Do you know a young adult with connections to the 1920s migration of Mennonites from Russia to Canada? Would they like to participate in the upcoming Memories of Migration: Russlaender 100 Tour? Thanks to the generosity of the David […]
If you are travelling on an upcoming tour, we highly recommend purchasing COVID-19 insurance. For Canadians Manulife Travel Insurance Plan is available to Canadians travelling in Canada and internationally. It covers Emergency Medical Expenses if you are hospitalized due to contracting […]
TourMagination hosted Round 2 of the virtual museum and archive tour. Tuesday evenings, from November 3rd to December 1, 2020 archivists and executive directors from Anabaptist and Mennonite museums, archives, and heritage centres in the USA and Canada showed [...]
Walking through an “Empty Church” leads to reciprocal gifts and unique experiences. Reflection by Tour Leader ROD HOFER from October 2019. There is no remnant of the Hutterite colony in Alwinz remaining as the site was very flood-prone and […]
June 15-19, 2020 TourMagination is celebrating 50 years of helping people of faith explore, experience, and expand their worlds. The company began in 1970 to help North American Anabaptists explore their heritage in Europe. See a timeline of important […]
Growing up in multicultural Winnipeg, Canada, Cheryl Gilmore vowed to one day travel and see the world. After graduating from design in Toronto (1991) and following a season of local theatre, a unique opportunity arose to experience the high […]
Six years ago, Lorna Sawatzky (left) embarked on a remarkable trip to India and Bhutan. She kept meaning to make a photo book because she didn’t want to forget a thing. But life was busy with travel plans and […]
Tuesday evenings in May & June, archivists and executive directors from Anabaptist and Mennonite museums, archives, and heritage centres across North America showed unique artifacts, photos and documents as they shared part of the Anabaptist story. Watch the presentations […]
Cienfuegos, Cuba Wednesday, January 21 Today, the group had perfect weather to travel by boat to a Taíno Indian Village. They learned about the traditional lifestyle of the Taíno people, who were once Cuba’s principal inhabitants. Later, they went […]
Day 3 in Cuba Our two stops in Soroa were excellent, especially the first one. There were quite a number of tears from our tour members as they listened to a very passionate and articulate descendant of African slaves […]
Final Days Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary Everyone loved the Birds Eye View Lodge and even the non birders were impressed by the variety of birds. The lodge had great food, rooms and service. People also enjoyed the boat ride […]
Today, we met up with Lazarus Pop who runs a youth ministry here and he took us into Springfield, a conservative group of Mennonites. Met and talked with a few locals at a plant nursery. We sang the Doxology […]
On our excursion to Spanish Lookout, we enjoyed ice cream at Western Dairy and went to the cooperative where almost anything can be purchased. We interacted with employees and enjoyed Spanish Lookout—where there is a settlement of Mennonites. To […]
Yesterday we attended a service at St. Ann’s Anglican Church in Belmopan. The two people on tour with birthdays were blessed at the front of the church. After church, we enjoyed a good lunch of baked chicken, coleslaw, fresh […]
How can rugby inspire a nation? It’s worth noting that rugby was long the White Man’s Sport in South Africa, as captured in Clint Eastwood’s brilliant film Invictus. Which is why non-whites hated the team known as […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader The next phase of the tour emphasized the best of the Saxon German fortified churches, the three fortified cities of Brasov and Sighisoara, sites that had direct connections to the Carinthian Lutheran Hutterite converts […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader We began our day in Alba Iulia with a walk from our hotel to the Jewish synagogue of the oldest Jewish congregation in Romania. They were invited into Transylvania by Gabriel Bethlen, the same […]
By Marlin Hershey, Tour Leader We began our second day of the cruise in Mohacs, a quiet Danube town with a countryside ancient restored gristmill from time of St. Nicholas. We also visited a museum displaying the past practice […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader As our time in Romania draws to an end, I believe the tour went exceedingly well. Everybody was impressed with Chris, our local guide with religious and secular knowledge. Even when the established plan […]
Tour fare per person: CAD: Double occupancy $5,975; single supplement $613 USD: Double occupancy $4,742; single supplement $486 What do “Double Occupancy” and “Single Supplement” mean for my tour fare? Important note: Costs could increase if you sign up […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader We began our day by ascending the Deva mountain by gondola car to the fortress ruins at the top. The fortress caps the mountain and provides a panoramic view of the surrounding area. If […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader Leaving our Sibiu hotel behind, we drove through the Romanian countryside to the village of Romos (Rumes). Here the Carinthian Lutherans initially settled in 1755. It was here that a conflict with their Saxon […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader We were greeted by partly sunny weather with brisk temperatures as we began our first bus ride of the tour. On the outskirts of Hermannstadt (Sibiu) we stopped at the Maria Theresa monument in […]
