Marrakesh 2023

Posted on 19/06/2025 by ainarsbl

After a a few years, we returned to Morocco again and this time our destination was Marrakesh again.

Flight to Morocco

Marrakech’s location in central Morocco is quite ideal for visiting other places outside the city, but of course staying in the city itself and visiting its market is always exciting. I mentioned the Marrakesh market because we are very keen on using Moroccan spices and take every opportunity to renew our stock with fresh ones.

Although this time we flew from London Gatwick Airport and not from Glasgow as previously, we flew with EasyJet again. The reason is quite practical – the flight times offered by EasyJet are much more convenient than those offered by Ryanair. If you search hard enough and find the best offers, the price differences between airlines are minimal.

Another interesting observation – London Gatwick airport costs are lower, so even when flying from Riga to England, we first look to see if AirBaltic offers competitive prices. Unfortunately EasyJet does not fly to Riga.

Hotel

So we arrived at Marrakech Menara airport around midday and after relatively quickly passing through all the controls, we went to the chosen hotel. It should be noted here that this time we wanted to simply relax, so we had booked a hotel that offers an all-inclusive option. To be honest, the hotel transfer and, as it turned out, some other things (one bar, restaurant and also SPA treatments) were for a separate payment.
But, in the end, it was not a problem, because all what was included in the price was quite enough for lazy holidays (three meals, relatively good Spanish drinks, beer, alcoholic cocktails, pool bars with snacks and drinks, various activities, etc.).

A few more words about the hotel Kenzi Club Agdal Medina. It is located in the south of Marrakech, closer to the airport than the city centre. The buildings and surroundings are very interestingly designed – people thought well when designing. There were, of course, some cons as well.

For example, when we go to Morocco, we always plan to go to the hammam at least once (it’s a kind of Moroccan sauna, where the body is thoroughly soaped, then the old skin is scrubbed off with a scrub, washed and finally the process ends with relaxing tea drinking).

However, the hotel’s SPA complex was obviously much too small compared to the number of visitors. As a result of all this, we could not find free time to visit the hammam during the week – either everything was booked or we had something else planned.

Marrakesh market

As I said, we love Moroccan spices, so a trip to the Marrakech Central Market was a must.
There was a free bus service from the hotel to the Marrakesh city centre (round trip), which we decided to use. To be fair, it must be said that the bus does not take you to the centre itself, you have to walk at least a kilometre or so. This does not cause any problems if you do not mind walking around the city.

We even took a route a little off the tourist trail and found more secluded market squares. It must be said that tourists are everywhere in Marrakech, but there are places where there are more locals.

They call the market “souk” and there are a lot of them in the city (Arabs are traders, so that’s not a big surprise). There are markets like Souk Fekharine (pottery), Souk Attarine (spices), Souk Zrabi (carpets), Souk Dhabia (jewellery) and so on.

Bahia Palace

On the way to the central market (Jemaa el-Fnaa) we decided to visit the Bahia Palace. This palace (built between 1866 and 1867) is one of the best preserved and most interesting historical sites in Marrakech. The castle has a total of around 150 different rooms and some of them also have small exhibitions.

Tourists have different opinions about the price of the entrance fee (it costs about 7 euros per person, which seems to be quite a lot compared to Moroccan prices), but I think you should not be a nerd and go inside to see it if you are interested in the architecture of other cultures.

Visiting the castle doesn’t take much time, about half an hour plus expect at least a 10-minute queue for entrance tickets if you’re there in the morning; the wait time can be longer when everyone is awake and in the mood to enjoy the culture. Remember – everywhere the payment is only in cash – even in such a popular tourist destination!

Well, that’s all this time, I hope you got a little more interested in Marrakech. You can also read other travel notes I have written after visiting and even living for a while in Morocco.

The gate to Scottish Highlands Stirling

Posted on 15/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Central Scotland

Stirling, known as the coronation place of the Scottish kings, is in central Scotland. It is often called the gateway to the Highlands because the famous region of the Scottish Highlands begins not that far from there.

