Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

hidden europe 45

Here is an extended table of contents for hidden europe 45 with brief summaries and excerpts of every article published in this issue of the magazine. Read the full version of all articles in the print edition of hidden europe 45, published in mid-March 2015.

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Welcome to the forty-fifth issue of hidden europe travel magazine. In this issue we reach out to the extremities of the Schengen area, roaming from the south of Italy to the north of Norway. We venture west to Brittany and east to ...
The statue of Saint Ronan at the Vallée des Saints in Carnoët, Brittany. The statue is the work of sculptor Philippe Leost. Saint Ronan is shown with his characteristic emblems: a bell and staff (photo © Patricia Stoughton).

Patricia Stoughton leads us through the soft landscapes of Brittany to discover a local initiative that showcases local saints. La Vallée des Saints (Traonienn ar Sant in Breton) is a bold statement about the enduring importance of regional culture ...
Shades of cyan around the Mont
Blanc Massif, seen here reflected in Lac Blanc
above Chamonix, France (photo © Bogdan /
dreamstime.com).

For Swiss scientist and mountaineer HB de Saussure, the sky held "in its grandeur and its dazzling purity, an element of death and infinite sadness." Guest writer Iain Bamforth invites us to jump into the blue. Wrap up warm, and bring your ...
Château d’If with the city of Marseille on the
mainland behind (photo © Dan Talson / dreamstime.com).

Sailing east from Marseille along the coast of Provence to the Italian border, there are some two dozen islands, many of which are overlooked by visitors to the region. Climb aboard the hidden europe private yacht (if only!) as we set sail for the ...
A plea for urban renewal: the città vecchia in
Taranto (photo © hidden europe).

Hop on the slow train to Taranto with us. We ride through rural Puglia in search of Magna Graecia - clutching our copy of George Gissing's account of his visit to the same region over 100 years ...
Widerøe flight 702 prepares to leave Trondheim for
the two-hour flight to Bodø — with stops at Brønnøysund
and Sandnessjøen along the way (photo © hidden europe).

The consensus is that flying has become boring. But fly on small planes offering a web of scheduled services up the Norwegian coast to discover a very different take on civil aviation. Travel by plane can still be immensely enjoyable. We review ...
The Russian Railways (RZD) train from Moscow to
Paris seen here in Hannover. The carriage decorated with the
RZD logo is one of the new Austrian-built sleepers introduced
on this route in January 2015 (photo © hidden europe).

Europe has so many very comfortable train services, but it's really hard to trump the top-of-the-range Russian trains used on routes from Moscow to many cities in central and western Europe. For inner-EU journeys, these trains are often great ...
The E22 Holyhead to Ishim road crossing the Afsluitdijk
in Holland (photo © Chrwincan5dm2 / dreamstime.com).

The Edinburgh Castle is a pub in the Welsh town of Holyhead (Caergybi in Welsh). The roundabout just outside that pub looks unremarkable. But it marks the very start of the road to Ishim, a route of over 5000 kilometres that spans seven ...

Faith has evidently replaced politics as the motivation for some of the world's tallest sculptures. In Europe, the largest such structure is the massive statue of Jesus Christ at Swiebodzin in western ...
The new European Solidarity Centre in the Polish city of
Gdańsk (photo © Krzysztof Janczewski / dreamstime.com).

Anna Walentynowicz died five years ago this spring in the plane crash that also claimed the lives of many in the Polish leadership. We recall the woman who was a welder, crane driver and political activist - a woman who quietly helped shape modern ...