Because of my living situation, I check train connections quite frequently, and I wanted to have a place where I could search using one tap instead of a page load, a cookie banner and a spinner. So I built CatCH: a small static site hosted on Cloudflare Pages that searches Swiss public transport with the same flow as sbb.ch, just lighter.

It is not a replacement for the official app. You can’t buy tickets, and there is no account. It does just one thing: show me the next connections between two stops, as fast as the network allows. If you want to try it out, check catch.jco.im.

What it does

If you have used sbb.ch, you already know how to use CatCH. The search form follows the same steps:

1. Type a From and To stop (or tap Stops near me to use your location). A swap button flips them.
2. Pick Leave now, Depart at or Arrive by, and optionally add a Via stop.
3. Hit Search and get the next connections: departure time, products (IC, IR, S-Bahn, bus…), platform and number of changes.
4. Open a connection to see each leg, walking transfers and the stops in between.

Two extras make it nicer: Saved routes pin trips I take often to the home screen, with a live “in 9 min” countdown to the next departure. A Departures tab shows the station board for any stop, like the yellow posters on the platform.

It also installs as a PWA on your phone, follows your system’s light or dark theme, and remembers your saved routes locally in the browser. No login, no tracking.

How it’s built

There is no backend. CatCH is an Astro site with a few React islands, built to plain HTML, CSS and JS and served from Cloudflare’s edge. The browser talks directly to the free Swiss public transport API at https://transport.opendata.ch/, which wraps the official timetable data from opentransportdata.swiss.

When I visited Mallorca a couple of weeks ago, every guide said the exact same thing: you have to go to Sóller.

So I did. I had hoped to take the historic wooden train from Palma, but tickets were sold out, so I hopped on the bus instead. Luckily, I still got to ride the vintage tram down from the town to the port, which was a highlight of the trip.

The port sits in a nearly perfect horseshoe bay framed by the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, keeping the water calm, clear, and vivid blue. Whitewashed houses climb the surrounding hillsides, and the bay is dotted with sailboats.

I got incredibly lucky with the weather, as you can see in the photo above. If you only have time for one day trip outside of Palma, make it Port de Sóller. I can’t wait to return the next time I’m in Mallorca.

I remember a few years back in Berlin, when locals would ask a Spanish colleague and friend of mine where he was from. Whenever he mentioned he was from the island of Mallorca, the reaction was almost always the same: a look of disbelief, followed by the inevitable question, “So what are you doing here, man?” I’d always been curious about the island and wanted to understand the appeal of the Balearics, and a few days ago I finally got the chance to see it for myself on a visit to Mallorca. It truly is beautiful, just as my friend had told me.

One of the activities I enjoy most when visiting a city is cycling, whenever possible, and on this trip, staying in Can Pastilla, I found that the hotel offered affordable full-day bike rentals. So I set off to visit the cathedral and its surroundings, as well as Bellver Castle, where I took the photo you can see above. I really enjoyed this visit, and I can’t wait to go back!

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to visit the city of Tarragona for the second time, and I remembered why I liked it so much the first time I visited several years ago. Since moving to Europe, I have always been fascinated whenever I have the chance to visit Roman ruins, and Tarragona (called Tarraco in Roman times) is a city with a great number of them, including an amphitheater, a circus, and an aqueduct.

Specifically, this Roman amphitheater, dating back to the 2nd century AD, is one of the main tourist attractions of the city, and it is impressive to see how well it has been preserved over the centuries, as you can see in the photo above. The city of Tarragona is a place full of history and culture, and without a doubt, it is a destination worth visiting if you are in Catalunya.

Sixteen years ago, while I was living in Dublin, I experienced the electricity of the 2010 World Cup when Spain clinched their first title. Working for the Spanish Search Quality Team gave me a unique perspective; I felt an immediate and profound connection to that victory. The celebrations in Dublin were truly unforgettable. It was a moment of immense pride, and it was wonderful to step out into the streets and celebrate with friends with whom I am still close today.

Fast forward to 2026, and they have done it all again! This time around, Spain proved themselves once more, fielding an absolutely superb team that appeared even stronger than their 2010 counterparts. The final match, which I had the privilege to watch from Catalonian territory, was intensely competitive: a nail-biting showdown against Argentina, a side already under widespread scrutiny for their behavior both on and off the field. In extra time, Spain secured a well-deserved 1-0 victory.

