2013 was all short-haul for a change. It was Poland for the British Guild of Travel Writers’ AGM in February with stays in Krakow and Zakopane and its ‘alkoholes’ where much Polish vodka was drunk. Soon after, I had to dash off to Glasgow.. In March it was three weeks in Hungary where I was […]
Vienna’s Best Christmas Markets
When it comes to Christmas markets, there’s only German Mitteleuropa that avoids both the saccharine over-the-topness or the shopping pointlessness of their cheap imitations. And the undisputed queen of Adventmärkte is good old stolid Vienna. It’s only in December that the city truly comes to life, for this is when its palaces and baroque churches, […]
Up close and personal: The Karlskirche in Vienna
Vienna is a city I know well. I’ve been there five times and I lived in the sixth district for six months in 2002. It is a fun but misunderstood city: many think it’s all Classics and Kuchen; a strong image – the result of successful PR. After all, Austrians have convinced the world that […]