hidden europe

What’s in a name? From Eryri to Everest The names of places and topographical features do not appear by accident. Examine a placename and there is often a good story about its origins and meaning. Paul Scraton takes to the Welsh hills to ex...

The story of placenames and in the Welsh hills in particular was a theme for a recent #LetterfromEurope - our regular email newsletter. As with all editions, you can read ‘What’s in a name? From Eryri to Everest’ on the hidden europe website.

www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

“There is debate around where both the name of the mountain and the name of the park come from. Eryri is believed to come from a word meaning ‘highlands’ or ‘uplands’, while Yr Wyddfa is derived from the Welsh word for burial cairn and based on the legend of the giant Rhitta.”

“Since 2022 the Snowdonia National Park has decided to use the Welsh language names both for the mountain and for the park itself. On its website, and in most hill-walking publications, Yr Wyddfa is the tallest mountain in the Eryri National Park…”

Photo © Rory Trappe / Dreamstime

an English Eden: Tresco Join us as we visit an archipelago of islands in the Atlantic off the southwest coast of England. The Isles of Scilly are a remarkable outpost - lush, verdant and, at their best, almost Caribbean in d...

“But everyone has boats, used more for flitting between islands than for journeys to the British mainland. Scilly islanders are born with sea legs!”

You can read the full feature from our magazine archive on the hidden europe website: www.hiddeneurope.eu/the-magazine...

“The Scilly Isles are served by no car ferry, so the effects of remoteness impact on everyday life. Tresco is car-free, its vehicular traffic being limited to tractors, bicycles, golf-carts and the occasional shopping trolley…”

The places of hidden europe - Sculpture on the Tresco coast just north of Old Grimsby, an English Eden on an archipelago of islands just off the southwest coast. We visited the Isles of Scilly back in hidden europe 23...

Each month with our #LetterfromEurope newsletter we are releasing more articles from our magazine archive via our website. Here's one from the Lofoten Islands... and while you are there, you can sign up for future editions of the newsletter ;-)

www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

Stories in timber and stone - Europe’s Old Towns For many travellers the handsome squares in the heart of major cities - throughout central Europe but also more widely - capture the experience of being away from home. These squares, often distinguis...

The most recent letter was also about the appeal of the squares and buildings of Europe’s old towns, and the stories in timber and stone that they contain. You’ll find this edition of our newsletter here: www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

The Beauty of the Square Kings come and kings go, and even freedom goes in and out of fashion. But the appeal of the town square endures, because ultimately these are spaces that belong to the people. The square in Ceské Bude...

We wrote about the beauty of the square for our #LetterfromEurope - and like all editions of our regular newsletter you can read it on our website: www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

“The square in Ceské Budejovice belongs to the visitors and locals who sit and drink a coffee or a beer ... It belongs to the kids who are playing by Samson's Fountain and it belongs to the elderly woman who chatters away to herself by the main door of the richly decorated town hall…”

The places of hidden europe - The Grand Hotel Zvon dominates one side of the town square in the Bohemian town of Ceské Budejovice. The appeal of the town square is something that endures, because ultimately these are spaces that belong to the people…

One of our favourite Lavaux villages: St Saphorin. Gorgeous setting amid vineyards by Lake Geneva. And with a bonus train. #Switzerland

At the harbour wall: port cities and the ties that bind Port cities often have a very special feel. Hamburg, Genoa, Liverpool and Bergen have much in common by virtue of their connection to the sea. Berlin writer Paul Scraton explores the quaysides of the ...

Like all of our monthly newsletters, you can read our #LetterfromEurope about port cities on our website: www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

...‘We’re not English, we’re Scouse,’ the Liverpool football fans sing, taking pride in a name and an identity that links them to Hamburg and Bremen, Bergen and Gdańsk.”

...In Bergen, it is called Lapskaus. In Liverpool it was a variation of this meal - and every Liverpudlian family has its own recipe - that gave its cityfolk their name...

“In a small bar not far from the Reeperbahn that already existed when my grandfather came ashore, I ordered a portion of Labskaus with my beer. A mix of beetroot and corned beef, eggs and pickles, you’ll find a variation of this dish across all the former ports of the Hanseatic League and beyond...

The places of hidden europe - As a port city, Hamburg has a long history of connection to places across the sea. In a recent edition of our Letter from Europe, Paul Scraton explored port cities and ties that bind…

Photo © Elenatur / Dreamstime

If you had just one afternoon in Switzerland, would you opt for a Simplon hike at 2000m or ride the Glacier Express? We'd choose the hike. Agree or not?

We are slowly releasing articles like this via our monthly Letter from Europe newsletter. You can find the entire collection of newsletters, including the most recent on Old Towns (with a link to the Geneva piece), here: www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

More than just Calvin: the Geneva story We take a look at a European city which has often styled itself as a place of refuge. Geneva has long taken a stand on human rights. So join us as we explore the many sides of Geneva, the Swiss city t...

This article from our magazine archive is one of those we have now made available to read in full on the hidden europe website: www.hiddeneurope.eu/the-magazine...

The places of hidden europe - The four central figures in the monument to the Reformation in Geneva are William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. We visited Geneva for a magazine feature back in hidden europe 47...

There are more than 500 editions of our Letter from Europe, and you’ll find them all on our website (including the letter about islands). Recent editions also include links to articles from our magazine archive that are now available to read in full online.

www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

Escape from the world: the fascination of islands What is it about islands that so powerfully fuels our imagination? Paul Scraton ponders the question while on an excursion off to the Farne Islands. In his bag is a trio of island-themed articles publ...

Last summer our #LetterfromEurope explored the fascination of islands, and what it is about them that so powerfully fuels our imagination: www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...

What say you? Do you share our love of islands? And if so, which is the one that most captures your imagination?

The places of hidden europe - The 'MV Clansman' arriving at Castlebay on Barra. The prominent mountain is Heabhal, at 383 metres the highest elevation on Barra. There is something about islands that have made them a recurring theme for hidden europe over the years…

Instantly recognisable.... for anyone who has been to Kandersteg in #Switzerland. Staying in Kandersteg this evening before going on to Lavaux Vineyards tomorrow.

Border hopping DE/CH. Konstanz on the Bodensee.

The island of Mainau in Lake Constance #Bodensee. Lots of unlikely links with Sweden on this horticultural paradise.

Sunday morning on a boat on Lake Constance #Bodensee #Meersburg

There are more than 500 editions of our Letter from Europe, and you’ll find them all on our website (the Ouchy letter is from 2018). Recent editions also include links to articles from our magazine archive that are now available to read in full online.

www.hiddeneurope.eu/letter-from-...