Tafraout

Posted on 23/06/2025 by ainarsbl

I am reposting this blog to my new website in 2025. It still may be interesting to read 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 opening, though wearing face masks on the streets was the requirement even after we left Morocco in June.

About Tafraout

From the very beginning of planning our trip, Tafraout was our last destination before returning home. Lockdown in Morocco made some changes in our plans, however, with some delay, we managed to get there anyway.

Tafraout is located in a beautiful valley of Anti-Atlas Mountains. It is a small town with around five thousand inhabitants and belongs to Tiznit Province of Souss-Massa region. It is a Berber town; not many Arabs live there, although all people are Muslims as it is common in Morocco.

To get there, we had very exciting road trip. We did choose some narrow and difficult mountain roads to cross the mountain range, although it was really worth it because of amazing landscapes around.

Accommodation

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we had to find a place where we could live independently. That means we wanted to have a kitchen to be able to prepare meals, bedroom, at least some kind of living room and internet connection. At that time, we both started working remotely.

Our employers supported us by all available means and were happy to wait until we return home, however we wanted to do something – the second time of self-isolation was becoming tough.

After those first two weeks we were allowed to go shopping, so we had much more physical activity and were able to see around. Later, as situation improved, we had a chance to spend more time outside and slowly returned to more or less normal life.

So, for more than two months, we enjoyed living in accommodation of private guesthouse Maison de Vacances Tafraout. It is located on the main street of the town, near to souk and all other amenities. In the same time, as the town is in a valley, going for hiking in nearby mountains was as easy as going to a shop – just a few minutes and you are there.

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.

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.

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.

Capital of Croatia Zagreb

Posted on 14/02/2025 by ainarsbl

This is one of blogs concluding our experiences of traveling to Croatia in the summer of 2022. There is also something else to write about. I have written this year about such wonderful places in Dalmatia as Split, Omis, Grebastica, Sevid, Rogiznica and Primosten. Some time ago I also wrote about Dubrovnik and Dalmatia.

Before that, we were in Zagreb quite a long time ago, but it is the place where our great interest in Croatia began, when we drove there with our car from Riga. So this is very good reason to end where it all began. In addition, the city has many places for tourists to see and exciting entertainment opportunities can also be found.

About Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia with a population of less than 800 thousand people. Zagreb is the largest city in Croatia. City’s surroundings have been inhabited since the time of the Romans, but the city was founded in 1242, when the Tatars arrived in the region. The king took refuge in the city from the invaders and in gratitude allowed it to maintain its judicial system and granted other benefits.

Some numbers about Croatia purely for information, so that it is clear what we are talking about. Croatia has a total of around four million inhabitants, of which around 90% are Croats. The population has decreased significantly over the last 10 years, mostly due to emigration (many are looking for a better life in European Union countries or Switzerland).

About Croatia

The territory of Croatia is 56.5 thousand square kilometres, comparable to Latvia or Lithuania. Interestingly, in terms of GDP per capita, Croatia ranks around no. 70 in the world, but around no. 50 in purchasing power, which means that prices there are still not insanely high (thanks to the tourism industry, Croatia has never been at cheapest end).
Zagreb has an interesting climate in some ways. Something between sea climate (it rains a lot, foggy in autumn) and continental (there are four real seasons). For a couple of weeks in summer, the temperature can be above +30 degrees, but in winter, it will snow for a month and low temperatures in minus degrees will not surprise anyone.

Getting there

Zagreb is one of the European cities worth flying to just to spend a weekend. Zagreb airport is only about 15 kilometres from the city and there are different options for getting from the airport to the city and back – a special airport transfer bus (a ticket costs less than 5 euros), a regular shuttle bus (it’s slower, but cheaper – it takes about 40 minutes to get to the city) and taxi (prices are relatively not high). The airport is also not overcrowded, as it handles well under 5 million passengers a year.

As in a big city, Zagreb is the centre of the country’s economy and finances, and it is also a significant transport hub. From Zagreb you can easily get to other places both in Croatia and beyond. It should be noted that Zagreb is relatively far from the sea (it is at least 150 kilometres by road), so many Croatians have summer houses near the Adriatic Sea, where they go to spend their summer vacation.

I just realized that I intended to write a story about something completely different – Zagreb as a gateway to the rest of Croatia and especially to the Adriatic coast.

If you arrive in Zagreb by car or fly in, the city has a wide range of accommodation options. Of course, if you drive your own car, it is possible to find something located on the outskirts of the city, but at a lower price. On the Internet, you can choose from nearly 500 different types of accommodation during the winter season, the prices of which vary between 30 and 600 euros per night for two persons. If you’re lucky, you can even find a simple two-bed apartment in the city centre for as little as 40 euros.

One thing must be noted – as I have already written about Croatia, hotels must be booked well in advance for a stay during the summer season. Otherwise, you may simply not get an accommodation.

Split in Croatia

Posted on 08/12/2024 by ainarsbl

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 seashore. The most important objects are Diocletian’s Palace, Cathedral of Saint Domnius, Fruit square, Temple of Jupiter, Golden gate (Porta Aurea) and of course the harbour promenade with a view to many passengers ferries and cruise ships.