By Rod Hofer, Tour Leader The Romanian Culture and Hutterite Heritage Tour began by exploring the historic city of Sibiu (Hermannstadt). Hermannstadt is an important site in the history of the Hutterites in Romania but also boasts a rich […]
We have just completed our third day of this tour to Central Asia. Having thoroughly enjoyed two days in Istanbul, Turkey, we arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, early Wednesday morning. The day unfolded with numerous sites unique only to Uzbekistan. […]
Istanbul at first seemed a bit off-topic as an introduction to our Uzbekistan-focused tour of Central Asia, but in a good and useful way. It oriented us to a city and region dominated first by Christianity and then by […]
Greetings again – Another good day together! We had lovely views of the Jungfrau, Monch, and Eigger mountains last night from Interlaken and again this morning walking to the Castle Thun entrance. The castle has had a major […]
Greetings – I’m writing Monday afternoon from Kleine Scheidegg. We enjoyed two days of sunshine, today partially rainy and mountains hidden in fog but everyone is still enjoying themselves. Zurich was interesting but challenging with so much walking and […]
The restaurant manager in Jerusalem where we had our noon meal on Saturday owned a parrot, and unexpectedly perched it on Brian Zehr’s shoulder. Seems the parrot likes french fries! This light-hearted moment came in the midst of a […]
That’s no ordinary hill behind the TourMagination group. It is Tel Jezreel—ruins of the biblical city Jezreel in northern Israel. Jezreel was the winter residence of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. While at this site, our group heard the […]
Monday morning took us to the site where the Israelites were most likely to have crossed the River Jordan. That also probably is where John baptized Jesus. We contemplated these two momentous threshold events, remembering how our own lives […]
Our hotel last night was by the entrance to Petra, the ancient stone city with ruins from the first centuries BC and AD. We got an early start this morning and walked into the site through the half-mile Siq […]
An early launch from our hotel in Amman set us on course for Mt. Nebo (where Moses got a glimpse of the Promised Land), Machaerus mountaintop fortress (where John the Baptist was martyred), Madaba (where we were invited to […]
Kyla and Brian Zehr of Fort Wayne, Indiana look down into the ruins and spectacular mosaics of St. Cosmos and St. Damianus Church at the ancient Roman city of Jerash, an hour’s drive north of Amman, Jordan. Built in […]
TourMagination’s director of tour development, Anna Dickerson, is visiting Egypt for a few days before participating in the Jordan, Palestine, Israel tour. Anna and her husband are having a great time learning about the history, and even took a […]
by Terry Petkau, tour leader One of the highlights of our final days on this tour was the scenic drive through the mountainous countryside which took us to the Abbey of Montserrat. From the coach we boarded a special […]
By Terry Petkau, tour leader Before departing Avignon we were treated to a gentle cruise to take in the city lights from a beautiful vantage point. Many of us also walked back into the Old City to view an […]
By Terry Petkau, tour leader Our morning in Tournon included cycling through apricot and cherry orchards, wine tastin at local wineries, a ride on an old steam train and a visit to the Valrhona chocolate factory that employs almost […]
Today we sent the morning touring the historic city of Vienne along the Rôane. A number of us challenged the walking tour which led us up a very steep climb to the top of Mont Pipet. Along the way […]
The morning began by sailing up stream on the Saône river, a tributary of the Rôane river, which offered an impressive perspective of modern architecture at the confluence of the two rivers. (Three photos below). As we approached our […]
By Terry Petkau, tour leader Today we ventured to the outskirts of Paris to visit the Palace of Versailles. A very popular stop for tourists which resulted in a somewhat crowded meander through the Palace but the expansive gardens […]
By Audrey Voth Petkau, tour leader Everything went very well for our first day here in Paris. We did not waste any time but started out to explore. We are ideally located about 4 blocks from the Arc de […]
By Bernice Kuepfer, Tour Leader Fairbanks Alaska is beautiful! We stayed at the Riverside Lodge which had outstanding service. We took a cruise on the Sternwheeler Riverboat then after the cruise we went on Gold Dredge 8 and panned […]
By Mike Kroeker, tour leader Day 5 started off a little slower than we’ve been used too. As our driver Tony put it, service in the North is something you just have to get used too! We had a […]
