Once upon a time, Dresden, Germany was a cultural mecca … then along came World War II. Dresden seemed to have a bull’s eye on its back and suffered greatly toward the end of the war with horrific bombings. Next the Iron Curtain fell and the once highly touted cultural … Read more
Cheese and chocolate – as much a part of Switzerland as banks and watches. But, those are not edible and tasting local favorites is one of the highlights of traveling. A great destination in Switzerland for savoring the best of both cheese and chocolate is the Fribourg region in the … Read more
Haven’t decided on a place to celebrate winter yet? Look no further! Even though Switzerland is perfect for skiing and snowboarding, there’s still many activities to choose from that don’t require goggles. Here are ten good reasons why your next vacation destination should be Switzerland! 1. The Matterhorn You’ve seen … Read more
Known as “La France profond,” (profound France), the Auvergne in central France, the country’s least populated region, may not rank high on the typical tourist’s itinerary. But for anyone who wants to discover the “real” France with tiny, picturesque villages, magnificent Romanesque churches, interesting towns, more than 300 kinds of … Read more
“Milan is one of those cities that you need to know and have rifled your way through, like a good book,” said Kristen Scott Thomas, the prolific British/French actress. I rifle through as much of Milan as I can, trying to pack the long and short of its story and … Read more
A Memorial Weekend spent in Oslo, Norway, couldn’t have taken me further away from the shores of the U. S. of A. where backyard barbecues and baseball games are typically the norm. The unpredictable May weather was an ongoing topic of conversation with everyone, even at immigration, and as the … Read more
It was like a magic carpet ride. Except that I was riding a rolling blue tapestry of three mighty waterways in Norway – the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. Heading south along the coast from Kirkenes near the Russian border to the old Hanseatic city of … Read more
I’m far up in the northern reaches of Norway, where my guide says it is the “last wilderness in Europe,” where the surrounding forests, he says, are filled with moose, lynx, bears and wolverines. Fourteen hundred miles, straight as the crow flies, is the North Pole and Russia is a … Read more
“The Norwegians sure take their sun seriously, don’t they?” said Pop after he saw that we were fellow Americans touring Norway. We’d just zoomed past a few townspeople sunbathing in their backyards and a guy mowing his lawn shirtless. It was a hot, sunny day in Alesund, a popular fjord … Read more
Stuffy, staid English-ness? Yes, St. Ermin’s is just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Park and the ceiling lobby is finished in full on Rococo plasterwork rivaling the Sistine Chapel’s decoration. And true, it does feel like Mr. Darcy might walk down the grand staircase at any … Read more
A William Wallace impersonator cuts a menacing figure on the cobbled streets of Edinburgh. His face painted blue and white – the colors of the Scottish flag – he wears a fur coat and wields a mock medieval weapon, while rhapsodising in a thick Scottish accent about freedom. In case … Read more
Its blue and white arms descending to the Thames from two ornate towers connected by overhead walkways, London’s Tower Bridge matches the Tower Bridge of memory. There’s nothing superlative about it, yet there is, as it probably inspires more glances upward than any other bridge in the world. As … Read more
Cruising through Norway’s narrowest fjord, navigating more than a dozen dizzying switchbacks on a drive down one of the country’s steepest roads, hurtling through innumerable tunnels on Northern Europe’s highest railway and speeding past gushing waterfalls and icy tongued glaciers. Sounds like an advertisement for an adventure expedition, right? Actually, … Read more
It’s been over 150 years since the King of Norway entered a proclamation declaring, “From 1854 onward a yearly market shall be held in Røros, commencing the second to last Tuesday in the month of February, and lasting until the following Friday. When the King speaks, Norwegians listen. In February … Read more
In the early 14th century about the time Christianity was introduced in Norway, a number of monks around the country were mastering the art of distillation. I have no idea why monks were making spirits but their efforts produced one that would ultimately become one of Norway’s finest cultural treasures. … Read more