Category Archives: Archaeology in Europe

London Fire 1666

The Museum of London has a terrific exhibition commemorating the Great Fire of 1666 on its 350th anniversary. I took loads of photos but they didn’t do the show justice. The story needs more than just a couple of photos … Continue reading

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Visiting Richard III in Leicester

If you are an Anglophile and/or history buff (both of which I am) and you haven’t read The King’s Grave, by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, put it on your reading list. Ever since Richard III – or what was left … Continue reading

Posted in All Suzanne's travel essays, All Suzanne's travels, Archaeology in Europe, England, UK news | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Neolithic Orkney 1 – the Ness of Brodgar and Maeshowe

Blognote – In the interest of shorter blog posts to cater to ever-diminishing attention spans (not least of which is my own!), here is the first of several posts about the Neolithic sites on Orkney. With all the known settlements … Continue reading

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Magpie update – August / September 2014

In many ways, summer is possibly my least favorite season. Sure, there is no snow to shovel and late sunsets mean more time to be out and about. But, especially in terms of travel, summer is when I’m most likely … Continue reading

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Travel and art news from France – summer 2014

From France 24. The Paris Pantheon has been wallpapered with some 4000 selfies by street artist JR, thru early October. On the topic of selfies – Parisian authorities are trying to effect a sea change away from those bridge-destroying “love … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, European art, European museums, France, General magpie travel, News from Europe, Paris travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dutch tidbits – spring 2014

From Dutch news. Bike parking to be expanded in Amsterdam. A canal house is being created using a 3D printer and is open to visitors. Problems with high-speed rail service continues, but slow trains are still in service between A’dam … Continue reading

Posted in Amsterdam travel, Archaeology in Europe, Europe's gardens, European art, European museums, General magpie travel, Netherlands travel, News from Europe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

tidbits of UK travel news

From the London Independent.  A (very) modest hotel in Wales scores for customer service. Even thrifty old me could afford to stay here! I wonder how far in advance one needs to book? And here are a few ideas for … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, Edinburgh, England, Europe food & wine, European art, European festivals, European museums, General magpie travel, News from Britain, UK news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Miscellaneous art news around Europe 2014

From London Independent – Matisse at the Tate Modern thru early September 2014. More Matisse at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris and a Matisse trail in Collioure in French Languedoc (aka French Catalunya). This last one sounds intriguing – see info at … Continue reading

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Get on your bike and visit Vikings in England – spring 2014

A collection of interesting exhibitions and other activities in and around London now that winter is finally gone… From France 24 – A British museum exhibit on Vikings through late June. From Oxford Mail. A bike route between Oxford and … Continue reading

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WWI unexploded shell goes off near Ypres, Belgium

From several sources a couple of weeks ago. Unexploded munitions from both World Wars lurk, barely buried, particularly in northern regions of Europe. Sadly, this is not a rare occurrence even a century after that first conflict. The reason I … Continue reading

Posted in All Suzanne's travel essays, Archaeology in Europe, Belgium, BeNeLux, General magpie travel, News from Europe, travel advice | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

A view of the Þingvellir rift valley (mid-Atlantic Ridge) from overlook point at Hakid on a cold, dry day in mid-January, 2014. Iceland’s first national park, founded in 1930. The site of Iceland’s Parliament from 930 to the end of the … Continue reading

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A Scottish stone is going walkabout!

From London Independent and Univ of Glasgow. The Hogback Stone, one of the thousand-plus year old Govan stones which live in a Glasgow church, is going on exhibition at the British Museum in London. Here’s more info and a photo, … Continue reading

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Roman road found in Utrecht, Netherlands

From Dutch News. A road dating from Roman times has been dug up in central Utrecht while building work was being carried out. Ancient Roman ruins don’t immediately come to mind as elements of Dutch history, which makes the news … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, BeNeLux, European art, European museums, General magpie travel, Netherlands travel, News from Europe | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Cold War era bunker opened at Prague hotel

From Prague Post. Prague’s Jalta Hotel has opened its top-secret Communist-era bunker to interested visitors two days each week. Admission is €3. Pre-booking is required. This should be on the list for your/my next visit. Join the queue!

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, Czech Republic, Eastern Europe, European museums, General magpie travel, News from Europe, Prague travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Rare Jewish manuscript found in England

From the London Independent. A rare Jewish manuscript from the 18th century has been found and will be auctioned off. (Not related to the art horde recently found in Germany). Check those soup cartons before recycling!

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, England, European art, News from Britain, not really travel, UK news | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Roman eagle in London again

From London Independent. A Roman eagle sculpture, around 1800 years old, has been dug up near Aldgate and is on display at the Museum of London. In excess of two feet tall, an amazing piece, quite possibly from some big … Continue reading

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Emperor Augustus on exhibit

From France 24. A new exhibition on Roman emperor Augustus opens in Rome and runs through early February. It turns up again mid-March in Paris until mid-July. This all coincides with the 2000th anniversary of Augustus’ death. No flowers please. … Continue reading

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Some autumn festivals and exhibitions in Europe 2013

From the London Independent. A new jewelry exhibition at the Museum of London opens in October for the now-named Cheapside Hoard. Dates from 11 Oct 2013 – 27 April 2014. Looks stunning. In Lisbon, the architecture triennale from mid-September thru mid-December. … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, Copenhagen travel, Czech Republic, Denmark travel, England, European art, European festivals, European museums, European music, General magpie travel, News from Britain, News from Europe, portugal travel, Prague travel | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Changes coming to Stonehenge

From the English Heritage website after reading a blurb on the London Independent. I can’t decide how much I like the sound of this. On the one hand, it’s laudable to want to restore the area around Stonehenge so it … Continue reading

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Loving Croatia

Tuesday was my last full day in Rovinj, my new favorite destination in Europe. It is on the Adriatic and ‘Mediterranean sunny’; red tiled roofs; an ancient church in the middle of town at the highest point; narrow, winding alleyways … Continue reading

Posted in All Suzanne's travels, Archaeology in Europe, Balkan Europe travel, Croatia travel, European museums, News from Europe | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

More April 2013 news from Europe

From France 24. The Gates of Hell have been dug up in Turkey (not a government building – it’s an archaeological site). From London Independent. This event was linked to in a previous blog post. Ruminations on the reopening of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum … Continue reading

Posted in Amsterdam travel, Archaeology in Europe, BeNeLux, European art, European museums, France, General magpie travel, News from Europe, not really travel, Paris travel | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

News from London and around the U.K.

From London Independent. Green space, a wildflower meadow will transform a huge portion of the London Olympic site into a new urban park. Tesco is buying the Giraffe restau chain in a bid to improve overall performance. What, my custom … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology in Europe, England, Europe food & wine, General magpie travel, London travel, News from Britain, UK news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nefertiti in Berlin now thru April 2013

From France 24. Berlin celebrates centenary of discovery of Nefertiti bust.

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Oldest prehistoric town in Europe found in Bulgaria

From France 24. Archaeology is a fascinating topic and this news item about Europe’s oldest prehistoric town being uncovered near Provadia, Bulgaria is no exception.

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