Isle of two halves, part II

Our fourth and final night in Cirne/Kyrenia ended with a stroll round the harbour, then to "The George" (our temporary local) where we had the misfortune to watch England v Greece on TV. England lost 2-1 and were utterly useless. *** The next morning we took a dolmuş back to Lekoşa (i.e. north Nicosia), where…

Europe from Z to Z, part VII

No Flixbus today Our first Italian train of this trip would be the 09:39 Frecciarossa (red arrow) from Trieste to Milan. Friday 21 June The first-class seats were comfortable, though when the brakes were applied it was a bit scary. The complimentary "meal" consisted of a stupid cardboard box containing two biscuits and a tiny…

Europe from Z to Z, part V

It was hot - well over 30c - when the Arta Line catamaran from Split docked at Hvar (the trip takes exactly an hour). The Pjaca, or Trg, one of the largest squares in Croatia, is surrounded by fine Venetian buildings and the Cathedral of Saint Stephen. There were plenty of souvenir shops and restaurants but…

Europe from Z to Z, part IV

Unlike Hungary, Croatia is a country we had already visited: in 2013 to the Istrian peninsula (Pula, Rovinj, Montovun, Beram, Poreč etc.), and in 1989, before the start of the Yugoslav Wars, to Dalmatia (Dubrovnik, Korčula and Split). Of course a sizeable chunk of Croatia's population has no memory of life in "Yugoslavia". Another thing…