Countries Archives - Page 2 of 213 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Ten years of the real House of Dragons

18th September 2026 funtime65

Consigned as I am to live in ‘Winterfell’, and as a dracophile, I clearly want to mark ten years of the real House of Dragons.

No, not Daenerys Targaryen, who as my own Queen of Dragons reliably informs me is also to be feared.

But the real House of Dragons as those keen-eyed among you will have noted is Postojna Cave in Slovenia.

Which is, of course, one of the world’s best-known karst caves.

Where we only got to watch the development of the olm in real time.

From the first eggs, embryos and larvae hatching to their transformation into playful little baby olms.

Aw, they do grow up so fast

This year, ‘the baby dragons’ from the 2016 olm brood are turning ten.

And our Postojna pals are giving us an insight into how they live today and the interesting developmental stage
they are about to enter…

And whether dragon adolescence is anything like ours.

The very first olm was discovered right enough, in Postojna, in 1797.

The shy olms had, in truth, probably been around for 14 million years ago moving from the surface into the permanent darkness of subterranean waters.

Now instead of vision, which is unnecessary in darkness, the olm has developed a range of highly specialised senses.

Food for thought

It has an excellent sense of smell, taste and hearing, and can detect vibrations in the water.

And sense weak electric fields produced by other animals and orient itself using the Earth’s magnetic field.

And therefore locate its prey, such as small crustaceans, snails, worms and insects.

Its survival strategy in an environment where food is very scarce includes an extremely slow
metabolism, a low heart rate, and minimal movement.

And doesn’t that sound the life?

This one’s got legs

Slithering about: The olms are on the move

And there’s more…

The olm can live for more than 100 years and can reproduce even at an advanced age.

And because of its slow metabolism it can survive for several years without food, maybe not like a human adolescent then.

While here’s where it gets even more interesting.

They can regenerate damaged limbs and organs, blood vessels, the heart and even parts of
the brain.

And how do we know? Well, here’s where little Viktor comes in, handy,

Still of the night: And we’re in their world

Viktor like most kids likes a scrap and hurt and lost part of his leg in a fight with two other olms.

But like the Monty Python knight, he shook it off as a flesh wound.

Because he knew that within just a year he would have grown back a fully functional limb.

Now if you think all of this is dragon on a bit and you want to see Viktor for yourself.

We found round-trip flights for random dates in October to Ljubljna from under £200 with EasyJet because unlike dragons, we can’t fly for ourselves.

America, Countries, UK

Saturday Night Live… from Chicago

17th September 202617th September 2026 funtime65

As the UK laps up another dose of US improv, here’s why it was really Saturday Night Live… from Chicago.

Comedy fans have long greeted the holler after the opening sketch announcing Saturday Night Live… from New York.

And while the weekly anarchic tilt at the week is shot now in New York, and its UK version in London.

It is Chicago where improv is rooted, and in particular The Second City comedy club.

Which spawned Belushi and Aykroyd, Murray and Gardner, Fey and Poehler and Louis-Dreyfus and Carrell.

The original and best

John Boy: John Belushi, middle back, Second City

The Windy City is rightly proud of its hallowed place in the comedy firmament.

And it is not by accident with Chicagoans showing all the spontaneity and inventiveness.

Which led them to the Mid-West in the first place.

Viola Spolin is credited with being the Godmother of Modern Improv.

And that surely is a stage name given to gags.

And she passed on the funny gene to son Paul Sills who founded the Compass Players which led to the formation of the Second City.

Now what happens in Chicago soon gets taken up in the Big Apple and beyond… think skyscrapers.

And Second City has expanded since its inception in the 50s to spread the word to NY and Toronto and to the virtual ether.

Of course there is nothing quite like the original.

And if you want to discover the next SNL superstars then The Second City Chicago always put on the best show.

Sheer Pandemonium

As a sample Chicago is putting on Pandemonium, Please Hold through Friday.

Which they call The Second City’s 114th MainStage Revue Pandemonium.

A loud fast and gloriously unhinged night of comedic mayhem.

With the six-person cast cranking the amps and stage dives headfirst into the chaos with blistering sketches.

With tickets from $40-$80… and with a card and your own joke to go, In conjunction with The National Comedy Center New York.

And now the punchline

And because you’re you we’re sharing ours with you here for nothing.