And honestly, today those memories from 2010 are so vivid, and I’m happy again for my Spanish friends for such a well-deserved victory with such an amazing team. Campeones campeones, Oe oe oe, Campeones campeones, Oe oe oe…! 🇪🇸

A couple of days ago, I found myself back in Sitges! While strolling through the narrow streets of the charming city center, I took a picture of the iconic cathedral overlooking the sea, and it made me remember why I loved this town the first time I visited many years ago. There is such a unique vibe here—a perfect blend of Catalan tradition and Mediterranean warmth; it feels like a place that forces you to slow down and savor every moment.

We ended up having lunch at a yummy Italian restaurant on the seafront called La Terraza, then we got some nice ice cream from a local gelateria, and spent some time just sitting on the promenade watching people go by.

I was curious about why this town is such a lovely place and has become such a beacon of tolerance for the LGBTQ+ community. I read up on it this morning and found out that Sitges has always been a haven for artists, writers, and free spirits—which explains its totally open-minded atmosphere!

They host so many cultural events and festivals throughout the year, like the famous Sitges Film Festival. Already counting down to my next visit!

Let’s be honest: European heatwaves are no joke right now. After spending all these weeks bracing against the blistering sunshine and trying to work through the hot weather, it feels refreshing and invigorating to be back on the Catalan seaside.

Three years ago, I walked on this exact stretch of beach in Cubelles — same boardwalk, same view of the Mediterranean stretching flat and blue toward the horizon. I remember staring at the water and reflecting on where I was and where I was going.

Coming back now, the town hasn’t changed much. The same beach restaurants are still serving the same food at lunch. My favorite ice cream parlor has done well, and now it’s even bigger.

And of course, while ordering some splendid “arroz negro” and chatting with a friendly waiter, I remembered why I always feel closest to home when I visit this country.

Today, I’m grateful I have the opportunity to visit this spot once more.

If you've been here before, you'll notice things look a bit different! I rebuilt the whole design from scratch — cleaner layout, better typography, and a proper dark mode. I did the same for my personal site last week, and it was about time the blog got the same treatment.

The old design had been running for almost ten years on Skeleton CSS with a dark mode toggle bolted on and a lot of custom CSS piled up over the years. It worked, but it was getting messy and hard to maintain.

The site was already on Astro, so the heavy lifting was really just the design layer: I replaced all the old CSS with Tailwind CSS v3 and a proper light/dark colour token system, so switching themes is now just a single class on the html element with no annoying flash on load.

The content stays the same, though—hope you enjoy the new look!

As I mentioned in my last post, a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Valencian city of Alicante. One of the most interesting experiences during this trip was spending a day on Tabarca Island, located just an hour's ferry ride from Alicante (the journey can take only 20 minutes from the town of Santa Pola).

The island is tiny but incredibly beautiful. It has been declared a marine reserve due to its diverse aquatic life and is surrounded by stunning, crystal-clear blue waters. One of the activities I enjoyed during this visit was walking from the port through the small town to the end of the main street, which leads to "Porta de la Trancada" (Trancada Gate).

There, I left my clothes, put on my goggles, and easily spent an hour exploring the various fish species that can be observed, as well as swimming to the "Illot de la Cantera" (Quarry Islet), where, at that moment, there was absolutely no one else around. I have a beautiful memory of being in this amazing place, enveloped by total peace.

Later in the day, I wandered through the town, crisscrossing its narrow streets until I stumbled upon a truly authentic restaurant. There, I enjoyed the 'Menu del Día,' which included a fresh salad, crispy fried sardines and shrimp, followed by an authentic Valencian paella. The meal was so satisfying; it kept me full for the rest of the day!

Frankly, I'm very eager to return there someday.

The Castle of Santa Bárbara in Alicante is a historic fortress located on Mount Benacantil, a hill overlooking the city and the Mediterranean Sea. Today, it is one of Alicante’s most prominent landmarks and a popular tourist destination.

A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to visit this interesting place. There are different ways to reach the castle, including taking an elevator, but I decided to walk all the way up. I passed through the beautiful old neighborhood of Santa Cruz, with its picturesque houses, then crossed the Parc de l'Ereta, and finally reached the castle. This huge complex is quite fascinating, offering plenty of information about its origins, significance, and successive renovations, destructions, and restorations. I spent a couple of hours exploring the castle, and it was totally worth it.

A couple of days ago, when I was coming back from work and arriving in the picturesque town where I live, I started to think: what would happen if I told one of the AI tools to paint this place using the Impressionist technique, and then told it to describe it? Well, here is the result of this experiment:

"In an Impressionist painting of the Swiss town of Morges, we are transported to a tranquil and picturesque scene next to the pier of Lake Geneva. The essence of the Impressionist style is to capture the fleeting moment, the play of light and color, and the atmospheric ambiance. In this particular painting, the artist has masterfully conveyed these elements.

