Karl Krause - Co-Founder, Editor in Chief

The year of Canada’s 150th anniversary is the year of our first gay travels to the biggest North American country. Our first trip to Canada brought us to Alberta, the western Canadian province famous for the Canadian Rocky Mountains, incredibly beautiful nature, the world-famous scenic Icefields Parkway and its amazing food scene. But also for the well-known cities Edmonton, Calgary, Banff and, of course, Jasper. The goal of our 14-days Road Trip to the Canadian Rocky Mountains in March was Jasper, a small mountain town famous for its annually Jasper Pride Festival with a gay pride parade on the hills of the ski resort Marmot Basin.

WORLDWIDE: The truth about the day our blog Couple of Men went “viral” because our photo got stolen by internet trolls to connect the LGBTQ+ community to pro-pedophilia.

Top 10 Gay Travel Christmas Presents 2018 – It is time for the second edition of our annual list of our top Gay Travel Christmas gifts. This year, we found some great gifts like wooden bow ties and clothing made of eco materials that support our intentions for 2019 to find and promote sustainability in gay travel. And, of course, some interesting ideas for your gay travel bucket list that are perfect Christmas presents as well. Did you ever think about celebrating a Gay Pride on a Celebrity Cruise ship? As Gay Travel Bloggers we love to find extraordinary things like souvenirs from around the world but also Gay Travel Christmas Presents from companies in and around our home city Amsterdam.

FRANCE: During our Gay Couple City Weekend Nice in December, we stayed at Art & Spa Windsor Hotel in the city center of the French pearl at the Côte d’Azur.

Our Top 10 Gay Traveler Christmas Gift Ideas – The time of love and light has come as we are coming closer and closer to the end of the year. But before we celebrate the new year, Christmas is here with self-made cookies, brushwood decorations and Christmas songs everywhere. That means it is time for Christmas shopping and surprises planning for all our loved ones! Every year again, we are hoping to find the right presents for our partners, friends, and family to surprise them on Christmas Eve.

FRANCE: Nice is a hot spot at the Mediterranean Sea in between the Film Festival in Cannes and the Luxury destination Monaco for shopping and high-society lifestyle.

GERMANY: Famous for its arty, alternative and hipsters lifestyle as well as for its history as a divided city, Berlin is an all-year-round destination, worth a weekend or full week trip.

The Boutique Hotel Sleep-Inn Box 5 Nijmegen – is a charming Boutique Hotel right in the city centre of Nijmegen. The helpful and heartwarming gay couple Jos and Stephan are the owners of this almost 100 years old Dutch house. The accommodation is a well-made combination of elegant design furniture as a chic luxurious interior in modern style with comfortable beds. We felt home in this old mansion immediately.

London. It’s time for a spring city trip to the British capital with our tips for off the beaten tourist trails. On the to-do list of our 2015 trip was the musical performance “Book of Mormons” with last-minute tickets bye the ticket lottery, the visit of an exhibition at the V&A Victoria & Albert Museum about the artwork of the fashion genius Alexander McQueen and, right at the beginning , a day on the roller coasters at the theme park Thorpe Park.

USA: Pete, a bearded ranger at Yosemite Lake Resorts, just outside the West Gate of Yosemite National Park, suggested the most photogenic Ghost Town of the Wild West in California.

Our best of the first gay cruise edition by Open Sea Cruises x Axel Hotels. Finally, it was time for our third European gay cruise gaycation around the Mediterranean Sea. The Spanish cruise operator Open Sea Cruises announced in March 2018 their long-term collaboration with the well-known Axel Hotels, a gay hotel chain featuring hetero-friendly accommodations, with the goal to organize a brand new European gay cruise experience for the entire LGBT community with concerts, parties, onboard activities, offshore tours, and more. Starting from Barcelona, the route brought us to France and Spain covering the Western part of the Mediterranean Sea. But what is special about the Pop Cruise by Open-Sea Cruises?