Why didn’t the toilet paper cross the road?

Because it got stuck in a crack.

America, Countries

Muhammad Ali’s gift to Kentucky

12th September 2026 funtime65

Down by the Ohio legend has it that there’s an Olympic gold medal in the mud… Muhammad Ali’s gift to Kentucky.

In truth, the world’s greatest-ever sportsman’s legacy is far greater than the trinket he threw.

Into the Ohio River in protest against racism.

And in this the tenth year we are reminded of how we can mark it in his home town of Louisville.

On a knockout Internet Traveller 14-night Legends & Landmarks of Kentucky fly-drive holiday from £2,375pps.

In the rounds

You’ll fly into Cincinnati and stay two nights at the vibrant Hotel Covington in Covington.

And sign up for a Sin City Mobster Tour.

Days 3-6 will be spent in Louisville at the 21c Museum Hotel, Louisville, where you’ll came face to face with a 20C icon.

Where you can step into the ring at the Muhammad Ali Center.

While if racing is more your thing and it is Favourite Cousin Kath’s Kentuckian husband Mark’s.

Then you can immerse yourself in the Churchill Downs at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Where the history of ‘The Run for the Roses’ gallops to life.

Drink it all in

Now drinking in Kentucky obviously means bourbon and where better to stay than the Distll-Inn in Bardstown.

Stay two nights and embark on A Taste of Bardstown Tour where you’ll learn the art of bourbon-making.

Shifting gear your next pit stop is the National Corvette Museum in the lyrically-named Bowling Green.

Going underground; The world’s longest caves

With a billet at the Holiday Inn Express.

And the enchanting Mammoth Cave, which is no idle boast, with it stretching 426 miles.

Making it the longest known cave system in the world, though we don’t expect you to do it all.

It’s finger-licking’ good

Now no visit to Kentucky is complete obviously without a stop-off for a KFC.

And where better than the Colonel’s home town of Corbin and the original Sanders Café.

While because Southerners believe that anything the North can do they do it better.

Then take in the nearby Cumberland Falls, ‘the Niagara of the South.’

You’ll round off your tour with three nights in classic equine country, Lexington.

Not in a stable although Kentuckian horses are housed in style.

But in the elegant Campbell House in Lexington.

And be treated to a Kentucky Horse Farms Tour that takes you through the rolling pastures of the Bluegrass Region.

America, Countries, Deals

Get your skates on for Ireland’s Aer exodus

11th September 202611th September 2026 funtime65

It’s as much a sign of autumn as leaves on the ground, the Irish flier, and this is where you get your skates on for Ireland’s Aer exodus.

Because as beautiful as Autumn is in Ireland, and we spent 13 years seeing the Garden County of Wicklow turn a golden hue.

There is a world out there in all its many-splendoured colours waiting for us to explore or revisit.

Of course, New York is a true rite of passage for Irish youngsters and J1ers.

Halloween in the Big Apple

And my first trip to the Big Apple being in the Fall when it was New Amsterdam it has always been a special time to visit.

Which we reprised with our wee apples.

Skated on the rink outside the Rockefeller Center with Daughterie.

Went native when we took the Staten Island Ferry where every second brown build had a carved Obama pumpkin to greet us.

And joined the Paw Parade at Battery back on Manhattan where naturally New Yorkers dress their pooches as superheroes.

Before partying with the people on the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

The American Each-Way

All of which we can all enjoy and much more thanks to our friends at the national airline carrier.

With great value transatlantic fares available from €199 each way.

While of course the Irish have been known to pop up all over America.

With Aer Lingus flying to 20 destinations from Boston and Orlando to California and great spots in between.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Skiing

Ski TV… and La Plagne’s plans

9th September 2026 funtime65

And we just had to mark Ski TV… and La Plagne’s plans.

The winding up of the iconic BBC Ski Sunday show resonates particularly with Gen X.

Those like us, born in the Sixties and who were first drawn.

To those Incredible Snowmen Franz Klammer and Ingemar Stenmark, as they flew down the Alps in the Olympics.

And who we got to see every Sabbath for ourselves when David Vine brought it to our screens in 1978.

Now the British state broadcaster, in their own wisdom, have decided to pull our weekly diet of snow sports.

Leaving us to wait for the Winter Olympics in 2030 for our fix.

