Most visitors to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site arrive today just as the prisoners did in the 1930s, by train. But instead of marching under the watch of SS guards, visitors board a city bus that takes a residential route past steep-roofed homes, a spattering of businesses and restaurants, and a school. The bus roughly…
For wildlife enthusiasts and travelers keen to explore the globe, there are incredible bear-viewing destinations on every continent except Australia — sorry, koalas are marsupials, not bears–– and Africa, where Atlas bears were hunted to extinction by the late 18th century. Whether it’s watching sloth bears snuffle through termite mounds in India or spotting the rare spectacled bear in the Andes, the world offers no shortage of unforgettable bear encounters. Alaska may be the gold standard for seeing bears in the wild. Thanks to its sprawling wilderness and salmon-choked rivers, the state has a population of more than 130,000 brown and black bears.
By Barbara Noe Kennedy In a beautifully restored olive oil mill in Urla—on Turkey’s Aegean coast, west of Ephesus and its now-crowded ancient streets—oleologist Pelin Omuroğlu swirls a golden-green liquid in a blue, tulip-shaped glass, its color concealed, its character revealed through scent and texture alone. “Smell first,” Omuroğlu instructs. “Then slurp—pull in air through…
What remains today of Tudor London, the city ruled by Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603? Although two-thirds of the wooden city succumbed to flames during the Great Fire of 1666—which also cleaned out plague-carrying rats—a number of Tudor buildings remain. They include the Clink Jail (now a museum), the Seven Stars Pub, close to Shakespeare’s original London apartment, the Royal Exchange (modeled on the Bourse in Antwerp), and a 1520 riverside pub-restaurant called The Prospect of Whitby where Captain Kidd plotted his piratical schemes and writers like Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys dropped by for beer.
During Elizabeth’s reign, urban life centered on the Thames River. Three thousand “watermen” offered taxi service to various river stops. Today, boats, including Uber-taxis, leave many of the same docks for destinations like sumptuous Hampton Court. Read More
Leipzig hosts the world’s largest annual Bachfest featuring roughly 3,600 musicians. More than 76,000 Bach fans attended BachFest in Leipzig in 2024. Photo by Philipp Kirschner, courtesy of Leipzig Travel. By Teresa Bitler If Johann Sebastian Bach could join the tourists and university students in Leipzig, Germany’s City Center today, he’d struggle to recognize the…
Ah, to be in Holland when tulips burst into flower—Holland, Michigan. That is in Holland, Michigan, and it would be the first week in May, when the entire community and thousands of visitors turn out to immerse themselves in bloemen abundance at Tulip Time. So it has been since 1929. Given such longevity, Holland has its…
By Cathy Senecal A man, clothed head to toe in white cotton, stood under a summer sun reaching over a liquid pool and gently raked fragile salt crystals floating on the surface of the water into a bin. When he spread the sparkly flakes out onto a long table, light bouncing off the snow-white piles…
By Sharon McDonnell The Polish city of Krakow is full of marvels, from its gorgeously preserved Old Town with Europe’s biggest medieval market square and a castle where the Kings of Poland lived for centuries, to the factory of Schindler’s List fame. But Poland’s second-biggest city also houses priceless art treasures by Leonardo da Vinci…
By Richard Varr It doesn’t take long for a sense of history to overwhelm you when walking through the narrow passageways of Bryggen’s wooden warehouses. Yes, the building facades are immaculate, swashed with muted red and brown earthen hues, but every step on wooden plank floors and stairwells seemingly comes with a creak or two,…
By Cynthia David My first Turkish coffee arrived dark and steaming hot from an electric coffeemaker at Espressolab on Istanbul’s historic Istiklal Avenue. The Espressolab had a long, curved marble bar, high ceiling beams and an Art Deco espresso machine. The 20 and 30-somethings around me chatted and sipped their cappuccinos and pumpkin spice lattes…