TRAVEL FEATURE - THE BALKANS
SAM MANICOM ( W ) BIRGIT SCHUENEMANN ( P )
A RIDE THROUGH THE BALKANS
School lessons fascinated me . Oh , all right , only some of them did . Much to my father ’ s quiet disappointment I definitely don ’ t have a science or maths head . I suspect that biology teachers worried about what sort of weird animal I might Frankenstein together in dissection classes , and maths teachers gave up asking me questions . They knew I didn ’ t have a clue unless fingers and toes were involved . Chemistry teachers looked positively fearful when I walked into their classes ! But geography and history ? Now you are talking ! Art classes ? Woodwork ? Yes please . Strangely enough I was a lost cause at English language ; my teacher told me that on my last day at school ! I later realised that in fact she was throwing down a gauntlet . ’ Could do better .’
Geography and history grabbed me . I loved the way they opened the world . These two subjects gave me in depth explanations about what I was seeing and how it came to be . The power of both to shape the world that I live in was absolutely riveting . Where did I come from and where did I want to go , were both answered in those lessons . Without doubt they are key reasons why travelling the world has become so important to me .
I ’ m happy to be a travel bore . Other than out riding my bike somewhere wonderful , there ’ s nothing I enjoy more than sitting on my living room floor with my partner Birgit , surrounded by maps and guidebooks . Yes , I know , horribly old school . Perhaps like travel it ’ s a tangibility thing ; see the world but feel it too . One of my favourite sayings is , ‘ Dreams are where adventures begin ’. Those pages of details and contours help to bring my dreams to life .
A ride to the Balkans gave the chance to bring our senses and both
TRAVERSE 17