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Part 6 of the Arctic to Asia cycle tour is now up on YouTube!
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After struggling to keep it together on my way to Berlin, I headed for Poland. Along the way, the hospitality of the people I met helped me forget about the loneliness and isolation that had been overwhelming me, and I finally started to truly enjoy my time on the road solo.
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I’ve been putting off recording a voiceover/narration for this for a long time, but, now that the world has gone into lockdown, I’ve run out of excuses…
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Have a watch at the link below!
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P.S. For reference, I'm making that face because my bike has just broken in the middle of nowhere, stranding me in a Polish forest at night.
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Massive thank you to everyone who features in this video:
Clemens, Petra and their family in Rauen, Brandenburg, Germany, and Greg, Marek, Sławomir, Paweł, and Andrzej in Nowa Sól; you guys made this part of the trip unforgettable 😊🚲
Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour Part 6: Goodbye Germany, Hello Poland
youtu.be
Living under a national lockdown for weeks, I've finally run out of excuses to put off editing the next video! After struggling to keep it together on my way...The last thing I expected to be doing in Balti, Moldova, was feasting on nachos and watching the Super Bowl, albeit on a livestream through someone in the USA’s Instagram story, but somehow I managed to stumble across Moldova’s only “little America”...
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So, a huge and very, very late thank you to Maddie and Justine, who were volunteering with the American Peace Corps, for letting me take up their entire living room floor for 4 nights, introducing me to Toamna and Zapada (their creatively-named cats), and organising a fascinating interview with Marina Skaletskaya! Mulțumiri! 😊
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
"...we are losing our identity every day... In 20, maybe 30 years, nobody will speak Kurdish, write with Kurdish, or love someone with Kurdish. Then, we will lose something within our souls..."
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Turkish-Kurdish conflicts made international news last year when Trump withdrew American troops from Northern Syria. So, what is life actually like for Kurds living in Turkey?
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I sat down with Lezgîn, who supports the idea of a free and independent Kurdistan, to learn about his culture and get his take on the oppression facing Kurdish people, the criminalisation of Kurdish language, and the future of Turkey's Kurds. Have a read at the link below.
What's it like being Kurdish in Turkey?
theplacethepersontheplate.com
Lezgin discusses the oppression facing Kurdish people in Turkey, the criminisation of Kurdish language, and the future of Turkey's Kurds.Once again, I find myself scrambling to catch up on long overdue thank you posts from my time on the road over the past year-and-a-half.
Winter in Moldova isn’t exactly cycle-friendly, and my days on the bike consisted of slipping and sliding through slush, frigid air burning my lungs, and the loss of feeling in my hands and feet after about an hour. As I raced south to escape the snow’s clutches, I jumped at every opportunity to get inside for for a break from the cold.
So, a big shoutout to Vasilii, who invited me into his shop near Edinet with his friends, Denis and Vitalii, warmed me up with tea and refuelled me with a sandwich on a frigid February afternoon. Mulțumesc!
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia cycle tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed things have been very quiet on this page recently. Now I’m finally able to provide an explanation:
I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that I’ve just finished sorting out an agreement with TV 2 Skole to turn the Place, Person, Plate interviews into learning resources for Norwegian schoolkids!
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What does this mean? In short, “The Place, The Person, The Plate” has secured FUNDING! So, more interviews, more adventure, and more insight into the lives of everyday people around the world.
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Now that I've finally reached Baku, TV2 Skole has asked me to cycle round the UK and Ireland later this year. Along the way, I’ll be speaking to locals about “identity”, which will be especially interesting in the current social and political climate, so keep an eye out!
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I’ll try to keep posting on the website and this page as much as possible, but things will continue to be a little more sporadic than they have been over the past year-and-a-half. I still have tonnes of interviews, photos, videos and belated thank you posts to put on here, but for now a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported me on this ridiculous project and helped me come this far; hopefully there is much more to come! 🚲🚲🚲
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: www.placepersonplate.com
Elevkanalen's website (a branch of TV2 Skole): www.elevkanalen.no
Friends, yesterday I did a brief phone interview on BBC Sussex Radio Station to talk about The Place, The Person, The Plate, and the past year-and-a-half of cycling and exploring the world through the eyes of locals.
It starts at 43.20 for anyone interested in giving it a listen!
