Editor’s note: part two of Sam Spector’s UAE trip focuses on the capital of Abu Dhabi. I won’t lie; this was not a place on my bucket list until reading these pieces, but I now feel the urge to plan a trip. For more of Sam’s amazing adventures, click here to visit his index page.…
Dresden, Germany is today a reasonably sized city of about 550,000 known for its low cost of living and tech renaissance (Silicon Saxony). But this belies a centuries-old history worthy of a much more major metropolis. From 1547 until 1918, it was the capital of the Electorate of Saxony (part of the Holy Roman Empire)…
Editor’s note: I have been to a lot of countries, but it is amazing to experience those I haven’t yet visited, or even have thought of visiting, through the eyes of one of my writers. Today, Sam Spector shares his experience in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in part one of a UAE double feature. For…
Walking around Berlin can be a little eerie, especially to a Jewish guy like me. From here, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis did their best to exterminate my people. And traces are all over, from historical signage talking about what a building was under the Reich, to memorials, to museums. Despite how much exposure I…
My day starts in Hamburg, checking out the sights: the warehouse district, the bridges and churches. I then travel to Bavaria to catch Neuschwanstein Castle. An alpine adventure awaits me in Austria and Switzerland, gazing fondly at the skiers, before I head to Italy to spend time at Pompeii and viewing the top attractions of…
What qualities go into a great museum? For me, there are a few. A great museum has to start with a great collection. Whether it’s art, antiquities, or anything else, a museum cannot be truly great without a world class collection. Secondly, it has to have a good physical space. A beautiful view, a historic…
Bonn doesn’t get much love from the tourist community. It seems to always be passed over for the larger Cologne, about thirty minutes north by train. Well, that’s a shame. Bonn, while smaller than Cologne, has a lot going for it, and the price differential between staying here versus in Cologne itself makes it -…
It isn’t often that one can say that an experience was shared with Napoleon, Mozart, and all the royalty of Europe. And yet, when I step into the Farina House in Cologne, that is exactly what I am able to do. As I walk upstairs for my private tour, I am sprayed with a small…
Sitting in the Music Room, I find myself moved to tears, and not for the first time today. A small circle of seats and a projection on the wall are the sole features of the room, but it an emotional sensory experience. Beethoven’s beautiful Moonlight Sonata is playing over a speaker, and the projection shows…
He is to German what Shakespeare is to English: the master, a writer who transcends mere language to become a cultural and national icon, spoken of with reverence. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is considered the master of the German language. And this is where he was born. The house feels out of place on a…