There is a place in St. Petersburg, Russia, where no tourist buses go these days. Which is why we always go there. It’s a broad stretch of land in a parklike setting on the northern sections of the city. […]
By Mike Kroeker, Tour Leader It’s been a few busy days in Newfoundland. We spent the past 2 nights at the wonderful Shallow Bay Motel in Cow Head, NL. The afternoon of Day 3 was spent on the waters […]
It is possible to do good while having a good time if you choose the right tour. Tourism is an important source of income in many countries. When visitors remember that they are visiting someone else’s home and they […]
By Mike Kroeker, tour leader Hello from Newfoundland! The weather looked a little ugly this morning but the sun decided to come out! We woke up in Cow Head this morning, after spending the night at the Shallow […]
By Mark Evans, tour leader On Wednesday we left Szczecin early and sailed across a big lake to the Usedom area, landing in the port of Kamminke. We then got on our bikes and headed out exploring the […]
By Mark Evans, Tour Leader Today we left Schwedt at 9am to ride to Mascherin, a shorter day for riding as we had to sail on to Schwerin. The ride was more adventurous as we had to detour off […]
As you may have heard, on June 5th, 2019 the United States Government issued new rules governing travel to Cuba by American citizens. Canadians Jack & Irene Suderman have been taking groups, mostly of Americans, on educational tours to […]
By Mark Evans, tour leader Saturday the group met at our hotel and then walked to the subway to take it to Spandau. We had a surprise when we got off as the doors closed prior to everyone getting […]
Nelson Mandela. Desmond Tutu. These two must be among the biggest names of our time. Both proudly South African. Both closely connected to Cape Town. Both statesmen of the world. And both at the heart of the stories we’ll […]
Waterloo, ON July 10th, 2019 Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) held its first official meeting on September 27, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois. Canadian and U.S. Mennonite relief efforts came together under the umbrella of MCC to meet the desperate needs […]
On our last full day of planned activity our TourMagination tour went to Peterhof in the early morning. This is justly claimed as one of the great Summer Palaces of Europe. Beautifully situated on a cliffbank overlooking the Gulf […]
Memories of St. Petersburg Russia is a country that many expect that they won’t like. That always seems to be the case on tours we’ve lead, in large part because of the negative press that a post Cold War […]
Today is Trinity Sunday and the resident priest Irma Sjöfn Óskardóttir both preached and presided. The service included special guests in the form of a choir from the Dómkirkjan (Cathedral Church) of Reykjavik. They crafted a service that was […]
Our first stop yesterday was the Aalsmeer flower auction, where millions of flowers are bought and sold internationally every day. I was surprised to discover how fascinating I found it! As someone who does administrative work on a much […]
There is a “hold onto your hats” element to every TourMagination tour that Mary and I have been privileged to be part of, and that is certainly the case with this Russia tour. It began yesterday as we all […]
So it is 11 June and the Ukraine trip ended yesterday, technically. Of course, in other ways it is nowhere near the end. But on our final full day we toured the lovely port city of Odessa in the […]
Last night in Odessa and what a busy day we had. This morning we had a city tour and then lunch by the shore of the Black Sea. The buildings in Odessa are so varied, from Greek style, pre-soviet […]
Reflections from Tour Participant Horst Wohlgemut: Before we embarked on the Prague and Poland tour, I was aware that at least five generations of Wohlgemut(h)s had lived in the Deutsch Wymysle area. To actually see where they lived, worshipped and […]
This morning it was time to leave Zaporozhye and head for Odessa. When Len said the road was bad he wasn’t kidding. There are some spots where we are having to slow to a crawl so we don’t break […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Don’t believe this blog(!). At least don’t believe that we all did whatever is included here. You see, today was a free day in Zaporozhye, one without any schedule. It was a welcome break after […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader We started our day today at Eichenfeld, now Dubovka, the sight of a terrible massacre in 1919 by Makhno’s anarchist peasant army. We stopped on the side of a field where a moving monument […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader We were in Chortitza today, the so-called Mother Settlement for Mennonites in southern Ukraine. Of course we saw the big buildings that mark this area for Mennonites (and it helps that our guide Olga […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader So as not to be a romantic, let me start by saying why a person should maybe not go to the former Mennonite colony of Molotschna on a day like this: -it was hot […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Where was I? Oh yes, we had our evening at the opera yesterday, in a most historic opera house. This morning was a bit more unstructured. I know that our group rode the Metro, […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader TourMagination’s Ukraine Heritage Tour is up and running for 2019. We actually met for the first time yesterday evening, almost that is. “Almost” because two people in our group were actually away all day […]
