Amanda Kendle's Blog

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The Bulgarian government has a plan with a long name to celebrate EU membership: the National Programme for Marking the Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union. And the long name has a long list of activities to celebrate, too:

• television commercials, brochures and other advertising will popularize the move with the people
• airports and train stations will be specially decorated
• 27 trees will be planted: each representing a typical tree from each of the 27 members of the EU
• an official joint celebration with Romania will take place at the border, at Rousse
• in different municipalities, first-born babies in 2007 will receive special treatment, school open days will be held and various contests and concerts will take place

Welcome again to Bulgaria - and Romania - to the European Union!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Fifteen years ago, Eastern Europe was universally cheap for Western travelers. But things have changed very quickly, and Tim Leffel recently wrote an article outlining the differences in Eastern Europe between the 2002 and 2006 editions of his book "The World's Cheapest Destinations".

• Prague's become just as expensive as Western Europe; Hungarian capital Budapest and Poland's gorgeous southern city Krakow are coming up close behind.
• Croatian holiday prices are starting to really move up, too
• The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are becoming more popular, but aren't overrun yet
• Soon-to-enter-EU pair Bulgaria and Romania are still affordable - and quite magical

Most of these tips are what we've been saying all year, but it's good to have it confirmed by someone who focuses on traveling cheap!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Like we talked about back in September, the European Union will accept Bulgaria and Romania as members from January 1, 2007. That's real soon!

The last expansion took place back in 2004, when I was living in Slovakia. Living in a place that joined the EU seemed a little exciting, and some changes were immediate: I could cross borders much more easily! For example, the restriction that Australian citizens still needed visas to enter Poland, the Czech Republic or Hungary was lifted immediately as EU membership occurred.

So what will change in Bulgaria and Romania in a couple of days? With regards to rules and regulations, many things, but the local people are not all expecting miracles. Most reports suggest they are hoping for slow, positive change. In any case, to welcome Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, you can learn about sightseeing in Romania's capital - just read this week's article, Hitting Bucharest’s Highlights.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Russian Life magazine describes itself as giving you "the world's biggest country in a magazine". Sometimes I forget that Russia is such a vast region until I glance again at a world map and see just how far it stretches (or remember just how long it took me to cross it by train!). It's now a 50 year old magazine, with a very interesting history - it was started up during Soviet times to inform Americans about life in Russia. Yes, there was a propaganda angle, but it wasn't so 100% blatant as to be unreadable.

After the fall of communism, things changed, but the magazine remained. Nowadays its regular features include departments like the Practical Traveler, Travel Journal, Russian Calendar (important events in Russian history ), Russian Cuisine and language tips in Survival Russian. Check the website of Russian Life for more information.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Remember back in July this year, when world attention briefly turned to the G8 Summit in St Petersburg? Well, there's kind of a re-run coming up, but with quite a difference. On December 31, different kinds of Santas from eight different countries will meet in St Petersburg for the Christmas G8. Why December 31? Well, of course, they are "too busy in their respective countries to come on Christmas Day".

Expected guests include, of course, Russia's Ded Moroz or Father Frost, the German Weihnachtsmann, Father Christmas from Britain and Finland's Yelloupokki. The organizer's aiming to show Russian kids that the world is really not so different, although it seems that having all these similar Santas together could instead be rather confusing for some children!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

When I lived in Bratislava, Slovakia, I worked as an English teacher. After the Christmas holidays one year, I played a fun game to warm-up my students's English after a two-week break. All twelve of us stood in a circle and in turn told one thing we'd done over the Christmas break; each person would then have to repeat the entire list correctly, as well as adding their own experience, to be able to stay in the game.

Now, I did already know that Slovaks like to eat carp fish for their Christmas Eve dinner, and that a fresh carp was best: numerous people had already explained that the carp would swim in their bathtub for the couple of days before the feast. But how the carp went from the bathtub to the dinner table was something I hadn't wanted to think about.

A couple of minues into our warm-up game it was Martin's turn. His Christmas break activity? - "I killed a carp with a hammer". For the next fifteen minutes I heard endless repetitions of "Martin killed a carp with a hammer" until finally our game came to an end. I winced each time but finally came to accept that the poor carp had just fulfilled its Christmas destiny. And I'll never forget Martin, either!

Merry Christmas to all our readers!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Since I discovered that many Europeans celebrate Christmas on the evening of December 24, I've felt that my whole childhood was unjust: I had to wait much longer than my European counterparts to get my presents from Santa.

In fact, in countries like Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland, Santa's not actually the guy who brings the presents - instead they come from little Jesus or sometimes simply from the parents. Big family meals are held on the evening of the December 24, often after fasting throughout the day. In Poland, a twelve-course meal is prepared and in the Czech and Slovak Republics a meal of carp is popular. Yet over in Bulgaria, Christmas is celebrated on December 25, so not all Eastern European kids get there presents earlier than me!

Wherever and however you're celebrating the Christmas season, all the best wishes from Eastern Europe and Russia Travel. I hope a nice ticket for the Trans-Siberian turns up in your Christmas stocking!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Wine-lovers take note. Hungary is home to a year full of fantastic wines, according to the Hungarian Wine Producers' Association. Granted, they have the right to be a little biased, but the consensus is that perfect weather conditions during the 2006 growing season means that 2006 vintage Hungarian wine will be a particularly tasty lot - the best for 15 years, apparently.

Experts say that a sunny summer with enough rain, combined with ideal late summer and early autumn weather all means that the grapes have "kept their natural aromas", and that all means a better wine for our dinner table. Cheers!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

We know that Europe is now full of budget airlines flying left, right and center for next to nothing. But how do you find a flight from Bourgas to London or Budapest to Moscow? That's where this week's feature website comes in.

Which Budget is a great site for finding flights across the world, though its European pages are probably the most detailed. You just need to click on the country you want to fly from, then choose the airport most convenient to your itinerary, and a full range of flights available (nearly all with budget airlines) comes up. Links to the relevant airlines are also included. I just clicked on my former home of Bratislava, and have found that flights from the Slovak capital are now available to many other parts of Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. So when you're next planning your trip and need some great flight information, check out Which Budget.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I'm told that St Petersburg has the deeper metro stations - all that swampy reclaimed land on top, I guess. But when my mother and I homestayed near Park Pobedy in Moscow, we timed one escalator ride from top to bottom and it came out at three minutes and twenty-five seconds. That's a long time to be standing on one escalator, and we saw plenty of locals using this time well for reading or even a kiss and a cuddle!

But for me the real fascination with Moscow's metros is not the depth but the effort the Soviets went to decorate them. With the aim of proving to the people that socialism was a worthwhile philosophy, many Moscow metro stations (particularly near the city center) were decked out to look more like museums or art galleries than a simple place to catch an underground train. You can find out where the most interesting metro stations are in this week's article, The Art of Moscow's Metros. Ever seen fancily decorated stations in other cities? - if so, start a discussion and let us know.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

You might recall that at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, participants from Eastern Europe performed well. Next year, the 2007 contest will feature the Czech Republic for the first time.

In November, Czech Television announced that they would organize a national contest to choose the first Czech entrant ever for Eurovision. Ten Czech groups and singers who are currently in the charts will play off against each other for the chance to travel to Helsinki in May 2007 to compete against the rest of Europe. Just like in the finals, voting for the winners will be by popular vote, and will be carried out by SMS.

And the Czechs are a little confident of performing well in Finland - they say that the trend is for countries to be popular in their first year in the contest, so keep an eye out for the Czech contestant at Eurovision 2007.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Lara and Paul are a young Canadian couple who spent a couple of months in 2005's summer traveling independently around Eastern Europe. With an itinerary touching on Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, along with visits to Greece and Turkey, much of what they saw and did is useful and interesting info to help in planning your own trip.

You can read their blog at Lara and Paul's Euro-East Adventure, as well as see their "Top 60" photos (they cleverly deciding that exposing their friends to 900 photos was a bit too much). Their tales of night trains to Bucharest (interrupted at 4am) and night "trains" in Croatia (that loaded them off into toilet-less buses in the middle of the night) give more than a few useful tips, along with some funny stories. Border control stories also feature, such as the laborious process of getting from Turkey into Bulgaria by bus, with several passport checks and bus and luggage searches - sounds familiar to me too.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Although it feels like eons ago, it was just in summer last year that my mother and I traveled to Russia together. Since I was based in Europe, it was my job to plan our itinerary and make the right bookings, so I decided that the best way (and more importantly, the cheapest and most interesting way) to get back to Germany from St Petersburg was to take the bus to Tallinn, Estonia, from where we could grab a budget flight to Berlin for a handful of euros.

I think my Mum wasn't 100% sure where to find Tallinn, but once she found it, she loved it. A large part of our time in Tallinn was spent shopping for beautiful Estonian linen and other handicrafts. And I think now back in Australia she's pretty proud she can tell people she's been to Estonia, even if a lot of Aussies really aren't sure where it is. It really is a pretty city, and you can read more about some of its photogenic towers and views in this week's article, The Towers of Tallinn.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A few months ago we talked about skiing in the Krkonose Mountains in the Czech Republic. But there are plenty of other great spots for snow sports around:

• Jizerské Mountains: this range will be home of the 2009 World Skiing Championships, and also has lots of good cross-country runs
• Orlické Mountains: cross-country trails and downhill slopes galore; and home to a 23-27 January dog-sled race
• Jeseníky Mountains: highest ski-lifts and long downhill skiing runs
• Beskydy Mountains: best for cross-country skiing
• Šumava Mountains: fewer large resorts make these quieter for a short ski trip
• Krušné Mountains: home to spa-towns as well as ski slopes

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk is the money and idea behind the new Pinchuk Art Gallery in Kyiv. His personal (and pretty extensive, by the sounds of it) collection of modern art is the basis for the gallery, but exhibitions also include all kinds of post 1991 art - new independent Ukrainian art, from painting through sculpture to photography.

Local artists including Arsen Savadov, Oleg Kulik, Illia Chichkan and Alexander Gnilitsky are amongst the famous locals featured in the gallery. Modern installations including video screens, disco music and strobelights also make it interesting. Pinchuk has big plans to become the leading light in Ukrainian contemporary art, so check it out on your next visit to Kyiv in Ukraine.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This week's feature website is a personal favorite and one of the most useful websites in travel. I've mentioned him before: the Man in Seat 61. If you want to know anything and everything about traveling by train, his website is the first place to check. Timetables, prices, tips on which train ticket deals are best, how to book, photos, and even where to sit (he, of course, recommends Seat 61): I've always found everything I'm looking for on this site. While a lot of the advice about Eastern Europe focuses on people who want to travel from the UK, you can still find plenty of info on traveling around within our region.

Naturally, the biggest train journey in Eastern Europe and Russia, the Trans-Siberian, is also covered by Seat 61, on the dedicated Trans-Sib page.

The unbelievable thing is that the man behind the Man in Seat 61, Mark Smith, does it all for love. Well, that is, he's not paid for it, and he gives these reasons for the existence of his site:

"To HELP people who already know they want to travel by train or ship, but who can't find out about it through normal commercial websites or travel agencies ... Second, to INSPIRE people to do something more useful with their lives and their travel opportunities than going to an airport, getting on a plane, and missing all the world has to offer. There's more to travel than the destination - It used to be called a j o u r n e y ..!"

Check him out for any train journey you want to plan in Eastern Europe.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I tried to do the right thing. I was in Budapest, Hungary and had bought my metro ticket. I'd even asked the ticket-seller to tlel me what to do with it, and I thought I'd understood - I validated it in the machine at the entrance to the platform.

But then I had to change lines. Like most of the underground trains in my traveling experience, I expected that I could just use this ticket to continue to my destination. No! I had to stamp it in a second machine on the new platform! I was just a couple of meters past this machine when the inspectors "caught" me. They were friendly enough, but wouldn't let me off the fine for not validating my ticket again. It wasn't so expensive, but the system is different to most other metros and I wasn't too impressed at having to pay anything.

