hidden europe 66

There are many themes to hidden europe 66. One of these explores the intricate relationship between landscapes and nature on the one hand and the human experience on the other.

So we discover in this new issue how the landscapes around Lake Lucerne became central in defining Swiss identity and how volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have shaped Azorean identity. And we feature Iceland too.

Picture above: São Miguel, Azores (photo © Artem Evdokimov / dreamstime.com)

Summary

There are many themes to hidden europe 66. One of these explores the intricate relationship between landscapes and nature on the one hand and the human experience on the other.

So we discover in this new issue how the landscapes around Lake Lucerne became central in defining Swiss identity and how volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have shaped Azorean identity. And we feature Iceland too.

Summer transients: the Fjallabak community

Four hours drive east of Reykjavík, the Fjallabak nature reserve is home to no one, but lies deep in the hearts of many. Here in the hills of Iceland, the seasonal transients arrive in June, helping prepare the simple accommodation to welcome summer hikers. Katie Featherstome describes a season at Hrafntinnusker, a remote mountain hut on the hiking trail known as the Laugavegur.

More than heads on beds: metrics for sustainable tourism

European Travel Commission boss Luís Araújo is keen to push travellers to "adopt greener options and pay closer attention to their impact on the environment and local communities." All good, but the tourism industry also needs to do its bit, and that means nudging national tourist boards and providers of tourism services into adopting better performance metrics. Counting heads on beds is too crude a metric to support a shift to more sustainable tourism.

Hiking the Laugavegur

For many young Icelanders, the four-day trek along the Laugvegur is a rite of passage that in summer affords a relatively safe encounter with ‘untouched nature’. It takes in terrain that has helped shape Icelandic culture, memory and identity.

Visitor mobility

How far should the local travel requirements for tourists be met by a region’s regular transport infrastructure? Or does it make sense to lay on special services for seasonal visitors? We look at examples from Switzerland and Britain.

New Albanian bus routes

So what is the best way to get from Dubrovnik to Athens? Take the bus, we say, at least for the first part of the journey. Improved bus and ferry services now make it very easy to travel from southern Croatia through Montenegro and Albania to Greece. It is a fine journey, especially if you can make time to stop off in Kotor, Tiranë and Corfu.