Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Holland, Slovenia, Sweden, Macedonia, Bosnia, Vatican City

Baku, Azerbaijan - September 2011

A full collection of photos from this trip can be found in my Baku Flickr album

The Guinness

Cheers!  Enjoying a Guinness in Baku

There was a good Irish bar in Baku called Finnegan's Bar, so goo actually I went there a few times during my stay.

Chinarra in Finnegan’s Bar kindly poured me a Guinness

The changing skyline of Baku

You'll never be stuck finding a carpet in Azerbaijan

Quirky Moments

Before I left UK I had a phone call from producers at Radio Wales asking if I could do a live telephone interview with Roy Noble when I was having a Guinness in Baku.  I gave them a day and a time to coincide with when I thought I would be drinking a Guinness in Finnegans Bar.  The bar was pretty noisy at the allotted time so I was standing outside, ready to take the call, and feeling all full of myself for being a guest on Radio Wales.  Needless to say the call never came.  Apparently Roy was off ill that day.  To make me feel even more small, as I was waiting, three cyclists turned up with full panniers.  They were speaking English and one was sporting a shirt with a Union Jack.  I asked them how far they had ridden.  They'd come all the way from London!  

Hats off to these guys who arrived at the end of their journey in Baku having ridden all the way from London.

Nicosia, Cyprus - November 2011

For a full collection of photos from this trip visit my Flikr Cyprus Album

Finbarr's in Nicosia

I enjoyed a Guinness in Finbarr's where my next destination was picked out of the hat by Maria.

Certainly not my usual type of accommodation - Palm Beach Hotel in Larnaca

Amsterdam, Holland - April, 2012

The Guinness

Mulligans Bar, Amsterdam, with its unusual decor - advertisements in Dutch encouraging people to visit Ireland. 

So what is the capital of Holland?  Most would say Amsterdam but some would argue The Haag.  Just to make sure I've completed this challenge to everyone's satisfaction we took a train to The Haag and sampled a Guinness in the Poteen Still.

Poteen Still, Den Haag

The Sights

In all honesty we didn't do too well at sightseeing in Amsterdam.  We tried to visit the Van Googh museum but after joining a lengthy queue that moved at a reasonable pace initially and then slowed to a snail's pace when those on coaches with pre-booked tickets arrived we knew it was time to give up. We did however enjoy our time wandering around the canals and parks of the city.  

Clogs anyone?

Out of town

One day we took a train out of Amsterdam and visited four other destinations:  Haarlem, Leiden, The Haag and Delft.  

The 1000-pipe organ in St Bavo's Church, reputedly to have been played by both Handle and Mozart. 

The attractive town of Leiden, home of the Pilgrim Father's before they set of for America.

Getting there and around

We flew from Birmingham to Schiphol airport from where its a short train ride into Amsterdam.  Train was a popular form of transport this time as we also used it for our day out to four other cities.  The Amsterdam metro and bus system also served us well.  We never did however sample the barges nor bikes.

Accommodation

My wife and I split the tasks for preparing this trip.  I booked the reasonable flights from Birmingham with BMIbaby and Margaret purchased, sorry, booked, the hotel.

Our base, Mercure hotel at Noorderstraat 46, Amsterdam.

Team makeup

Just me and Margaret on this trip.  We left the dog at home.

Food and Drink

There was plenty to choose from both in Amsterdam and the other towns we visited.  In Amsterdam itself we particularly liked sampling Indonesian food at Sampurna.  In the Haag we visited the recommended Bij HeM

Dinner at Bij HeM in the Haag

And there's more

A full collection of photos from our trip to Amsterdam can be found here here

Ljubljana, Slovenia - July 2012

For a full collection of photos see my Slovenia Album in Flickr

The Guinness

Enjoying a Guinness in Patrick's Irish Pub, Ljubljana

Stockholm, Sweden - September 2012

For a full collection of photos from this trip visit my:  Stockholm Flickr album

The Guinness

There ere a fair number of places to choose from in Stockholm to sample a Guinness ranging from the quiet to the noisy.  In the end I chose to have my tipple in Wirströms Pub which claims to be the only Irish owned faux Irish pub in town.  

