Tag Archives: Travels in Eastern Europe
Travelling By Train Across The Balkans – Book Extract, A Bum Note
This extract follows on from our ejection under armed guard from Yugoslavia in 1987 (click YUGOSLAVIA for this part of the notorious night). So we found ourselves back in Austria at a small border station called Spielfeldstrass…… The backdoor to the station was locked – oh no, you don’t say, surely not……… Thankfully the front door […]
Tuesday Train – Simferopol to Lvov in Ukraine
With my thrice aborted attempt to take the trans-Siberian train, at 27 hours this 2011 trip remains my longest train journey. We actually started out from Sevastopol, a further 90-minutes south in Crimea. Total distance in excess of 1,000 km. You can see on the map below the area travelled. Unfortunately the cities shown have […]
Monday Morning Blues, Timisoara in Romania
This picture of Unirii Square in Timisoara was taken 5-years ago. I would thoroughly recommend a visit.
Ukraine in 2011
Ukraine is never far from my thoughts these days. One can only imagine the fear & hardship that innocent citizens are facing. Ukrainians are our friends. A proud & hospitable nation that made me feel so welcome in 2011, less than a year before they hosted Euro 2012 with their great Polish neighbours. Here are […]
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.
Monday Morning Blues – Odessa Train Station in Ukraine
The Black Sea port city of Odessa was my entry point into Ukraine in 2011, arriving by train from Chisinau in Moldova.
Long Distance Bus Journeys – A Cautionary Tale
I have had my fair share of bus journeys that were memorable for all the wrong reasons. Disasters include: Blown tyres and wheel changes in Java and Laos Ending up in a ditch in Bali with us teetering over the edge of a sheer drop A complete breakdown and three hour wait for a replacement […]
Sunday Photo – Moldovan Countryside Scene
Yesterday I gave an on-line talk for The Globetrotters Club on the theme of Eastern Europe. One of the countries that I talked about was Moldova, amongst Europe’s poorest nations. They still practice traditional farming methods with horses often used instead of tractors. I call the photo below ‘Giant Haystacks’.
A-Z April Challenge (Cities Visited) – T for Tbilisi
Tbilisi, Georgia I adore the Georgian capital having visited twice – arriving by train from Yerevan in 2015 and departing by train for Baku in 2019. How apt that I am writing about the wonderful city on St George’s Day. Here is an account of my 2019 visit. The very comfortable Art Rooms Hotel where […]
