Varna

very cool piece on Bulgaria.
Um, do they smoke there?

readabout

Some wonderful excerpts on unplanned travel in this article

"But why, I asked, would a robber of tourists be driving about with a
gigantic lorry-load of hay? Could we not just accept a simple offer of
hospitality at face value?"

"Let's drive to Russia," I said.
"Too far - we won't get back in time," she said
"Germany."
"Too dull."
"Corsica!""

"Having to spend an afternoon in a cafe on a rainy day, or at a station waiting
for a train isn't a hardship, its a a chance to become part of the rhythm of a
place, if only for a few hours. "

Two (inspiring?) pieces on very appealing train trips by the man in Seat 61 here and here.
And a handy piece on internet security on the go.

what a shot!

" He casually walked to the kitchen, picked up a pair of scissors, snipped the snake’s head clean off and stretched its open neck into a plastic cup "
here it is

frightful flights

A funny, if hope-it-never-happens sort of piece.