Stealing Beauty | #allcitiesarebeautiful

New year, new travel. In 2017 I was lucky enough to hook up with Alexandre Kurek from #allcitiesarebeautiful.com, a curated collection of work by international photographers and writers who celebrate the urban and seek out, "The small things that define our life and the lives of others". I couldn't resist asking Alexandre about some of his favourite cities to inspire me, and you. Read his own words and click through his beguiling images. Then, happy packing!

BERLIN

As my hometown of choice for almost six years now, and my second favorite city in Germany after Hamburg, Berlin never ceases to amaze me. This city is as vibrant and vivid as it gets; it is in constant development. If you haven’t been to one place for about six months - which could easily happen as Berlin is a relatively big city - you could end up not recognising it anymore. Most of the inner city is riddled with construction sites, and I guess the only real constant in Berlin are the street signs.

PRAGUE

Prague constantly feels like an active time machine, randomly jumping from one decade to another century, just like that, street after street, district after district; sometimes even within buildings. Masaryk Station, the old entrance hall pictured above, serves as a prime example. Located right in the middle of Prague’s commercial district it instantly sends you back in time upon entrance. The only things missing are the chuffing of old locomotives, and the smell of steel and coal.

FEZ

The city of Fez was the first stop on my last trip through Morocco, and although I enjoyed most of the relatively touristy things of the medina, I particularly found joy in strolling through the souks at night, right before the vendors would start packing up their goods, or preparing for the next day. Fez is an incredibly busy city, especially within the narrow, maze-like streets of the medina, but it’s the complete opposite during the night.

ESSAOUIRA

(Top image) Never have I seen so many, so unbelievably cute and healthy looking stray dog puppies like in Essaouira. I understand the historical and religious attachment of Moroccans to their cats, but still, it seems like people also take good care of those cute dog puppies, which I really appreciate. Sorry, but I just love dog puppies.

SARAJEVO

Sarajevo remains one of the last places on earth where people from all major religions live peacefully together; a unifying place where you can witness Orthodox Jews chatting with each other in front of a Catholic church while you simultaneously hear a muezzin lead and recite the Muslim call to prayer in the background. Let that sink in for a moment and ask yourself why you haven’t been here already!

Discover more #allcitiesarebeautiful and follow Alexandre on Instagram @allcitiesarebeautiful .