Reiseskildringer

My Family and Other Enemies is part travelogue, part memoir that dives into the hinterland of Croatia. Mary Novakovich explores her ongoing relationship with the region of Lika in central Croatia, where her parents were born.. 'Lika is little known to most travellers - apart from Plitvice Lakes National Park and the birthplace of Nikola Tesla' she says.

'It's a region of wild beauty that has been battered by centuries of conflict. Used as a buffer zone between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires for hundreds of years, Lika became a land of war and warriors. And when Yugoslavia started to disintegrate in 1991, it was here where some of the first shots were fired.'Shipped off to Lika as a child during the supposedly golden years of Tito to stay with relatives she barely knew, Novakovich has been revisiting Croatia ever since, researching the story of her family's often harrowing life: in 1941 her aunt was the only survivor of Serbs massacred by Croatian fascists; and her mother saved her grandmother from being buried alive when she was thought to be dead from typhus.

Amidst adversity there is resilience and laughter, too, with plenty of light to balance the shade. Eccentric and entertaining characters abound, showing typically sardonic Balkan humour. And, this being the Balkans, much of daily life revolves around food, which features prominently.

Forfattere: Mary Novakovich
Publisert måned: Aug
Publisert år: 2022
Utgave: 1.utg
Sider nr: 272

This volume is not a guide of where to stay and what to do, rather it is a collection of writing that aims to invest the traveller with a cultural and historical background to Croatia, which will give life and meaning into the sights, sounds and tastes that the traveller will experience.

• Publisert: 2006
  
• Antall sider: 250
• Innbinding: Heftet
• Språk: Engelsk
• ISBN: 9780907871897

På vandring uten esel i Cevennene er en rik, underholdende og underfundig bok, i dialog med en av litteraturhistoriens største fortellere Rober Louis Stevenson.

Robert Louis Stevenson er kanskje mest kjent som forfatter av klassikerne Skatten på sjørøverøya og Dr. Jekyll og Mr. Hyde. Men han har også skrevet det som i dag regnes som en klassiker i friluftslitteraturen: På vandring med et esel i Cevennene utkom i 1879. I boken, som var en av Stevensons første, reflekterer han over den tolv dager lange turen han gikk gjennom det sørfranske landskapet, menneskene han møtte, og erfaringene han gjorde seg som eseldriver.

I 2017 får Alexander Leborg i oppdrag å oversette Robert Louis Stevensons klassiker På vandring med et esel i Cevennene. Helt siden Leborg leste boken for første gang, har han drømt om å komme til dette landskapet og gå den samme turen. Som ledd i forberedelsene velger han å gå i forfatterens fotspor. Leborg tar selv dagboksnotater underveis. Han er ingen erfaren vandringsmann, men hans betraktninger om livet på landeveien er kloke, entusiastiske og fulle av beundring for turen Stevenson tok nesten 140 år tidligere.

• Forfatter: Alexander Leborg
• Publisert: 2019
• Innbinding: Innbundet
• Språk: Norsk bokmål
• ISBN: 9788202608286

2,500 years ago, the city of Syracuse on the eastern coast of Sicily was, for the Ancient Greeks, one of the centres of the classical world. It was in Syracuse that Aeschylus premiered his plays, and to Syracuse that Plato would visit from Athens, where the tyrant Dionysius bought Euripides's lyre at auction, and the languishing nymph Arethusa hid in the papyrus grove. Living in the city, the poet Joachim Sartorius learned that this history and myth is still present today.

At Sartorius's side we walk with nymphs and cyclops through the old town of Ortigia, and meet the people of the city; its notables, police officers, artists, and barbers. Unravelling the depths of Sicilian history and bringing the juxtaposition, superimposition, and commingling of cultures, styles, and attitudes to life, Sartorius shows a city of ancient luminosity, bringing us, through the baroque, to the contemporary world.