All of this, however, didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of my day. I headed over to Castle Hill and explored everything up top of Buda. Best part of the day (and it made up for my run in with the ticket inspector): a really nice hot chocolate at the cafe inside the Fishermen's Bastion. Do the same when you go to Budapest - the hot chocolate, that is, not the metro fine!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

As I struggle vainly with my second language (and that of my husband - German) I read this week that in the Czech Republic, it's becoming increasingly popular for babies to be in English classes. Yep, generally these babies (not even really toddlers) are aged 14-19 months old, and they take a half hour class each week with their parents. They're exposed to games and songs and then at home, their parents should play them an English CD twice a day. Does it work? Well, experts say it is theoretically possible that they can pick up English as "a second mother tongue", but they definitely have to be exposed to the language every day. Wait 20 years then see if you can travel with absolute ease in the Czech Republic! (they're already holding these classes in 10 towns across the country, after starting in Opava, North Moravia, so it's not just a Prague thing). Now it's back to my German study ...

Read more about the native tongues of the region in Languages in Eastern Europe.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This week's Blogger of the Week is Nicolle, a young Canadian who's enjoying a 7 month world tour. After dashing around Western Europe she's currently traveling independently around Eastern Europe, trying to pack a lot of sightseeing into a busy trip. The Baltic states got her first, followed by Poland and Prague; and while a lot of her reactions are the wonder that she's even visiting some of these cities and countries she's barely heard of, she also describes lots of great places to see.

You can follow Nicolle's itinerary and recent blog posts at OK I'm in Europe Now - her experience in Eastern Europe begins on Day 44 of her trip, and her post about visiting the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps rang a lot of bells with me.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Ever had an overdue library book? I've had more than a couple in my time, and I'll admit there are a couple of libraries around the world who wouldn't be screaming to have me back.

So when I visited Estonia's second largest city, Tartu, and I heard that they used to lock up students for having overdue library books, I had to visit the place where it'd happened. In the top floor of Tartu University you can visit the student prison that used to house students who'd committed various "crimes" during their university studies, one of which was having overdue books. Inside the lock-up, bored and imprisoned students have decorated the walls with poems, pictures and cartoons - unfortunately some were damaged in a fire, but you can still get a fair bit of entertainment out of the visit.

And since then, I've sworn (again) not to have any overdue library books. If you need the same shock, check out my article on Tartu University's Sights and you can visit the lock-up for yourself.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Breaking news: we now have updates from January 5 and January 14.

What are you doing next year? Probably more or less the same as this year, right? That's not the case for Manfred Michlits, who's about to embark on an ambitious plan to run all the way around the world in one year, raising money for children's charities.

Manfred's run starts on January 1, 2007 in Vienna, and then he'll spend two weeks running about 70km per day through Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro and Bulgaria. His planned schedule includes these overnight stops:

• 1 January: Samorin, Slovakia
• 2 January: Komarno, Slovakia (the town where I made my first real snowman!)
• 3 January: Dorog, Hungary
• 4 January: Sari, Hungary
• 5 January: Kiskunfelekyhaza, Hungary
• 6 January: Kubekhaza, Hungary
• and on through Serbia and Montenegro until
• 14 January: Vasksevo, Bulgaria

If you're along Manfred's route, try to show up and support his big effort. You can get more info at his website (not all is available in English - try the German section for dates and town names) at World Charity Run.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

If you're spending New Year's Eve in Moscow this year, it's probably an easy guess to imagine where the real "place to be" is - of course, it's Red Square. Apparently it's a relatively recent thing for Muscovites to celebrate outdoors like this (and I can understand why they've preferred in the past to leave off all the winter woollies and celebrate warmly at home!). But these days the celebrations for "Novy God" (New Year's Eve) are cheerful in Red Square, with crowds waiting to hear the Kremlin bells strike midnight. When the bells ring, the correct way to wish those around you a happy new year is to say "Snovum Godom".

In town or around the suburbs on this night, you might find people dressed up as Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and his granddaughter the Snow Maiden; so don't be surprised if you see some interesting-looking costumes.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I'm writing this blog entry just before lunchtime, and that's a really bad time to be reading a site full of recipes. Don't read on until you've got a full stomach!

Our feature website of the week is Epicurious.com. It tags itself as a site "for people who love to eat", and I think nearly all of us fall into this category. What I like about it is that it includes a long list of recipes under the category of Eastern European recipes. Heaps of these dishes sound like some of the yummy things I've eaten during my travels around Eastern Europe and Russia and I'm dying to try out a few of them myself. My first pick is something relatively simple: Bulgarian Potatoes because I'm a real potato lover. But explore and see what else you find - it's a well-organised site and definitely will make you hungry reading.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

When I lived in Bratislava, Slovakia, I had a map stuck to the wall in front of my computer. It was a map of Europe covered in lines representing all the journeys I'd done. In my mind, I'd superimposed another set of lines: all the journeys I want to do.

One of these was a thick dark line around the edge of the Black Sea. Something about the name, for a start, drew me in: something so black must be deep and interesting. And the variety of countries that border it, from Bulgaria and Romania, to Ukraine, Russia and Georgia and down to Turkey along the bottom. I've never actually found a cruise company that runs a tour precisely following the edge of the Black Sea - I guess this means there are better journeys to be done - but something about the circumnavigation really makes me interested.

So, I haven't made the circumnavigation yet, but this week you can read about the various cruising options in and around the Black Sea in the article Black Sea Cruising.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Not everybody's a jazz music fan, but you can't easily deny that jazz music lends a certain atmosphere to a place. I do like jazz (without being anywhere near an expert!) and wish I could drop into Estonia this month to enjoy the Christmas Jazz festival.

In fact the Christmas Jazz concert series is now running for the eleventh time, with performances taking place in Tallinn and in other towns across Estonia like Tartu, Parnu, Rakvere and Johvi. It runs between November 29 and December 16; unfortunately you've already missed the big feature this time round, when Dee Dee Bridgwater played in Tallinn on December 2.

December can be a lovely time to travel - off-peak, of course, so the tourist crowds aren't really there - but there's a lot to enjoy (if you rug up). Now you can add the Christmas Jazz fest to your list of reasons to visit Estonia in December.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

There's nothing like up-to-the-minute raves and rants from travelers and ex-pats to get a real feel for a country you want to know more about. That's why we're starting a series of blogger highlights, to showcase interesting travel blogs and diaries that can add something more to our knowledge and impression about Eastern European destinations.

You might remember Peter Martinovic's guide to Trnava - we made contact through our blogs, and his personal blog (in English) tells a lot about life and politics in Slovakia.

An American named Jen landed in Slovakia in September this year, to live in the large country town of Nitra for a year on a Fulbright scholarship. I've spent a year living in Slovakia myself so I've been reading her blog with interest and a little bit of jealousy, too. Like all good traveling ex-pats, she's managed to squeeze in trips to Prague and Krakow already, and sounds like she'll get wherever else she can. She's also added a pretty nice collection of travel snaps which gave me all kinds of "oh yes I saw that in Slovakia ..." homesick feelings (thanks!). You can follow Jen's blog at Words With Feet.

If you know another great blog telling of a traveler's or ex-pat's tale in Eastern Europe and Russia, send us an email and let us know.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I love guide books, I really do. Sometimes not so much on the actual trip - stumbling across the undiscovered spots can be better - but definitely for pre-trip research and daydreaming. The several shelves stacked with guidebooks are amongst my most sacred. (Just for the record, my good friend Tatiana in Slovakia still has more guidebooks than me, and probably always will).

This week I've reviewed a book that I didn't even know existed until recently - it's from Time Out, who I always knew as the guys who publish handy magazines to lots of cities in Eastern Europe, having first discovered them in the Baltics. They have a "semi disposable" city guide to Prague out now, and you can find the link below to check my review.

If you have a favorite guidebook or a suggestion for a review, do let us know. We'll also be starting a series soon on travel literature - the novels and other books you like to read about a place before, during or after your travels. Any tips, again, let us know. Until then, you can check on our current guidebook reviews:

• Time Out Shortlist Prague
• Bradt’s Baltic Capitals Guide
• Rick Steves’ Eastern Europe 2006
• Lonely Planet’s Eastern Europe

Posted by Amanda Kendle

In Hungary, Budapest's art institutions are having birthdays all over the place: we've already told you about the 100th anniversary of the Museum of Fine Arts and now we've got the news that LUMU (the Ludwig Museum/Museum of Contemporary Art) is having a 10th birthday.

Housing heaps of interesting Hungarian and Eastern European art, it also is proud of a couple of Picassos and a Pop Art collection including Warhol and Lichtenstein. You can find the LUMU on the Pest side of the city (District IX); it's open daily from 10am to 8pm except for Mondays.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Last year as Christmas approached I read a lovely article in hidden europe magazine about Father Frost and the Russian tradition of gift-giving during the Christmas season.

Father Frost (the Russian name sounds something like Ded Moroz, which is worryingly morbid, but probably sounds much better to a native Russian speaker than to me) is purported to look similar to our Santa, only he has no reindeer and doesn't come secretly through the chimney. Instead, he visits children in person at New Year's Eve parties and brings them gifts. He's accompanied by his granddaughter, the Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), and both of them spend the rest of the year in residence in the Russian town of Veliky Ustyug.

Other ex-Soviet countries follow very similar customs: in Belarus, Dzied Maroz is the equivalent, but interestingly he's a Soviet-era product who's still popular despite attempts to return to older Belarusian traditions. In the ex-Yugoslav states there are small variations on his name and appearance. Meanwhile in Romania and Poland, Ded Moroz equivalents were popular during communist times but after Soviet control was withdrawn, they returned to their own traditions.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Got your head around all the different currencies in Eastern Europe yet? There are quite a few, but here's some news about a couple of them. Headlines this week have been reporting that Poland's zloty is performing really strongly, both against the euro and the US dollar. Increased and steady investment in the region is considered to be the main reason for the growth. In Hungary, the forint is performing similarly, as is Slovakia's koruna. It's good to see these emerging economies doing well, but what does that mean for us? Probably that increasingly the bargains you can find as a traveler in Eastern Europe are disappearing. Prague and Budapest are often priced just as highly as popular Western cities. Of course, just because it's not so cheap, doesn't mean we shouldn't go there - we just have to work out how to get our dollar to go further.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Wherever I am each Christmas, I think with such fond memories of my Christmas in Bratislava, Slovakia. This was the first proper, cold, northern hemisphere Christmas I had (I’d also spent two years in Japan, where Christmas does fall in winter, but since the Japanese don’t celebrate it the spirit wasn’t quite there – in fact I had to work on Christmas Day!).

And it really was cold, as I spent afternoon and evening after afternoon and evening meeting up with friends, students and colleagues in the Bratislava Christmas markets in the Old Town. Before and since I’ve tested many other Christmas markets, but none quite live up. The commercialism of those markets which sell all kinds of mass market toys and plastic products is not to be found here (yet, and never, I hope); instead, it’s the pure joy of the season and of catching up with everyone you know. If you want to try them, find out more in this week’s article on the Bratislava Christmas Markets.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

There's no doubt that Croatia's jewel Dubrovnik is a beautiful city. The red roofs, the high wall, the sparkling sea - nobody could fail to reach for a camera here. But recent research shows that tourists reach for their camera, and then don't know what else to do.

Apparently, overnight stays by tourists in Dubrovnik has fallen 12% this year, while at the same time overnight stays in the rest of Croatia (maybe gorgeous spots like the Plitvice Lakes) have increased by 6%. The suggestion is that Dubrovnik doesn't actually have much for tourists to do, after they've walked through or around the Old Town, bought a few souvenirs and battled for a spot on the beach.

Personally, I stayed about 20km outside Dubrovnik in a sleepy seaside village, and my holiday was a mix of relaxing in the area there, taking cruises to nearby islands and spending a couple of days exploring Dubrovnik. I'd go there again at the drop of a hat. But apparently not all travelers agree. Maybe it was a "fad town" and tourism will fall to a more normal level; maybe they'll introduce some more activities for tourists. Whatever they do, tourist dollars are important to Croatia, so we'll have to wait and see what happens.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Russian energy company Gazprom is due to announce on Friday the results of a design contest for their new headquarters buildling in St Petersburg. Sounds lovely, but when you hear that the building will be a skyscraper tall enough to dwarf all of St Petersburg's elegant churches and other historic sites, you might not be so happy.

