#BEDN - Travel Dreams

As I get older the places I want to visit are changing. I used to want to go to India, Japan and China to experience cultures that are totally different to the Western European one I've always lived in. However now I can't face the thought of long haul flights and all those hours trapped on a plane. So now I have other destinations that I want to go to and they're all much closer to home. I now want to visit the great cities of Europe.

First on the list is Copenhagen. I'm a massive fan of Borgen, The Killing and The Bridge so I've had my appetite for Denmark well and truly whetted. I'm sure it's not always grey and raining in Copenhagen and it looks like a fascinating city, full of beautiful old buildings and it looks like a manageable size to stroll around.

While I'm in Scandinavia I'd like to drive over the Oresund Bridge and spend some time in Malmo and Stockholm. A trip to Skane would be good too so I could pretend I'm on a case with Wallender. I'd love to try Swedish cinnamon buns for breakfast and again Stockholm looks like a manageable city to stroll round. I find very big cities rather traumatic these days and smaller ones are better for me.

Then I'd like a repeat trip to Reykjavik. We went there for New Year several years ago and it was lovely. I have a bit of an Icelandic passion - I love the music and the literature - so I'd like a longer visit to see a little more of this fascinating country.

Back to mainland Europe and a trip to Berlin would be nice. I've never been to Germany and Berlin is so packed with history that I'm sure a trip would be really interesting. It would also be a chance to order a drink in a bierkeller using my very old, O level German!

I've visited Paris so I'd like to go to other parts of France, maybe Chatres or Rhiems. I love the idea of visiting some of the places that I have read about when studying English History. Anywhere with a nice cathedral to wander round would be OK with me.

There are many other cities that I'd like to visit - Prague, Istanbul, Athens (again), Rome, Madrid, Santiago de Compostela - I'm not sure there is enough time to go to all these places but it's never a bad thing to dream ...