BEYOND NZ - A to Z

BRATISLAVA - Slovakia Background and history ... Bratislava - capital of Slovakia. Situated at the foothills of the Little Carpathians, on the River Danube, it borders both Austria and Hungary. This is a city that flies under the radar but should be on everyone's.  Dating all the way back to 5000BC, Bratislava was once part of Czechoslovakia before the country split and the newly formed Slovak Republic came into being in 1993 following the Velvet Divorce. The other half of Czechoslovakia became Czech Republic or, more recently, Czechia (to align with other European countries ending in "ia", namely - in no particular order - Croatia, Slovenia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Georgia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Russia, Austria). Now there's a good quiz question!! And then there is Transnistria, a breakaway state between Moldova and Ukraine, without recognised sovereignty.  I digress ... back to Bratislava ... Combining medieval towers with...

ADELAIDE - Australia Background and history ... Adelaide - the capital city of the state of South Australia, located on the River Torrens. It's coastline lies on the St Vincent Gulf. Founded in 1836 as a province within Australia for free British settlers (as opposed to convicts!), and named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the city was planned by Colonel William Light with a sensible grid layout. There are wide boulevards and public squares and the city is completely surrounded by parklands. Colonel Light got his recipe right.  My Adelaide story ... My first visit to Adelaide was in 2019 and it took me by surprise. It's a city that had been described to me as dull and predictable. Despite that, I was expecting an enjoyably pleasant stay. In reality, I was blown away by what is a well-planned, attractive and vibrant city and, when I'd had a decent taste of all the city offers, I decided that it's a city that is anything but dull. It's a city that makes sense. I wasn...