Architecture built by the Nazi’s in the early 20th century can be spotted easily for their stale, concrete structures and the massive size of each building.  There are many different reasons for visiting Europe destinations but it is interesting to travel Germany with a mindset of looking out for obvious Nazi architecture. You will find [...]

Istanbul is full of attractions and sometimes it’s a real challenge to know which trip to take first. Always on the out look for in places, preferably with a colourful or historical background such as the Basilica Cistern, I was up and running when I heard about the Flower Passage.  The Flower Passage is located [...]

Whenever I visit a new European city, I always try to take at least a day or two to explore somewhere away from the city, and it was no different when I was in Latvia’s beautiful capital, Riga. My guide book suggested a day trip to Sigulda, about 50 km away in the valley of [...]

Every city has that one street that owns the spotlight; in Zagreb,, that street is Illica. Illica stretches from the Trg Ban Jelecica, Zagreb’s main square and furls forward, creating a vibrant, high energy corridor. The street is lined with ornate old buildings (some in perfect condition, others with peeling paint) that house boutiques, stores, [...]

I feel slightly disingenuous writing this as I’m off to warmer climes for a conference. But I do LOVE Edinburgh in the Spring.  I’d encourage you to visit the Scottish capital, one of the most popular Europe destinations in Spring, if you can. Here’s why. Edinburgh Botanic Gardens in April Nobody’s Here. It’s not as [...]

Earlier this week we spent the day in the Scottish Borders one of the best places to visit in Europe if you enjoy history and beautiful countryside. I thought that the best way to illustrate why I love the Scottish Borders was in a photo tour. Me with Eildon Hill in the background Our first [...]

Whenever I visit a European city, I am on the look out for museums. Of course, nobody should bypass such prestigious institutions as the British Museum in London or the Louvre in Paris, but what I enjoy most are smaller, more picturesque places – in short, museums where you can get close to the exhibits [...]

I love the city of Lisbon, it’s one of my favourite Europe destinations. I love walking its charming streets, climbing up to the Castle for gorgeous views, observing the colourful tiles, eating delicious fish stew at open-air tables, eavesdropping on conversations and trying – mostly unsuccessfully – to make out a few words in Portuguese. [...]

The southern French city of Nîmes, on the border between the Provence and Languedoc regions, is famous for two things: Romans and denim. In the early nineteenth century this European city’s textile mills created denims, or de Nîmes – literally ‘from Nîmes’, for the slaves of southern USA. And, from a bit further back in [...]

I had never heard of bandy until moving to Sweden.  It’s one of those winter sports that needs a real winter, not like ice hockey.  Bandy is essentially a cross between hockey and soccer played outdoors on ice.  Skates, sticks, two goals, a small orange ball and a minimum of padding are really all that [...]