The city is one of the most popular tourist destinations and in the past has even been the capital of Scotland. Stirling was established as a royal city in 1130, although people have inhabited this area for about four thousand years.

Stirling is around 25 miles north-east of Glasgow and less than 40 miles north-west of Edinburgh, forming a kind of a triangle on the map between these three Scottish cities; they are all well connected by modern motorways.

Although Stirling has city status, it is only nineteenth of the 51 towns and cities in Scotland with a population of less than 38,000.

Medieval Stirling castle and old town

As the city is not too big, the old town is not large too, however, Stirling Castle, which is located at the top of a steep volcanic rock and can be seen far from the surrounding plains, makes it impressive. There is even an old saying – who owns Stirling owns Scotland.
If you are travelling by car, there are parking places at a reasonable price available near the train station, close to the Vue Cinema (see the link to the route on the map further in text).

You can, of course, park in the courtyard of the castle, however, the price will be much higher and there will not always be free parking spaces available. From the parking lots near the station, you can walk down the streets of the small city centre and walk up to the castle – it will not be too much effort, although the streets may sometimes be quite steep.

Wallace Monument

On the outskirts of Stirling, there is a monument, a symbol of Scottish history. The name Wallace may be familiar to many after the 1995 film The Braveheart, in which American actor Mel Gibson portrayed the historical image of the Scottish independence leader William Wallace.

For some time, a statue of an actor was even placed near the monument, but because of local opposition, it was removed. The main reason – the film is an artwork, and it cannot claim a full reflection of historical facts. And in the end, William Wallace was Scottish.

Some more tips if you are in Stirling

One of the largest institutions in the city is the University of Stirling, where I have worked for several years. Its reputation in some specific areas such as aquaculture is highly valued not only in the UK but also worldwide; students from all over the world go there to study. In fact, the university is not located in the city, but in its suburb town Bridge of Allan, about two and a half miles from the centre of Stirling.

The above-mentioned Wallace Monument is located right next to the university.

Stirling has many places to eat and various accommodation opportunities. It must be said that there are a lot of Indian restaurants and not everyone may enjoy it, but without huge effort, it is possible to find other types of restaurants and cafes.

One of the restaurants I can recommend is right next to the castle – Port Cullis. It is a cosy restaurant bar, where you can sit both indoors and in a small garden, and the prices (in August 2021, when we were there) are reasonable considering the location. In any case, after visiting the castle, having lunch there can positively complement the impressions gained in the castle.

Other places of interest for travellers to Scotland in addition to the above are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Skye, Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, the Hebrides, and a range of national parks for those seeking physical activities.

Mount Etna in Sicily

Posted on 11/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Visiting the Etna volcano was a part of our longer trip to southern Italy and Sicily.

Location and basic facts

Mount Etna is an active volcano located in the eastern part of the largest Italian island Sicily, near Catania city. Like many other active volcanos, it is located in the area between two large geological plates, the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate in this case. Etna is active almost all the time. The last eruption happened while I was writing this post in early June 2025.

The height of Mount Etna is 3350 metres (10,900 ft) above sea level, it covers an area of around 1190 square kilometres and is the biggest active volcano in Italy. Etna is a stratovolcano, which means it is a typical conical volcano with a caldera built up by many layers of hardened lava. Another Italian volcano, Vesuvius, is also a stratovolcano, although it is not as active as Etna and is only half of the size of Etna.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanos in the world, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2013. The last most serious eruption of Etna followed by a serious earthquake was in December 2018.

Getting there

If you visit Sicily, visiting Mount Etna should be on your list. After seeing quite a few beautiful places in the eastern part of Sicily, we spent a night in Acireale, had a morning coffee and started our way to Mount Etna.

There are many hiking trails in Parco dell’Etna (Etna Park), however, we decided to go directly to the main attraction – reaching the volcano as close as possible.