It should be taken into account that there are strange smells near the sea – something like hydrogen sulphide. I don’t know if they occur naturally or as a result of human activity. However, these smells can only be felt near the water at the beginning of the promenade.

If you are traveling by car, there are parking lots in the old town, although finding free spaces during the tourist season may not be easy.

We were in Split in the middle of June, which is the very beginning of the tourist season in Croatia. We were lucky because we could drive up to the promenade and leave the car in the small parking lot of the promenade (Parkiralište Sveti Frane, Riva Solurat ul. 5, 21000). After a couple of hours of walking around the old town, there were no more free spaces in the parking lot and cars were queuing up to enter (it was around nine in the evening). A parking space costs a few euros per hour and payment can be made without problems with a bank card right there at the exit.

What else to see around?

As it is common in various tourist destinations, people are able to figure out surprising things. For example, while walking around the old town, we saw a Christmas shop that offers Christmas tree decorations and other related things even in the middle of summer.

I already mentioned the Games of Thrones; a whole museum is dedicated to them – the Game of Thrones Split Museum.

It should be noted that the city is active both day and night. This is due to both tourists and the fact that Croatians have this way of lifestyle. As in the hot southern countries, people become more active around sunset, when the air temperature is much more pleasant – around and slightly above +20 degrees Celsius.

The old town has a large number of cafes and the food on offer, especially seafood, is tasty and of good quality. Also, the ice cream is similar to real Italian ice cream.

Another interesting thing – if you are staying in the city and have to wait until the plane departure in the evening, or you have just arrived there with your suitcases, there are many luggage storage facilities in the city where you can leave your belongings for a small fee. It makes life much easier as you do not have to carry your luggage through the narrow streets of the old town. A little thing, but make life more enjoyable.

My favourite place was probably Fruit Square, because there is enough space, even though there are many people. Musicians often perform there, you can buy delicious ice cream and you can find a place to sit down. It is also located practically on the promenade – you don’t have to wander anywhere far to find it.

The second most interesting object for me was the Temple of Jupiter. Relatively, a very small but very old building and a restaurant is hidden on its side down the stairs serving food in a special atmosphere.

Glasgow

Posted on 20/10/2024 by ainarsbl

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, the fourth largest in the UK and the 27th largest in Europe. More than 600,000 people live in Glasgow today, even though the population was over 1.1 million before the middle of the 20th century. Since then, many people have moved to nearby towns and now in Grater Glasgow region live almost 1.8 million people, about a third of Scotland’s total population.

What to see

The city is well known for its university, founded in 1451. The university has 35,000 students from 140 countries, employs around 9,000 people and is one of the world’s top 100 universities.

There are also a number of other highly ranked universities in Glasgow where young people from many parts of the world come to study.

Although Glasgow has always been an industrial city, especially known for shipbuilding, it also has a very large cultural heritage. There are many museums, art galleries and exhibitions in the city, but the history can be felt simply by walking through its streets.
Popular attractions include the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (free admission), the Riverside Museum, Glasgow Science Centre and George Square in the heart of the city. And of course, the central building of the University of Glasgow is worth a visit; both the exterior of the complex and the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery inside are impressive (it can be visited free of charge).

Traffic

There is an underground transport in Glasgow – subway. It has only one round line and trains run in both directions. Interestingly, subway cars are much smaller than, for example, in London. It feels like miniature railway arrives to the platform.

It is best to get around the city by underground or train if you need to go somewhere more far away from the centre. Of course, buses also run across the city, however I have only used buses a few times in three years when I lived there. I did not like that busses are often be late, slow and also relatively expensive.

The city centre is walkable and has pedestrian-only streets.

Those who want to go to other destinations must remember that Glasgow has two main railway stations and you cannot get to where you want to go from both stations. The stations are about a 10-minute walk away, so trying to find a bus or taxi to get from one to another doesn’t make much sense. Of course, if you have a lot of luggage to handle, you just have to take a taxi.

There is also a bus station in the city centre, with buses to major cities and other destinations in Scotland and England. In general, intercity bus services in Scotland are good.

If you arrive at Glasgow Airport, almost the only cheap choice to get to the city is the bus that stops at the terminal. However, if you arrive after midnight, you may have to take a taxi, which is not cheap at all.

Where to go

There are many shops and cafes in the city centre, during the day you can walk through the pedestrian streets, see the central station from the inside and go to the eastern part of the city centre, which is not far away and has its own charm because there used to be city warehouses.

But the city centre is turning very busy in the evening, as many nightclubs are opening up and life is getting different. The most popular, in some ways even legendary, entertainment street is Sauchiehall Street. Life in the area is bustling until three o’clock in the morning, especially on weekends.

Glasgow is a very active city in general, where people relax after a day of work, and especially after a week of work, and it’s so different from many other Scottish cities that are much quieter. So if you are in Scotland, it is worth visiting Glasgow and enjoying its special charm.