A historian describes how eastern European countries have modernized since the Cold War and examines the kinds of challenges they face today. And an American-born artist and creative writing teacher shares the joy she feels in being "Welsh by choice."
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

746 Goodbye Eastern Europe; The Long Field in Wales

Get ideas and tips from TV host Samantha Brown for finding little corners of Europe in the New World, then hear an author's dramatic firsthand account of a near catastrophe on a cruise ship caught powerless in a freak winter storm off the coast of Norway. And a tour guide takes us to the wild, windy, and wonder-inspiring backcountry of Iceland.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

641a Finding Europe in America; Cruise Ship Nightmare; Iceland Backcountry

Hear what it's like to live on one of the windswept Orkney Islands off the northern tip of Scotland, where people have lived since before recorded history. Then learn how redesigned traffic patterns in Europe have had a positive impact on quality of life — and get ideas for making your own city a more enjoyable place to be outdoors. Plus, a historian examines the underappreciated role of nomadic societies and their struggles in the modern world.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

745 Orkney Living; Walkable European Cities; Nomads of Europe

Irish writer Fintan O'Toole tells of cherished historical objects that contribute to Ireland's identity today. Then a linguist describes the efforts underway to capture the words and sounds of languages spoken in New York City that are on the brink of disappearing. Also, Rick's longtime collaborator Gene Openshaw delves into Michelangelo's midlife crisis in his new historical novel.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

747 Ireland in 100 Objects; Midlife Michelangelo; Language City New York

Astronomer Philip Plait — who fell in love with Saturn after first viewing the gas giant, with its mesmerizing rings and moons, through a telescope as a child — shares some of the amazing discoveries we've made about the planet in recent years. Then actor Martin Sheen describes how his travels in the developing world have opened his eyes, and his heart, to the needs of others. And a Florence-based tour guide and culinary expert lets us in on where to find the best food in her adopted home.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

744 Falling for Saturn; Heart of Martin Sheen; Florentine Favorites

The most popular storyteller of our time, author James Patterson, shares insights from the people who work behind the scenes to turn Las Vegas into America's ultimate fantasy destination. And a Morocco-based tour guide recommends letting yourself be amazed by the night sky in the Sahara Desert, a view that's guided travelers for millennia.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

743 Happens in Vegas; Morocco's Sahara

A deep-sea diving instructor from Australia explains why he's not afraid of sharks — well, most of them. Then a Cuba travel expert looks at the places and experiences you can explore beyond Havana, as well the rules that govern travel to Cuba for US travelers. And a guide from Italy helps us step into a day in the first century, frozen in time, at the ruins of Pompeii on the slope of Mount Vesuvius.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

742 Sharks; Beyond Havana; Pompeii

Hear the unlikely story of how Spanish grew from a Latin dialect in northern Iberia to become one of the world's most important and widely spoken languages. Then get tips for enjoying your first trip to Spain, and for getting the most out of a visit to the Prado's massive art collection in Madrid.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

595a The Story of Spanish; First Timer's Spain

Get tips for enjoying elegant, easily navigated Vienna, Austria's capital and the epicenter of a once-mighty empire. Then hear a Bosnian describe what his country, a generation after its infamous war, has to teach us about getting along with our neighbors — and why the nation is now blossoming as a travel destination. And get acquainted with the fascinating ancient structures atop Athens' Acropolis.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

741 Visiting Vienna; Visiting Bosnia; Athens Acropolis

A tour specialist from Cairo explains how you can cruise through five thousand years of history on the Nile River in Egypt. Author Pico Iyer suggests paradise on earth might be in some of the most unexpected places. He tells us about his sojourns from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka to experience what South Asia had to show him. And hear how Sophy Roberts searched for the historic "lost pianos of Siberia," and what she actually found.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