You can recognise the lava field already on the way to Etna, driving on serpentine roads before reaching parking where the main adventure begins. There is a huge parking place at Rifugio Sapienza for cars and buses where you would leave your car before going up. There are many souvenir shops around, however we kept visiting them for later. There is also a bar with a panoramic terrace (Bar Funivia dell’Etna) higher up on the mount after you exit a cable car.

If you arrive in Sicily by ferry in Messina, it will be around 100 kilometres to reach Rifugio Sapienza from there; the place is located some 35 kilometres from Catania and almost 250 kilometres (more than three hours drive) from Palermo.

Getting up

After arriving at the parking, you will see where the majority of people gather. To get to the top (the place allowed for visitors), you will have to board a cable car from the Cableway Station, located at an altitude of 1900 metres above sea level, and afterwards change to a 4WD coach, which brings you from 2500 metres to 2920 metres above the sea level.

You may choose only the cable car, which was EUR 27 per person at the time we visited Etna. The full return package (cable car and coach) was EUR 51 per person and you would spend about three hours for the whole return trip.

Both the view to the top of Mount Etna and the feeling of walking within lava and volcanic ash fields were incredible and worth the money we paid and time spent. Steam and smoke coming from the crater, hot ground below your feet and smaller craters all around you make you both feel a bit stressed and proud that you did come here and saw all this fantastic impressive creation of nature.

Spa hotel in England

Posted on 07/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Late in May we went to relax for a weekend, the destination – SPA hotel in Buckinghamshire, England. Hotel name Crowne Plaza Marlow.

For those who have been to SPA hotels in countries such as Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic or Hungary, a Spa hotel in England may seem different from what they use to imagine about this kind of establishment, although overall, things look quite good there.

About Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a county in the south-east of England, but to make it clearer, it is located to the west from London. It borders Greater London to the south-east, Oxfordshire to the west and a few other counties in other directions.

Because London is relatively close by, many people who work in London live in Buckinghamshire, making the region quite expensive to live in. In total, the county is home to just over 800,000 people and covers an area of less than 2,000 square kilometres.

Buckinghamshire is the 32nd largest of England’s 48 territorial units (the largest being North Yorkshire, which is more than four times the size). In the south of the county is located the officially recognized Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where people go to relax and enjoy nature, especially during weekends.

Spa Hotel

The hotel itself surprised in a positive way. Firstly, it has a large area, not the usual lack od space as it’s used often to be in England. Parking spaces are spacious, both just outside and around the hotel. Well-maintained driveways and greenery all-around with three-storey hotel buildings located in a fairly large area.

The rooms are also very large compared to what is common in other hotels. So a very good rating as the first impression.

The receptionist was professional, we checked in quickly and happy went to our rooms. However, everything else did not follow so smoothly. It was planned that a bottle of prosecco would be in the room after our arrival, but it did not arrive even after a number of repeated inquiries. After seven in the evening it was finally brought to our rooms. Of course, it’s better late than never, but it really can’t be recognised as a four-star service.
Of course, this did not prevent us from enjoying our stay in hotel’s bar and Spa located in another building.

Spa complex

The size of the spa complex was a bit surprising. It was definitely not as big as you might think, although in other places the spa complexes may even be smaller.

The complex has comfortable changing rooms, although we failed to make lockers work. It was not important though because we could leave all the valuables in our rooms in the safe that worked.

The pool has two relatively wide paths for swimming, where three people can swim freely in one and another for two people. There is a small children’s pool and a hot tub by the pool. However, it was impossible to sit in hot tub for longer time, because the water was heavily chlorinated.

The next day we visited the procedures (massage), the rooms of which are located in the same building next to the pool. Treatment rooms are relatively small, just as much as a massage table to install and to take off clothes. The procedure itself was normal, punctually executed – nothing special, but generally good.

Hotel restaurant

Apart from the rather chaotic service, the best thing about the hotel was the restaurant, where we had dinner and breakfast the next morning – all respect to the chef.

