Europe

Vatican’s Big Tourist Attraction: A New Pope

Apparently Pope Francis’s popularity is fueling a tourist boom at the Vatican; almost 3 times as many tourists in his first 9-1/2 months as in all of the previous year, according to the online business journal Quartz. MORE

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Where Gumbo Was, #8: Oslo, Norway

This jaunty houseboat, moored just off Aker Brygge, Oslo’s old port area, probably started life as a small fishing vessel. Even painted Pepto-Bismol pink, it’s just one of many unusual watercraft you’ll see on a short ferry ride across the harbor. On…

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Spotted on the Road in Sweden

Some of you with sharp eyes might have spotted this red beauty peeking out of its driveway in the Where in the World is Gumbo puzzle #6 . That’s why I waited until after the puzzle was over; I didn’t want to identify Ystad, Sweden, as the location of…

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Where Gumbo Was: #6.5

    See original puzzle HERE. This week’s second puzzle, the puzzle set for the TravelGumbo detective squad has a detective story of its own. These buildings are on Apotekesgatan, part of the medieval core of Ystad, Sweden, the…

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Nova: Building the Great Cathedrals.

 Originally aired in 2011, this Nova episode is being rebroadcast on my local PBS station and, presumably others, on Christmas evening.  Of interest to most visitors to Europe, if only as an integral part of the skylines, it’s worth watching…

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Capital of Culture Series: Reykjavik

  This week Gumbo looks at Reykjavik in our Capital of Culture spotlight.   In 2000, for symbolic reasons, 9 European cities were chosen to be designated a European Capital of Culture. One of those was the city of…

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Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb

Newgrange is the oldest structure I’ve ever visited.  It was built over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.) during the Neolithic era, before even Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza.  It’s obvious that Newgrange was…

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Where Gumbo Was, #8: Oslo, Norway

This jaunty houseboat, moored just off Aker Brygge, Oslo’s old port area, probably started life as a small fishing vessel. Even painted Pepto-Bismol pink, it’s just one of many unusual watercraft you’ll see on a short ferry ride across the harbor. On…

Read More

Spotted on the Road in Sweden

Some of you with sharp eyes might have spotted this red beauty peeking out of its driveway in the Where in the World is Gumbo puzzle #6 . That’s why I waited until after the puzzle was over; I didn’t want to identify Ystad, Sweden, as the location of…

Read More

Where Gumbo Was: #6.5

    See original puzzle HERE. This week’s second puzzle, the puzzle set for the TravelGumbo detective squad has a detective story of its own. These buildings are on Apotekesgatan, part of the medieval core of Ystad, Sweden, the…

Read More

Nova: Building the Great Cathedrals.

 Originally aired in 2011, this Nova episode is being rebroadcast on my local PBS station and, presumably others, on Christmas evening.  Of interest to most visitors to Europe, if only as an integral part of the skylines, it’s worth watching…

Read More

Capital of Culture Series: Reykjavik

  This week Gumbo looks at Reykjavik in our Capital of Culture spotlight.   In 2000, for symbolic reasons, 9 European cities were chosen to be designated a European Capital of Culture. One of those was the city of…

Read More

Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb

Newgrange is the oldest structure I’ve ever visited.  It was built over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.) during the Neolithic era, before even Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza.  It’s obvious that Newgrange was…

Read More