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Europe

Rome: A One Day Sample

We had roughly twenty-four hours to show friends what we like so much about the magical city on the Tiber River.  The overnight flight from the US brought us to Leonardo Da Vinci Airport early enough that we were able to check into Hotel Mozart, Via del Greci 23B, Roma, 00187, tel: +39-063-600-1915, which is between Piazza Popolo and the Spanish Steps.  Piazza Popolo contains the Flaminio Obelisk, which was built in…

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Tallinn, Estonia – Medieval Flair

Tallinn was not on my bucket list, but it should have been.  The old city is a designated UNESCO site and well preserved, with towers, walls and medieval traditions intact. Delivery trucks scurried to be off the streets by 10 am when most of the shops opened and the tourists flock in from the cruise ships. As you enter the old city through the Viru Gate a long row of flower stalls…

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Stockholm, Sweden – A Nobel Prize

It was interesting to learn that the Nobel prizes for all categories except the Peace prize are awarded in Stockholm while the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo. The only explanation given by our guide for this separation was the fact that the prizes were first awarded in 1901 and Norway independence did not occur until 1905. To my curious mind that was not a good explanation. But then the guide said…

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St. Petersburg Russia: Remembers the Tsars

Expecting a dissertation on the marvels of the modern Russia, we were surprised that the entire stay focused on the state of the nation before the Revolution of 1917. IN the minds of the Russians we spoke with, the two heroes of that period were Peter the Great and Catherine the Great who set the nation on a different track from their predecessors. Our visit took us to Catherine’s Palace, the Yusebo…

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Oslo and the Circle of Life

One may think of Oslo as the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. It is, and for that reason holds the world’s attention once a year. But the most memorable aspects of my visit were the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum. We stopped by a ski jump area, but the fog was so heavy on the day we were there that we could not see beyond the…

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