Yesterday I passed over the eponymous Bridge from Copenhagen to Malmo. No corpses or autistic cops spotted, but it still gave me a frisson as it’s not just an icon of Scandinavian cooperation, but of a new European culture. The one some would walk away from. That said, it was lucky my geographical sense remains in working … More R Day -2
Bumped into these two nuns surreptitiously licking an ice cream at midnight on their way back to the convent: the Institute of the Immaculate Cornet. Venice was where I effectively ended my road trip in 1968, because I bumped into a party from my old school there who – having lost a teacher to dysentery – had … More Days 31 & 32: From Venice via Verona to Valpolicella and Varese
Just follow the umbrella like a crocodile of schoolchildren or, in this case, the dangling heart and listen to the enhanced commentary delivered on the built-in portable sound system. I once saw a woman completely covered by a swarm of midges in September in the Scottish Highlands, an unwanted version of those lunatics who cover … More Day 26: Trogir to Split
Ioan has to feed his chickens and rabbits before Maria can give me my breakfast, with a very fine egg included. I don’t think the rabbits are pets either. The downside is a distinct faecal fume at breakfast when downwind of the hutches, which turned out to be a portent of things to come. I … More Day 18: Sighisoara to Timisoara
Sitting beside a large table of young Suceavans tonight, I realised that not only am I revisiting a stage in my evolution, but that these young folk are at a similar point. In 1968, us post-War Baby Boomers were the first generation free of oppression, struggle and austerity and loudly enjoying the freedoms that … More Day 15: Nun But the Brave
I wonder if John Lennon could possibly have imagined that, 35 years on from his demise, Romanians would be dancing to Imagine. Not as improbable as the fact that Yoko is still putting out videos with the Plastic Ono Band – see Bad Dancer on You Tube for example. However, a little more in Iasi … More Day 12: Iasi to Lac Rosu
I always feel embarrassed at my linguistic failings: I was more adept at 18, having taken Latin to A level, and French proving a useful alternative when all else failed. Then, everyone was keen to welcome a rare foreigner and most generous. I think it was in Iasi that one family I hitched with … More Day 11: Tulcea to Iasi
Staying in the heart of Bucharest, I have a sense of both the cultural strength of Romania and its contested history. It may be 25 years since the Revolution here, but there is still a struggle for the soul of this nation. Another demonstration is taking place today outside the Government Building in the Plata … More Day 8: Capital Considerations
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