Ruminations on an Auschwitz Tour
Ruminations on a tour of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where Nazis turned genocide into an industrial enterprise, efficiently turning over a million souls to ashes.
Europe travel
This category includes all my articles about my Europe travel. Because I live in the Netherlands, I can travel in Europe quite easily, and as you see here, I’ve seen a lot of it. Generally I don’t write “ultimate list” or “everything you need to know” posts. Instead, I tend to focus on just one or a few sights or experiences from my specific point of view. Enjoy!
The KGB Museum in Riga, Latvia
You could easily miss the KGB Museum in Riga if you didn’t know where to look. Commonly referred to as “the Corner House,” it looks on the outside like a quite stylish residential building. I walked right by it and had to retrace my steps a block or two away. Basically what the KGB did…
Castle De Haar: An extravagant vision of the medieval
Castle de Haar is one of the most fanciful castles I’ve ever seen, if you discount Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland. It’s got a moat, a formal garden, towers and turrets galore. Stunningly ornate, especially inside, it’s a medieval princess’s dream. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one of them and…
A Riga City Tour: 10+ things to see in Riga
This could have been a review of a tour that doesn’t actually exist. What I mean is that the Riga city tour I took was sponsored by #LiveRiga, a campaign of the Riga Tourism Development Bureau, but it is not run on a scheduled basis. Rather, our guide, Juris Berze, is a freelance tour guide,…
Two Latvian food tours
As you’ve probably guessed, I love food. I can’t call myself a foodie, exactly, because I’m not choosy about what food I eat. I’m likely to enjoy whatever national cuisine I try, or at least find it interesting. Generally, I’m happy with anything from street food to chic food. But tasting the difference between one…
Muiderslot Castle (a.k.a. Amsterdam Castle)
I’ve seen a lot of castles in my travels, but Muiderslot Castle is a real classic: a drawbridge over a moat and four corner towers, designed for defense.
Eating Europe’s Jordaan Food Tour: A review
Eating Europe’s Jordaan food tour allows a peek into a special section of the city with its own unique atmosphere while sampling excellent Dutch foods. Click to read the review!
Menkemaborg in Uithuizen: Dressed to impress
Groningen has three nearby manor houses or “stately homes” that are open to the public and furnished to allow visitors to learn about local history. I’ve written about one of them before: Fraeylemaborg, which I only half-mockingly referred to as the “ancestral home.” Another is Menkemaborg, a similarly impressive display of wealth and social position…
Boat Bike Tours: A review of “Hansa Highlights”
One of the first people I met on my recent week-long trip with Boat Bike Tours was a retired Canadian man named Peter, who told me right off the bat that this was his third tour with the company. I took that as a good sign. Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in that I…
Gammelstad church town UNESCO site in Sweden
Back in the 17th century, not long after the Reformation turned Sweden Protestant, a new law required church attendance, depending on one’s distance from the church. People up in the cold north of Sweden, despite living on widely-scattered farms far from the nearest church, still had to get to church. Disclosure: This article contain affiliate…
Things to do in Rovaniemi in the summer
Read here all about things to do in Rovaniemi, Finland in the summer: see excellent museums or explore the wilderness inside the Arctic Circle.
Hurtigruten review: A breathtaking Norway coastal cruise
Hurtigruten cruises are unlike other cruises! This Hurtigruten review describes all aspects of a Hurtigruten cruise on the Norway coastal route: the cabin, the food, the excursions, and it gives lots of advice.
Amsterdam Historical Museum
The Amsterdam Historical Museum (more correctly called The Amsterdam Museum), housed in a former orphanage, covers Amsterdam’s whole fascinating history. Click here to read all about it!
Visiting Karlstejn Castle from Prague
Visiting Karlstejn Castle from Prague is quite possible in a day trip. Just make sure to do your research ahead of time, unlike me. This article will help.
Below the Surface in Amsterdam
Below the Surface in Amsterdam shows archeological finds from building a new metro line. It’s not a museum; it’s basically a teaser for the website. Read about it here!
