Travel Tips

First and foremost: my father, Thrassyvoulos Mitsidis. A great guy! Although he can be austere and dictatorial at times, his heart is in the right place! Without him I would have never received the Equatorial Guinea visa which clinched my tour around the world. Without him the Angola visa would have been harder, and money transfers to obscure places like Turkmenistan an even greater nightmare. He pretends he is against all this travelling of mine, but deep down he admires my spirit, he just can't get himself to say it!

Well, I guess my mother, Erica Mitsidis, too! For inflows of cash when they were most needed. I think she has spent too much money on Lexatonil to calm down while I am roaming places like Chad. Not to mention the phone bills which must be horrendous. She thought I would calm down following my conquest of the world. It is true, I have somewhat simmered down. But on the other hand, once a traveller, always a traveller, that's just how it is. Thanks mum! Don't worry so much...

List not yet complete!

I also owe a whole list of friends in Serbia a big round of applause. Firstly, Djole and Nenad in Nis, for always putting me up, offering me unbelievable accommodation (I call it refuge for the soul), Djole's mother for cooking local delights including the best soup in the world! And both of them for introducing me to Niska Banja (ehhh...yes).
A big thanks to Ljubisa for always being so open-hearted and generous, he is proof that old-style hospitality still exists with a vengeance. Thanks for a whole day trip to Zica and Studenica monasteries and Vrnjacka Banja, among other visits of mine to Kragujevac. I am humbled!
Also thanks to Sasa from Kragujevac (which he calls Stondville) for putting me up a number of times. And his dear mother for making me swiss roll. I can't forget her shiny eyes!
Also a big round of applause to Slavisa from Leskovac (now Belgrade) for offering his place at Banovo Brdo whenever I needed it, but also for a day trip which turned quite mischievous at Vucje waterfalls, which must be the highlight of all mt trips!
Also to Marko T. in Belgrade, an Aquarian philosopher, who also put me up in Zeleznik without thinking twice. And for always coming to the rescue when Slavic doom seems to take me over in Belgrade!
Also a big thank you to Vladimir J. (from Northmacedonia lol!), for being my new travel agent, for living the Eurovision with me, and also for having offered humble but warm accommodation in Kotez (and also for the airplane magazines!)

A big thanks to Robert D. in Iasi for always welcoming me to his place no matter what. Also to Dan D. in Bucuresti for putting me up twice and even coming all the way to Drobeta-Turnu-Severin (by train, horrors!) to then come alone for a 3-day expedition to Baile Herculeane (never forget gunoi!). Also a big thanks to Ionut V. from Bacau for an unforgettable week trailing the monasteries in Moldavia and discovering local eco-tourism in Maramures: one of my favourite trips of all time.

I could go on here forever!!!

First thanks to Mihalis for being good-natured and restoring my faith in the huam being! For getting my passport with the Mali visa and sending it by courrier to his parents Marika and Anesti in Northern Greece who took more than good care of me and my passport!
Thanks to my aunt Sofoula in Lamia for always smiling when she sees me, for being the instigator of my travel mania when I was just a child by taking me by rides on the (then only one) train line in Athens.
Thanks to Apostolis K. for showing me parts of his native Pieria region and also putting up with me and putting me up in Corfu last summer (I hope again this summer!).
And what would I do without my friends Irini and Giota who always supported the travel efforts and are bound to be logging on here nonstop? Thanks!
Also to Katerina P. for patiently awaiting the passport with the Afghanistan visa in Swansea!
To Katerina K. and Mr. Generalis (and also Dimitris P.,) without whose valuable help I would have never got the Saudi Arabian visa. And they did it all so selflessly!
Last but not least, Maria and Eleni who are now family! They may have never been part of my travels, but for sure they have been part of my life, taking care of me when needed and always being there. And Giorgos my godchild is a real star!

Zivka from Bosnia, what can I say? Hvala i jos jednom hvala! Thanks for always welcoming me to Novi Sad when you were there with a smile. Thanks for waiting for trains and buses and then accompanying me for walks to town...I am still waiting to discover your Bosnia together!
Jane from Skopje (that's a guy folks, pronounced Yane, it is not Jane as in English!). All I can say about Jane is that his smile could have charmed Hitler! But apart from all the mischief, a more welcoming person is hard to find!
Goran from Zagreb who always says he is a Turco-phile when I speak Serbian! Thanks for all those 'painful' border crossings to Slovenia, and thanks for showing me Varazdin, Ozalj, the Plitvice Lakes and the tour of Istra. I can't believe I have yet to reciprocate!
Boris from Zagreb, apart from loving Eurovision, thanks for organising a great time in Zupanja...much appreciated!
Last but not least, Igor. Sta da kazem? I am glad that in a way I contributed to your enlightenment. There is nothing more important than this!

Sophia from Gorodok near Lviv...what a wonderful person. Following studies in economics and a good position in a trade factory, the USSR crashed on her...and she had to come to Greece to be abused by most ignorant people who don't know how to spell correctly, let alone have a degree. But she was fortunate enough to meet us and we love her bigtime! Thanks to her I had a wonderful time in the Ukraine, and saw Lviv, which is really pretty and in transition... and also an excursion to the Karpatiy mountains, which was somewhat of a let-down in terms of sites, but great in terms of atmosphere!
Then there is Merike (Merka) from Tallinn, Estonia, who has granted me the honour of being the godfather to her daughter Laura. I admit, I am a really lousy godfather but will try to do better in the future. I met Merka by chance back in 1994 and have kept in touch ever since, she is a wonderful, if at times rather pushy, Taurus! And her family, with whom I have no common languages, are also really fantastic, and a typical throwback to an age that no longer exists.
My 'USSR' connections include Shahnoza in Tajikistan and Alex in Lithuania. More different people will be hard to find, yet I thank them both for opening their countries to me and letting me experience lots of beauty!

Having family in the US, it isn't strange that I have been there many times! And while one can claim that family is ina way 'obligated' to be hospitable, yet there are many people who have gone beyond the call of duty! James in New York is always level-headed, communicative and welcoming; thanks for waiting for me at Kennedy Airport which is one of my least favourite places, where being met is a true oasis!
Thank you to Jeff, despite our ups and downs, for putting me up in New York back in 1998 (which is the last time I really spent major time in the US).
Also thank you to Pamela Sue Marin, my Hollywood 'star' friend - how can anybody be complete without knowing at least one celebrity? - for being the epitomy of the good American and giving a good name to her country just by being herself, open, natural and spiritual...
Finally, to Barry and very much missed Lynda, for introducing me to their city, the Big Apple, when I was merely 18, and for welcoming me back for 4 consecutive years, until my travels took me on more exotic trails...Lynda, I met Carol Lynley :-)