BBC Sussex Drive at 5 - 10/02/2020 - BBC Sounds
www.bbc.co.uk
Sarah Gorrell rounds up the day's top stories from Sussex, plus travel every 10 minutes.“…they told us 'Erdoğan is a dictator'. Ok, in some ways he is, but not 100%. He is maybe 50-60% dictator. I see him making more changes than any other president of Turkey… So in some ways it’s a good thing…”
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Istanbul was a living, breathing entity in its own right. In the gateway to Asia, I sat down with Mert to discuss what Islam means to him, whether he thinks calling Erdoğan a dictator is accurate, and Turkish-Kurdish relations.
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Have a read at the link below!
Mert discusses Islam, Erdoğan, and Turkish-Kurdish relations in Istanbul, Turkey
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Istanbul, I sat down with Mert Gummus to talk about President Erdoğan, Turkish-Kurdish relations, and what Islam means to him.Last week I spoke with Rose Lock of The Argus about The Place, The Person, The Plate and the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour.
If you can muster the strength on your second day of recovery after Christmas, have a read at the link below!
Travel blogger cycles across Europe to interview local people
www.theargus.co.uk
AN ambitious writer has cycled across Europe to create a travel blog with a difference.In Norway, the month before your final exams at videregående (college) you become "Russ". This means celebrating finishing 13 years of school by partying in buses, vans and "walking groups", usually from the 20th of April until "Norwegian Constitution Day" - the 17th of May.
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Some save money for up to two years to be able to afford the flashiest bus and take part in the celebrations. While studying for exams, many will drink almost every day and have special Russ festivals. During this time, russekort (russ card) collection becomes something of a temporary hobby for many, especially children.
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In the photo, Sindre can be seen modelling his old "Russedress" which, according to Russ rules, you are not allowed to wash and have to wear whenever you leave the house, 7 days a week during "russefeiring".
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The colour of the uniform indicates what kind of subject you studied; red is for regular school, blue for economics and politics, black for subjects like mechanics and carpentry, and green is for agriculture. This is a unique celebration to Norway and, according to Sindre and his father, Anders, is very much approved of by parents, despite the fact that it often ends in someone dropping out of school...
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
After 2 weeks of cycling in Norway with barely a glimpse of the sun, we finally had our first clear day!
In place of an interview this week, here is another "moment" from mine and Miriam's journey across the island of Andøya in Northern Norway, complete with clips that (mostly) didn't make it into the final version of "Arctic to Asia part 1". Have a watch below!
youtu.be/SwKaerU76_o
A Stunning Cycle Through Andøya, one of Norway's Most Beautiful Islands
youtu.be
We'd been battered relentlessly by wind and rain for the first 2 weeks of the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, but on one of our first sunny days of the trip we ar...On Thursday, I spoke with an Azerbaijani news network, and it seems I was accidentally transported back to the 1980s.
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A short disclaimer: despite how it may look, I absolutely did not wink at the interviewer at any point during the interview...
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You can find the full video below (though it is dubbed in Azerbaijani)!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZVPBDwgToQ
“...the way of living is changing. People are getting more mad and sad. Happiness has, like, disappeared… You see, not everything in democracy is good and shiny and new…"
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In Burgas, Bulgaria, I sat down with Ivo Gospodinov to discuss whether Bulgaria is really better off after the rise of Democracy than it was under Communism. Have a read at the link below!
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theplacethepersontheplate.com/communism-vs-democracy-in-burgas-bulgaria/
Ivo discusses whether Communism or Democracy was better for Bulgaria.
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Burgas, Bulgaria, Ivo explains why he disagrees with the notion that the rise of Democracy has left Bulgaria better off than it was under Communism.Once again, I found myself at the mercy of winter in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Slush had turned to ice at the roadside, and I’d begun googling how to make improvised snow tyres so I didn’t slip on the busy highway that would take me out of the city towards Moldova. But just as I was about to venture into the frigid conditions outside Аліна (Alina), who worked at the hostel I’d been staying at, came to the rescue.
So a massive and very late thank you to her for insisting that I load my bike into her car so she could drive me out of the city to the Moldovan border, saving me a nerve-wracking few hours navigating traffic on a snow-covered road! Дякую (Dyakuyu)!