The proposed site for the headquarters is next to the Neva River, opposite the blue and white Smolny Cathedral. The proposed heights will make the building three or four times higher than the main attractions nearby. Somehow, a St Petersburg building regulation stating that buildings can only reach a maximum height of 48m is easily being bypassed by the project.

For Russian-speaking readers, you can learn more about the design contest at the official Gazprom site; even if your Russian's not quite up to scratch, you can surf around and see some of the designs. None are intrinsically bad designs, but I certainly feel like they're heading for the wrong place.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

As we mentioned back in September, many of the world's cameras are trained on Riga, Latvia this week, as the NATO Summit takes place there over the next couple of days. News reports say that George Bush is spending today in Estonia before heading on to Riga to join 25 other presidents and prime ministers for the meetings. The issue of Afghanistan should dominate the agenda (but we also like it for the touristy glimpses of Riga you'll get on the nightly news!).

Posted by Amanda Kendle

In Hungary, the big celebration for the 100th birthday of Budapest's Museum of Fine Arts takes place on December 1, 2006, the day before they'll open the Vincent Van Gogh in Budapest exhibition, which will run through to March 20, 2007.

The Van Gogh exhibition follows up the success of 2004's Monet and Friends and is all part of a plan to really put the Budapest gallery on the map. You can get more info about the upcoming Van Goghs at the Van Gogh in Budapest site.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

My big, big travel dream for many years was to cross Russia on the Trans-Siberian. Having finally achieved this dream a couple of years ago, I quickly added "cross Russia again on the Trans-Sib and go to all the places I missed" to the list - I'm never satisfied!

What I like about the train is its relaxed pace and gentle rocking - and these can also be found on river cruises. That's why my list has recently been added to, with the desire to cruise the Volga and Neva Rivers between Moscow and St Petersburg. If you have the same dream, you can start your planning by reading this week's article, Cruising Moscow to St Petersburg. A friend of mine in Germany has already booked her Russian cruise for next summer, so now all I have to work out is how to convince her to take me instead of her boyfriend.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The Prague Post this week published a handy list of many of the major restaurants in Prague that are serving up a special Thanksgiving meal (some for the entire week!).

Highlighted restaurants include Allegro (in the Four Seasons hotel), Buffalo Bill's, CzecHouse (in the Hilton), Jama, Red Hot & Blues, and V Zátiší. All have a special set menu with the usual Thanksgiving suspects, including lots of turkey and plenty of pumpkin pies. Happy Thanksgiving to readers (not only in Prague!) and enjoy the holidays.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Some of my favorite Eastern European cities, Estonia's capital Tallinn, Latvia's Riga and Lithuania's Vilinius, may not be featured in typical guided tours yet, but travel guide publisher Lonely Planet is prepared to go on the line for them.

The recently launched Bluelist gives an indication of the destinations that Lonely Planet writers believe will be the next "big" places. In the list of the top ten cities, all three Baltic capitals are found - something I totally agree with, of course. What does Lonely Planet have to say about them?

For Tallinn, it highlights "the flair of the streets is decidedly fashion-forward, with boutiques bearing the imprint of rising Estonian designers, in contrast with centuries-old artisan traditions. The capital also boasts the largest wine cellars in the Baltics and plenty of medieval settings in which to imbibe". Riga's write-up mentions its "proper big-city atmosphere", and on Lithuania it has this to say: "UNESCO has declared this, Europe's largest baroque old town, a World Heritage site. It's home to an eccentric artist community: where else could there be the world's only statue of psychedelic musician and composer Frank Zappa?"

Stay tuned here for even more info on these fascinating cities.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

For so long in Australia, Europe has just meant Western Europe, Southern Europe, Scandinavia and Northern Europe, and of course English-speaking Britain and Ireland. So when I went along today to a big travel show focused on Europe here in Perth, Western Australia, I was more than curious to see what kind of representation Eastern European countries received.

At first glance, all the brochures point to London, Paris and Italy, although a small few did feature Croatia on their covers. But dig a little deeper, and I was pleased to find that Eastern Europe and Russia is getting more coverage on tours than in previous years.

Some of the hotspots were kind of obvious: Prague, Budapest and the Croatian coast are clearly on the radar as far as travels in Eastern Europe go. What also featured very highly were cruises in Russia, usually from Moscow to St Petersburg and including detours to Golden Ring towns. More inclusive tours also took in Danube routes and destinations throughout the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia, with a smattering of interest in Poland. The places that almost rated no mentions included Ukraine and Belarus - but more disappointingly the beautiful Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These last three are so open to tourism, and probably safer than many of the other destinations, but still don't seem to be on the "must-go" lists of tourists here. Perhaps this is a good thing for us - not so many tourists to compete with for space at the best attractions - but it's not good for the Baltic economies.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Picture south-west Siberia, Russia, or more precisely Kemerovo, 3500 kilometers south-east of Moscow. It should be getting cold there now, but it's still relatively warm - so warm, in fact, that some of the trees and flowers have blossomed again, and the poor bears haven't gone into their winter hibernation.

The so-called "insomniac bears" usually sleep for 6 months starting in October, but instead they're still roaming and also snacking on farmers' crops. Authorities are watching them carefully to make sure they don't cause too much trouble.

Bad news for the bears and for those who have to keep an eye on them (attacks on hunters are feared, but so far so good); but if you happen to be braving Siberia in near winter, it could be a completely different experience to what you expect.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Last weekend's Polish Independence Day triggered me to think about the time I've spent in Poland. Many parts left a lasting impression on me, from the camps at Auschwitz to the ironically green beauty at Hitler's camp in the north; from the regal atmosphere of Krakow to the Soviet-style Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.

I spent almost a week in Warsaw a couple of summers ago. But it was a very rainy week, and I remember almost running from museum to museum (and sometimes to a cafe in between) to stay warm. My budget had me staying in a small wooden cabin in a camping ground about 20 minutes' bus ride from the center, and I got lots of sleep - the cabin's light bulb was too dim to read by, and I always wanted to get under the blankets to stay warm.

Maybe your budget will stretch a little further, or you won't encounter such a cold spell in the middle of summer. But despite the chill I thoroughly recommend Warsaw as a destination. This week's article on the sights of the Old Town gives you a taste of what you can find there.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

11/11 is a significant date around the world: in many Commonwealth countries including my homeland of Australia, it's Remembrance Day (commemorating war sacrifices) and personally for me, it's my second wedding day: my German husband and I married once in Germany, and today will do it again in Australia, for my family.

When we explained this to our relatives in Germany, a family member actually born in Poland piped up in excitement. "I'll remember your second wedding day!", she'd said, "because it's the same as our Independence Day!"

During the 19th century, the Polish map was torn up and the country ruled by Russia, Prussia and Austria. On November 11, 1918, the second Polish Republic was declared, and to this day, it's the date used to celebrate Independence Day in Poland - and by Poles who might live elsewhere.

You can read about Poland in our article about the Auschwitz camps, and more optimistically, you can look forward to articles in the near future about Warsaw and the increasingly popular destination of Krakow.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Bridget Lux, our Western Europe Travel writer, has something in common with me and millions of other travelers who've visited Eastern Europe: she keeps returning to Prague. I might've complained elsewhere that it's becoming overrun with tourists, but that can't overcome the fact that it is a magnificent city.

But what Bridget found there is something I didn't know about, but should have suspected given its long, long history: plenty of ghost stories and scary rumors behind all kinds of sights you see every day in Prague. This week her article Ghost Stories From Prague gives us a sample of the eerie tales you can uncover in Prague, plus some tips on how to do this. So remember, if you're returning to Prague, there's always a new angle to take.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I don't want to start a tourist vs traveler debate here: I know I'm often guilty myself of saying "oh, look at all the tourists here" and somehow considering myself exempt of this label. But there's clearly a difference between someone who lands in a country with a backpack and no bookings and someone who lands with a tour company and knows the itinerary for each day in advance. Depending on the situation, both are acceptable forms of traveling and tourism: but if you're in the former category and you're traveling somewhere relatively unknown, then I'm a big fan of Bradt travel guides.

The company philosophy at Bradt publishing is summed up by their motto: "Take the road less travelled". It's a British company that's around 30 years old now, and they restrict their guidebooks to covering less traveled destinations, especially in Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. They often find experts with a really in-depth knowledge of a country or region to author their guides, and the result shows. Sometimes that produces a guide that's more like a history book - but some people like that (me too, sometimes!). See for yourself with some more information in my review this week of Bradt's Baltic Capitals guidebook.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

In various names and forms, All Saints Day or the Day of the Dead will be acknowledged or celebrated today in many Eastern European countries. Traditionally, some kind of offering to the dead (usually thinking of your ancestors) is made on this day, with candle-lighting, visits to graves and other family celebrations.

Across Eastern Europe, the festival goes under many names and guises. In Slovenia, for example, the holiday has been renamed from the Day of the Dead to Remembrance Day (dan spomina na mrtve), but the principle is the same. Hungary (Mindenszentek), Lithuania (Visu šventuju), Poland (Wszystkich Swietych) and Slovakia (Sviatok všetkých svätých) all celebrate All Saints Day. In many countries it is a national holiday today, and businesses and some shops will be closed.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

It was a huge sensation, just over 30 years ago, when China's Terracotta Army ruins were discovered. The impressive replica collection has recently been touring the world, stopping in Berlin, Barcelona and Frankfurt, among others, and is currently being set up in Warsaw, Poland. From November 8 to January 28, 2007, you'll be able to view the replica Terracotta Army collection at the CH Blue City venue in Warsaw - so head to Poland and get a double-dose of multi-continental culture!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I've lost count of how many times I've visited Trnava. When I lived in Bratislava, plenty of friends from around the world came to stay - they all had a fascination with Slovakia, figuring it was the kind of country they might not visit unless they knew someone there. After showing all my favorite sights in Bratislava, a day or an afternoon trip somewhere out of the city was usually in order. Trnava is a good distance from the Slovak capital, it has enough to see to keep visitors happy, and plenty of places to eat good food.

But one friend almost never forgave me: it was one of the coldest days of her life. But Trnava was especially beautiful when snow-covered so she's still talking to me, just. Last summer I stopped by again, and the effect in sunshine is quite different, but equally impressive.

This week I talked to a local Trnavan and got the insider tips on what to visit there - check it in the article Day Trip To Trnava. Finding out what the locals think is a great way to travel - if you're a local from a place you love in Eastern Europe and Russia, email us to give us your tips, too.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Head to the Reduta Jazz Club and the Lucerna Music Bar, among others, to catch some of the best acts from the 30th Prague International Jazz Festival, starting tomorrow and running a full week.

Details in English are still sketchy on the web, but you can find a Czech version of the programme here that is fairly decipherable with regard to location, act and time. Jazz acts from the Czech Republic, US, Germany, Netherlands, Hungary and more will entertain the crowds at this popular annual event. I'm an unknowledgeable jazz fan - I love to listen to it, but don't ask me any questions - and wish I could pop into Prague next week to check some of the bands out. Any readers out there who catch an act, drop us a line to let us know who's hot on the jazz scene in Prague this year.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Last month we reported the results of a survey suggesting that Russian drivers were the worst in Europe. This month, the Ukraine Observer (one of the many English language newspapers we keep track of in the region) published its tongue-in-cheek Pub Poll on the same topic.

