Annea Lockwood is an Aotearoa New Zealand-born composer and sound artist known for turning natural environments into immersive sound art. In her “Sound Map” projects, where she captures the sound of rivers, including the Danube, she records everything from flowing water to everyday human activity, revealing the river as a constantly shifting and living soundscape. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and taught at Vassar College for many years Q. You grew up in Aotearoa New Zealand and Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of natural wonders. […]

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Soon after landing in Budapest, a friend and I were promptly held in one of several contiguous rooms. People from other flights kept arriving, ultimately packing us in like sardines. One of the more curious souls decided to go talk to the well-armed security guards. Apparently we were under a lockdown due to a bomb threat and we were being held until security until bomb sniffing dogs had made a careful assessment of the situation. After about an hour, although in our tired state it seemed like 5 hours, the […]

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Christmas markets, skating rinks, theatrical performances, thermal baths and many more surprises make Hungary’s capital the ideal destination to enjoy a white Christmas this year BUDAPEST, Hungary, Dec. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Visit Hungary invites travelers to spend the holidays abroad as the capital city of Budapest offers a variety of seasonal activities, eye-popping decoration, and authentic Hungarian traditions. From Christmas markets, thermal baths, candle lighting ceremonies, theatrical performances and mulled wine accompanied with strudel, visitors will discover the city’s most magical time of the year. Picturesque Christmas Markets […]

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Q. Please introduce yourself to our readers. What drew you to work for Riviera River Cruise? Good day, everyone,  I am  Marilyn Conroy,  Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  I have been in the cruise industry for 40 years working up until a few years ago with the ocean liners. For 8 years, I had my own sales and marketing company.  I was asked to represent Riviera River cruises and after six months I was very impressed with the product and the price/value Riviera offered. When they asked me […]

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Withlocals is an experiential travel company that provides a platform for locals to offer private, personalized tours to travelers. Withlocals’ mission is to connect people with cultures by breaking down barriers between travelers and locals worldwide. I recently had an opportunity to get hold of the CEO, Matthijs Keij, to ask him a few questions. Q. Can you briefly tell us about yourself, your background, and your journey to joining Withlocals as CEO? My name is Matthijs Keij and I’m the CEO of Withlocals. Before Withlocals I have built an […]

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I have been fortunate to have sampled a lot of alcohol on my travels around the planet, ranging from regional beers, to homemade rice wine, local concoctions in various villages including illegally made home-wine in a remote Iranian dessert village and some truly special beverages that were memorable due to their quality, pedigree and age along with external factors including companions and location. But there are a few drinks I count as being the especially significant; these are five of our most memorable drinks enjoyed to date. Rum punch infused […]

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“Ghost House” is one of the best horror movies I have seen in a long time. The horror elements are so original and raw  – the jump scare, the atmosphere, the soundtrack etc, everything is done completely right. The movie does not throw in excessive unnecessary special effects or follow the Hollywood’s formulaic scare tactics. It hit me in a way that most horror flicks hadn’t. I remember when the movie was over, I immediately pulled out my phone and looked up the director of this movie – Rich Ragsdale. […]

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“If a blind man should gaze upon the world but one day, he should gaze upon Istanbul.” – Alphonse de Lamartine Few places elicit the “It’s the most beautiful city I have ever seen!” reaction as frequently as Istanbul. Those were also my exact sentiments the first time I visited back in 2004. Today, 15 years later, as I stroll the empty streets of downtown Istanbul in the middle of the night, I remember why I have ever since felt this way. I contemplate the marvelous architecture, reflect upon its unparalleled […]

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The television series “Victoria” about the younger years of England’s Queen Victoria is in its second season with more turmoil below stairs at Buckingham Palace and a new child upstairs for Victoria and Albert. The historic love story between the young queen of England and her German noble husband continues. This season also brings the Saxe-Coburgs into more focus with the death of Albert’s father and his return home to Coburg for a funeral.   Much is made of Albert’s uncle King Leopold’s desire to marry his family into the […]

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Everyone had just left. After celebrating my birthday and some basic tidying up we sat down for a moment. “Why don’t you check your email?” she asked. I took the hint. Taking out my iPhone I opened the email app. And there I saw confirmation I was flying to Budapest on Friday. Now that confused me – she was supposed to be attending a conference in Budapest the following month. She quickly filled me in on the details. She was leaving for Hungary on Wednesday.  It was this month she […]

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“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -Bilbo Baggins, Fellowship of the Ring I never wanted to go backpacking. I had no interest in staying in hostels. An introvert by nature, I found the peace and privacy of a hotel room necessary, not only for the enjoyment of the trip, but for my mental sanity. Then the cheapskate side of me spoke up. I had a trip […]

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Sometimes you meet inspiring travelers while on the road – such was the case this evening in Chisinau, Moldova. I met a young woman traveler from Japan who took bought a 50CC motorbike in Irkutsk Russia and rode it some 14,000 kilometers solo from Russia to the Romanian Moldova border. She had stories of her time on the road as a trip of this length will invariably create. She camped much of the time but when it was raining or otherwise bad weather she would sleep with other travelers in […]

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With upcoming excitement about a pending trip to Budapest, it seemed like George Ezra’s song of the same name was always playing on the radio. The movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel was showing on a recent flight so I watched it yet again. In reality, both the song and the movie seem to have little to do with Budapest but both seem like appropriate entertainment considering my trip to this historical city. In any case it is nice to be back – albeit this time it is significantly colder than […]

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The Venue The 6th annual VinCE Wine Show was recently held at the luxurious and inviting Corinthia Hotel in Budapest in early March 2015. This event is organized by the VinCE Central European Wine Magazine and showcases Hungarian Wines as well as plenty of winery attendees from elsewhere in Central Europe. When you walk into the Corinthia you immediately feel transported to another era – perhaps 100 years ago, elegance, luxury and impeccable service. The hotel underwent the most expensive renovation hotel project in Hungary’s history with €100 million invested. […]

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I had arranged to meet my brother for a long weekend in Bratislava. He was on his way from Verona Italy where he lives and I was on my way from Kyrgyzstan where I had been trekking the past few weeks. We arrived at our floating Botel on the Danube River within 1 minute of each other. Talk about great timing! Ready to imbibe in some alcohol after a several week dry spell we immediately headed to the Grand Cru tasting bar, and ordered several Slovakian wines including from a […]

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