If Grantourismo was focused on one place instead of many, it might be something like Slow Travel Berlin, a wonderful blog that speaks to our slow travel souls. We meet travel writer, guidebook author, and Slow Travel Berlin founding editor Paul Sullivan at Café Wohnzimmer where we chat about Slow Travel Berlin, slow travelling, and ...
Like our neighbourhood in the Fifth District in Vienna, the streets surrounding our apartment in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin – including our own – are dotted with vintage clothes shops. As soon as the snow stopped and the footpaths were cleared, racks of fur coats, groovy frocks, and army surplus gear suddenly appeared on the streets ...
After stumbling around in the snow on our first night in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, we soon realized that there is a bewildering number of inviting bars in the neighbourhood. While we tried to sample as many as we could, we decided to cut to the chase and accept an offer from the owners of our ...
Mauerpark (Wall Park) is a public space created along a section where the Berlin Wall once stood in Prenzlauer Berg, just a block from our apartment. On Sundays there’s a lively flohmarkt (flea market) here that follows the line of the former wall. Despite the freezing temperatures and the melting snow that was turning to ...
What’s so refreshing about a visit to The Tatra Museum in Zakopane, in the southern Tatra Mountains in Poland, is that the artefacts on display don’t belong to some long-past culture or dying traditions. Rather, the exhibits in this splendid building explain a rich local culture that is very much alive on the streets outside. An ...
Snowboarding may have been a big attraction for returning to the mountain town of Zakopane in Poland for Terence, but for both of us, the exuberant live folk music, highlander culture, and hearty food were also major draws. Every night and any night of the week in Zakopane, you can stroll down the main cobblestone street and ...
'Twas the night before Christmas and given that Kraków locals take their Christmas traditions earnestly, we decided that we had to check out Midnight Mass at the churches in the Old City. The churches were bursting at the seams and the singing and the atmosphere were special. Back out on the streets of Kraków, ...
I love Krakow. It’s one of my favourite European cities. Stunningly beautiful, this walled city is rich in history, with splendid architecture and lovely squares, and a largely pedestrianised centre that’s a delight to stroll. And it’s a city made for walking. This is one city where you definitely don’t need to use a hop-on hop-off ...
There can be few activities more ‘local’ than spending time lingering over a book or leisurely drinking coffee in a café. Yet too few travellers seem to allow themselves that luxury – the luxury of spending time doing nothing or very little in a café. There are always too many ‘proper’ things to see and do, ...
In the streets surrounding our apartment in the Fifth District in Vienna, and across the Linke Wienzeile, the street that runs parallel to the Naschmarkt, in the neighbouring Sixth District, there are literally dozens of vintage clothes, design, and furniture shops. This part of Vienna is retro heaven if you’re a lover of all things ...
Vienna, like Budapest, is a grand city of wide boulevards lined with majestic buildings, decorated with splendid statuary, and plenty of public spaces that allow you to step back and admire them. So what’s the best way to explore the city? Seeing Vienna on foot and by tram. Seeing Vienna BY FOOT The old centre was ...
Having lived in the Middle East for so long and traveled widely and written about the food, we have to admit that we consider ourselves to be something of connoisseurs of the cuisines of the region – often very mistakenly reduced to just being called ‘Lebanese food’. We love a great hummus and nobody does hummus ...