My Alternative Travel Bucket List (Part 1)

My last post about Slovenia where I mentioned Dracula reminded me about 'my list'. Most people have a list of beautiful or historical sites they want to scratch off during their lives. My list however, contains a couple of places that I want to see that have connections to legends and fairytales. That's normal, yeah? My dad would tell ghost stories to me when I was little and I have always been fascinated with visiting the physical places connected to the takes. All of the below are in Europe but I am more than sure I'll pick up a few on my travels through South East Asia in the coming months. Silly maybe, but it keeps me happy.

Triora, Italy

I just heard of this lately. It's a sleepy little village in Liguria, Italy close to the border of France. In a few words, it is the Salem of Italy. A group of women were accused of witchcraft in the 16th Century by the inquisition and the usual, were tortured and burned alive, etc. But the town has embraced it's dark history. The site of the burnings still stands and there are witch shops, sign posts, sculptures and various witch 'relics' all around the town. Not to mention the many 'witch' related events round the year and the amazing backdrop.

Pied Piper of Hameln, Germany

We should all know the story of the Pied Piper. The man who turned up and cleared a town of its rats using a magical flute only to clear it of all its children as soon as the town officials refused to pay him for his service. This story has a location and it's in Germany as most good fairytales are. Let's be honest here, it's doubtful there was a magic flute involved but whatever the reason, the story hooked me.


Giants Causeway, Ireland
The Giants Causeway reeled me in when I was tiny. I haven't actually had the opportunity of visiting it. I kind of feel like 'saving it up' to visit with my future kids in years to come. If I feel like having kids. It's a site full of rock columns standing up straight and in prefect formation. What's the plot? Two giants wanting to fight so badly they build a bridge over the sea, not being able to fit in a boat and all. I need to educate myself on the details but the opposing giant ends up rushing back across the bridge over the sea, destroying the bridge as he ran. The Causeway is also a Unesco World Heritage site and mentioned as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the UK (being Northern Ireland.)

Glastonbury Tor, England
Glastonbury Tor
As a child I remember watching the movie 'The Sword in the Stone' over and over and over... But it wasn't for years that I realised that the site of the legend is connected with the famed Glastonbury. I don't need to go over the whole King Arthur story for you but there is a certain charm about swords being pulled from rocks, wizards, knights of the round table and crusades for the Holy Grail (whatever the Holy Grail was supposed to be, I don't know).

But Glastonbury really has it all. Not only does it have Avalon as a legend, it's mythical connections reach far into the past. The Tor has been claimed as a magic mountain, a faeries glass hill, a spiral castle, the Land of the Dead, a magnetic power-point, a centre for Goddess fertility rituals, Druid place of worship and not to mention a converging point for UFO's. Safe to say it has a bit of something for everyone.

Bran Castle, Romania
I can't believe my parents let me watch Dracula when I was about 7 but I am glad they did. It probably sparked a life-long obsession not only with the story written by Bram Stoker but the real story of Vlad Tepes and how the legend evolved down through the ages. Both stories differ but both are full of horror and gruesome detail. I don't know which attracts me more, hellish demon vampires or a tyrant King with a sadistic leaning. For sure it's on my list and if I'm honest, the whole reason I'm making it.


This is it for for now. Absolutely more to follow.