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: www.placepersonplate.com
"The Mafia still runs this city; everybody knows that… In Bulgaria, we have a saying: ‘every country has a Mafia, but in Bulgaria, the Mafia has a country’."
In Varna, Bulgaria, I sat down with Nedko at Nomado Hostel to discuss the power the Mafia still holds over the country and it's links to Bulgaria's Prime Minister, as well as the segregation of Gypsy communities in the country.
Have a read at the link below!
Varna's Mafia, Corruption, and Gypsy Segregation in Bulgaria
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Varna, I spoke with Nedko about the power of the Bulgaria's Mafia and its links to the Prime Minister, and the segregation of Gypsy communities.Part 5 of the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour is now up on YouTube!
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The adjustment to cycling alone almost broke me. At times, the loneliness was overwhelming and I'd struggle to see how I'd last a month, let alone a year, on the road by myself.
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It wasn't the isolation in the moment that bothered me, but the creeping sensation that this is what life would be like for the next year. By the end of the first day, I was already thinking of how I'd have to explain to my friends and family that I hadn't been able to handle it and had to quit and come home.
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So have a watch of me getting to grips with solo cycle touring as I traversed the banks of the river Elbe from Hamburg to Berlin at the link below!
Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour Part 5: Germany - Hamburg to Berlin
www.youtube.com
For the past year, I've been cycling from Northern Norway to Central Asia while interviewing local people along the way. After Miriam went home, I was faced ...“…if I had an accident, and I had lost most of my blood... if it was life or death, and you asked me right now, 'would I take the blood transfusion?' I cannot answer that question.”
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Did you know that Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays and most don't accept blood transfusions?
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I met Giorgos, a JW from Cyprus, in Georgia and, after some convincing, he agreed to give me some honest insight into the often misunderstood religious group.
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Have a read at the link below!
What's it like growing up in the Jehovah's Witnesses?
theplacethepersontheplate.com
Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses accept blood transfusions or celebrate birthdays? Giorgo gives rare and honest insight into the religious group he grew up in."You might have to work hard to get me to defend my homeland in most cases, but I struggle when I hear Americans receive criticism for being ‘uncultured’."
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With exorbitant international travel costs in the United States compared with the likes of Europe, Miriam asks: is the stereotype of the "uncultured American" really fair?
In Defence of the Uncultured American (Written by One)
theplacethepersontheplate.com
With exorbitant international travel costs in the U.S. compared with the likes of Europe, is the stereotype of the "uncultured American" really fair?“I saw the struggle my parents faced raising me and my sister. If you can imagine, every day from 4.00 p.m. until 7.00 p.m. there was no power. It was 1986, and I had to do my homework with a small candle.”
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Dan was 12 years old when the revolution took place. I sat down with him in Constanta, Romania to hear his experiences from that time, and to discuss traditions in Romania. Have a read at the link below.
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Thanks to Marius of Club Sportiv Euxin Constanta for setting up the interview!
Daniel shares his memories from the Romanian revolution in Constanța
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Constanța, Romania, I met Daniel Buzatu, who shared his memories from the 1989 revolution, and discussed Romanian traditions.The bad news: the next Place, Person, Plate interview from Romania won't be published until next week.
The good news: That's because we've been flown to Paris to film for a TV show!
Instead, here is the latest "moment" from the Arctic to Asia Cycle tour, when Miriam and I were stranded on Senja in Northern Norway after a storm blew in. Enjoy!
Stranded on Senja During a Storm
www.youtube.com
A week into our cycle tour, and we found ourselves stranded on Senja, an island in Northern Norway, for two nights after a storm blew in... -----------------...Friends, family and followers, I recently spoke with the Shoreham Herald about 'The Place, The Person, The Plate' and what life on the road has been like for the past year!
Have a read at the link below and try not to look closely at my awkward smile.
Steyning traveller takes on epic cycle across Europe and asks ‘what does home mean to you?’
www.shorehamherald.co.uk
An intrepid Steyning traveller has taken to two wheels in an epic journey of discovery across Europe.Times have changed at Holma farm in Tretten, Norway.
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13 years ago, Håvard, Johan and the rest of the Sagheim family split an investment in a farm in the mountains with three other families, and moved all their animals from their back yard up onto their new land.
