Category Archives: European festivals

Summer fun in the UK and beyond

From the London Independent. Adventure weekends around the UK. Plan a trip down to Portsmouth for the newly opened of the Mary Rose museum. Rembrandts and more sneak over to Bath’s  Holburne museum from the Royal Collection. From Prague Post. … Continue reading

Posted in Europe food & wine, European art, European festivals, European museums, European music, General magpie travel, News from Britain, News from Europe, Prague travel, UK news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some quick notes from Europe

Haaj. Hola. Hello! Coming to the end of the first week on vaca. Wi-fi has been spotty to say the least. The hotel in London only had access in the lobby, a real pain. The place I stayed in Alkmaar … Continue reading

Posted in All Suzanne's travel essays, All Suzanne's travels, Amsterdam travel, BeNeLux, European art, European festivals, London travel, Netherlands travel, Spain, UK | Leave a comment

Not the same old lawn ornaments

One of the shops at Floriade, the Netherlands’ once-every-ten-years horticultural exhibition, had a variety of plastic lawn ornaments for sale. In addition to the usual ducks, chickens and gnomes, they also had goats and… you won’t believe it… guinea pigs!! … Continue reading

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Carnevale in Prague

From Prague Post. Two weeks of pre-Lenten festivities in Prague, started on 31 Jan runs through 13 Feb. Jugglers and acrobats and masks, oh my! The part that intrigues me is the reference to bringing your own bottles. Hmmm.

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2013 is the last year for Queen’s Day in the Netherlands

From DutchNews. This year will be the last time Netherlands celebrates Queen Beatrix’s birthday (April 30). Next year, they’ll have a king, Willem-Alexander, so the date will move to April 27 and become King’s Day. Still, if you’re anywhere in … Continue reading

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Fireworks from Hogmanay in Edinburgh

A YouTube video of tonight’s fireworks in Edinburgh, Scotland. Happy New Year!

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New Year’s fun in Prague for 2012-2013

From Prague Post. From Cecilia Bartoli to 6pm fireworks on New Years Day to free sledding and celebratory simulcasts from other places in Europe – Prague is becoming a great place to see in the New Year! And the AvantGarde … Continue reading

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A winter wonderland at Tivoli in Copenhagen

One of my favorite memories of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, December 2011.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all

A few holiday photos to keep you in the mood. Apologies for the photo quality. Happy Holidays to all! . .

Posted in All Suzanne's travel essays, All Suzanne's travels, Copenhagen travel, Denmark travel, European festivals, General magpie travel, London travel | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

An iPhone app for Edinburgh Hogmanay

Edinburgh’s 2012/2013 Hogmanay festivities now have their own FREE iPhone app. Sounds great but I hope they’ll have an Android app soon (I’m looking at a Samsung phone for next year).

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My visit to Munich’s Oktoberfest

Like many people, I’ve wanted to visit Oktoberfest for a long time. This year I got my chance. After arriving in Salzburg, Austria at 5am on the night train from Slovenia, I shoved my luggage into a locker, bought a … Continue reading

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Concert listings for Prague Xmas season

From Prague Post. A ticket agency, yes, but if you’re in Prague this month, there may be something here you’ll want to know about. Also could be a good resource for visiting Prague at any time of year.

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The Christmas season has come to Edinburgh

Apparently Hogmanay isn’t enough to get folks excited in the Athens of the North, Edinburgh is celebrating all through December with an ice rink, kids’ events, light shows, caroling and all sorts of fun stuff. Wish I could be there. … Continue reading

Posted in Edinburgh, European festivals, General magpie travel, News from Europe, UK news | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Christmas is coming to Covent Garden London

See? The holiday season can start early when Thanksgiving Day is not part of the calendar. Guy Fawkes day is November 5, then it’s off to the races! Covent Garden has lots of activities planned, including live reindeer on the … Continue reading

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Organ recital festival this weekend in Kutná Hora.

