hidden europe 54

In hidden europe 54 we follow a new long-distance hiking trail in the Balkans, lose a chess match in Armenia, spend a night in a castle in Austria's Burgenland region and meet salt workers in Lanzarote.

We also take the train through Europe's premier vine-growing regions, explore New Nature Writing, watch a film in Scotland's mobile cinema and discover a secret road crossing locks and sluices on the Dutch coast.

Picture above: Salt pans in Janubio, Lanzarote (photo © Meinzahn / dreamstime.com).

Summary

In hidden europe 54 we follow a new long-distance hiking trail in the Balkans, lose a chess match in Armenia, spend a night in a castle in Austria's Burgenland region and meet salt workers in Lanzarote.

We also take the train through Europe's premier vine-growing regions, explore New Nature Writing, watch a film in Scotland's mobile cinema and discover a secret road crossing locks and sluices on the Dutch coast.

Editorial hidden europe 54

In hidden europe 54 we feature a long-distance hiking trail in the Balkans, visit chess-mad Yerevan and spend a night in a castle in Austria's Burgenland region. We explore the art of salt harvesting in Lanzarote and combine our passion for wine and rail travel by reviewing some of the finest train trips through Europe's premier vine-growing regions. All this and much more besides.

Reel Fun: Scotland's Mobile Cinema

In the early days of the Soviet Union, the Bolsheviks used mobile cinemas as a vehicle for political propaganda. These days, Scotland also has a mobile cinema, but here the purpose is pure entertainment. Everyone smiles when The Screen Machine rolls in, bringing mobile cinema to remote, rural communities far from any modern multiplex.

The Spinetta Report

In the future it may not be so easy to take the slow train from Sospel to Tende. Or from Clermont-Ferrand to Nîmes. Jean-Cyril Spinetta's February 2018 report to President Macron is not good news for regional rail routes in France. It may be overdoing it to call Spinetta the French Beeching - but the fallout from the report is worth watching.

Off-track

Route 45 in our Europe by Rail book links Sofia with Zagreb via Belgrade and Brod. That's just the route once followed by the Orient Express. It features in both the 1974 and 2017 versions of the film Murder on the Orient Express. But neither film was shot on location in the Balkans.

On a Starry Night

To walk in solitude in the company of stars is indeed something special. It's a chance to attend to the beauty of the heavens. In the Austrian village of Großmugl, the 1500-metre long Sternenweg is a gift to stargazers.