Four centuries after the Golden Age, a period of prosperity and artistic achievement that transformed Amsterdam from a fishing village into a wealthy hub of international trade, this delightful city is in the middle of a new renaissance.
The Dolomites, a range of dramatic limestone spires rising to nearly 11,000 feet, lie a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Venice.
This regular column summarizes the observations of readers and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of your editor.
Clearly, one of the chief purposes of a newsletter is to report on things that are new. I keep a lengthy list of openings around the world, and each month, I write about those that I think you will find the most interesting.
The cuisine of the Alto Adige/Suedtirol is far more German than it is Italian. Menus feature canederli (bread dumplings), spaetzle (egg noodles) and gulasch (a stew of beef, venison or wild boar).
The Dolomites are spectacular from the ground, but they are even more dramatic from the air. If helicopters do not alarm you, I cannot recommend a scenic flight too highly.
I first stayed at the Hotel & Spa Rosa Alpina in 1989. I am always predisposed to like family-run properties, hotels that have been nurtured by successive generations.
Three of the world's greatest museums are found on the Museumplein, a grassy open space in Amsterdam-Zuid (South).
Compared with other former laggards such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Berlin, Amsterdam has made surprisingly little gastronomic progress.
Located 23 miles southwest of Amsterdam, the Keukenhof Garden was established in 1949 by an association of Dutch bulb growers.
Holland is the world's fifth-largest cheese producer, and last year, a Dutch cheese, Vermeer, won first prize at the prestigious World championship cheese contest in Madison, Wisconsin.
At this time of year, the wildebeest that massed on the Serengeti's southern plains to give birth are beginning to think about moving on.
With 18 peals of more than 3,000 meters (9,834 feet), the Dolomites form an impressive range of mountains. It is not so much their height, however, as their jagged profiles and spire-like towers that leave a lasting impression.
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