We are trying a new format this week on the blog: a summary of the last three months in real life and on the blog. As we not only posted about current travels, but also did some blog posts on the UNESCO sites we have visited longer ago, it may not always be clear from the blog posts where we are right now, or where we have been recently.
It might not look like this, but after a longer Central Asia trip in June we spent the better part of the summer in Berlin working on two different guide books (Central Asia and Japan), only interrupted by 16 days of wonderful hiking and sightseeing in Switzerland.
We also did do some sightseeing in Berlin, though: for example, we joined a tremendously interesting tour through the building of the Ministry of Finance (another blog post for the future) on an open door day. We also met a lot of friends, went to the climbing gym twice a week and even managed to rent a kayak for half a day. And most of this was possible because of the ongoing sunny weather.
Natascha has meanwhile left for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for tour guiding work – a looong tour of 24 days going from Bishkek via Uzbekistan to the Pamir Highway.
And here comes a round-up of the last three months of blogging on WESTWARDS. We love to hear your opinion and answer any questions you have regarding our travel destinations. Have a wonderful autumn and for all of you in Europe an easy transition towards winter.

Switzerland: our summer holiday
- Affordable Swiss Alps – Isa's delicious pie charts
- Visiting the UNESCO Heritage of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn Glacier
- Hiking from Chamonix to Nendaz (many gorgeous mountain pictures!)
- The terraced vineyards on the shores of Lac Leman – another UNESCO site
Iran
We travelled there for the first time in early summer 2015. We had wanted to go there for years and this year we went as a prelude to our research trip in Central Asia.
- Strolling through the gardens of Persia
- Iran – how much did it cost? (it was not as cheap as we had thought!)
- Persepolis – one of our all-time sightseeing highlights
- Some afterthoughts on travelling in Iran (what was good, what was bad?)
- The Naqshe Jahan Square in Isfahan on a weekend
- As a female vegetarian traveller in Iran (sometimes not so easy)
- The Golestan Palace in Teheran

Turkmenistan
We went through Turkmenistan on a five-day transit visa (the only affordable way to travel there) in June, entering from Iran, exiting to Uzbekistan. Our main reason for this trip was guide book research on some ancient sites.
- Kunya Urgench – the most beautiful dome in Central Asia
- Old Nisa – what is left of the old Parthian town?
- On a transit visa through Turkmenistan – how to do it
- Merv – an ancient walk-to-work city in the desert (and another UNESCO site)
Uzbekistan
We spent 8 days in Uzbekistan in June, mostly to catch up with business partners and friends as well as to research a few new hotels. And we managed to visit some out of the way sights.
- Finding Paikend and Varakhsha – two ancient Silk Road towns near Bukhara
Berlin
Yes, we wrote some posts about our hometown as well
- Airport without tourists – a visit to the abandoned Tempelhof Airport
- Vegetarian burger at „Glück to go“ („happiness to go“ - nice name for a burger joint, isn't it?)
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