We left the Julian Alps on the sixth of September, and there had been a longed-for return of decent weather - the sun was strong at altitude, and made cycling hard, because of the thin air - I was using a fair bit of sun-cream. We had a huge climb out of the Lake Bohinj valley, and it took a hell of a lot out of us. The climb from the foot lasted approximately two hours and was twelve miles long. It took us up to an altitude of 800 metres, and it included a brok...

On the cusp of Europe and Asia, Tbilisi offers a truly fascinating glimpse into a rapidly changing post-Soviet city. Stuart Wadsworth investigates.. Flying in, the first thing you see is the TV mast: a huge, flashing monument which President Sakashvili has, for reasons best kept to himself, decided to light up like Blackpool tower with garish neon lights, a kitsch 200m symbol of modernity, of the city's reaching for the skies, and symbolic of its eager attempts ...

Long in the shadows of hipper, more well-known destinations in Poland such as Kraków, Wrocław and Warsaw, Lublin has traditionally languished, economically and politically, out of the limelight and happy to be a big fish in the small pond of eastern Poland. In recent years however, Lublin has seen an upturn in fortunes, as European Union money has flooded into its coffers, infrastructure has improved and architecture has been spruced up. The city today is a con...

As Prague seems to draw a never-ending stream of tourists to its beautiful but over-crowded old town, Stuart Wadsworth heads to one of its lesser-known but equally appealing towns, Olomouc and discovers that there is more to Czech than the Charles Bridge and Wenceslas Square…and not a stag night to be seen. For many years now, Prague has completely dominated tourism in the Czech Republic, so much so that most other towns are, unfairly to say the least, put i...

"This is the place where Budapest comes to chill out," Laszlo, a banker in Pest, tells me. "many people come here to relax, but some come to do business deals, discuss politics, socialize, or meet members of the opposite sex - I even met my wife here!" he says with a glint in his eye. A visit to Budapest is not complete without a visit to one of its many marvelous bath houses. A leftover 'gift' from the time of the Turkish occupation, most Budapestite...