Welcome to hidden europe 8. We feature articles on two villages in Macedonia, Oskar Brüsewitz in Zeitz, the Akropolis Express in Kosovo, the Italian town of Barga, and Portmeirion in Wales.
hidden europe 8
Join hidden europe travel magazine. We feature articles on two villages in Macedonia, Oskar Brüsewitz in Zeitz, the Akropolis Express in Kosovo, the Italian town of Barga, and Portmeirion in Wales.
Picture above:
Train to Tartu at Tallinn station, Estonia (photo © hidden europe)
Summary
Join hidden europe travel magazine. We feature articles on two villages in Macedonia, Oskar Brüsewitz in Zeitz, the Akropolis Express in Kosovo, the Italian town of Barga, and Portmeirion in Wales.
On the face of it the neighbouring villages of Labunishta and Vevchani seem quite similar. But guest contributor Christopher Deliso probes beneath the surface to reveal the ethnic and cultural differences that have always defined Macedonia.
On a summer's day in 1976, Oskar Brüsewitz left his home village of Rippicha shortly after breakfast, drove to the nearby market town of Zeitz and set himself alight. Zeitz stopped and stared at the pastor's protest. A sombre tale from the former DDR.
The legendary Akropolis Express, a train much used by migrant workers, used to run daily from Munich to Athens, passing through Kosovo. hidden europe recalls journeys on the Akropolis Express, and checks out rail travel in Kosovo today, where trains run under the aegis of the United Nations.
Barga is quintessential small town Italy. And Aristo's, the bar and café in the middle of Barga, is the quintessential bar - a spot that is amiable, intimate and safe. Guest author Adam J Shardlow lingers in Aristo's and finds a rich vein of artistic and musical life in the Tuscan town.
Fergal is of Europe yet not in Europe. He cannot recall with any certainty exactly why he spends each winter in Public Alley 438. But he does! hidden europe encounters a hint of Donegal in Boston's Back Bay district.
Gnomes of Europe arise! You have nothing to lose but your shackles. hidden europe checks out the sanctuaries where liberated gnomes, freed from enslavement to oppressive gardening cultures, can live in dignity and peace.
The Etruscans did it and so did mediaeval Christians. Teeth and toothache have long been stimuli for travel. We explore the current fad for dental tourism, and alight upon Sopron in Hungary and Kobarid in Slovenia.
hidden europe celebrates the merits of some of Europe's more obscure airports, from Akureyri to West Balaton via Kuressaare and Poprad.
On the eightieth anniversary of the formal inauguration of Clough Williams-Ellis' impish architectural experiment at Portmeirion in Wales, we remember a chance encounter with the architect at his home at Plas Brondanw.
The delineation of international borders within shared waters is never easy. In Lough Foyle, where Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland both have territorial interests, the two parties have left the border undefined. hidden europe reader Bill McStay explains why.
Prose and poetry evoke echoes of the past on the shores of Loch Fyne in western Scotland. hidden europe walks the loch shore to the ruins of the old powdermills at Furnace, while Paul Hadfield weaves a web of family history.
Yes, there really is a village in the south of Ukraine that once was a thriving island of Swedish language, culture and religion. hidden europe visits Gammalsvenskby and finds very palpable evidence of the village's Swedish past.full article available online
The Bailiwick of Jersey, in the Channel Islands, has long played host to many migrant communities. hidden europe explores the growing Polish influences in the island.
Philadelphia is decidedly un-American! Because this Philadelphia is not the great city on the Delaware river; instead, it lies in a very rural part of eastern Germany, close by the Turkish Mountains and just a stone's throw from New Boston.
It is World Cup year. Football is everywhere. Even at the very end of Europe, in Azerbaijan, where we run across the tale of a great Azeri football hero.
a look ahead to hidden europe 9