I am not quite sure why I find the post-Soviet countries so fascinating, but I do. Over the past ten years, I have visited all of those in Europe, except Montenegro, and it is quite remarkable how each has evolved since the end of the Soviet era. Of particular interest to me have been the nastiest. Four weeks ago I visited Albania, and today, I am in Romania. So, accompanied by the interesting and knowledgeable Cristina Iosif of Unknown Bucharest, I set off for a primer on the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, the dictator here from 1965 until the […]

I have not written much about The Baltics, and it is a sad omission. The Baltic Sea covers a vast area of northern Europe, and a history that back to the Hanseatic League and forward to the contemporary structures of Northern Europe.  St. Petersburg For most of the Cold War period, the region was the purview of a variety of elaborate Swedish and Finnish ferries, a few fishing boats and hundreds of miles of formidable borders. All this, of course, has changed completely, and now the nine countries that border the region, plus the peculiar Russian exclave of Kaliningrad,are absolutely […]

European Trains are a fine way to travel I have, for the past ten days, been travelling in Europe to a tight schedule. Although nominally “retired”, but we shall explore that term at a later time, I have some interesting projects that require me to present myself at a variety of European locations within a relatively short time frame. For this, I have chosen a Eurail Pass. These formerly simply accessories now require the patience of a saint to decipher, there being so many options; the options, of course, being (one feels) the reaction to so many “emerging” partners like […]

I think that it is pretty hard not to like Chicago, and I try to visit as often as I can. Frequently, travelling to from Europe, I will route my journey through the Windy City, named for their politicians ability to talk rather then the weather, spend a night or two, from most Canadian cities, it is an easy weekend escape. For about ten years I had an office in Chicago at the corner of Michigan and Wacker, and got to spend a large amount of time in the city. I came quickly to realise that far from a jumble […]

I have always had a soft spot for Yellowknife, and can unequivocally say that it is my favourite of the fourteen provincial, territorial and federal capitals. The Northwest Territories are lucky to have it! For what it is worth, Edmonton is my least favourite, but nobody asked, and I don’t want to dwell on the Bad Times. Yellowknife, quite simply, is fun; it takes itself so seriously that it borders on becoming a parody of itself, and in that enthusiasm embraces visitors and observers into the unique perspective of life that is offered by diamonds, government and tourism. I first […]

The Yellowhead Highway, from Winnipeg across the Prairies, and eventually north to the NWT, is a long, long drive. I have, in accordance with the Way of Life, been wandering this summer, and notably through Canada. Having left Newfoundland and its unusual dancing, whizzed around the Cabot Trail, and I must say left that iconic drive completely underwhelmed, it was time to head west, and drive to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.  Now the drive from Winnipeg to Yellowknife, some 3,000 kms of deeply predictably highway, can appear to be monotonous. This would be and unfortunate and slightly unkind observation […]

I can’t say that I was familiar with the Coxey Woxey Dixie Bird before I reached François (pronounced, of course, “Frans-Way”), a Newfoundland outport, but it was one of the rather interesting cultural identifications of this fascinating village. “Newfoundland Outports”. The concept itself conjures up inclement weather, tough communities clinging to barren rock carving a difficult living from the heaving oceans. They are ancient, by North American standards, and protect the hardy stock of Irish and Dorset fishermen who arrived in the eighteenth century, bringing fishing skills, music and a deep rooted sense of community to the rugged shores of […]

One either wants to go to Sable Island or one has probably never heard of it. Of all of the remote markings with which cartographers embellish their maps, few have the appeal of remote islands and within the family of remote islands, Sable stands head and shoulders above the rest.   Why, it is difficult to comprehend, but its reputation, its mystery and its isolation all merge to create a fascination that is only hastened as one steams toward this peculiar sand bar. Sable lies some 150 kilometres to the south of Louisbourg on the Cape Breton Island coast. It […]

MaxGlobetrotter’s Favourites – Portugal, Suriname and Uruguay Publishing lists seems to be the craze right now, and indeed the new owner of The Great Canadian Travel Company, the redoubtable Ian Kalinowsky, has asked me to pen my top destinations for 2016”; Portugal, Suriname and Uruguay top the list, but are by no means exclusive!   However, for now I am going simply to answer one of the most common questions that I am posed, “Which is your favourite place in the world?”. It is not a simple question, and there really are no straightforward answers, and so I am picking, in […]