Try the countryside

[Esterina]

Paris, Prague, Berlin, London... All great cities to visit, but that in my sense don't allow us to know a country. Smaller towns and villages offer better opportunities to live the culture. I was wondering if anyone had had unforgettable moments that wouldn't have been possible in capitals or touristic areas.

Just a few examples of mine :
-being blessed in a special ceremony by a hindu woman (Nepal)
-dancing on live traditionnal music at a wedding ceremony (Romania)
-having a closed museum (since 2 years) opened up just for me (Hungary)
-having my bicycle wheel repaired with hay (Laos)
-buying in a sunday market out of another century... (Romania)

The market near Moldovica, North of Romania


What most people will limit themselves to see in Romania, the Palace of Ceacescu

[agriadam]

Great pictures. What happened with the museum?

[elfmaiden]

Tell us about the museum!!!! I totally agree about wandering off the beaten path and I hope to wander around France this summer on my meanderings.

Jenn

[kingcrazylegs]

Yea I follow that same idea while traveling. Get outdoors, small towns, etc. Nice pics

[Tadpole]

Yeh I agree, we dont plan on spending much time in the big cities of paris and london becasu there still is an entire country outside of the city life. Then again, those cities did become popular because of the awesome things to see and do. A little bit or both will make for a good expereince.

[Esterina]

Nice to read we're several to see the "other cultures" of countries. Pleased that you like the pictures.

Agriadam and Elfmaiden, my museum story : It's one of those times I missed my train, but this time there was none before the next day, so I was stuck in the very far east of Hungary, close to the ukrainien border. Small town with no hotels whatsoever. The only guy who spoke a bit of english, was fortunately at the station, and he offered me a room in his and his girlfriend's apartment. Was a bit scared (I'm a woooman...) but decided noone could be dangerous in such a small place. So it turned out we had a great time the three of us together. They showed me their town on that first night, and he took time out of work the next morning, before my train to Budapest.

The guy was a friend of the town museum guide, open museum this one, plus it was the off season, so the guide closed down the first museum after my visit there and walked me to the second one, the closed one. It was a school of old, dusty for having been closed for over two years. The museum itself wasn't that interesting, but the experience was.

Sometimes taking risks is worth it !

[omisan]

Wow, great story

I'm sure most of the people here will agree that the best adventures are to be had off the beaten path.

[Elixir]

i hail to traveling off the beaten path

oh, and a cool thumbs up

[MeTurk]

That picture of the market looks little like a cattle mart or town festival in my town 10-15 years ago, oh how times have changed. That's what I want to see in the eastern European countrys. They should be in the possition Ireland was 10-15 years ago, at the beginning of big economic changes thanks to the EU.