• Forfatter: Joachim Sartorius
• Publisert: Okt. 2024
• Antall sider: 156
• Innbinding: Innbundet
• Språk: Engelsk
• ISBN: 9781914982125

After eight years living in Copenhagen, an English journalist, driven by a passion for languages and mountains, finally rebels. With little more than an assortment of Earl Grey teabags, Danish candles and a map, Georgina Howard abandons her all-too-cosy, cinnamon-scented lifestyle and drives south. The journey leads to wild and craggy landscapes in the Basque Pyrenees on the French/Spanish border, where place names are written in a bizarre, foreign tongue full of 'x's and 'z's.

Losing her heart to this beautiful land and her pride to the inscrutability of the language, Howard moves into an isolated barn in a mountain hamlet. While pagan festivals reverberate through the valleys, her Basque neighbours - farmers, shepherds, a gravedigger and a champion female lumberjack - observe her, bemused. Only when her daughter, Marion, is born - after an unsuccessful relationship with an eccentric Basque miller - do Howard's neighbours drop their reserve and welcome her into their homes.

Taking Marion's upbringing upon themselves, they fatten her up on spicy Basque sausages and black bean stews, teach her Basque nursery rhymes and train her to milk sheep. Meanwhile, Howard converts a barn into the headquarters of an international business providing walking, culture and language tours. Resigned to the ineptitude of their new neighbour, with patience and amusement, the locals tow her car out of ditches and teach her how to stack wood, catch mice, unblock septic tanks and drink wine from a leather gourd.

In the Footsteps of Smugglers follows the adventures of an outsider: a single mother, linguist, cosmopolitan nomad and cultural chameleon who paradoxically makes her home among an indigenous people deeply rooted in their land, with a language and culture dating back to Stone-Age times. Unwittingly, she repays their hospitality by luring anti-terrorist squads, blackmailers and spies into their midst as the dramatic past of the Basque Country proves to have unexpected and far-reaching consequences. An inspiring, humorous travel memoir, Bradt's In the Footsteps of Smugglers weaves behind-the-scenes vignettes of daily rural life and historical research to produce authentic insights on all things Basque, threaded with a rhapsody on the theme of identity.

• Forfatter: Georgina Howard
• Publisert: Jul. 2024
• Innbinding: Heftet
• Språk: Engelsk
• ISBN: 9781804692110

A journey to find Norway's supposed bliss makes for a comic travelogue that asks, seriously, what makes Norwegians so damn happy-and does it translate? Norway is usually near or at the top of the World Happiness Report. But is it really one of the happiest countries on Earth? Eric Dregni had his doubts. Years ago he and his wife had lived in this country his great-great-grandfather once fled.

When their son Eilif was born there, the Norwegian government paid for the birth, gave them $5,000, and deposited $150 into their bank account every month, but surely happiness was more than a generous health care system. What about all those grim months without sun? When Eilif turned fifteen, father and son decided to go back together and investigate. For the Love of Cod is their droll report on the state of purported Norwegian bliss.

Arriving in May, a month of festivals and eternal sun, the Dregnis are thrust into Norway at its merriest-and into the reality of the astronomical cost of living, which forces them to find lodging with friends and relatives. But this gives them an inside look at the secrets to a better life. It's not the massive amounts of money flowing from the North Sea oil fields but how these funds are distributed that fuels the Norwegian version of democratic socialism-resulting in miniscule differences between rich and poor.

Locals introduce them to the principles underlying their avowed contentment, from an active environmentalism that translates into flyskam (flight shame), which keeps Norwegians in the family cabin for the long vacations prescribed by law and charges a 150 percent tax on gas guzzlers (which, Eilif observes, means more Teslas seen in one hour than in a year in Minnesota!). From a passion for dugnad or community volunteerism and sakte or "slow," a rejection of the mad pace of modernity, to the commodification of Viking history and the dark side of Black Metal music that turns the idea of quaint, traditional Norway upside down, this idiosyncratic father and son tour lets readers, free of flyskam, see how, or whether, Norwegian happiness translates.

• Forfatter: Eric Dregni
• Publisert: 2021
• Innbinding: Heftet
  
• Språk: Engelsk
• ISBN: 9781517915728

Emilia, an artist, arrives in Rome alone. What was supposed to be a romantic trip has, with the sudden end of her relationship, become a solitary one.

