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Hajo
France: Paris - the best small town in Texas "Writing a city guide for Paris on an amateur travel site is about as useless as attempting to cover London, New York or Tokyo in an article of 1,000 words. Since the arrival of the internet, any such metropolis is the theme of fantastillions (copyright Hajo) of websites, only exceeded by the huge number of porn sites on the web." BE's very own Hajo takes a different approach to describing the French capital - through literature... BMED is a franchise of British Airways which operates routes to the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Airline reviews: LOT Polish Airlines Poland's state carrier reviewed. Airline reviews: SWISS International Airlines A review of SWISS, created when Swissair was folded into Swiss regional airline Crossair. "We are entering the region of Malopolska (Little Poland), and its capital, Krakow. I have quickly fallen in love with this picturesque mediæval city, and I hope you will too. Indeed Krakow does not need to fear comparisons with major Eastern European highlights such as Prague or Budapest." Hajo describes the historic and cultural southern Polish city of Krakow.
Spain Features: Siesta in the Sierra "During the summer months, leaving the city for a milder landscape may come as a welcome refreshment. Air humidity in Madrid often goes down to twenty per cent, turning every city tour into torture. On such a day, one should head for the countryside. Avila, Toledo and Salamanca are the most popular choices for day trips, but also the most touristy ones. On a slightly less beaten path, let us explore the western and northwestern neighbourhood of Madrid." Hajo takes a break from the city... "What else can I say but that I have fallen in love with this city and its people? Istanbul is so many things in one: a meeting place of cultures Eastern and Western, a historic battleground of Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine and Turkish empires, and a thriving metropolis with modern lifestyle and chaotic traffic." Hajo takes us on a tour around the highspots of Turkey's unofficial capital. Around Turkey: Istanbul Hotels and Restaurants "Here are my top choices for hotels and restaurants in Istanbul. Unlike the usually rather cheap accommodation and dining options in Istanbul, these choices are all at the upper end of the price scale and thus to be recommended to business travellers with a considerable budget allowance, or to holiday makers who seek something very special and are prepared to pay for it." Hajo reviews some of Istanbul's finest hotels and restaurants. Airline reviews: THY Turkish Airlines A review of THY Turkish Airlines, the Turkish national carrier. "This is the land of the ancient Mesopotamia, the world's first real civilisation (that is if you don't believe in Atlantis), founded some twelve thousand years ago. Embedded between mountain ranges and the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, this region has been the source of legends for generations. Enjoy the mystery." Hajo guides us round the rarely-visited sights of SE Anatolia. Around Turkey: Diyarbakir: Hotel Kervansaray "The Hotel Kervansaray is beautifully built around a garden court. Palm trees rise high into the sky, and a fountain spends fresh water at the centre of the court. Around this oasis, the hotel is built like a fortress in square shape. Arched galleries surround the court on two levels, from which heavy wooden doors lead into the rooms. And the thick stone walls not only used to pose an insurmountable barrier to the attacks of bandits and rebels, but have also withstood the tooth of time." Hajo checks in at Diyarbakir's Hotel Kervansaray. "The most beautiful sight on my ride to Bålsta were the colourful cottages all along the way. The traditional colour for Swedish country houses is dark red. This colour is made from the copper in which Sweden is rich, and was used to protect the wooden façades from the rough climate. Nowadays a majority of these houses are still in dark red, but you can also find blue and yellow ones. Altogether they help to create a wonderful scenery: sprinkled red, blue and yellow spots in front of green forests and deep blue lakes." Hajo describes a visit to Bålsta near Stockholm... Poland: Krakow shopping, dining and getting around "The title gives it away. Pope John Paul II, the city's most prominent son, and Pan Tadeusz, protagonist of Adam Mickiewicz's novel by the same title, are omnipresent in Krakow. You can hardly find a shop or café without the likeness of the pope, and Pan Tadeusz is not only available in handfuls of editions at everyone of the many bookstores, but is also the name of half a dozen of pubs. And indeed it is worth exploring Krakow's many Pans and Popes, whatever they may stand for - shops, restaurants, pubs and clubs." Hajo spends time shopping, dining and getting around in Krakow.
Macedonia: The Show Must Go On "An Ottoman invasion and a short period of Byzantine rule aside, today's FYROM remained part of the Slavic world, and the name Macedonia became widely spread across Europe, replacing the ancient Greek meaning of the word and the Hellenic tribe and area associated with it. But I don't want to bore you to death, and I don't intend to enter into another endless historical discussion with my Greek friends. For nowadays Macedonia has other things to worry about than its Greek neighbours." Hajo takes a brief look at Macedonia's history. "When I first saw the city at daylight from our balcony, I didn't trust my eyes. Lake Ohrid spread in front of me, resembling the Bay of Naples from a hotel room in Sorrento. And as I turned my eyes to the snow-white mountain peaks, I had to think of skiing holidays spent in the Swiss Alps. This mix of settings remained with us throughout the entire journey: alpine and Mediterranean surroundings, the underlying dust of the former Yugoslav empire, and monuments of the old and new Macedonia." Hajo spends some time in the beautiful city and lake valley of Ohrid. |
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