Columns

The world’s least-salty seawater is found in the Bay of Bothnia, where Sweden meets Finland.

CONTINUE READING »
Whether it’s getting from the train station to your hotel or finding a taxi stand outside a subway station, in Europe you’ll probably walk with your bag much more than you think you will. Photo by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli

Top tips for traveling light

Sometimes I wonder why I lug my bag through airports, following my own recommendation to pack light enough to carry it on. It can be a drag, dragging your bag through airports.

But, once in a while, I’m reminded of the joy of having everything with you, like the time I avoided a long layover by hopping on an earlier flight from Copenhagen to Bergen. After getting to my hotel two hours before planned, I enjoyed a jumpstart on my Norway time...

CONTINUE READING »
On Reykjavik’s waterfront, the steel “Sólfar” (“Sun Voyager”) sculpture  is not a depiction of a Viking ship but, according to the sculptor, Jón Gunnar Árnason (1931-1989), a “sun ship [that] symbolizes the promise of new, undiscovered territory.” Photos by Randy Keck

Iceland (Third of three parts)

Puffins are among the most colorful seabirds to be found in the North Atlantic.  On my June 2016, 11-day adventure in Iceland, the standing joke within our group was that Day 9 would be puffin day, based on the near-guarantee of sightings that we had been given by our most amazing guide, Gugga Eiriksdóttir.

I was traveling (partially hosted) with ElderTreks on their annual circuit tour of that remote, European island nation.

Finally,...

CONTINUE READING »
A female and a young male polar bear — Svalbard Islands, Norway. Photo ©Juan Gil Raga/123rf.com

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 489th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.

Nancy Gatland of Wilton, New York, wrote, “ITN comes to my home every month; I would be lost without it. Over the years, I have learned so much from the experiences of other travelers.”

It’s good to know that ITN is getting the job done. While we physically cannot print all there is to know about every travel destination or every aspect of travel, we certainly...

CONTINUE READING »
A vegetable garden planted with varieties of times past — Kolymbetra, near Agrigento, Sicily. Photos by Yvonne Michie Horn

This is the first in a series of three articles on gardens in Sicily. I visited the island at the bottom of Italy’s boot in June 2016 as a guest on the land portion of Overseas Adventure Travel’s “Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions” itinerary (Oct. ’16, pg. 18). It’s important to note that the three gardens written about, while located in areas visited, were not part of the tour itinerary. I researched the gardens, made my own...

CONTINUE READING »
The best way to meet locals in Britain is to cozy up to them at the bar. Photo by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli

Once, while riding the train into Dresden, Germany, I got off where most other passengers did, at Dresden Neustadt. After 20 minutes of walking in a confused fog, my denial that I had gotten off at the wrong station slowly faded. Embarrassed by my mistake, I hopped on the next train. Five minutes later, I got off at Dresden Mitte. As I stepped outside the station, it slowly sunk in: I had made the same mistake. Another train came. I got on and finally made it to Dresden Hauptbahnhof, a...

CONTINUE READING »
Buddha statues line all four sides of the temple enclosure at Wat Yai Chai Mongkol — Ayutthaya, Thailand. Photos by Julie Skurdenis

Ayutthaya — island kingdom

Ayutthaya is one of my favorite archaeological sites. Over the past 35 years and seven or eight trips to Bangkok, I have never missed the chance to return for “one more look.” This is exactly what my husband, Paul, and I did in February 2016 on our most recent trip to Bangkok. We returned for “one more look.”

What, today, is Thailand was — at the beginning of the 14th century — a collection of mini-kingdoms,...

CONTINUE READING »
Alluring Skógafoss on the Skógá River in southern Iceland. Photos by Randy Keck

Iceland (Second of three parts)

My exciting Icelandic adventure continued from the whale-watching mecca of Húsavík, in the north, with a day exploring some of the many attractions of the highly popular Lake Mývatn region. I was traveling (partially hosted) with a group of 11 explorers on a tour with Toronto-based ElderTreks in June 2016.

Mývatn is regarded as a birding paradise, even playing host to the largest breeding duck colony in Europe. On this day, we saw few ducks and...

CONTINUE READING »