Travel Articles
HISTORY OF OKTOBERFEST Why is the famous German beer festival held in September if it’s called Oktoberfest? Officially, the beer festival starts on the third Saturday in September and lasts 16 to 18 days through early October. Oktoberfest 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s back again this year, starting tomorrow.…
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HISTORY OF REEK SUNDAY: The Legend of St Patrick Driving the Snakes from Ireland Several years ago, at this time of the Summer, on one of my teaching trips to Ireland, I found myself on the west coast, where they have a saying, “Ahh… west o’ here, the next parish over is Boston.“ This Sunday,…
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HISTORY IN JERUSALEM: ISLAMIC TRADITION In Part 1, I discussed some of the Christian sites in the city of Jerusalem. In Part 2, I discussed the Jewish tradition. In this final article, I’ll examine the third most important Muslim site in the world, after Mecca and Medina. Urusalim (Jerusalem) gets its name from the Canaanites,…
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HISTORY IN JERUSALEM: JEWISH TRADITION In Part 1, I discussed some of the Christian sites in the city of Jerusalem. Here, we discuss the Jewish tradition. In 1995 Jerusalem celebrated 3,000 years of the City of David, commemorating when King David entered the city and made it his capital, rather than Hebron. It was a…
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HISTORY IN JERUSALEM: CHRISTIAN TRADITION Is it possible to see Jerusalem in a day? I did. Twenty eight years ago, following a trip to Israel, I published three articles. I was speaking on technology in Tel Aviv and had only 24 hours to visit Jerusalem. The city may have changed, but the historical sites…
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Paris in a Day – Monuments: Day Three While you can’t do all of Paris in a day, you can visit a few Museums, Cathedrals, or Monuments. The two most famous monuments in Paris are within walking distance of each other. First: The Eiffel Tower La Tour Eiffel is France’s most popular tourist destination…
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Paris in a Day – Cathedrals: Day Two You can’t do all of Paris in a day, but you can see a few cathedrals. Notre Dame de Paris Of course, this is the most famous cathedral in Paris, but you can’t get inside to visit it due to the 2019 fire. It’s scheduled to…
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Paris in a Day – part 1 For Summer vacation, you may be interested in visiting Paris. Can you do it in a day? Other than visiting a few museums and a couple of fabulous meals, you can’t really see Paris in a day. But if you only have a day in Paris, here are…
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HISTORY OF THE IDES OF MARCH According to the ancient Roman calendar, the ides fell on the 13th of the month except for March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the 15th of the month. Something epochal occurred in 44 B.C. Et tu, Brute? On March 15, 44 B.C., the Roman dictator…
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HISTORY OF STARKBIER FESTIVAL Starkbierfest runs from March to April, with some biergartens as early as March 3. The heart of this festival is in Münich, Germany, specifically at Paulaner am Nockherberg Brewery, where it all began and lasts about two weeks. This year, it begins on March 10 and runs through April 2. It…
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HISTORY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ: JANUARY 27, 1945 January 27, 1945, was the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, one of the most notorious camps of World War II, by the Soviet Red Army. This date is now known by the United Nations and the European Union as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In America,…
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ITALY TOUR: PISA IN A DAY Can you visit Pisa on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, a day trip will do it quite easily. Cruise ships regularly dock at the nearby Port of Livorno. Pisa is a Tuscan city passed through by the Arno River, which also passes through Florence further…
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