From the category archives:
I love capitols – can’t get enough of their marble halls, gilded domes, dark wood paneling and hundreds of tiny desks (at least they always *look* tiny from the viewing gallery) with multicolored voting buttons. They capture a regal era removed from our own with a permanence found rarely in modern architecture.
While in DC at the beginning of January, my destination [...]
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I’m sadly making my way back across the Atlantic today, but before I go, I wanted to share a picture from my brief visit to New York City. This fair maiden guards the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park, which I walked from top to bottom on New Year’s Day.
Have you already completed your first travels of [...]
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Tuesday is discount day at one of the largest English-language (i.e. not dubbed) cinemas in Berlin. On tap this week was Woody Allen’s newest, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Though a sadder movie than I expected, what disappointed me most was the portrayal of one of those three title characters — can you guess which one?
The film is set [...]
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At the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers in the lovely city of Koblenz, Germany, stands a large monument called Deutsches Eck (German Corner). Originally dedicated to the empire of Kaiser Wilhelm I, its partial destruction in WWII led the remnants to serve as a memorial to German unity until 1989. It was rebuilt by [...]
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Traveling in Europe for nearly a decade, I’ve reached a saturation point with churches. Some study-abroad students come down with an unshakable case of ABC Syndrome (short for “Another Boring Church”) in just 10 weeks! Don’t get me wrong: I studied church art intensively and am still moved by the beauty and [...]
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Spring 2007 I took a daytrip from Bergamo, Italy, (where I was staying) to Lake Como. It was one of those convoluted trips requiring multiple forms of transportation — bus, train, ferry and cable car — to make it even possible. You can’t complain too much, however, when all your connections go off [...]
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Hundreds of museums across the U.S. have signed on to grant free admission to visitors this Saturday, Sept. 27, led by Smithsonian magazine and the organization’s affiliate museums. You can check the list of offerings by searching your state here.
For you and a guest to qualify, fill out this online form and print the subsequent “card.” Turn [...]
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It’s not where I’d recommend you stop for a drink after sightseeing in Nicosia, Cyprus:
Just inside the Paphos Gate, this cafe is one of many victims of the long-standing Cypriot conflict. Within the walled perimeter of the Old Town, it stands directly on the present border, the so-called Green Line, which cleaves the island nation [...]
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Most tourists tramping through Europe to conquer the must-see sights are likely surprised when they get to Pisa, Italy. With our singular focus on the tower (do you hear me, ladies?), many are caught unaware that it is part of a larger architectural ensemble and is in fact dwarfed by the huge cathedral and baptistry [...]
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What a difference 100 years and 500 meters makes!
Within short walking distance of last week’s photo (Dresden’s Procession of Princes), the no-budget traveler will find this socialist mural on the side of Dresden’s Palace of Culture:
There is perhaps no city in the former East Germany that better exemplifies this historical juxtaposition of styles and cultures [...]
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