All the dishes we ordered were really tasty. Since we got our sparkling wine delivered in the room just before dinner, we took it to the restaurant and the staff did not object us drinking it there during the dinner. On some occasions some of the staff did not seem very professional, however they were nice and we were very happy about the dinner.

Overall, our late May weekend in Buckinghamshire was a success.

Good food in Rome

Posted on 04/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Good food in Rome – it is just the title of this blog. In fact, this blog is about excellent and even fantastic food in Rome you may get there. Italy‘s capital Rome is a very busy tourist city and you may often get average-quality food for a high price. We were lucky to find quite a few excellent places; this is an experience I write about here.

Earlier we had a trip to Rome which included Italian cooking classes in Rome. This time it was only about consuming food not preparing.

All this was experienced during our trip to Rome in the autumn of 2021. This was a short stay in Italy’s capital during mid-October weekend. The main aim of the trip was to visit Rome’s historic centre once again, although to experience of eating nice food in Rome was an important component of the whole trip. So, this blog is entirely about where to find good places to eat in Rome.

A place for a good breakfast

Close to Termini station, we found a nice breakfast place – restaurant NOI Roma located on the corner of Via Gaeta and Via Volturno. This was not a cheap place for breakfast at all but worth of money we spent there. Unlike in many other south European countries, we paid about 40 Euro for two of us each having breakfast dish, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice – everything was really tasty and service was good too.

Fresh and tasty pizza

If you think about food in Rome and Italy, pizza may be the first thing that comes into your mind.

On our way from the train station to the hotel, we popped into a simple takeaway pizzeria located somewhere between Termini train station and the Colosseum; they also had a couple of tables outside if you wish to eat your pizza immediately. The name of this place is Pizzeria Mediterranea, address is Via Agostino Depretis 76.

We paid some 8 Euro for two decent-sized slices of freshly baked pizza and it was very tasty – that is the reason I am mentioning this pizzeria here in my blog.

An excellent casual dinner

Before deciding where to go for dinner, I searched for an interesting location and found one – Isole Tiberina, an island of Tibra River. The island is small and there were not many places to go for dinner, so it was easy to choose Tiberino Ristorante Bar, which has good reviews on Google. Address of the restaurant Via di Ponte Quattro Capi 18.

Everything was excellent – homemade-style main dishes, dessert, Italian drinks and cappuccino at the end. We spent around 40 euros for the two of us – almost the same amount we paid for breakfast near Termini station.

Food was exactly as needed for proper dinner – strong enough but not too strong, excellent flavours with that feel of dining at home.

Lunch for a special occasion

As we visited several really good restaurants in Rome, we decided to find a special place for our lunch before leaving the city.

There is a restaurant Clorofilla Cucina & Distillati, address Vicolo Delle Grotte 17. The place is hidden in a small street near a market located in Piazza Campo de Fiori and may come as a surprise when you find it – nothing around tells you that you are approaching an exceptional place to enjoy fantastic food.

This restaurant has a concept of the way they prepare and serve food for their customers and it looks like it works well. From outside you would never guess that there are many people enjoying food and relaxing inside.

We did not see the Chef but it must be a person enjoying preparing food. Every detail on the plate was like a masterpiece and the taste was amazing. The same as the drinks we had with our meal.

For a two-course meal of two people (including drinks, espresso and dessert) we got a bill of around 120 Euro (not including tips) and I have to say that the meal was worth every cent we paid. Our huge and sincere compliments to the Clorofilla Chef!

Historic centre of Rome – day two

Posted on 03/06/2025 by ainarsbl

It’s so cool to wake up in the morning in the heart of the Italian capital Rome after a night’s sleep, when the delicious breakfast, which is included in the price of the accommodation, is already waiting in the restaurant on the rooftop terrace. You can also read about our first day in Rome.

Amazing feeling and you are in Italy! All you have to do is get out of the huge bed and get dressed so that you can show up on the terrace.