Looking up

And it’s our good fortune that we’re in safe hands skiing in La Plagne.

Now, of course, we’ll be blessed with getting to see the world’s best practitioners of the slopes.

In the blue-ribband events at the Olympics.

But in a throwback to our younger days the French Alpine resort is also bringing back a favorite of TV viewers on the continent.

And one which we regret that we didn’t see over on this island.

Where the only snow on our peaks is the northern forgotten bit of this island.

Probably just as well judging by Britain’s record in its companion show Jeux sans frontières .

Or in time-honored British tradition, translated into English, as It’s A Knockout.

Let these Games begin

Well, we will be treated to a new iteration of Interneige, born in 1965, a great year, and held in 1966 in La Plagne.

And but yes, we’ll want you to watch this space to see what they’ve got in store.

And if we’ll see a revival of events such as…

The Hare and the Tortoise, or the Hare and the Tortoise, The Grasshopper and the Ant.

And then there’s The Frog Who Wanted to Be as Big as the Ox.

Which we don’t have to tell you is The Frog that wishes to be as big as The Ox.

Throughout the seasons, there were numerous events, all culminating in Les slaloms parallèles pour le Fil rouge.

Hats off to La Plagne

And interspersing it all is that ubiquitous Plagne red bobble-hat which celebrates its 60th birthday this winter.

Born in a black and white TV age In 1966, La Plagne needed a simple logo that viewers could instantly recognise.

The Red Hat is getting a makeover for 2026.

It will change hats, acquire different expressions and become animated as part of La Plagne’s new visual identity.

Make a plan for La Plagne

La Plagne is a 150-minute drive from three main airports, Geneva, Grenoble, and Lyon.

Either hire a car from the airport, book one of the transfer companies or take the bus.

Alternatively let the train take the strain.

Eurostar Snow train offers rail service from London St Pancras International to the Aime-la-Plagne (with a change at Lille).

Trains depart London St Pancras International on Saturdays and return to London on Sundays.

Africa, Countries

Greenland the oversized prize… and what’s Africa’s beef?

6th September 20266th September 2026 funtime65

You can’t keep them out of the news but is Greenland the oversized prize… and what’s Africa’s beef?

Now unless you have just emerged from under an iceberg you’ll know that Donald Trump has been sizing up Greenland.

On account of it being the biggest island on the lot… although technically continents are just big islands.

Now parking that for now the unexpected reason why Africa have Greenland in their crosshairs is mapping.

And more precisely 16th-century Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator.

Which made him then a subject of the Spanish Netherlands.

And weren’t the Spanish busy conquering the continents of the world and mapping their new territories?

Bigging up the Old World

So we shouldn’t be surprised that they and other colonists bigged up their part in relation to their new subjects.

Which is how we got to where we are now with Africa measured the same size as Greenland.

Even though it’s 14 times the size.

But such creative drawing is now to be consigned to the 16th century after a Togo-led African charge got the UN to step in.

And adapt the ‘Correct the Map’ resolution, based we understand.

On Arno Peters’ map, a German historian, who launched the Peters world map based on the Gall–Peters projection in 1973.

And we’ve oversized perceptions too

New world: And Africa gets its proper place

Now because no man is an island we obviously want to redress other historical and geographical inaccuracies.

And sign up to Online campaign group #CorrectTheMap.

Who correctly point out: ‘You could fit the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe into Africa and still have land to spare.’

It should come as little surprise then that the Commander in Chief’s people have belittled the resolution which is not binding.

With Yaryna Ferencevych, a US representative at the UN saying; ‘Instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace, prosperity, or good relations.

‘The UN General Assembly is debating map projects from the 16th Century.

‘And their role in promoting reparations and ‘cognitive justice’.

Countries, Cruising, Ships

Get plastered around Drake’s Passage

4th September 20264th September 2026 funtime65

And before you judge us there are very good reasons to get plastered around Drake’s Passage.

Raise a glass of Prosecco to the penguins, for sure.

But if you want to be healthy enough to enjoy the full grandeur of the Antarctic plaster yourself up.

As cruise veterans tipped us off to avail ourselves.

Of either prescription-strength scopolamine (hyoscine) or over-the-counter herbal blends to prevent nausea and vomiting.

