My account of revisiting a city where 42 years ago I just managed to see the area immediately outside the station, a long train ride with 51 stops, an ancient tiny cross-border train, seeing a car crushing a tank, and a central European city with many Ottoman buildings.

My account of revisiting a city where 42 years ago I just managed to see the area immediately outside the station, a long train ride with 51 stops, an ancient tiny cross-border train, seeing a car crushing a tank, and a central European city with many Ottoman buildings.

The first half of my recent whirlwind tour. Featuring opera, trains, planes, castles and sausage.

The first half of my recent whirlwind tour. Featuring opera, trains, planes, castles and sausage.

A little belatedly, an account of the Estonian leg of my recent trip to the Baltic States. Featuring, amongst other things, a base for long-range strategic bombers, the national bank, and a Czar's rather modest cottage.

A little belatedly, an account of the Estonian leg of my recent trip to the Baltic States. Featuring, amongst other things, a base for long-range strategic bombers, the national bank, and a Czar's rather modest cottage.

Off to a wedding this weekend. Departing from the magnificent temple that is London Paddington.

Day 9. As I last visited Budapest only a couple of years ago, I'm using it as a staging post. The Szechenyi bridge across the Danube was closed last time I was here. Designed by an Englishman, William Tierney Clark, who was also responsible for the similar chain bridge across the Thames at Marlow.

Researching the recent history of where I have just been, has led me to discover that the excellent Norma Percy documentary series 'The Death of Yugoslavia' is available again on BBC iPlayer. (Even if you are not in the UK, you can use a VPN to access it, as I have been doing.)

Is this really from the official Deutsche Bahn Youtube channel. If so, who says the Germans have no sense of humour?

@lewisbaston.bsky.social @jonworth.eu An update to your experiences of Osijek - Pécs: Trains now run every two hours and are timed to connect, so the whole journey takes 90 minutes. (It helps that Croatia is now in Schengen.) MAV (but not HŽPP) will sell you an online ticket for the whole journey.

Day 8. An early mortning visit to magnificent Pécs cathedral, before anywhere else has opened. Good views across Pécs from the tower.

Day 7. The picturesque fortified old town of Osijek is distinct from what is now the city centre. A surprising number of buildings still show damage from the Battle of Osijek in 1991-92, during the Jugoslav Civil War or Croation War of Independence.

Day 6. As most attractions in Croatia are shut on Mondays, today is a long day travelling by train. I could have got up early & caught a through train to my destination, but instead I decided to have a lie in and I will now need to change trains. Time will tell if this was the right decision.

Day 5. Although there are direct trains from Maribor to where I want to go next, their times are not convenient. The indirect trains don't really work either. So I am catching a bus from Maribor bus station for the next leg of my journey.

Day 4. About to depart from Graz, a city that I didn't have nearly enough time in to do it justice. Leaving for another country on a non-ÖBB international train, for which ÖBB has sold me an excellent value advance ticket - only two-thirds the price of the day bus ticket I bought for exploring Graz.

Day 3. On the second Friday in October, I used to catch the Chess Train after a breakfast reception in the Government Lounge at Praha hl. n. by the Kinder Transport memorial. It's the second Friday, but the Government Lounge is shut. I guess I had better go somewhere else.

Day 2. An early morning walk with the intention of arriving at Gothenburg Art Gallery for when it opened. Only to check just before I arrived to discover that it opens an hour later than I thought! A hasty replan to visit somewhere that is better at getting up in the morning.

It was four years ago today that I set off on my first trip after 18 months of Covid imposed restrictions. Since then, I've been making up for lost time - 23 foreign excursions, 182 nights spent away from home in 25 different countries (plus another three countries just passed through).

Continuing the account of my recent time time in the Baltic states. In Latvia, we go in search of a Latvian World Champion, encounter the Finnish President, and go shopping in some re-purposed Zeppelin hangers.

First instalment of a three-part account of my recent trip to the Baltic states. All were fascinating and different from each other, but with a similar history. Starting in Lithuania, visiting Kaunas and Vilnius. europeexplored.travel.blog/2025/09/28/e...

Day 11. Another damp morning in Tallinn. Catching a bus for the first time since Kaunas.

A damp morning in Tallinn to go for a walk before everything else opens, starting at Estonia's Freedom Monument.

