Tuesday, 27 February 2024

Back to the Balkans


This winter I wanted
real snow. Not the little sprinkling we usually get in the UK most years, but snow that crunches when you walk on it, that you sink into, that you can build snow people with. So an inexpensive flight to Bulgaria and a snowshoeing trip was booked.

It was a week spent in beautiful mountains in Vitosha and Rila National Parks with great company, (fellow travellers from the UK after a winter adventure.) Our days were mostly spent under blue skies on slopes, walking across frozen lakes, winding our way through Narnia-like forests and enjoying the mountain scenery. Evenings we were treated to delicious food and conversation and drinks in front of a fire. The week simply flew by with such lovely company. We were fortunate to have a fantastic guide, who had previously worked in the mountain rescue service, so we all immediately relaxed into our trip and could simply ‘be,’ enjoying our surroundings, feeling far away from home. Perfect.

As I had a few extra days at the end of my trip, I headed back to Sofia and from there travelled to Plovdiv (Europe’s oldest city) scattered with Roman architecture and a quick trip across the border to Skopje in North Macedonia, where Mother Teresa was born. Both cities were very different.  Skopje’s Old Bazaar was great to wander through and I loved hearing the call to prayer from the mosque and smelling the Turkish coffee coming from the cafes and seeing windows full of baklava.  Back in Bulgaria, I could definitely have spent longer exploring Plovdiv and its old town too. The Roman mosaics were incredible and they have done a fantastic job at making these as accessible as possible to visitors in a great museum: https://www.plovdivmosaics.org/

During my day trips I crossed paths with people from San Diego, Spain, India and New York, all choosing to travel to the Balkans for different reasons. I was hugely grateful for their company over shared meals and laughter on the long road journeys.

Today I am homeward bound again, leaving Sofia in the sunshine to welcome more travellers to explore her sights.



























Skopje, North Macedonia






Plovdiv, Bulgaria







Asen’s Fortress


Bachkovo Monastery








Sunday, 18 February 2024

One Step at a Time

50 miles walking, in less than 22 hours, in February? Why not?! I roped in a friend who is a ‘say yes’ kinda girl and with two preparation walks under our belt; one involving a brunch stop, the other involving a pit stop for a cocktail, we were all set!

The daytime walking was perfect. Norfolk was at its best under big, blue skies, a lovely temperature, a hint of sunshine and some great views along the coastal path. After dark we had rain, mud and a shingle beach and my poor friend had nasty blisters. Ouch! 

In the darkness, we ended up mostly walking with a lovely group of seasoned and experienced walkers from around the Birmingham area. They were walking this 50 mile route so that a member of their team could qualify for the Speyside 100, an event in May challenging folk to walk (or run) 100 miles in less than 48 hours near the Cairngorms in Scotland. As people were chatting about this near the start of the walk, we were quite intrigued to look into it. By mile 40, we’d changed our minds. 50 would be more than enough for us.

It was a really well run event with kind folk serving us hot drinks and food at the village hall checkpoints along the way. The camaraderie is my overriding memory of the event. That and the beautiful feeling of finally getting in my bed at 4.30am after 19 hours of walking. Bliss.



Tuesday, 6 February 2024

A Hop, Skip and jump to Sweden



With flights for £14 each way plus a hostel bed, the idea of a long weekend to visit a city in a new country for me seemed like a great idea. As I sit here with coffee and delicious cinnamon pastries for breakfast, I am grateful for having explored Stockholm under crisp, blue skies and sunshine, as well as some light overnight snowfall (exciting!) 

As usual my visit was pretty unplanned - no set agenda, nothing pre-booked, just got a pocket guide out of the library and read it on the plane. During my first few hours in the city, I was stopped numerous times to be asked for directions - no idea why! One fellow traveller, who I ended up exploring the city with one day said it must be my blue eyes! Who knows?!

I filled my days with mostly walking (Stockholm is easy to explore on foot,) with the highlight being Gamla Stan, the Old Town with its winding streets, bustling squares and beautiful buildings. The City Hall dominates the skyline and looking across to Södermalm as the sun was going down to see the buildings reflected in the icy water will be a fond memory of this city of islands.

I had time for a bracingly cold boat trip around part of the archipelago to see the array of colourful, architecturally stunning buildings from the water and a visit to the photography museum (Fotografiska,) as well as seeing the cathedral and travelling on the metro to see the amazing art work at some of the stations. 

If you have been reading my blog, you’ll know that a highlight of travelling for me is the unexpected encounters. This trip was no different. Popping into one of the city’s churches, Klara Kyrka, it was heartening to see that the population of homeless people were welcome to seek the warmth and shelter of the building. There was also a small service being held with African inspired singing, which again those visiting could warmly join in with. It was uplifting;  the spread of smiles on people’s faces as they listened to the music.

Other highlights for me were stumbling across cosy cafes, conversations with fellow travellers, my first sauna experience (yes really) and a visit to one of the public libraries, where people padded around in socks!

I will end this post with some advice. Firstly, don’t bring a lot of cash. Stockholm is trying to become a cashless city, so most restaurants, bars, shops and cafes only accept cards. Secondly, don’t let minus temperatures put you off visiting countries in the winter. With the right clothing, it’s absolutely fine. Finally (and this applies to wherever you travel,) try wandering without a plan and if you’re drawn to something - a building, a street, a cake in a window, go for it! You will have the best time.