Road trips, mountain walks and holidays

Dalmatian city Split Split is the second largest city in Croatia and you can see it from far away as you approach the city. It is also the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest Croatian city on the Adriatic coast. The city has become popular with tourists, especially in recent years after episodes of the well-known TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ were filmed in the city. Split was founded by the Greeks several centuries before Christ, but a Roman imperial palace was built in the city already a few centuries AD. Around the middle of the first millennium AD, Split became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. In the following period, the city passed from the Byzantines to Venetians, but also existed as an independent city-state, so its cultural heritage is impressive. Today, more than 160 thousand inhabitants live in Split, but together with the suburbs, the number of inhabitants reaches almost 350 thousand. Places to see Most of the sights are located in the old town near the se...

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...

This time I will start with a short summary. We were planning to go to Cornwall for at least seven years. It didn’t happen because it was quite far from Scotland – travel costs also played serious role. While living in the south of England we couldn’t do it in the beginning because there were many other places to go. We decided to go to Cornwall after listening to stories from others about how unique and beautiful it is. After the trip there, I can say one thing – the idea of visiting Cornwall could have been not the highest priority. Mainly because of associated costs. The cost of the trip was essentially at least the same as nice comfortable weekend in Rome . To be honest, the feeling and impressions after returning home from Rome were also better at the end. The value you get for the money you spend plays significant role here and for me it would be in favour of Italy. Roughly speaking, everything in Cornwall was about half as expensive as it should be based on my travel experience ...

Every respectful tourist destination offers travellers a wide variety of entertainment, from exhibitions, museums, and art galleries, to amusement parks and even shopping centres. After a while, something new has appeared in London and that place is worth visiting - Battersea Power Station. And this site is not even included in many tourist guides yet One of the well-known categories of these objects is landmarks. Along such famous landmarks as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Statue of Liberty in New York or the Colosseum in Rome the Battersea Power Station looks quite impressive. The methods of building and presenting these objects as well as their offerings to visitors can be very different, but they have one thing in common - they are all well known internationally and become symbols of those places they are located. From the second half of 2023, a new object in London has been opened for viewing and visiting. Battersea Power Station complements such existing attractions as the Londo...

Sun, flowers, and spring The next morning, after the usual grey April day in Riga, we were awakened by the rays of the sun – our break in Germany had begun exceptionally well! From the window we had a fantastic view towards vineyards and all kinds of flowering shrubs and trees; we felt like on a real spring holiday! We planned to visit Baden–Baden and at the end of our trip visit Mainau Island. To enjoy these fantastic changes, immediately after breakfast we went for a walk around the town and without realizing it, reached the next town. The Easter morning service had just ended, the clock was approaching noon, and the local Germans were slowly gathering for family lunches at local pubs. Great tradition – in most cases, at least three generations of people gathered around the tables. Before moving on to Mainau Island in Germany, after visiting the thermal pools and sauna complex in Baden-Baden, we walked around the city, which has both its unique charm and something special, such as th...

Swiss chocolate This post is related to our trip to Switzerland in early spring. Who hasn’t dreamed of being in a chocolate factory? The Swiss chocolate industry is similar to fashion houses in Italy or champagne houses in France – there are chocolate houses in Switzerland. Our Swiss chocolate tour was booked at Cailler Chocolate House (Maison Cailler). This brand has been owned by the Nestle Group for a while now, however, it has managed to preserve its historical values and traditions. Like many interesting sights, the chocolate factory is a bit off the main road. The Cailler factory, which produces Swiss chocolate (one of many), is in a town called Broc. During the visit, it was possible to get acquainted with the history of making chocolate, which, as it turns out, is not so old, as well as to taste a variety of Swiss chocolate. Just to note that, although you can eat chocolate in huge quantities, it is not recommended to eat chocolate too for the benefit of your health. The exact...