The canvas is alive with vibrant, dappled colors that dance across the scene. The shimmering waters of Lake Geneva, in soft shades of blues and greens, extend toward the horizon, creating a reflective surface that mirrors the world above. The surface of the lake is beautifully textured with strokes of various shades, conveying the rippling movement of the water..."

This is just an excerpt because the machine then started to describe parts of Morges that are not in the painting, but still, this visual and textual test was quite interesting.

This morning, when the sleepy town of Cubelles was starting to come to life and I went for a walk, I was lucky enough to experience this amazing view while the first rays of sunlight started to pierce through the thin veil of clouds, creating the very interesting picture you can see above.

Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the refugee crisis generated by this war has been a major humanitarian challenge. Eurostat tracks data on people granted temporary protection across the Union. The latest data published by the agency shows that Germany has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other European Union country except Poland.

As of March 2023, there are over 1 million Ukrainian refugees in Germany. The majority of refugees are women and children, as Ukrainian men are banned from leaving the country under the mobilization law in place.

Relative to the population of each EU member, the highest numbers of registered refugees per thousand people in March 2023 were observed in Czechia (30.9‰), Estonia (27.8‰), Poland (25.9‰), Lithuania (24.2‰), and Bulgaria (22.5‰).

You can find more information about this data on the Eurostat website.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Cubelles, a beautiful Catalan coastal town near Barcelona. I hit the jackpot when I found an apartment right on the beach! My time there was pure bliss; I spent almost every day soaking up the sea and cooling off in the waves.

But every time I watch the news, I realize how lucky I was to spend my days there during the heat wave that is hitting Europe. There are raging fires in many places in southern Europe, and places where the summer is not usually that hot, like the UK, are experiencing record temperatures.

No comments. The climate change problem is already here :/

It has been 9 days since the beginning of the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian nation, which unfortunately has been catastrophic for this country. More than 1 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, mainly Poland, and several Ukrainian cities have been heavily bombed.

Western countries have condemned this unprovoked invasion in unison and have applied sanctions against the Russian regime. Hopefully, they will make it economically impossible to sustain this senseless war.

Slava Ukraini

Last night, when I passed near the Rathaus in Basel, I found that a Ukrainian flag had been placed on the flagpole of this emblematic landmark. There was also a group of young people gathered in the square with peace signs and notices imploring an end to the unprovoked invasion of this European country. Sending my love and best wishes to all my Ukrainian friends.

An invasion is defined as "an instance of invading a country or region with an armed force." Ukraine has been an independent country since the signing of the Belovezh Accords in 1991, which dissolved the Soviet Union. The news that the Russian president has recognised the independence of two Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine—territories that call themselves the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics—and the subsequent incursion of his military forces into this region of Ukraine fits the definition of an invasion.

Diplomacy is always the preferred option to avoid a military conflict, but I feel bad for my Ukrainian friends because it seems that the conflict is already there :/, and the world should act accordingly.

The official FX data from the Bank of England site shows the changes related to the whole Brexit process. Yesterday it was reported that MPs have voted overwhelmingly to hold Theresa May to her commitment to give them a vote on delaying Brexit if her withdrawal agreement fails to win a majority within the next two weeks. It's interesting how every time Brexit seems to be further away... the better the British currency performs.

Today I came back from a quick bike sprint to the store to return some PET bottles and buy a couple of things. When I was about to insert the key to open the garage door, I noticed this nice snail moving slowly around the edge. Its shell was beautiful, so I thought it was worth getting my phone out to take a picture.

I didn't update this blog last week because my GF and I went to Tenerife, and I decided to leave my computer at home to unplug for a while. We had a really amazing time on the biggest of the Canary Islands. The weather was warm but not scorching hot; the landscapes were really nice and quite different across the island; the seafood was so fresh and delicious; and finally, the people were extremely friendly. It was just great.

Some of the highlights of the trip were (besides the stunning Teide you see in the picture above):

1- The nice town of La Orotava:

2- The picturesque town of San Andrés, where we stayed, and the nearby "Playa de las Teresitas":

3- Walking around in Santa Cruz:

4- The old town of Garachico and its natural rock swimming pools:

My old LAMP hosting is about to expire, and I’m using that account only to host a travel blog of my career break two years ago, called Breaksian. This weekend I migrated the contents to a Node platform, and I took the opportunity to review and publish a post about a week I spent in Ko Lanta, Thailand. Quite a special place.