Are we not chasing ghosts and wishful thinking when we repeatedly try to portray geographic Europe like a bloc, like a monolith that the EU is still unsuccessfully trying to establish?

Isn't it the phantom of an artificial empire—a technocratic construct trying to project a unity that geographic and historical reality rejects at every turn?

https://katjabanik.com/en/geopolitics/detailansicht/?news_id=43

Travel allows me to meet people, listen to their stories, and understand how they see the world. From Europe and the United States to Russia and China, I am interested in everyday life; how people work, think, and adapt to change across both urban and rural landscapes.

Experiencing places firsthand helps me move beyond political narratives and develop my own perspective. Cities and urban spaces, in particular, make geopolitical landscapes visible; they reveal how global dynamics shape daily life, social relations, and local realities.

Travel therefore becomes a way of observing the world more closely; understanding how global transformations appear in specific places and communities.

For me, travel is about exchange and observation; learning from others, discovering the many beauties of our world, and recognizing what connects us across borders.

https://katjabanik.com/en/field-notes/