Few things enchant me more than libraries. I've often thought I'd like to sleep over in one, especially in a delightfully dusty, old library. Sneak in around closing time, say, then hide until everyone is gone and stay overnight. Sleeping bag, head lamp and a [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
As this goes to publish, flight schedules on point, I’ll be ambling about the airport in Constantinople (something about that name…), Central Asia bound yet again, and I was reminded I still haven’t told you about the rock carvings in Kazakhstan’s Tamgaly Gorge. Now, Tajikistan [...]
A béguinage, what is that? Well, let's begin with a béguine (come on, that was funny...) A béguine is, or rather was, a woman who dedicated her life to her god - but didn't necessarily want to take a vow, or withdraw from the world. [...]
Thumbing through photos, I'm reminded of a little memorial I once saw in the Engadin Valley. On Piz Nair mountain just above St Moritz, I spotted a glass box in the distance. Practically pulled over, I was. By a strong impulse. Curiosity - and something else. There was no way I was not scrambling over to investigate.
It’s early evening; the sun is slowly setting. As I wander through the gate in the bright red wall and into the park, I wonder: if I travel ever westwards, how fast will I have to go to see a perpetual sunset? A continuous magical [...]
