Considered one of the most beautiful castles in Czechia, Hluboká Castle was the building pictured in our January mystery photo. The architectural style of the original castle, built in the second half of the 13th century, was Gothic, but the style changed with later reconstructions.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 540th issue of your monthly worldwide travel magazine — our 45th anniversary issue!
The May 2020 and January 2021 issues had to be published online only (no mailed copies) due to the drop in supportive tour company advertising resulting from the COVID-caused shutdown in travel worldwide, but travelers are looking forward to the day when they can get back on the road and in the air.
For more than a hundred years, Timbuktu (Tombouctou) has been used as a metaphor for the most isolated place in the world. Unlike the fictional Shangri-la (invented by James Hilton in his novel “Lost Horizon”), however, Timbuktu is a very real place.
A bit of history
Excerpt from letter submitted by Beverly Hazen (Mayville, NY) "... Upon our arriving in Seville [March 11, 2020], we heard of President Trump’s announcement that flights from Europe to the US would cease in a matter of days. While there was an underlying concern regarding COVID-19 that could not be totally ignored, the tour itinerary was keeping us moving along, and our tour director was reassuring that the tour was continuing. ..."
We have two ITN subscribers to thank for suggesting the topic of our last essay contest, “Hungry for Hungary”: Debbie Wenck of Carlsbad, CA, and Kathy Hatfield of Montvale, NJ. The subject elicited essays with recollections from decades past. ITN staff judged the submissions, and the winning work — based on visits past and present — was that of KITTY CHEN DEAN of New York City, NY. Kitty’s prize is an ITN mug.
The capital of the Caribbean British Overseas Territory of Montserrat is Plymouth, a ghost town that was abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic eruptions. Construction of a new capital, Little Bay, began in 2019.
With this issue, we have completed something unimaginable to me a year ago: 12 months’ worth of On-the-Road Travel Tips submitted by ITN readers (each followed by my own comments). It has been a journey of sharing and discovery. It has also provided a most pleasant distraction from the enduring pandemic that has affected our lives in so many limiting ways.
At press time, active COVID-19 infections had been confirmed in 192 countries and territories, with more than 101 million cases and, resulting from those, more than 2.2 million deaths. The country with the most confirmed cases was the US, with 25.8 million. It was followed by India (10.7 million), Brazil (9.0 million) and Russia (3.8 million). At least 19 countries had recorded more than 1 million cases at press time.
