On the last night of October, on a low green hill outside the County Meath town of Athboy, several thousand people stand in the dark waiting for a fire to be lit. There is nothing spontaneous about it. A production team has rehearsed the lighting for weeks, a schedule lists the moment down to the minute, and a livestream camera is trained on the summit for anyone who could not make the trip. And yet …
Browsing: Europe
The chalk went up on the walls, the color of old teeth, and the wind off the Channel was working hard to take every hat in reach. A small crowd had gathered above Cuckmere Haven, on the lip of the Seven Sisters, facing east toward a scalloped horizon of cliff and gorse, flags snapping and a portable PA system losing its argument with the gusts. It was the 19th of March, cold enough that nobody …
Queen Victoria visited Penrhyn Castle in 1859 and refused to sleep in the bed prepared for her. It was carved entirely from slate, weighed roughly a ton, and had been commissioned specifically for her stay — a grand gesture that struck her as macabre. “It reminds me of a tomb,” she is said to have remarked, before retreating to a different room. The bed still sits in the castle today, a strange monument to a …
There are ghost towns scattered across the world, but few carry the weight of Kayakoy. Perched on a rocky hillside in southwestern Turkey, its hundreds of roofless stone houses, cobbled lanes and silent churches speak of a community that was not simply abandoned but deliberately erased by the politics of a vanishing empire. It is one of the most affecting places in the Eastern Mediterranean, and yet it remains, at least by comparison with many …
You won’t wander far without coming face to face with a troll in Bergen. In fact, these characters of Norwegian folklore even have their own museum. Their presence adds a whimsical aspect to a city surrounded by natural beauty. Cute wooden houses line the hilly streets, and the colorful waterfront is unbelievably picturesque. The visual delights of the city combine with Norse mythology to make Bergen an exceptionally alluring destination. I recently spent a few …
Five weeks in Europe: river cruising, barging and walking parts of the Camino.
Our most recent five weeks in Europe began and ended in Paris — with a barge cruise through Burgundy, a river cruise down the Saône, and a walk along the Camino Francés — and an unexpected ending.
We arrived in Paris with four nights to shake off the flight. By the second morning, Marucia and I were beginning to feel ourselves again …
Somewhere between Iceland and Scotland, the Faroe Islands rise from the North Atlantic. Of the eighteen islands that make up this Danish autonomous territory, Vágar is the one most travelers encounter first, its airport the sole entry point for everyone arriving by air. Vágar happens to be among the most scenically dramatic islands in the archipelago, and its most famous attraction, a vast freshwater lake that appears to hover in mid-air above the ocean, is …
Stonehenge is perhaps the most instantly recognizable prehistoric structure on Earth. Its massive standing stones, arranged in concentric rings and crowned with horizontal lintels, have drawn pilgrims, scholars, romantics, and tourists for millennia. Yet despite centuries of inquiry, Stonehenge continues to resist complete understanding, a monument defined as much by what we do not know about it as by what we do.
The construction of Stonehenge was not a single event but a long process …
Sweden’s second city opens onto 2,000 islands, most of them car-free, all of them within reach of a tram ticket. On Sweden’s west coast, the city of Gothenburg gives way to water. Trams run to their final stops. Industrial docks thin into marinas. Then granite replaces asphalt.
Beyond the harbor lies an archipelago scattered along the Bohuslän coastline, more than 2,000 islands, islets, and skerries, many only minutes from the mainland. Unlike much of Europe’s …
Belfast had never been on my agenda, but it was the lure of the award-winning museum, Titanic Belfast, which initially captured my attention. I’m so glad it did, or I would never have discovered what a captivating city Belfast is. When I subsequently found out that it’s possible to take an easy day trip from the city to the natural wonder of the Giant’s Causeway, it clinched the deal.
Often overlooked by visitors who flock …
Budapest is one of the largest and most well-known cities on the Danube River in Hungary. It’s a town of many faces as it’s actually divided between “Buda” and “Pest.” You could easily fill a week in this city, but if you’re short on time, make sure you hit the highlights. You’ll quickly find out how this city played a big part in World War II and has come to be known as the “Jewel …
Wrapped by the sea on three sides and claiming three millennia of continuous habitation, Cádiz stands as Western Europe’s oldest city—yet it remains one of Spain’s most underappreciated destinations. While masses descend upon Barcelona and Seville, this Andalusian port city maintains an authenticity that has become increasingly rare along heavily touristed Mediterranean coasts. Here, the Atlantic crashes against Phoenician foundations, baroque churches rise above faded colonial facades, and the smell of fried fish drifts through …
Situated in Norway, 217 miles above the Arctic Circle, the charming city of Tromso is the gateway to a captivating land of mountains, fjords, and legends. Whether you visit to observe the breathtaking phenomenon of the northern lights, spot magnificent killer whales in the fjords or hang out with huskies, Tromso immediately captures the heart.
I visited during the polar night – the period of time between late November and mid-January when the sun doesn’t …
The Dolomites are no doubt one of Europe’s most dramatic mountain landscapes. Beyond their UNESCO-recognized geological splendor, however, lies an equally fascinating cultural story—one in which Austrian Gemütlichkeit (snugness) meets Italian dolce vita, and an ancient Romance language you may never have known about persists in five high valleys.
The Dolomites sprawl across five provinces—Bolzano, Trento, Belluno, Udine, and Pordenone—covering approximately 350,000 acres of vertical walls, narrow valleys, and jagged peaks that reach above …