I have fallen in love with buildings, places, food, shoes, the odd German teddy bear while travelling and honestly the list could go on and on, but there are a few in Europe that I have fallen in love with to the extreme…so without further ado here are the Europeans I have fallen in love with aka those with current restraining orders out on me…
Evzones
Pom pom shoes, multi pleated skirts, a tassled hat…of course I love these guys. My instagram feed is littered with them, I spend most of my trips in Athens well pretty much stalking them and I went so far as to book a room at the Grande Bretagne not with a view of the Acropolis but of the Parliament so I could watch them out of my window whenever I liked, I seriously have a problem.
Uskoks
Okay, so while they may no longer technically exist the love I have for these Croatian pirates…yes you heard right Croatian pirates is still pretty intense. I spent years dreaming about, after reading about them in a Lonely Planet guidebook before finally making my way to their fortress in Senj to find what they left behind. Fear them, love them, loathe them, I adore them.
Mostar Divers
They come in all shapes and sizes but only the bravest of the brave would attempt this jump on a regular basis which makes them beloved in my eyes. This isn’t for the foolhardy of mild of heart. I saw my first jump back in ’05 and have been back four times since to obsessively follow them, come competition time the mere sight of them sends people in to hushed whispers as they pass, like Heroes of Mostar. And if you start believing just anyone can jump off a bridge you have to check out Hamish and Andys attempt on YouTube.
Csikos
I forced my family to go all the way to Hungary for two short days, enduring one of the longest train rides with a most obnoxious compartment companion, just so we could then drive all the way to Kecskemet in the south to see Hungarian horsemen aka Csikos. The ability to ride standing up with either foot on different horses at speed sent me into raptures. Unfortunately I did not leave with a Csikos of my own but I did get a pretty awesome horsewhip.
Polish Military
Ok so a rather large group I know, but there is something about a guy in the army, air force or navy uniform, in Poland anyway, that sends my heart a flutter and weirdly fills it with pride (even though I am in no way Polish). I should just add that at the time the below pictures were taken Prince Harry was passing but I was far more concerned with chasing theses guys, I told you I’ve got it bad.
Recortadors
Until this year I didn’t even know these guys existed but after less than five minutes in the Valencia Plaza de Toros they stole my heart as they soared through the air with barely a care. I didn’t want the spectacle to end, and I spent far too much of the following days YouTubing and Googling them (for a laugh YouTube Jono and Ben bull jumping). I will forgive the fact they don’t wear cute little Matador outfits for the fact they can do well this… (and no bulls were hurt)
Also deserving of an honourable mention are the Dubrovacki Trombunjeri, Klezmer Jazz group Tempero and the male Flamenco dancers of Andalucía.
My name is Lisa and I have a serious problem…I have got that dangerous travelling bug. You know the one that causes you to fall in love with new places, people, food and ideas that we may never have known about otherwise.
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xx
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