I’m a picky reader. Most books about bicycle touring and classic travelogues just put me to sleep. But Rebecca Lowe’s Slow Road to Tehran is not just a book about bicycle touring, which the author herself bluntly admits in the first paragraphs. While cycling from London to Tehran, Lowe attempts to understand the complexity of the Middle […]
Not just another bicycle touring book. Review: The Slow Road to Tehran Read More »
Most people hear the word bison and think about the massive mammals roaming through the grasslands of North America. But their once nearly extinct cousin, the European Bison, inhabits dense forests in Eastern Poland. I recently had a chance to see it. How should you plan your visit to Białowieża Forest to maximise the chances of spotting
Visiting Białowieża Forest. How to find the European bison? Read More »
Tskaltubo, a small Georgian town 9 kilometres from Kutaisi was one of the most popular spa resorts of the USSR, attracting more than 100 000 visitors a year. Today, most sanatoriums are abandoned, some serve as housing for refugees from nearby Abkhazia. Few tourists come to enjoy the healing properties of the radon-carbonated waters of
Tskaltubo. A Travelogue from an Old Soviet Spa Resort Read More »
Malta, a tiny island on the Mediterranean, has a lot to offer for a tourist. Yet, more than visiting the epic fortified town of Mdina or sunbathing with a view of the azure waters of the Blue Lagoon, I enjoy a stroll among the old houses, chasing the most unusual house names. Maltese architecture is
Condom, Rest My Aching Back, and Dar Dartumi – The most bizarre house names in Malta Read More »
The internet will tell you everything about idyllic Maltese beaches, stunning architecture and sunny weather. While this is all true, it’s only part of the reality on this tiny Mediterranean island. Malta is full of surprises, contradictions and paradoxes. Let me present you with a list of 10 things that surprised me the most about
10 surprising facts about Malta Read More »
You don’t talk ill about the dead. The authors of the colourful graves in Romanian Săpânța disregard this rule. With dark humour and incredible directness, they disclose people’s flaws and describe how they died. Welcome to the Merry Cemetery – a graveyard with no taboos, where death is a topic to laugh at. Merry Cemetery
Merry Cemetery – a graveyard with no taboos Read More »
One name repeatedly came up in my conversations with other travellers and locals about Albania. Having heard about the bizarre city planning, unconventional architecture and magical aura, I had to visit Gjirokaster – a town which gave Albania the most atrocious dictator Enver Hoxha and the influential writer Ismail Kadare. It was a strange city
Gjirokaster – Stories from the City of Stone Read More »
The king of the forest. Up to 600 kg heavy. Bear is a strong and scary beast. But there is one beast that tamed him. A creature even scarier and much crueller than a bear. He put a ring into the bear’s nose and dragged him on a chain. He could make the furry giant
The history of Bulgaria’s dancing bears Read More »
The world was green and smelled like hot pine needles. The road was empty, and I was happy. I always imagined Greece in the summer was yellow and dusty. But the Pindus was different. The first thing I noticed after crossing the Albanian-Greek border in Kakavia was the silence. A car passed maybe every 20-30
The wild side of Greece. Cycling in the Pindus mountains Read More »
Permet and Vjosa River Every bit of my legs felt like a heavy rock fell on them. Even getting out of the tent was a challenge. I cursed when I realised I didn’t have anything for breakfast and the nearest shop was three kilometres away. The owner of my campsite, Dona, saved me by offering
Cycling in Albania, part 2: Vjosa, the Pindus mountains and Korce Read More »
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