Top things to see and do in New Zealand
Kia Ora , the Maori greeting, welcomes visitors this land of fiery volcanoes and glacial ice. Steam billows from craters that delve deep into the earth and snow crowns magnificent mountains that soar to the sky. Mud pools boil and glacial lakes glisten. Unique and flightless birds like the kiwi and now-extinct moa, largest bird on earth, flourished until the arrival of man and other predators.
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VIA Rail: Vancouver to Jasper
We followed in the pathways of the indigenous First Nations, early explorers, fur traders, fishermen, gold prospectors, pioneers, railroad barons, and lumberjacks. By riding VIA Rail we sat back and enjoyed the ride through some of the most remarkable landscapes in the world.
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Viva la Grischa! : Allegra im Val Müstair, Switzerland!
In more remote mountain villages and hamlets, the language left behind by Roman conquerers lives on. That language is called Romansh and each region has its own dialect.
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An Untour of Switzerland
Train rides past snow-capped Alps, boat excursions on sparkling lakes, gondolas to mountain peaks…hikes and picnics in idyllic meadows of wildflowers, serenaded by cowbells, savoring local wine, freshly-baked bread, cheeses and chocolates….yes, this is Switzerland.
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Discovering Zürich, Switzerland — one morsel at a time
We wanted to discover the essence of Zürich and found it one morsel at a time.
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From Palm Trees to Glaciers: The Bernina Express
As with each of our visits to Switzerland, we designed our trip around one of Switzerland’s scenic train rides. This time we chose the Bernina Express, the highest mountain railway in the Alps. The train maneuvers up mountains without the use of tooth-wheel mechanism, crossing the Alps and traveling through a spectacular landscape ranging from glaciers to palm trees. In 2008, the line between Thusis and Tirano was designated a World Heritage Site.
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Berlin: a city of healing
Berlin is known as the City of Health for its many clinics and wellness centers. We explored this side of the city at the Aspria, a sleek and stylish hotel known for health and fitness. It’s on a residential street just off Ku’damm.
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Revenge of the Ravens: The Story of Einsiedeln, Switzerland
When we were in the Lake Zurich region of Switzerland we used our Swiss Pass to take the train to Einsiedeln, in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. The Benedictine Monastery Einsiedeln is the largest abbey and oldest pilgrimage site in Switzerland. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for the Virgin Mary in Europe.
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Scuol, Switzerland
Scuol, between the the Silvretta range and the Swiss Dolomites, is a place where mineral waters flow from community fountains. Cobblestone squares are surrounded by historic houses decorated with sgraffito, a technique of scratching a design through the surface layer.
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Switzerland’s Lavaux: A votre sante!
In the 11th century, Benedictine and Cistercian monks began planting vines and building retaining walls on the steep sun-drenched hillsides of the Lavaux region on the north shore of Lake Geneva. Today’s nearly 2000 acres of terraces in French-speaking southwest is Switzerland’s major wine-producing region and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Rostock, Germany
Rostock’s historic Old Town has been meticulously restored, and what was once the Hanseatic League’s coastal defense area , Warnemunde, is now delightful seaside resort.
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Lübeck, Germany
“This is Lübeck–where you find surprising places.” our guide, Jan Kruijswijk, told us as we walked along a winding alley and peeked through one of Lübeck’s 90 or so little arches and passageways.
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Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg was established and ruled not by royalty but by the wealthy merchants of the medieval trade monopoly known as the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic merchant guilds began their alliance in the 12th century to protect members on their trading voyages.
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