Its great to get high in an altitude sense to get a different perspective on your surroundings.

Here are a few of my favourites from the East of Europe.

Prague is probably my favourite city in Europe. I fell in love with the Bohemian capital during an inter-rail trip in September 1992, when I visited for just a few hours. I returned in May ’93 for the Prague Spring Music Festival and was then well and truly hooked. I have been there around a dozen times now and never tire of returning for more.

This picture us taken from the castle area looking down on the old town. Spot the ever crowded Charles Bridge and the unmistakable towers of Tyn Church.

Next up Tbilisi, visited as recently as October 2014. The picture was taken up at the fort by the huge statue of Mother Georgia

My next skyline features Lviv (or Lvov) in Western Ukraine, close to the Polish border. The beautiful small city was visited in 2011. This picture was taken from my hotel room.

Something a little different next. Kotor in Montenegro is a picturesque walled city situated on Eastern Europe’s largest fjord that I arrived at from Albania in 2007. A yomp up to the fortifications high above the settlement rewarded me with this view.

Just along the Dalmatian Coast lies Dubrovnik in Croatia. The Jewel of the Adriatic as Lord Byron put it, Dubrovnik certainly lives up to its glittering reputation. This photo was taken on the road out of the walled city as we left for the airport.

Note the large cruise ship – bedlam will have ensued once all the passengers had disembarked into the compact old town.

Last up, in 2012 Bulgaria was one of my destinations during a Balkan Tour. I headed for Veliko Tarnovo and this picture is of the ancient fortified settlement of Tsaravets on its outskirts.