Ah, to be in Holland when tulips burst into flower—Holland, Michigan. That is in Holland, Michigan, and it would be the first week in May, when the entire community and thousands of visitors turn out to immerse themselves in bloemen abundance at Tulip Time. So it has been since 1929. Given such longevity, Holland has its…
Baseball draws together all generations and classes in the timeless celebration of the game known as America’s Pastime. Stadium screens may pulsate with pixels, but baseball remains proudly analog, played by rules largely codified in the 1800s. Americans learn them at an early age, as players and spectators. That familiarity and sense of continuity fuel the game’s widespread popularity. Major League Baseball, with its grand, big-city stadiums and lucrative TV deals, gets most of the attention. But most fans agree that minor league teams are more fun to watch. They play in smaller, more intimate ballparks with less distance between players and fans, who pay much, much less for a summer evening’s entertainment.
Hill Country settlements between Austin and San Antonio, 80 miles apart in south-central Texas, now form one of the most attractive and historic regions in the entire state. Young families yearn to move there for the good schools and a breezy lifestyle. Chocolate shops, cast-iron-pan factories, and gourmet-salsa-makers thrive. Nouveau-Italian restaurants, hat-and-boot boutiques, and yuppified “saloons” do a land-office business. And tourists are thicker than fleas on a lazy possum. You’ll find scads of them (tourists, not fleas) in Fredericksburg, which bills itself as the most German city in Texas. “On the town’s city limits signs, the population is given as 11,257,” says David Schafer, an author, historian, and driver of the Fredericksburg Trolley tour bus. “We get about 1.5 million visitors annually. Around 25,000 of them show up each year to the town’s Oktoberfest celebration. Fredericksburg has a Texas heart and a German soul.”
By Nancy Wigston The view from our windows at Penang’s Eastern & Oriental Hotel stretches across the pale blue Strait of Malacca all the way to the horizon. It’s early morning and still tolerably cool. Yellow-beaked mynah birds squawk, coconut palms whisper in the gentle breeze and waves break rhythmically below the longest hotel sea…
By Charles Cecil It was 5:25 AM when the voice of the muezzin from the mosque next to my hotel woke me. I lay there, listening, waiting for the line I knew was coming: “As-salaat khairin min an-nom.” “Praying is better than sleeping.” I lay there, momentarily debating the issue. I had arrived the night…
By Cynthia David My first Turkish coffee arrived dark and steaming hot from an electric coffeemaker at Espressolab on Istanbul’s historic Istiklal Avenue. The Espressolab had a long, curved marble bar, high ceiling beams and an Art Deco espresso machine. The 20 and 30-somethings around me chatted and sipped their cappuccinos and pumpkin spice lattes…
The eminent archeologist was explaining how the discoveries at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Türkiye were changing the way people understood Neolithic history. But most of my attention was directed toward an affectionate tricolor tabby posing coquettishly in the foreground of the ruins. This is a common occurrence in Türkiye, where an estimated five to 10 million cats, ranging from domesticated to feral, roam urban boulevards, lavish resorts, trendy shopping centers and country lanes. In Istanbul, you’ll find street-dwelling felines lurking in and around structures that include Byzantine cathedrals, spice markets and Ottoman palaces.
It’s 35 below zero, and the snow is as crisp and crinkly as cellophane.Welcome to winter in Alaska’s Interior. Bring warm clothes, a sense of adventure and a cheerful disposition. The keys to winter life up here are remarkably simple: Stay active, go outdoors, sleep well, and maintain your sense of humor. “Best part about 30-degrees below is you can drive as fast as you want,” deadpans local radio personality Glen Anderson. “The cops won’t pull you over. Would you want to get out of your car at 30 below? They’ll just wait and nab you in the spring.”
By Mary Bergin Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but the original St. Nicholas was very different from what we know today. His home was on the Mediterranean Sea, not the North Pole. More pious than jolly. Wearing a cleric’s miter hat, not a festive stocking cap. For much of the world, St. Nicholas…
The Mediterranean seaside playground of the Cote d/Azur has long been known for its exclusive nightclubs, pricey restaurants and tanned and toned beach bodies. But 190 miles west there is another Mediterranean coastal paradise – Sète. The city often is compared to Venice because of its canals, which are lined with houses, shops and restaurants serving fresh tuna and oysters. Beyond the canals and central business district are dreamy lagoons and 12 km of protected beaches