Tag Archives: church

built upon the rock

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Mark Rossiter

Equipped with my €30 visa from the religious authorities, I took the fast boat from Ouranoupolis to Dafni, the port of Mount Athos (though that makes it sound grander than it is – there are about six buildings). Since Athos, the … Continue reading →

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hard times in Greece, and how to survive them

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Mark Rossiter

The Guardian had a story about a guy in Patras who has been so hard hit by Greece’s current troubles that he could no longer support his ten children and had turned four of them in for care. Sad, yes, … Continue reading →

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Meteora

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Mark Rossiter

My first stop out of Athens was Meteora. This is a strange piece of geology: vast rock pinnacles rising out of the plain and flanking the local mountains. That would be enough to attract 21st century sightseers, but what augments … Continue reading →

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the end of the road (for now)

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

From Trencin, another train journey, this time across the Czech Republic to Prague. Prague was undeniably beautiful, especially the buildings: but a tourist zoo: I guess I arrived 15 years too late, i.e. just in time for the opening of … Continue reading →

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Levoča

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

Levoča is a sleepy little walled town in eastern Slovakia with beautiful old buildings, surrounded by rolling green hills. At 10.30 on a sunny Monday morning, the women are congregating in the parks with their strollers, and the men are … Continue reading →

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Spiš

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

The next stop was even better. Spiš castle completely dominates everything for miles around: I climbed up to it – quite a hike – and looked around the ruins, some of which go back 700 years or more: It has … Continue reading →

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Košice

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

I had to get up at 5.30 in the morning to catch a train, but it was worth it – what a great day! The train on the left is the one I caught (actually the third one, after I … Continue reading →

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Hungarian history on a hot day

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

today I went to two old places outside of Budapest, connected with Hungary’s history. When the Hungarians came out of the east 1200 years ago (they had originally lived in Asia, between the Caspian and Aral seas), they settled first … Continue reading →

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Budapest

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

My arrival in Budapest wasn’t too salubrious: a drunken woman and a man with a weatherbeaten face and a moustache like out of a chronicle of some Balkan war shouting and throwing a table at each other, and an old … Continue reading →

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Győr

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Mark Rossiter

From Bratislava I went on into Hungary down the valley of the Danube, through fields of sunflowers and giant wind turbines (at first I had assumed these were Austrian, but they went right on into Hungary, too). I arrived at … Continue reading →

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