From the top of the Panoramapunkt viewing platform at Potsdamer Platz, it’s easy to see the grey slabs of Berlin’s Holocaust memorial on Ebertstrasse far below. The memorial was something I’d put on my ‘to see’ list because it was still being built when we were last in the city back in January 2004. This was…
Author: Stephen
Berlin: Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain
In the district of Prenzlauer Berg, in what was once Communist East Berlin, is the undistinguished open space of Mauerpark. But it comes into its own on a Sunday when it hosts a famous flea market. It gave us the chance to explore a Berlin beyond the historic centre and the popular tourist attractions we’d…
Berlin: Palaces and Pride
In 2004 we went on our first holiday together, to Berlin. It was January, blisteringly cold and snow fell periodically on the grey city. But I fell in love with it. We always said we’d return to see the German capital in summer and we finally got round to it in July 2016, when we found a…
To the bottom of Italy’s heel
Italy famously looks like a boot and during our stay in the south we drove to the bottom of the heel that goes by the name of the Salento peninsula, to the town of Santa Maria di Leuca. It’s a peninsula of solar farms, polytunnels, olive groves and vineyards, orchards and fields of vegetables, derelict farm…
A week in Gallipoli on the coast of Puglia
The Puglian seaside town of Gallipoli looked historic, elegant and characterful in the photos I found on Google ahead of our stay. But as a seasoned traveller, I should’ve known that marketing was at play. Lonely Planet had warned me that it was a working town, where fishing is still a mainstay of the local…
The extravagant baroque of Lecce, Puglia
Puglia is poor. Driving from north to south, we witnessed grim estates on the outskirts of Brindisi, derelict buildings by the score and lots of litter. But the sun was shining and bushes bursting with colourful flowers lined the pot-holed motorway. The city of Lecce’s suburbs were as ropey as Brindisi’s but it was the…
The hill-top town of Locorotondo in Puglia
We have TV presenter Alex Polizzi to thank for our trip to Puglia. Her Channel 5 travel documentary a few years ago highlighted a string of treasures in southern Italy that we just had to visit. Our stops at Matera, Lecce and Alberobello were all a result of watching the programme. And so was Locorotondo,…
Life among the trulli of Alberobello, Puglia
Puglia is famous for its strange, conical-roofed trulli. They pepper the landscape, peek out from olive groves and stand lonely in the fields. But Alberobello is the place to see them in all their glory. In the heart of the town, nestled on both sides of a shallow valley, they pack the streets and alleys….
Into the earth’s crust at Grotte di Castellana, Puglia
Deep below the fields, farms and villages of Puglia lies Grotte di Castellana, a cave system that’s something like 90 million years old. It made for a great stop on the road to Alberobello during our tour of southern Italy. Italy’s largest subterranean network of caves was created by an underground river but, remarkably, it…
The magic of Matera
For an ancient Italian town perched on the edge of the Murgia National Park, Matera didn’t look promising when we drove into its unremarkable suburbs. But then came the historic centre and one of the most remarkable places I’ve been to anywhere in Europe… We’d driven up from the modest airport on the industrial edge…
The extraordinary amphitheatre of El Djem in Tunisia
The horror of terrorism in Tunisia closed much of the country to tourists in 2015, bad news for locals and holidaymakers alike. It meant that the glories of El Djem went undiscovered by many. The majestic Roman amphitheatre is one of the best surviving examples of its kind and even in the 21st century it…
The castle at Sintra in Portugal
Sintra’s an easy day trip on the train from Portugal’s wonderful capital Lisbon. Hilly, with great views and some fairy tale architecture, it’s easy to see why the rich, the famous and royalty built their mansions around the village as an escape from the city. Sintra itself is touristy and busy but the real attractions…
Northern Ireland: The Argory
Pondering Northern Ireland, my thoughts are all too often coloured by the Troubles. It’s easy to forget that life went on despite the bombs, shootings and the hectoring background noise of politicians that filled my formative years. It’s weird to think that the National Trust was busy there despite all that trouble, doing its preservation…
Northern Ireland: The Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle
If there’s one thing I’ll remember about Northern Ireland, it’s that this relatively small part of the UK has such a variety of landscapes. The coast of County Antrim is one of the best and its star attraction is the Giant’s Causeway. Driving to giant Finn MacCool’s legendary domain on a warm, sunny day in…
Hunting ancestors in Northern Ireland
It’s a lot easier doing family history when home is just down the road from where ancestors lived and worked. It’s a little more awkward if they hailed from over the water. In my case, Northern Ireland. Some background: My maternal granddad, Ernest Moore, came from Donaghmore in County Tyrone, just a few miles from the banks of mighty…