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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Adieu Iceland This land is continually being born: it ever brings forth new marvels, new vistas, new possibilities. It sings of change, and the power of play. I feel this playful change seeping into me, calling for a molten […]
The last day of the tour! This morning we went to central Innsbruck, where Jacob Hutter was executed. We also saw the golden roof which Maximilian I had constructed to look out over the square, and then had time […]
Today we travelled to our last country of the tour, Austria! But our route happened to take us through the tiny country of Liechtenstein for a brief while, so we can say we’ve actually been in 6 countries in […]
Today we spent much of the day within the city of Bern where we’ve been for the last two nights. In the morning, despite the possible threat of rain, we went on a walking tour of the city centre […]
Last night was spent in Borgarfjarðarhreppur, which derives its name from Álfaborg, meaning “town of elves.” Ancient legend has it that this part of Iceland is ripe with elves, and there is a fairly substantive hill overlooking this quaint […]
Today was spent in the area of the Emmental, which contains a great deal of Amish history. Although we could not enter it, we saw Thun castle, where Anabaptists were imprisoned at the top. In Steffisburg, we visited a […]
Zurich is an important city for Anabaptist history, as this is where it all began! We started our day today with a walking tour of the centre of town to see various sites related to Anabaptist history, including the […]
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 […]
Greetings friends! Here is a poetic reflection on our Iceland adventures thus far. These Rocks Ringing Lapping waves have their own sagas. Deep in their memories drift tales of mer creatures, and Behemoth, and Jonah, and water learning to […]
The Schleitheim monument commemorates the first effort between Anabaptists to create an agreement about beliefs they all shared in common, in order to create greater unity within the movement. The agreement dates back to 1527, just two years after […]
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 […]
We changed countries again today, moving on to France! Our first stop was an out of the way place up a long winding road: the Salm peace oak. This tree was planted by Mennonites in gratitude for being granted […]
Truth is that I’ve been somewhat under the weather the past few days. It started on the Moscow subway, and though it hasn’t stopped me from being a co-leader in the group (thanks to Mary especially as co-leader!). But […]
An interesting bit of trivia, the Bistro is usually associated with either Italian or French but is actually from a Russian word for immediate. During the Napoleon war, the Russian military didn’t travel with kitchens to feed the men […]
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 […]
Today’s Sunday, which I noticed right away because the bells from the nearby Worms Cathedral woke me up early! Historic cathedrals may be magnificent to visit but I think I’m glad I don’t live near one. John Sharp managed […]
This morning we said goodbye to our driver Mark and welcomed JP, who will be our driver for the rest of the tour. This is JP’s 101st tour driving for TourMagination! Then we headed towards the Rhine River to […]
As we headed further into Germany today, I loved watching the landscape change from flat fields reminiscent of the Netherlands to a much more up-and-down experience–large hills or perhaps small mountains, all covered in tall evergreen trees. We were […]
This morning on the bus it was great to hear stories from various people's homestay experiences. There were some good connections made! Being able to spend time on a personal level with local people allows you to really make [...]
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 […]
So an amazing encounter just now in Moscow. We were toward the end of our day-tour. We were on our own after a rich morning in the famed Tretyakov Art Gallery, after earlier stops at the impressive Christ the […]
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 Katie Steckly Here’s a look at what we did today! From butterflies to chocolate we took in so much of the natural beauty of Ecuador 🦋 Make sure you’re following us on Instagram to see more of these […]
By Katie Steckly Our first full day on the Natural & Cultural Encounters in the Amazon tour has been a huge success! The group has ventured from Quito to Tena, where our guide Jerrell has already taught us so […]
By Leonard & Mary Friesen, South Africa Tour Leaders It’s no surprise that South Africa is on many people’s bucket lists. Where else can you take in two oceans, two world-famous Nobel Prize winners, Africa’s majestic “Big 5” […]
by Jack Suderman, tour leader January 24 We’ve had a very good, more relaxing day. We spent some time in the morning roving the pedestrian-only streets of Cienfuegos, with lots of vendors of all kinds. The group really appreciated […]
by Jack Suderman, tour leader Thursday, January 17, and Friday, January 18 After getting settled into our rooms, we had a nice supper together at a modest local restaurant, and everyone was in good spirits. It is 28 […]
By Len Friesen, tour leader I vividly recall the first time Mary and I were in Assisi. We arrived in the late-afternoon as the sun had begun to settle over the Umbrian plain. It was a cool evening in […]
Enjoying a luxurious cruise down the Danube. Enjoying a luxurious cruise down the Danube. Docking at Dürnstein, Austria for multiple tour options from cycling along the river, a stroll through the beautiful village of Dürnstein or a steep hike [...]
A beautiful day for cycling through Passau Germany. Historic Passau near the junction of the Inn, the Ilz rivers. For hundreds of years Passau has dealt with the surge of flood waters from the Danube River and in 2013 [...]
Greg and Terri chatting with Audrey before tour of Linz, Austria. Standing outside the balcony in Linz where Hitler addressed the crowds in 1938 during Anschluss (annexation of Austria...) Touring the quaint old city center of Strasbourg which has [...]
Dining room in the Klosterneuburg Abbey located in the Vienna woods. Len, Terry, Sue and Carol on the upper deck as the Amacerto passes through 1 of 18 locks we will enter during our cruise. A visit to the [...]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Thursday, 4 October 2018. A final blog entry for TourMagination’s Russia and Ukraine Tours, 2018 I’m writing this from my home, which means that the wonderful Russia-extension to the equally wonderful Ukraine 2018 trip is at […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader I was in the Kremlin with our group today on the Russia extension. While there I kept seeing rather large groups of tourists come and go, often in numbers of 50 and more. I […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Our last full day. I’ve been reading a verse or four from the Bible for each of our days in Ukraine and Russia. Each portion has been chosen to speak to that particular day, […]
Thursday, 27 September 2018 So we made it to St. Petersburg yesterday evening after a morning farewell to Odessa, on the shores of the beautiful Black Sea. Our routing to Russia took us after that through Minsk in Belarus […]
I’m writing from Bogota. We got here yesterday with no issues after a long day of travel. After a good night’s sleep, all were in good shape today. The spirit in the group continues to be strong and positive. […]
Tuesday, 25 September 2018. Odessa, Ukraine. It’s mid-afternoon here, and our first full day in Odessa. It’s also our last full day in Odessa. After a half-day city tour I now know that Odessa has been worth every bump and […]
Monday, 24 September 2018 A shorter entry today, but I want to report that we departed early this morning from Zaporozhe and arrived in Odessa by evening. It was a long day as we travelled on roads that (we were […]
Memories of Menno-ville, September 23, 2018 Here are some reflections from travellers on the Ukraine tour: I wanted to thank a woman for opening a church building for us, stumbling into Spanish, French, German before I remembered the words […]
Saturday, September 22 ,2018 Today was our “Zaporozhe and Khortitsa day”, which gave us the opportunity to visit the earliest of the Mennonite colonies in Ukraine. It is now set within a city (Zaporozhe itself) that was a Stalinist showpiece, and winner of both […]
By Len Friesen, Tour Leader Quick, what’s this a listing of? Lesser Kestrel, Ring-necked pheasant, Rock Pigeon and White Wagtail. How about Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Magpie and the Eurasian Jay? Answer? Well, these are just a few of […]