Stories from travels in

Europe

A café conducive to thought

The first thing that strikes you about Café Toucan is the space. It is light, airy, and relaxing, so conducive to thought and chat. You might

Break for the border

I have an innate distrust of guide books, the well-known names in the travel world. I doubt if the authors have ever even been to

Sitting still

A good way of getting to know a city, without resorting to guide books, is to read a fictional novel that’s set there. Another way,

Tell me a story

I like a good story. I like facts and figures, too, but I’d prefer a good story any day. Give me something I will remember. Like

Guns and altars

There’s something fascinating about seeing stuff made out of other stuff. Handbags made from bicycle tyres. Wallets made from plastic bags. Altars made from guns.

The writing on the wall

For some inexplicable reason, I have a strange fascination with the Holocaust. I can’t quite get my head around so many people being systematically put

Seven steps to near heaven

Fusing the flavours of the Far East with those of Europe, Baraka was born in Budapest in 2001. This gem of a restaurant has seen

Gained in translation

Why doesn’t translating ‘tomorrow week’ as ‘holnap hét’ work? Tomorrow = holnap. Week = hét. Admittedly, tomorrow week might be an Irish expression to begin with

Losing time

Many years ago, when I was living in London, I decided that the best thing about living in that particular capital was the number of