Tag Archives: History

333 years underwater – Stockholm’s Vasa Museum

Posted on Oct 11, 2018 by

Sweden’s most visited tourist attraction is a museum with just one exhibit.  How does something so simple draw such large crowds?  Well, it’s one special artefact.  The Vasa Museum, situated on Stockholm’s Djurgården island, is home to the world’s only … Continue reading →

Posted in Sweden, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Skansen, the world’s oldest open air museum – Stockholm

Posted on Aug 29, 2018 by

National history museums are often high on my ‘must see’ list when visiting a country for the first time.  They are the perfect place to learn about the local culture, both from the artefacts on display and the displays themselves: what a people … Continue reading →

Posted in Sweden, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Artà and Ses Païsses – Medieval and Bronze Age Mallorca

Posted on Sep 1, 2017 by

The town of Artà lies nestled in a valley in the rural north east of Mallorca.  It is not easily accessible without your own transport and as a result has remained largely untouched by tourism despite the treasures it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Mallorca, Travels | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Roman Ruins and Medieval Walls – Alcúdia, Mallorca a town full of history

Posted on Aug 10, 2017 by

Alcúdia, just in land from the north coast of Mallorca, is a history lover’s dream.  The atmospheric, winding streets of the old town are a great place to lose yourself, camera in hand, amidst the higgledy-piggledy, colourful architecture; every crossroads opening up … Continue reading →

Posted in Mallorca, Travels | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Understanding Amsterdam – a visit to the Rijksmuseum

Posted on Jun 8, 2017 by

Amsterdam.  It is hard to distil any city to its essence, more so when it has more than one story to tell, when there is more than one truth.  To some, Amsterdam is a twee tourist destination of clogs and tulips … Continue reading →

Posted in Netherlands, Travels | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Pictish stones and sacred wells – the secrets of Scotland’s Black Isle

Posted on Apr 13, 2017 by

The Black Isle is neither an island nor black.  The peninsula lies 10 miles north of Inverness, with the waters of the Cromarty Firth to one side and the Moray Firth to the other.  For a small, sparsely populated place it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Scotland, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Surrounded by stones – Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

Posted on Mar 28, 2017 by

First, the facts.  At 104 metres in diameter the Ring of Brodgar is the third largest circle of its kind in Great Britain.  It is so large that it is hard to fit all of the 27 surviving stones in … Continue reading →

Posted in Scotland, Travels | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments