Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

I was delighted to be able to help Hitchin Creative and Visit Hitchin decorate the streets of our town with the very first Winter Art Trail. Designing the posters was fun. You can read some of the press release I wrote below: Repurposing stands originally used for hand sanitisers around the town, Hitchin Creative has created a trail of large paintings produced by members of our local artistic community. “We’re grateful to Town Centre Manager Tom Hardy and his team for coming up with the idea of making creative use of the stands,” says Hitchin Creative Chair Hilary Seabrook. “The 11 artists featured in the trail are all working locally and it’s great to be able to produce this first Winter Art Trail to coincide with the second Hitchin Winter Festival.” Hitchin Creative has taken over the administration of Hitchin Festival and details of Hitchin Winter Festival and the Winter Art Trail map are available online at www.hitchinfestival.co.uk . For more information about Hitchin Creative, ju...

A day of meetings and interviews once more brought inspiration. There is something inherently freeing in entering a new coffee shop for drinking tea and working either online or in the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. I'm fortunate when I find podcast guests who know the best coffee shop near where they live or work.  

There was only one way to end this holiday, and that was climbing the 533 steps (97 metres) of Cologne Cathedral's tower. It's not an easy climb, but well worth it for the views across the city. Never stop litter picking! A spot of lunch and we were set for the few hours' travelling back to the UK after a real insight into some great European cities.

Our hotel was less than a mile from the railway station, with a lovely walk through the Tiergarten to Hauftbanhof reminding us why train travel is so much more pleasurable than flying. We wandered through the park, then through the station and onto the train, with our tickets (and Interrail passes) only checked once, we were well on our four hour way to Cologne. Another day spent wandering the streets - Cologne is such a beautiful city and it was a great place to end this holiday. We even found a great vegan restaurant right near the river. Having done boat trips in Copenhagen, Malmo and Berlin, we resisted the temptation to cruise the Rhein, but it was close. 

Today began with a walk past Berlin's Intercontinental Hotel that was my home for several weeks while working on ‘The Wall’ Berlin 1990. Although much extended, the hotel was recognisably the same, although much of Berlin has changed considerably since my first visit 34 years ago. First stop was Schweizes cafe to meet with pianist and composer Craig Urquhart. We had a long chat, but I recorded a snippet for my podcast - Harmonious World . Craig Urquhart and I take a break from discussions (and tea) The weather was glorious, so we took a walk back to the German Resistance Museum, where we realised that our hotel overlooks the window to German army officer Claus von Stauffenberg’s office, where he planned the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944. It was chilling to think of how much he risked and sacrificed in his attempt to bring peace to the world. Looking across to our hotel from von Stauffenberg's office I can highly recommend walking around Berlin, and we ...

Apparently, it rained while we toured the Neue Museum in Berlin, enjoying some modern art. We were fortunate to miss the downpour and enjoyed a walk across to Museum Island. First stop was at Berlin Cathedral with a walk up the dome to enjoy spectacular views across the city. As I descended into the body of this incredible building, the organ was playing - and what an organ it is! 7,269 pipes, 113 stops and four manuals, and it sounded like the organist was trying them all out in their various permutations. Stunning to both look at and listen to, this was a real treat on a Sunday afternoon. As we wandered back along the river in the direction of the imposing Reichstag and surrounding modern government buildings, we opted for another boat trip - the third in just a few days, although the only one with a disappointing recorded voice, rather than a more engaging and entertaining live guide, such as those in Copenhagen and Malmo. In any case, it was a lovely way to spend an hour and to get...

A long travel day that included a brief stop over in Hamburg to change trains. We left our hotel in Copenhagen just after 8am and, although we'd been warned about disruption on the German train services, our experience could hardly have been better. Arrival in Berlin coincided with the city’s Pride march, with hundreds of people on the streets and in the restaurants. On arrival at our hotel, we discovered that the view from our (palatial) room looks out over the German Resistance Museum, which is definitely on our list to visit in the three days we’re here. Both Richard and I have spent time in Berlin over the years, but so much has changed that there is still plenty we want to see. 