Crathes Castle in Scotland
A so-called “tower house”, Crathes Castle in Scotland has been added to and changed over the centuries. First built in the mid-16th century, it was the home of the Burnett family of Leys, who lived there for over 300 years. It’s one of the 14 castles in Aberdeenshire worth visiting. Crathes Castle still has its…
An outstanding art museum in the Hague: Mauritshuis
My initial interest in visiting Mauritshuis, an art museum in the Hague (Den Haag), had to do with one single painting: Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Johannes Vermeer, painted in about 1665. But this outstanding little Den Haag museum has many more gems of Golden Age painting. A disclosure: This is a sponsored post:…
WWII and Cold War sites in Berlin
Berlin is a wonderfully diverse and dynamic city and, for a tourist with an interest in history, there are plenty of WWII and Cold War sites to visit. Here’s a complete list!
Dramatic Dunnottar Castle
As I wrote in my overview of Aberdeenshire castles, my expectation was that the Dunnottar Castle ruins would be worth about a half-hour’s visit. I’d seen photos, and its setting – on a cliff-edged finger of land extending out into the North Sea – made for some very dramatic photography. In those photos, however, it…
Balmoral Castle tour: a review
If you’ve ever seen a film involving Queen Victoria, you’ve heard of Balmoral Castle. This is the place the queen used as her escape: her place in the country. She loved Scotland, and this location in Aberdeenshire is stunning, with its rolling hills and deep forests. Note added September 9, 2022: Queen Elizabeth died today….
A maritime-themed weekend in Hamburg
A weekend in Hamburg delving into its history as a maritime center. With lots of recommendations of things to see and do in Hamburg.
Discovering the Legend of King Arthur in Cornwall
Discovering King Arthur in Cornwall, UK. Read here about Arthurian sights in Cornwall!
Craigievar Castle, Scotland
There’s something about the fact that Craigievar Castle in Aberdeenshire is pink that makes it conjure fairy-tale visions. Or maybe it’s that it’s taller than it is wide: think “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” Either way, it’s an enchanting sight when you first spot it from a distance and do a double-take at its…
Aberdeenshire castles worth visiting
Aberdeenshire, Scotland has dozens of castles, but many are them are either private or in ruins. Here are the 14 Aberdeenshire castles that are most worth seeing.
Wick Heritage Museum, Scotland
The leaflet advertising the Wick Heritage Museum compares the museum to the TARDIS. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ll know exactly what that means: Doctor Who’s form of transportation, a blue police box (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), is bigger on the inside than the outside. Outside, the museum is small and unimpressive:…
Dunrobin Castle, Scotland
In my last post – about the Scottish Highland heritage tour that I took with my friend, Kate – I mentioned Dunrobin Castle as one of our stops. In reality, we stopped there twice: once on the way north and again on the way south. The first time we tried to see Dunrobin, the electricity…
A Scottish Highland Clearances tour
When I told my friend Kate that I was planning to visit my son in Aberdeen and spend a week exploring Scotland, she immediately wanted to come along. Kate has Scottish heritage and was curious to see some of the history of her family and why they left Scotland. Our trip turned into a wonderful…
11 stunning UNESCO sites in the Czech Republic outside of Prague
There are 11 UNESCO sites in the Czech Republic outside of Prague. I’ve visited most, but thanks to two other bloggers, you can read about all of them here.
Kutna Hora UNESCO site and a macabre church
Kutna Hora UNESCO site isn’t just about a pretty old town. The UNESCO designation focuses on two churches, but there’s a macabre Bone Church to see too!
Trebic, Czech Republic: A 3-part UNESCO site
Trebic, Czech Republic has a UNESCO site made up of three sites: the old Jewish Quarter, the old Jewish cemetery, and a Catholic Basilica, and they’re all worth seeing.
A UNESCO site in Olomouc (and other things to see there)
The Holy Trinity Column, a masterpiece of the Moravian Baroque style, is a UNESCO site in Olomouc, a small town in the eastern end of the Czechia.
Prague Airport tour and a teeny-tiny airplane
Despite my fear of flying, I jumped at the chance to take a Prague Airport tour, including a flight in a small airplane. “Face your fear” and all that. Read all about it here!