Top 5 Transylvanian Bed & Breakfasts – Casa Cositorarului, Sighisoara

October 2025. Sighișoara. There are two main challenges writing these foreign blogs. One is finding the right button on the phone for the mysterious “comma below”  in Romanian names, the other is limiting the number of photos so you don’t get too bored reading the posts. Not that many folk do read the posts to… Continue reading Top 5 Transylvanian Bed & Breakfasts – Casa Cositorarului, Sighisoara

Caru’ cu Bere. Your must visit for pork knuckle in Bucharest.

October 2025. Bucharest. Friday was the Big Tourist Tick Day in Bucharest, and Mrs RM had targeted Caru’ cu Bere as the must visit Romania restaurant. And not just because it was close to Ground Zero and it was raining. Chat GPT had told me to go to Caru’ cu Bere (Ale Wagon) as well,… Continue reading Caru’ cu Bere. Your must visit for pork knuckle in Bucharest.

MEETING YOUNG BOYS (BERN) AT GROUND ZERO

October 2025. Bucharest. Six hours on the Bucharest tourist trail, time for a beer. Luckily for Mrs RM, a brand new bar awaited yards from our coach drop-off. Seven years on from our first trip, the capital has lost a couple of Old Town craft bars, including one with London Pride on handpump, denying BRAPA… Continue reading MEETING YOUNG BOYS (BERN) AT GROUND ZERO

GOLDEN BATHROOMS AND PARLIAMENTARY WHITE ELEPHANTS. A TOURIST DAY IN BUCHAREST

October 2025. Bucharest. “All I remember about that first Bucharest trip is your ****ing craft beer pubs” said Mrs RM angrily. Somewhat unfair, as I distinctly recall it was her making me go in places called “Beer O’Clock” and “100 Beers”, and it was me getting tickets to the Beethoven violin concerto that night but… Continue reading GOLDEN BATHROOMS AND PARLIAMENTARY WHITE ELEPHANTS. A TOURIST DAY IN BUCHAREST

SEPTEMBER ’25 STOCKTAKE + OCTOBER PREVIEW

A few hours early for the contractually obligated monthly highlights post, let’s hope it’s not tempting fate and something really significant happens this afternoon. September was a month of returns. Biggest of all, Russ returned to the comments page after a traumatic period out, and how we’d missed him (and not just to correct the… Continue reading SEPTEMBER ’25 STOCKTAKE + OCTOBER PREVIEW

GORDON HILL ! A WALK TO THE JOLLY BUTCHERS IN ENFIELD

September 2025. Enfield. Home from Carshalton, and straight back into London the next day. “Proper” tickers would have squeezed in halves in all three remaining London pubs that Friday night, but post-completion I only deal in pints, and want to take the time to appreciate the culture in places like Carshalton, and Atherstone, and Enfield.… Continue reading GORDON HILL ! A WALK TO THE JOLLY BUTCHERS IN ENFIELD

MATCHING M & B MILD WITH DESI BAKRA IN SMETHWICK’S RED COW

August 2025. Smethwick. Our last day in Birmingham, though the new GBG is going to send me back there soon enough (NO SPOILERS) and a rare stop in Smethwick, famed for its Gurdwara. The fast train from Kiddy to Brum takes you past fields of pumpkins at Blakedown and drops you at Galton Bridge, handy… Continue reading MATCHING M & B MILD WITH DESI BAKRA IN SMETHWICK’S RED COW