European Travel Blog

Lesser known Europe

Okay, so we've all been to Portugal and Italy, or at the very least see them a lot on the holiday programmes. But what about the places that are less talked about?

Here are some links to take you on a small tour of lesser kown Europe:

 

Kaliningrad - this Russian enclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania offers an unusual experience, being part of Russia but not actually in Russia.

 

Shetland - these islands are very far north - roughly equidistant between Aberdeen in Scotland and Bergen in Norway. With a rich history spanning centuries, this is definitely one of the more intriguing parts of Europe.

Montenegro - with a population smaller than Manchester, Montenegro is stunning of coastline and beautiful of countryside, with mountains and a sense of space. Incredible.

 

[Montenegro pic by Milan B.]

Holland at Christmas

Looks pretty cool. You can get a ferry to Holland for the Christmas markets, check out the Amsterdam town centre, then back home in time for your turkey dinner. Or if you stay on in Holland, a Dutch Christmas dinner, although it's not that different from a UK one. Not like a plate of carp, at any rate.

Festive travel vibe

One good way to break out of the winter doldrums is to go on a short holiday. Okay, any excuse will do for a while away and the chance to see some new sights.

The good thing about making a festive escape for a short while is that of course there are normally a good few holidays from work going spare at this time of year. Depending on your occupation you might even have a couple of weeks off during the holiday season.

Whether you're looking to have a relaxing time over the new year or just festive breaks generally, there's a whole Europe out there to be discovered. One thing that they really excel at in mainland Europe is the whole Christmas spectacle, whether it's the beauty of Bruges or the splendour of the Tivoli Gardens in Denmark's capital, there's a whole world of winter greatness to be a part of.

 

Crazy gap year? Travels beyond Europe...

There's currently a reality television series on TV about families taking a gap year. This week's episode was pretty amazing - a family of five who decided they were moving from Hong Kong to the UK. But after leaving HK and going to UK, they were going to spend the best part of a year travelling from Cape Town to Cairo, through some fairly troubled parts of the continent as well, where there are border disputes and people ara advised not to go without a convoy. But they did, and survived, despite their car breaking down in the middle of a danger zone.

This got me thinking about how you could actually take your car and go from Scotland all the way to places really far off, albeit that you wouldn't actually drive all the way as you'd be crossing a body of water into mainland Europe at some point. But it's inceredible to think that just by having a car, a passport and by booking a ferry you could get as far as, say, Vietnam, over land and tiny a bit of sea.