Our 6 Top Queer Films 2018 for Homochrom Filmfest in the German cities Cologne and Dortmund. The leaves are turning orange and red, and autumn always means it‘s cinema time again in Germany! To give you the best of 2018 queer cinema, we from Couple of Men had an interesting chat with festival director Martin Wolkner about the program of the 8th Filmfest homochrom in Cologne and Dortmund. The queer film festival scene in Germany is second only to the USA (40+ festivals), and homochrom has become the second-largest among the 25 German festivals. But homochrom is also one of the up-and-coming festivals to watch for when they announce their program loaded with insider tips. You will always discover and be surprised by some rare and perfect world cinema which could also have been at the Berlinale or even has been. Yet the biggest surprise of the 8th Filmfest homochrom might be that admission is free to all films in 2018. We would like to give you some suggestions to help you navigate your festival experience. There are many very different queer topics in the 2018 selection, and we give you the 6 best, sexiest, most important or most dramatic movies showcasing bisexual, transgender, intersex, gay, and slightly straight stories.

Our 5 Top Lesbian Films Filmfest Homochrom 2018 in the German cities Cologne and Dortmund. It’s autumn, that means it‘s cinema time again in Germany! “Couple of Men” had a nice talk with festival director Martin Wolkner about the programme of the 8th Filmfest homochrom in Cologne and Dortmund. It has quickly become the second-largest among a very active crowd of two dozens of queer film festivals in Germany. (Then again Cologne is still the homo capital of Germany, isn’t it?) But the Filmfest homochrom has also been one of the up-and-coming festivals to look for rare film discoveries and surprises. The biggest one yet might be that admission to all films is free this year. So grab your friends and head to the cinema. There’s no good reason to not see the whole festival, but if you have a good excuse and need to choose just a couple, you might like our suggestions. So we wanted to know which of the 2018 selection are the best, sexiest or most dramatic movies showcasing love between two women or girls. Which are the unmissable films of 2018?

Our 5 Top Gay Films Homochrom Filmfest 2018 in the German cities Cologne and Dortmund. It’s October, the Oktoberfest in Munich is over, and the trees are turning all orange and red, while it’s getting cooler. It’s cinema time again, not only in Germany! We from Couple of Men had an inspiring talk with festival director Martin Wolkner about the program of the 8th Filmfest homochrom in Cologne and Dortmund in the western part of Germany. The LGBT film festival has quickly become the second-largest among a very active crowd of two dozens of queer film festivals all around Germany. (Then again Cologne is still the gayest city in Germany, isn’t it?) But homochrom has also been one of the up-and-coming festivals to look for rare film discoveries and gay movie surprises. The biggest one yet might be that the admission to all films is free in 2018. We wanted to know from Martin Wolkner which of the 2018 film selection are the best, sexiest or most dramatic movies showcasing love between two (gay) men. Which are the unmissable films of 2018?

SPAIN: We didn’t know what to expect and what the advantages would be until checking in at the Meliá 5-Star Resort build as a traditional Spanish village in the mountains.

FINLANDS: Escape the Ordinary. Under this motto, hotel guests can discover the unique accommodation in a former Finnish prison on Helsinki’s island Katajanokka.

GERMANY: It was time for us to finally travel to Berlin again to spend some days in the biggest city of Germany where we explored the gay neighborhood Berlin Schöneberg, attend the CSD Berlin Gay Pride and tested the 4-star hotel Scandic Berlin Kurfürstendamm.

Our trip to Germany’s capital city for CSD Berlin Gay Pride. It was about time to attend Berlin pride for the first time together. The German capital is considered to be one of the most diverse, queer and alternative cities not only in Europe but worldwide. One reason for sure, why Germany is among the gay-friendliest countries worldwide. It is always a great experience to travel to Berlin in the north-eastern part of Germany, especially but not only for the huge gay pride celebration that is attracting over 500.000 LGBT (travelers) from all over the world!

Review of our gay-friendly stay at the Marriott Downtown Toronto Eaton Centre. Modern style, a gay-friendly staff, and a perfect location: During our gay couple city trip in the largest Canadian city Toronto, we stayed right in the heart between Downtown Toronto and Church-Wellesley Village, the popular so-called Gay Village. The Marriott hotel offers good service for gay and LGBT travelers including spacious and comfortable rooms, a rooftop pool as well as a whirlpool, a very nice 24-hour fitness studio with a Toronto city view, a rich breakfast buffet and free luggage service. We found all we needed for a gay-friendly stay in Toronto at Lake Ontario before we headed to our next Canada adventure, Niagara Falls. But now enjoy our hotel review of the modern 4-star hotel Marriott Downtown Toronto Eaton Centre and see this centrally located city trip hotel through a couple of men‘s eyes.