Enjoying a complimentary Guinness at Wirströms.  Many thanks.

Alisia kindly pouring me a Guinness

Skopjia, Macedonia - March 2013

That was close.  I almost failed in my attempt to have a Guinness in Macedonia.  I had done my homework before going and discovered there were plenty of bars selling Guinness.  I had even contacted one before going.  When I got to Skopjia however everywhere had run out and were expecting a delivery 'tomorrow'.  Inevitably, that never happened.  I think there was some fsort of dispute going on with the supply chain.

In the end and to much relief I found some Guinness on sale in the only supermarket in town.  I took it back to the hostel and had a nice evening with the other guests having a Guinness or two.  Phew!

A full collection of pictures from my trip to Macedonia

Sarajevo, Bosnia - October 2013

A full collection of photos from this trip can be found in my Sarajevo Flickr album

The Guinness

I wasn't convinced there would be Guinness available in Sarajevo after the problems I'd experienced in Macedonia.  When I first arrived I had a quick look around and found the Guinness Pub.  That looks promising I thought but no, once again I was told they had run out but would be getting some in 'tomorrow'.  In the end I discover that the Central Bar, although having run out of draught Guinness does have some bottled Guinness.  Phew!

Smiling like a Cheshire cat having found a Guinness in City Bar, Sarajevo.

Of all the places you would have thought would have Guinness ...... but no!

Getting there and around

At the time there weren't any budget airlines flying to Sarajevo from UK s instead I took a Birmingham to Dubrovnik flight with Monarch.  I spent a couple of days exploring Dubrovnik before taking a coach up to Sarajevo.  On my return I stopped off for a couple of nights in Mostar.  Sarajevo is a small city so there was no need to use any other form of transport whilst there apart from a bus to and from the coach/train station.

Vatican City - February 2014

After doing a bit of research in the Vatican cafe I quickly established that there was no Guinness on sale in the Vatican City.  All was not lost however.  An Irish bar in Rome, Trinity College bar, kindly supplied some Guinness and even a barman to pour it for me.  Alfonso and his friend were great company and he kindly picked out my next destination: London.




Here's a story from the website of La Repubblica, an Italian newpaper, about my recent visit to the Vatican City:  http://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2014/02/25/news/birra_e_europa_il_viaggio_di_ted-79585676/

Or a rough translation from Google Translate gives:
CITY ' OF THE VATICAN - Some people in St. Peter goes to see the Pope , the colonnade or dome . A tourist Welsh , however, went there just to drink a pint of beer. The number thirty-four sipped in the center of a European capital .

That Ted Richards is a journey that started 10 years ago, when he decided that he visited 52 cities of the old continent to drink a Guinness in all of them . Oslo , Berlin, Madrid , but also the capital of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been stages of this tour guided by fate. "Every time - tells Ted - I ask the person I need to draw the Guinness from a box that I carry with me the name of the next destination. Sometimes people do not understand or take me for a madman , but I find it a fun way to travel " . A single destination has not been and will not be drawn at random to Dublin. The starting point and the closing of this trip.

In normal life, Ted worked as a chemist in a large company of Coventry in England, but in his spare time loves to invent personal challenges. And that Guinness is not the first in his curriculum . "The idea I had while I was sitting in a pub. Was about to complete my previous adventure - walk over 3500 miles of coastline between Wales and England - and I was happy but also a bit ' frustrated by not have another company to accomplish. So looking at my pint I decided : I would have a drink in every European capital . "

The choice of beer could fall on one of the many excellent Irish , but it is based on two good reasons . "The main reason is that Guinness is my favorite and then I thought that is widespread but not everywhere , which would give me the opportunity to have to work a little ' to find it. A small challenge in the challenge , in short ."

In Vatican City, for example, there are no pubs , and Ted turned to a restaurant in the center of Rome, which has taken steps to help him. To him and his wife Margaret was served a cold Guinness yet . And out of the box with the names of the capitals were drawn the next city , in which there will surely supply problems : London