I went to Amsterdam in November. From the fact that it’s taken until January to start writing about it, you might not be surprised that Amsterdam and I didn’t get on all that well. If you’re into getting drunk and stoned and sampling the delights of the Red Light District, then this city is for … More The problem with Amsterdam…
Germany does Christmas so well and Austria has pretty much all Germany’s good points. Four years ago Family Polar Bear went to the markets at Frankfurt and Mummy Bear decided quite early this year that she wanted to go to Innsbruck Christmas market. Innsbruck is a lot smaller than Frankfurt – I mean the market … More Innsbruck Christmas market
To misquote my guidebook, in the beginning there was Kyiv. Before Ukraine or Russia or Moscow came into being, there was Kyiv. Kyiv’s had an interesting history, most of which I’ll gloss over. A lot of it was bombed in the late 30/early 40s and a lot of ancient monuments and churches are actually reproductions … More Kyiv: the city of golden domes
It took me a little while to realise how colourful Kyiv is. There’s plenty of big heavy Soviet architecture, plenty of brick and granite and stone and of course, the golden domes, but there’s also a lot of colour, so here are some examples of the colours of Kyiv. Even Kyiv’s logo wants you to … More Photoset: the colours of Kyiv
Last week I went to Ukraine and while I tried to read & be prepared, there was still plenty that threw me. So here is my Beginner’s Guide to Ukraine. Arrival – paperwork I knew that as a UK resident, I didn’t need a visa but then I arrived at the airport and found a … More Beginner’s Guide to Ukraine
I went on my first school trip abroad in 1998. We live on the south coast of England – and when I say “on the south coast”, I literally mean that half of us lived closer to the ferry than to the school and when we got to France, it was the same thing with … More My first school trip abroad
If you read my Chernobyl part 1 blog, you’ll know a little about the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and its background. If you didn’t, go & read it before you carry on with this one. Short primer: 32 years ago, its nuclear reactor exploded. Consequences were as bad as you might expect. Tourists can now go … More A day in the radiation zone: Chernobyl, part 2
This time last week I was falling asleep at work because I only got home from Ukraine in the early hours of Monday morning. And one of the things I did while I was over there was a day trip into the Chernobyl radiation zone. If the name Chernobyl doesn’t mean much to you, it … More A day in the radiation zone: Chernobyl, part 1
You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve tried and failed to write this post. How hard can it be to tell you about Myvatn Nature Baths, my favourite (one of my favourite?) spa in Iceland? Myvatn Nature Baths is a geothermal spa up in the north east of Iceland. It’s a major tourist hotspot for … More I love Myvatn Nature Baths
Wednesday is Halloween so let’s go back to Halloween four years ago. I was in Rovaniemi, in northern Finland. I’d spent the day in town, wandering along the river because everything was blue and white and silver and frozen and yes, I nearly died of hypothermia. Although in hindsight, having survived a white-out blizzard in … More Fortune telling in Finland
I Am A Polar Bear 