Tallinn is a city that feels like it’s been sketched from two different dreams: one medieval, one modern. Its Old Town – all cobbled lanes, spired churches and honey‑coloured stone – is a UNESCO‑listed wonder that looks almost too perfect to be real. But step beyond those ancient walls and you’ll find a city pulsing with creativity, digital innovation and a Nordic‑Baltic cool that’s entirely its own. For example, beyond the Old Town lies Telliskivi Creative City, Tallinn’s hipster‑industrial playground of street art, indie boutiques, concept stores, craft breweries and […]

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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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Eddy L. Harris is a writer, filmmaker, and lifelong traveler who mixes memoir, adventure, and cultural insights in books like Mississippi Solo and Native Stranger. His stories dive into race and identity, inspired by his journeys across the USA and Africa. Q. Back in the 80s, you made a journey down the Mississippi by canoe, solo. What was the hardest part of doing it solo? The hardest thing about doing it solo was doing it. And I imagine that would have been the case had I not been alone – the […]

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Holland America Line continues its long-standing commitment to celebrate Alaska’s wildlife and wilderness by expanding its partnership with the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC)—a renowned nonprofit sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research, and quality animal care. As part of the 2025 Alaska cruise season, Holland America Line will introduce a variety of onboard activities designed to benefit AWCC and raise awareness of Alaska wildlife among guests. This initiative launches with the debut of Harry & David’s iconic Moose Munch® Premium Popcorn on all Alaska sailings, with […]

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Also called the Hang Nga Guesthouse, owner and founder Dang Viet Nga quickly discovered that most of her guests were leaving comments about this ‘crazy house’ in her guestbook and eventually decided that would be the most appropriate name. And when one visits, one quickly realizes this space is perfectly named! Dang earned her PhD in architecture at the University of Moscow and eventually moved back to Vietnam. She began to conceptualize this structure in 1990 through a series of whimsical paintings. The house keeps on growing – during our […]

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The Tran-Siberian Railway is the ultimate rail journey: the longest in the world – possibly the coldest if you go at the wrong time of year. A journey of almost mythical proportions that spans two continents while staying in a single country; without leaving your seat you clatter your way along almost a third of the globe. There are three routes that travellers can take to explore the Siberian expanse: The Moscow-to-Vladivostok route at over 6000 miles, and two routes from Moscow to Beijing: one through Mongolia, taking six days […]

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I recently spent a few days exploring Minsk and the nearby countryside. This city of 2 million+ people is at the same time spread out yet rather compact. The city features an interesting mix of noticeable architectural styles mostly dating from post World War II. Unlike a number of Western European countries, Belarus does not yet seem to be on the tourist route. Prices are fairly reasonable and it is easy to get around the historical core of the city on foot (a metro also provides extended coverage to other […]

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This was my first river cruise with Viking Cruises, a trip I’d dreamt about for weeks! Russia, the world’s largest country, takes up an eighth of the world’s surface, borders 14 different countries, 12 oceans and seas and spans 11 time zones. Getting Ready to Cruise Through Russia Including start and end points St. Petersburg and Moscow, our cruise includes seven stops with optional offshore excursions, some included in the fare, others at an additional cost. You can also add on pre- and post excursions (in Moscow and Helsinki). Passengers […]

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I am early for the tour and am made to wait in the entrance hall. At least I am out of the snow, although it’s colder inside than it was outside. Exactly on schedule, I am ushered in for a security check and then taken back to the cold entrance room for an introduction. Sasha, a youthful but stern 20-something, is my guide. His English leaves much to be desired and he speaks in a loud, military-style voice that seems appropriate for this place. I concentrate hard to understand him. […]

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“Ante Romam Treveris stetit annis mille trecentis” (Trier stood 1300 years before Rome) – legend of Trier’s founding.   Trier is the UNESCO World Heritage city you’ve never heard of. While you were busy swooning over Berlin’s modern architecture or Munich’s copious beer gardens, you’ve missed Germany’s most remarkable city, quietly minding its own business along the banks of the Mosel river, the way it always has for two and a half millennia. Visiting Trier puts the visitor in a bind – should she primarily focus on Trier’s Roman or […]

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Somewhere between the modern and the traditional, there lies Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia’s fascinating capital is a city evolving before our very eyes. Its population is rapidly trading its ancestral, nomadic ways for a more modern life while still trying to retain the uniqueness of its rich culture. Ulaanbaatar is a city in transition, moved by dynamics bigger than itself. It lies at the intersection of globalization, capitalism, the legacy of state-run communism, and the imperative to modernize. All while struggling to retain the ancient tradition of the horse people. In the […]

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Visit Pittsburgh. It’s a vibrant city with fantastic views and all kinds of easily accessible ways to see them, a sports legacy to envy, and vital American history. But more importantly, it is a tribute to what city government, public and private enterprise, and concerned citizens – what we, as human beings – can accomplish. In the last 50 years or so Pittsburgh has orchestrated a miraculous environmental transformation. Ride to the top of the famed Duquesne Incline and check out the photos from the 1940s when the city was choked in […]

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What do you do when your senses are simultaneously confused, excited, alarmed and enthralled? If you’re at a performance of Zarkana, Cirque du Soleil’s dramatic and mesmerizing visual bombardment at ARIA Las Vegas, you go with it. And going with it will be mighty gratifying. Many theater pieces engage your brain, perhaps with some later follow-through in your body. Zarkana envelops you. The lushly resonant music alone penetrates your body and seems to move through you into the seats behind. Even the lighting seems tangible: reds sizzle, blues seem to […]

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“Am I there yet? Am I there yet?” This question rattled around several times in my jet lag induced brain for a few moments before one eye fluttered open. In the foggy haze of nonstop travel for the past few days I looked around. I was in a small room. I noticed the window. It was high up the wall, not in a normal spot for a window. I glanced at the blinking red light. It was 4am. But there was plenty of outside light in the room. There was […]

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This is the story of how Stalin lost his nose and why the face of former British prime minister Tony Blair pops up in the strangest places in a former Soviet republic. But first I want to tell you about Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. And later I’ll tell you about kyz kuu, a kind of lovers’ kissing game they play on the steppe of central Asia. Kazakhstan, independent since 1991, and squeezed between those other ‘stans’ (homelands) in central Asia  – Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – along with […]

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