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Albania – bunkers, Girl off the trail
Albania is a country of bunkers, there are over 750,000 of them. They were built during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha to defend the country in the event of an invasion. However, this invasion never occurred… After World War II, Albania was neither incorporated into Yugoslavia nor the Soviet Union. However, it doesn’t mean that it remained a democratic country. In 1946, the People’s Republic of Albania was established here. What’s more interesting, in 1961, Hoxha completely broke off contact with the USSR, and Albania left the Warsaw Pact. Over time, after Mao Zedong’s death, he also put an end to cooperation with the People’s Republic of China. After breaking…
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Albania – north direction
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Albania – north direction
Albania has recently become a popular destination. There’re many reasons: beautiful beaches, interesting monuments, good food and even better prices. During my 10-day stay, I managed to visit a large part of this country. I must admit that Albania has enormous potential, which the country seems to have not fully exploited. There is no investment in tourist infrastructure and no waste management. Rubbish seems to be an inherent element of the Albanian landscape. However, the main problem for me was the dramatic condition of the roads, which significantly limited the number of places I could see in such a short time. Despite everything, I believe that Albania is a country…
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Albania – bunkers, Girl off the trail
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Cyprus – the most interesting attractions on the island
I didn’t plan to travel to Cyprus last year. I did it on the spur of the moment. I saw cheap tickets for the beginning of November, when I have my birthday, and I thought to myself: why not leaving everything behind and celebrate it there? I had just 5 days to see the island so the best solution was to rent a car. It wasn’t the economical way because I didn’t have anybody to share the costs with, however, I rationalized this expense as a birthday gift. The second obvious solution to visit the whole island in such a short time was getting up at unsocial hours, this was…
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Nicosia – the divided capital, Girl off the Trail
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Cinque Terre – the five lands
Cinque Terre which can be seen in many photos or folders advertising tourism in Italy might seem to be just the one picturesque village. Meanwhile, the name Cinque Terre means “the five lands” and is used to describe five fairy-tale towns, situated on the high cliffs by the Mediterranean Sea. These include: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. Each of them has amazing views and pastel-coloured buildings. In fact, this place gained popularity only in the 70s of the 20th century. Before that, Cinque Terre had been a place difficult to access. Only the construction of the railway connecting all five towns contributed to the significant development of tourism in…
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Nicosia – the divided capital, Girl off the Trail
I’m in the suburbs of Nicosia, it’s 8.00 in the middle of the week. I chose the perfect time for a trip to the capital of Cyprus. Three-lane highway, traffic jam to the horizon. I won’t hide, I’m irritated, I wanted to come at dawn, to have more time for sightseeing, definitely the day is too short and the plan is quite tight. I’m covering the next meters at a dizzying speed of 5 km/h, at least it’s time to look around. There’s one thing that attracts my attention on the horizon, so more or less in the place where the globe curves and the damn cork ends, I see…
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Cyprus – the most interesting attractions on the island
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The Leaning Tower – Pisa in the shadow of the pandemic
The Leaning Tower in Pisa was a place I had wanted to see for a long time. Ultimately, in the summer of last year, I managed to make it happen. I had a bit of a mixed feelings about traveling to Italy during the COVID pandemic. I was especially afraid of typical tourist places, because Italy is a rather popular destination during the holiday season. Meanwhile, to my surprise, it turned out to be the safest trip I could have ever imagined. Pisa was practically depopulated, we easily parked the car near the Leaning Tower. In the most important place – Piazza dei Miracoli, where there are four, most popular…
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Skopje, North Macedonia – the fantasy of a crazy architect
I planned my trip to Skopje for a long time, mainly because I wanted to see the capital of the former empire stretching on three continents, created by one of the greatest strategies of all time – Alexander III the Great. However, what I saw on the spot completely surprised me. Skopje actually looks very bizzare. The strict center of the city resembles the realisation of the boldest fantasy of a crazy architect. This is a combination of monumentalism and kitsch. Neoclassicism mixes here with a lot of unnecessary details and disco illumination, while adjacent districts are totally ruined. Clearly, North Macedonia has some kind of complex. However, no wonder,…
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Turin and its surroundings – in the footsteps of Umberto Eco
I visited Turin with my friends during a weekend trip to Italy. I hadn’t actually planned to visit this city earlier, but when it turned out it was on the way we decided to look there. At first glance, you can see that this is one of the biggest cities in Italy. Between 1861 and 1864 it was even the capital for a while. However, architecture, driving habits, and people’s behavior are far from typical Italian culture. In my opinion, Turin is a more elegant and peaceful city. Turin is mainly associated with the football club – Juventus, Shroud of Turin and Fiat. However, that’s not all, this city is…
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Lucca, Tuscany – forests on the roofs, Girl on a Trail
Among the picturesque hills and vineyards of Tuscany there is a charming town – Lucca. At first glance, it looks the same as other Italian towns. However, there are some surprising places to explore. Lucca used to be a very rich city, inhabited by wealthy merchants. Its position was mainly due to the monopoly for silk production. Although silk clothes are still made here, Lucca is mostly famous for its excellent olive oil. Supposedly olive oil produced here is one of the best in Tuscany. Residents are proud of their city’s history and typical local dialect. Lucca maintained its independence as a city – state until 1837. Lucca’s unique attraction…
