Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Let’s empower the ACLU: For every dollar you spend on Inauguration Day at ricksteves.com/shop, I’ll give a dollar to the ACLU.

Even though I canceled my flight and hotel reservations for the inauguration in Washington DC after Election Day, I still want to celebrate this important day for all of us Americans. And I want to do it in a way that reflects my values and what I love most about America: tolerance, diversity, and freedom.

That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate Inauguration Day (this Friday) to the ACLU. The American Civil Liberties Union stands on principled grounds in defense of our civil liberties as promised by our Constitution. I believe that Americans of any political stripe can feel proud of the ACLU’s mission, as it boldly defends minorities from the tyranny of the majority. Political movements, presidents, and trends come and go, and, as a traveler, I well know how the world looks to America — in good times and bad — as a beacon of freedom…a land with a constitution that declares people of all religions, sexual orientations, and ethnicities should enjoy equality under the law.

So, to celebrate and help fund the ACLU — which will be working hard for civil liberties in the coming years — I’m happy to give them an amount equal to the money spent at ricksteves.com/shop on January 20th. So what’s the deal? It’s simple: For every dollar you spend buying any guidebooks or travel gear on Inauguration Day, I’ll give a dollar to the ACLU.

Yes, next week, the ACLU will get an amount equal to what was spent at ricksteves.com/shop on Friday, January 20.

Let’s hope and pray that with the inauguration of a new president on that day, America finds a way to continue being the bold, compassionate, generous, and inspirational leader our world hopes to see when they look at the Stars and Stripes.

Happy travels in 2017, and God bless America in the coming years.

Rick Steves’ Europe travelers have met our goal of $500,000 to help empower Bread for the World to combat structural poverty and hunger.  

2,400 of you gave $100 or more each, totaling $309,594. As promised, I matched the first $250,000. Together, we raised more than $559,000 to fight structural causes of hunger. All this money — 100 percent — was given to Bread for the World to advocate in our halls of government for policies that help the hungry both at home and abroad. This is not “handouts for the lazy” and it’s not “trickle down,” either. It is smart compassion in action, as good people surrounded by a sea of abundance struggle to simply feed their children.

Thanks to all who joined us in this exciting initiative. To learn more about the impact we’ll have, follow Bread for the World at bread.org. Thank you!

So, it’s time to step into the new year. It’s a time when many of us look inward to calibrate or recalibrate our lives and loves in hopes of becoming better people. If you’ve heard my talks or read my books, you know that fundamental to our teaching at Rick Steves’ Europe is connecting people to people. When we meet people in our travels — whether across the seas or just across the tracks — we gain understanding. That journey becomes transformative in that it makes us more empathetic, happier, and less fearful. It makes us smarter, and thus makes it tougher for bad forces to sidetrack our natural good intentions.

When we travel in a way that connects us with real people, it makes it harder for the propaganda they live with to demonize us —and vice versa. We become bridges. The European Union, with about 400 million people and lots of competing interests, has serious challenges. And it tackles those challenges not by building walls but by building bridges. Walls are not just brick-and-mortar manifestations of fear and anger. They can be trade barriers. They can be border crossings where you need a visa. They can be parents unwilling to let their children hear a narrative other than their own. They can be fear of the unknown. The EU recognizes these challenges and that’s why it funds the Erasmus Program which pays for students and teachers to learn and teach in other countries within that family of nations. It’s not cheap, but it’s considered a great value.

The EU also had a challenge when designing its euro currency. When several hundred million diverse people will carry the same bills in their wallets, you need to decorate those bills with symbolism that can be universally embraced. The theme the chose: arches and bridges — each sources of strength and communication.

One of the most inspirational guides I’ve ever worked with is Tom Rankin (an American scholar and architect who works in Rome). Just last week Tom updated me with his plans for guided architectural walks in 2017 and shared with me a series of his watercolor sketches of bridges on Rome’s Tiber River.

To celebrate our commitment to tolerance, diversity, empathy, and the value of overcoming fear by understanding people whose life experiences give them different perspectives than you or I might have, I’d like to share Tom’s bridges with you.

This is my way of kicking off 2017 with a rousing call for solidarity among people with a broad worldview and a passion for peace with justice.

Best wishes and happy travels in 2017.

All images courtesy Tom Rankin.