St Petri Dom in Bremen, Germany
In the German city of Bremen, St. Petri Dom is the huge church whose massive, chunky twin spires dominate the central squares. Read about it here!
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Old Dubai: a quick visit
While I didn’t do any shopping in Dubai, I did manage a quick walk around the Bastakiya District: also known as Old Dubai. Dubai was originally a small port that made its living from pearl diving, fishing and trade, especially with Iran. Besides the nomadic Bedouins, who lived in tents, the populations who settled here…
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Not Shopping in Dubai
Shopping is A. Big. Deal. in Dubai. Whenever I asked people who live there what I should see and do, the answer usually included shopping. (Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on the link and buy tickets, I will get a small commission.) I am very much NOT a…
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Emirates A380 Economy Class Review
On my recent visit to Dubai on Emirates Airline, I was pleased to discover that I’d be flying on a plane I’d only seen from a distance before: the enormous Airbus A380. The A380 The A380 is a behemoth of a plane. Like Boeing’s 747, it just doesn’t look like it should be able to…
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So You Think You Want to Emigrate …
“If Trump gets elected, I’m leaving the country.” I don’t live in the US, but I have read comments like this on social media and in the news. Apparently, sometimes this isn’t just an idle threat. The Guardian cites a Luminoso survey which found that: … about 4% of 4.5 million Donald Trump-related tweets contained threats…
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On Receiving my Certificate of Loss of Nationality
Almost five months after my renunciation day, I received my Certificate of Loss of Nationality today. It seems ironic that it arrived on Tax Day. People keep asking me how that feels, but I have trouble formulating an answer. This certificate = divorce papers The best analogy I’ve been able to find is that renouncing…
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The Beauty of a Dutch Commute
A couple of times a week, I commute to my part-time job in Leeuwarden, in Friesland province. Sometimes I drive, but as much as possible, I like to take the train. I start by bicycling to the train station in the center of Groningen, parking the bike and boarding the train. The train trip takes about 35…
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The Martinitoren: a Groningen Landmark
Climbing the 15-century Martinitoren in the center of Groningen, the Netherlands.
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Shoreditch Street Art: Just Passing Through!
Street art in Shoreditch, London, spotted as I passed through by car.
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Livingstonia: a glimpse of Malawi’s colonial past
Perched high on an escarpment overlooking Lake Malawi, Livingstonia was established by missionaries from the Free Church of Scotland back in 1894.
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The Ridiculous Story of a Pilot and his Taxes
I received a message recently from an American airline pilot living and working out of Hong Kong for a major airline. He told me the story of how America’s citizenship-based taxation affects him and I felt I had to write about it. Ridiculous I already thought the way overseas Americans are taxed by the US…
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Malawi’s Nyika National Park
Nyika National Park is a lovely and little-known park in northern Malawi that looks like the Scottish highlands, but with zebras!
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Medieval Churches in the Val d’Aran, Spain
There’s something special about the medieval churches in the Val d’Aran, Spain. All are quite small, stone-built in Romanesque style, and date from the 11th to the 15th century. Disclosure: I went to the Val d’Aran as part of a discounted package provided by Pyrenees Experience. I’ve already written about what to do in the Val…
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Val d’Aran: Skiing in Spain!
Skiing in Spain? Yes! It’s possible in the Pyrenees in the Val d’Aran. Read here about the ski resort and other things to do there!
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Vote … as a Non-Citizen? Really?
On my return from a short vacation with my family, I was surprised to find a letter from the Department of Elections of the City of San Francisco waiting for me, offering me the opportunity to vote in the Democratic primary. Before I moved to the Netherlands back in 1997, I lived in San Francisco, so San…
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Italian Days Food Tour: A review
Our tour guide from Italian Days Food and Wine Tours was far too cheerful for such an early start. We had been picked up at seven in the morning—before sunrise in mid-January—and denied even a cup of coffee before leaving. Our hotel’s breakfast only started at seven, so we had run downstairs and grabbed a…
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Hotel El Ciervo: a bit over-the-top … but in a good way!
