Only an idiot would go for two days to Istanbul and hope to achieve anything- and so we did just that. It has to be said that our saving grace was having been to Istanbul before, and, on these occasions, having ticked off all the ‘cumbersome’ must-sees, the palaces, the mosques, the churches, the cisterns,…
Tag: traveldiary
City of Liquid Gold: October in Prague
I find myself raiding local bookstores whenever I travel, even in countries where I don’t speak the language. Bookstores are a window into a country’s soul, and, with a bit of luck, you’ll find at least some English translations of local authors. (The availability, and language, of translations is also a good way to gauge…
Through the Storm, In Search of Light- Another September on Hydra
You go to Greece for the sunlight, you take it for granted, not just any light, any sunlight, but Greek light, Greek sunlight, the one which is purest, strongest, and immutable. There is an expression in French, probably invented for the Mediterranean weather of the French riviera, but I only ever associated it with Greek…
Baby, We’ll Be Fine: The Unexpected Joys of Seeing The National In Munich
It takes a special talent to go to Munich during the Oktoberfest, but not go TO the Oktoberfest. I plead guilty to it. In all truth, it’s not really, entirely, my doing. It all begins with the fact that I have a select few bands that I would like to see live at their own…
A Great Place To Be Lost In- Athens Diaries Continued
We arrived in Athens on a windy day, which sent my two randomly assigned fellow travelers into a bit of a state, as they don’t often fly, don’t really like it, and the bumpy descent was really not what they’d signed up for. They were in their early 70s, came equipped with lovely straw hats…
Marseille in Fumes of Pastis and Revolution
Untimeliness in putting the Marseille experience to paper (or, more precisely into a word editor which systematically objects to my choice of English spelling and reverts to the one it likes best) means that in the meantime, Marseille has been on the verge of obliteration by riots or bin fires several times- as a matter…
The Joy of Simple Things- Visiting Lupa Island
While I was definitely aware of their existence, neither the much advertised Lupa Beach nor the neighbouring Omszk lake ever seemed like particularly attractive propositions to me. No matter how I look at it, the idea of a lakeside premium beach, in which the premium basically stands for faking a seaside experience so you can…
Follow the Little Owl- A Spring Visit to Athens
A little discouraged that the previous flat I had stayed in in Athens, on the edge of Exarcheia, was not available for our planned weekend, I set out to scour for alternative options, looking for a sign that would point me to the right direction. The sign showed itself in the form of a pun,…
The Most Dangerous Bag in Berlin&Other Caffeinated Musings
We are faced off in a battle of wills, the German man and me. Only, I think he is not German. Which means I think that perhaps his parents were not born in a small village in Bavaria but somewhere altogether to the south of it. Somewhere with lovely weather, bougainvillea petals floating in the…
Remembrance of Beers Past: A Weekend in Košice.
The train rolled through the thick autumn mist, and we saw nothing. Depending on how you like to travel, this can be a good thing, or a bad thing. It’s good if you travel for the feeling. It’s bad if you travel for the sights. Now, the sights would have been the fairly lush and…
Pocket Diary Budapest 