An hour or so after we leave Tartu we enter Latvia, through the border town of Valga. And it shows, the difference is striking. Not so much in the countryside before and after, which is flat, lots of woods, the occasional farmland, and not very attractive. But the roads deteriorate notably, the towns we pass … Read more
All the way to Tartu, towards the east and quite close to the Russian border, the weather remains miserable. We bypass Parnu, a fairly important town at the Gulf of Riga, part of the Baltic Sea, and reputedly also a popular local tourist destination; we couldn’t find much of interest to us, here. We briefly … Read more
Apparently, nobody knows how many islands Estonia has, exactly. There is a list counting 2355, but I imagine that many are small and uninhabited. Saaremaa is the largest, and to get to Saaremaa, you have to go through another island, Muhu. A good start. Somehow, I had not taken into account that to get to … Read more
We check out the fish market first thing in the morning, the same place where the fish was landed yesterday evening. This is a great place, absolutely full of people, and of many different types of fish. On one side are the big fishes, many Yellow-fin tuna – I think, judging from the yellow fins. … Read more
Accra At breakfast we find out that Ghana was a British colony. Eggs, sausage and beans, on toast. Gone are the delicious baguettes of former French colonies! Alonso has relented, and we now have a full day in Accra. With my usual planning skills I have set out a walk along the most important highlights, … Read more
The relevant parts of historical Visegrad have been restored, or, shall I say, over-restored. Where Szentendre was merely pretty, Visegrad is of real historic relevance. Not only was this the place were, in 1335, the Hungarian, Czech and Polish kings came together to discuss the growing Habsburg threat – and failed to agree on anything, … Read more
The last entry on Budapest explores the Buda-side of the city, with its churches and its castle, all heavily restored, and with its unique bath houses. We finally make it to Buda, the city part on the western side of the Danube. But before that, we need to finish the Pest-side of things; I am … Read more
Like so often this trip, we face several attractions closed, but the biggest and perhaps the smallest church of the Spis Region are both opened, specially for us. Levoca, our base for the last few days, is also the capital of what is called the Spis area, a historical region that for a long time … Read more
Although our base is not the most attractive of towns, the Orava region offers a range of heritage architecture, from castles and wooden churches and houses to the industrial complexes; you either hate them, or you love them, but photogenic they are. This is not the smoothest of our trips, I have said that before. … Read more
Moving into Moravia, Czech Republic’s eastern region, we enjoy the medieval square and palace of Telc and sgraffitoed Slavonice, as well as the mostly ruined Landstejn castle. The weather doesn’t help, today. It is time to move further east, towards Moravia, that other half of the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, it is not a good day … Read more