My view of Lisbon
I was totally unprepared when I traveled to Portugal. I never intended to go to Portugal this year and when I booked my flights I mainly went to do a long distance walk. So I landed in Lisbon without any expectations and without the pressure to follow a list of…
Travel in Portugal during covid-19
Looking for travel options during this pandemic has turned out to be a challenge. You always have to check the restrictions of your country of choice, your home country and your travel insurance. I booked my flight to Portugal only 3 weeks before departure, but two days before I flew…
I finally made it to Düsseldorf
What a surprising city on the Rhein Many times I’ve passed Düsseldorf on my way to Berlin, but I’ve never taken the time to stop. So when the train tickets were on special I thought this would be the perfect destination for a 3 day weekend. Added bonus, it’s near…
Street art in Plovdiv
Plovdiv in Bulgaria surprised me a lot. I’d never really heard of the city and when I started researching I found out it has got so much to offer. There are Roman ruins, beautiful old traditional houses, view points and… street art! Plovdiv is a very trendy city with some…
The oldest hostel I’ve stayed in
In Europe we are quite used to history being intertwined with our present and future. We shop in heritage buildings, visit towns with ancient city walls and don’t always take the time to appreciate it. It isn’t until we visit a place that’s missing this history that we realise what…
An extraordinary traffic jam
After a beautiful morning exploring the ruins of Persepolis, we were filling our bellies and processing all the beauty at local buffet restaurant. We had just finished our after-lunch tea when our tour leader said it was time to go. Whereas we were usually pretty relaxed since we had a…
Keeping up
The last 2 – 3 months have been a rush. I’ve been flying all over Europe, rushing from one place to the next, barely sleeping in my own bed. At the end of October I was in Romania for Halloween, straight through to Greece for work. Then after one night…
Persepolis still manages to impress
Around 550BC Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire. He first defeated the Medes and from there the empire grew conquest by conquest. It became larger than any empire had been before. Cyrus himself built a palace at Pasargadae. His successors preferred other locations. Darius I founded a new capital…
A summer holiday after all
After visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina as a tour leader a few times, the country has simply stolen my heart. Ever since setting foot in it for the first time, I’ve been wanting more. I can never get enough of Sarajevo, with it’s gorgeous old center, the many shops, the fabulous…