Brewery Gate in Plzeň, Czech Republic

It all started in 1842, when the new municipal brewery in Plzeň, a town in southwest Bohemia, opened. The world was introduced to a new style of beer, the golden lager style, that would go on to revolutionize the brewing industry. Today, 95% of beer brewed in the world today is golden lager. The original is still brewed in Plzeň and is known internationally as Pilsner Urquell. For visitors, the town of Plzeň is a little bit off the beaten track. It's about 60 miles from Prague, which in the Czech Republic, makes it a day trip. The good news is that there is a day's worth of sight-seeing in Plzeň. There is a brewery tour, a brewery restaurant, and a brewery museum. Plzeň also has an attractive historic town square.

Beer in Sapporo, Japan

The first brewery in Japan was established in Sapporo in 1876. The beer, as well as the brewery, was inspired by the Bavarian model, and today, there is a lovely beer garden located at the brewery. One hour tours of the facility are complimentary.

The Budweiser Brewery Tour

Anheuser-Busch is the brewer of the largest selling beer in the world, Budweiser, with breweries all over the world. Within the U.S., Anheuser-Busch has 12 breweries; 5 of these breweries offer complimentary brewery tours (St. Louis, Missouri, Fairfeld, California, Ft. Collins, Colorado, Jacksonville, Florida and Merrimack, New Hampshire.) Free samples of the beer are also available.

Water at the Guinness Storehouse

The Guinness Storehouse, located in Dublin, is essentially a brewery museum, which covers the popular history of the brewery and exposes visitors to some insights into brewing the very popular Guinness beer. It attracts millions of visitors every year, making it one of Ireland's leading tourist attractions. At €14, it's a bit pricey for a self-guided tour, but the price of admission does include one complimentary pint at the roof top bar. It's called the Gravity Bar, and it provides patrons with some fairly impressive views of Dublin.

I have written an article about Guinness, which can be viewed HERE>>>

The Heineken Experience

Heineken doesn't brew beer here any more, but it used to. Its historic brewery in Amsterdam that was the center of it brewing enterprise from 1867 to 1988 is now a brewery museum called the Heineken Experience. Admission is €11 and includes a complimentary Heineken.

Peter Cooper Monument in New York

Peter Cooper founded Cooper Union in 1859 in New York City. Today, Cooper Union is one of the most selective colleges in the nation and one of the very few which does not charge its students any tuition. Cooper Union's Great Hall was the site of the school's inauguration whose primary address was given by Mark Twain. Months later, when Abraham Lincoln came to New York, he came to Cooper Union to give what would become his famous "Right Makes Might" speech at the Great Hall.

You can read my travel article about New York HERE>>>

King's Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts

The King's Chapel is not only one of the most historic churches in Boston, it has one of the most beautiful interiors in all New England. The King's Chapel was designed by Peter Harrison and dates to 1754; it served as the official Royal church of colonial administrators of Massachusetts.

You can read my article about the King's Chapel HERE>>>

Helsinki Cathedral

The Helsinki Cathedral (Evangelical Lutheran) was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and dates to 1852. It is today considered to be the most important landmark in all of Finland. Originally, it was called St. Nicholas Cathedral in honor of Russian Czar Nicholas when Finland was a part of Imperial Russia. Finland became an independent state in 1917. (What is today Finland was actually liberated by Russia from Sweden during the Finnish War of 1808-09, and the German architect Carl Ludvig Engel was chosen to design new buildings and public places for Helsinki at the behest of the Czar.)

The Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm

The Riddarholmskyrkan is located near the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm. Its iconic steeple is one of the most photographed images in Stockholm. It is the traditional burying place for members of the Swedish monarchy.

Vigeland Park in Oslo

Vigeland Park is actually a sculpture garden within the Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway. It is dedicated to the work of the famous Norwegian artist, Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), who spent the last twenty years of his life creating art for the garden. In all, there are 212 sculptures over 80 acres.

Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen

Established in 1843, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark is an old world amusement park that is highly popular with travelers and Danes alike. If you want to get a feel for how people had fun before Disney, Copenhagen's Tivloli is the place to go.

Reykjavik's Hallgrímskirkja

The Hallgrímskirkja is one of the leading landmarks in Reykjavik, Iceland. Historically a Danish territory, the Republic of Iceland was established in 1944, and Reykjavik was chosen its capital. Construction on this church began in 1945 and was completed in 1986. The statue in front is of Leif Ericson and was a gift from the government of the United States. At 244ft, the church's tower dominates the Reykjavik's skyline, and there is a public observatory which provides vast views of the Icelandic countryside.

Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal

St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal is a Roman Catholic basilica in Montreal. Its dome was modeled after the dome at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and is considered to be the second largest in the world, after St. Peter's. Located near the top of the great expanse Mount Royal, its dome is the highest point in the city of Montreal. (As a result, aviation lights have had to be placed on the exterior of the dome.)

St. Joseph's is considered a church of miracles, that is, a healing church. More than two million people visit the church every year, many of them pilgrims in search of a healing miracle. There is a public display inside the basilica which is comprised of thousands of crutches which were brought into St. Joseph's by the sick, but left behind because they were no longer needed. Pope John II officially recognized the healing power of St. Joseph's in 1982.

To read more about churches in Montreal, click HERE>>>

Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal

Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica was designed by James O'Donnell of New York and was built in the Gothic Revival style that was popular in the 19th century. At the time it was built, it was the largest church in North America.

The true beauty of Notre Dame, however, is the work of designer Victor Bourgeau, who is responsible for the interior design. Notre Dame is possibly the most beautiful church in North America. The color scheme is interestingly dominated by sky-blue and sky-gold, and it is accented with a lot of timber expertly crafted by local artisans. The artwork attempts to tell both the story of the Bible along side the story of Montreal, with images of the saints right along sides images from the Canadian frontier.

To read more about churches in Montreal, click HERE>>>

Sofia's St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Sofia is a city of about 1.3 million and the capital of Bulgaria. One of its leading tourist attractions is the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which is one of the world's largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals. Oddly, the cathedral, which surprisingly dates to 1912 was officially dedicated to the memory of the Russian soldiers fought and died in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 which freed Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire and resulted in the creation of the modern Bulgarian state.

All Saints Church in Moldova

All Saints Church dates to 1830 and is located in the Moldovan capital city of Chisinau. Part of the Imperial Russian Empire during most of the 19th century, part of Romania between the World Wars, and the USSR after WWII, Moldova declared its independence in 1991.

Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest

After hundreds of years of Ottoman, Hapsburg, and Imperial Russian rule in the region, the Kingdom of Romania was established in 1881, and Bucharest was chosen its capital city. In 1888, a new concert hall called the Romanian Athenaeum was built. It was just one of many new French-inspired buildings constructed in Bucharest in those years as its people strove to define their new capital. Unfortunately, many of those buildings were destroyed by the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu.

Charming Timisoara

Timisoara is a charming little city of about 300,000 in western Romania. After 150 years under Turkish Ottoman rule, Timisoara was captured by the Austrian Hapsburgs in 1716. It was under Austrian influence that Timisoara became a center of culture, art, and science, even at one point becoming known as "Little Vienna."

Bratislava Castle in Slovakia

Bratislava is a city of about 425,000 and is the capital of Slovakia, a nation which was formally created in 1993 when the nation of Czechoslovakia was divided. The origins of Bratislava Castle date to the 10th century, and its significance as a military and/or political center has waxed and waned greatly over the course of the years. It experienced its apex in the mid-1700s when Austrian Empress Maria Therese used the castle as the seat of the Kingdom of Hungary and was herself regularly present at the castle. Today, the castle is home to the Slovak National Musuem.

Dinosaurs in Houston

The Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas is one of the most impressive museums of its kind in the world. The museum was established in 1909 and opened its present location in Houston's Hermann Park in 1969.