From Prague Post. A big weekend of organ music starts today in Kutna Hora, an hour south of Prague.

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Horse trials at Blenheim this weekend

From Oxford Mail. From now through Sunday, International Horse trials at Blenheim Palace. What, I wonder, did the horses do wrong that they are being tried? Ohhh, THAT kind of horse trial. Never mind.

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Your London Paralympics transport website

The “regular” Olympic Games are over, but the Paralympics start in a few days. If you want to make sure you don’t get caught in a traffic mess, check this website. By 9 September, it’ll be over and done, but … Continue reading

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Oktoberfest 2012 in Munich – coming soon

Uh-oh! While researching trains between Croatia and Germany, I came across the Munich Oktoberfest website. The dates overlap the days when I hope to be in Germany. This could turn out to be a dangerous trip for some unexpected reasons! Time … Continue reading

Posted in Europe food & wine, European festivals, General magpie travel, Germany travel, News from Europe | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Beer on the brain – British beer festivals and a tasting list

I found this calendar of beer events in Britain. I’m especially curious about the Bricklayers Arms in Putney. They describe themselves on their website as a year-round beer festival. That could be very dangerous! They are also a good ten minute … Continue reading

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Heading into the home stretch – Olympic traffic updates for Friday, 10 August

Here is the TfL disruption link for Friday, 10 August. From TfL… 3 days to go: There are only 3 more days before the Olympic Games finish on Sunday evening. Thank you for your support so far; this has helped us get … Continue reading

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Let’s try this again – Olympic traffic updates for Wednesday, 8 August

Here is the TfL disruption map for Wednesday, 8 August. There are a few tabs, depending on whether you’re interested in road, rail or Tube info and the maps are very helpful.

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Olympics in London – traffic updates for Sunday, 5 August

This is the last blog post regarding traffic updates for the Olympics. I have been posting links to my emails from TfL (Transport for London) but the links don’t work. The link below leads to the generic getaheadofthegames website and, … Continue reading

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Olympics in London – traffic updates for Saturday, 4 August

The latest updates on Olympics-related traffic issues for Saturday, 4 August, mostly in and around London. I’m not paying close attention, but it seems as though the same venues are listed every day, as well as the same slow spots … Continue reading

Posted in European festivals, General magpie travel, London travel, UK news | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hague Masquerade on 31 August, 2012

From DutchNews. The last day of August is the date for the Hague Masquerade, a big fancy dress (costumed) dance party. From what I can find, this is the second more-or-less annual edition of this fascinating event. Another intriguing non-touristy … Continue reading

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Olympic traffic and travel updates for Tuesday and Wednesday, 31 July and 1 August

Sorry I skipped posting the Tuesday, 31 July bulletin in a timely fashion. Here’s the one for Wednesday, 1 August.

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Multiple weekends of music at the International Music Festival in Český Krumlov

From Prague Post. Český Krumlov’s International Music Festival started last weekend and continues through August 18th, Thursdays thru Saturdays with an occasional Sunday scheduled. Opera, classical music, fun activities for kids and a brewery garden for the grown-ups when they need … Continue reading

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The latest traffic updates and tips for 2012 summer Olympics

According to London Transport, Monday will be one of the busiest for the Games. There getaheadofthegames website will have all the latest. The next few days have the following hotspots, according

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Music festival coming in August near Oxford

From Oxford Mail.  Chalgrove music festival on the first weekend in August. Sounds like it’ll be a blast (there’s a beer tent, after all).

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Get traffic updates for 2012 summer Olympics around the UK

London Transport has a website with current information on traffic issues now that the Olympics activities has begun. There is more to the Olympics rash than the scrum in London over the next couple of weeks. There is also the … Continue reading

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weekend craziness in and around London for 21-22 July and beyond

Things are getting wild, with just one week to go before the opening Olympic Games hoopla. Click here to find out about the torch relay that starts in Greenwich at 7.30 am and concludes in Waltham at 7.30 pm this Saturday: … Continue reading

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