Spending two days in Nuremberg was just the right amount of time to explore the city and grasp its history, which dates back to the Middle Ages and gained further significance as the location of the Nuremberg Trials.   We stayed at The Grand Hotel/Meridien, part of the Marriott group, which is ideal for those who collect points. The hotel, originally built in 1894, has been updated and maintains a classic style. It is situated directly across from the train station on the new

We met our guide Robert, an expert on the Holocaust, who has a book set to be published by Fordham University later this year. As you can tell, the guides we hire from Context are all highly knowledgeable individuals who enriched our experience beyond merely touring the sites. Jewish Berlin has a rich history dating back to 1671, though few physical reminders remain. Remarkably, in the 1930s, Berlin, with over 4 million residents, had about 160,000 Jews, of which 55,000 were

We took a half-day trip from Berlin to Potsdam, where Frederick II built his summer palace, Sans Souci. The town is small and elegant, with many buildings restored to their historical appearance, much to the dismay of our guide Robert, who thought it gave the town a Disney-like feel. However, as Scott pointed out, without these restorations, we might not have visited what would otherwise be an unremarkable city. After seeing numerous Baroque and Rococo structures throughout E

Today, we spent 7 hours exploring Berlin with our guide Aaron, originally from Great Britain, who moved here after meeting his wife, calling himself a "love refugee." Aaron, educated as an archaeologist, has a clear passion for history. Strolling through Berlin with him was enjoyable, as he was a rather cheeky fellow, always entertaining and a walking encyclopedia on everything Berlin, both past and present. We began at the iconic Brandenburg Gate and concluded our day at the

We embarked on a Bauhaus and Architecture tour led by a woman named Nina, whom we hired through Context Tours. For this trip, we booked all our Berlin tours with Context and used ToursByLocals for the other cities. A notable difference is that with Context, we met our guides at the starting point of the tour, whereas with ToursByLocals, they picked us up at the hotel before proceeding. Both organizations provide knowledgeable and informative guides. Nina is a sculptor origin

Another day trip to consider is to the Meissen Factory to see how their porcelain is created and decorated. I now understand why they charge what they charge, because it is labor intensive, and all done by hand. Remarkably, we came away from the museum store with nothing but pictures and no tzotchkes. From there we went to Maritzburg, an old hunting palace built by none other than August II. It is known for its many mounted stag heads (no comment), a bed that was decorated by

Another highlight is walking the grounds of the palace and enjoying the various gardens leading up to it. Lots of blooming chestnut trees and white lilacs along with a variety of perennials.  There has been no royalty in Czechia for hundreds of years, but the palace remains the center of their government. The dungeon had some very clever instruments of torture!!! Prague Castle was most likely founded in around 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty (Přemyslovci). Acco

The Grand Bazaar and Spice Market have been commercial hubs since Ottoman times. Walking through them envelops you with exotic scents of the spices to the sights which ranged from handcrafted copper to jewels to Turkish textiles. We had a cup of tea at a cafe on the roof above the bazaar where we could look down on the undulating rooftops that Tom Cruise hopped and skipped across on his motocycle in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. People actually pay to take a to

Contemporary Japan has its own unique aesthetics and architecture; this was the focus of our last tour in Tokyo with Context. Our guide was Jay, who holds a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Tokyo and is an ex-pat from the US. Before settling in Japan 25 years ago, Jay spent time in Syria, Russia, and the UK. The quality of the Context guides continues to impress me. We met up with Jay in the Harajuku district , famous for its cutting-edge fashion retai

In Tokyo, we chose Context  to book our tours. We appreciate both ToursByLocals  and Context, and our choice usually depends on what each company offers for the destination we're visiting. Additionally, I find it optimal to stick with one company per location, though there is room for flexibility. Context typically features guides with a slightly higher academic background. We spent the entire day with Angel, an aspiring PhD candidate from Spain, who is studying the impact of