Road trips, mountain walks and holidays

Dalmatian town Grebastica Grebastica is a small town or more precisely a town-type village by the sea some 15 kilometres from Croatian town Sibenik. When it comes to Croatia, in general, especially about Dalmatia , most of the seaside settlements are villages, but the impression that it could be a city. It’s because the houses are very close to each other and these villages have relatively good infrastructure to serve tourists. They usually have several small shops and a lot of bars, restaurants and cafes located along the seaside. They also have many private hotels, some larger but a lot of small ones. Grebastica is quite well-known tourist destination because of the sunny weather, the clean sea, which is actually a bay, and its beaches. The beaches, of course, as in most of Croatia, are with small stones but not rocky in Grebastica. It should also be noted that this place is especially attractive to Germans, Swiss and Austrians and you will hear a lot of German language around. Our ...

Seaside town Omis Omis is a small town in Croatia at the estuary of the Cetina River into the sea, about 25 kilometres (30 minutes) south of Split. Omis is known for being used by pirates around the fourteenth century. The river is surrounded by mountains and was a good place to hide to rob the sea-going merchant ships that operated between Dubrovnik , Venice and Naples. Not only the ability to hide played a role, but also the fact that sea vessels could not navigate the river. The pirates had even built a fortress and concluded an agreement with the surrounding villages on non-aggression and ‘cooperation’. There isn’t much to do in the town itself, although it has its own charm and a large parking lot, which is essential when traveling by car. However, we did not go to Omis to look for pirates – the purpose of the trip was to ride one of the longest zipline tracks in Europe. The track consists of seven descents of different lengths with a total cableway length of more than two kilomet...

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 are not that bad. 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 No...

Scottish highways The road network in Scotland is very well developed and virtually all, even the smallest, roads are paved. There are relatively few holes on them, even if they are in remote areas, so driving is quite enjoyable. The total length of the Scottish highways (according to 2017 data) is 56 thousand 250 kilometres, of which 632 kilometres are motorways. Strange as it may sound, the longest road network is in the Scottish Highlands . There can be conventional Scottish roads with one lane in each direction (almost 28,000 kilometres in total), two- or three-lane motorways, or very narrow local roads with single file traffic sections. To be able to drive there, special passing places have been created on those roads. This type of carriageway is particularly common in the Scottish islands and makes driving slower but quite interesting. To get to and return from Scotland, most motorists use the M74, which runs from the southern border of Scotland and is a continuation of the M6 ...

This is about the second day in Cornwall. After the first day 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 pe...

We can travel long distances quickly and relatively cheaply, especially if it is possible to get to the destination with one of the low-cost airlines. However, sometimes, for one reason or another, you must travel by land. The easiest way, of course, is to get into your car and drive. But not always there is such an option. Then we need to look at the opportunities offered by other means of commercial transport, for example, to travel by coach or train. So, after spending about a month in Latvia, we boarded a coach in Riga to go to Berlin. Our final destination was London, this was only the first leg of the trip. It must be mentioned that we were planning the trip a while in advance and had purchased tickets for all sections of the trip several months before the trip itself. This is mainly because train prices in Europe become more expensive as the departure date approaches. In the end, this helped us to save a considerable amount of money. Fortunately, we were able to plan the trip in...

This was the second day of our trip from Riga to London. On the first day, we were travelling by Ecolines coach from Riga to Warsaw and after midnight we continued our trip to Berlin. In the morning, around 5 am, just before crossing the German border, the bus stopped at a gas station and the passengers had an opportunity to leave the bus for at least 15 minutes and stretch their legs. We arrived at Berlin’s Am Funkturm on Masurenallee coach station almost according to the schedule. Quite a few other passengers also got off. After a short break, the bus went on to Braunschweig with its final destination in Stuttgart. Berlin After getting off the bus, we headed to the nearest underground station Kaiserdamm (only 300 metres walk to the station) to get to Berlin Central Railway Station. The underground single journey costs 3 euros and the boarding pass must be stamped before boarding. On the way, to the Berlin Zoo, we had to change from the U to the S line. Exiting the underground stati...