Colosseum

On the first day in Rome, we visited a museum, so on the second day we wanted to enjoy the sunny day and fresh October day in Rome. The first thing we did right after breakfast was going to the Colosseum – after all, what would be Rome without the Colosseum?

We had even been inside before, but to take a selfie in the background of the coliseum was a must. What made thing seven easier was that the Coliseum is located less than a ten-minute walk from Monti Palace Hotel.

We had a plan of going from the Coliseum subway station to our next activity – walking through the park on the other side of the city centre. However, we had to go back to the hotel because the metro station at the Colosseum was closed due to Covid restrictions. But since the weather was just fantastic, it was not an issue and we soon reached our next destination by subway departing from another station.

Gardens of Villa Borghese

We had already planned to take a longer walk through the gardens of Villa Borghese, located in the south-east of the Rome centre. The gardens began by replacing the previous vines in 1605, but in their current appearance, they have existed since the end of the eighteenth century.

Villa Borghese’s gardens are set in a landscaped park of around 80 hectares. It is also home to several buildings, museums and, of course, a variety of attractions. A trendy way to relax there is renting different types of bicycles. The area is huge, it is the third largest park in Rome, and if you want to see it all, it is quite difficult to do it just by walking around.

After a good walk, we went from the western part of the park towards the Tiber River. From the terrace of the park (the park is located on one of the hills), you could see the Piazza del Popolo (it means something like a people’s square).

Piazza del Popolo

Then we walked down to the square. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle of the square, although there are a lot of fountains in Rome that look beautiful and impressive. This one is special because in the middle of the fountain is an obelisk of the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses – a tall tower in the shape of a narrow and tall pyramid. On one side of the square is the church of the same name, Santa Maria del Popolo – not too big, but a beautiful building.

After a short walk around Piazza del Popolo, we went south through the narrow streets of the centre of Rome. It already was afternoon and we had to go home soon. We wanted to eat and also to buy Italian delicacies to take home. Therefore, the next destination before returning to the hotel was the market in Piazza Campo de’Fiori.

Piazza Campo de’Fiori

We did not intend to shop in the market, but there are several famous Italian shops in the area selling Italian food, which is mainly dried meat in various ways.

That’s what we did. We spent quite a lot of money in the shop at Piazza Campo de ‘Fiori, 43. The shop is recognisable with its wild boar’s head above the entrance. The shop is small but full of meat products. As a result, the backpack I took was now full of different types of dried meat and we went for lunch before going home.

There is a restaurant near the square where we ate and you can read more about it in another blog about our gastronomic adventures during this trip.

That’s all for this time. It should be noted that from the same Termini station where we arrived, we took a bus back to the airport. When planning your trip, note that the company SIT Bus we used for the airport transfer offers the last transfer to the airport at six in the evening.

So, you may have to spend a few extra hours at Ciampino Airport, where, to be honest, there is nothing special to do as it is a very small airport. There are other transfer options available and we will probably use one of those next time.

Historic centre of Rome – day one

Posted on 02/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Weekend in Rome

Another title of this blog post might be ‘Back to Rome’ as we were there a few years ago. However, the last time we only spent part of our trip in Rome and enjoyed some time traveling outside the city across different regions of Italy. We also visited Grotte di Frasassi and Vesuvius volcano.

This time, it was a trip to southern Europe with an aim to spend the whole weekend in Rome – we wanted to walk around the historic centre of the city and enjoy Roman food.

We arrived at Termini station just before midday and the first thing to do was to have a late breakfast. There is another blog about our gastronomical experiences during this weekend. Eating was very important part of our trip and added significant value to our trip.

Baths of Diocletian

Just after the meal, we went to the Baths of Diocletian (Termas de Diocleciano) museum, which is a part of the larger Museo Nacional Romano.

The Baths of Diocletian are a huge complex and were constructed three hundred years AD, they are located just in front of Rome Termini station.

The entrance cost for this museum was really good – only 10 Euro per adult visitor (we booked tickets online, only credit cards were accepted for booking).

