City lights. No cameras. Lots of action.

City lights. No cameras. Lots of action.

Wearing a gray hoodie and sunglasses, a suspicious man was trying to debrief us while also not being noticeable. This was: Accomplice the Show: Greenwich Village.

Discovering the history and culture of Berlin, Germany

Discovering the history and culture of Berlin, Germany

From the time the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961 till it was torn down in November 1989, thousands of East Berliners made their escape the short distance to the West in the most ingenious ways. At least 2,000 died trying. Today, it’s hard to believe this beautiful city was once divided by an ugly wall.

Meeting the people through a unique program in Jamaica

Meeting the people through a unique program in Jamaica

We are visiting Doris Morgan, who has been welcoming tourists—more than 1000—since the mid-1980s, showing them a bit of Jamaican cuisine and culture through the little publicized Meet the People program. Did I mention she does this for free and that there is no charge to the tourists?

A fortress castle, a toy museum and a huge Christmas market

A fortress castle, a toy museum and a huge Christmas market

Nuremberg has long been a center of toy making and this museum is one of the city’s top tourist attractions. More than a dozen local toy manufacturers developed model railways and Nuremberg’s toymakers were known for coming up with new ways to make toys move.

Exploring Jewish Berlin – dark history and revival

Exploring Jewish Berlin – dark history and revival

You can’t visit Berlin without considering the horror of the Holocaust–the six million European Jews (600,000 of them German-born) who perished. Countless others had their lives uprooted, among them millions of children. Germany’s capital city confronts the horror head-on at places large and small.

Volunteering on Vacation: Memorable Adventures from Family Trips

Volunteering on Vacation: Memorable Adventures from Family Trips

When the two Whitaker teens talk about their holiday trip to Tanzania two Christmases ago, it’s not the animals they saw on safari that proved the most memorable, as amazing as the elephants and giraffes were. It’s how they helped a small unofficial orphanage.

So much invention in Seattle: Inspiration for Kids

So much invention in Seattle: Inspiration for Kids

The Museum of History and Industry, now in the historic Naval Reserve Armory at Lake Union Park, boasts the largest heritage organization in Washington State with nearly 4 million artifacts. It is a good place to start any family visit to Seattle.