It says on their door that they were founded in 1872. Not sure if this is so, but the shop does have a vintage vibe to it. It is a two-storey chic space, with red carpets, black walls and high shelves stacked with books on all kinds of topics. The ground floor is devoted to […]
A perfect bookstore chain for me? I found it. It’s the Estonian Rahva Raamat, which boasts the most stylish bookshops I have ever been to. The two that I visited are located in the center of Tallinn – one store is in the Old Town and the other one in the Viru Keskus shopping mall. […]
Has it ever happened to you that a bookstore looked mundane from the outside, but turned out to be a real treasury inside? That’s exactly what happened to me when I visited Znanje (“knowledge”) bookstore in the center of Zagreb. The facade was a bit … weird, as the bookstore seems to be part of […]
This is a central, big, modern bookstore with impressive English section. It looks much better from the inside than from the outside:) The designer was Alvar Aalto, an architect famous for his airy modern Scandinavian design. Unfortunately, my photos don’t represent the design that well, but please go to this link to appreciate how beautiful […]
A chapel at a bookshop? A pool table? Why not, welcome to Arkadia International Bookshop in the heart of Helsinki. Operating since 2008, Arkadia is a large second-hand bookshop, a gallery and a venue for a wide range of events. They “offer space for tranquility, writing and thought” (more about the shop here), and are […]
I adore libraries, probably more than bookstores. Libraries not only regulate the sustainable circulation of books among people, but also provide a space for reading, writing and killing time. They gave me solace when I lived abroad and felt it otherwise hard to integrate into a foreign society. I love a good library. I thought […]
So, you have probably heard about a bookstore with the same name, but located in Paris, France? We even have a post on it on our blog, right here. But this is a totally different one, located in the heart of Vienna, Austria. Not sure those two booksellers are in any way related, but I […]
Summer means Mediterranean to me. This post-COVID summer I was lucky enough to go to the Peloponnese, and I absolutely loved it. One week-driving adventure filled with sun, blue skies, ancient cities and the thick air of Greek myths. I only spent a couple of nights in Athens, and unfortunately both turned out to be […]
I can sort of understand why many writers felt attracted to the Swiss capital – the crisp air and the magnificent mountain and lake views do invite to take a contemplative walk that might result in at least a good mood or, if one is lucky, in an inspiration. From Joyce to Lenin, Zürich has […]
Have you been to Lviv, Ukraine? If not, I strongly advise you to spend at least a weekend in this hidden gem of Eastern Europe. You will love it. Besides its bustling restaurant scene and stunning architecture, it is also the incontestable cultural (read literary and music) capital of Ukraine. I am a sucker for […]