History

The following are excerpts of several recent articles by Rick Steves.

In his August 2011 “Departure Lounge” column, ITN creator and publisher, the late Armond Noble, wrote, “After returning from a country, have you become so interested in that nation that you bought books about its history?” We repeated the question in our November ’11 and October ’12 issues: “What book would you recommend that tells the history of a particular country (outside of the US)? Let us know the title and what you liked about the book.” We are presenting, here, subscribers’ selections.

8-day / 7-night river cruise in four countries. Highlights: Embark in Basel, SWITZERLAND / in Strasbourg, FRANCE, ride a canal boat through “Petit France” / in GERMANY, medieval Speyer / wine tasting at Castle Vollrads in Rüdesheim / Koblenz / Cologne / disembark in Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS. Cruise, from $2,499. Uniworld (Los Angeles, CA; 800 / 733-7820).

ITN asked subscribers who had attempted to trace a branch of their ancestry or find lost or unknown relatives outside of the US to each let us know the types of resources they used. We wanted to know which websites proved helpful; whether or not they looked for records of baptisms, marriages or land ownership in a church, courthouse or library; where and approximately when they conducted their in-person search; whether or not they visited a graveyard and any advice they had on doing that, and what sort of expenses were involved in all this.

by Dorothy Van Horn, Manhattan Beach, CA

The impetus for our trip to Paris in May-June, 2012, was to visit the new World War One museum, the Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux (rue Lazare Ponticelli, 77100 Meaux, France; phone +33[1] 60 32 14 18). It was built to house one man’s personal collections, from thimbles to ambulances. It opened in November 2011 and is state of the art.

An hour and a half northwest of Riga, Latvia, is the Cēsis Castle complex, comprising the Medieval Castle (built 1209) and the manor-house-like New Castle (built 1777), which has reopened with its 18th-century appearance restored.

5 days/4 nights. Highlights: 900 years of bloody history at the Tower of London/Thames cruise/London ghost walk/13th-century Lacock village/Fox Talbot Museum/Cardiff Castle, WALES, reputedly haunted by Marquess of Bute/Stratford-upon-Avon/“Ghosts Alive” show at Warwick Castle. Land, £740 (near $1,187) for 3-star hotels or £610 with bed-and-breakfasts. Tours of Excellence (19 Hillcrest Rd., Little Sutton, Cheshire, England CH66 4PY; phone 0151 339 0640).

(Part 2 of 2 on Portugal)

12 days / 11 nights. Highlights: From Dublin, IRELAND, tour Wicklow Mountains / ferry to Holyhead, WALES / medieval Conwy / Caernarfon / ride Snowdonia Railway / Harlech Castle / ghost walk in Tenby / St. David’s / Waterford, Ireland / Killarney / Bunratty Castle. Land, from $2,046. Single supp., $748. CIE Tours Int’l. (Morristown, NJ; 800 / 243-8687).