Six days lie ahead. She wanders the streets, surrendering herself to the music, food and beauty of the city. But when she meets John, an American living out a seemingly idyllic existence in Rome, their instant connection challenges how she sees her past, her family and herself.

As their intimacy deepens, can Emilia begin to imagine life anew?Visceral, decadent and deeply evocative, Six Days in Rome is a novel about reckoning with complex pasts and choices made - and finding what you didn't know you were looking for.

• Forfatter: Francesca Giacco
• Publisert: August 2022
• Utgave: 1. utgave
• Antall sider: 288
  
• ISBN: 9781472295859

Lisbon's charm is legendary, but its vibrant 2,000-year history is not widely known, from its Roman legacy to its centuries under Moorish rule. Its journey from port town to Portugal's capital was not always smooth sailing-in 1755 the city was devastated by the largest earthquake ever to strike modern Europe, followed by a catastrophic tsunami and a six-day inferno that turned sand to glass. Barry Hatton unearths these forgotten memories in a vivid account of Lisbon's colourful past and present, bringing to life the 1147 siege during the Iberian reconquista, the assassination of the king, the founding of a republic and the darkness of a modern dictatorship.

He reveals the rich, international heritage of Portugal's metropolis-the gateway to the Atlantic and the unrivalled Queen of the Sea.

• Forfatter: Barry Hatton
• Publisert: Juli 2018
• Antall sider: 280
• Innbinding: Heftet
• Språk: Engelsk
• ISBN: 9781849049979

The acclaimed travel writer's youthful journey - as an 18-year-old - across 1930s Europe by foot began in A Time of Gifts, which covered the author's exacting journey from the Lowlands as far as Hungary. Picking up from the very spot on a bridge across the Danube where his readers last saw him, we travel on with him across the great Hungarian Plain on horseback, and over the Romanian border to Transylvania. The trip was an exploration of a continent which was already showing signs of the holocaust which was to come.

Although frequently praised for his lyrical writing, Fermor's account also provides a coherent understanding of the dramatic events then unfolding in Middle Europe. But the delight remains in travelling with him in his picaresque journey past remote castles, mountain villages, monasteries and towering ranges. The concluding part of the trilogy was published in September 2013 as The Broken Road.

Forfattere: Patrick Leigh Fermor
Publisert måned: Des
Publisert år: 2004
Utgave: 2.utg
Sider nr: 248

When Jack Hitt set out to walk the 500 miles from France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, he submitted to the rigorous traditions of Europe's oldest form of packaged tour, a pilgrimage that has been walked by millions in the history of Christendom. Off the Road is an unforgettable exploration of the sites that people believe God once touched: the strange fortress said to contain the real secret Adam learned when he bit into the apple; the sites associated with the murderous monks known as the Knights Templar; and the places housing relics ranging from a vial of the Virgin Mary's milk to a sheet of Saint Bartholomew's skin. Along the way, Jack Hitt finds himself persevering by day and bunking down by night with an unlikely and colorful cast of fellow pilgrims -- a Flemish film crew, a drunken gypsy, a draconian Belgian air force officer, a man who speaks no languages, a one-legged pilgrim, and a Welsh family with a mule. In the day-to-day grind of walking under a hot Spanish sun, Jack Hitt and his cohorts not only find occasional good meals and dry shelter but they also stumble upon some fresh ideas about old-time zealotry and modern belief. Off the Road is an engaging and witty travel memoir of an offbeat journey through history that turns into a provocative rethinking of the past.

