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Rudolf Abraham

— writer and photographer —

Rudolf Abraham is an award-winning travel writer and photographer specialising in Central and Eastern Europe – in particular Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Montenegro. He is the author of a dozen books including Peaks of the Balkans, The Mountains of Montenegro, Walking in the Salzkammergut, Walks and Treks in Croatia, Torres del Paine and The Islands of Croatia, all published by Cicerone, National Geographic Traveller Croatia, and The Alpe Adria Trail, published by Bradt. He is co-author of Istria - The Bradt Travel Guide and has contributed to many more books including DK Eyewitness Slovenia and Unforgettable Journeys. His work is published widely in magazines.

Rudolf lives in London, and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers. Find out more about his work at Rudolf Abraham Photography, or visit Rudolf Abraham | Travel Writer. You can also find him on Instagram at rudolfphoto.

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A London oasis: the Walthamstow Wetlands

To have the opportunity to observe a landscape through the seasons, whether an urban swath of green and blue or something more obviously exotic, is a rare and wonderful thing. Over the past year and more Rudolf Abraham has watched the Walthamstow ...

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The Juliana Trail: Slow Travel in Slovenia

Launched in late 2019, the Juliana Trail is a long-distance walking route that encircles Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia. It’s a chance to engage with the varied landscapes and communities of the Julian Alps and, by encouraging visitors ...

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The Boatbuilder: once upon a time in the Marais

The small town of Saint-Omer in northern France was once the centre of a boat-building tradition which has all but disappeared. Rudolf Abraham reports on one of the last craftsmen still producing wooden vessels for navigating the local ...

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Shades of Blue: Indigo Dyeing in Austria

The process of indigo dyeing of cloth - called Blaudruck in German - now features on UNESCO's list of valued cultural heritage. Guest contributor Rudolf Abraham travels to Austria to meet the craftsmen and women who keep alive this old ...

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Radovljica: An Ode to Bees

If beekeeping has a spiritual home, it's the little town of Radovljica in the Sava Valley of north-west Slovenia. Rudolf Abraham, a regular contributor to hidden europe magazine, explores beekeeping in the region where the great ...

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The Art of Drystone Walling

With the art of drystone walling recognised by UNESCO as part of Europe's cultural heritage, communities across the continent are now seeing these traditional walled boundaries in a new light. Rudolf Abraham has gone in search of drystone wall ...

message in a bottle

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A Blissful Stretch of Summer: The Croatian Island of Silba

Take the slow boat to Silba to discover a Croatian island which is the ultimate summer escape. Rudolf Abraham, who writes regularly for hidden europe, files a message in a bottle from his favourite Croatian ...

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Dancing by the Danube

In the town of Mohács, on the bank of the River Danube in Hungary, the single most important cultural event of the year is the Busójárás, which is part of a wider European Shrovetide tradition. Rudolf Abraham stopped off in Mohács to report on this ...

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The Art of Falconry

Falconry has invariably been associated with a measure of privilege and wealth. So it's no surprise that the French Revolution led to a downturn in falconry. Wider access to modern weapons (guns in particular) also helped sideline the art of ...

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Peaks of the Balkans: Discovering the Lhasa of Europe

The Peaks of the Balkans trail is a long-distance hiking route, in the shape of a figure-of-eight, which takes in some of the finest mountain terrain in northern Albania and adjacent parts of Kosovo and Montenegro. Rudolf Abraham describes how the ...

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Puppetry in Prague: the Art of Bringing Wood to Life

The art of puppetry is alive and well in central Europe. In the Czech Republic, puppetry is recognised as a key element of national culture. With some linden wood, textiles, paint and the skill of the puppet maker, it's just a matter of time before ...

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And to the Bells, a Voice

The Portuguese tradition of making cowbells is an endangered rural craft. Rudolf Abraham travels to the Alentejo region of Portugal to visit a workshop where cowbells are still crafted in the traditional ...

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The Saxon villages of Transylvania

In just a few years at the end of the last century, the majority of the Saxons of Transylvania moved away from the village where their families had lived for over 500 years. Rudolf Abraham visited Romania to learn what has become of the Saxon ...

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Freedom and faith: cross-carving in Lithuania

34 years ago, Juozapas Jakstas' Great Cross was erected on a hillside in northern Lithuania. Writer and photographer Rudolf Abraham visits the home of Lithuania's master woodcarver to learn about the country's tradition of crafting wooden ...

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Stecci: Bosnia’s mediaeval tombstones

The stećci of Bosnnia and Herzegovina are remarkable tombstones with varying styles of decoration. These enigmatic stones are something that all Bosnians can identify with. They are a reminder that this is a land with its own very special sacred ...

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Zvoncari: Rijeka Carnival and the bell ringers of Kastav

Shrovetide is carnival time across much of Europe. A few days of madness in the run-up to Lent subvert the normal order of urban and rural life. Guest contributor Rudolf Abraham reports from Rijeka on a little piece of cultural street theatre that ...

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Of alkari, lace and wooden toys

Rudolf Abraham has over the years written about many of Croatia's most remarkable landscapes for hidden europe. Now he returns to the country in search of something more subtle: Croatia’s remarkable craft traditions and festivals. Rudolf argues ...

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Hidden Istria

Istria may be defined by its coastline, but the hinterland warrants a visit too. Rudolf Abraham, co-author of the new Bradt Guide to Istria, invites us to join him in a search for mediaeval frescoes, truffles and an enigmatic pillar of shame. Along ...

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Zagreb street art

When you paint something on the street, it is no longer your own. It becomes public property. Street art demands of artists that they 'let go', that they have the courage to relinquish ownership of their work. Rudolf Abraham takes a look at the ...

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In search of the Uskoks of Senj

Ever heard of the Uskoks? Rudolf Abraham, a regular contributor to hidden europe, takes us to the Zumberak hills west of Zagreb in search of displaced Adriatic ...

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Posavina: Croatia’s Lonjsko polje and Turopolje

Rudolf Abraham is the perfect guide to the wetlands of north-east Croatia, as we join him on a tour of the Lonjsko polje region with its distinctive wooden architecture and storks’ ...

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Zagreb's literary ghosts

While many European cities decorate their squares and boulevards with statues of kings and generals in heroic poses, Zagreb takes a different tack. The Croatian capital gives its prime spots to poets, philosophers and novelists. Rudolf Abraham ...

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Montenegro: accursed mountains

The mountainous country where Montenegro abuts onto Albania is one of Europe's true wilderness areas. Guest contributor Rudolf Abraham describes the Prokletije region. The name means "accursed". Read ...

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Edith Durham in Prokletije

It was one hundred years ago this year that Edith Durham made the Albanian journeys that were to feature in her book "High Albania". We look at Edith Durham's adventures in the Albania-Montenegro border ...

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Velebit: a mountain in Croatia

Just behind the Dalmatian coast of Croatia is the great mountain massif of Velebit. This limestone upland is neglected by most visitors to the coast and islands. Guest contributor Rudolf Abraham invites us to explore one of Europe's great ...

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Angouleme - murs peints

The city of Angoulême in the Charente valley is home to one of France's most distinctive art form: the bande dessinée or comic strip. Guest contributor Rudolf Abraham introduces us to this extraordinary ...

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A hundred years of change: Jovici

Krste Jovic has lived in Jovici (Croatia) for almost a century. Regular hidden europe contributor, Rudolf Abraham, introduces us to Krste's home village. Wars, struggle and strife sear the history of a coastal region now known mainly for its sun, ...