Although the results generally suggested that ex-pats and travelers in Ukraine believe driving in cities like Kyiv is haphazard at best, they also point to some reasoning that applies in many Eastern European cities. During socialist times, the number of cars were limited, and they were nearly always low-powered cars – in Ukraine (and Russia), cars like Volgas and Zhigulis were all you could get. Since 1990 there have been huge changes, and very quickly: more and more people have cars, and they are more often much higher-powered cars. Subsequent crowding and higher speeds have contributed to making the Ukrainian streets (and others in Eastern Europe) a lot less safer. It might take a few more years before driver education catches up with the new situation.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The meaning of October 23 in Hungary began back in 1956, when a peaceful student demonstration began what became known as the Hungarian Uprising. Demands for an end to Soviet occupation were made and the liberalisation of Hungary slowly began. 20,000 people lost their lives - mostly during the Soviet intervention in the week that followed. The communists remained, but over the next decades their policies gradually overhauled the economy and by the late 1980s, anti-communist activists were ready to complete Hungary's transformation.

That's when October 23 comes in again: after the communist party dissolved, the new Hungarian Republic was officially declared on October 23, 1989. We know the rest of the story: the Iron Curtain fell and the Berlin Wall tumbled, and that's why we can travel freely in these fascinating countries today.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A Black Sea holiday is a relatively new way to go to the beach for Western tourists, but it’s thoroughly recommendable. And a bunch of flights from budget airlines agree.

The town of Bourgas is a southern hub of Black Sea coast tourism, and is already serviced by flights from WizzAir and Sky Europe. This week the Bourgas Airport director announced that after Bulgaria joins the European Union on 1 Janury 2007, additional flights are scheduled by airlines such as Ryanair, Easyjet, Germanwings and Myair. This will really open up travel to the Black Sea from all over Europe, including the big British market, as well as flights from Germany, Italy and many parts of Eastern Europe. Again, the world is becoming a bit smaller.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Most of my best experiences with Croatia are connected to water, for example its beautiful Dalmatian coast, and especially the gorgeous city of Dubrovnik; or in the north, the unbeatable Plitvice Lakes National Park. Now in the far east they're talking about cruises down the Danube and a new attraction in Vukovar, in the Slavonian region.

Apparently each summer over a hundred cruise ships pass through Vukovar on the Budapest to Bucharest route, and now the tourists stopping there have improved attractions to enjoy. This news fascinates me more with the idea of taking a Danube cruise even longer than I'd imagined: already the Vienna to Budapest route via Bratislava is a perfect trip for me, and how about extended it southwards then ending up in Bucharest - a dream. There are so many interesting ways to travel around Eastern Europe, we just all need more time to do it in!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

My Russian language phrasebook was like a key to a new world when I traveled on the Trans-Siberian train from Vladivostok to Moscow - with a number of stops in between. Each time I re-boarded the train, I looked forward to seeing who I'd be sharing a cabin with and what kind of conversation my phrasebook would allow us to have.

Getting on in Yekaterinburg, I met a middle-aged Russian who worked somewhere far, far north in Siberia. Exactly what he did or why remained a mystery - OK, a phrasebook can lead to a limited conversation - but we did establish that he liked fish and he understood that I was from Australia. I also learnt that he snored a lot, and loudly, but I didn't need the phrasebook for that.

In the case of a Trans-Sib trip, it really is the journey and not the destination that makes it special. But that doesn't mean that you can't also enjoy some great destinations along the way, and this week's article looks at possible stopover towns on the western half of the Trans-Siberian journey, to give you all the choices you need for some mid-trip entertainment and fun.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

One of Budapest's tourism aims is to have a reputation as the Festival City, and the Budapest Autumn Festival is a key part of this. This week, the festival comes to a close for the fifteenth time. Over two weeks, the festival features dance, jazz, theatre, film, music and literature performances and exhibitions.

Budapest already has the feel of an arty city, a feeling I get just by walking around, so add some festival activities and you have a perfect trip, I think. The Budapest Autumn Festival is just one more reason to go: and fall is a good time to go to avoid the super-crowds of summertime. Budapest has all kinds of highlights, ranging from the arts to bathing, and we'll be exploring some more exciting features in the months to come.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Beauties abounded in Warsaw a couple of weeks ago, when the Miss World championships came to Poland. At the start of October, Miss Czech Republic, Tatana Kucharova, won the crown, with Miss Romania being the runner up. There must be something to say for the home-continent advantage here.

A week or so later, Czech man Tomas Bures was awarded the amateur Mr Universe title in England, in the famous body-building competition that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career 40 years ago. Sounds to me like the Czech Republic is full of amibitious beautiful people! So keep an eye out for them on your next trip to Prague.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I always remember my first minutes in Narva, Estonia, after crossing into this Baltic nation after three weeks in Russia. Even in Moscow and St Petersburg, at the time, official tourist information and even maps had been hard to come by. Yet in Narva, I instantly spotted the tourist info office and was literally welcomed with open arms by Jelena – see, I still remember her name – at the Narva Tourist Information Office. She loaded me up with all possible maps and brochures for the region (given that there’s not a whole lot to see in Narva, the volume was very impressive) and gave me a beautiful welcome speech.

Sometimes the fun lies in not having a tourist office to tell you what you should enjoy, but sometimes it’s also nice to meet a welcoming employee. Today’s article on tourist boards in Eastern Europe gives some information and links on where you can get the “official” word on traveling in this region.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Researchers from UCLA recently released long-term study results that spell bad news both environmentally and for travelers to the wilder areas of Siberia. Despite the fact that large parts of Siberia are covered in permafrost - which sounds, after all, kind of permanent - it turns out that it's melting, and fast. In the last 30 years, for example, a comparison of satellite pictures shows that the total area of lakes has increased by over 12 percent. In some towns, buildings have started to tilt and sink as the solid ground of permafrost starts to give way. And, the researchers say, traveling around in Siberia is getting more difficult. In many parts, the real winter season is the easiest for moving about, when the ground is completely frozen - but the time frame for this season is shrinking each year. Not good news for the locals and not good news for us travelers, and another reason to increase our environmental awareness ...

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A few months back we talked about Moscow being the world's most expensive city to live in. That's a bit scary, because sooner or later it'll be one of the most expensive cities to travel to. Here's some hard facts that came out in the Moscow News this week: the cheapest one-room apartment in Moscow rents for $600 a month, and the larger flats typically rented by ex-pats start at around $2000 a month. The main problem is that demand is drastically outstripping supply - they say that for "economy level" apartments, there are five prospective tenants for every available flat. If you have extra deep pockets, you can rent an apartment at up to $25,000 a month. Unbelievable, right? So I still recommend the best way to see Moscow is to help a local out with their rent, by homestaying.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This week in the Western Europe site, Bridget Lux reported that Lonely Planet has made a deal with Sony to create PlayStation travel guides. Six destinations are in the first wave, one of them being in our region, Prague. Lonely Planet is talking up the benefits of mixing audio, video and words to give the would-be traveler all the info they need. I'm not sure, yet, about how this all would work - but there's definitely more and more competition for the humble printed guidebook. If you ever get your hands on a PlayStation guide, let us know what you think about it!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I'll always remember this scene clearly: the representative from the travel company that had organised our homestay in Irkutsk took us to the airport and as we waited on the platform, he asked us where our next stop was. "Yekaterinburg", I answered, struggling with the pronunciation.

"Yekaterinburg!" he replied, not with a corrective tone but with a plain sound of surprise. "Why would anyone want to go to Yekaterinburg?"

There was silence on our end. At this relatively naive stage of our Russian travelling life, we didn't really know the answer to this.

Fortunately, Yekaterinburg proved this not-so-patriotic guide wrong, and we found plenty to enjoy there. But it does highlight the problem of choosing the best places to stop if you take a Trans-Siberian trip. This week's article examines the most popular stopovers on the eastern half of the Trans-Siberian route, and soon we'll check the western half too - and I'll tell you then why Yekaterinburg was worth seeing, after all.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

You might have already caught this in the summer Marie Claire, which named Banje Beach on the Dalmatian Coast near Dubrovnik, Croatia the third best in the world. Winning bronze behind beaches on Bali and the Seychelles is definitely no shame, I think. I know this area - I can't be sure if I know Banje Beach, but I have dozens of photographs of the area, because it definitely is spectacular - and I think the vote is well-deserved. We also reported recently that the sea here is the cleanest in the entire Mediterranean, so we recommending putting the Dalmatian Coast high on your wish-list of summer holiday destinations. And right now, as it starts to get cold for all those in the northern hemisphere, it's the right time to be dreaming of vacations on the beach!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Interesting news out of Bulgaria this week: at an archaeological dig near Svilengrad, they've found a skull from Thracian times - that's 2500-1800 BC - with a small hole in it. The experts are sure it was drilled for medical reasons - evidence of the first brain surgery. I find it fascinating that we can continue to learn new things about the world of long-before-us, and when it happens in "my" special part of the world, I'm even more pleased.

Hmm ... As much as it disturbs me, medical tourism is becoming a catch phrase now ... but who knows, perhaps it always was, and Bulgaria was the front runner.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

It sounds impressive: A Virtual Encyclopedia of Latvia's People at the Turn of the 21st Century. This website is more modest than it sounds, but very interesting nonetheless. It features photographs and short biographies of a hundred or so Latvians who were still around in the year 2000. From triathlon runners through politicians to scientists, if you have a spare minute to browse through a few pages, you can get an interesting picture of Latvian life in the last 50 years or so. Check the website here.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A couple of months back we mentioned that Slovenia would adopt the Euro from 1 January 2007. Lithuania had hoped to make the change at the same time, but its economic statistics didn't fulfil the EU requirements.

Now, it looks likely that the beginning of 2010 will mark Lithuania's entry to the common currency zone. The Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said last week that even the European Central Bank seems to "informally" approve of this date, and every effort will be made to give up the Lithuanian currency of litas at this time.

So you must get to Lithuania in the next three years if you want to be sure to collect some genuine Lithuanian Litas. I have a few stashed in a jar in my cupboard, but I'm not sharing! I've said it before: a joint currency is a fantastic, practical idea, that saves time and money; but it's just not the same as fingering exotic coins and notes of all colors and sizes.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This week I learnt for the first time about the Prague Play Pass: a stylish-looking "deck of cards" system that gives you information and discounts for 65 different clubs, bars, museums, restaurants and extreme activities in the Czech capital. Once you validated the pass, it's valid for 30 days and the British promoters claim you can save up to 300 pounds through its use.

I'm still in two minds about the undeniably beautiful city of Prague. Mostly, I wish I'd been there 15 years ago, before the tourist hoards arrived, when I believe I could have appreciated it even more. The increasing prevalence of tourist groups such as British stag nights - large groups of young men who take advantage of a flight on a budget airline and the cheaper prices of beer to be loud and drunk for the weekend - spoil it a little for me. But who knows, perhaps I just have to be more open-minded.

In any case, if entertainment is your goal in Prague, check the website for the Prague Play Pass and see if it might be useful for you.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

We mentioned before that the EU was planning on restricting hand luggage for EU flights. Now it's clear and official that from 1 November, liquids will be restricted, but fortunately not banned, on all departing flights from and within Europe.

The rules look like this: you can take necessary liquids and gels on board, but only in small quantities - each container less than 100 ml - with a maximum of one litre, or ten such small containers, all held in a transparent plastic bag.

The good news is that liquids in the form of drinks or perfume bought duty free after the security check will be permitted - so I won't have to go too thirsty. Baby food and medicines will generally not be restricted.

In six months, restrictions on the size of hand luggage also come into force, with a smaller maximum size: not good if you're one of those travelers who bought a "handy overnight case" right on the limits of the previous dimenions. But you have 6 months to think about finding a new case.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Lenin might've died in 1924 but that doesn't stop you visiting him. On my first trip to Moscow about four years ago, it wasn't so much viewing his body that interested me - at the time, Red Square was closed to tourists except for those visiting Lenin's Mausoleum, so I got in the long line to pay my respects, and to step foot on Krasnaya Ploschad.

Each year, careful maintenance is carried out on Lenin's body to ensure its preservation, and this work can vary from a matter of days to a couple of months. This year, more serious work is called for and Lenin's Mausoleum will be closed from 10 November to 26 December 2006.

