New Glarus, Wisconsin, is a village of 2,247 residents that takes pride in being known as “America’s Little Switzerland.” Located 30 miles southwest of Madison, the community supports a männerchor (men’s choir), kinderchor (youth choir) and jodlerklub (choir of yodelers). The mournful sound of meters-long alphorns (used long ago by the Swiss to call cattle…
A farmer’s work never really ends, but there are a few breaks in the action, particularly when autumn harvest season winds down. The harvest season is a time of celebration – both literal and psychological – and today’s literal celebrations go way beyond the farmer and his or her family. Autumn means that it’s outdoor…
I went to Japan some 40 years ago to write travel articles but ended up staying a couple of years, first as editor of a travel magazine published in Tokyo and then to write the first of several guidebooks on Japan. My Frommer’s Japan guidebook alone ran more than 600 pages and covered about 65…
Tennessee has two products that are famous around the world – country music from Nashville and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey from the tiny town of Lynchburg about 80 miles south of Nashville and 25 miles north of the Alabama state line. The story of how country music blossomed in Nashville is well documented, but the origin story of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey has been one that few people even thought about – until recently.
Diversity Plaza, in Jackson Heights in the New York borough of Queens, is a landmark that celebrates the diversity of America. In 2011, the city created the Plaza by cordoning off traffic and furnishing it with tables and chairs to provide South Asians inhabiting the multilingual neighborhood a space for families to meet, eat, and…
Who are all these people who turn down wine in Italy, sake in Japan, cerveza in Mexico and ouzo in Greece? According to Expedia’s research, one out of every four travelers hopes to decrease alcohol use while on vacation. This increased emphasis on nondrinking is starting to influence the sorts of cocktails bartenders are pouring, the nature of hotel wellness activities and the growth of the entire travel industry. Indeed, in one recent study half of respondents said they wanted to stay in hotels that offered easily accessible alcohol-free options like mocktails and nonalcoholic beer. Read More
In Lhasa’s Barkhor Square, the weathered Tibetan woman softly intoning a Buddhist mantra fell to her knees, looked fervently skyward and then lunged face down on the pavement, oblivious to the commercial life surrounding her. After a few seconds of prayer, she rose stiffly, moved two steps forward and repeated the process. Shoppers flowed around her with scarcely a sideways glance because Lhasa residents are used to prostrate pilgrims
By Charles Cecil I remember the first time I ever entered a mosque. It was in the early 1960s. Columns decorated with colorful tiles depicting floral designs supported arches bordered with bands of floral decoration. I was transfixed by the sight as my shoeless feet sunk gently into a plush carpet covered with geometric patterns.…
San Miguel de Allende lies in the Eastern part of Mexico’s State of Guanajuato, about a three-hour journey from Mexico City. It’s a cobblestoned colonial town with pastel-colored buildings that has changed a lot over the past century yet remained remarkably the same. The city’s main square, or Jardin Principal, is canopied by trees. It’s a popular local hangout where Mariachi bands roam about awaiting paying customers. On the Northern corner stands the majestic Catholic church, Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.
By Teresa Bergen Jason Spoolstra stands with his back to a mural of Jesus welcoming Stanley Rother into heaven. He is introducing a tour group to more than 20 martyrs depicted on the mural. “We’re going to start on the right,” says Spoolstra, the Rother shrine’s director of pilgrimage. “The gentleman closest to Jesus, he’s…