In photos: Twenty-five examples of Soviet mosaics in the former USSR
Mosaics of the former USSR - the iconic works of art that are part of Soviet cultural heritage We’ve always admired Soviet-era mosaics when we come across them in the past but, lately, and in particular in Moldova and the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria,...
Guide to visiting Comrat in the autonomous region of Gagauzia, Moldova
Comrat - getting off the beaten track in Moldova We were sold on the idea of going to Comrat, capital of the autonomous region of Moldova known as Gagauzia (more on that later), after reading an article about it in The Guardian newspaper. It was a classic case of...
Visiting the Danube Delta in Romania
What to do in the Danube Delta and how to get there Ask a local for a list of the most beautiful places in Romania and there’s a good chance the Danube Delta will be on it (in fact, some friends first urged us to visit some eight years ago). And yet, it’s an area of...
Communist-era architecture in Chisinau, Moldova (including a map of locations)
Alternative Chisinau - Soviet architecture in the Moldovan capital Chisinau, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova, will not win any prizes for architectural attractiveness, but this is hardly surprising given the city’s recent history. A huge...
In Photos: Street Art in Sisak, Croatia
An unexpected bonus of our brief stay in Sisak was finding some fantastic street art. We hadn’t planned to go street art hunting in Sisak; in fact, we hadn’t planned to go to Sisak at all. But during our spomenik-hunting road trip last autumn, we made a...
In photos: Soviet Mosaics at the Youth Sports School in Sucleia, Transnistria
While looking for probably the most bizarre statue of Vladimir Lenin that we’ve ever seen (*), we stumbled across the Youth Sports School in Sucleia, a small town 7kms southeast of Tiraspol, the capital of the de facto/non-recognised country/state that split away from...
Guide to visiting Cahul in Moldova
What to do in Cahul - getting off the beaten track in Moldova To quote a friend of ours who wrote a comment on our Facebook page when we published some photos of Moldova’s second city, “Cahul rocks!” He’s not wrong, in fact we think that this small, landlocked...
Things to do in Transnistria on a 10-hour visa (including a map of locations)
Visit Transnistria: What to see in Tiraspol and Bendery in the unrecognised state of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic We’ve been twice to Transnistria, a de facto/non-recognised country/state that split away from Moldova after the dissolution of the USSR in the...
Abandoned Bulgaria: Former swimming pool in Lovech
On finding an abandoned swimming pool with beautiful mosaics in Bulgaria It was a last-minute decision to try and find this abandoned swimming pool in Lovech, a small city in central Bulgaria. In fact, 30 minutes before setting foot inside the place, we had no idea of...
Street Art and Graffiti in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
As a destination, Mostar is growing in popularity and most travellers to the Balkans are keen to include it on their itinerary. The biggest draw to the Bosnian city is the attractive Stari Most (Old Bridge), spanning the equally attractive cobblestoned Old Town. The...
Places associated with the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
Linking locations connected to Chernobyl and HBO’s miniseries If like us, you’ve been watching HBO’s recently-aired, and utterly riveting miniseries, Chernobyl, you might be wondering about the filming locations. If you’ve travelled in the region, you may also be...
Former secret Soviet bunker in Līgatne, Latvia
Līgatne is situated in northwest Latvia, 25km from Sigulda and 29km from Cēsis. The local Tourist Information Centre lists quite a few reasons to come and visit their town and I’m sure they are all valid ones but our one inducement to visit Līgatne was to go on a...