Travel and Leisure

The Old and New of Klaipeda Lithuania

Downtown Klaipeda and Its Arts and Crafts Festival Feeling like a city that wants to desperately escape its Soviet past, Klaipeda, Lithuania has a mix of the old and new. The former Prussian capital retains its discrete German architecture in the Old Town coupled with the remaining tower of t Read More

Yosemite: Winter Storms and Spring Floods

The Bridal Veil and the Upper Yosemite Falls, on account of their height and exposure, are greatly influenced by winds. The common summer winds that come up the river cañon from the plains are seldom very strong; but the north winds do some very wild work, worrying the falls and the forests, Read More

The Big Trees of Yosemite

Between the heavy pine and silver fir zones towers the Big Tree (Sequoia gigantea), the king of all the conifers in the world, "the noblest of the noble race." The groves nearest Yosemite Valley are about twenty miles to the westward and southward and are called the Tuolumne, Merced and Ma Read More

St. Stephen's Cathedral: The Resplendent Baroque Church of Passau

A majestic House of God sits atop a hill in the Altstadt, “Old City”, of Passau. It overlooks the glistening Danube River and the junction of Ilz, a tributary of the Danube running through the Bavarian Forest. Inside is said to sit the largest organ in Europe, a powerful instrument which Read More

Berlengas Archipelago: Portugal's Nature Destination

Rising from the clear azure depths of the Atlantic Ocean the Berlengas archipelago lies only several miles westwards from the picturesque coastline of Portugal. The group of small granite islands may seem a little out of the way from the established route of visitors’ attractions, but this mak Read More

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is one of Japan's national treasures. It is divided into four general areas that include Mt. Fuji area, Hakone area, Izu Peninsula, and Izu Islands. Instead of being in one place, the park's points of interest are dispersed throughout the region. In these areas Read More