As you may have heard, the media is full of rumours that a major television broadcaster has approached me to do the trip again – this time with a camera crew – and to present a 6 part documentary series. At this stage it would be wrong for me to comment … Continue reading What’s next?
I know that many of you will be wondering which beer won the overall Best Brexitour Beer Award – given that on both trips the top beers received a 4 star rating. The winner on Part One of my trip was Hele Kaneeliolu, the light cinnamon beer from Tallinn in Estonia which received 4 stars. It was a warm beer, served in a medieval-style pottery … Continue reading And the winning beer is …
I really enjoyed my trip around the Balkans on this second part of my Brexitour adventure. Not only did I go to the 4 remaining EU countries that I had never previously visited, but I also took the opportunity to visit other countries that had always intrigued me. Of course many people have asked me which city I liked most. That is difficult to answer. … Continue reading Reflections on the Balkans
So which were the best beers sampled in Part 2 – The Balkans. Here is the summary table. The top-rated beer was the Bratislavsky Leziak from the micro-brewery in downtown Bratislava. It was the first beer on our ‘Bratislava by Beer’ walking tour and was helped by the great environment – and the fact that it was accompanied by a large plate of ribs. Although … Continue reading Beers Ratings Summary (Part 2)
The last leg of the journey was to drive back to Budapest airport from Ljubljana and jump on a flight back to Birmingham. Having passed through so many border crossings during this trip (sometimes very quick and sometimes taking up to an hour) it was odd that when crossing from Slovenia to Hungary there was no actual border control – or any signs that we … Continue reading The chequered flag
Very close to the Triple Bridge you will find Pop’s House – a local bar and restaurant that seemed to be the ‘happening’ place in Ljubljana. It was full of cool dudes and pretty young things – so we fitted in very easily. They specialise in local draft beers which, as you know dear Reader, is also our specialist subject on this trip. Of course … Continue reading Pop’s House
… by many people that Ljubljana was a beautiful and fascinating city and they were right. What a great place to visit. The city offers so much to see and experience. Overlooking the city is the medieval Ljubljana Castle. We jumped on the new Funicular railway for a ride to the top to experience the panoramic views of the area. There are various bridges that … Continue reading I had been warned …
Although Slovenia is a mostly mountainous country, the drive in from Zagreb to Ljubljana was largely through green rolling countryside just like the UK. Slovenia had a really hard time during World War 2 as it was the only country that was effectively divided up between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Ljubljana itself was annexed to Italy. The people suffered badly in the hands of … Continue reading Ljubljana, SLOVENIA
The top place to visit in Zagreb for hungry and thirsty tourists and locals is the busy pedestrian area around Tkalciceva Ulica. (The linguists among you will know that ‘Ulica’ means street – and is used in many of the Balkan countries we visited). The area is full of cafes, bars and restaurants. We had a bowl of goulash – which although it is mostly … Continue reading Tkalciceva
Our drive from Sarajevo to Zagreb was very straightforward – across some large open agricultural plains and valleys and through various mountain tunnels. I must admit that I really didn’t know much about Zagreb before our visit. I knew the main football club – Dinamo Zagreb – had been reasonably successful in the 1960s, but I didn’t know much else. Apparently many tourists to Croatia … Continue reading Zagreb, CROATIA
We enjoyed various beers in Sarajevo – although I was a little surprised that many restaurants and cafes didn’t serve alcohol. (Bosnia does have a significant Muslim population). Sarajevska is the local brew – and we tried their two main beers. The lager was very pleasant and served us well on a hot day. 3 stars. However the dark Sarajevska was much more interesting. It … Continue reading Sarajevska
For many of us, of a certain age, Sarajevo evokes memories of the Bosnian war and the long-term seige it suffered between 1992 and 1996. Thousands died and much of the city was destroyed during the bombardment by the Serbian forces. It was longest siege of a capital city in modern times. I vividly remember the regular live TV news reports with bombs and rocket … Continue reading An ordinary street corner
I was never planning to take the direct road from Podgorica to Sarajevo. I wanted to take the longer route down to the Adriatic coast and Dubrovnik. It was well worth it. Those of you who have been there will know how beautiful the coastline is. We drove along the high coastal road looking down on the azure waters full of huge yachts and major … Continue reading Sarajevo, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
I knew that there wasn’t a great deal of top sightseeing to do in the Montenegrin capital – but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of our adventures. Fortunately the location of our apartment in Podgorica could not have been better. We had a fantastic view from our veranda of the city’s majestic Orthodox cathedral. (Number 2 on Trip Advisor’s ‘Things … Continue reading You can ring my bell
The road from Tirana to Podgorica was the complete opposite to the fast sweeping motorway that we arrived on. Although it is a busy primary route – the SH1 – it is slow, often bumpy, not properly surfaced and in need of signicant investment. Accordingly, I renamed it the SH1T. The relatively short journey of less than 100 miles took nearly 3 hours – plus … Continue reading Podgorica, MONTENEGRO
The Brexitour 