The postcard pretty baroque church on tiny, lovely Bled Island is probably the best known image of Slovenia. If you could zoom out, you'd first see the stunning Lake Bled (Blejsko jezero in Slovene), then the little villages along its shores, then the green fields [...]
Ljubljana with Veronika A book about suicide and madness, about shocking someone into wanting to live by convincing them death is imminent. Oddly, Veronika Decides to Die most of all made me want to see Ljubljana. Nearly 20 years later, and seemingly random, I'm on [...]
Croatia's Dalmatian coast is a treasure trove of quaint little villages, many within an hour or two from the hub, Split. Closest of all is perhaps Trogir, just half an hour away. Trogir is on an island, connected to the mainland by little bridges, and is [...]
The powerful Hanseatic League has been mentioned frequently on this blog, and we've covered several Hansa cities: Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck in Germany; Torun, Gdansk and Krakow in Poland; Tallinn and Riga in the Baltic countries. In neighbouring Sweden, there's Stockholm and enchanting Visby. In Belgium, there's Bruges and Antwerp. Finally, there's lively London and beguiling Bergen. And there are [...]
You'd like a stunning seaside town along the Dalmatian coast, you say? There are many of those. But you want calm and quiet, as well? In August, prime holiday season for weary Eurocrats and everyone else? Normally, we'd say 'ha!' right here, and deprive you [...]
A donkey, a dog, a cat, a rooster - you're looking at the famous Bremen Town Musicians. This 200-year-old Grimms brothers' fairytale is about four friends, all a bit worse for wear and mistreatment at the hands of abusive owners. Well, nothing for it, only [...]
I'm frequently asked which is my favourite world heritage site. My reply always used to be that there are so, so many. Then I went to the Orkney Islands. And discovered there was one that stands out, after all; the one that speaks the most profoundly [...]
