Comments on: Visiting Prague (or anywhere) for a hobby

By: Paul Hunt

Paul Hunt — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:29:32 +0000

Hi Karen
Getting in with the locals was an eye opener. The holiday also reinforced to us that our hobbies and passions were the reason for travel. The “What we do” is prime consideration and it leads into “Where we stay” and “How do we get there”. In the pursuit to satisfy the hobby/interest it sometimes makes the other two more bearable … even the overnight train across Romania ! Actually even that turned out to have a silver lining because I shared a sleeping compartment with a complete stranger who “got off in the middle of the night” but turned out to be a good friend of George’s and was the General Manager of a local forest steam train and it saved us having to wait at his ticket office ! I’d like to say it got us the best seats on the train but they’re all hard wood ! But a great experience all round.

By: Karen Bryan

Karen Bryan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:23:31 +0000

Paul – thanks for your comment which illustrates Amanda’s point about a hobby based holiday giving you more insight into local life. At least you found some time to indulge your hobby too.

By: Paul Hunt

Paul Hunt — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:07:53 +0000

We’d heard that Maramures in Romania held some interest for my partners passion for textiles (weaving, spinning) with patterns and styles specific to their region. After a flight to Bucharest and an overnight train journey to Sighetu we finally reached our host George Iurka whom we stayed with in Botiza.
Not only did we get close to the locals and their culture through George but his knowledge and contacts resulted in a packed “textile” itinerary … weaving experience with his aunt, visit artisan producers, cottage industry spinning “minimills”, water powered mills, felt makers, road side washing and a visit to a lady who had an unbelievable lace collection.
Oh and we managed to get some walking in … which is my passion !