Along with the opportunity to discover a bunch of things, traveling to a new country also presents a bunch of challenges. This is all part of the fun most of the time, and for the rest of the time it isn’t. One of the things I often do when arriving in a new country is to buy food thinking it is one thing, and then open it to find it is something completely different. Dairy food is good example. I…
Air raid sirens are a daily occurence, but are largely ignored by the citizens of the city. Although I have no doubt it was different in the early days of the war, nowadays people just tend to go about their business. I assume this is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a siren does not mean a raid is definitely imminent. Thankfully, the vast majority of alerts are not accompanied by rockets, missiles, drones or shells. When the Boy, no…
The city of Munich is known for many things, like BMW, Bayern Munich FC, and of course the annual Oktoberfest. It is also acknowledged as the centre of German, if not European, river surfing. Needless to say I was keen to check it out, so headed to the Englischer Garten on an overcast Autumn day to see what it was all about. Munich is a long way from the beach, and even further from a beach with rideable waves. The…
In the line of fire When I was a kid, I remember we had a wooden souvenir school ruler in amongst our stationery at home. For those younger readers, a ruler is a 30cm long strip of wood along which you drag a pen or pencil to make a straight line on a piece of paper. Oh, and stationery refers to things you use to write or draw with, which is what pens and pencils are. And writing is something…
Last October I spent a month in Ukraine, and after hiring a car, visited major cities, rural areas and the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. As part of my rental agreement, I had to sign a document stating that I would not take the car to any of the three ‘disputed’ territories currently experiencing military action or Russian occupation: Luhansk, Donetsk, and Crimea. (The Luhansk and Donetsk regions are collectively known as Donbas.) Ukraine has been at war with Russia, either directly…
Before heading off on my circumnavigation of Crete, I bought a road map for a couple of euros. It was pretty decent and well detailed considering its scale. However one thing I found out soon enough was that the colour code it used for minor roads actually covered everything from sealed roads to high-clearance-vehicles-only goat tracks. I got caught out many times disappearing up a hill on a decent road that on the descent degenerated into something my hire car…
After a little over a month It’s time to be leaving Bulgaria. From the depths of the Black Sea to the Rila Mountains, I’ve really enjoyed exploring the place. Although I didn’t meet very many English speakers whilst I was there, I reckon just about every Bulgarian knows one English phrase. And no, it’s not ‘son of bitch, shit’ (for those too young to remember the movie ‘Stripes’, it’s worth a look). It’s ‘Have a nice day’. Regardless of where…
After three months and some amazing experiences, it was time to be leaving Egypt. I decided that the next stop on the odyssey would be the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. After a mandatory Corona PCR test to permit me to leave Egypt (I was thankful that the bloke who did the test was shithouse at his job, and barely stuck the swab into my nose, unlike the other testers who nearly entered my brain), I booked the two bus tickets…
‘WHERE ARE YOU FROM MY FRIEND?’ Travelling in Egypt, this is one question from the locals you hear all the time. Egyptians mostly assume I am American, German or French, as presumably the majority of tourists are. (Whilst staying in an apartment in Cairo, the circa-12 year old daughter of the manager came up to me in the lobby one morning, and with a serious expression and the utmost courtesy said ‘Bonjour’). When I answer that I am from Australia,…
Merchant seaman are arguably the forgotten heroes of World War II. Sailing the unarmed, or lightly armed, cargo ships that delivered troops and vital supplies was a dangerous game. Merchant shipping endured constant threat of attack from the air, or from the silent, unseen submarines beneath the waves, and one in four merchant seamen who served in WWII lost their lives. Crewman ranged in age from mere children in their mid-teens, to seasoned mariners in their seventies. On board the…