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Very different from when Håvard began work on his own farm in 1990, he can now often be seen at a computer in his office, using a software that predicts the milk yields of each cow and notifies him of any ill animals as well as those that need a break from milking. He even uses a milking robot, which automatically leads his dairy cows into a milking pen and is able to diagnose and isolate any sick individuals. Not quite what some may have in mind when they think of farming in the Norsk mountains.
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
"…it's a struggle for the people that are living here, especially the older people that don't have relatives to look after them. Most of them will seem grumpy all the time. But if you look beyond that, you can tell that it's not because they are mean or anything; it's sadness."
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Another country, another interview! I headed out of Moldova to Galati, my first stop in Romania, where I spoke with Livia Liv about the challenges faced by people living in her country, and why so many people are leaving. Have a read below:
Livia discusses the challenges facing Romania in Galați.
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Galați, Romania, I met Livia, who explained spoke about the Romanian standard of living and why so many young people are leaving Romania.My final day in Lviv, Ukraine, and a storm blew in. Chunks of snow and ice scuttled across the concrete outside, powered by gusts of frigid air, and I stared out the window, contemplating my next move. As if sensing my doubts, my phone screen lit up; a call from Taras, my friend in Ivano-Frankivsk who I’d met in a hostel in Western Poland a month earlier.
“I'm worried. I don’t think you should cycle here, Tieran. It’s a little dangerous.” I glanced back out through the window, which shook under the force of a gale, and tried to explain that, with all the stuff on my bike, I didn’t have too much of a choice.
“Tieran." he cut me off, "If I tell you I can borrow my friends truck, and come and pick you up, no problem, will you accept?”
So a huge (and as always very late) thank you to Taras and his wife, Kate, who hosted me on their kitchen floor for three nights, and drove hours out of their way to ensure I wasn’t cycling on the edge of an icy main-road, took me up to Bukovel to see the Carpathian mountains and set up an interview with Юлія (Yulia), before dropping me at the next city I was stopping at.
Дякую (Dya Kuyu) for everything, and hope to see you guys again!
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: https://theplacethepersontheplate.com/
In the Svaneti region in Northern Georgia (country), I met Basque film-maker Mikel Peña Sarrionandia, who asked if he could make a video about me and the trip. Have a watch of the much more professional-than-normal finished product below!
Sidenote: the scratch on my neck is from when I got distracted talking to a passer-by, and flew my drone into my face mid-conversation.
The Place, The Person, The Plate
vimeo.com
I was fortunate enough to meet Tieran while hiking through the picturesque mountains of Mestia in Georgia. After 4 days of exploring through the mountains we made..."We knew the cycle tour would strain us... it was always just the two of us... we only had each other to celebrate with, or to cry with, or to blame."
Ever wondered how Miriam was able to put up with me for so long before I set off solo?
Have a read of her take on what it's like to cycle tour with your boyfriend without losing your mind below!
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(Featured photo by Svein Rune Berg at Iguan Design)
Surviving a cycle tour as a couple | 2,000km on the road with my boyfriend.
theplacethepersontheplate.com
We knew the cycle tour would strain us... it was always just the two of us... we only had each other to celebrate with, or to cry with, or to blame.The island of Senja in Northern Norway gave us some of the most spectacular views on the entire cycle tour. Miriam and I headed for Ersfjord, where we camped on a beach, and marvelled at the scenery the entire way!
Have a watch of our latest “moments” video below:
Arctic to Asia: Moments - Our Scenic Cycle Through Senja
www.youtube.com
The island of Senja in Northern Norway gave us some of the most spectacular views on the entire cycle tour. We headed for Ersfjord, where we camped on a beac..."Of course, we fear for our language; we are afraid of it dying. But we make an effort every day to prevent that.”
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For my final interview in Moldova, I travelled to Gagauzia, an autonomous region in the south with its own, officially endangered, language. There, I met with Olga Kulaksız, who spoke to me about Gagauz identity, culture, language, and the regions future.
Have a read at the link below!
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A huge thank you to Muhammet Ali Ateş for acting as my translator😊
What does it mean to be Gagauz? Olga discusses Gagauzia's identity.