Today began for us with a bus from Copenhagen across the Oresund bridge into Sweden. Pity the poor tourists who had forgotten their passports and were removed at the border by Swedish police. Apart from the resulting delay to the bus, it was a relatively swift crossing and we arrived into Malmo just in time for a boat trip around the canals. On a wander around the city centre, we chanced upon the Form Design Museum which hap popped upon an earlier TripAdvisor search. It was a simple but beautiful place, with examples of work by students at the university, as well as some more sophisticated pieces. And great vegan snacks. The train return journey to Copenhagen was quicker but offered less good views, especially of the crossing. However, a walk around Copenhagen’s impressive Botanic Garden through to the National Museum was a great way to spend the late afternoon. Copenhagen combines nature and art

Copenhagen has so much to offer and today was spent wandering around some of the areas we had seen by bus and finding some new sights. My highlights of the day - and possibly the entire trip - we’re the view from the top of the spire at Our Saviours Church and the calligraphy exhibition in the David Collection. A snail made from waste that can’t be recycled  Christiania is the most bohemian, anarchic area of Copenhagen and it’s well worth a visit. They have an innovative recycling scheme and are developing the area, but as a collective and it seems to be taking some time. Somehow, visiting is something of an intrusion into the way of life going back decades, where people have lived communally and a little off-grid  it’s somewhere you would either love to live or a place of insecurity and anarchy. I think I’d enjoy it for a while, but would gradually crave my creature comforts. The second visit of the day was to Church of Our Saviour, which has a stunning tower, but also a rema...

A pleasant first day in the city of Copenhagen, so we started with a bus trip to experience the city as a whole and get our bearings. Thereafter, we wandered the streets - there’s so much to see. First stop: the Little Mermaid Close to the Little Mermaid statue that is one of the most iconic sights in a Copenhagen lies the Churchill Park, with the beautiful little Anglican Church dedicated to St Alban. Across the corner of the park sits the newly-renovated Danish Resistance Museum, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Focusing on a few Danes and their stories during the German invasion, the museum is a brilliant taste of life at this most difficult time. Not always easy to read or hear about, there is an extensive collection of exhibits that bring the period to life and makes visitors wonder what they would have done in that situation. With a couple of stops along the way, most of the afternoon was spent in the extraordinary David Collection. There are two floors of representations ...

Not the most exciting day. A six hour journey on a ‘proper’ long distance train. No cafe but great Wi-Fi. Huge windows that gave an excellent view, albeit in the rain. The hotel in Copenhagen is a typical city centre base, but just off the beaten track, clean and comfortable. I’s always an unknown, when you’re searching the internet for hotel deals and don’t know the city very well (I’ve only visited once, and that was five years ago) but the Wide Hotel is definitely a winner,

Another Interrail adventure begins with a long journey from home to Hamburg. One delayed train meant a later arrival than planned, but we arrived at our cute hotel just around the corner from the central station. Central Hotel Bel Etage was another jewel discovered on the internet and a good way to start the holiday. Train travel agrees with me Today was a day of five trains - the most complicated of our itinerary for this expedition. We booked all the journeys in advance, with hotels selected that will hopefully all turn out to be as good as tonight’s is. Afternoon tea in the shadow of Cologne cathedral Train travel is a more relaxing way to travel and everything went to schedule except the penultimate journey from Cologne to the outskirts of Hamburg. At least we were constantly kept informed by the rail company. A tiring day, but heading for a restful holiday has already begun.

  Still having fun as we took our 12th, 13th and 14th journeys to eventually reach home. Our return to the UK, via Switzerland and France, was definitely aided by the overcast and rainy weather. We had four days of hot sun in Italy and largely dry days throughout our journey. Now, it doesn't matter that the temperature has dropped and clouds are covering the sky. Interrail is a truly magnificent way to travel around Europe and I really cannot recommend it highly enough. The slightly clunky need to show a pass alongside a separate seat reservation (only on some legs) is just a bit annoying. And, actually, we weren't asked to show both reservation and pass many times. We found some great hotels and overall the whole experience was great. But there's nothing quite like coming home. We're already planning our next trip ...

We began today by leaving behind the stunning Il San Cristoforo hotel and the view of Mount Vesuvius behind. A short taxi ride to the station and we were off on the penultimate leg of our Interrail journey. The journey began with a delightful route that took us north while we could still see Vesuvius, although today it was shrouded in cloud. We were lucky yesterday that just a few wisps of clouds sat below us and they didn’t obscure our view. Heading north, the train was a little late. As the journey continued, the delay worsened so much for Italian trains always running on time. In fact, the train into Milan was 28 minutes late, which meant we missed our connection. After waiting a while on the station among the dozens of other delayed passengers, we were all told to head to the Locarno train on platform 6 and to change at Lugano. As you can imagine, the details got somewhat lost in translation, but we at least had seats and the swift change went smoothly, so we were only a little o...

