Rick’s Best of Europe Tour

One of the joys of travel is eating well. And one of the challenges of leading a good tour is to connect our travelers with great local cuisine served with passion and pride by local chefs in small, characteristic, family-run restaurants. We did just that with our group on our first evening in Venice. I’ve long enjoyed Trattoria da Bepi and its chef/owner, Loris (who plays a sizable role in my autobiographical “Postcards from Europe” book). I phoned Loris, asked him if he could seat a group, and welcomed him to assemble a “maximum-experience Venetian gastronomic extravaganza.” I explained we wanted to eat seasonal, local, and family-style, and that I’d trust him with the “tasting festival.” As you can see in this clip (edited by Trish Feaster), we had an unforgettable dinner. And, as our guides share our collective triumphs, I’m sure Loris will be seeing more of our groups.

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour.)

September 27, 2016January 4, 2018

Video: Walking on Air at Ehrenberg

Leading my hearty group on our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour, we are stacking up the memories — and that’s our goal. Here, we’re in Austria’s Tirol at the Ehrenberg Castle ruins above the town of Reutte.

Imagine the fun I have: hiking with our group up to my favorite ruined castle, then wobbling over the recently built “longest suspension bridge” 300 feet above the ancient Roman Via Claudia, teaching my fellow travelers why the route below us (nicknamed “the salt way”) was so strategic in centuries past, explaining how castle architecture evolved with the advent of cannon fire, surprising the group with cold beers once we reach the ruined castle, and then setting them loose amid sword ferns and broken ramparts to let their medieval imaginations go wild.

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour.)

September 26, 2016September 29, 2016

Video: More Oktoberfest Fun

Video: thetravelphile.com / facebook.com/thetravelphile

Here’s one last look at the fun of Oktoberfest. Since our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour happened to be passing through Munich, we guides made it a point to drop in with our group (as we do whenever there’s a festival nearby). Our Rick Steves’ Europe Tours mantra: maximize the experience. Driving south from Rothenburg, we spent the morning with a powerful visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau (a suburb of Munich). Then after lunch, for a whiplash change of scene, we popped into the fairgrounds for Oktoberfest. Again, anyone can do this. Just drive or take a train from the city to enjoy the festive scene — parades, rides, amusements, 16 giant beer tents to choose from (and huge beers), lots of traditional food, and some of the happiest people-watching in Europe. After three hours of Oktoberfest fun, we continued on our route, driving south to Reutte in Tirol to enjoy the “King’s Castles” the next day. Prost!

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour.)

September 22, 2016December 5, 2016

Video: Take a Peek at Our Fun-Filled Visit to Arnhem’s Open-Air Museum

The Arnhem Open-Air Museum, about halfway to Germany from Amsterdam, is like a fun dose of Dutch culture on a lazy Susan for busy travelers. Here’s a bit of the fun our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour group had here. Thanks to Trish Feaster (The Travelphile) for shooting and assembling the clip before we say “tot ziens” to the Netherlands and “Guten Tag” to Germany.

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour.)

September 21, 2016

Video: Absorbing Dutch History Out in the Open

A tour guide is a teacher of culture, and in Europe, each country’s open-air folk museum provides the perfect classroom — a sprawling park filled with historic and traditional buildings from every corner of the country for visitors to stroll through and travel back in time as they pop into homes, farms, pharmacies, schoolhouses, medicinal herb gardens, and various mills. On our fast “best of” swing through Europe, a few hours at the Netherlands Open-Air Folk Museum in Arnhem gives us an unforgettable dose of the Dutch countryside from centuries past. Join me on this little video clip as I crash a grade-school party just as the kids are settling into their tasty cones of hot fries.

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour. Stay tuned tomorrow for a look at what our tour group did and saw in the park.)