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, I spoke with Olga Kulaksız, an ethnic Gagauz, about her identity, culture and the region's endangered language.This is Reidar Berg. He is 86-years-old, and in true Norwegian fashion he "roller-skis" 13-17km three times a week to stay in shape in Dovre, Norway. This, he says, takes him 60 minutes, but is a lot quicker in winter on real skis in the snow.
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia cycle tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
Our first night of wild camping was when it started to dawn on me that I might not be cut out for this...
Miriam and I had planned on making it about 10km further, but our bodies gave up near the top of a mountain outside Brensholmen, Norway. With nothing but some pasta, pesto and peanuts to refuel on, and dirty lake water to use for cooking, we didn’t have the energy to bring our gear inside, and risked leaving it strewn across the surrounding brush overnight.
Despite being exhausted and emotionally drained, I lay wide awake on the lumps and bumps pushing my sleeping mat into my back, wondering how I’d tell my friends and family that I’d made it less than a week into the so-called “Arctic to Asia” cycle tour before calling it quits. For about an hour, every time I got close to sleep, I imagined the distance we still had to cover - the daunting prospect of almost an entire year of doing this over and over again - and my heart lurched.
On the literal and metaphorical bright side, we got to experience a cloudless night illuminated by the famous midnight sun; this photo was taken at about 12.30am, just before I started questioning whether this whole thing was a terrible mistake.
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia cycle tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
"...The American dinner-table used to be a place where people sat down and talked about things, but I don’t think it is what it once was."
Happy 4th of July to my readers in the United States! It’s exactly one year ago today that I published the first Place, Person, Plate interview. Long before I put foot to pedal, I met with Jon Finley, who runs the Starlight Cafe' in Cornersville, Tennessee, to learn about life in Rural America.
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That was way back before I knew the ins and outs of WordPress web-design so, to celebrate the occasion, I’ve revamped that article to make it much more reader-friendly.
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Have a read at the link below!
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theplacethepersontheplate.com/cornersville-tennessee/
Jon Finley discusses life in rural America | Cornersville, Tennessee
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In our first ever interview, we spoke with Jon Finley, proprietor of the Starlight Café in Cornersville, about the ups and downs of life in Rural America.For those who missed them on Instagram, I’ve decided to start sharing some of my favourite photos from the road over the past year.
So, to kick off, here's a throwback to Nesna in Northern Norway, where Miriam and I had just finished pushing our bikes 3km uphill, only to discover that there was another 3km still to come up ahead…
The first few weeks of the trip pushed both of us to breaking point, as the stunning scenery brought with it some of the most difficult terrain we cycled... and the occasional emotional breakdown.
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For interviews and Articles from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: placepersonplate.com/
A massive and very late thank you to Oleksandr Rozhok and his mum, Olena Eu. Since I wildly overpacked at the beginning of this trip, they offered me a place to leave my mountain of stuff in Lviv, Ukraine, which allowed me to go home to visit family for “Channukamas”. Somehow, I forgot to take a photo of us all together, so here’s some of Oleks showing off the pipe-smoking skills he's perfected after years of competing in pipe-smoking competitions.
Dyakuyu!
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia cycle tur, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
Democracy, beaten and bloodied almost beyond recognition, limps on in Turkey, or at least Istanbul, for now…
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Early May, and a tangible excitement permeates through Istanbul's labyrinthine streets. Ekrem İmamoğlu, a soft-spoken political unknown and relative newcomer, had somehow clinched victory in a mayoral race against a candidate from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP, a regime that has been accused of continuously undermining democratic institutions and slipping perilously close to a dictatorship over the best part of a decade. The results handed him a razor-thin margin of 13,000 votes, just 0.2% of the total, over Binali Yıldırım, striking Erdoğan where it hurt; as a former mayor of Turkey's cultural capital, the now-President has repeated time and time again the mantra that “whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey”.
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It wasn’t long, however, before that victory turned to ash, and, at the request of Erdoğan, who claimed irregularities at the ballot box were responsible for his loss, election authorities annulled the results and ordered a rerun to be held on the 23rd of June. For months, it seemed that it had become illegal to win against the AKP.
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The date grew closer, and just 2 percentage points separated the rivals in opinion polls. Could İmamoğlu recreate his performance from weeks earlier? Pundits were torn; pollsters, conflicted. Locals were anxious. The world watched. But voters, in their fervour, riled by the injustice of a legitimate political victory ripped away and, fearing the last flickers of democracy would soon be extinguished, returned with a renewed sense of resolve, determined to defy the polls.