740 Cruising the Nile; Paradise on Earth; Lost Pianos of Siberia

Get some travel advice from the former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, who recommends his favorite vacation getaways in the Balkans. Then listen in as a climate scientist describes the efforts that have worked — and some that haven't — in combatting the pollution that causes climate change…and what you can do now to make a difference. And hear how Germany's pop music has evolved to reflect a half century of intense cultural transformation.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

739 Travel Like a Diplomat; Making a Difference; German Pop

Brighten your holidays with an international perspective on Christmas celebrations: Learn about Europe's Old World holiday traditions, and meet some of Santa's cousins, as some of Rick's friends drop by to discuss the sometimes sublime, often quirky ways they observe the season in Bavaria, Sardinia, Croatia, Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Rome. And get a taste of a tropical Christmas in Costa Rica.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

738 Christmastime in Bavaria, Croatia, Sweden, Rome, Sardinia, Costa Rica, Amsterdam

Hear about why cod is so popular among the Portuguese — especially at this time of year — and get a taste of the culinary treats to try in and around Naples. Then find out how the Irish gear up for the holidays, and what listeners enjoy about traveling overseas during the Christmas season.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

587a Cod in Portugal; Eating in Naples; Dingle Bells; Christmas Travels

A columnist for the Irish Times discusses the dramatic recent changes in public opinion and attitude in Republic of Ireland, and how he's seen it become a modern, progressive nation over his lifetime. And a journalist from Utah tells us how to find some of the roadways the ancient Romans built to connect outposts of their empire — all the way to Istanbul.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

737 A History of Modern Ireland; Following Caesar

A former US ambassador to Switzerland shares her insights into what makes the Swiss tick — and what their society gets right. Then an astronomer helps us imagine what sort of views we'd enjoy if we could travel to planets in our solar system. And a guidebook author from Anchorage tells us why south-central Alaska can be a fun place for a winter visit.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

736 The Swiss; Sightseer's Guide to the Solar System; Winter in Anchorage

Tour guides from Lisbon paint audio pictures of the vivid art that colors the streets of Portugal, then a journalist and former diplomat tells of how curiosity led him to meet with healers in the jungles of Nicaragua and Belize. And travel writer Richard Grant explains how a particularly bitter Yukon winter in Dawson City inspired Jack London to write one of his most famous tales of the North. Plus, Rick's in-house art expert gives us a close-up appreciation of Leonardo's Mona Lisa.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

630a Portugal's Art and Architecture; Breakfast With Polygamists; Jack London's Yukon

A culinary historian tells us what's traditionally been on the Thanksgiving table over the years. The head of the World Food Program USA updates us on the work that goes into feeding the world's most impoverished communities. Also, we remember Tucson-based travel writer Tom Miller. And we get a taste of the variety of sausages people enjoy year-round in Germany.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

735 American Thanksgiving; Feeding the World; Tom Miller; German Sausages

Hear about the risks and heroism it took to protect Europe's art treasures during World War II. Then vicariously eat your way through four of Italy's lesser-known regions — where specialties include elaborate seafood stews, spreadable salamis, and some of the world's best sheep's-milk cheeses — with Italian-food expert Fred Plotkin. And listen in as two Belgians discuss the hearty comfort food of their homeland.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

734 Saving Europe's Art; Overlooked Cuisines of Italy; Belgian Treats

A Jerusalem-raised Palestinian tour operator explains how he works to reconcile divided communities — in his home country, and far beyond. Then two Spanish tour guides consider what makes their country one of the world's most popular destinations among tourists, and what they want visitors to experience there. And a historian discusses the legacy of Shawnee chief Tecumseh, and why, in the early years of the US, he was so admired even by the settlers he opposed.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

733 Walls Around the World; Tourism in Spain; Tecumseh

At a time of year when, according to some cultures, the worlds of the living and the dead come a little closer together, a historian joins us to explain how vampire stories arose from eastern European legends of the "un-dead." Then Irish writer Fintan O'Toole describes the role of the supernatural in Celtic traditions and in more recent Irish literature. And listeners describe eerie encounters they've experienced while traveling in Europe.
 For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

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