After a trip from Riga to Berlin by coach and from Berlin to Brussels by train on the second day of our trip, we woke up at the hotel in Brussels on the morning of the third day of our trip from Riga to London. We bought tickets for the Eurostar high-speed train well in advance, the departure was scheduled for early afternoon, so we had a relaxing breakfast without any hurry and then spent our time lazy on the ground floor of the hotel. The first two days of our trip were quite exhausting and we did not want to visit any city sites before leaving Brussels. Brussels Brussels is the capital of Belgium, although it often means the European Union and its institutions. It also houses other important institutions, such as the Benelux Secretariat and NATO headquarters. About 1.2 million people live in Brussels. It is interesting to note that, although the city is considered to be French-speaking, it is part of the Flemish part of Belgium, forming an enclave. Until the end of the 19th century,...

This blog was written a few years ago but I’m leaving it here just to remember and remind you and also myself how it all went wrong around the world not that long ago. Travelling to the country on the yellow list In June 2021 we had to go from the UK to Italy; at that time Italy was on the yellow travel list and only essential travel to those countries was allowed. Now, about a month later, some rules, for example, regarding self-isolation for double-jabbed travellers, have changed. However, the basics still are the same and I was thinking that this information may be useful for others travelling from the UK to and returning from any yellow list country. I did a lot of research to find out what is required in practice and how to save some money by finding cheaper test providers. Of course, at the first instance, I recommend following Government guidance, in particular foreign travel advice, which is being updated regularly. This blog is more about my findings and practical tips to make...

This blog is the second part about experiences during our trip to Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on procedures before and after return. Travelling to the UK from a country on the yellow list In June 2021 we had to go from the UK to Italy; at that time Italy was on the yellow travel list and only essential travel to those countries was allowed. So, we had to follow tough rules upon our return including tests and self-isolation. Since then, some rules have changed and, for example, there may be no self-isolation requirement for those who are double jabbed. However, I would always recommend checking the latest Government guidance and in particular foreign travel advice, which is being updated regularly and changing often depending on the situation in each country. Rules to enter the UK We had to have proof of a negative COVID-19 test before travelling to England from Italy. The test had to be taken in the 3 days before the departure from Italy. Fortunately, the rapid antig...

In short, Devon is a county located in the Southwest of England and lies between Cornwall and Somerset; it also has a short border with Dorset in the southeast. Devon has an area of 6,707 square kilometres and has a population of a bit more than one million people. Interesting fact – Devon is slightly bigger than the State of Palestine and is more than 20 times bigger than the smallest EU member state Malta. The biggest city is Exeter, however, Devon is very well known because of its seaside towns located on the English Channel coast. During the summer, many holidaymakers go to such nice and popular places as Torquay and Dartmouth.  However, we decided to head even more to the south of Devon and visited Bigbury on Sea and Hope Cove during a weekend in September. Both Bigbury on Sea (located not far from Plymouth) and Hope Cove are located in the South Hams district. Getting there The fastest way to get there (assuming that you come from a place located more to the north) is to driv...

This is the next blog about our Morocco trip in 2020 during COVID lockdown. After visiting Agadir, Paradise Valley and Taroudant, we went to Tafraout to spend the rest, or at least the major remaining part, of our trip in Morocco until we get a chance to travel back home. Lockdown in Morocco Although we were in quarantine near Taroudant for two weeks and had a document allowing us to go outside, our arrival was not straight forward at all. Despite all difficulties, we managed to get there and were requested to self-isolate for two weeks again. During our stay in Tafraout, additional measures were introduced in Morocco, for example, mandatory wearing of face masks. I am not sure if curfew was introduced while we were there or before our arrival; in any case, from 10pm until 6am everybody had to stay inside, and police was patrolling in town every night to enforce the rules. It was only around Ramadan when curfew was cancelled and later some less essential shops and market shops started ...

The Authentic Morocco tour A couple of days after our arrival in Marrakesh , we went on ‘The Authentic Morocco’ tour to see the highest and most spectacular sand dunes in Morocco and to experience a camel ride in the desert. We booked the tour with a local travel company well in advance. The duration of the Morocco tour was three days with two overnight stays as all included for a total price of EUR 120 per person (we paid in advance a deposit of EUR 70 per person). This was before pandemic, so prices may have gone up since then. To sum it up, this Morocco tour was very good value for money and we were completely satisfied with this trip. Below, are more details about this trip. Day one – crossing High Atlas mountains We met our driver-guide near the hotel at 8 AM and boarded Toyota Land-cruiser where other people were waiting for us to join the trip; there was a driver and six passengers in total, including us – just enough space for such a long trip. The destination of our first day ...