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Syria Before The Conflict Part Five, Saladin’s Castle & Memory Tricks
Are you ever convinced of something only to find that the memory has played tricks on you? Well this happened to me whilst chronicling my 2009 Syria trip. I have just discovered some notes I scribbled along the way and have found two long held beliefs to be incorrect. First of all we visited in […]
Syria Before The Conflict Part Two, Castles & Monasteries
Aleppo had proved to be a superb host city, but this did not stop us from going on a couple of full on day trips by private taxi. First up was St Simeon’s Monastery, some 30km north. St Simeon is the guy who legend has it was driven up the pole! Simeon the Stylite lived […]
New Budapest Nyugati Station Design
According to Railway Gazette International, the competition winners for the embellishment of the iconic Nyugati Station has been revealed. This is how they report it.
Travelling By Train Across The Balkans
My train travel book is now available from Amazon. Travelling By Train Across The Balkans chronicles my trips over the past twenty years or so in the intoxicating region. It features train travel in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Northern Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and European Turkey. The Balkan Peninsula conjures up […]
Turkmenistan Train Trip
I am reflecting on a trip that I made in 2018 from Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat to the eastern city of Mary. Ashgabat to Mary by Train Having spotted a train travelling through the desert northwards from Ashgabat to Dashoguz close to the Uzbek & Kazakh borders, our excitement to be embarking on our only train […]
Monday Morning Blues – The Longest Day, Stonehenge
For the second time in recent years I find myself travelling along the A303 on the day of the Summer Solstice. The A303 links the South East with the South West of England and as well as being infamous for traffic hold-ups, it is best known for being where Stonehenge is situated. ‘The Henge’ has […]
Euro 2010 Match Day 10 – Italy v Wales
We come now to the final rounds of group marches. Italy have already qualified for the knockout stages and Wales are expected to join them. The match is played in Rome as all Italy’s matches have thus far. Italy Venice is unique amongst cities for its coexistence with the water that surrounds it and often […]
Euro 2020 Match Day 4 – Poland v Slovakia
The Euros are getting into a swing now. Thankfully the medical drama of Saturday has turned out better than feared. Get well soon Christian Eriksen. The two Central European nations get their tournament up and running in St Petersburg. Poland My favourite city visited in Poland is the Hanseatic port city of Gdańsk. Lovely old […]
Euro 2020 Match Day 4 – Scotland v Czech Republic
The first game of the day sees the last of the British qualifiers making their finals bow. It takes place at Glasgow’s Hampden Park. Scotland Britain’s highest mountain is Ben Nevis in Scotland, at 1,345 metres above sea level. I climbed it (no crampons required) in 2011 and in so doing completed the U.K.’s ‘3 […]
Euro 2020 Match Day 3 – Austria v North Macedonia
So we move to match day three having finally got underway a year late. Here I continue with my memories from the competing nations. The second match of the day takes place in Bucharest. Austria Mrs Wilbur and I visited Austria for my 40th birthday and have revisited on many occasions. We started in Vienna […]
