A wild storm is brewing outside my window here on Leipziger Strasse in Berlin. It might be a relief for Berliners after such an unseasonably hot day. Regardless of how much Germans yearn for hot summers, the reality of such temperatures does seem to cause … Read more
Here we sit at the eastern end of the Island of Hvar, in the Adriatic, waiting for the next ferry. Despite arriving two hours early for the 1 p.m. ferry, our bus was not allowed to load. Basically we got bumped for a group of … Read more
Yesterday we awoke in the coastal town of Opatija, Croatia, covered by pillows of fog. We were unable to see the Adriatic Sea, even though the waves began a hundred feet from our balcony. Stumbling through the fog to the bus, we drove forty miles … Read more
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. So read the title of a zany, star-studded 1969 comedy that parodied a frantically paced European tour (18 days, 9 countries). I didn’t see the movie, but I remember thinking when it came out: “Gosh, any chance to … Read more
I’m not an outdoorsy person. The largest swaths of my life have been spent in practice rooms, classrooms, and libraries. But that may be about to change. Last night, a Smithsonian Journey’s tour of the Swiss Alps drew to a close. The irony of finding … Read more
My phone’s camera went down midway on this voyage. No matter how many videos and files I off-loaded, it would not restore itself. It’s done. It’s tired. But before the camera expired, I got this picture. I took it standing on a wooden walkway that … Read more
I’m sitting at my brother’s dining-room table looking at piles of stuff, otherwise known as a mess. It has to be sorted out before I can sleep. Tomorrow I head off to Russia with a Smithsonian group for another chance to sail the Russian Waterways. … Read more
“Why are we going to Bratislava?” Someone asks the question on this route every time we board our luxury coach to leave Vienna. Why aren’t we driving straight to Prague? That’s the city that most of us came to see. Prague is coming, yes! But … Read more
Let me tell you about the radishes here in Budapest. Maybe you have such radishes where you live, but, for me, radishes this big and tasty come only from the “paprika capital” of the world: Hungary. Eating Hungarian radishes is like biting into an apple—juicy … Read more
He caught only a glimpse of the monument. You know how it is, traveling as a tourist by bus. If you sit on the right side, whatever you need to see is on the left. About the time the guide mentions something important, the light … Read more
