Northern Europe
Christmas Markets in Europe
The Christmas season is special everywhere....but in Germany, France and Switzerland, it is MAGICAL! Each city has its own Christmas market and visiting them is a wonderous, not-to-be-missed experience. And Tauck has the perfect way to do it... take a Rhine or Danube River cruise! In December, Young Travel led a group of ladies on this special journey.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany, is an amazing journey through time, culture, incredible collections of antiquities, and architectural anomalies. In one miniature city, you can travel from ancient times through the fabulous museum collections of Egypt and Persia to the newest museums depicting the persecution of the Jewish people during World War II.
Ireland
As the song says, "Irish eyes are smiling!" And yours will too, when you visit the beautiful Emerald Isle. On a recent tour of the southeastern part of the Republic of Ireland, I truly fell in love with the green Irish countryside, the rugged coast, the fabulous Manor House hotels, the sheep herds, the gardens and most of all, the Irish people!
London
The difficulty in London is deciding what to do from among the hundreds of options. But there is one place that draws me like a magnet: Westminster Abbey. Here you will find the Christenings, the crownings, the marriages, the fervent prayers, and the final benedictions for the kings, queens, and all their entourages throughout most of the history of England. Walking across the paving stones within the Abbey is akin to having a ghostly procession of these figures before you as their names leap out at you...Henry VII, Richard II, Elizabeth I, Henry III....most of the Plantagenets are here, the first English dynasty. Others found there we may regard more warmly, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Shelley, Robert Burns, and Charles Dickens.
Scotland
And then there is Scotland.........home of golf and St. Andrews, the bagpipes, the clans and the tartans, Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots, the Highlands and the Borders, castles, crags, salmon and haggis, Edinburgh and the Military Tatto. Scotland has always been the feisty one that stood alone and fought for everything they could find any reason to fight.....and if England went one way, they naturally went the other. It was only because the last Tudor, Elizabeth I, died without an heir, that they ever agreed on anything, and James I became ruler of both England and Scotland.
Vive La France
My love affair with France began in my high school classroom, as the beautiful language was introduced to me by my favorite language teacher, and she offered us the opportunity to experience France vicariously. In college, my Sorbonne-educated professor recounted her tales of life in Paris, and impressed upon us the important place that Gaul became in the time of Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar. I was enchanted by the romantic chateaux, and the wealth of their kings, and the construction of the most magnificent palace in the world, Versailles, that became the model for the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and many, many other grandiose dwellings throughout the world.
