Tales of the Unexpected – The Fishermen of Hastings
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Tales of the Unexpected – The Fishermen of Hastings

One of the best things about hiking and about travelling in general is that, every now and then, you are running into something totally unexpected. Something that you did not even know existed when you set out in the morning and that, in the evening, has enriched your understanding of that particular town, region or…

The Writers Quarter of London – Literature and History in Bloomsbury
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The Writers Quarter of London – Literature and History in Bloomsbury

Legendary towns have legendary streets and quarters. I have never lived in New York City, but I know what everybody knows: that Madison Avenue is a by-word for the country’s (and the world’s) advertising industry, that Broadway is the home of live entertainment and that Wall Street is the place from where the gangsters operate…

Salute the Fame of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge
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Salute the Fame of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge

Of all the combat actions and hostile encounters that together make up the Battle of the Bulge, the struggle for Bastogne in eastern Belgium is the one you are most likely to have heard about. One reason for the fame of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge is the undoubtedly great psychological importance that…

A Remembrance Hike
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A Remembrance Hike

The Liberation Route Europe (which follows the movement of the Allied advance through northern Europe in the latter stages of WWII) is complemented by a wide range of shorter memorial trails around towns and villages, which are often laid out as circular walks to commemorate local events. One of the most famous and interesting of…

Liberation and Remembrance are What This Route is All About
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Liberation and Remembrance are What This Route is All About

Over the years, we have introduced you to a large variety of hiking trails: trails in the mountains, trails by the sea, trails through wild forests, trails through parkland and so on. This time, however, we are going to tell you about a trail that is still very much in the making. Liberation and Remembrance…

Lovely Spring Hike in the Italian Riviera
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Lovely Spring Hike in the Italian Riviera

One of the most reliably surprising experiences of any trip to the Riviera usually happens right at the start, even before you have fully arrived. When you come by plane from northern Europe, you will be flying over the snow-capped peaks of the High Alps one moment, then you blink, and the next time you…

What to See on the French Riviera’s Inaugural Festival des Jardins
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What to See on the French Riviera’s Inaugural Festival des Jardins

No long-winded openings today: there is no time to lose. Six more contestants in the French Riviera’s inaugural Festival des Jardins are waiting for our visit! (The first four are here!) First, we are going to Antibes, or – to be more precise – to Antibes’s beach resort suburb of Juan-les-Pins, where – at Pinède Plage,…

The First French Riviera Garden Festival
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The First French Riviera Garden Festival

Gardens are a part of the Riviera scenery like yachts, open-top sports cars and deposed government officials from corrupt cleptocracies. Unlike the mountains and the sea, they have not always been there but have become so much part of the cultural landscape that nobody remembers or can even imagine a time when they were not….