The life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the Blood Countess to you and me, read like a real-life Game Of Thrones. Her ancestral line included a dragon slayer which is why her coat of arms includes three dragon’s teeth. She was an absolute, unaccountable ruler in Central Europe at a time where the leader […]
First World War in Vienna
This is the weekend when, 100 years ago, the major powers in Europe started declaring war on each other. The First World War affected every country differently. In Britain, we hear a lot about Flanders, the Somme, poets such as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen or Rupert Brooke and, of course, the restrictive alcohol licensing laws […]
Greek Island Paradise: Ano Koufonissi
Yep, even cynical me, who has researched most of the Greek islands for the Rough Guides or Michelin, occasionally gets stunned by the odd hidden gem. Except that Ano Koufonissi, a dot in the Aegean, 2.5 hours from Naxos and 1.5 hours from Amorgos, has been discovered by the trendy and the adventurous. And, of […]