Considering that Lenin's wish was in fact to be buried next to his mother in St Petersburg, I'm really in two minds about the whole body preservation issue. Maria Fyodorovna got her wish to be buried in St Petes granted this week: but it doesn't really look like Lenin is next.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Famous-grave-spotting in churches and cemeteries is a popular tourist activity - I've indulged in it myself. This week the St Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg got a new member: Empress Maria Fyodorovna, the mother of Nicholas II, Russia's last Czar.

The remains of her body were finally shipped from Denmark to Russia last week, and she has been reburied next to her husband, Czar Alexander III, 140 years after she arrived in Russia. What a journey for an empress.

What famous graves have you seen on your travels in Eastern Europe and Russia? Start a discussion to let us know.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Last summer I drove into Croatia on beautiful, wide new highways, but if I hadn't had a car, it wouldn't have been such an easy trip. Highway construction projects between Zagreb and Rijeka and Zagreb and Split made my trip smooth and simple.

Now it's time for the train system to get a facelift. The government's working on the National Railway Infrastructure Construction and Maintenance Programme 2007-2011 with 15 billion kuna (about US$2.5 billion) set aside: two thirds of it for new railways and a third for their future maintenance. So come next decade, we can expect to have some nice train trips around this beautiful country.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Been to Slovakia recently? More and more foreigners are heading to the Czech Republic's "younger sibling", as it struggles to find its own way in the growing tourist market of central and Eastern Europe.

A report from the Slovak Statistics Bureau revealed that turnover for hotels and the accommodation industry in general increased by 13.4% from the same period last year. The number of foreigners visiting Slovakia from January to June 2006 increased to about 730,000.

Nearly half of the foreign tourists come from neighboring eastern European countries the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, while German and Austrian visitors make up a further 15% of tourists. Keep an eye on Slovakia - a rapidly growing tourist attraction with lots of lovely surprises - like

Bratislava's Old Town or Bojnice Castle. Stay tuned for more of my favorite Slovak spots in the future.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I've already explained how little I enjoyed visiting the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps in Poland: but I don't regret the visit for a minute.

North Europe Travel expert Lisa Sabol-Sikorski recently took a short trip to Vilnius, Lithuania from her current home of Helsinki. The Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius made a big impression on her, and we're grateful to have her article KGB Remnants in Vilnius, Lithuania feature this week. It sounds like another must-see if you want to have a good understanding of Eastern Europe's recent history.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

If you're visiting Sofia soon you should make a stop at the National History Museum in Sofia. Not only is it one of the largest history museums in the Balkans, it's just opened a display of gold and silver treasures recently unearthed by archaeologists.

With some of the pieces dating back to the third century BC, experts believe that they were probably buried with a priestess who was ritually burned to death. 160 different objects make up the shiny collection that was exhibited for the first time last week. Let us know if you're passing by and get a chance to check it out.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

In the news this week, it was reported that the Moscow City Council is planning to hire actors to "act" as beggars outside casinos that'll now spring up around the city, after a law allowing casinos only outside the city limits was overturned.

The fear of locals becoming gambling addicts has prompted the move, in which the "beggars" should tell tales of woe to casino visitors. Something along the lines of "I was a wealthy managing director until I started gambling - and look at me now" are the storylines these actors will be given. And they'll get paid at least the average wage to do it.

Well, it's an interesting alternative to a normal kind of advertising campaign. Let's wait and see the results!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I just read an interesting tip right in the back of a guidebook for Eastern Europe:

"When counting with fingers, start with your thumb. If you hold up your first finger to request one item, you'll probably get two."

Now they tell me! I needed to know this about three years ago, when a friend and I each wanted to eat a hot dog. Being just a day after our arrival in Slovakia, we still hadn't mastered our Slovak counting, and held up two fingers. The wrong fingers - we got three hot dogs. Now, thanks to this tip in Rick Steves' Best of Eastern Europe 2006 guidebook, you don't have to make the same mistake.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Just after mentioning that Eastern Europeans speak such good English I read an article in the Czech Post about language learning from the other side. It seems that foreigners in the Czech Republic - especially those living there, of course - are signing up for Czech language courses in record numbers. The Charles University summer school courses ran at maximum capacity this year and its students were very enthusiastic about their Czech learning experiences.

But don't jump in too fast - it is definitely one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. Hungarian, Arabic and Mandarin rate as equally or more difficult than Czech, but that's a pretty short list. Gramatically, Czech is complicated, and a few particularly tricky features make it harder to grasp than other Slavic languages.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

30 million extra people will most likely be added the European Union on 1 January 2007, after the European Commission approved the plan for Bulgaria and Romania to join. However, many key players were concerned that the two countries - relatively poor when compared to most existing EU members - will not be able to contribute appropriately to the EU, so the EC has given them a long "to-do" list to ensure full membership come January.

This includes issues such as addressing corruption and organized crime problems and improving food safety standards, and the EC meets again to formally approve the two countries' accession in October 2006. As travelers, we can look forward to easier border checks and perhaps one day, a common currency even all the way over there at the Black Sea.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Since Friday, several anonymous calls to an emergency line have reported alleged bombs planted in various sites, including Ruzyne airport, Letnany exhibition grounds and the C line of the underground. Police checked all of these thoroughly and found no trace of any explosives. At this time, all calls are believed to be hoaxes, but to be on the safe side, some increased security measures are still in place.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

We've talked about Eastern Europe language fun before, but this week I read an interesting paragraph in a Rick Steves guidebook that clarified the situation even more for me. His thinking goes like this:

Residents of big, powerful Western countries, like Germany or France, might think that foreigners should learn their language. But Eastern Europeans are as practical as Westerners are stubborn. They realize it's unreasonable to expect an American to learn Hungarian (with only 12 million speakers worldwide), Croatian (5 million), or Slovene (2 million). When only a few million people on the planet speak your language, it's essential to find a common language with the rest of the world - so they learn English early and well.

Makes sense, doesn't it? Considering that until the fall of the Iron Curtain, few students learn English in school, the level of English ability in Eastern Europe is incredibly high. And for my part, I'm grateful for this attitude when I'm traveling. Of course, I still believe it's not only useful but also polite to learn some basic phrases of the local language - good morning, thank you, and numbers are the most helpful - but after six months of Slovak lessons, I realised it would take a lifetime to master one of these difficult Slavic languages.

Speaking of the Rick Steves guidebook, stay tuned for a review next week of Rick Steves' "Best of Eastern Europe" title.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Head to Romanesti in the Botosani region of Romania and you'll find a bunch of very cheerful cows. Newspapers ran the story this week that five farmers, ranging in age from 57 to 82 years old, planted their fields with cannabis to feed to their herds of cows.

They said sorry, of course, and told police they had no idea that their actions were illegal. By way of explanation, one farmer said, "We grew it because the cows seemed to like it, and happy cows give more milk". These are the lovely kind of people you can meet when traveling in the Romanian countryside.

Stay tuned here for travel tips on Romania in the weeks to come.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

If you're planning a snowy holiday, the Czech Republic might not be your first thought. But it's worth checking out - pardon the pun - for good value skiing and snowboarding that can easily be combined with some interesting sightseeing activities, like a visit to Prague or a photo shoot of the Vranov castle.

A favorite snow sports spot in the Czech Republic are the Krkonoše mountains - they're also the highest. A number of ski resorts joined up to form the Krkonoše Ski Arena and so skiiers can use 28 ski lifts and over 25km of slopes with just one pass, for really reasonable prices in comparison to western Europe. More info on the Krkonoše website.

Do you have any good skiing or snowboarding experiences in eastern Europe? Start a discussion to let us know your tips for this winter.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I love to read, and I love to travel, so any way I can combine the two is a chance I jump at. On my first trip to St Petersburg, I had just become a crazed Dostoyevsky fan, and was thrilled to be able to visit the Dostoyevsky Memorial Museum, located in the very flat where he used to live - and where he died. The story of his death is an interesting one to me, and my diary at the time of my museum visit noted it like this:

The day he died, Fyodor Dostoyevsky lay in bed in the morning, waiting for his wife Anna to wake. When she did, he calmly told her, "I've been awake for three hours, and I'm quite sure that I will die today." He asked her to read to him from his Bible - the very same Bible which was the only book he'd been allowed to have with him when in exile in Siberia.

That evening, he was working hard as usual in his study. He tended to write for ten to twelve hours at a time, with few breaks, and often late into the night. His doctor had been warning him that his health was suffering, that he should slow his work rate and get more sleep. While writing that day, he dropped his pen, and it rolled under a cabinet. To retrieve it, he tried to lift the cabinet. The strain caused his pulmonary artery to burst, and he soon died.

This is the official story of his death at the Dostoyevsky Memorial Museum in St Petersburg, although academics' explanations of his death vary widely. But I liked this version, especially as I heard it while I stood in the very flat where he died. I stared into his study and could picture him hard at work, and see the piece of furniture his pen had rolled under.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Yesterday we brought up the topic of Hungary talking about the new trend in dental tourism, but now Budapest has hit the headlines for less positive reasons. Hungary's prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, is the focus of protests calling for his resignation after a tape was leaked - the recording include Gyurcsany admitting to having told lies to the public, and saying that his government had achieved nothing.

Protesters called for his resignation this week, and demonstrations in Budapest were peaceful until a breakaway group attacked the TV headquarters, throwing stones and bottles and setting cars alight.

If you're traveling in Budapest this week, take care to avoid large gatherings like these - better to watch it on the news than to risk getting caught up in the heat of the moment.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Why do you take a holiday? To rest and relax, to see something new, to get new impressions, to learn about a new culture or practise a foreign language? All of these sound like good reasons to me. How about to get your teeth fixed?

I've never liked a trip to the dentist and I never thought I'd see the day when you could type the phrase "dental tourism" into Google and get a stack of results. Of all Eastern Europe, Hungary seems the most popular destination these days for Western tourists needing a bridge, crown or some other complicated dental work.

The reason, of course, is that it's often much cheaper to have your teeth fixed in Hungary or elsewhere than at home - even factoring in the cost of flights and accommodation. Apparently it's becoming relatively common even for Americans to fly as far as Hungary, but the boom market now is amongst Britons. If I plan another trip to Hungary, I'd prefer to be swimming with the lilies at Heviz or bathing in Budapest's fancy Gellert Baths, rather than having to see the dentist, but obviously not everyone shares my opinion. What do you think?

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Keep an eye on the news on 28 and 29 November this year, when we should get some glimpses of Riga, Latvia. The Summit for the NATO Heads of State and Government will be held in Latvia for the first time since it joined the organisation in 2004.

You can already read about Riga in last week's Museum of Occupation article, and we'll feature it again around the time of the NATO Summit. But it's already making the news, with discussion of the locally-crafted gifts that delegates will receive!

A Latvian folklore symbol, the Latvian Thunder Cross, apparently looks too similar to a Nazi swastika and as such, the 300 Latvians who are currently knitting mittens to go in the guests' gift kit have been told to avoid using this symbol. In Latvia it's used as a charm against evil and is commonly found in many folkcrafts, but to be on the safe side, they're leaving it out for NATO.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Back in November 2004, a suspected fraudulent run-off presidential election between Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych sparked a month-long protest in the city of Kyiv. Ukrainians peacefully demonstrated against the alleged rigged vote that favored Yanukovych, the government-preferred candidate. Sometimes a million people - waving orange flags, the color of Yushchenko's campaign - stood out in the freezing weather, and it remained peaceful until the end, when a second election resulted in a Yushchenko victory.

The nightly reports showing this remarkable show of solidarity and democracy gave me a strong interest in the city of Kyiv. OK, some people still think of it more as the home of chicken Kiev (it's not: a Frenchman invented this dish) but whatever the reason, it's a great place to visit. Some of its major sights are described in this week's article, Ukrainian Capital Highlights.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

UPDATE: Read about restrictions from 1 November 2006.

The Transport Commissioner of the European Commission has just announced that restrictions on carrying liquids in carry-on luggage will begin across the European Union.

