Finland shocked the world in 2000 when the international PISA survey (Programme for International Student Assessment), which measures the...

It was pitch black out of the aeroplane window when gradually a pale white fog of light became visible. I didn’t have long to wonder what...

Of all foreign countries, I feel like France should be the one I know best. Apart from Ireland, it is my nearest neighbour, I have...

Arguably, Denmark’s most outstanding feature is not anything about its history, a great landmark or famous person – it is the remarkable...

Estonian Food “Where there’s work, there’s bread” – Estonian Proverb Estonia may be the smallest country I’ve come to so far, in terms of...

In this article I’m taking a look at Croatia, an increasingly popular holiday destination in the Balkans region of Eastern Europe. In the...

Finland – Land of the Midnight Sun If you look at Finland on a map, you will notice that it is the easternmost of the three...

Introduction to Estonia “Make fun of the man, not of his hat” – Estonian Proverb It is fascinating looking up Estonia on a map – I’ve...

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country smack bang in the middle of Central Europe, bordered by Germany and Poland to the north and...

Danish Pastries and Other Goodies Until recently Denmark was not known for its food. There is one food item that people the world over...

Where on Earth is Denmark? Apart from its islands, the other notable feature of the Danish landscape is that it’s flat. Really really...

Cyprus – A Short Guide Cyprus is a small island in the Mediterranean. It’s divided into two halves, a Turkish half and a Greek half. Its...

Bulgaria – from the Black Sea to the Balkans The country encompasses a wide variety of different landscapes, full of imposing mountain...

Belgium For most people, any mention of Belgium might get them thinking about beer and chocolate, its two most famous exports (and here’s...

Where is Austria? Before I get into details, the first question has to be, where is it? Austria is a landlocked country in central...

There are so many great places to read and listen to short stories online, especially science fiction but most of these are not well...

As part of my recent enthusiasm for short stories, I’ve started on some classic science fiction stories. I mentioned Clifford D Simak...

Continuing on from my last post, I’ve got more great short story recommendations, most of which you can read and/or listen to online....

I’ve never been a big reader of short stories, always preferring novels, and I don’t think that is going to change anytime soon, but I’ve...

Update: This was an article I originally wrote in 2016. Since then, most of the libraries mentioned were closed, but in a government...