CANADA: Edmonton & the North-Eastern lakes of Alberta – After visiting Calgary and the Rocky Mountains including the Icefields Parkway, and Jasper, it was time for us to see more of the beautiful West Canadian province, Alberta.

CANADA: All about our trip to Alberta’s capital city for the Gay Edmonton Pride Festival, the one-week LGBTQ+ event for queer rights, equality, and love #lovewins #loveislove #YEGpride.

FINLAND: A visit to Helsinki and Finland wouldn’t be perfect without sweating in a Finnish Sauna, at least once. What about the “design-sauna-experience” LÖYLY at the Baltic Seashore?

SPAIN: It is time for Málaga, the Spanish city in the south of Spain. Known as a holiday destination for sun lovers, we took the chance to make our opinion about Málaga, the second-biggest city of Andalusia.

SOUTH EUROPE: It was time to go onboard the Monarch for our second gay cruise with La Demence, the well-known party organizer from Belgium. This year it should be a different route…

AUSTRIA: The recently named “Destination of the Year 2018” by the Australian LGBTI Awards was already for a while now very high on our gay travel bucket list, especially after traveling to other parts of the Alpine state before. And what could be a better reason, besides pride, to travel to Vienna than the annual AIDS Charity event Life Ball? Exactly! Lucky us, we were invited to attend the 25th edition of Life Ball 2018 and to stay at the 5-star hotel Le Méridien Vienna located in the first district right on the so-called Ringstrasse. We as a gay couple travelers couple of men couldn’t have asked for a better gay-friendly place to stay as the Design Hotel was hosting hotel of the Life Ball event just a stone-throw away from all major sights of Vienna and, of course, close by the Vienna City Hall. Join us on our city trip to Vienna in early summer right before Gay Pride and find out why you should book your stay for EuroPride 2019 in Vienna at the gay-friendly luxury hotel Le Méridien Vienna.

AUSTRIA: It is time for one of the most important annual AIDS charity events in the world. It is time for the 25th edition of Life Ball 2018

NETHERLANDS: A Gay City Weekend Amsterdam without a boat tour around the canals and Grachten of Amsterdam? No way!

NETHERLANDS: The Mainport Hotel by Inntel Hotels welcomes its guests with a stylish lobby, modern interior and a special creative touch.

The colorful story of our Highlights Jasper Pride Festival Rainbow Parade Marmot Basin 2017 in Alberta, Canada – One of our biggest destination dreams came true: Canada! we traveled to the province of Alberta to attend the 8th edition of the unique Jasper Pride Festival 2017 with a very special highlight: the gay pride parade on the ski hill of the Canadian Ski Resort Marmot Basin. It was amazing to be part of four fantastic, rainbow colored days in the middle of Jasper National Park with an unbelievable supportive (not only) LGBTQ community. We fell in love with the family-like atmosphere of Jasper during the great events all over town center and at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge with the magnificent Rocky Mountains as the perfect backdrop.

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Alberta Canada gay-friendly – Over 100 years of accommodation history located right at Lake Beauvert at Jasper National Park seems to be perfect as our “home” during Jasper Pride Festival. The Jasper Park Lodge, an over 2,3 square kilometer huge mountain resort in the middle of Jasper National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), is an all-year-round 4-star lodge with restaurants, pool, and SPA area all with incredible mountain views. The gay-friendly stuff, a remarkable rustical but comfortable atmosphere and the proximity to nature and wildlife of Jasper National Park in Canada made the Fairmont Jasper Park lodge a perfect basis for a gay travel to the Rocky Mountains and Jasper town.

CZECHIA: Full of history, unique architecture and natural beauty is really hard to find anywhere in the world, but easily in Prague.

