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Tagged With: religion

Bruges

Bruges is every bit the cute fairy tale town I had expected. Aside from the masses of tourists, the only ugly thing in the whole town was the Ito Pavilion. When the city was named a European Capital of Culture in 2002, Toyo Ito's Pavilion was constructed, intending to link the past and present. I'll … Continue reading »

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Antwerp

There’s a statue of artist Peter Paul Rubens and plenty of shops, restaurants, and pigeons in Groenplaats, Antwerp’s main square. Fun fact: this spot was the city’s main cemetery until the 18th century.   The Cathedral of our Lady sits in the main square. It took about seventeen decades to build this gothic church and … Continue reading »

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Gent

Together, the cobble stone streets and the towering Gothic architecture make sleepy Gent a treasure of a town.   The celebrated Gent Altarpiece is housed within St. Baafskathedraal. The church interior features a vaulted ceiling about five storeys tall.   Also known as The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan Van Eyck and his brother … Continue reading »

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Ataco, El Salvador

For a quarter, I caught bus 249 to the town of Ataco. It's a bit of a hike from the bus stop to one of the town's churches. From there, I climbed a hill to reach a lookout over Ataco.   There's a giant cross at the apex, overlooking the town and surrounding mountains.   … Continue reading »

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Juayúa, El Salvador

If you've got $1.25 and about three hours, you can catch the two buses that will take you west from San Salvador to Juayúa. Juayúa is the kind of quiet town where everyone walks in the middle of the street even though the sidewalks are perfectly good. It's small enough that whenever my hostel's two … Continue reading »

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Vientiane, Laos

Some friends recently moved to Vientiane, so I spent a week visiting them and their awesome kids and watching select scenes of Kung Fu Panda 2.   Vientiane was far calmer and quieter than I had expected. I thought it would be like chaotic Bangkok, but I was happily wrong. I would definitely like to … Continue reading »

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Tokyo

It’s pretty crazy one Saturday I was hiking in Rwanda, marveling at glamorous Kigali and the next Saturday I’m visiting a high school friend in downtown Tokyo!   We spent a day visiting a popular temple.   Rieko took me out for a traditional Japanese dish. I can’t remember what it’s called, but I have … Continue reading »

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Former slave market, Zanzibar

After Kili, the four of us flew to Zanzibar where we visited the former slave market and Anglican church. Zanzibar was once home to a massive slave trade. From here, most slaves were transported either to Madagascar to work on French sugar plantations or to Middle Eastern countries like Oman. Slaves were kept in tiny … Continue reading »

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Luxembourg

I’ve heard Luxembourg described as a fairy tale city and it’s not hard to see why. With castles, ruins, and lots of nature, the capital of this small country is gorgeous. I spent most of my two sunny days there walking for miles.   I popped in to a small museum that had a great … Continue reading »

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Helsinki

Many of my fellow passengers on the first ferry of the morning from Tallinn to Helsinki had clearly been up all night indulging in Tallinn's nightlife so the ride was pretty quiet. The ferry was a pea green and orange ship that must have held around two thousand passengers on its nine decks. Even though … Continue reading »

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