Cruise heads are well used to the vagaries of Drake Passage, yes, named after that one, explorer Sir Francis.

Between Cape Horn in Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.

Swan Hellenic the cool cruisers

Of course, Swan Hellenic will do all the heavy lifting so you don’t.

SH has a 20-night South Atlantic Cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Town, traversing three continents and two oceans.

Setting off in Ushuaia, the southernmost city on earth.

And crossing the Drake Passage before heading into the wilderness of Antarctica.

Capt it: With the Captain on Swan Hellenic

Where passengers can encounte icecaps and diverse wildlife, including several species of penguins and seals.

The voyage continues through the sub-Antarctic into the South Atlantic.

With calls at the isolated island of Tristan da Cunha, offering birds, marine mammals and stark natural beauty.

Before docking in Cape Town, the jewel of South Africa.

20 is plenty

Pooling our talents: With The Cruisey One

A 20-night South Atlantic cruise: from Antarctica to South Africa cruise, departing March 9, onboard SH Diana, costs £10,100 pps (was £13,100, saving £2,000).

You’ll stay in a balcony cabin on a Cruise Plus Basis.

This includes return regional flights to the port of embarkation and/or disembarkation.

Group return transfers from the airport to the cruise port, one-night pre-cruise accommodation.

A stay in a selected stateroom, all meals onboard plus most drinks.

A 24-hour room service, lecture programmes by experienced expedition team and guest speakers.

One selected shore excursion per port of call, standard Wi-Fi, and onboard gratuities and port taxes.

Countries, UK

Ushering in Scotland’s whisky man’s village with no bar

2nd September 20262nd September 2026 funtime65

And we’ll try to unpick this riddle for you after our visit to St Abbs, ushering in Scotland’s whisky man’s village with no bar.

Brewer Andrew Usher (see what we did there) is the man at the heart of the story.

Transforming a Scottish Borders fishing village from Coldingham Shore into the bustling tourist spot it is today.

Usher’s skills in decanting the then-harsh whisky into a product meant Scotland could sell their drink to the world.

Abbs Army

All of which made a pretty penny for Andrew who, proud Borderer that he is, put the money back into St Abbs.

Especially for the harbour and the village with St Abbs having suffered particularly badly.

In the storm of 1881 when 189 fishermen across the Berwickshire coast lost their lives.

With Jill Watson’s statue of women and children Women and Bairns at the head outside the visitor centre.

Capturing the loss poignantly of Black Friday, October 14.

A different world

At this point Victorian Usher considered his career of choice and decided not to have a bar in the village.

Now if you think St Abbs looks familiar you will have outed yourself as a comic books fan.

With St Abbs the template for New Asgard in the Marvel film Avengers: Endgame.

Today’s St Abbs is more a throwback to a gentler time than a futuristic vision.

And the best place to start is at the Visitor Centre where you can learn too of other notable St Abbians.

And 7th-century Northumbrian princess and abbess St Aebbe.

Who established a religious house at Kirk Hill, next to the rocky headland now known as St Abb’s Head.

Fishermen’s friend

And suffragette Isabel Cowe, the youngest of eight children of a fisherman father killed at sea.

And who campaigned and fundraised for St Abbs to have its own lifeboat.

She also took part in the rescue of passengers and crew from the ship Glanmire when it floundered in Coldingham Bay.

Now following the theme of if you want something done ask a busy woman Isabel wasn’t finished there.

Isabel’s pals: Noreen Thompson and Jill Watson in the Isabel Cowe memorial garden near St Abbs

And owned the St Abbs Haven boarding house from 1914 to 1931 and was a popular figure in the village.

While in her spare time she worked with her friend and activist Jane Hay in the Women’s Freedom League.

Cowe was an organiser of the 400-mile Scottish Suffrage March from Edinburgh to Downing Street in 1912.

And is now commemorated in the Isabel Cowe memorial garden near St Abbs.

And St Abbian and Abbianphiles

Centre of attention: St Abbs Visitor Centre

Now it is St Abbs way to mark St Abbian and Abbianphiles along their coastal walks.

All of which you will see for yourself on whichever way you take.

We took the gentle hour-long round-trip Coldingham Beach stroll from Ebbcars Cafe to the Coldingham Beach Cafe.

Stopping and yes taking a seat for a blether as recommended by Bill Gray.

