21st – March – 20th April 2023
Page 1: Contents
- Expressed on the web page as ‘pages’, elsewhere as ‘chapters’
- “Feet first on the “Stairway to Heaven” – a ‘flying start’?
- Köln & Pinocchio Re-Called
- Vienna: Where is the Danube?
- The Night Train heading East
- Satellites, Coercive Control & Solitude: ’56, ’68, ’90…
- The (Rail) Road to Recovery
- Brașov
- The Lido Hotel
- The Mineriad – crude repression
- The Romanian – Australian Cement Deal
- Hanul Manuc & the new vibrancy
- Biserica Anglicană & Father Nevsky’s Art Tour
- Military Cooperation through Dance
- Russian ‘Liberation’ C19th Style
- an exemplar of The Present
- A Continuing Impact
- The Dramatic Rocky Road
- Lions & more Lions
- The Continuing Presence of the ‘Liberators’ from the Past
- The curiosities of Border Crossings
- The Lidl Midnight Shopper?
- Changing – engines & on becoming a TV personality
- Istanbul: A brief stroll
- To Ankara & The Temptation of the Dogu Express
- Ramadan
- Food preferences
- Ankara Kalesi
- Restoration & Social Development for local inhabitants
- The Silent yet Reflective Hittite Lions
- Adam Otu: ‘the object of so many strange superstitions‘
- The Anchor Gift & Generosity of Spirit
- Testi Kebab
- Salih Dere: wise informant, friendly advisor & carpet expert
- The Pudding Shop
- The Old Architecture & Haliç Cafe
- The Basilica Cistern & Suleiman – undeniably ‘The Magnificent’
- ‘Dry Waste’ – a puzzle
Page 11: To Vidin & the Europa Bridge
- Return to Sofia
- Smoking Boxes & Wheel Tapping
- To Vidin with ‘The Unfortunate Lady’
- To Craiova
- The Europa Bridge
- Picking Daisies (almost)
- Târgu Jiu: A fine & comfortable finish
Page 12: Brâncuși & to Deva & beyond
- The Restored ‘Sculptural Ensemble’ of Constantin Brâncuși: A Lived landscape
- A slow progress over high hills
- Petroșani, mineriad & inevitable decay
- The Delights of Deva
- The Night Sleeper (and the dangers of late drinking)
Page 13: Vienna & on to Tarnowskie Góry
- The Belvedere
- Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano
- Klimt blockers
- The North West Railway Station – details
- Through Czechia, into Poland
- Magda, Iacob & Żurek
- The 1922 Memorial Stone; The Maciej Mine
- A Dining Car to Prague – in the rain
- Prague Central Station: memorial to independence
- To Cheb & Nürnberg – in the rain
- Lebkuchen
- The unexpected Bright Lights
- Where is The Centre?
- Putin’s Pain
- A White Rhino, the Renaissance & The Holy Roman Empire
- Albrecht Dürer, Two Churches & fine artwork
- St Sebald’s Snails
- Hapsburg Complexities
- ‘Margaretha mit dem Wurm’: An Astonishing Tale of Survival (almost)
- A damp & dreary journey
- Bourg en Bresse
- The Splendours of the Brasserie
- The Monastery of Brou and The Hapsburgs (Again)
- Chatillon – a strolling interlude
- The curious Curé of Ars
- His Well Travelled Heart
- ‘Mon Dieu : c’est incroyable’: French cuisine at its worst
- Charolais-Brionnais region
- Paray le Monial
- A Visionary ‘heart carving’ (on her body) lady
- Paray le Monial
- To Paris, a café & home
Yes Sir! All Aboard!
This train is Bound for Glory, this train!
The 2nd of 3 Rail Journeys to partners, colleagues & friends across Europe.
Many of them became members of a ’No Kerosene’ What’sApp group & some of those messages are included in this report.
Introduction
For over 30 years our EU funded project partnerships had intentionally focused on the peripheral regions of Europe – especially those that had previously been part of the ’Soviet Block’.
A Growing Realisation
The partnership programmes, grew from work shared between Mid Wales & North East Romania. The first programme included them & a partners in Lithuania. This interest in connecting 'peripheral' places continued with all that followed. A focus on partners from post-communist nations was also intentional.
The 2023 ‘No Kerosene Tour' reflected this partnership history and was routed through lands & Nations that had historical (& always, painful) relationships with Russia.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 UK community groups in our locality provided support to partners in Romania & Poland who were assisting displaced Ukrainian families.
As the 'No Kerosene Journey' progressed through Journey One, so did reflection on places & historical events & their relationship to the unjustified invasion & war unleashed by the Russians upon Ukraine.
Journeys Two & Three included further reflections both that situation & occasionally other personal events related to places on the routes created.
Inspirational Pathways 