Revolutionary Russia, the main character Inna Feldman, who decides to flee Kiev after witnessing the assassination of Prime Minister Stolypin in a theatre, is a Jewish orphan and by that fact almost inappropriate in a society. She is travelling to St Petersburg to a distant relative in search of safety and security. There she faces two men she is torn between. First is a violin-maker who is … Continue reading Midnight in St Petersburg
Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Winter in Madrid, by C. J. Sansom is about three British citizens already scarred by their experiences of life and warfare when they come to Madrid. Harry Brett accepts a Special Intelligence Service mission in Franco’s Spain, when the armies of fascism seemed invincible and the Communist revolution was utterly betrayed by the Stalin-Hitler Pact. His old school … Continue reading Winter in Madrid
So much to discover about about Sicilian capital, and so less time… I had a day and a half and made my best of the days! I woke up early in the morning and crashed into the buzz of the Saturday’s streets. The city is such a mixture of Western, Islamic and Byzantine styles which is the reason many of the region’s churches have been … Continue reading Palermo, Sicily
The largest of italian islands, seeking for independence and great place of landscapes – it is a gift of God! My 8 days of discovering northern part of Sicily was just not enough! 🙂 So here is how it started! Prior landing to Palermo Airport, we flew over crater of Etna – 3,323 m high volcano that is still active. Apparently it has long and even mythological history: Aetna was … Continue reading The Landscapes of Sicily ☀
A very good friend of mine for some time was living in a small city close to Rotterdam. One Saturday morning I hoped on the train and 2 hours later ended up in this great completely modern architecture city. It is the second largest city in the Netherlands, and lies on both banks of the Nieuwe Maas, the tidal southern arm of the Rhine. As a … Continue reading Rotterdam, Netherlands
During my weekend jaunt to western Germany, I made a day trip to Aachen, once the capital of Charlemagne’s short-lived empire and the final resting place of ”Charles the Great” himself. Aachen is the city in North Rhine-Westphalia of Germany known also as Aix-la-Chapelle in French. Its name derives from the Ach(e), meaning “river” or “stream” in Old High German. This city lives and breathes Europe as it is practically … Continue reading Chasing the traces of Charlemagne in Aachen, Germany
I digged into the city not expecting so much history well presented until today and offering so much. My discovery started at Via dell’ Indipendenza where I realised the portici (engl. archades) are dominating the city. The street is a shopping path as well 🙂 From there I came across to Piazza del Nettuno. Unfortunately, the statue was under construction and I did not manage … Continue reading Tutti portici di Bologna, Italia
Living in Madrid, I had a chance to sit on a bus and visit Lisabon and some nearby places and wait for new 2013 on the banks of river Tejo. Taking the night bus, I arrived around 5 am to Lisboa bus/train station, realizing it is actually 4 am cause of the CET+1. I took a walk around since the station is new building called Sete … Continue reading Lisbon, Portugal
Lombardia, Italia… beautiful region, beautiful country, great time in expensive, kinda boring but nice city known by arts, commerce, design, entertainment, fashion and tourism. I arrived in the morning to Airport Milanesa and around 10:00 I was in the city center at Piazza del Duomo where the Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II stands as a first italian king from 19 century. At Piazza del Duomo, I’ve been … Continue reading Milano, Italy
Upon my arrival to Kazahstan airport, completely dehydrated, sleepy, jetlagged and with the need to go to toilet, I was forced to stand for long two hours in a queue with two men walking around us with the machine guns – completely indulent to help. There were little children around us, crying and elders unable to stand in line for so long. My bag was completely … Continue reading Almaty, Kazahstan
RED RIDING HOOD 