Visiting Mount Vesuvius was another bucket list item, and it was good to hike it after seeing the damage wreaked by its last major eruption in 79AD. Halfway up Mount Vesuvius The coach ride from Ercolano station was certainly entertaining. The driver insisted on honking his horn at every junction and turn in the road and it was only when we encountered similar bus loads of tourists coming in the opposite direction that it became clear. These drivers are doing the journey several times a day, but I’m not sure I would ever want to undertake it in my own vehicle. As we navigated the winding road from town to the hike departure point, we passed a number of cafes and bars, as well as car parks and people hiking in all directions on the mountain. It’s obviously a web of trails across the lava-strewn landscape that attracts many hikers. A few stalwart groups were on the road, heading for the summit and dodging the traffic. If that journey wasn’t fraught enough, arriving at the coach drop off ...

Wandering around Herculaneum was an eye-opening experience, particularly building upon our trip to Pompeii yesterday. The difference between the two sites is significant: Pompeii was larger but less well preserved. In Herculaneum, there are roofs, stairs and ceilings that contribute to provide more of an insight into the terrible tragedy of the 79AD eruption of Vesuvius.  Standing in a room brings home the concept of people’s everyday lives that were torn apart in just a few hours. Only a small proportion of the old Roman town has been excavated, with the remainder under the modern streets. A tantalising set of tunnels and stone arched entrances hint at the streets and houses still buried. Apparently, early digging elsewhere close to modern buildings revealed an amphitheatre that may never be fully visible. An especially poignant element of the excavation reveals the skeletons of people caught on the edge of the harbour, taking shelter in buildings that have become their tombs. The...

  Pompeii was another bucket list trip that proved to be as exciting and interesting as hoped for. Taking the train to reach this point makes this trip so much more interesting and has given plenty of time to research the tragedy of the Vesuvius eruption.  Sitting as it does at the base of Vesuvius, Pompeii serves as a reminder of the human inability to beat nature when she turns against us. In 79AD, around 12,000 people lived in the town and the eye witness account from Pliny (which I studied at school) provides an account from just across the bay. Thousands of people lost their lives in just one day and the lava which covered the city preserved it for us to see now. The stories of crowds were thankfully untrue as we visited: there were a number of tour guides leading large parties, but surprisingly few. We had a whole day to explore the city - walking from side to side and top to bottom. All while Vesuvius loomed in the distance.

 We’re now halfway through our interrail expedition of Europe and we have settled into a wonderful hotel in the shadow of Vesuvius. The plan is to explore Pompeii, Herculaneum and the mountain itself while we’re based here. The short train journey from Rome to Naples was somewhat enhanced by the misfortune of a young man who deposited his elderly mother into her seat next to mine, before heading off the train. We had reassured him in our broken Italian that we would help her off the train in Milan. As the train pulled out of Rome, we were all torn between dismay and amusement by the son’s return to our carriage - he had failed to leave the train and would be joining our journey. Our arrival in Naples went perfectly until we tried to board the train to take us along the coastal road to Herculaneum. Other passengers at the bus stop informed that either we didn’t need a ticket at all (unlikely) or that we should get one in the train station. I ran around to no avail and we ended up ge...

  The joys of train travel were somewhat dampened by a couple of close calls on transfers between trains - Zermatt to Brig was fine, but we had a close call when we changed at Milan. We made the train with seconds to spare, but made it nonetheless. Interrail passes make it easy to show tickets aboard the trains, with pass and reservations all available online. As all the trains provide power sockets for charging, there’s little danger of phones dying. Our arrival in Rome benefitted from the realisation that our hotel was just metres from the station. Bags dumped, we headed out into the city. The highlights included the Trevi fountain, but especially a couple of hours spent visiting Castel Sant’Angelo - former tomb, prison, barracks, papal home and now a fabulous museum. Richard photographing Rome from the roof of Castel Sant’Angelo Beautifully decorated ceiling A wander around Rome was completed by a stunning vegan meal at the amazing Ecru raw food restaurant to celebrate Richard...