Travels around the Continent
"Oh, Bonnie Dundee! I will sing in thy praiseA few but true simple lays,Regarding some of your beauties of the present dayAnd virtually speaking, there’s none can them gainsay;There’s no other town I know of with you can compareFor spinning mills and lasses fair."(William McGonagall) I had a few spare days around the end of …
"La semplicità è l’ultima sofisticazione" (Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.) This trip was designed to visit some of the ancient cities of Italy which I had not been to before that were key players in the development of pre-Renaissance art. These were suggested by my wife who visited them while Interrailing in her youth. The …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 17 – Medieval Italy"
"With a hop, skip and a jump" This post continues the account of my journey from Barcelona to London, covering my time in France. I had been in South West France on two of my previous Europe Explored expeditions (in March 2022 and November 2023), so my itinerary was filling in the gaps of some …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 16 – Return from Catalonia – Part Two: France"
“Homage to Catalonia“ (George Orwell) This trip was designed to weave together some places I had not been to before, some I had been to a very long time ago, and some from more recently where I had not had enough time on my previous visit. This first post describes my time in Spain, while …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 16 – Return from Catalonia – Part One: Spain"
"... And now for something completely different" (Monty Python) This post continues the account of my journey to Romania and Bulgaria in October 2024. Romania was a country that I had previously visited 41 years earlier, whereas I had never been to Bulgaria before. Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet, but all place names in this …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 15 – Romania and Bulgaria – Part Two: Bulgaria"
"À la recherche du temps perdu" (Marcel Proust) This trip was designed to combine a visit to a country I last went to a long time ago with a visit to a country that I had never been to before. In 1983, I undertook an Interrail journey across Europe and back. My time in Romania …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 15 – Romania and Bulgaria – Part One: Romania"
“... You have nothing to lose, but your chains.” (Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels) Day 6 – Monday 16th September 2024 – Leipzig to AugsburgWe were making an early start on this day and walked the short distance to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof in good time to catch the 07:48 train to Munich. The station was much quieter …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 14 – German Medley – Part Two: from Leipzig"
"Workers of the world, Unite! ..." (Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx) In recent years I have visited most of the major cities in Germany, most recently being a trip along the Baltic coast from Hamburg to Poland last October. My wife and I had a number of places in Germany we still wanted to go to …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 14 – German Medley – Part One: to Leipzig"
"L'amour est un oiseau rebelleQue nul ne peut apprivoiser"("Love is a rebellious birdThat none can tame")Carmen In September 2023, on my EuropeExplored trip to Finland and Sweden, I went to see Nabucco at Gothenburg Opera House, the first time I had ever been to an opera. I enjoyed the experience so much that I thought …
Continue reading "City Visit (Operatic interlude) – Gothenburg"
"Beautiful plumage" (Description of the Norwegian Blue parrot - Monty Python sketch.) Day 5 (continued) – Friday 7th June 2024 – KristiansandMy ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark docked in Kristiansand on time at 15:30. Disembarkation was relatively speedy - a connecting passageway was attached to the side of the ship almost as soon at it …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 13 – Denmark and Norway – Part Two: Norway"
Europe Explored 