After flying in and out of the US last week, where complete bans on liquids in hand luggage applied, it's already clear to me that it's not too convenient: no bottle of water to sip on before take-off, no moisturiser to fight that horrible dry skin airplane air-conditioning induces, and no chance to take out my reusable contact lenses unless I simply throw them away.

But, OK, we want to fly safely, too. According to the latest news, flights in the EU will restrict liquids in hand luggage, but not completely ban it - we'll see what that means in the near future. Whether non-EU parts of Eastern Europe and Russia will follow suit also remains to be seen.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Russia is an enormous land, and flying, traveling by train or driving by car are all possibilities for transport. But if the results of the recent KRC Research & Goodyear poll are true, driving on Russian roads can be more than a little hair-raising, with Russian drivers being labeled the worst in Europe.

Some of the worrying statistics include:

• 36% of Russian drivers regularly drive over the speed limit
• 30% of Russian drivers say they've driven drunk
• 60% of them never check the condition of their tires
• 23% of Russians overtake cars in road sections where it's not permitted

My first hour in Russia - after entering through Vladivostok's airport - were spent being driven into the city center by a friendly student who earnt extra cash doing airport pick-ups. I'll always remember feeling more than a little worried when he explained at length that the nightly news contained no less than 15 minutes of stories on local car accidents - with his driving style, I thought we'd be on the list soon.

Does anyone else have experiences on the roads in Russia? Are the statistics true? Or are the Russians being picked on unfairly?

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Just after I mentioned Pology, one of the nicest looking online travel mags around; and we discussed bathing in Europe, the current issue of Pology features a great story on the Sandunovsky Baths in Moscow. Following the ups and downs of an experience in this famous Russian spa reminded me very much of my most recent trip to Russia: I wanted to take my mother to a beautiful bathing spot (I had visions of somewhere like the Gellert Baths in my head, after reading the guidebook) - but we too found that the cathedral-like marble halls of water were only for the men. My Mum's basic knowledge of Russian seemed to establish that we'd just been unlucky - possibly, that the locations change daily, and we'd just been one day out. Just the same, the experience of being involved with dozens of naked Babushkas flailing birch sticks around has definitely stuck in our heads: a travel moment you can't get by staying at home.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Maybe it's my heritage - growing up in Australia - that meant I had no idea of the spa holiday culture in Europe. But from the moment I moved to live in Bratislava, I started to hear of people spending their holidays in spa resorts.

Back home, we're a little more prudish than the Europeans, and I was always a little concerned about bathing naked in front of strangers. But my more extensive experience now has solved these problems: first, in many baths swimsuits are required (for example, when men and women bathe together); second, when bathing naked in smaller baths, everyone else thinks it's perfectly natural and nobody ever stared at me! And it's actually really refreshing.

So now when I hear of a new spa opportunity, I jump right in. Well, I test to make sure the water's not too boiling hot first. When I visited Budapest in Hungary, one of the highlights was the Gellert Baths. It's indescribable, really. And it cemented my liking for thermal spas in Eastern Europe.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

We've mentioned before our obsession with travel magazines - reading others' stories and looking at great photos is the perfect inspiration for your next trip, or just for some relaxing armchair travel.

Sometimes magazines give tips and travel plans, but sometimes the most interesting just tell interesting stories. One excellent online travel magazine that does just that is Pology. Its editor, Neil Schwartz, describes the goal of Pology as providing "impassioned vignettes of cultural exploration" - wordy, but worthwhile. For example, the August issue featured the story of a graffiti artist in Prague while the April issue told the tale of the search for Slovenian relatives - including crossing the famous bridges of Ljubljana.

Eastern Europe and Russia don't feature especially heavily in Pology: but that's often the case for many travel magazines (hidden europe being an exception). But when we remember that 15 years ago they didn't feature at all, then our favorite destinations seem to have come a long way.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Foreign currencies are, of course, half the fun of traveling. One of my strongest memories of my childhood travels through Europe with my parents is the excitement of entering a new country and getting a handful of change after the first supermarket. My sister and I would scramble to see what kind of coins the new country had and we still have collections of many different Western European currencies.

Now that I'm a little older, I recognize the extra costs and complications of constantly changing currencies, and I've seen the ease of using the Euro throughout Western Europe. In June 2006 I reported that Slovenia will adopt the Euro from 1 January 2007, while at the same European Commission meeting, Lithuania's request to also introduce the Euro then was denied on the grounds that the inflation rate is still too high. The Euro is definitely spreading, but it'll take some years yet, and until then the fascination with Eastern European currencies is still a great part of traveling for me!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I admit: I'm not always quite aware of what I'm going to find when I travel. This is often a wonderful way to do it - walking into the middle of the Sahara Festival in Douz, eastern Tunisia, was one thing that really worked out well for me. But being prepared could be better, and it's our job to help you know what's out there.

Puppet shows - for adults and kids - are not something I'm normally interested in at home. But on my travels I've come across some incredible talent and entertainment, and in September a lot of these imaginative people and their puppets are getting together, first in Croatia and later in Bulgaria.

From 1-8 September in Zagreb, Croatia, the 39th annual International Puppet Theatre Festival takes place. Across the theatres and the streets of Zagreb, puppeteers from dozens of nations will perform a range of plays, from very traditional through to out-there experimental. Two major prizes are awarded, to the most popular show (as voted by children) and to the best overall play, awarded by an international jury. The special feature country this year is Slovakia.

Then head north-east, for the International Puppet Theatre Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 17-22 September. Plovdiv's ancient roots are a great setting for this entertainment and plays are performed in an ancient Roman theatre - this time for the 10th year.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The talk of Latvia this week is its new citizenship laws, and especially the requirement that citizens speak Latvian. The new citizenship test gives prospective citizens three chances to pass a language test, now set at a higher level.

It doesn't sound too much to expect, right? - if you hold a Latvian passport, you should be able to speak Latvian. But the history of Latvia - including its long period of occupation, explained in its Museum of Occupation, has meant that more than 20% of the population are Russian-speaking rather than Latvian.

It is, of course, a complicated question. Personally, I think that those who decide to live in a country and want to have the benefits of its citizenship should be required to learn the local language. I've lived in several non-English-speaking countries but wouldn't dream of claiming to belong there unless I'd mastered the language. Easy for me to say, but the historical circumstances of Latvia meant that during the long Soviet occupation, many Russian-speaking residents arrived.

I don't know what the answer really is: do you? Let us know your opinion!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

There's an interesting project going on until July 2007: a campaign to name the New Seven Wonders of the World. An organization with good-sounding intentions (to promote and raise money for preserving man-made history) is running a world-wide vote for the New Seven Wonders, to stand next to the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World as historically important and valuable sites.

Looking at the project's homepage, I got a bit of a thrill to see a picture of St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. But, when I scanned the list, I discovered the nominated site is in fact the (obviously to them, less photogenic) Kremlin. I'm happy for either to be on the list, and in fact it's the only candidate of the 21 to be from Eastern Europe and Russia. Now I'm off to vote for it!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Despite Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost reforms from the start of his rule in 1985, the Soviet Union still seemed like an impenetrable place to me, as I sat in high school history lessons in the late 80s, hearing about this strange, far-away country. Remember, I went to school in Australia, so it truly was a far removed place for me.

This week fifteen years ago, the August 1991 Soviet coup took place, when hardline Communist party members managed to depose Gorbachev, if only for three days. But his return to power was never full, and Boris Yeltsin began to take control.

At the same time, many of the individual republics of the USSR were declaring their independence. It wasn't until December 1991 that the Soviet Union completely collapsed. Hard to believe, isn't it? Just 15 years ago, but now many of us considering traveling in these countries with much the same forethoughts as journeying to Paris or Tahiti.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

My first trip to Russia is a few years ago, and had a very simple reason: I moved my job from Japan to Slovakia, and thought using the Trans-Siberian would be a pretty neat way of getting there. It was the dream train journey that attracted me then, but then I fell in love with Russia, too.

One year ago this month, I took my mother on the trip of her lifetime: a homestay spanning Moscow and St Petersburg and seeing every famous Russian site we could in between. She'd long been fascinated with Russia and had even studied the Russian language, so she was the perfect traveling companion for me. When she visited my again this week, we reminisced about our wonderful trip on its one year anniversary.

And so, my mind's full of Russia this week. If you're planning a trip, or just want to enjoy some armchair travel in Russia, check out this week's review article, A Guide to Russia. Join our discussion, too, with either your favorite Russian experiences or your wishlist for a trip to Russia.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This week's poll asked you what kind of sightseeing attraction is first on your list when you hit a new city. Castles or palaces gained the majority of the votes, with museums and (understandably, we have to eat and drink) restaurants and bars close behind.

It seems that Leonid Chernovetsky, mayor of Ukrainian capital Kyiv, didn't see our poll. His big goal is to build a Disneyland in his city: then, he says, "my life will not have been lived in vain."

At a guess I think Suite101 readers are not waiting for Kyiv's Disneyland with baited breath; but if you disagree, let us know!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I think it's impossible to dislike Prague. It's a fairytale city on the Vltava River: Anybody who's wandered across Charles Bridge at dawn or dusk can only be in love with the Czech capital.

My biggest problem with Prague has always been "too many tourists" (of course, I don't count!) - in summer it's often difficult to hear Czech spoken in the Old Town center, and that makes for a not so authentic holiday.

This week Prague made headlines for interesting reasons: the first being that tourism growth is stagnating. It seems that Prague hasn't marketed itself as well as it could have - understandable when you realise how much word-of-mouth worked to bring the tourists in - but now it needs to find ways to bring repeat visits. At the same time, it was reported that Prague is now the richest city in Eastern Europe; in fact it is 41st in the world ranking, thus having the highest standard of living of all former communist cities. Naturally this also means that it's not the cheapest city for tourists to visit, although in relation to bigger Western cities it's still affordable.

Stay tuned in coming weeks when we'll bring you more tips on making the most of a Prague visit: it really is a must-see city, no two ways about it.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Every month when my Wanderlust magazine arrives in the post, everybody knows I'm out of action for the next 24 hours or so. I devour it from cover to cover - whether it be stories giving me sentimental flashbacks about my favorite previous destinations, or giving me ideas and inspiration for future holidays. At the end I'm often somewhat depressed when I realise how many places there are in the world where I'd really love to go, yet how little time and money there is for all of this.

Wanderlust is glossy and exciting, but last year I discovered another gem of a travel magazine, hidden europe. It's completely different: a roomier layout and no big glossy photo spreads. What I like about it is its unique approach to Europe, reporting from corners that everyday travelers might not reach, or with an angle that gives a perspective I wouldn't have imagined.

In this week's article, I interview Nicky Gardner, an editor of hidden europe. She has plenty of interesting things to say about the founding of the magazine and what exactly hidden Europe is.

Do you have a favorite travel magazine? Start a discussion and tell us which one it is and why you can't put it down.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about traveling using a guide book. One of the biggest problems is, of course, that the time between research, printing, purchase, and your trip, is often far too long, and the hostel you're looking for has closed down, or the nicely-priced restaurant has quadrupled its prices.

Wikipedia - that evolutionary online fact machine, where users all create and maintain factual entries about everything under the sun (and beyond) - now includes Wikitravel. The idea is that because it's online and can be constantly updated, it'll solve this out-of-date guidebook problem. Sounds logical, but let's wait and see. It's still under development: the page for Ventspils, the Latvian town featuring in this week's article hasn't been developed yet, but for more mainstream destinations like Prague or Budapest, the information is detailed and useful.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Ask a hundred people what they remember most about Prague, and while quite a few might mention the crowds of tourists and rows of artists on Charles Bridge, others will speak of a paddle boat ride on the Vltava River, some might mention some great Czech beer, and me - I'll tell you of the moments I spent waiting with some Japanese friends to witness the on-the-hour antics of the Town Hall's Astronomical Clock.

