“All Religions are One”: at the Temple of Cao Dai in Cai Be, Vietnam
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  After spending three days in Ho Chi Minh City, we headed south to Vietnam’s Mekong Delta and stopped in Cai Be. Although the weather was cloudy and murky, we vowed to see something once we arrived at the Floating Market. Our … Read More

A Royal Stay at the Château d’Arc-en-Barrois in Haute-Marne
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  Are you sure this is the hotel you’ve just booked? Because this looks like a castle, a real Château ! Kerstin stopped the car at the entrance way, and looked at me. The wrought-iron gate was open, but we … Read More

Spinalonga Island, Crete: A Step Back in History
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  As the boat drifted toward Spinalonga Island, I closed my eyes to embrace the warm Aegean wind.   As an archaeologist, I’m used to explore ancient ruins. But visiting an island abandoned only in the late 1950’s was new … Read More

Our 10 Favorite Castles in Luxembourg… A Quite Personal Affair
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  Did you know that there are more than 70 castles in Luxembourg that have survived since the Middle Ages? What if we celebrated our wedding in one of them?   Kerstin looked quite surprised when she realized that I … Read More

Exploring Cambridge University with a prospective student
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  Standing outside of the Cambridge Visitor Information Centre, we carefully studied the paper map. King’s College, Trinity College, St John’s College… and oh look: here’s the Fitzwilliam Museum, and there the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology!   Soon, we … Read More

The Castelo dos Mouros in Sintra – Or how I overcame acrophobia in Portugal
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  Standing on the outer fortifications of the Castelo dos Mouros, Kerstin is holding out her hand to me. Come closer! Take my hand; you really can’t fall from here. I keep looking down at the valley of Sintra, while … Read More

Château de Tanlay : first stop on our road trip through Burgundy
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  The grey sky was lightening up as we were racing through pine forests on a national road. I could have sworn that the soil was getting sandier, and that we were actually getting closer to the Atlantic!   We … Read More

My Luxembourg City – Part I
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  7:30 am. The train from Mersch was slithering along the rails. Soon we would enter Luxembourg City’s railway station. But the rattling wheels lurched to a halt on the Biisserbréck (Biisser brigde). The sun was rising. From my window … Read More

The Lichtenstein Castle: An Obsession Unlike Any Other…
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  Castles have always held a hypnotic power over me. Not so long ago, Mei nurtured my obsession and tracked down one of the most naturally light-colored stone castles in the world: the Lichtenstein Castle in Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s Swabian Jura. … Read More

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