Richard de Nooy

Author's details

Biography

Richard de Nooy (1965) grew up in South Africa and vowed to travel the world. He didn’t get much further than Amsterdam, where he has lived for the past 25 years. He spends his days writing and translating and staring at the sky, trying to guess where the planes are going. He will be mapping his ignorance of the world’s cities from his desk chair, using his preferred mode of transport; the worldwide web. He hopes readers will excuse his ignorance and help fill the vast gaps in his knowledge with entertaining and enlightening anecdotes about their home towns. Richard de Nooy’s novels have been published in English and Dutch. You’ll find further information on his site www.richarddenooy.com. Photo by Stefanie Grätz

Latest posts

  1. To Rent in Kent — May 31, 2013
  2. The Ålesund you don’t see — May 28, 2013
  3. My Father and the Sunflowers — May 3, 2013
  4. You Vee Double-You Ex Why Zzzzz — April 12, 2013
  5. Wandering Art — March 29, 2013

Author's posts listings

30
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Romania

If you’re anything like me – and I sincerely hope you’re not – you know that Romania is located somewhere in Eastern Europe, but you’re not quite sure where. Is it somewhere between Hungary and Bulgaria? Or is it further north, below the Czech Republic? And the capital, was it Budapest or Bucharest? So, let’s… read more »

23
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Hong Kong tekst

Imagine a door with four locks, behind which is hidden a secret message. Now imagine yourself running through a maze looking for the keys to the four locks. When you have all four keys, you have to turn them in the right order to open the door. And when the door finally swings open, you… read more »

16
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Copenhagen

Apart from reminding me that there really is no substitute for first-hand experience when it comes to travel writing, my recent holiday to Norway rekindled my love of foreign languages. I am endlessly intrigued by the way they are spoken, the way they shape and reflect local culture, and the comical misunderstandings they cause. For… read more »

09
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Bergen

Probably the last thing I expected to encounter in Bergen was a large group of very young, very rowdy pimps and prostitutes singing their way through the town’s bustling and beautiful harbour, where cruise ships rub shoulders with fishing boats along the busy wharf. Before I had time to fully fathom this unusual cultural phenomenon,… read more »

02
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Syldavia kl

My knowledge of Eastern Europe was, for most of my youth, based on a single book: King Ottokar’s Sceptre. This comic-strip adventure, first drawn by master cartoonist Hergé in 1939, features the young reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy. Together they travel to the imaginary Kingdom of Syldavia on the trail of a mysterious scientist,… read more »

26
Aug
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Bangkok en Helsinki

I’d like to round off this series on cities that might want to consider changing their names with Bangkok and Helsinki. I’d also like to extend unsolicited advice to Madrid, Los Angeles, Fukuoka, Sioux City and several other towns that have been lumped with questionable airport codes. Let me begin with Bangkok, which has made… read more »

19
Aug
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Kuala Lumpur

Last week I boldly suggested that Warsaw might increase its popularity in the English-speaking world if it began using the less violent and more romantic name Varszawa. This is not only a closer approximation of the city’s real name in Polish, but it also hints at the romantic legend of the mermaid who graces the… read more »