From an early age, I was fascinated by the art of glassblowing. In those days, my exposure was limited to visiting tourist shops during family vacations, where glassblowers created a menagerie of crystal animals. I was transfixed each time an artist extracted a molten blob of glass from a blast furnace and fashioned it into … Read more
Like thousands of tourists before me, I made my way to Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. But rather than join the queues waiting to visit the Parliament and Supreme Court, I decided to stroll around the exterior. At the rear of the palace, an electrified fence surrounded a pasture where two enormous white Kladruber horses … Read more
Challenge anyone to list the world’s most famous architects and names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Antoni Gaudí, and I.M. Pei will likely be bandied about. Most would be surprised, however, to learn that a 16th century Italian architect known as Palladio is widely considered to be the most influential individual in the history of Western … Read more
When discussing what to do in Munich, Germany, many travel writers wax lyrical about Oktoberfest. Ah, the beer! The sing-alongs! The pretzels, bratwurst, and schnitzel! But the festival also has its drawbacks. More than 6 million visitors descend upon the city every year beginning on the third Saturday of September. If, like me, you’re no … Read more
The Welsh love their symbols. The leek has been a national symbol of Wales since Saint David ordered Welsh soldiers to wear a leek on their helmets to identify themselves. The tradition ostensibly hails from a battle with Saxons that occurred in a field of leeks. The daffodil, also known as “Peter’s Leek,” apparently became … Read more
