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Travelling in Bosnia and Hercegovina (B&H) is interesting, and the ancient city of Mostar is a particular treat. Suffice it to say, that of the many conundrums that combine to make the former Yugoslavia, B&H is the most tongue twisting. It is a fascinating place, a country of wars, peace, religions, exodus, mountains, genocide and more. It even has a football team (The Dragons), who are reasonable, and often qualify for European (and World) tournaments. Bosnia also has people, 3.5 million of them, although the loss of over 150,000 young and educated Bosnians over the past decade or so has […]

Belgrade is a city of motion and of people, and one that will hurtle its way through the next few hundred years of history taking whatever comes its way.

Trains are fun. And if the reports on travel sites as disparate as the Guardian and The Daily Telegraph and the “how to” sites like the incomparable Man in Seat 61 who all say that the rail journey from Bar to Belgrade is one of the most scenic in the world, who am I to argue?

Ferry: A great alternative to flying I like journeys, and I enjoy the feeling of travelling; of actually going somewhere. A ferry journey is wonderful, and the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas are alive with them. Airlines may be expedient and do their job well, but given the option of a train, ship, car or bus, I will take the surface mode every time. I was planning on a trip through the Western Balkans, and first edging toward Montenegro and the railway journey between Podgorica and Belgrade, the ferry seemed to be a welcome option, and so it was that I […]

I only went to Trieste to leave it, and it was not even my first choice of departure points. Bari was, but the ferry to Montenegro has been suspended, and thus access to the train from Bar to Belgrade, one of Europe’s finest, I am led to believe, meant some imaginative preparation was necessary. Let me explain. I had read a great deal about the railway that runs from the Serbian capital of Belgrade through spectacular scenery, ancient villages, dramatic rivers with bridges whose impudence leaves one speechless, down to the Adriatic coast at Bar. Or at least that is […]

Bored in Berlin? Head to Poland for Lunch The Decision in Berlin Unsurprisingly, there is no tourism office in Rzepin. There are no tourists, and from a brief wander through the town, this is hardly surprising either. Coming here was a good idea. Dining at a lovely little local Bulgarian restaurant in Berlin last night, in response to a general question about what to do today, I said “Let’s go to Poland for lunch”. The idea took root, the train schedule to the first town across the border was determined, alarm clocks set and away we went. The idea was […]

Astana, now branded as “Nur Sultan” is the capital of Kazakhstan, and a completely surreal place to visit. I loved it Tourists in Kazakhstan are, it may surprise you to know, less than common in November, and Canadian tourists in Astana are particularly thin on the ground. The early winter winds show their face in Astana, and the ground, dry and brown, is sheltering for the oncoming deep freeze. Astana’s winters are as cold as the Canadian Prairies, but one doesn’t come here for the weather. It may seem like a curious place to go voluntarily. A simple cartographer’s dot […]

Dakar, Senegal is a most curious place Travelling in West Africa is complex because West Africa is complex. The last leg of my journey was a short hop from Guinea to Dakar. This 450-mile leg is as Dallas to Kansas or San Francisco to San Diego, yet we flew over four international boundaries. Had we been on the ground our language would have passed from French to Portuguese to French to English and finally back to French. It is a mosaic of Victorian Europeans’ ideals overlaying centuries of cultural evolution. So Dakar really came as no surprise. It is not […]

The  Shosholoza Meyl train is a gentle introduction to private trains! Private Railways Private railway travel evokes some rather splendid images; The Orient Express and The Golden Eagle are but two of the companies offering the most luxurious of travel on board their private railway carriages. And wonderful they are too, to which I can attest. However, the Premier Classe product, on their Shosholoza Meyl train, offered by South African Railways is in a different league altogether, and it is welcome and a most interesting experience. The operator is Shosholoza Meyl, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South […]

Tunis and Western Sahara lie at the opposite ends of the massive Sahara Desert, and visiting them both in one journey was a treat North Africa, it is safe to say, is not the tourist industry’s flavour of the month. It is a region whose visitor numbers have dropped dramatically in the past couple of years, in Tunisia and Egypt in reaction to a few dreadful incidents and in Morocco in the fear that terrorists will strike there as well. Tunis The fear is real. Although we all try to say that “They won’t make us change our lives”, the […]

I checked into The Hotel Madrid with a little apprehension, although curious as to exactly what €38 per night could possibly buy in Las Palmas, one of the great tourist destinations of Europe, I had booked this property based primarily on reviews and not parsimony. But nevertheless, $45 is not a lot of money to spend on a hotel room. Well, the answer was actually quite a lot. I was met by an apologetic ex-owner at the door, which also double as the entrance to a fine, period restaurant/bar. He advised that new owners had taken over twelve days before; […]

The Grimaldi Line: A wonderful  European Ferry Ferries or Cruises? “I love ships”, I have told myself, “but I don’t like cruises.” It is a subtle difference, and one that I have a hard time explaining. What I really mean, I suspect, is that I can’t stand the idea of spending a week or more on a floating version of Las Vegas being urged to have more and more “fun” and trying hard to avoid “locals”. This is a more upmarket version of a Butlin’s holiday camp, and the idea of enforced fun has never sat well with me. But […]