East Berlin was controlled by the Russians until 1989. It no longer exists. I spent some time there many years ago, on my way to Asia. This is how I described it in my first travel book, 9 Months in Tibet. (more…)
Category: Travel stories
Prince Charles of Romania
Most people — Romanians and Brits — that I have discussed this issue with seem rather suspicious of the fact that Prince (now King) Charles owns property in Romania. Many Brits don’t like Charles as he makes challenging comments about architecture, agriculture and the environment, and is generally considered eccentric. He also owns a lot of land in England and is very rich. (more…)
How to Write an Article
My friend George is taking a month off to travel to Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia. He recently set up a company in Bucharest making (and selling) the most perfect eclairs. But building up a new company is hard work, George is a perfectionist and he’s exhausted. George said he would like to write articles and I said I’d like to publish them. I also said I would write an article about how to write an article — and here it is. (more…)
Sighisoara Needs Your Help
This article was also published in Romanian on Hotnews.
Anyone who knows Romania is aware that Sighisoara is a pretty amazing place. Guidebooks describe is as the only medieval citadel in Europe that is “lived in” and the old centre is one of the “must sees” on the Romanian map. But I have avoided the place for about 5 years for a number of reasons: I was seriously put-off after visiting a so-called “Medieval Festival” (a grotesque combination of kitsch and heavy metal); and it takes so long to get there by car from Bucharest (over 5 hours) and the train doesn’t exactly hurry. (more…)
Get on your bike and see Romania
You can see Rupert Wolfe Murray’s photos of his cycling journey here.
There are certain places in Europe that are known to be great for cycling. Amsterdam has been pro-bike for generations; in Copenhagen they say over three quarters of all journeys are made by bike; in Paris they developed the mass-bike-hire system and even London’s bouffant haired mayor, who cycles to work, is trying to improve that city’s reputation as the worst place to cycle in Europe. (more…)
Does Serbia need a brand?
When discussions about promoting Serbia take place the following comment often comes up: “shouldn’t we develop a country brand?” The short answer is “NO”. I am from Scotland, I now live in Romania, and I would like to share my opinion of branding countries. I hope that Serbia can learn from the mistakes of others.
A lot of money has been wasted by successive Romanian Governments in developing absurd country brands and it certainly hasn’t resulted in more tourists or investors. Their most recent slogan was “Romania – Land of Choices” and I am still trying to work out what it means. (more…)
Diary of a bike
I got ridden to Laurentiu’s house in the dark on a road through the centre of Bucharest, a road that is usually crowded but at that moment was deserted because it was the middle of the night; Laurentiu appeared in his pajamas and handed over a disk, a memory stick, said farewell and we were off — but only for a bit as time was pressing and I got folded up and put in the back of a taxi as my Master feared we wouldn’t make it on time, and his fears were probably justified as it is rather a long way to the airport.
I could hear the taxi driver complaining about how expensive spare parts are for Dacia Logans, “more expensive than the most expensive German cars” he said, and he believes Japanese cars are the best and my Master concurred. At the airport I was handed to a man in a tie who put me on a revolving machine and then wrapped me in thin polythene until I was hermetically sealed and almost unrecognisable — but then an unseemly argument ensued at the Lufthansa desk about their demand for a 70 Euro fee for putting me on the plane; we went to the cash office where negotiations resumed and the price fell to 35 Euro due to my diminutive stature. (more…)
Travelling through Kitsch
In Romania, as in every country, there are stereotypes about which places are worth visiting. If I tell people I am from Scotland many say they would love to visit Edinburgh but it is rare you hear people saying they want to see Glasgow, which is a more interesting city in many ways. When I travelled round India (20 years ago) everyone said I should avoid Calcutta (now Kalkota) as it is just a vast sprawling slum full of insolent Bengalis. But I found it to be the most compelling place in India. (more…)
What I found in Scotland
Click here to see Rupert’s photos of Edinburgh
When I went to Edinburgh recently I expected to see high street shops selling off their stocks at huge discounts and “everything must go” signs. But I was surprised to find that it looked like “business as usual” and I didn’t see any boarded up windows, stray dogs, rubbish blowing down the streets or any other signs that capitalism had failed. My plan of getting a cheap jacket from a collapsing retail giant were foiled.
Magical memories
On the one hand my credentials for writing about magic would appear to be good: I come from Scotland, a country which promotes itself as a land of mystery, magic and legend. On the other hand Scotland’s claim to be some sort of home to ancient magic is based on big marketing budgets rather than reality, as Scotland’s witches were burned and drowned and our legends were suppressed for generations. Many Scots would blame this (as well as their other problems) on the English, but who are we to complain considering that it was us who destroyed the Celts and totally eradicated the Picts. (more…)