Home of Europe’s Oldest Annual Marathon
Slovakia is an underrated travel destination; most people I meet have never heard of it, and could not point it out on a map, so it was surprising to learn that Košice hosted Europe’s …
10 of the Best European Old Towns to Visit this Spring
Who doesn’t love visiting a Historic Old Town?
My teaching career has shuttled between Europe and Asia on more than a few occasions: I moved from the UK to Vietnam in 2007, Vietnam to Sweden in 2010, Sweden to India …
Čachtice: The Castle of the Bloody Countess
It’s on a frigid Sunday in late October that I find myself climbing towards the ruins of a 13th Century limestone castle in Čachtice, Slovakia. Battling a bitter wind I draw my coat closer around me; but it is …
A Day Trip to Devin Castle from Bratislava
Autumn has arrived in Bratislava. Only last week I wore summer dresses and flip-flops, but this week it’s all scarves, winter coats and boots. When yesterday dawned cold but sunny, I went for a walk with friends in order to …
A Macabre Mass of Bones and Skulls at Sedlec Ossuary, Prague
Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about Sedlec Ossuary – or, as it’s better known – Prague’s ‘Bone Church’; but I did know I wanted to visit it.
History of Sedlec Ossuary
The history of the ossuary is fascinating. …
Loginn: a Floating Hotel in Stockholm
Spread across 14 islands the city of Stockholm has arisen from the sea, so it seems rather fitting to stay on the water rather than next to it when you visit the stunning Swedish capital. This was my reasoning for …
Weekend Break: Västerås
If you are researching flights to Stockholm, you may well come across an airport called ‘Stockholm Västerås’, particularly if you are flying with love-it-or-hate-it airline, Ryanair. But, what you should know in this scenario is that Västerås is, …
Around the World in 26 Letters: My Travel Alphabet
I’ve been travelling the world, on-and-off, for almost 16 years—ever since an adventurous 4 week train journey took me through Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic into Romania back in the days when they each had separate currencies. …
Finding History and Nature in Gorgeous Gotland
In my last post I write about Visby, a perfectly preserved medieval town and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Swedish island of Gotland; but the colourful labyrinthine alleys of this Baltic-blasted, cobbled town are not the only thing worth …
Visby: Sweden’s Perfectly Preserved Medieval Town
Swedes are travellers: roaming foreign lands is in their blood.
It is Viking blood, after all.
You’ll be hard pushed to travel far without running into a Swede or two. This is especially true of South East Asia, which …
The Jim Thompson House, Bangkok
When I was a student we used to visit a restaurant called Jim Thompson’s. It was an Asian fusion restaurant that was well known in my university town, not only for good food, but also for its beautifully exotic furnishings; …
Belgrade and Sarajevo: Cities Divided by War
In the summer of 1992 I was a happy and carefree 13 year old. I spent long and sunny days playing with my friends. I cheered loudly when Andre Agassi beat a little-known Croatian player, to claim the Wimbledon title.…
The Past and Present of Timisoara: Romania’s First Free City
Timisoara was a detour on our trip. We were travelling from Budapest to Belgrade—a direct route, but I simply couldn’t be that close to Romania—my favourite European country—without stopping by for a few days.
I’m a history nerd, and
…
Visiting Ephesus: A Taste of History in Southern Turkey
The ruins of Ephesus lie merely 20 kilometres from Kusadasi, the seaside city on Turkey’s sun-drenched south coast where I was relaxing for a few days after a busy week in Istanbul. It is a popular destination, particularly amongst …
Exploring Istanbul’s Biggest Attractions
After a few days in Istanbul that were spent largely lying around a swimming pool and eating lots of kebap, I finally managed to get myself out of Ortoköy—the busy neighbourhood that my friend Alex lives in—to do some exploring.…
Europe’s Fairy-Tale Castles: Castell Coch, Cardiff
Ascending dramatically from a sea of tangled forest, the three turrets of Castell Coch are a scene straight from a fairy tale. The castle would not look amiss in any part of medieval Europe. It looks proudly out over Welsh …
Tenby: Welsh Seaside Town of a Bygone Age
When the Napoleonic Wars of the Nineteenth Century ravished many of the fashionable spa resorts across Europe, small British resorts became a popular second choice for a holiday by the sea. Amongst these resorts Tenby in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, …
The Real Mary King’s Close: A Journey Into Edinburgh’s Past
“Hidden deep beneath the Royal Mile lies Edinburgh’s deepest secret; a warren of hidden ‘closes’ or streets where real people lived, worked and died. For centuries they have lain forgotten and abandoned…
…until now.” – Mary King’s Close brochure…
5 Must-Sees: Hamburg
This post is the first in an intended ’5 Must-Sees’ series. Of course, every country or city offers infinitely more than 5 points of interest, but—unless you are travelling indefinitely—it is often the case that you have to choose. In …
Visiting the Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam
I read ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ as a young teenager and, like many other readers of the novel, discovered not a gritty tale of Holocaust hardship but a vibrant young girl dealing with the trials of approaching adulthood like …