House prices have shot up in Dublin in recent years, and real estate aftershocks can still be felt in the rental market. For students and young professionals, this altered housing context has engendered real financial stresses. Those in the know use Daft to ease the pain. Daft, you say? Daft is Ireland’s biggest property site, » Read more

Košice, Slovakia’s second city, ranks high on our short list of underexplored European gems. Set in a valley, with the Ore mountains to the west and the Salt Hills to the east, Košice remains a delightfully unspoilt place. Slovakia’s budget airline SkyEurope flies between Košice and Bratislava, making the city both easy and cheap to » Read more

The rumors regarding Plitvice Lakes National Park match the velocity of its waterfalls. Guidebooks and even on-site hotel staff are full of misinformation. Even the park Web site is secretive, encouraging potential guests to refrain from contacting hotels directly. During a recent expedition within the park grounds, we were able to make some eye-opening discoveries. » Read more

Over the first days of May, the Andalusian cultural capitals of Granada and Córdoba celebrate the Festival of Crosses. The crosses themselves are king. Decorated with local flowers, the crosses adorn homes, squares and gardens. The crosses in turn become focal points for singing, dancing and, of course, drinking. Scheduled from the May 1 to » Read more

Photo by infraredhorsebite A sibling love affair, a taxidermic incident with the family dog (whose name, of all things, is Sorrow), and a dancing bear. Need we say more? These plot details are just the tip of the iceberg in John Irving’s novel, The Hotel New Hampshire. The story follows a family from New England » Read more

When you’re done meandering through the narrow streets and climbing the old walls of Old Dubrovnik, retreat from the crowds to the island of Lokrum. A peaceful island of less than one square km, Lokrum is a nature preserve with no cars or human inhabitants. Save for an old fortress and a Benedictine monastery converted » Read more

No visit to Hungary is complete without trying lángos, the national fast food. A lángos is a deep-fried flat bread made of potato dough. It comes with a choice of toppings: garlic, sour cream, grated cheese, or all three. The name comes from the Hungarian word láng (flame) from the days when the snack was » Read more