I have to mention that this trip was during COVID-19 pandemic in October 2021, so we had to show our green certificates (COVID passes) to be allowed to enter and beforehand they measured our body temperature.

Both inside and outside of the museum many ancient artefacts were witnessing the power and success of the Roman civilisation. However, all the buildings and gardens of the complex are what I enjoyed the most.

We were there about an hour or a bit more and decided to move on.

Fountain of the Naiads

In the west part of the Baths of the Diocletian complex is located in Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri church. We saw it from the inside of the complex, however it looks much better from the street. The architects of this church were Michelangelo and Luigi Vanvitelli.
And there is another amazing site in front of the church – the Fountain of the Naiads.

Whole square around the fountain looks amazing – you can see this from the picture above. This definitely made our weekend in Rome enjoyable straight from the beginning of the visit.

Monti Palace Hotel

From the fountain, we went to Monti Palace Hotel where we had booked a room for the stay during our weekend trip to Rome. Just have to say that the hotel really deserves its four stars. Room, breakfast, reception service – everything was top-level. We were surprised about the walls of the building – the room was very quiet, and almost no sounds from the street came into the room, perhaps, because all the walls from inside were covered with some special fabric.

Another feature of the hotel is its roof terrace, they call it Tiziano Terrace, which is located on the top floor of the building and offers 180-degree views of the Monti district. You should book a table to be able to see the sunset from the terrace. The sunset views are gorgeous from there.

One tip – do not plan a dinner on the terrace, just order a drink (some snacks are complementary). Breakfast is served on the terrace in the morning and is very good but for some reason, food in the evening does not stand out at all.

Evening walk

After sunset, we went out for a late-night walk. The city was very busy even after 10pm when we returned from our walk.

We walked along Via dei Fori Imperiali and enjoyed night views of the city, its fantastic squares and buildings – Piazza Venezia, Fontana dell’Adriatico, Fountain of the Tyrrhenian, Campidoglio and many other fascinating places on our way back to the hotel. You can also read about our second day in Rome.

Portavadie

Posted on 30/05/2025 by ainarsbl

West of Scotland

If you are in Glasgow and fancy to go somewhere else, you can reach an interesting place on one of the western peninsulas of the Argyll and Bute region in a few hours.

The Argill and Bute region is the second largest (almost 7,000 square kilometres, larger are only the Scottish Highlands) in Scotland and borders the Stirling, Scottish Highlands and a few other regions. However, the region has low population density and, with less than 90,000 living there, it is the sixth from the bottom of the list.

The region begins relatively close to Glasgow, just before Helensburg. Because of its lakes, region has two large peninsulas and three large western Scottish islands – the Isle of Islay, the Isle Jura and the Isle of Mull.

There are two major roads in the region in the north-south direction and one in the east-west direction (in its northern part).

The vast majority of roads are local and on many occasions those have single lane for driving in both directions. However, as elsewhere in Scotland, all roads are paved and the road surface is of good quality.

Portavadie

Portavadie is a very small village with a small marina and nice Scandinavian spa complex. This spa complex is not widely known and is mostly used by locals and sailors, however we did not found anything better in Scotland in five years living there.

In principle, everything is built for the recreational needs of sailors. In a relatively large area there are hotels, a restaurant, a modern administrative building of the port and the already mentioned Spa complex which is quite tiny but the best in terms of services I have enjoyed in the United Kingdom.

There is also a ferry terminal in Portavadie, from where you can quickly, in about 15 minutes, reach the port of Tarbet on the next peninsula in the direction of the Isle of Arran. The journey from Portavadie to Tarbet would take at least two and a half hours.

If you are on the ferry, you can observe the nearby Scottish salmon farms, which are set in a fairly large area across the bay. Once when we visited Portavadie, we took a ferry to Tarbet on our way back to Glasgow. The trip was interesting, it was worth stopping in several places along the way and enjoying the surrounding landscape. Of course, there are different Scottish castles there.

