Vienna is the capital of Austria. It’s nearly always included on a backpacker’s trip through Europe. It has a glamorous image due to its Viennese coffee houses, Mozart, and large state opera house. During winter, tourists flock to Vienna for its Christmas Markets, gluhwein, strudel and beautiful lit up buildings. There’s lots to do in …
Uplistsikhe is located in Georgia, 10km from Stalin’s home town of Gori. It’s carved into the rocks on the left bank of the River Mtkvari. It’s often referred to as Cave Town (not to be confused with the Cave Monastery, Vardzia in the south) and has a significant position in Georgia’s religious, political and cultural …
What’s Gori’s claim to fame? It’s the birthplace of the Communist leader Joseph Stalin. On my way from Tbilisi to Kutaisi I visited Gori, Stalin’s hometown and where his museum is located. This small town came into the news in 2008 when it was bombed by the Russians during the Russo-Georgian war over South Ossetia …
I love wine tasting so when it was suggested we added Sonoma to our USA Bay Area itinerary, I jumped at the chance. Northern California’s famous wine country is located a 1 hour drive (2 hours with traffic) north of San Francisco. Your first instinct might be to head to the famous Napa Valley but …
Ushguli is a community of four small villages located near the Russian border in Georgia. It’s situated at 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) in the Caucasus Mountains, making it the highest inhabited settlement in Europe. So far it’s unspoilt by tourism but I can see this changing over the next 5 years. While it’s still an underdeveloped …
Who is Kafka? Franz Kafka is an existentialist novelist born in 1883. His most noted works includes The Castle and The Metamorphosis. While his writing was in German, he was born in Prague, Czech Republic and many consider him to be the most significant person Prague has produced. His writing usually features a man or animal, …
Want to see a winter wonderland? Mountains covered in snow? The Northern Lights? Spend dark nights in cosy bars? If so, then you’ll head to Iceland in the winter and its capital Reykjavik will be your first stop. While Iceland’s landscape looks straight out of a sci fi movie, you’ll find its prices are out …
Prague is a tourist magnet – it’s beautiful, has a castle and is full of history. It’s easy to see why it’s Europe’s fifth most visited city. Unfortunately, this also attracts scammers and those wanting to make money out of unsuspecting tourists. It has also changed the city and more “in your face” tourism has …
Prague is the capital of Czech Republic and one of Europe’s top tourist destinations. I could easily spend 5 days in Prague and not run out of things to do. But unfortunately not everyone has the luxury of time. For whatever reason – work, money, kids, you might only have a long weekend and need to …
Visiting Iceland should be on every traveller’s bucket list. It has a unique landscape, beautiful nature, stunning glaciers, geysers, waterfalls and lakes. But it’s also one of the most expensive countries in the world. Reaching Iceland isn’t expensive. I booked my direct return flight from Manchester to Keflavík International Airport for £52 with EasyJet. Keflavík International Airport …