Gripsholm Castle and two charming towns
Gripsholm Castle and the towns of Mariefred and Strangnas are lovely places to visit: small-town charm deceptively close to Stockholm.
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Sparreholms Manor and its Collections
As part of a blogger familiarization tour in July, I visited a manor house called Sparreholms Slott, in the region called Sörmland, south of Stockholm, Sweden. Dating to the mid-1700s and renovated in the 1820s and again in the 1890s, it looks, inside as well as out, like a slice out of Downton Abbey’s world….
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Storkyrkan Tower Tour
The old center of Stockholm, on the island of Gamla Stan, swarms with tourists—and probably a few locals too—in the months of July and August. Among the sights they visit is a medieval-era church called Storkyrkan. What few seem to know is that Storkyrkan also offers guided tours twice a day up its clock tower,…
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Fortresses in the Stockholm Archipelago
In July, I was fortunate to participate in a short blogger trip on the theme of “Stockholm archipelago – close yet a world away.” We stayed on a relatively unknown island called Nässlingen, but also visited two fortresses to learn a bit about Swedish military history. Disclosure: I took part in this military history tour…
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The Vasa Museum: exploring an epic fail
Ever notice how people love to hear about failed projects? I call it “epic fail tourism.” The most obvious example is the Titanic, about which there are numerous museums around the world (Belfast, Ireland, where the Titanic was built; Branson, Missouri; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Southampton, England, where many victims were from; and many…
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Nässlingen Island
What if you could buy your own island? You’re probably picturing a palm-tree-lined beach on a tropical island, right? That’s not what Johan Pedersén wanted. Instead, he bought Nässlingen, one of the 30,000 islands in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Nässlingen recently with a group of…
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10 Things I like about Sweden
Things I like about Sweden, written on my first trip there, but they still apply!
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Tit for tat: the American version
But is it safe? or… There have been incidents lately. Please be careful! or… Are you sure you want to go there now? These are the sorts of comments I’ve received each time I’ve gone to Israel. The fact is that “incidents” do sometimes happen in Israel. Lately, it’s been a few stabbings on the…
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Arolithos “Traditional Cretan Village”
A review of Arolithos Traditional Cretan Village: a replica village/hotel outside of Haraklion, Crete.
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Rethymnon in half a day
Rethymnon is a popular destination for visitors to Crete. Here are some highlights you can see in just a few hours.
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Arkadi Monastery and its Tragedy
Ruminations on a visit to the 13th-century Arkadi Monastery in Crete – still an active monastery – and on the tragic story attached to it.
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Knossos and the Minoan Mystery
Knossos, ruin of a Minoan palace, raises questions about archaeological methods, especially in the past, and about the fate of the Minoans.
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Ter Apel Cloister
The village of Ter Apel has been in the news a lot lately. A huge refugee center there is the first home for hundreds of Syrians, Eritreans, Afghans and others seeking safety and a new life in the Netherlands. Ter Apel’s claim to fame, though, if you can call it famous, is a medieval cloister…
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Tokyo, Anime, and My Son
Disclosure: The following is a sponsored post; I received payment for writing it and including a link. All opinions, however, are my own! My 17-year-old son, Robert, is not a traveler. That’s not to say that he hasn’t traveled, however; we’ve dragged him along with us on vacations all his life. Rather, he just isn’t…
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What to do in Zaanse Schans
Zaanse Schans is home to historical windmills, quaint little shops as well as a charming historical village. A guide to Zaanse Schans.
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Visiting Dutch Gardens
When you think of the Netherlands and gardens and flowers, what comes immediately to mind? I assume your answer is “tulips.” Tulips are cultivated here in huge quantity and they or the bulbs are exported all over the world. Keukenhof and Giethoorn One of the biggest attractions for tourists in the Netherlands is Keukenhof, a tulip…
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Amsterdam Central train station sightseeing
If you find yourself with some time to kill at Amsterdam Central train station, there’s plenty to do right nearby. Here are some suggestions.
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The Sex Museum Amsterdam: Cure for insomnia
The Sex Museum Amsterdam is much more about pornography than sex, containing a mix of interesting objects and cheesy mannequins.
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Tellink Traveller SIM: a review
Disclosure: The following is a sponsored post in that I received a free SIM card with credit from Tellink in return for reviewing it. All opinions are, as always, my own. Those of us who travel frequently, and especially those of us who travel for work or who blog about travel, often struggle with telephone…
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Top Foods to Try in London
After booking your flight and picking the perfect London hotel, the next item on the list is figuring out where and what to eat in this British metropolis.
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Indignation Fatigue and FATCA
A lawsuit against FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, was filed back in 2014 by Senator Rand Paul and the Republicans Overseas and, while I am certainly no fan of the senator, I support this lawsuit. It was, however, dismissed in April 2016 because the Ohio federal judge who heard the case decided that…
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Churches of Groningen province (part 1)
When I first arrived in the Netherlands back in 1997, one of the first bits of sightseeing I did, besides exploring my new hometown of Groningen itself, was to go on a driving tour of village churches in Groningen province. The idea came from my favorite guidebook: the Michelin green guide to the Netherlands. The…
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The Town Musicians of Bremen
The city of Bremen loves this Grimm fairy tale, and references to the town musicians of Bremen are scattered throughout the old center.
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A weekend in Bremen, Germany
Spending a weekend in Bremen, Germany: a pleasant place with an interesting history as a Hanseatic city, and plenty of things to see.
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St Petri Dom in Bremen, Germany
In the German city of Bremen, St. Petri Dom is the huge church whose massive, chunky twin spires dominate the central squares. Read about it here!
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Old Dubai: a quick visit
While I didn’t do any shopping in Dubai, I did manage a quick walk around the Bastakiya District: also known as Old Dubai. Dubai was originally a small port that made its living from pearl diving, fishing and trade, especially with Iran. Besides the nomadic Bedouins, who lived in tents, the populations who settled here…
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Not Shopping in Dubai
Shopping is A. Big. Deal. in Dubai. Whenever I asked people who live there what I should see and do, the answer usually included shopping. (Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on the link and buy tickets, I will get a small commission.) I am very much NOT a…
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Emirates A380 Economy Class Review
On my recent visit to Dubai on Emirates Airline, I was pleased to discover that I’d be flying on a plane I’d only seen from a distance before: the enormous Airbus A380. The A380 The A380 is a behemoth of a plane. Like Boeing’s 747, it just doesn’t look like it should be able to…
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So You Think You Want to Emigrate …
“If Trump gets elected, I’m leaving the country.” I don’t live in the US, but I have read comments like this on social media and in the news. Apparently, sometimes this isn’t just an idle threat. The Guardian cites a Luminoso survey which found that: … about 4% of 4.5 million Donald Trump-related tweets contained threats…
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On Receiving my Certificate of Loss of Nationality
Almost five months after my renunciation day, I received my Certificate of Loss of Nationality today. It seems ironic that it arrived on Tax Day. People keep asking me how that feels, but I have trouble formulating an answer. This certificate = divorce papers The best analogy I’ve been able to find is that renouncing…
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The Beauty of a Dutch Commute
A couple of times a week, I commute to my part-time job in Leeuwarden, in Friesland province. Sometimes I drive, but as much as possible, I like to take the train. I start by bicycling to the train station in the center of Groningen, parking the bike and boarding the train. The train trip takes about 35…
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The Martinitoren: a Groningen Landmark
Climbing the 15-century Martinitoren in the center of Groningen, the Netherlands.