Day 9. About to depart from Tartu's elegant railway station.

Day 8. In Soviet times, Tartu was a closed city to foreigners, due to the presence of a base for long-range strategic bombers. On the edge of the city, behind the remains of a barbed wire fence you can see some of the former aircraft hangers.

Day 7. Just to the north east of Riga city centre is an area developed around the turn of last century and full of Art Nouveau buildings.

Day 6. Continuing our exploration of Riga. There is a state visit from the President of Finland. Outdide the castle we encountered the guard of honour awaiting his arrival.

Day 5. An early departure from Vilnius this morning.

Day 4. There are a lot of churches in the centre of Vilnius. They include Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran.

Day 3. Time to leave Kaunas. It's been nice getting to know you.

Day 2. Kaunas is ringed by a series of forts. The 9th, built just prior to WWI, proved ineffective in defending the city. It was subsequently used as a Nazi extermination camp and later as a Soviet prison.

Once again waiting for the first bus of the day at the stop I started from when visiting the extremities of the London bus network. No such challenge today, but instead trying to beat the tube strike to start a new EuropeExplored adventure, accompanied by my wife.

Off on a day trip to the seaside.

Setting off on another little trip this morning.

Taking it to the limit - the extremities of London's bus network. Including snippets on the history of administrative areas, a Pre-Raphaelite painting and the mixed success of those trying to travel by bus without means of payment. europeexplored.travel.blog/2025/07/30/t...

Last month I circumnavigated London by bus. It only took 7¼ hours using the Superloop network. That was far too easy. So tomorrow I am attempting a far more extreme version, such that, in true @politicanimal.bsky.social style, there is some doubt that I will be able to complete it within the day.

Two cities, one opera, another composer's birthplace, some very dark history, lots of calculating machines, a small fire, a cathedral, Roman remains - all in less than three days. europeexplored.travel.blog/2025/07/15/c...

Day 3. Time to leave Bonn, not least because a music festival is taking over the city centre. I wonder how Deutsche Bahn will treat me today?

Day 2. First stop, the Haus der Geschicte (museum of the history of the Federal Republic). I had visited before & knew that at the moment the main museum is closed to redo its exhibition. The temporary exhibition on the attidude to Nazism by different generations since 1945 was thought provoking.

I had been due to attend a wedding tomorrow. Sadly, it was called off a few weeks ago. I'm using the time to go on a short European trip instead. Although had they cancelled the wedding a bit sooner, it would have saved me a few bob in fares.

My guess was correct - the Bayeux Tapestry will be displayed in the British Museum next year. I very much doubt that if I go and see it there that I will be the only visitor, as I was in Bayeux in 2021 in the brief period that year when travel to France was allowed.

No inside knowledge, but ... President Macron arrives in the UK tomorrow for a 3-day state visit. There appears to be a gap in his itinerary on Wednesday afternoon. Very unusually the British museum is shut for the day on Wednesday. My guess is he will he will announce a loan of the Bayeux Tapestry.

The recent death of the footballer Jota is similar to that of Georgi Asparuhov (that I recalled when I went to Bulgaria): - both were 28; - lost control of a sports car they were driving while overtaking on a remote road; - the car burst into flames; - another player was a passenger, who also died.

How long does it take to circumnavigate London by bus? It was much quicker than I thought possible. europeexplored.travel.blog/2025/07/01/s...

Last year I tested out my new Freedom Pass by travelling from Manchester to home for free. I'm planning a less ambitious bus adventure for tomorrow, but it could be a practice run for something even more challenging. I had this planned for a few weeks ago, but torrential rain caused a postponement.

Proposal for all carry-on bags to be free is absolute stupidity: (a) There isn't enough capacity if everyone brings a bag to go in the overhead locker, so some will have to go in the hold; (b) It removes the incentive to travel light, distorting the market, & increasing fares for those that do.

Off on a day trip from Paddington today.

Last week's flying visit to a rainy Gothenburg to see a brilliant Madama Butterfly. europeexplored.travel.blog/2025/05/28/a...

Last week's flying visit to a rainy Gothenburg to see a brilliant Madama Butterfly. europeexplored.travel.blog/2025/05/28/a...

This morning, I'm off on a short trip to a European city. But where to? (A clue - I'm not catching one of the several charter flights to the Europa Cup final.)