Cities Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Where Next, Baby?

October 17, 2018January 17, 2020

Visiting Sweden: The Swedes really know how to do museums

Carriage in the Royal Armory Museum in Stockholm, Sweden

The Royal Armory in Stockholm is a relatively small exhibit of royal coaches and some artifacts in the basement level. But the Swedes really know how to do museums. The display formed a story, telling of a reputed love affair between Marie Antoinette and a Swedish count, Axel von Fersen. Apparently recently decoded letters between …

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October 3, 2018January 17, 2020

Weather-beaten, scarred, scary-looking … and an artifact

One of these two is a weather-beaten, scarred, scary-looking old head. The other is an artifact on display in the Viking Ship Museum. The museum in Oslo, Norway, features a small but impressive collection of artifacts from the viking era. The highlights are three preserved viking ships. The museum is thoughtfully laid out to permit …

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October 1, 2018January 17, 2020

I asked for ‘a nice cold beer’ … they gave me ‘an ice cold bear’

I told the bartender, "I'd like a nice cold beer." I guess my accent was confusing because he thought I said, "I'd like an ice cold bear." He immediately released the chain holding back the brewery's resident polar bear. That's the last thing I remember. Actually there were pretty much no animal attacks during our …

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May 3, 2018January 17, 2020

Your horse will think you’re crazy

The Tiger's nest

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May 2, 2018March 5, 2020

Beautiful Bhutan and the Madman’s Penis (Yes, Really)

In my opinion, Bhutan is pretty much idyllic. It’s what I imagine Tibet could be. Except for the Bhutan penis art ... but more on that in a minute. Schools and universities are free. Health care is free, even for tourists. Plastic bags are banned. Recycling is required. Post continues below Archery - one of …

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May 2, 2018January 17, 2020

Himalayan Holiday: Briefs from Bhutan

Some more tidbits from our travel to Bhutan: The sandwiching influence of the world’s two largest emerging economies, China and India, is felt in all the Himalayan countries. In Tibet, the Chinese influence is a given. But in Nepal, its government tries to leverage the two giants, India and China, against each other to its …

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May 1, 2018February 15, 2020

China: Jinshanling section of the Great Wall

If you travel to China, the Great Wall of course is a "must see." It was our first visit to Beijing and we had read about the crowds at the other sections of the wall. So we booked a guide to take us to the Jinshanling section and we were not disappointed. Beautiful sections of …

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April 30, 2018September 26, 2019

Visiting Nepal: Washing the Dead in Kathmandu

The dead bodies were lined up along the Bagmati River. They were placed with care in the ancient and sacred Pashupatinath Hindu temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to 400 BC. Nepal is more than 80 percent Hindu. The dead were on bamboo stretchers, wrapped in sheets and covered in marigold-colored cloths. One …

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April 29, 2018January 17, 2020

Nepal Travel: navigating the hairpin-turn cliffs to Kathmandu

Three years after the April 2015 earthquake disaster, Nepal looks like a mountainous, tropical version of London after The Blitz. Nepal travel offers a stark reminder of how long the recovery from such a disaster can last ... long after the news of the disaster has fallen out of the international headlines. The main road …

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April 27, 2018January 19, 2020

Glimpses of Nepal

Travel to Nepal is eye-opening in many ways. Nepal is poor. People earn around $200 to $300 a month in professional jobs. So about 5 million men have gone to other countries to try to earn more money. They’re primarily in Dubai, Japan and Korea. They Skype and FaceTime with their families in Nepal. Some …

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Category: Cities