Il Danubio. Un viaggio controcorrente dal Mar Nero alla Foresta nera

Nick Thorpe journeyed up the Danube to write this book, commenting that all the other travellers and writers he met or heard of did it the other way, downstream. There’s something quirky about our author and guide, choosing to travel against the flow and then spending too long at the starting line, Leggi tutto

Le parti interessanti del viaggio rimangono un po’ trattate con superficialità, mentre allo stesso tempo sezioni meno interessanti hanno fin troppo spazio. Rimane migliore Danubio di Magris, nonostante anche questo ti faccia sentire di aver esplorato tutti i luoghi lungo il fiume mitico.

When this author referenced in his introduction that one of my favorite books of all time; The Black Sea by Neal Ascherson is a great inspiration, I knew that I was either in for quiet a treat or a big disappointment. Thankfully it's a treat. Nick Thorpe, BBC correspondent and long time Budapest res Leggi tutto

The true test of a travel book is whether it makes you mentally pack your suitcase and begin plotting your itinerary. This book does that in spades. Thorpe has lived in the area long enough to know its subtleties but still brings a stranger's eye. He travels upriver rather than down to saturate hims Leggi tutto

Az útikönyvek nagyjából két dolgon állnak, avagy buknak: hogy izgalmas helyre kalauzolnak-e el minket, illetve hogy izgalmas író kalauzol-e minket. Ami az első követelményt illeti, nincs semmi bibi, hisz a Duna a mi szimbolikus folyónk, keletet és nyugatot összekötő folyosó erős magyar vonatkozással Leggi tutto

The first chapters are considerably more interesting: Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia. Germany gets a raw deal. Thorpe is not an original writer - sometimes using cliché language like the unnecessary gendering of the Danube as male when it is massive, female when it is meek, at one point confusing transve Leggi tutto

This is now the third book I’ve read that was suggested by the tour group Backroads as recommended reading for their excursion from Prague to Budapest. Surprisingly, this book bears very little direct relevance to the specific geography of the Backroads trip for which it was recommended. My guess is Leggi tutto

This is the third of three books vaguely about the Danube which I wishlisted three years ago, but while I read the first two: Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe and Blue River, Black Sea back then itself, I only got to this one now. Major differences: Danubia is pure Habsburg history, and Leggi tutto

This summer after many years away, I returned to Europe by doing a bike ride along the Moselle River; it was a most excellent vacation, and got me started thinking about other rides in Europe. I found this book listed on a web site as a good guide about cycling the Danube. Proved to be an excellent