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
Mamaia was a ritzy beach even in 1968, then largely colonised by loud Germans. It is a ten kilometre strand running north of Constanta with hotels, beach bars and “camping villages” – eat your heart out Frankie Howerd. It is considerably upmarket of Blackpool and nowhere near as bad as Sunny Beach, which is down … More Day 10: Constanta to Tulcea
Fighting to escape Bucharest this morning, I realise I have little inkling what it is like to actually live here. For starters, it took me ten minutes with the help of the manager of the Z Hotel (the sticking up modern building top centre above) to persuade some drivers to move their cars from completely … More Day 9: Black Sea side
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
I stayed in Craiova because it was en route to Bucharest, but stayed on to catch the Art Museum in the morning, since I had arrived too late to gain admission. This rococo, hundred-year old former palace had hosted royalty and a variety of historical events, including the signing of the Treaty of Craiova in … More Day 7: Craiova to Bucharest
Sterling’s newfound strength in Europe made a stay at Beograd’s best Communist-era hotel, the Moskva, an acceptably modest indulgence, red carpet and gargantuan breakfast included. Not only did the nomenklatura stay there but so – according to the portraits which line the corridors – did a galaxy of stars, from Monica Vitti to Laurence … More Day 6: Beograd to Craiova
Croatia was the latest – the 28th – country to join the European Union, in July 2013. They like to herald the fact that in their referendum 66% voted for joining, but only 44% actually voted, meaning only 30% of the population expressed a positive endorsement, so they suffer from similar levels of political … More Day 5: Zagreb to Beograd
On leaving Dachau yesterday, the German equivalent to Radio 3 – BR Klassik, which also plays full works unspoiled by ads – was playing a Mozart piano concerto, which caught perfectly my reflective mood. It was followed by a Vaughan Williams piece, and then by a Klezmer romp from the David Orlowsky Trio called ‘Happiness’. … More Day 4: Salzburg to Zagreb
Germany is freighted with so much meaning, it is hard for me to unpick it all. Born just five years after the Second World War, to a family who had ‘done their bit’ both on the home front and on the high seas, it is not surprising my view was coloured from the … More Day 3: From Mainz to Dachau
Belting through Belgium, going briefly Dutch, and today in Germany, I am taking Europe at a trot, if not as a Trot. It is interesting how similar much of it is, with autoroutes smoothly transitioning to autobahns without let or hindrance, though I did notice several German police cars at the reststop on the border, … More Day 2
peterleewright.com 