Prompt #13: What country(s) or city(s) in Eastern Europe appeal to you as a place to visit? Or, more generally speaking, how much does knowing about the history of a place inspire your future travels?
I like knowing the historical significance of places I’m visiting. Not necessarily political & not necessarily what would qualify as ‘history-book’ history. There are usually little bit of factoid knowledge that I then do further research in to round it out. I met someone from Slovenia several years ago & surprised her by knowing that Lipizzan horses get their name from a town there. & why do I know that? Because a beloved childhood book was an illustrated encyclopedia of horses that I pored over.
I get travel ideas or destinations from reading. If the author describes a place just-so, I could very well be hooked. This is why places like Idlewild Books in NYC fascinate me: a bookstore devoted to travel. Not only that – but a literature & fiction section organized by country? How wonderful to immerse yourself somewhere – even when you curl up at the end of a day with a good book.
As to specific countries…since I’ve never been to Eastern Europe, I’m certainly not going to rule any place out.