Wherever you choose to go in St Abbs the locals will be glad to have a blether.

In either cafe, at the antiquaries hut, the Visitor Centre and all you meet along the way.

Ushering in a new era

And you’ll be glad, and we imagine Andrew Usher will to, to know that you can imbibe of bottled beer and wine at Ebbcars Cafe.

And before you reluctantly leave the village to return to North Berwick. 30 miles up the road.

Or 48 miles to Edinburgh while in the other direction you’re just 17 miles to the English border and 75 miles to Newcastle.

Perhaps raise a glass, and make sure you don’t flout the drink limits to Scotland’s whisky man.

Countries, UK

Treasure Island a rock in an Edinburgh private garden

1st September 2026 funtime65

Now we love an origins row – the baptism of Christ, surfing’s home, Irish coffee’s creation and now Treasure Island a rock in an Edinburgh private garden.

Now our own stomping ground of North Berwickety, south-east of Edinburgh, has long since claimed Treasure Island for itself.

On account of author Robert Louis Stevenson holidaying to the seaside from Edinburgh as a child.

And looking out on Fidra island.

Only there is a rival story from Edinburgh itself.

Brought to us by adopted Edinburgher Cousin Eddie O, who talks up his front garden.

Everything in the garden is rummy

Or the private Queen Street Gardens where the good people of the uptown New Town get away from it all.

The story goes that Stevenson would look out on Queen Street Gardens.

From his home in Number 17 Queen Street.

And specifically what once was Farmer Wood’s cattlepond.

Which in the imagination of an adventurous young frail boy, brought up by lighthouse people, became Treasure Island.

Now today’s Queen Street Gardens stress that their park is particularly child-friendly.

And parents to keep an eye on them, possibly because of those 15 men on the dead man’s chest.

And the bottle of rum.

Open season

Now you will need to be in the Queen Street Gardens to subscribe, pay the fee and get to see Treasure island.

Unless you use this month’s Edinburgh Doors Open Days.

Or, of course, come to North Berwickety.

With Sula Boat Trips for a £20 evening cruise from the harbour

Countries, Culture, Europe

Make a tourism killing from the Fjords to Guadeloupe

30th August 202630th August 2026 funtime65

And as next big Nordic noir thing Randi Fuglehaug popularises Norway we explore where they make a tourism killing from the Fjords to Guadeloupe.

Now you probably know Randi from her young adult Netflix series Royalteen.

But you’ll soon be acquainted with her and her and her detective Agnes Tveit’s stomping ground of Voss in west Norway.

Normally a sleepy mountain town close to Norway’s Hardanger region Randi ramps it up.

With murders around an extreme-sports week and a sheep’s-head feast Ekstremsportveko, jazz festival Vossa Jazz and food fest Smalahovesleppet.

All standard settings for crime writers and a tourist board’s dream for promoting their region.

Elementary detective setting

We have, of course, seen Guadeloupe given the tourism treatment as the site of many a murder in Death in Paradise.

While here on this island and the rocks off it there is no shortage of murder capitals.

The actual English and British one where Sherlock Holmes’ fictional abode 221b Baker Street is a popular tourist spot.

While as far north as you can be in the Shetland Islands you can walk in Jimmy Perez and Ruth Calder’s footsteps.

C’est murder

While way south, almost France really you can soak up Bergerac’s Jersey.

Why not walk the rues of Paris and the Quai des Orfèvres, the historic police headquarters of Inspector Maigret?

Back on Holmes, you can pay homage to the Scots author in his hometown of Edinburgh.

And at the Conan Doyle boozer in the New Town.

And the scene of Holmes and Moriarty’s set-to at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.

Wallander to Marlowe

Back in the frozen north you can visit Wallander’s favorite haunt, Fridolfs Konditori in Sweden and order a Wallander pastry.

While Istanbul, the crossroads of Europe and Asia is an obvious setting for detectives.

From Hercule Poirot on the Orient Express to today’s Turkish Detective.

And in America my uncle would dine out on when Kojak was shot in his Pirate’s Cove pub in Manhattan.

While if it’s old Californian tec vibes you want.

Then San Francisco is an enduring character for Sam Spade and Los Angeles for Philip Marlowe.

The fourth book in the Agnes Tveit set will be out early next year.

And it is set during a local football tournament.