hidden europe Magazine
A Bi-Monthly Publication Featuring Lesser-Known Eastern Europe
Most travel magazines still focus on long-popular western Europe destinations, but hidden europe, a Berlin-based magazine launched in March 2005, provides its readers with insights into lesser known parts of Europe - very often, in our favorite territory of Eastern Europe and Russia. We spoke with editor Nicky Gardner to find out more.
Why hidden Europe?
We often felt that much of what is really amazing in Europe simply doesn't feature in the regular guidebooks. So we wanted to get beyond the glitz and the gloss of the mainstream tourist sights and celebrate a different Europe. Sometimes that means travelling to very out of the way places, but there's another side to hidden europe too - it's often the Europe on our very doorsteps: the cultural minorities and quirky oddities that make our cities more interesting, and the unsung corners of rural Europe.
What are the most popular Eastern European destinations amongst your readers?
Well, we know for sure that many of our readers have visited the region's big-draw cities: Krakow, Prague, Tallinn, St Petersburg. But nowadays a lot of them are venturing that little bit further, to places like L'viv in western Ukraine or Sibiu in Romania.
Looking to more rural parts of eastern Europe, we know that Translyvania (in Romania), the Tatras (on the Polish/Slovak border) and the Slovenian Alps are popular with our readers. On the other hand, we also know that among our readers we number a lot of folk who are not really planning to follow the obscure trails that we describe. They are happy to leave the travelling to us, and just enjoy a well researched story about life in some small town in the Balkans or the Russian Arctic.
What's your secret destination tip for Eastern Europe and Russia?
Rural Estonia is virgin territory for many travellers. We especially like the Setumaa area in the southeast - a picture perfect region of wooden houses and wild forests. Another super region is northeast Slovakia - the Ruthene area with its amazing churches. And one country which lots of travellers overlook is Belarus. It's a hugely interesting country, lots of echoes of the old Soviet Union, but very easy to get around. For the traveller who has tired of places like Tallinn and Krakow, a couple of days in Grodno in Belarus will surely be rewarding.
You can find out more, sign up for hidden europe's free newsletter or subscribe to the print magazine itself at the hidden europe website.
