Tag: UNESCO World Heritage
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Ohrid … a discovery
It surprises me continuously that there are so many unexpected and hidden beauties in what at first sight appear to be nondescript countries. Ohrid is one such. Macedonia, mountainous and often overlooked suddenly reveals a totally different character here. Sunny, expressive, glittering. This morning I went out early, both to escape the crowds and the…
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Meteora… an incredible experience
Today was something I will never forget. These photos will not do Meteora justice. A three hour drive took us past a snow-capped Mount Olympus to Meteora in Central Greece. Home to 24 monasteries built on vertiginous precipices in the remote region of Meteora. In greek it means “between the earth and the sky”. Isolated…
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Thessaloniki … Cats, churches, monks and monasteries
So today I was out early in my usual search for coffee. Success; not Starbucks. I was on a mission to visit as many of the Byzantine churches included in the UNESCO list for Thessaloniki. I managed nine of the 14. They are rather wonderful. They date from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries and…
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Sighisoara Romania
I left Budapest at 11 last night on the sleeper to Sighisoara. Night sleepers in Eastern Europe have a resonance… spies, murder and intrigue are the tropes we have from films and novels. The reality was less romantic and much more interesting. . An antique station and an even more antiquated train in a cramped…
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Shirakawa-go
This was a really interesting visit. The village houses date from the 17th century and are pretty unique. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO the houses are built in a traditional style called gassho. The area is famed for its woodworking skills and the houses are built without nails using ropes to secure the…
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Hiroshima in the rain… a sombre day
It’s difficult to know what to say about this without being trite. Today I took a walk to the Peace Memorial Park which is where the bomb was detonated about 600m above the area which completely devastated an ancient part of the city. The dome was one of few buildings to survive the blast and…
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A morning of deer, temples and shrines in Nara
Todai-ji This is a vast temple complex in the hills a short distance from the city. The complex passes through various gates until you reach the great hall containing a giant statue of Buddha… its quite magnificent and magical despite the number of people many of whom came to worship. It’s quite a stunning place…
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A day in Himeji
After a good sleep I awoke to humidity and heat but decided to catch the train to Himeji which is about an hour from Osaka. The train journey took me past rows of high rise apartments and small houses. Land is at a premium and there were few open spaces or gardens as I travelled…
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Split … tourism amidst history
I arrived in Split last night at about ten o’clock and settled into the hostel. Cheap but not very nice but it’ll do for two days. I’m missing the companionship of Mostar. I found a nice restaurant for breakfast and then started wandering the city. It’s very busy with tourist groups the layout of the…
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Plitvice National Park
This was a wonderful day in bright sunshine in a stunning setting. A rare limestone geology (karst) has made lakes and waterfalls through a gorge. The Lakes are the most touristy part in a huge and wild area. Pine, cherry and beech forests are home to wolves, bears, lynx, wild boar, deer and much more…
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Capella Scrovegni a Padua e Giotto
I’m writing this sitting by the Grand Canal having my Colazzione. Yesterday was very busy: St Marks, Doge’s Palace and Padua combined with a lot of walking. As i walked I was struck by how hard it must be living in Venice. Bridges and steps everywhere, deliveries by trollies, hauled up and over bridges or…
Escape to myself 