Many of you may know Morocco’s coastal city Agadir, however, there are many places in Morocco with the name agadir. In general, the name agadir in the Berber language means wall, enclosure, or fortified building. Those usually were used as granaries and storage of another different kind of goods. About Agadir Inoumar There are lots of these old buildings all around Morocco, although most of them are almost collapsed and forgotten. One of these buildings, Agadir Inoumar, was our destination during our trip to Morocco. We were told by people living in Morocco to go to visit Agadir Inoumar. At that time we did not have any idea about where are we going to see. We just got some guidance regarding the route to go. Have to mention that often Google Maps are useless in Morocco; I even contributed by drawing a new route after we returned from this trip, however, for some reason, it was not accepted by Google. After our visit we got excited about this topic and we found a good article about Ber...

Sunny beaches in February It’s a fantastic feeling – after the darkest winter months, in February to enjoy the sun and ocean waves! In the second half of February, we went with friends to one of the islands of the Canary Archipelago – Tenerife. Tenerife – this holiday destination is chosen by more than 5 million tourists every year, so our choice was not accidental. Although the hot season in Tenerife does not start in February, it has its positive side – the island is not crowded with tourists. Although, some attractions, such as tastings and visiting banana fields are not open to visitors that early. The good news is that the Canary Islands are the European Union because they belong to Spain. Another benefit – in Tenerife, due to its mild climate, a lot of Brits spend winter months and you may be able to freely communicate in English, which makes holidays even more enjoyable. Arrival to Tenerife Just before we arrived in Tenerife, several Atlantic cyclones had blustered in northern T...

Visiting the Etna volcano was a part of our 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 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 ...

Visiting Plymouth Plymouth is a coastal city located on the South coast of England between Devon (South Hams district) and Cornwall. It has a population of about 260 thousand people being a relatively small city; it got city status in 1928. We decided to visit Plymouth because of two major reasons – Plymouth Gin Distillery and National Marine Aquarium. I shall say straight away that as it appeared, Plymouth is even nicer than we could imagine – it looked very clean and cosy, people we met there were friendly and nice. Getting there One of the disadvantages of visiting Plymouth is its remote location. Plymouth is located about 200 miles (350 kilometres) from London and if you have a car may be reached in about four hours. If you go by public transport, it may take even less time from London Paddington station if you get a direct Great Western train. There are a lot of parking spaces around the city centre, although you are allowed to park for only up to two hours at some of them. We de...

This was one of our corporate trips and before departure, we spent a lot of time making it happen successfully. During two days accompanied by friendly colleagues, we decided to visit several exciting sites in Lithuania and spent time together in the eastern part of Lithuania. About one month we spent for preparation of this trip looking for interesting sites, convenient prices and adjusting the schedule of our visits. Lithuanian icon Cross Hill And finally, here we are – at the beginning of June at 7 AM we meet each other to start the trip. Just some morning coffee before departure and short waiting for colleagues who are a bit late. Our first destination – one of the most famous and exciting sites in Lithuania Cross Hill (Križiu kalnas) near the town Siauliai . Cross Hill is a small hummock covered with more than one hundred thousand various religious things like crosses, figures and pictures. However, it is a very important even iconic historical place for Lithuanians. In this place...

This is the next part of the travel notes about our „Tour de France” trip. This part of the trip started on the Atlantic coast of France. Living on the Atlantic coast of France In the afternoon, we reached Cap Ferret which separates the Bay of Arcachon from the Atlantic Ocean. We had booked a bungalow in Camping les Viviers to stay three nights there (this is a large and very busy high-class 4-star camping resort and should be booked in advance; a deposit is required). The camping itself was very good and safe, and the bungalow was clean and comfortable. Cap Ferret was chosen as a destination for several reasons – to enjoy the beautiful beaches of France, to visit tourist sites nearby and to taste oysters produced in the Bay of Arcachon (the whole oyster region goes from the estuary of the Gironde River south to the border of Spain and covers about 15000 hectares in total). Oysters and Arcachon One of the good things about the Atlantic coast of France is seafood. Concerning oysters – ...