The 'Travel' Life of Brian

BRIAN OGLE unearths an article from 2001 on his first visit to Tallinn….

EVERY so often you come across a place so pretty, so authentically medieval and atmospheric, the people so helpful and friendly, and a city so remote from the main European tourist trails that it poses a dilemma.

ACCORDING to a survey last year, only five per cent of people in the UK know much about Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and even where it is situated.

You can get there and back in a day for that university interview……

WITH around 2,000 students from Northern Ireland travelling to University in Dundee, a lot of them – and their parents – will be delighted to hear about the new Loganair direct service from George Best Belfast City Airport which begins in May.

DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: CROATIA

SOUTHERN Croatia’s famous walled city of Dubrovnik is a ‘must see’ destination, but has now become a victim of its own success, writes BRIAN McCALDEN.

HOTEL REVIEW: THE ABSALON, COPENHAGEN

COPENHAGEN is still every bit as Wonderful as when Danny Kaye serenaded us with the song in the famous Hans Christian Andersen musical, many moons ago. But it is also one of the more expensive cities in Europe, so it helps if your base is close to the city’s throbbing heartbeat.

HOTEL REVIEW: THE LONDON BRIDGE

IT’S dead easy to find the London Bridge Hotel. You just look on the skyline for Western Europe’s tallest building, The Shard, and you will find the hotel nestling right at the foot of it.

HOTEL REVIEW: THE ROYAL LANCASTER, LONDON

FOR A Room With a View, our Twin on the 17th Floor of the Royal Lancaster Hotel overlooking Hyde Park took some beating.

SHORT BREAK SPECIAL…. VIENNA

LET’S face it…. There is no bad time to visit Vienna!

CHRISTMAS MARKET SPECIAL….. CHRISTMAS MARKET SPECIAL….. CHRISTMAS MARKET SPECIAL…

IT’S CHRISTMAS market time again… Time to take a trip to some of the hundreds of European Christmas markets which make the festive season such an enjoyable and spectacular time of the year.

IT’S the start of the Christmas Market season, and nowhere provides a better experience than Northern Europe, and in particular Vienna.