Forfattere: Jack hitt
Publisert måned: 2utg
Publisert år: 2005
Sider nr:255

Fra 13. mai til 1. oktober 2015 vandret Øivind Østang fra Oslo som pilegrim gjennom Europa, fra Frederikshavn i Nord-Jylland til sentrum i den kristne kulturkrets: Roma. Her er beretningen dag for dag, slik han rapporterte på Facebook underveis. I tekst og bilder formidler han det han så og tenkte der og da, gjennom de samme landskap som nordiske pilegrimer vandret i århundrer inntil den lutherske reformasjonen stanset dem på 1500-tallet. På Jylland og gjennom Schleswig-Holstein fulgte han den gamle hovedveien som nå igjen er blitt vandringsvei: Hærvejen og Ochsenweg. Fra Stade ved Hamburg fulgte han den nymerkede versjonen av en gammel hovedvei gjennom Tyskland, Østerrike og Italia: Via Romea Germanica. To uker bak ham fulgte stafettvandringen Pilgrims Crossing Borders, fra Trondheim til Roma. Østang er den første som har gått Via Romea Germanica sammenhengende fra Stade til Roma. Men også i nyere tid har det gått folk før ham fra Norge og sørover. I 2011 gikk Ole Gjerdrum Oslo - Roma via Köln og Rheims. I 1929 gikk Olav Gullvåg, han som senere skulle skrive Spelet om Heilag Olav, med sin familie fra Skagen i Nord-Jylland til Mori i Nord-Italia. Dagsrapportene rammes inn av begrunnelse for vandringen, fakta om veiene og tanker om tidens økende interesse for å vandre langsomt mot hellige steder igjen.

ISBN: 9788230014394

Publisert måned: Apr
Publisert år: 2016
Utgave: 1.utg
Sider nr: 269

Dette er en bok om reiser. Faktiske reiser og mentale reiser. For unge revolusjonære fra hele Europa, inkludert Norge, var Albania fra slutten av 1960-tallet et valfartssted og et studieobjekt for revolusjonære drømmer. Dette er en bok om forfatterens egne reiser som politisk turist og kader i AKP(m-l) på 1970-tallet og nye reiser med kritisk selvrefleksjon etter kommunismens fall. Han har intervjuet tidligere politiske fanger som de politiske turistene på 1970-tallet ikke møtte. Snakket med vanlige mennesker om deres liv før, under og etter diktaturets fall i 1990.

Det er også en reise i Albanias historie som viser at autoritære trekk fra kommunismen lever videre under en demokratisk fasade i dagens Albania. Turistreiser i regi av Vennskapssambandet Norge-Albania ble arrangert over samme lest fra år til år fra slutten av 1960-tallet til begynnelsen av 1980-tallet. Reisemålet var av ml-ere karakterisert som «sosialismens fyrtårn i Europa». Mange tusen nordmenn var med på disse reisene til Albania. Det grunnleggende spørsmålet i denne boka er dette: Hvordan kunne tusenvis av norske revolusjonære støtte og beundre regimet til Enver Hoxha som var et brutalt diktatur med fengsling og henrettelser av politiske fanger?

• Forfatter: Rune Ottosen
• Publisert: 2018
• Antall sider: 334
• ISBN: 9788282651974

Hvem var Norges første profesjonelle idrettsutøver? Mons Monsen Øyri fra Sogn, kjent over hele Europa som Mensen Ernst, er svaret. Han var i sin tid en Europas største stjerner.

I 1832 ble Mensen Ernst kjendis for å løpe fra Paris til Moskva på 14 dager! I "Løperkongens skygge" tar forfatteren med seg sin nylig kreftfriske venn Øyvind Torp på samme rute. Løpeturen går naturlig nok i et annet tempo enn Ernst, og vi blir med forfatteren på en helt annerledes reise. Fra vest til øst, fra fortid til nåtid.

Løperkongens skygge er en hyllest til menneskets viljestyrke og Europas historie. På ferden over kontinentet mot Russland deler Ulstein og løpekameraten opplevelser og tanker om historien de løper gjennom, om egne drømmer og alle drømmene landskapet rundt dem en gang har vært hjem til.

Geir Stian Ulstein (f. 1982) er kritikerrost forfatter av bl.a. bøkene Drømmenes fjell, Selvforsvar mot kreft og sykkelboka Tour Dø France. Han er historiker og entusiast med en skriveevne som fyller teksten med engasjement og nøye gjengitt kunnskap.

Forfattere: Geir Stian Ulstein
Publisert måned: Mai
Publisert år: 2019
Utgave: 1.utg
Sider nr: 187