As I wrote this week's article about Ventspils, Latvia, a sweet town on the coast, my mind constantly wandered back to my most memorable experience there back in 2003. I was strolling along the Ostas Street promenade taking photos of the unusual fountains and public art sculptures there. As I took a shot of what I always liked to call the spaghetti fountain - you can imagine - I heard two men speaking behind me. Of course, I knew about two words of Latvian, but in the middle I unmistakably heard the Latvian pronunciation for "digital camera".

I turned around and found two grey-haired men checking out my camera. They spoke to me in English, and one explained that his friend had never seen a digital camera before, and he was telling him how it works. I had a brainwave, and quickly took a photo of the two of them, and showed the friend the picture of himself on the screen. "Splendid!!!" was his reply, and I always remember it. We chatted a little more and they strolled on. Sometimes I wonder if they remember me; or whether they own digital cameras yet. And the memory gives me that nice warm feeling when I think about my days in Ventspils.

What are your special travel memories like? Start a discussion and let me know.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

When I've traveled and lived in countries that were behind the Iron Curtain, friends have often asked me if the rumors they hear about corruption and bribery are true.

This week, the World Bank reported that they consider corruption is still rife in eastern European countries, after surveying 20,000 companies.

From friends who live in these countries, I've heard many a story of bribery: the policeman who demands a bribe or will otherwise take a driving licence away on the spot; the housing authority that finds you a better state flat if you grease their palms. And some of these cases are recent, definitely post-Iron Curtain.

As a traveler, will you be affected? Friends of mine found themselves constantly pulled over by police for no apparent reason, and being unable to speak the language, found they had to pay a fine - nobody's sure if it was justified or not. But nobody I've heard of was ever endangered in such a situation. The likelihood of anything like this happening to you is very slim: but if it does, most likely it'll do little damage other than providing a good story to tell when you get home.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I first heard of castle-buying when I lived in Slovakia, and my friends explained to me that castles were cheap: the problem was that the conditions of sale meant you had to then spend millions to renovate them to the original condition.

This week as I wrote about the Czech Republic's Vranov Chateau, one of my favorite castles, I remembered the concept. Ten seconds of web research quickly found numerous websites for those looking to buy a castle in the Czech Republic, too. Perhaps it's because I'm from Australia - we're really short on for castles there - or perhaps many people share my dream of some fairytale princess life in a mansion full of treasures, preferably on a hill or cliff top with a perfect panorama from the bedroom window.

Unfortunately most castles (or their renovations, at least) are out of my price range, so I'll have to stick to visiting them. You too?

Posted by Amanda Kendle

German motoring club ADAC runs reliable tests each year on water quality and pollution in the seas around Europe. Recently it announced that the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea - the gorgeous island-sprinkled Dalmatian Coast - is the cleanest part of the entire Mediterranean, with no large-scale pollution and high water quality.

It reminds me of just last summer, when I drove down the coast of Croatia, stopping frequently to swim in that perfectly clear turquoise sea. If you're still planning your European summer and you want to enjoy the clean sea, check our article on Dubrovnik; or head far north to the Baltics to some of our other favorite coastal spots, the Curonian Spit in Lithuania or the islands of Estonia.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

When I first started traveling as a teenager, somehow I decided I wanted to go backpacking. In fact I had a decently paid job at the time, so it wasn't just financial factors - I'd seen and read enough to know that I wanted to do things my own way. This first trip wasn't especially challenging - to fly into Melbourne, out of Sydney, and spend three weeks moving in between - but it was taken without any bookings beyond the flights, with a reliance on a guidebook for Australia.

This first guidebook was a Lonely Planet, and I loved the way it honestly told me if a hostel was a dump, and whether or not a museum was actually interesting: it talked to me like a new-found travel mate, not a marketing machine for the country. Since then I've traveled almost exclusively with Lonely Planets, deviating to lesser-known Bradt Guides for a few more obscure destinations. But equally, other travelers I know swear by a Rough Guide or a Let's Go. Nowadays when I visit a "tourist hotspot" like Prague, I tend to ignore even the guidebook and just follow my nose; but in most of Eastern Europe and Russia, tourist information services aren't too developed and guidebooks really give you a helping hand. Of course, a lot of the information you need can now be found on the internet, but having a book to hand every step of the way is still something I find hard to give up.

My article this week reviews Lonely Planet's Eastern Europe guidebook, which has got me from the top of Estonia to the bottom of the Balkans with very few hiccups. But this is no endorsement - everybody travels with a different style and for a different purpose, and you need to find the kind of guidebook which is right for you.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I've made mention before in this blog of the darker side of travel - when your sightseeing day is more insightful and thought-provoking than fun. The most depressing day I've ever spent on the road was in southern Poland at the concentration camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau.

After too often hearing phrases like "the Polish concentration camp", the Polish government petitioned the United Nations to change the offical name of the camps - World Heritage listed sites - to more accurately reflect its Nazi past. This week, it was agreed that the official name will become "the Former Nazi German Concentration Camp of Auschwitz".

Personally, I'm worried that this name'll be too much of a mouthful for anyone to consistently use it, though the idea behind it is sound. It just goes to show that tourist attractions might bring in the people, but you can't always be proud of them.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

World attention heads to St Petersburg, Russia this week as the G8 conference takes place on 15-17 July. President Putin is listing the main topics for the summit as global energy security, the fight against infectious diseases and the quality and effectiveness of education. For me, the politics is less interesting than the scenery they'll show during the reporting, and I love to play the "I've been there!" game as famous sights pop up on the nightly news. Nevsky Prospekt will no doubt get some airtime, the famous main street of St Petersburg which these days is full of ritzy (and expensive) shops - probably not the best place to buy your Russian souvenirs! My second-favourite cathedral (after St Basil's in Moscow), the Church on the Spilled Blood, is definitely eye-catching enough to attract the cameras. Or the Winter Palace, home to the vast Hermitage Museum, could also be put on display.

If you're interested, there's more info on the G8 summit at the G8 Summit in St Petersburg site.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A cost of living survey carried out by Mercer Human Resource Consulting has brought us an unwelcome result: Russia's capital Moscow is the most expensive city in the world to live in. St Petersburg is not far behind in 12th place, while Ukraine's capital Kiev comes in at 21st, on a par with Vienna and Rome. Other Eastern European cities to make the list - compiled from data from 144 countries - include Slovakia's capital Bratislava at 48 and the Czech Republic's Prague at 50.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Souvenir shops and me have a love-hate relationship. The tacky pencil sets, cheap and nasty T-shirts and pushy salespeople drive me crazy.

But I also like to have something nice to take home from a special destination which really impressed me. If I look around me, I can see a colorful woven pencil case which I brought back from Vietnam; a green fountain pen I bought in Vladivostok; I realise I'm wearing a T-shirt from the Arctic Circle in Finland; and on the wall hangs a St Petersburg calendar showing the months and days in Cyrillic letters.

This week's article Russian Souvenir Shopping gives some tips on buying souvenirs in Russia: check it out to learn more about those cutesy nested dolls or buying a McLenin's T-shirt.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The 2006 FIFA World Cup is nearing its end in Germany and unfortunately Eastern European countries haven't made a lasting impression this time around. Last week's update reported a strong performance from the Czech Republic but not long after a surprise loss to Ghana and a subsequent loss to Italy put them out of the tournament after the first round.

In fact, the only member from our teams to watch to make it into the round of 16 was Ukraine. Yesterday they failed to make it through to the quarter-finals by losing to Italy 0-3. Our loyalties are now hopelessly divided and we'll have to wait until South Africa in 2010 to follow our favourite Eastern European soccer teams in a search for World Cup glory again.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

I'm a travel addict, and have been lucky enough to spend at least two months of the year traveling for the last few. This means I often can travel at a reasonably slow place, with time for side trips and unexpected discoveries. And I love it. Finding places like Abruka Island in Estonia rarely happen by following a guidebook or sitting on a tourist bus.

I often use a guidebook, but cautiously, and with a good ear out to listen to advice from locals. Not everyone wants to or has the possibility to travel this way. Independent travel, following a guidebook's advice perhaps, is all well and good for some, but others prefer to let someone else do all the work and just e ready to get on and off the bus at each attraction. Or it might be a combination that suits you, depending on the time and budget available. Have your say in this week's poll, or leave a comment here.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A couple of months ago, my article on Lithuania's Curonian Spit described how multi-faceted this skinny peninsula in the Baltic Sea seemed to me.

Not only to me, apparently! It seems that a number of film companies have decided that making movies on the Curonian Spit is a good idea. After reading about the Lithuanian Film Studios cooperation with many foreign filmmakers this week, I remembered a forgotten titbit of my trip: I also stumbled across a film set in the middle of the empty dunes, obviously trying to represent a scene in a vast desert.

The article went on to explain that the whole of Lithuania is an ideal film set: not only is production there inexpensive, but the lack of urbanisation provides all kinds of historical settings, too. When you're in Lithuania, then, be on the lookout for a famous actor waiting around for his scene call.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Usually we take a trip to enjoy ourselves. To get away from the stresses of everyday life, relax a bit, get new impressions and see other cultures.

But sometimes, a trip can include a more tragic note. I still vividly remember one of my first adult trips, visiting the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia's capital. A family group were part of the hourly guided tour I joined: two teenage children, their parents, and an elderly grandmother. Half-way through the explanation of a particular battle, the grandmother broke down in tears. Her family comforted her, and soon led her away from our group to recover in peace. I could barely stop myself from crying, either: this history was real, this museum spoke of dreadful things that actually happened to real people.

Since then, I've seen a lot more and a lot worse. But the time that has stuck longest in my head is the six or seven hours I spent in a psychological daze at the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps in Poland. Over many years I'd learned about the Holocaust in school, seen countless documentaries and even met a Holocaust survivor. But nothing compared to being at this heartless camp where two million people died for no reason.

It's often said that we need to understand history to avoid making the same mistakes again. In that case, everybody should definitely see Auschwitz once in their lives. This week's article, Auschwitz and Birkenau Terror gives some information on how.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Recently we polled our readers on the most desirable cities in Eastern Europe and Russia to spend an intensive weekend. Our results had Dubrovnik coming out on top with Prague not far behind. This week Lonely Planet, one of my favorite guidebook publishers (and Aussie-grown, like me), released its Free City Downloads featuring itineraries for heaps of great European cities. In the eastern half, there are guides for Sarajevo, Krakow, Budapest, Gdansk, Prague and Moscow, so if you're planning a city stopover check them out.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

In Brussels last week the European Commission took decisions on both Slovenia's and Lithuania's applications to adopt the euro as their official currency from next year. Lithuania's application was refused as their inflation rate is still too high to meet the criteria; but Slovenia's got the green light to change tolars to euros from 1 January 2007.

While I still think it's a pity when the excitement of a new currency and new coins is lost from crossing a border, it's certainly a lot easier. Much of Western Europe already operates on the euro and that means travelers can compare prices more easily, don't lose out so often on exchange rates and don't get left with such a heavy pocket of useless coins at the end of their trip. The future for Eastern Europe looks similar. In any case, if you need Slovenian tolars for your coin collection, you'd better get in quick.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Our city break destination poll results are ready, and the winner is ... Dubrovnik! Croatia's photogenic walled city scored half of all votes, outrating Prague by a handful. My own memory of Dubrovnik is a sunshiny one, with long days of walking up and down crumbly steps and strolling with an icecream along the Placa, perhaps the most perfect pedestrian mall in all of Europe. With so many Mediterranean cruise ships docking in Dubrovnik, it became a game for us to spot tourists who weren't off a cruise ship: those that were part of such a group sported eye-catching nametags and badges giving the exotic names of their ships. Read more about a visit to this fantastic spot in this week's article, Dubrovnik in Croatian Summer.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Last week we talked about the five Eastern European nations taking part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup: Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Ukraine.

Almost a week into the month-long football tournament, the Czech Republic's put in the best showing, with a strong 3-0 victory over the USA. Poland, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia were all unable to score in their matches; Ukraine starts tonight with a tough game against Spain.

