A rather complicated trip yesterday. Leaving Trieste with the 8.56 to Gorizia. Citybus to station Nova Gorica and finding out that you are in a different EU country. Slovenia. At Nova Gorica I took the train to Jesenice, 90 km 18 stations and two hours further. I had 5 minutes to change the train to Belgrade where I arrived midnight. Slovania for me an unknown country of a great beauty in nature.All shades of green , woods, mountains. The small train fighting his way uo to the mountains. Slovenia looks properous, nice houses well maintained.People who does not look rich but tidy. Croatia looks quite different. At 16,30 there was a passportcontrol and just giving a stamp in the passport what s not so usual anymore in Europe.People look different from Slovenia, more poor and Zagreb ... read more

Travelling through Italy you see compared to a few years ago an amazing number of security camera s. Probably Italy is competing with UK who is still EU champion. As in UK criminal rate will drop considerably by this action for within short time you need so many good guys to watch and check out the videos that there will be less bad guys automaticcally. Arrived yesterday with an delay of 6 hours in Rimini. Starting my travel in Catania with 10 minutes delay and building up after Messina with hours in the middle of nowhere. My scheduled arrival in Rimini was 9.30 am and I arrived 15.35 pm. In Messina the train was loaded on the ferry. Left and right on the underdeck 4 waggons. Took some time but in the end it works. Met ... read more

Took a hop on hop of bus , the northern route what took 3 hours without hopping of.Went to Valletta in the afternoon. Went yesterday in the morning to the old capital Mdina and in the afternoon again Valletta Impression of Malta - Their unknown wine is very good and unbelievable cheap - They threat beer as in England - They drive on the leftside of the road but since everybody is doing it its no problem - One of their export products are potatoes - 500 public busses owned by 500 independent drivers somebody told me. Still a working schedule - Valletta another Unesco world heritage site. Real historic looking and people still living in the citadel - In the churches hundreds of tombstones of the Maltezer knights who were living here for centuries - ... read more

Saturday evening I arrived in Pozzallo. 250 km from Palermo, 12 hours incl 6 hours waiting at empty stations and 4 trains. Pozzallo station is small, empty and far from the village. I asked an old lady who arrived also by train if she knew my hotel Villa Margherita. She did not. If there were any taxis .Not at the station. Than she said something about machina and invited me in her old,dirty car. The lady only slightly older than her car started driving.Did not find it. Went to a travelagency who knew but was unable to get an taxi.Too late its already 8,30 pm.The lady wanted to bring me and on directions of the agency girl we did find it. The charm of an old man or the goodness of an even older lady? In ... read more

In my early previous life I had a boss called Mike. When we were travelling and breakfast was included the roomrate he always told me ate as much as you can. Good chanche we can skip the lunch and safe a bit. It took about 35 years before I really practised his wise lessons but every now and than when breakfast is really good and not too early I do it. Took the hop on hop of touristic bus this morning and found out Cagliari is really a nice looking town. The guide showed also the football stadium and told that everybody probably knew how good the team have been in the early 70th of last century. She told it if happened yesterday. The old walled city is on top of a mountain . So a ... read more