For example, in the town of Inveraray there is a parking lot by the water in a very beautiful place. It is also worth visiting the castle and its garden – there you can spend several hours in a pleasant atmosphere (there is also a parking lot near the castle).

On the way back you can stop at the northern end of Loch Fine to relax and eat. If there are no vacancies at Loch Fine Oysters Restaurant (often, reservations must be made several days in advance), you can also enjoy a delicious, good-value meal at the café in the garden centre next door.

Hotel and Spa

Returning to Portavadie, we’ve been there quite a few times, taking friends there as well. We also stayed in the hotel apartments. Prices are quite high, but spending an entire afternoon going to the spa complex’s pool and treatments is a great pleasure.

Inside the complex there is a swimming pool, sauna, café, on the second floor treatment rooms, while outside there is a heated pool and jacuzzi. It feels especially good to go there when the weather is cold outside. After leaving the sauna, you should walk about ten meters and then it is a real pleasure to sink into the pool and look at the surrounding landscape.

It’s even difficult to describe those feelings, so it’s better to go there and try it.

Visiting Prague

Posted on 29/05/2025 by ainarsbl

Visiting Prague will provide you with huge positive experiences. Prague is the most visited touristic site of the Czech Republic. We have been there several times and never were bored.

Visiting Prague and Czech Republic

Czech Republic, also called Czechia, is a country in the Central Europe, although, due to its 20th century history it is classified here rather as belonging to Eastern Europe.
Czechia has borders with Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Poland and its land territory is 77 thousand square kilometres (almost 30 thousand square miles).

This is a very similar size to their neighbouring country Austria (slightly smaller) and central American country Panama (Czechia is slightly bigger). In Czechia live more than 1ten million people; majority of them are Czechs.

Prague is the largest city in the Czech Republic and the 13th biggest city in the European Union. Total number of the people living there is around 1.3 million (over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area).

Getting there

By car

If you are in Czechia’s neighbouring country, it may be a good idea visiting Prague by car. Motorways in Czechia are excellent and driving on those is a joy. However, there are a couple things to keep in mind.

Firstly, buy highway vignette; if they catch you without it, fines may be huge. Also, follow speed limits; according to my personal experience, police officers use to hide to stop you with a surprise if you are speeding.

By airplane

If you go by plane, you’ll most probably arrive at Vaclav Havel Prague Airport. Options to get from the airport to the city centre cheap are not huge; there are no metro connection between Prague airport and the city centre, and it is not planned for a foreseeable future as far as I know. The best option, in my opinion (we used it a few times), is departing from airport by bus 119.

After 8 stops (this might be the destination of 119, although I am not quite sure about it; sign next to 119 says ‘Dejvicka’), leave bus and look for Prague Metro Green Line station Nadrazi Veleslavin and board a train going in direction of Depo Hostivar – after six stops you’ll arrive in the city centre (Mustek).

It’s not hard to find metro station because it’s close and just follow the crowd as majority of people will go the same route usually. All journey from boarding the bus to arrival at Mustek will take around 30 minutes. Using private pick-up, shuttle or taxi would not save that much money, however, would cost much more – 10 to 25 euros or even more in some cases.

People say there is also Airport Express bus service (costs about a double of bus/metro transfer, which is still cheap), however I have not been using it and cannot comment for that reason.

There are more options, and you can explore those visiting Prague airport webpage dedicated to transportation to Prague city centre – information is really detailed and useful there.

Getting around

I already mentioned Prague metro – apart of busses and trams, this is convenient way to travel across the city. There are three metro lines – Green (A), Yellow (B) and Red (C). They have plans to open the fourth underground line (Blue line) in 2027 to connect southern parts of the city to the city centre.

Once we lived quite far away from the city centre, however, were able quickly to reach central parts of the city, where vast majority of the best touristic sites are located, by using metro.

After you arrive at one of metro stations in the city centre, we usually prefer to walk, occasionally popping into tram. Metro may be useful to commute between sites located in opposite sides of the river.

More information, including prices, you may find on different websites. You can also explore where to go, where to stay, where to eat and drink in Prague.

Cornwall – the second day

Posted on 28/05/2025 by ainarsbl

This is about the second day in Cornwall. After the first day in Cornwall we went to the nearby local pub The Shire Inn for dinner before going to bed. It is about a 15-minute walk from the guest house we used for staying at night.

The atmosphere and service were good, the food and the local Cornish beer were also delicious – just like in a gastropub. The bill surprised me a bit though – they know how to use supposedly normal prices in such a way that at the end you get a bill what is at least ten pounds more than expected.

Minak Theatre

In the morning, right after breakfast, we went to an interesting place – an amphitheatre built in the rocks, where real performances are held often. This place was a real surprise we got in Cornwall.

The author and creator of the theatre idea was a local woman, Rowena Cade. The name Minak (meynek in the local language) means rocky place. The woman started creating theatre in the thirties of the last century.

Minack Theatre is located in the very south of the peninsula. You can see the theatre and the garden created around it (entrance fee 10 pounds), but in the afternoons and evenings there are live performances (performances do not take place every day though). The garden itself is worth a visit and the amphitheatre looks really impressive.

More information can be found on the theatre’s website.

Mount St. Michael

Mount St. Michael is an island in the sea near the coast, very similar to Mount Saint Michel in France. What both have in common is that during low tide you can walk from the land to the island on dry feet, but during high tide water separates the island from the mainland.

The difference is that the French counterpart has an abbey located on the island, while Cornwall has a castle on it, which is owned by the National Trust.

The place is interesting, worth a look if you are in that part of England. A few things to consider if you visit.

Finding a parking space for a car is quite problematic; the best option is to approach the castle as close as you can and wait for a parking space to become available. The nearby (recommended) long-term parking lots are usually occupied and you have to walk quite a distance to the island.

There are several types of entrance tickets: island and castle, island and garden and a combined ticket. Since we already visited a garden in the morning, we took a ticket only to the palace. The garden, by the way, could be viewed from the palace courtyard.

Ticket prices vary – for an adult, 14 pounds for entry to the palace, 10 pounds for entry to the garden, and a total ticket costs 24 pounds; for children aged 5 to 17, about half of that.

The end of the earth

As the name suggests, beyond the end of the earth there is only the sea. To be honest, we didn’t go to the very end of the earth, but we went to the nearby village of Sennen Cove. The only difference – parking spaces are cheaper, fewer people on the beach, more pleasant and restful feeling. The sea is the same, the beach and the surrounding views are the same. It was recommended by the locals and thanks to them for offering this option!

We spent a couple of hours on the beach, and even organized a picnic on the seashore before moving on.

St Ives

St Ives is a small pretty town and fishing port on the north side of the peninsula. Local internet marketers say St Ives is a shining jewel in Cornwall’s crown, one of the most valued in England. St Eves has been voted the best family holiday on the coast and one of the 10 best beaches in Europe.

In reality, I wouldn’t really say that. First, the beach is quite small, although the sand bar is wide. In any case, there was no special feeling of romance – just an expensive resort pretending to be posh.

Speaking of treasures – we booked a table in beach café to watch the sunset. Although we saw the prices while ordering snacks, after receiving the bill we understood why they mention gems describing this place – we must have had eaten quite a few of them.

The place (they call themselves a beach café, which is true) didn’t even have white tablecloths, but a piece of tuna the size of a piece of sushi was right there for £20. However, I have to admit that the taste of this mini dish was fantastic.

After dinner, we got lost in the city because we didn’t really remember where we had left the car. The town is located on a hill and if you take one street in the wrong direction you can get lost very quickly. However, we did not mind that accident as walking around the town was quite nice experience.

So the second day in Cornwall was spent and in the morning we planned to go back to Dorset, stopping for lunch on the seaside in Devon.