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Seconds ticked by, and it became startlingly clear to Erdoğan and the AK Parti that the plan had backfired; spectacularly so. A small 13,000 vote lead had turned into a 775,000 one. Voters saw that, with enough turnout, not even Erdoğan was infallible. Istanbul, governed by the AKP since 1994, fell to the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi - CHP - opposition, and an extended campaign breathed life into what was once a political lightweight who now had momentum in a situation frighteningly similar to the one that had seen Erdoğan himself take control of the country not too long ago.
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So there you have it; Istanbul has a new mayor, and maybe, just maybe, Turkey could have found itself a potential future challenger for the presidency.
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia cycle Tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
"The only way for Transnistria to reunify with Moldova without having an armed conflict is for it to become an autonomy in the territory of Moldova.”
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Transnistria declared independence from the rest of Moldova in 1990, sparking a war that lasted two years. It now has it's own flag, parliament, license plates and even it's own currency.
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I travelled to it's capital, Tiraspol, where I met with Anya Golomoz, to find out what it's like to live in a relic of the USSR.
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Have a read at the link below!
What's it like to live in Transnistria, "the country that doesn't exist"?
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Transnistria, which declared it's independence from Moldova in 1990, I met Anya Golomoz, who explained what it's like to live in a relic of the USSR.Since I've left my laptop behind for a few days to go hiking in the Svaneti region in Northern Georgia, the next Place Person Plate interview will be published next week instead of today. Until then, here's a few photos from day 1 of the 4 day trek from Mestia to Ushguli!
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For interviews and articles from the Arctic to Asia cycle tour, visit:
theplacethepersontheplate.com/
At the end of an exhausting 2nd day of cycling, we could go no further, and so decided to camp at the top of a mountain near Brensholmen; Miriam's first time camping for about 12 years...
Arctic to Asia: Moments - Our First Night of Wild Camping!
www.youtube.com
At the end of an exhausting 2nd day of cycling, we could go no further, and so decided to camp at the top of a mountain near Brensholmen; Miriam's first time...Halfway through our first day on the road in Norway, our luck took a turn for the worse.
At the deepest point in the tunnel under Malangen fjord, Miriam injured her knee, meaning we had to walk the entire uphill section...
Arctic to Asia: Moments - Miriam Injured her Knee, Reindeer and More...
www.youtube.com
Just when things seemed to be going well on our first day, Miriam injured her knee in the middle of the 2.7km long, Vikran tunnel that goes under a fjord, le..."...we became both independent and super poor at the same time. A lot of factories... had been working for the needs of the Soviet Union, so there was no point running them any more. A lot of very talented people... became unemployed in a moment."
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In Moldova's capital, Chișinău, I spoke with Alex Mirgorodski, who discussed the pros and cons of life in the Soviet Union and the divides in Moldovan society. Have a read at the link below!
Alex talks pros & cons of the Soviet Union and more in Chișinău, Moldova.
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Chișinău, Alexander Mirgorodski told me about the pros and cons of life in the Soviet Union, as well as the culture and history of Moldova.Barely halfway through day 1 on the road and Miriam and I had already met hundreds of Huskies!
Arctic to Asia: Moments - We Found a Husky Café
www.youtube.com
To our delight, we stumbled across the Husky Café outside Tromsø on our first day of cycle touring, where we met hundreds of sled dogs and husky puppies!Google translate struggles a little with this one, but somehow I've found myself on a local Polish news site!
For those not familiar with Polish, the title appears to translate directly as:
"Think with the eyes of the British is 'less well-kept Krakow.' Tieran Freedman is on his way from Norway to Azerbaijan".
Thanks naszemiasto.pl, I hope what you wrote was good!
Through the occasional video, you've seen snippets of the Scandinavian section of the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour.
Since those only show a fraction of the footage we have, I've begun stitching together some shorter clips, or "moments", that give a more accurate representation of life on the road. So, please enjoy the first of many "Arctic to Asia: Moments", which documents mine (Tieran) and Miriam's first hour of cycle touring as we left Tromsø, Norway!
