hidden europe 47

Refugees are very much in the news about Europe and that topic features in various ways in hidden europe 47.

Join us as we visit Geneva, a classic city of refuge, and the Berlin suburb of Marienfelde which has, over the years, welcomed tens of thousands of refugees. We also look at the Saxon heritage in Transylvanian villages and take the slow train from Zagreb to Sarajevo 20 years after the Dayton Peace Accord.

Picture above: Walhalla is a national hall of fame - a sort of Bavarian version of the Panthéon in Paris (photo © hidden europe).

Summary

Refugees are very much in the news about Europe and that topic features in various ways in hidden europe 47.

Join us as we visit Geneva, a classic city of refuge, and the Berlin suburb of Marienfelde which has, over the years, welcomed tens of thousands of refugees. We also look at the Saxon heritage in Transylvanian villages and take the slow train from Zagreb to Sarajevo 20 years after the Dayton Peace Accord.

Portrait of a Berlin suburb: Marienfelde

Refugees are the issue of the season in Germany. A suburb in the south of Berlin, very close to where hidden europe is published, has an illustrious history in welcoming refugees. We take a walk around Marienfelde, where none of the streets are paved with gold, but for over half a century new arrivals have been treated with dignity and respect.

Eastern connections: rail links through Ukraine

At a very practical level, the difficult relations between Russia and Ukraine - and in particular their competing interests in Crimea - is playing itself out in train timetables. No trains have run from Ukraine's Kherson Oblast into Crimea for almost a year now. But the effects of the conflict have been felt much further afield, with rail services from Moscow to the Balkans being disrupted.

The makings of a city

'Skylines' is a book to make you think. This new title by travel writers Yolanda Zappaterra and Jan Fuscoe is a celebration of the iconic buildings which shape the skylines of some of the world's most interesting cities. We take a look at the European skylines which fearture in this new book published by Aurum Press.

The spine of Russia

Mikhail Mordasov is a very talented Russian photographer. Paul Richardson is a translator and writer who knows Russia well. When Mikhail and Paul decided to create a book from a long road trip across Russia, we knew something good was in the offing. Discover the Spine of Russia project.

Pleasure or pain

The notion of privation as conductive to more virtuous travel seems alien to the modern mind. Today's travellers search for five-star luxury and often look for a higher level of food, lodging and service that they experience at home. Travel has become a way of exerting economic power and negotiating privilege. But it was not always thus.

Mennonite migrants

Over 100,000 migrants left Kyrgyzstan in the 1990s, a good number moving to Germany. Many of them were descended from Mennonites who over a century earlier had walked from the steppes of southern Russia to Kyrgyzstan.

Keeping track

It is that time of year when Europe prepares to introduce new train timetables. The 2016 schedules come into effect on Sunday 13 December 2015. As usual, there are winners and losers. We look at some new services.

Ukrainian-Russian links

The tit-for-tat posturing between Ukraine and Russia benefits no-one trying to travel to and from Crimea - or for that matter anywhere in the border regions between the two countries. In late October 2015, air links between Russia and Ukraine were severed.