Comrades No More: Thoughts on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
  Today is a profoundly sad day. Russia’s aggressive action is heartbreaking for the death, suffering, and economic turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at least, beyond. Here at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic solution can be found and peace will return to that fragile and long-suffering part of our world. Our mission at RSE is to help Americans better know and understand our neighbors through travel. But when we bring travelers to another country, we also bring their dollars — dollars that would support Putin’s aggression. Therefore, as of today, we have canc ..read more
Visit website
The Tour du Mont Blanc: Some Tips I Learned Along the Way
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
  At 66, I felt a bit like the father of the hiking community when I hiked around Mont Blanc earlier this fall. But the Tour du Mont Blanc is doable for any reasonably fit hiker, and there were plenty of people on the trail who were older than me. For total novices like Shelley and me, it’s wise to be proactive about health and safety. Here are some tips I learned along the way: Good boots, liner socks, slippery powder, and moleskin for tender skin are essential. We kind of became gear geeks — investing in good day bags (Osprey), woolen clothes (socks, underwear, shirts), and great hikin ..read more
Visit website
Taking it Easy on the Tour du Mont Blanc
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
While the Tour du Mont Blanc is demanding, it’s not a particularly difficult hike. It’s just long, with lots of altitude gain and loss, and always scenic. On my recent trek around the mountain with three friends, it seemed each of us had a weak spot: knees, toes, or lungs. For some, the challenge was the uphill part, and for others (with weak knees), it was going downhill. We just took it easy, with lots of little breaks. David, Sue, Shelley, and I shared the entire hike on Mont Blanc. But to be free to go our own pace, we generally found it best to hike as couples rather than as a foursome. I ..read more
Visit website
The Mont Blanc Esprit de Corps
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
  Hiking Europe’s Tour du Mont Blanc was a totally different slice of European culture for me: Coming upon a remote farmhouse-turned-thriving-cafe serving wonderful lunches…flowers and cows (with classic bells) scenically sprinkled throughout…and an esprit de corps where everyone is like family.   Our trail went through three countries — France, Italy, and Switzerland — before returning to our starting point in France. This cow is totally Swiss.One of the delights of the TMB is coming upon an old farmhouse on a mountain alp (or pasture) that, these days, is a thriving little restau ..read more
Visit website
The Best Hike of my Life: The Tour du Mont Blanc
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
Earlier this fall, four of us — total novices at long-distance treks — hiked around Europe’s highest mountain. (On the first day, big birds of prey circled high overhead. My hunch: They were vultures just waiting for one of us to drop.) The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 100-mile, ten-day hike — but we cheated a bit, hiking the best 60 miles in six days from mountain lodge to mountain lodge, catching local buses through the less exciting parts, and letting a “sherpa service” shuttle our bags each day through France, Italy, and Switzerland, from Chamonix to Chamonix. The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 160 k ..read more
Visit website
The Book of Kells — Christ Enthroned
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
For me, one of the great joys of travel is having in-person encounters with great art — which I’ve collected in a book called Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces. Here’s one of my favorites: Jesus Christ sits on a throne and solemnly cradles something very important — a book, the holy word of God. He has a lush head of curly flaxen hair and a thoughtful expression. Seated under an arch, he’s surrounded by a labyrinth of colorful, intricately woven designs. This illustration from an old Bible tells the story of Jesus. This particular drawing came right at the point in the story (Matthew 1:18) where ..read more
Visit website
Siena: Italy’s Medieval Soul
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
I believe a regular dose of travel dreaming can be good for the soul. Stow away with me to Siena, Italy, in this excerpt from my book For the Love of Europe, a collection of 100 of my favorite places, people, and stories from a lifetime of European travels.  Stretched across a Tuscan hill, Siena offers perhaps Italy’s best medieval experience. Courtyards sport flower-decked wells, churches modestly share their art, and alleys dead-end into red-tiled rooftop panoramas. This is a city made for strolling. With its stony skyline and rustic brick lanes tumbling every which way, the town is an ..read more
Visit website
Picasso’s “Guernica”  
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
Watching the recent events in Afghanistan unfold in the headlines, I’ve been thinking about how important it is to humanize far-away tragic events — and the unique ability of artists to do so.  Picasso’s monumental painting “Guernica” — more than 25 feet wide — is a powerful example of this. It’s not only a piece of art but a piece of history, capturing the horror of modern war in a modern style.  The painting (which has been recreated, in this photograph, on a wall in the Basque market town of ..read more
Visit website
My 1978 “Hippie Trail” Journal: The fabled Khyber Pass from Kabul to Pakistan
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
With the fall of Afghanistan, I’ve been reflecting on my travel experiences there as a 23-year-old backpacker on the “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Yesterday and today, it’s a poor yet formidable land that foreign powers misunderstand and insist on underestimating.  In this final journal entry from 1978, stow away with me as I travel from Kabul over the fabled Khyber Pass to Pakistan.     Friday, August 4, 1978: Kabul to Rawalpindi, Pakistan  This was the morning I was psyched for. I don’t think I could have woken up feeling bad and I didn’t. Both Gene an ..read more
Visit website
My 1978 “Hippie Trail” Journal: 500 Miles across Afghanistan, from Herat to Kabul
Rick Steves' Travel Blog
by Rick Steves
2y ago
With the fall of Afghanistan, I’ve been reflecting on my travel experiences there as a 23-year-old backpacker on the “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Yesterday and today, it’s a poor yet formidable land that foreign powers misunderstand and insist on underestimating.  In this journal entry from 1978, stow away with me as I ride 500 miles across Afghanistan and explore the capital city of Kabul.   Tuesday, August 1, 1978: Herat to Kabul  At 4:00, we were woken up and it was dead night. No one should be awake at that hour but there I sat on the edge of my bed.&nbs ..read more
Visit website

Follow Rick Steves' Travel Blog on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR