[Travel & Film]

This is the story of two intrepid travellers who embarked on a journey to find the real-life Grand Budapest Hotel mere days before the world changed forever.

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What you’re reading now was meant to be published several months ago. Unlike my usual excuses for missing deadlines, I have a really, really good reason for filing this particular article late this time around. Actually this wasn’t even meant to be a written story at all, it was originally meant to be the first episode of a podcast where I would travel the planet to explore some of the most famous film locations in the world. Joining me on this proposed epic audio adventure was my colleague Adu, with whom I had made the award-winning video series Beyond Hollywood.

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That was the plan anyway, and it was all going to schedule as we boarded the short flight to Dresden in Germany, from London, in late February 2020. A few days later as we returned home to England, the ripple of concern about a distant threat somewhere in China we had initially brushed off on our departure had become a stark global reality. Recording studios were shut, planned meetings to finish off our script were put on hold and our next episode was indefinitely cancelled.

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Looking back at it now as I sit here at the end of an “eventful” year, it seems bizarre that in a few short months from our last trip ending the achievable aim of flying around the world without a care, is now a daunting prospect subject to all-manner of restrictions that no one could foresee. As well as the pandemic, we’re also seeing the growing limitations of fast-tracked Brexit impact travel plans today.

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“Whence came these two radiant celestial brothers united for an instant as they crossed the stratosphere of our starry window — one from the East and one from the West.” Agatha, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

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This story, however, should also serve as a reminder about why we travel in the first place. There’s nothing quite like the buzz of discovering new places, exploring destinations that are different to home and of meeting new people. It might be a logistical nightmare at the moment, but it’s something we all desperately miss.

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So in the name of taking the first few steps back to normality, here’s a look back at how I ended up in a quiet German town on the border with Poland looking for the setting of one of my favourite films of the last decade.