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Travel Inspiration: Imperial Cities of Eastern Europe: Prague, Vienna, & Budapest.

Delve into the history of Eastern Europe, and you find some of the Western world’s most colorful characters. The Romans, who took control of the Danube in the name of the empire. The Ottomans, who helped themselves to Budapest and left the place with a Near East spin. The mighty Habsburgs, who threw their weight [...]

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Travel Inspiration: Turkey: Europe & Asia All at Once

Location. Location. Location. That’s Turkey in a nutshell. Where east meets west, Europe meets Asia, Islam meets Christianity, and where the world’s oldest city was discovered. Alexander the Great was the first to meld eastern and western cultures. Many followed suit. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans all left their marks. It is here that whirling [...]

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Travel Inspiration: Wales. Great Britain’s Fiercely Proud Celtic Nation.

Not many countries choose a dragon as their nation animal. Wales does. The Welsh are in a class by themselves. They have, for generations, been staunch supporters of their ancient native language, protectors of their distinct culture and traditions, and proclaimers of their identity as a nation separate from England. It’s time you get to [...]

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Travel Inspiration: History Writ Large. A Sicilian Odyssey.

Who among the ancients didn’t flock to Sicily? For millennia, this Italian island was the place to be. So the Phoenicians came. The Carthaginians, too. And the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Turks, the Bourbons, even a handful of influential writers and Hollywood types. Now it’s your turn to see what all the fuss [...]

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Travel Inspiration: Iceland: Europe’s Splendid Dichotomy.

Iceland: 63 percent tundra, 14 percent glaciers, 100 percent gorgeous. Lest you think you’re heading to a backwater, consider, please, that this island nation ranks first in the world for median wealth and second for the strength of its democracy. It boasts the world’s first political party formed and led entirely by women. And renewable [...]