So those three things in the subject line are the main points of interest for me when travelling to Europe. I’m planning on going to every country (except Russia and Belarus, but hopefully including Turkey).
1. Books – I love books. I love libraries, I love bookstores (especially used bookstores). I already plan to visit La Charite-sur-Loire (the “city of books”) and as many of the libraries here as I am able, as well as any archives that are open to the public (I’m a professional-genealogist-in-training). But what I don’t know are good places to get decent quality used books in each country. My goal is to get a Harry Potter book in each local language, and buying them used would be cheaper, so that’s what I’d like to try first (though in the absence of used bookstores, I’ll go new to get the Harry Potter). Recommendations? I also love languages, so recommendations of places where I can get obscure language books are also welcome.
2. Cheese – I love cheese! What are the best cheese farms/factories to visit? I’d guess that they’d mostly be found in France or Italy, but I’m open to other suggestions as well. Affordable, but quality is important, and not overrun with tour buses. Not overrun with tour buses is probably actually my biggest requirement. And focusing on cheeses like Comte or Gruyere – I don’t like blue cheeses like Gorgonzola.
3. Victims of Communism – I don’t love communism, in fact I loathe it, but a very important thing to me is remembering its victims. I’ve been to the Occupation Museums in Tallinn, Rīga and Vilnius, and I’ve read about more similar ones in the Czech Republic and Hungary, but if people have any specific recommendations, or wish to mention a particular memorial or monument somewhere that might normally be overlooked, please let me know.
Thanks!