Our gay couple travel diary of Whistler Pride 2018 Gay Ski Week in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Our second Gay Ski Week brought us again to the Western part of Canada, to British Columbia’s Whistler, to be precise. Together with hundreds of gay men, lesbian women, and all members of the LGBTQ+ community, we spent a week on the slopes of the Canadian Ski Resort Whistler Blackcomb enjoying incredibly much Canadian powder snow. Besides the usual winter sports like skiing and snowboarding through the British Columbian dense forest, Gay Whistler offers several different winter sports like zip-lining and snowmobiling organized by The Adventure Group Whistler.

Next to all the sporting there were of course a lot of LGBTQ+ events like the night of comedy with Margaret Cho, the LGBTQ+ Social Media Workshop, a special dinner evening at Bearfoot restaurant and the famous Furocious, Splash Pool Party, the Sip N’ Dip at the Scandinave Spa and the great closing event Snowball.

Top gay-friendly destinations around the world at the Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2018. Spartacus, the German publisher of gay travel guidebooks based in Berlin just released their annual Gay Travel Index giving a detailed ranking of LGBT-friendly countries worldwide. Since 2013, gay and lesbian travelers can find information about how gay-friendly their holiday destination really is. The guys behind the Spartacus Gay Travel Index thereby include the facts of how legal homosexuality actually is and if there are any anti-discrimination laws regarding sexual orientation or HIV travel restrictions.

AMSTERDAM: The 15 Best Gay Movies 2018 selected for the 11 days LGBTQ+ Film Festival Roze Filmdagen in the Dutch capital Amsterdam together with Werner Borkes, festival director of the so-called Pink Movie Days.

NETHERLANDS: The 10 Best Lesbian Movies 2018 selected by the Dutch LGBTQ+ Film Festival Roze Filmdagen – It is time again to get ready for the biggest Dutch film festival “Pink Film Days”.

The 10 Best Queer LGBTQ Movies 2018 selected by the Dutch Film Festival Roze Filmdagen in Amsterdam – This year for the first time, we selected the best queer movies for the biggest Dutch film festival “Pink Film Days”. Festival director Werner Borkes helped us to find the top feature films about transgender journeys, intersexual identities, and deeply personal stories of individual struggles about sex, love, and faith. Movies like “Jesus is dead” with a very diverse family road trip from the Philippines, the story of a threesome relationship “We Are Thr3e” from Argentina and the queer LGBTQ movie “Saturday Church” about faith, hope and finding yourself are just a view of the best 8 Queer Movies for this year’s 21st edition of the LGBTQ Film Festival in Amsterdam.

USA: It was not easy to find the right accommodation around Los Angeles and Hollywood, but we managed to spot this beautiful apartment in a quiet area in between both cities.

Zip Lining Snowmobiling TAG Whistler Gay-friendly – We went on our pure adrenalin adventure Zip-Lining and Snowmobiling together with the two tour guides Marty and Thomas on Rainbow Mountain. After a hot chocolate break, we jumped on a ski-doo to experience a twilight snowmobiling tour…

CANADA: The West-Canadian metropolis is known for its multicultural lifestyle and, of course, for its culinary scene with fresh seafood, traditional Canadian dishes and the fine art of the modern cuisine.

Review of The Douglas Vancouver Hotel gay-friendly – An Autograph Collection Hotel by Marriott in Canada. Looking for a brand new design hotel in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia with style, we can recommend the 5-star Hotel by Mariott that opened its doors in October 2017. Luxurious and stylish from the inside and outside, the boutique hotel The Douglas offers its guests spacious rooms on 16 floors inside the Parq Vancouver complex right next to the BC Place Stadium. Gay Travelers will find a proper home between the hip Vancouver neighborhoods Yaletown and Gastown just a short walk away from the waterside of False Creek.

ICELAND: Welcome to the nature world of Central Iceland around Lake Mývatn, an environment full of volcanic activity, breathtaking natural spectacles and thousands of midges.

A Gay Couple City Weekend Utrecht – Utrecht is the new Amsterdam. Or is it just the little sister of the Dutch capital? Putting this topic on the table on a bar in Utrecht starts an intense controversy about pros, cons, the local pride and the way of living in both cities of the Netherlands. The gay couple spent a Gay City Weekend Utrecht to show you their favorite places on their gay travel: eat and drink at Gys and The Village Coffee, get the best view over the city on the Dom Toren, where to wandering around for hip shops with the Puha Shopping Route and how to go back in time on track with the Spoorwegmuseum.