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
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Europe Travel: Eight Lakes in Six Days
"What do you want to see on our trip around Europe?" I asked my friend. "Mountains, lakes, or beaches" came the reply. Lakes, it is then. Because Europe is so compact, one of the best
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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
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A Snowy Weekend in the Tatra Mountains, Slovakia
A few weeks ago, I was tired of the rainy, grey, city sky. I desperately wanted blue sky, crisp air, and plenty of snow. I longed to see mountains; and for that, I would have
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Gazing into the Blue Eye, Albania
The unbelievably clear water of Syri i Kalter (‘Blue Eye’) in the South of Albania is beautiful, but it is not easy to reach. You have two options: 1) a laborious 5-hour journey along dilapidated
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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
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Hévíz: Bathing in Hungary’s Healing Thermal Lake
If you’ve been to Budapest then maybe you visited Széchenyi thermal baths; but did you know that with over 1,000 hot springs, Hungary boasts more medicinal spas than any other European country? What’s more, it
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A Year in the Life of an International Teacher
I often get people asking me about life as an international teacher, so to honour 10 years of living overseas I have put this post together to show you what a year in my life
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Spring in Bratislava is a great time to visit!
Readjusting to a European winter after two years of perpetual spring/summer in India has been harder than I thought. I’m not sure why, because I like winter. For the last few months in Mumbai I’d
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Boulanger & Patissiere: Bratislava’s Macaron Masterclass
I’ve always liked the look of a dainty, brightly coloured, meringue macaron. You know, the ones that you see piled delicately on silver platters in fancy cake shops? They look exquisite, but as I'm more
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Orava Castle: Inside the Lair of a Vampire
The flickering, grainy image of a hunched figure creeping up a silhouetted staircase, his claw-like hand extending towards a shadowed door, is an iconic piece of cinema history belonging to the 1922 German Expressionist movie,
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Festivals, Food & Fun: Seven Weeks in Bratislava
Having lived in Bratislava for only seven weeks I am still new to Slovak culture, particularly as I knew very little about either Slovakia or the city before I came here. It is true to say,
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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
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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
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Stockholm ICEBAR: ‘The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway’
What is Stockholm’s ICEBAR like? Well, as you'd expect, it’s like walking into a giant freezer. A freezer with a bar, that is. A freezer full of animals elaborately carved into huge blocks of glistening
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Pictures from the Cornish Coast
Most of my summer was spent in Cornwall, a place that I grow to love more and more each time I visit. For this mid-week post I wanted to show you some of my favourite
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Why You Should Visit the Chocolate Museum, Köln
I know that I don’t really need to tell you why you should visit a building full of chocolate, but I'll tell you about the Köln chocolate museum anyway. When I went to Köln (also known as Cologne)
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Coastal Walk: the Lizard to Kynance Cove
When I was a child my family holidayed in either Wales or Dorset where we would camp, spend hours on the beach, eat picnics by the lake, and go for leisurely hikes. I spent these holidays walking
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The One Where I Moved to Bratislava
Just like that, two years passed and I was standing with all my bags at Mumbai airport ready to leave India for another new life somewhere else. You can see my last day in India by
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Walking With Dinosaurs at the Eden Project
Did you know that if you venture deep into the Cornish countryside during July and August you can walk with dinosaurs? I wrote about the Eden Project last year (read the post here) about how it is a
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