If you're lucky enough to be traveling in any of these countries, make sure you head into a local pub on the next World Cup match day, and experience the local enthusiasm for their footballers. You can check the match schedule - and results as they happen - at FIFA's official site.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Have any of your childhood dreams inspired your trips around the world? I can think of three, and two of them are related to Sunday evenings at home in Australia. The Disney show came on every week with pretty music and a view of that famous castle. Like every Australian child, I dreamt of visiting Disneyland, and in my 20s I did, acting like a kid the whole time! But I also wanted to visit a real castle. Across Eastern Europe I found numerous castles in fascinating locations, but the one that really met my childhood expectations was Slovakia's Bojnice Castle: read about it in

this week's article.

My third childhood dream? Coming from a land where December temperatures normally left me sunburnt, I dreamt of a white Christmas. That led me to northern Finland a couple of years ago to visit Santa Claus on December 25. But that's another story ...

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Friday June 9 is a big day for soccer fans, with the 2006 FIFA World Cup starting up in Germany. The following month will see pubs across the world crowded with soccer fans cheering on their national team.

From the Eastern Europe region, Poland is the first team to play, with a game against Ecuador on the opening day of the tournament. Serbia & Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Ukraine will also be taking part. Depending, of course, on who you listen to, we're probably not going to see an Eastern European champion for this year's World Cup. Brazil, Argentina and a bunch of Western European teams are on top of most lists of favorites. Of our participants, the Czech Republic has the best odds to win, with the Ukraine and Croatia not far behind. Whoever wins, if you're a soccer fan, enjoy the next month!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This week we asked you all where you'd prefer to stay on a journey through Russia. Although the alternatives ranged from camping through to a luxury hotel, readers settled clearly on two distinct sides of the fence! Exactly half of you were convinced that a top of the range hotel, with four stars or more, was the way to travel. And the other half: you're after my own heart, because the votes came in for homestays with local people. Whether it's to save a little cash compared to a pricey hotel, or the interest in meeting and living with local Russians, it's the most rewarding accommodation I've ever used. You can read more about this accommodation option in this week's article.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Serbia and Montenegro already act separately in many issues, having both independent laws and currencies, but will now need to split their army and foreign affairs areas. Some newspapers are already naming the separation a "velvet divorce", predicting that the split will be as trouble-free as that between Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993. Some independence opponents are not so sure, so let's wait and see. But it seems certain that you'll need a separate line for Montenegro on your list of countries to visit in Eastern Europe.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Although many newsreaders found Slovenia's top town difficult to pronounce, the publicity still helps potential travelers to become familiar with the countries and cities of the former Yugoslavia. Slovenia and Slovakia are still confused by many (including a locally famous mix-up by President Bush), much to the consternation of the locals.

Just to keep things clear, Slovenia can be found at the very top of the Adriatic Sea and it shares its western border with Italy; Austria covers the country to the north. The pretty capital of Ljubljana is more-or-less in the very centre of the country. It's worth a visit for more than just Heather-Mills-spotting - for example, learn about its historic bridges in this week's article.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

This weekend in Athens, the annual Eurovision Song Contest came to something of a surprise finale when heavy rockers Lordi (from Lapland, Finland) stole the show with "Hard Rock Hallelujah". Whether or not you enjoy the somewhat bland pop sounds of many of the Eurovision Song Contest entrants, or rocked on with the Finns, one thing you can't escape is the prominence of Eastern Europe.

Russia's heartthrob, Dima Bilan, who grew up in provincial Russia but moved to Moscow to become famous, came in at second place, while Bosnia & Herzegovina's Hari Mati Hari landed in third spot. Romania, Lithuania, Ukraine and Armenia also placed in the top ten.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Learning a foreign language is never easy. I spent a year living in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a couple of years on all I can do is order a beer and impress with the phrase "strč prst skrz krk". It's a famous Slovak (and Czech) tongue twister - note the total absence of vowels! - and translates approximately to mean "stick your finger through your neck". Useful!

No local expects every tourist to grasp the language fluently on a two or three week trip. But it's always good to have a go. I always try to master greetings, "I'd like ..." and the basics of numbers. But if you're travelling around Eastern Europe, what language should you try? Find out more about the mysteries of Lithuanian and Hungarian - plus the results of our recent language poll - in this week's article.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

My timing was terrible the first time I was in Moscow in 2003: Red Square had just been closed off to tourists again (with the exception of those braving the queues to view Lenin at rest in his mausoleum), and foreigner access to the Kremlin in the high season had suddenly been restricted to those taking very expensive private tours. To top it off, I planned to get inside the wacky onion domes of St Basil's the day it was closed.

And so my return trip to Moscow in 2005 had several major goals: walk freely over Red Square, get inside the pretty churches of the Kremlin, and most importantly: check if the inside of St Basil's was as impressive as the outside. It was. More info in this month's article on for me, the most fascinating cathedral in the world.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Tourism in Eastern Europe and Russia is a growing affair, and understandably - fascinating countries, often relatively cheap prices, easy to get to, and a little bit unknown after being locked away behind the Iron Curtain.

Chinese travelers think the same, and this week the China Daily confirmed that this special region has become a hot destination. Hungary and the Czech Republic are the favoured countries to visit, along with city trips to Russia, Ukraine and Romania. Austrian Airlines seems to be making a packet out of this trend, with Vienna being the central fly-in point from China.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

You might remember that I'm originally an Australian, so when it comes to summer and beaches I have pretty high standards. But the Baltic Sea had always sounded impressive, and my trip to the Curonian Spit in Lithuania wasn't a complete disappointment - although there was definitely no swimming for me!

When any spot gets the World Heritage label, I'm reasonably confident it's worth seeing. April 18 was World Heritage day, which slipped fairly quietly by, but is a good time to remember some of the beautiful protected sites in Eastern Europe and Russia. The Curonian Spit, this week's feature, is just one of them; we've already explored Croatia's Plitvice Lakes, and there are plenty more World Heritage sites to explore. Stay tuned!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Many of you voted a Trans-Siberian journey as the ultimate Eastern Europe trip and here at the Eastern Europe and Russia topic we are also huge fans of the Trans-Sib. This week brings the first part of a series of articles to help you learn more about this huge train trip.

It was Paul Theroux's Great Railway Bazaar that first got me hooked on the dream of crossing Russia by train. Of course, I wanted to have friendlier encounters with the locals than Theroux tends to on his travels, but my first cabin mate spent almost the entire three days between Vladivostok and Irkutsk asleep on the bunk above me, emerging just three times (twice for beer).

A journey like the Trans-Siberian is definitely not about the destination. And it's definitely unique. So whenever you want to know more about this mystical journey across Russia, check in with us here for more info.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Memorial services and rallies are taking place across Ukraine and other former USSR territories to remember the Chernobyl nuclear accident of April 26, 1986.

A reactor exploded and burnt for days, making nuclear pollution a reality as far west as Britain. It depends who you listen to if you want to figure out the number of deaths the disaster caused or will cause: the conservative estimate of the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) is 9,000, but Greenpeace pushes the toll up towards 300,000.

Nowadays Ukraine is independent of Russia - a situation that many welcome, but that means trouble in terms of energy, since Ukraine relies on Russia heavily, particularly for gas. That means that nuclear energy is still a high priority, and although the remaining Chernobyl reactors have been closed down, Ukraine is aiming to build another 13 reactors within the country.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Almost a month ago, I reported on the beginning of rising flood waters in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but now the rains and melting snow of spring have swept the majority of these problems further down to the river delta. In Bulgaria, for example, a state of emergency is in place in many villages in the Danube delta area - in some places water levels are at record highs of almost ten meters above sea level. Romania, Hungary and Serbia have also been experiencing serious problems resulting in plenty of evacuations.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The UNESCO mark is a good hint that the heritage-listed Plitvice Lakes in Croatia are a hot tip for visitors. Last summer I spent two days hiking and walking through a hundred shades of green and staring at the clear lakes and splashing waterfalls. Croatia is more than the gorgeous coast - the Plitvice Lakes National Park is a must for any Balkan itinerary.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Water and whips feature highly in the stories my Slovak students have told me about Easter time in Bratislava. Many of my single female friends still experience the tradition of having water poured over them by brothers and male friends on Easter Monday - the nice guys let the girls get into old clothes in the bathroom first, while the nastier brothers attack while the girls are still in bed asleep! The excuse is that this ritual refreshes the girls and in fact keeps them beautiful, and they are then whipped gently with a branch to ward off evil. A nice thought, but I don't think I'd be too grateful to be woken up on Easter Monday with water and a whip.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

For as long as I can remember, my dream was to travel across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to spend three weeks crossing that amazing country from Vladivostok all the way to St Petersburg.

With this in mind, it was no real surprise that readers chose a trip on the Trans-Sib as the Eastern Europe and Russia journey they'd most like to do.

But what came next - Prague? the Croatian coast? Slovakia's Tatras? Find out about the other poll results in this week's article.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

The crowds are going to Prague and Budapest, but Slovakia's capital Bratislava has plenty to offer ...

OK, I'll admit I'm biased here, after a wonderful year living in Bratislava, it really is a personal favourite of mine. But don't just take my word for it, start your study of Slovakia's capital with my article on Bratislava's Old Town.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Everyone who's visited Prague in the years since 2002 will have seen the flood marks near Charles Bridge, and marvelled at how much of the city had been underwater.

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, rivers are under close watch - after the 2002 floods, everyone fears a repeat of the damage and disasters.

A long winter, a sudden spring, or just bad luck - there are a range of reasons given for the high river level and the fears that high water could once again flood parts of cities like Prague. The Czech Prime Minister hurried home from Egypt to lead emergency meetings. Evacuations have also started, the largest to date being 10,000 people from Znojmo, southeast of Prague.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Check my current article for details.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Learn more about where Estonia meets Russia in my current article,

On the Edge in Narva.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

A report from the World Travel and Tourism Council released this week is suggesting that the potential for tourism and travelers in Russia is a whole lot higher than the current figures show.

The study looked at spending on tourist needs like accommodation and tours is so low in Russia that it ranks in 156th place from 173 countries surveyed - and eighty percent of this spending occurs in the two main cities of Moscow and St Petersburg. Suggestions from the report including introducing special tax zones for high potential tourism zones like Lake Baikal, and increasing the spending on promotion of Russia as a tourist destination.

Of course, progress is progress, and Russia will probably improve its relations with tourism regardless of my opinion - but I still can't help but think it could be a shame. For me, part of the charm of Russia is that it isn't really tourist friendly - there's no centralized tourist offices in every city where you can pick up maps and advice, for example - and that makes it often more interesting to travel around. Interesting but, of course, more difficult!

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Sky Europe, RyanAir, easyJet, WizzAir - just to name a few - can get you right across Eastern Europe in a shorter time than it takes to pronounce the name of your destination correctly. Check my current article for more info.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Milosevic died after a heart attack while in detention in the Netherlands facing war crimes charges.

The casket containing his body is currently on public view in a Belgrade museum, before the burial takes place on Saturday in his hometown in the country.

Milosevic was president of Serbia for twelve years and then president of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000. The United Nations war crimes tribunal, having started in 2002 and finally being near to an end, had been trialling him for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1990s.

The conflict in the Balkans is difficult for travelers to really get a good grip on, but it's definitely something that confronts you when, for example, you stand in front of bullet-hole-ridden buildings in Mostar or Sarajevo, as I did last summer. The greatest impact for me came from the otherwise total normality of the region: life goes on despite the simmering problems. These tensions which still exist in the Balkans have been shown again by the differing reactions to Milosevic's death.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

But you do need the patience to understand it. Find out if I did or not in my current article.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

In a report on the hospitality industry around the world, the consultants reported that the hospitality industry in Eastern European countries, including Russia, has huge potential. For us, on the downside, they reiterated that there's not really enough accommodation for the future tourist market: good news for investors but worry for us as travelers, when hotel rooms become scarce or expensive.

Posted by Amanda Kendle

Thank goodness when I got my first taste of Russia a couple of years back it was the middle of summer. Check out the traveler's view of Russia's far east in my article, Very East: Vladivostok.