Whether you are new to European Christmas markets, or you’re an old pro, you know that there is wonder involved. This year, head to the Island of Mainau, on Lake Constance (Bodensee, in German) on the Überlinger See, in SouthWest Germany.

There’s a new holiday market in town, along with some incredible Scandinavian-focused activities, and cold-weather traditions.

Music for shifting times: that's the title we came up with for this series of stories which I've been writing since the summer of 2016. Wherever you find yourself, things do seem to be in continual shift and at times and at an accelerating pace. Finding one's way through that sort of circumstance is an aspect musicians have often thought about.

Here are several musical ideas for you to consider, some practical, some mystical, all thought provoking.

Think of songs you may know: Where Have All the Flowers Gone, We Shall Overcome, The Coming of the Roads, Plane Wreck at Los Gatos. The first frames questions about war and sacrifice in terms both gentle and direct, the second is a gospel song adapted to civil rights and other causes, the third is a story about greed displacing people and landscape, the fourth a ballad which frames questions about identity and compassion in a news story about migrant farm workers. 

Alaska–we finally made it to our 50th state this past July. When we landed at 11pm, it was still bright light outside, and the pilots who delivered us to the last frontier even took a picture with us to mark the epic journey. It was official– the ground of Alaska was actually beneath our feet. Goal achieved. This was not one of those goals that popped up overnight– it took years to flourish, more to facilitate, and, oddly enough, it was heaps of time before we even knew it was ever a goal. 

It’s rare to find a town that has survived for centuries. Natural disasters, wars, and human intervention usually cause buildings to be destroyed and replaced by more modern structures. It is, however, possible to go back to medieval times by visiting a walled city between Frankfurt and Munich. Travelers to this region can see history come alive in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Crushing over almost 270 feet to the ground below, Snoqualmie Falls, just east of Seattle, has become a draw for locals – and visitors from around the world. Next to the towering Mount Rainier (about 70 miles directly south), Snoqualmie Falls often tops the list of most popular natural sites in the state.

Connection with place, with landscape, with well-loved and familiar things often comes with connection with each other. That's an idea we've explored from several perspectives in this series. In shifting times, physical place, whether you are present geographically or you are visiting through imagination or through memory, can offer a sense of comfort, of connection, of hope.

Our Celebrity cruise ship docked in Puerto Costa Maya for the day. Unlike many cruise ship passengers who simply headed to the beach for a few hours of leisure or browsed through the local shops, we arranged for a small group half-day tour using the Shore Excursions Group website. 

September 21 is the International Day of Peace. Peace Day was established by the United Nations in 1981, to encourage the world to work together toward the goal of worldwide peace. Everyone can celebrate peace.

Another school year has begun, and children, teachers, and families across the US are dealing with locker combinations, teacher meetings, books, backpacks, and the back to school jitters. 

While most of the time we look at the hard cold facts of the back to school journey, how often do we stop and look at the bigger picture, the deeper picture, or the other parts of the educational curriculum that are often left out of the official syllabus?