Europe
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Hamburg’s Silent but Loud Witness to World War II
More Details: Hamburg’s Silent but Loud Witness to World War IIHamburg, as many German cities, was ravaged by World War II. You can see sometimes structures that pre-date the war and, then, lots of newer construction post-war. And there are structures that perhaps were not totally lost but repaired/re-constructed. But there are rarely any that remain as they were right when the war came to…
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Check out Hamburg’s Unique Blankenese Stair District
More Details: Check out Hamburg’s Unique Blankenese Stair DistrictHamburg, in northern Germany, is one of its largest cities. This normally would equate to crowded, polluted, and just endless. Well, it may be a little of those things but I only felt the latter. Hamburg is really a collection of many areas (as most cities are). Among the most charming parts of the city…
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6 Tips for Visiting Berlin’s Pergamon Museum
More Details: 6 Tips for Visiting Berlin’s Pergamon MuseumBerlin is loaded with history, be it from before Germany itself existed as a political entity, to the times of the “kaisers”, to two World Wars, to the Cold War, and to current times. The collection of history can be found all over: in churches, buildings, monuments. But also within the walls of the many…
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Camino Packing and Training Tips
More Details: Camino Packing and Training TipsThe Camino de Santiago has become a very popular destination/experience for many around the world, especially after the movie “The Way” hit the movies screens and as more people do it. People of all ages and nationalities gravitate to this, as did I and a group I traveled with last summer to hike the Camino. …
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Tips for a Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square
More Details: Tips for a Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square(Guest post by Chris Sanders) Wow, we got front row tickets to a Papal audience in St. Peter’s Square and saw Pope Benedict the XVI up close in Vatican City! One of the more unique, interesting, and fulfilling experiences one can have in Rome is to attend a Papal general audience. There is something almost magical…
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In-and-Out: Munich, Bavaria’s Capital
More Details: In-and-Out: Munich, Bavaria’s CapitalMunich (or, München, in German) is a great city on many levels. Its location, the Bavarian cuisine, the amazing architecture, and the many things to see and do make it a perfect place to explore over a few days. However, my chances to spend time there seem contained to a day or so. My first time was…
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How to Visit Montserrat – A Spectacular Site!
More Details: How to Visit Montserrat – A Spectacular Site!Spain is not short on amazing places to see. From the main cities to coastal towns, to secondary but highly beautiful or historical towns. Spain has it all and I have been fortunate to have seen a lot of it. I decided to visit Montserrat as we would be passing near it on our way to Barcelona. …
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20 Images of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
More Details: 20 Images of La Sagrada Familia in BarcelonaLa Sagrada Familia, the grandiose basilica (mostly) designed by Antoni Gaudi, has become the symbol of Barcelona, and that’s not a stretch by any means: both have been growing and evolving over the decades. And, for La Sagrada Familia, at least, that journey will end in the next decade (target: 2026) as it is expected to…
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In Search of Andraka in Spain’s Beautiful Basque Country
More Details: In Search of Andraka in Spain’s Beautiful Basque CountryOne of the reasons for my recent trip to Spain, as I shared in an earlier post, was to see the ancestral lands of my Mom’s family in the Basque region of Spain (Euskal Herria in Basque). My Mom’s last name (Andraca, in Spanish) is the name of a home that existed a long time…
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Biarritz: The Pearl of France’s Basque Country
More Details: Biarritz: The Pearl of France’s Basque CountryThere are places that are semi-legendary in your mind. And when you visit them, they live up to that vision. And sometimes they don’t. Biarritz, France is not a place I knew a lot about but I did have an impression that it was a beach playground for the rich and famous in France’s Atlantic…
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Off-the-Beaten-Path Sweden: Industrial Eskilstuna
More Details: Off-the-Beaten-Path Sweden: Industrial EskilstunaA year ago, I went to Sweden with the idea of spending a little more time in Stockholm than a one-day cruise ship stop allowed me years before. I really like Stockholm and its different neighborhoods, its surroundings (water!), and its old town. But, as part of this short trip, I also felt the urge…
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Making a Pilgrimage to Lourdes, France
More Details: Making a Pilgrimage to Lourdes, FranceA pilgrimage to Lourdes, France – a major Catholic pilgrimage destination – was a one-of-a-kind of experience for me. It was that for two very good reasons: It is the site where the Virgin Mary appeared to young Bernadette, a country girl with no education but a lot of faith. (Watch the 1943 classic “The…