By John Sharp, tour leader Today was classic TourMagination. To accommodate our travellers’ interest, we changed our route between Prague and Krakow. To make plans, I had phone conversations with John Ruth, Leonard Gross, and Gary Waltner. Armed with […]
Today a heavy rain drenched Prague and us while visiting the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. (My photos of Old Town Square are from Monday.) Most of us took our tired and […]
Rotterdam & Gouda, Netherlands. We were the 3rd of 3 ships lined up. So cross over to get to land. Nancy & Harry Showalter leaving the ship/boat. Town hall in town square which is actually triangle shaped in this [...]
Views from our ship as we sail along the IJssel River. We went to cemetery for 1754 soldiers who died during Market Garden, a goal to take control of some bridges in Arnhem area, Netherlands, from the Germans but [...]
Arriving in Kampen, bridge raised using pulley system to let us under. Old City Gate in Kampen from 14th century List of Jews taken to Concentration Camp during WWII. A narrow street in Kampen Two local area ladies hosting [...]
We got to walk among the tulips at a tulip farm. No fence around them so people walking or biking along the field came into the field also to look & take pictures. The couple who owned the farm [...]
By Len Friesen, tour leader So it has come to this, as it does with all trips and all good things. We have reached the end of our time together. We head for the airport in Milan in about […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader In the Aftermath of the Notre Dame fire: The fire that devastated Notre Dame yesterday is a reminder of how fragile our supposedly “timeless treasures” are. Beautiful structures can last a thousand years, then […]
by Len Friesen, Tour Leader Our hotel here in Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre is like a vertical palazzo. I am writing this on the 7th floor or so, which allows me to look over most of the […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader We have shaped the tour thus far around a key premise: “Rome, Assisi, and Florence may be Italian cities but they are really world cities. They are part of all of our heritage.” But […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader We were out the door early this morning as we visited the Academia Gallery. There we saw Michelangelo’s “David” as we told the story of this remarkable monument. But we also saw the 4 […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader What is the shape and measure of a beautiful woman? What are they for a man? And of the society in which men and women live? These might seem like rather odd observations with […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader So we’re waiting at the Assisi train station, which really isn’t in Assisi. We’re waiting for the train that will take us to Florence for the next stop on our most excellent journey. People […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader I missed a day of blogging and feel as if I am a month behind… so much happens on a trip like this. But yesterday we said good-bye to Rome, a city packed more […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Today was set aside for “Catholic” Rome. This meant an early morning start as we made our way (by city bus, then a walk) to St. Peter’s Basilica. We got there early enough to […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader This has been the kind of day (as often happens on TourMagination tours actually) when I’m going to find it hard to write a blog. It won’t be easy because the day has been […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader So we have arrived and our group is now fully engaged. We gathered in Rome early today from the east coast of Canada to the west of both Canada and the US, and some […]
By Len Friesen, tour leader So this is the first blog entry for TourMagination’s “Bella Terra” Italy trip for 2019. That’s perhaps odd as the trip hasn’t started yet(!). In fact, we only head for the airport later this […]
By Conrad Stoesz, archivist at the Centre for MB Studies Who am I? Do you ever ask yourself that question? Part of the answer includes where you came from—not only your past but your family’s past. It is one […]
I believe in maintaining family ties. One small way in which I do this is sending a personalized email or text to immediate and extended family members on their birthdays. It’s not a long message, but it lets them […]
“One’s heritage cannot be taken away from you, but it can be lost by failing to save it for future generations,” said Tom Sherk, one of the founders of the Schürch Family Association of North America (SFANA). Tom believed […]