I wasn’t even going to write a review of our hotel, the Hotel El Ciervo, here in Vielha, Spain. It was just a place to stay while we explored the Val d’Aran in the Pyrennees and its ski resort, Baqueira Beret. Or rather, while I explored and my husband and son skied. I’m not being sponsored…
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London Pub signs: a photo essay
Pictures of some very creative pub signs I spotted on a short trip to London.
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Badagry, Nigeria’s slave trade history
A trip to Badagry, near Lagos, Nigeria: its slave trade museums, the Point of No Return and ruminations on tourism to Badagry.
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Osteria dè Poeti: Classic Bolognese Food
Housed in a former wineceller, Osteria dè Poeti restaurant in Bologna offers a menu with all the classic must-try Bolognese specialties.
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Driving through Lagos, Nigeria
I did a lot of driving on my recent visit to Lagos, Nigeria. Or rather, I did a lot of being driven. Lagos isn’t your usual tourist destination and, indeed, I didn’t go there as a tourist. I had agreed to lead a workshop at an International Baccalaureate school for two days. If I was…
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Walking the Portico di San Luca in Bologna
For centuries, in the city of Bologna, Italy, a byzantine image of the Madonna and Child was carried ceremoniously from the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca every year during Ascension week down to the Cathedral of San Pietro in the city center. It stayed there overnight, then was carried back up. The problem…
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Renunciations in the News
Last week new numbers were published about how many overseas Americans renounced citizenship in the fourth quarter of 2015, and they show, as expected, an increase in 2015: a record year for renunciations. Each quarter a “name and shame” list is published by the US Treasury Department based on IRS figures of those renouncing, and in…
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Citizen of a Parallel World
This week the Board of Elections of Illinois decided that Ted Cruz is indeed a natural-born citizen as required by the US Constitution to be eligible to be President. Ted Cruz was already identified as a US citizen because his mother was a US citizen. His birthplace, however, is in Canada, hence the question of…
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Exploring Amsterdam’s Undiscovered North
Most visitors focus on the canal district, but Amsterdam North offers a very different experience: artistic and hip and edgy.
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Citizenship Matters
I am, legally speaking, a citizen of the Netherlands. If you asked the US Foreign Service, they’d probably say I have US citizenship too, at least until I get my Certificate of Loss of Nationality. If you asked the IRS, on the other hand, they would say I’m no longer a US citizen. What does it mean…
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Hotel Touring: quality in a great Bologna location
When I met Manuela Stagni at the World Travel Market in London and saw her enthusiasm in describing her hotel, the Hotel Touring in Bologna, Italy, I made a note to keep her in mind if I ever traveled in Italy again. A couple of months later, when she mailed me an offer to stay…
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7 Reasons NOT to Renounce
When I was considering renouncing US citizenship, and then, once I had decided to do so, I heard several arguments for why I shouldn’t renounce. Reason not to renounce #1 But what if something happens where you are—an invasion or a natural disaster or something? The US would come and get you out! Answer #1:…
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Huis Marseille photography museum in Amsterdam
Huis Marseille Photography Museum in Amsterdam, in two 17th-century canal houses, shows rotating exhibitions by compelling photographers.
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Open Letter to President Obama in response to The State of the Union Address
A response from an ex-American living abroad.
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The Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam
The Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam looks at how the Dutch coped with the Nazis before and during the war: collaborate, resist, or just try to get by. Which would you have done?
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The Irony of Renouncing Under Duress
The following post is one of a series about American values related to my renunciation of US citizenship in November 2015. In my journey through the wilds of US law as it applies to overseas Americans, I’ve joined a few Facebook groups where people in this situation share information about tax law, FATCA, and individual…
![By U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O'Brien [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://rachelsruminations.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Obama-e1452769466943-300x200.jpg)
