Features

May 2004 issue

Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, & Turkmenistan: Following the Great Silk Road in Central Asia

by Lei Chatfield, Contributing Editor

Imagine: nomadic yurts, incredibly beautiful tiled mosques, medieval architecture and an ultramodern city created by a dictator “president” with portraits of him and his family at every turn. This mosaic is Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan

There’s something magical about Kyrgyzstan. On our first evening in Bishkek, we were treated to a double dose of Kyrgyz culture at a local restaurant. First there was a special performance of a Kyrgyz epic legend by a master manaschi (storyteller). We were very privileged, as this is a fading art form...

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May 2004 issue

Weaving our way through the villages of East Anglia

by Michael Algar, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Within easy reach of London, some of East Anglia’s landscapes will live forever in Constable and Gainsborough paintings. But it is wealth from this area’s cloth-weaving industries that is reflected in its historic communities of such appeal today.

Choosing an itinerary

From several self-drive themed itineraries available from the East of England Tourist Board (Toppesfield Hall, Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 5DN; phone 0870 225 4800 or visit www. visiteastofengland.com), we chose one in 2002 that took us into some of England’s most...

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July 2010 issue

Contemplations and caveats for a self-drive journey through the Baltic region

by Joyce Bruck, Ocean Ridge, FL

My summer journey through the Baltic countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was both interesting and exciting — with periods of pure frustration.

Planning the trip

About six weeks before leaving, I made flight reservations for my cousin June, with whom I would be traveling. On Expedia.com, I found her a round-trip flight from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Helsinki for the terrific price of $307. My flights were booked with American Airlines frequent-flyer miles, in conjunction with Finnair.

It took me over a month of...

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March 2005 issue

Buenos Aires — delving into the soul of the city

—Col. Harold Grady, St. Louis, MO

When the rat race gets too hectic, the travel bug bites me and I yearn for exotic places and faraway lands. However, for 2004 my wife, Donna, and I were in a quandary about where to travel. We crossed Europe off our list because of the weak dollar there. Likewise, the many problems in the Mideast and Asia narrowed our choices to just a few dollar-friendly countries.

Travel experts claimed Argentina was one of the safest and cheapest travel bargains in the world due to the peso collapse. Further, Argentines are some of the friendliest, most...

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November 2010 issue

Reveling in the Christmas spirit – Germany during the holidays
I love Christmas and everything about it — the card writing, the frenzied shopping, having friends over to share Yuletide cheer, the Nutcracker performances we haven’t missed in 30 years, and putting up a live tree and decorating it with the hundreds of ornaments we’ve collected over many years. My husband, Paul, laughingly claims I am the only one he knows who starts preparing for Christmas in the middle of summer. He exaggerates. I really don’t begin planning in the heat of a New York summer, although it is true that by Halloween, at the latest, preparations are well under way.
March 2011 issue

Enjoying the ambiance of Spain’s paradores
Years ago I took a trip through the mountainous area of Sierra de Gredos in central Spain and was enthralled by the crystalline waters, wild rocks and green pine groves of the region. During that trip I ended up in a village called Navarredonda, and, while I was looking for a place to spend the night, I was advised to choose the local parador.
February 2004 issue

Botswana self-drive safari — a truly wild ride

by Robert Juhre, Kettle Falls, WA

Travel in Botswana is limited to a few choices. You can book accommodations through one of many tour operators. Their camps are generally small, accommodating 12 to 15 people, and are remote but well appointed.

The food is gourmet, and the attention to guests’ personal care and comfort is outstanding. Visitors can see an abundance of wildlife in the immediate vicinity of most camps. However, these camps are expensive, ranging from $250 to over $500 per person per day, not including airfare or the national park entrance fees, which are also...

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March 2010 issue

Seeing reminders of the past and signs of a bright future in Berlin

by Richard Berner, San Diego, CA

2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which divided East and West Berlin for 28 years. During those years, we witnessed many historic moments concerning the Wall, including President Kennedy giving his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech at Rudolph-Wilde-Platz (which was renamed John-F.-Kennedy-Platz shortly after the president’s assassination) and President Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” delivered at the Brandenburg Gate (above) in 1987.

My wife, Martha, and I were in Germany a few years before the Wall...

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