hidden europe 32

In this thirty-second issue of hidden europe magazine we explore rural churches in south-west England, visit Croatia's wetlands, wander through Belgrade suburbs and ponder on quite what it is that makes Berlin special.

All that apart, we also venture into the world of special-needs children in a small town in Belarus, marvel at the successful branding of the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen and report on a town in northern Russia where old submarines come home to die.

Picture above: Belgrade and the Danube (photo © Vladimir Babic).

Summary

In this thirty-second issue of hidden europe magazine we explore rural churches in south-west England, visit Croatia's wetlands, wander through Belgrade suburbs and ponder on quite what it is that makes Berlin special.

All that apart, we also venture into the world of special-needs children in a small town in Belarus, marvel at the successful branding of the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen and report on a town in northern Russia where old submarines come home to die.

Editorial hidden europe 32

The Europe of the imagination is an intriguing continent, one which we explore a little in this issue of hidden europe as we envisage a Switzerland without the Alps and try to unravel quite why it is that Berlin is well beyond the comfort zone of many who have been brought up and live in Germany's western Bundesländer. We also ponder the demise of the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable and explore communities along some of Europe's great rivers: the Sava, the Danube and the Rhine.

Switzerland beyond the Alps

Switzerland is a country of extraordinary variety, complexity and uncertainty. Jung was probably spot-on when he asserted that Switzerland's total preoccupation with itself was the only thing that precluded the country's engagement in wider European conflicts. We take a look at the other Switzerland - the country beyond the cliché images of Alps and cuckoo clocks.

Changing horizons: new hope for Kharkiv and Kazan

Look at the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable and you might think there are hardly any trains in eastern Europe. Indeed, the monthly timetable, which runs to over 500 pages, typically devotes less than a dozen pages to the eastern half of the continent. We make a friendly plea for visibility on behalf of rail travellers to Kazan, Samara and Volgograd.

Old submarines come home to die: Severodvinsk

Severodvinsk's most famous export product is nuclear submarines. No other shipyard city in the world has as much experience as Severodvinsk in the design and construction of such vessels. This remote community on the White Sea, even further north than a place called Tundra, reveals a side of Russia not seen by many tourists.

Sea and Sardinia

'There's nothing to see in Nuoro,' wrote DH Lawrence when he and his wife Frieda visited Sardinia in January 1921. 'Happy is the town that has nothing to show,' opined the English writer. We follow the Lawrences on their winter journey by sea to Sardinia.

Cruise ferry update

Catamarans compete for space with whales and dolphins in the crowded sea lanes off the south coast of Spain. Space is tight in some European waters as more travellers embrace ferry travel and an efficient and relaxing way of getting around.