ with a big focus on fitness and healthy nutrition. Organised by Allegra Strategies, who also run the London Coffee Festival, the event included a health summit with a series of cutting-edge talks by speakers from the world of health and fitness, which I attended on the industry day on Friday.

Fortified by a super yummy breakfast, which consisted of fresh berries and Pip & Nut butter on crispy bread from Flour Power and almond latte from Ozone coffee roasters, I was ready for the morning of inspiring talks. The programme sounded fairly businessy, i.e. dry, at first, but turned out to be really interesting! Oren Peleg, CEO of Fitness First, explained how he guided a failing global business back on track by concentrating on different priorities for different markets, e.g. dance and fight classes in Asian gyms, as well as making the gyms a community focus with feedback from local managers. The rise of ‘Veggie Pret’ (from doing a poll to running a pop-up to a permanent shop) was charted by their brand director Caroline Cromar and it was exciting to hear how well specifically their vegan range is doing – vegan brownies I’m coming for you!

We also heard about the latest industry trends from Daniela Walker and Jessica Smith of The Future Laboratory, including sleep retreats, recovery sleepwear, chroma yoga and wearable technology. Cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra and nutritionist and chef Dale Pinnock explained that health and weight management needs to become much more individualised, focusing on preventive metabolic and nutritional health rather than fixing things with pills. The final talk of the summit was an interview with Ella Mills, founder of Deliciously Ella, who spoke about the challenges of being in the spotlight, sticking to a healthy lifestyle and her latest foodie creations.

In the afternoon, I had a look around the exhibitors’ stalls and came across some very inspiring ventures. The first one was ChicP, founded by Hannah McCollum, who turns surplus vegetables into sweet and savoury hummus and is also going to be at a few UK festivals this summer. Another idea I really liked was Balanced Tourist, who provides a service sending you a curated box full of travel-sized plant-based whole-food snacks which comes in handy to all of us travel lovers as they are cabin-size-friendly. I also had an espresso from Volcano Coffee Works whose roastery is based in Brixton. While customer manager Sarah popped the plasticy looking pod in the machine, I was thinking, oh no, here we go, it’s not environmentally-friendly, until she told me, it is actually 100% compostable. Cool!

So, should you make space in your calendar for this 3-day celebration of food, fitness and wellness? Absolutely. If fitness and healthy eating is your priority, you can learn a lot about the latest industry trends and sample classes from some of the most innovative fitness and yoga companies in London. If you’re mainly into yoga or are a more introverted type, some of the summer yoga festivals (more reviews coming up in June and July) might be a better choice for you, unless the talks and quieter sessions could be moved away from the live-DJing areas and busy food court to a separate space, e.g. upstairs in the future. All in all, I had an interesting day networking with lots of friendly fitness enthusiasts and start-ups and picked up a lot of beneficial health and nutrition tips.

Disclaimer: Life is a Festival was provided with a VIP pass for the festival’s industry day.