K&T Boardinghouse

13/01/2023

Hi from Rick: Let’s Celebrate Europe
Dear Traveler,
As we kick off 2023, I get giddy thinking about the upcoming year of travel. I feel the need to celebrate the return of travel and to celebrate how Europe is, once again, filled with travel joy.
And celebrating Europe is exactly what I'm going to do for 22 nights in a row, starting on January 9…with our "Festival of Europe." Through the end of the month, I'll be joined by some of my favorite guides for nightly journeys to every corner of Europe…with Zoom sessions at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Eastern). These 22 little virtual trips are free and fun. And they're designed to help turn your 2023 travel dreams — whether as an independent traveler or someone who's eager to join a Rick Steves tour — into smooth and affordable reality.
Our Festival of Europe is your opportunity to get to know an ace tour guide for an information-packed, one-hour virtual visit to their home country: Federico in Spain, Tina in Slovenia, Pål in Norway, Lale in Istanbul, and so many others. From Ireland to Greece, and from Portugal to Poland, we'll visit the sightseeing highlights and sample the delights of the unique cultures across Europe. I get a front row seat — and you're invited to jump on board, too!
Each evening's show also includes details about our 40 bus tour itineraries, on which we expect to take 25,000 travelers — spread across a thousand departures — in 2023. And, to put a little zest in the fest, we'll be giving away a free Rick Steves tour each week!
I'm a big believer in the value of having a great guide. And whether you're going on your own, or joining us on the tour bus, each evening for 22 days in a row, you'll get to take advantage of the expertise and enthusiasm of one of our top guides for a full hour. The event is entirely free, but you'll need to sign up in advance.
In this month's Travel News, we're kicking off the new year with my personal feelings about the best (and worst) places to visit in Europe, tips for comparing European bus tours, and a chance to see Rick Steves tour guides in action. Cameron Hewitt also gives us a rundown of his favorite European discoveries for 2023.
As your 2023 travel dreaming turns to actual planning, join us on one, or several, of the 22 nights in January that we're devoting to our celebration of Europe. (I'll bring the wine.)
Happy New Year — and keep on travelin' in 2023!
Rick

09/01/2023

06/12/2022

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29/11/2022

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Vienna 🇦🇹 shared a post on Instagram: "There are a lot of Christmas markets in Vienna 🎄Which one is your favourite? 🏆 📍Rathausplatz, Vienna 📸 ...

22/11/2022

04/11/2022

Hi from Rick: Counting Our Travel Blessings
All of us at Rick Steves' Europe — and all our colleagues in Europe — agree: This past year, when we were finally able to get "back to normal" (kind of) after two long years, was both wonderful and challenging. It was a joy to finally reunite with our European friends and to return to our favorite places. And as the 2022 travel season winds down, we all feel satisfied about a great year of travels…and, if we're being honest, a little relieved.
November is a time for thanksgiving…for gratitude. And so, reviewing my 2022 travels, rather than fixate on the frustrations that come with running a tour company during a pandemic, I'm counting my blessings…focusing on how thankful I am for all that we've accomplished and experienced.
I'm thankful for the wonderful TV filming trips I enjoyed this past spring, collecting the final bits of footage for my magnum opus: Rick Steves Art of Europe, a six-hour sweep through European art history. And I'm thankful for my crew, who worked so hard on this for the last two years. We're thrilled with how this massive project turned out, and the travel teacher in me is grateful thinking about all the viewers who are enjoying it right now, as it airs nationwide on public television.
I'm thankful I could go on a super-productive 10-city guidebook research swing in 2022, visiting places as far afield as Athens and Amsterdam, Paris and Munich, Vienna and Bruges. My co-authors, researchers, and guidebook editing team are all working full tilt to update our books, one by one, after an unplanned two-year hiatus…and those new, "post-shutdown" editions are already starting to roll in.
I'm thankful that our favorite small businesses in Europe — the little mom-and-pop ventures (hotels, restaurants, and other providers of vivid and unforgettable experiences) — have, by and large, made it through the hard years of COVID and are ready to greet our travelers with a warm and hearty welcome. From Lisbon to Helsinki, and from Dublin to Istanbul, these are the people who bring so much joy to our travels.
I'm thankful that our 2022 Rick Steves Tours went as well as we could have hoped. Just a year ago, as the first reports of Omicron appeared, we were worried that it might derail so many touring dreams. But in the end, we were able to take 27,000 tour members on more than a thousand departures all over Europe in 2022…one of our biggest years ever. And based on the reports I've heard from those travelers; they had the time of their lives.
That's in no small part thanks to our amazing team of European tour guides, who spent the pandemic standing eagerly by, ready to share their passion for their countries and cultures with our travelers. I'm thankful for them, too.
I'm also thankful I could take a little time off this summer, for a real vacation: one week spent on a glorious barge trip through Burgundy's canals, and another week high atop the Swiss Alps, enjoying long hikes every day and steaming fondue dinners at remote mountain huts every night. Doing a little thin-air waltz with my favorite travel partner, Shelley, on the high-alpine plateau called Tanzbödeli ("Dancing Table"), I felt incredibly blessed.
Back home, I'm thankful that all one hundred of us at Rick Steves' Europe headquarters in Edmonds, Washington, are still standing strong as a united team with a clear mission: to help Americans travel smarter, smoother, and more economically.
Finally, on a personal note, I'm especially thankful to be a grandpa! My daughter, Jackie, and her husband recently had a happy-and-healthy little boy. His name: Atlas. (Perfect for the grandson of a travel writer.)
In this month's Travel News, you can get my tips for enjoying Europe in the wintertime, learn why there's no place like Rome for the holidays, and watch a short video about how travel connects us with the world and makes our lives richer. Plus, Cameron Hewitt shares the pros and cons of renting an all-electric car for your next European road trip.
As the year winds down, and as Thanksgiving approaches, I encourage you to think of 2022 with a mindset of gratitude. It sure has been great to be on the road again. And, looking ahead to 2023…let's all be thankful to keep on traveling!
Happy Travels!
Rick