Category: Europe
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Min Indre Svinehund: Art as Activism and Reflection
Jens Galschiøt is difficult to define. He is a tradesman, a social scientist, an activist, and, I think above all, an artist. These skills, talents, and passions culminate in his need and desire to create both physical pieces and social dialogue that is both personal and political. Min Indre Svinehund, which translates to my inner…
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The Dangerous Art of Reflective Travel
Warning: Reflective travel may dismantle your preconceived notions of a place and lead you to wonder why you left home in the first place. Proceed with caution, and take a moment to double check whether or not your tickets are refundable. It All Started in the Calgary Airport To be fair, given the state of…
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About Ashley in Denmark
In fall of 2022, I finally decided to return to the University of Washington and finish the undergraduate degree that I started in 2003. I enrolled in a distance learning major called Integrated Social Sciences, a field that almost seems custom-designed to my personal, professional, and academic interests. When I got an email during the…
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The Raasay Heritage Trust
Upon arriving on the Isle of Raasay, we meandered up to the end of a lonely road that took us to the remote northern half of the island. We got our boots wet at Brochel Castle, and my father-in-law Clarke finally saw Calum’s Road with his own two eyes. With a good sense of the…
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The Dream Trip Is Worth It
By Ashley Ronnell It was June 2017, just before Fathers Day. I had just won a pair of airline tickets in a silent auction, and Tiffany and I waffled between a trip to Hawaii for the two of us, or a trip to Scotland. We had talked for years about taking Tiffany’s dad Clarke on…
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The Isle of Raasay, Scotland: Following Ancestry Bread Crumbs
We are born with an innate desire to know who we are and where we come from. Standing on the soil of your predecessors is a powerful feeling, and taking a trip to discover personal heritage brings new meaning to the travel experience. Setting foot on the Isle of Raasay with two Scottish Canadians is…
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Stories from Rome
By Frederick Wolstenholme Travel is Storytelling Travel is, if anything, about stories. Mostly. It’s about the stories we tell ourselves before and after our adventure. The stories we long to discover, and the ones we try to hide. It is the story of history and of the future. Of ingenious design and fatal error. Of…
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Art is Everywhere: A Newfound Appreciation for Florence
By Frederick Wolstenholme We arrived in Florence and slowly stepped outside into a plaza of construction and a light drizzle. We made our way, in a zigzag fashion to our place on Via degli Alfani. The sidewalks were large, rectangular and deep enough to host little pools of water from the evening rain. The asphalt-covered…
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Calatrava, Venice, and the Art of Learning the Hard Way
By Frederick Wolstenholme A Calatrava in Calgary As soon as I learned about Calgary’s new bridge, I liked it. It was new and fresh and had fancy glass. It looked like a Chinese finger trap and that, in my opinion, beat anything that existed elsewhere in the city. Calgary needed a new bridge, if not…
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Crash Landings, the Duc de Esseintes, and Bucket Lists
By Frederick Wolstenholme My Dad, the Almost Pilot My parents don’t vacation often. And when they do, they drive. The last time my father went to Europe was 10 years ago. The time before that was on his honeymoon in the early 70s. We could never figure out why he preferred driving to flying. Then…