Arctic to Asia: Moments - Our First Hour of Cycle Touring!
www.youtube.com
With no experience, no training and no clue what we were in for, this short video documents our first hour on the bikes as we cycled out of Tromsø in Norther...The tables have turned!
Back in Istanbul, Mohammad Alard (aka Traveler Freak الرحالة المجنون) interviewed me about the ups and downs of life on the road during the Arctic to Asia Cycle tour. Have a watch below!
"I don’t think this country can give me what I want – the kind of life that I want – but I still want to try and fight for it. I want to go abroad to study... and then come back and change our country.”
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For my first interview in the little-known, landlocked country of Moldova, I cycled to Bălți, where I spoke with Marina Skaletskaya, an active community member, about the high levels of inequality, the issues facing youths and her culture in her home country.
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Thanks to Maddie Mcgrath for organising the interview, have a read at the link below!
Marina Skaletskaya talks inequality, youth and culture in Bălți, Moldova.
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Bălți, Moldova, I spoke with Marina Skalerskaya, an active community member who spoke with me about wealth inequality, the environment, culture and more.Did you miss the latest video from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour?
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany feel like an age ago now, but making this trailer brought back a flood of memories.
Check out the full video of mine and Miriam's final stretch cycling together before I continued the journey towards Azerbaijan solo at the link below!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjmGDfMD6bc&t
Usually, I tend to stay for 3-4 days in a place before moving on to the next stop on the cycle tour. But when I visited Львів (Lviv), Ukraine, back in winter I fell in love with it. So much so that I got a little too comfortable, and spent more than two weeks overstaying my welcome with two locals, Yurko Yarovyj and Romana Skoropad, and a cat called Wusek (whisker) which had a charming habit of jumping on me every night at around 2.00am.
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So, late as always, a massive thank you goes to them for the bed, countless servings of barszcz, introducing me to something called “shuba” (a kind of herring and vegetable cake and one of the more peculiar dishes I’ve tried from that part of the world) and for not throwing me out sooner, especially after I lost the keys to their front door in the snow outside (sorry about that again, guys)…
Дякую (Dyakuyu) for everything!
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For interviews, articles and videos from the Arctic to Asia Cycle Tour, visit: theplacethepersontheplate.com/
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Kajtek Grzelka talks Polish Identity and life in Wrocław, Poland
theplacethepersontheplate.com
I sat down with Kajtek, a pharmacy student, to discuss what it means to be Polish, the challenges facing Polish society, and life in the city of Wrocław."At school, we were "Oktyabryata"; children of the Red October. We had to wear stars with a picture portrait of Lenin as a child... In the Soviet Union, it was compulsory... when you go to university you become Komsomols; the committee of the Soviet Youth."
In Chernivtsi, Ukraine, Pavlo explained the effects the collapse of the Soviet Union had on his family and what childhood in the Soviet Union was like. Have a read at the link below!
Чернівецьке екскурсійне бюро
Pavlo discusses tourism, corruption and communism in Chernivtsi, Ukraine
theplacethepersontheplate.com
In Chernivtsi, Ukraine, I met Pavlo, who discussed how the collapse of the soviet Union affected his family, corruption in healthcare, tourism and more.“I was born in the Eastern part of Ukraine...we managed to leave after Crimea was annexed, just before the war raged in my city...”
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Did you miss my belated interview from last week?
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Юлія Острогляд (Yulia) left everything she knew behind when she fled her hometown in Eastern Ukraine in 2014. I sat down with her to hear her story. Have a read below.
Yulia discusses escaping the war and Ukraine's future in Ivano-Frankivsk
theplacethepersontheplate.com
Yulia Ostrohliad fled Eastern Ukraine just after the annexation of Crimea. I sat down with her in Ivano-Frankivsk to hear her story.“I was born in the Eastern part of Ukraine...we managed to leave after Crimea was annexed, just before the war raged in my city...”
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Юлія (Yulia) left everything she knew behind when she fled her hometown in Eastern Ukraine in 2014. I sat down with her to hear her story. Have a read below.
Yulia discusses escaping the war and Ukraine's future in Ivano-Frankivsk
theplacethepersontheplate.com
Yulia Ostrohliad fled Eastern Ukraine just after the annexation of Crimea. I sat down with her in Ivano-Frankivsk to hear her story.