Places in the countryside in Europe

Crossing the Prislop pass is a pretty journey - if you don't mind a bit of winding roads. You will pass traditional village after traditional village, before zigzagging the last bit to the top while being spoiled with spectacular views over endless forests. From the top, there are more hairpin turns and amazing views before you end up on the other side of the mountain pass.

A lovely fishing village of log cabins, picket fences and traditional carved window frames surrounded by forest and snow-capped mountains on the northern shore of Lake Baikal, Baykalskoe and places like it are important (but often missed out) parts of any BAM railway trip. Traveling from town to town along the BAM, one might be tempted to think that the area is no more than a string of gritty, grey, architecturally uninspiring Soviet towns. Remember though that taking public transport out of the towns can take you to places like Baykalskoe, just 45km from Severobaykalsk. Russian Cossacks arrived here in the 17th century but the site had been inhabited by Buryat tribes and their ancestors since the Stone Age. Nearby there are Buryat holy spots, shamanic petroglyphs, inland lakes, glaciers and views on Baikal and its islands. There are lots of great forest, mountain and lakeside trekking opportunities to local beauty spots but be careful as even in Baykalskoe itself bears can be heard roaring in the surrounding woods! Locals live by hunting, fishing and herding cattle and horses.

Karelia is a land of undulating hills, countless lakes and rivers, endless forests and, nestling amid all this natural beauty, timeless log cabin villages with ancient wooden churches and cottages from previous centuries with traditional carved window frames. It is also famous as the home of Europe's two largest lakes, Ladoga and Onega. On the island of Kizhi on Lake Onega stands Karelia's most famous tourist attraction – an outdoor museum of wooden architecture with structures brought here from all over Russia. Impressive though the main church here is, it is only a museum. With a little effort, and ideally your own transport, you can explore Karelia's network of dirt tracks and isolated little villages full of hidden gems. While the wooden architecture in these villages is, admittedly, slightly less impressive than that at Kizhi, it is fascinating because the churches are used and the houses lived in to this day. Other attractions in Karelia include the Valaam Monastery on an island on Lake Ladoga and the petroglyphs at Belomorsk.

A beautiful island located in the equally beautiful Lake Baikal. The only village, Khuzhir, is inhabited by tough-looking people who live in weather-beaten wooden cottages and get around on the dirt roads by Russian jeeps – or horses. There are several shamanic areas on the island with colourful clothes-wrapped poles. The only way to get here is by ferry or, in winter when the lake freezes over, simply by driving on the lake. Explore the island by jeep, foot, horse or even dog-sledge, is the main thing to do, besides enjoying the tranquility of the Siberian island life.

The Tersky Coast, its shores lapped by the White Sea during the few months when it isn’t frozen, is home to a people called the Pomors whose ancestors left Russia in the Middle Ages to live here in the Arctic. They remained free from the yoke of serfdom and landownership that blighted the rest of the country, developed their own way of life based mostly on fishing and certain aspects of their culture became affected by the indigenous Saami. To this day they have preserved a remarkable amount of traditional log architecture including homes, churches and freezer huts full of ice-blocks. The Tersky Coast starts at Umba and a rough asphalt road continues to the beautifully located village of Kuzreka. From here a dirt track leads on to Kashkarantsy and Varzuga. The former has a huge number of traditional log cabins, some more than a century old. The latter’s central square has three beautiful wooden churches on a river bank. After Varzuga the road ends and Pomor villages such as Chavanga and Chapoma remain in isolation. Even further is Sosnovka, a Saami reindeer herders’ village.

Fårö is a small island north of the island of Gotland. The coastline of Fårö is dramatic with crooked rock formations (so-called raukar) and windswept meadows. There are many old windmills and the many sheeps are still kept in enclosures made of ancient stonewalls. Like on Gotland, there are several well-preserved fishermen's huts.
Fårö is connected to Gotland with a short (about 10 min) and free car ferry ride. Many visit Fårö on a day trip from Gotland, but it's possible to stay on the island. Expect long lines at the ferry in the summer season.

Sweden's second largest island is so beautiful that the Swedish royal family has their summer palace here. It's a landscape dominated by open plains, which are home to many rare flowers and birds - and many old wooden windmills (more than 350). Öland's rich history has also left many ancient monuments like Iron Age grave fields, viking fortress, rune stones and castles. And then there are the long white sandy beaches, which are a rarity elsewhere in Sweden. During the summer months Öland attracts crowds of Swedish sunseekers, but the rest of the year Öland is oldly deserted. The agricultural landscape on the southern part of the 140 km long island is enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can drive to Öland over the elegant bridge from Kalmar.

A hour minibus ride from Mardin lies the charming village Savur. Here mud-colored houses are stacked on top of each other on the hillside along with a few towering minarets. The narrow lanes are steep and there is a wonderful laid-back attitude. Savur has been hyped as a mini-Mardin, though that will be pushing it, with less visitors than Mardin which can get flooded with local tourists during holidays. There are several Kurdish villages on the way from Mardin to Savur, which might be equal interesting to have a look at.

The Causeway Coastal Route winds along the northern coast of Ireland and passes through what is regarded as Ireland's prettiest stretch of coast. Green hills dotted with white sheeps are roughly cut off by the Atlantic Ocean leaving amazing cliffs and odd geological features, like the Giant's Causeway. Cute Irish villages lie hidden in bends and glens (valleys) while ruins of old castles are perched on outcrops with views to Scotland. There is an abundance of side trips and photo stops to do, which will prolong any journey through this beautiful part of Ireland. The route is partly along the A2 road and includes the Antrim Coast Road (Larne to Cushendal), which is considered particularly scenic.