Many countries in Eastern Europe are taking drastic measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 -- in part because their health-care systems may not be up to the task.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Doug McConnell of OpenRoad.tv about his love for the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Doug has been going to this rugged, stark and beautiful area of California and Nevada since he was a kid. He tells us about Hollywood's love of this area, the oldest trees on the planet, the water wars of California, the tufa fields of Mono Lake, the ghost town of Bodie and more. He also tells of his friends Galen and Barbara Rowell who called this area their home until their deaths in 2002. Galen was a renowned nature photographer and Barbara was his partner and pilot.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Eleonora about visiting eastern Germany. Eleonora grew up in Dresden and starts our tour there with a city restored from the rubble of World War II to one that boasts beautiful baroque architecture. She takes up verbally to the Master’s Gallery and also to the Green Vault in the old palace. She recommends the famous opera house as well as the recent rebuilt Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche). We climb to the old fortress (Festung Koenigstein) which protected the area. After Dresden Eleonora directs us to the mountains of Saxon Switzerland and to the Oer Mountains with its tradition Christmas wood carvings. From there we go to Leipzig and to Bauzen (capital of a slavic minority – the Sorbs). We make a sobering stop at Buchenwald concentration camp before hiking in the Hatrz Mountains. Then we head north to Saxony-Anhalt where we stop by the oldest chocolate factory in Germany in Helle. Eleonora encourages us to visit the palace of Sanssouci at Postdam and the Hanseatic cities Rostock and Stralsund. While in Eastern Germany we should try Christstollen, Baumkuchen, and Saxon Potato Soup. Two special tips from Eleonora are to visit the Hechtfest multicultural art festival in Dresden and the medieval Christmas market.

Hear about travel to Eastern Taiwan as the Amateur Traveler talks to freelance travel writer Robert Kelly about a destination he literally wrote the book on.

Hear about Cruising Southeastern Alaska on Un-Cruise Adventures as the Amateur Traveler goes on a cruise where dressing for dinner and bingo are replaced with kayaking and bushwhacking.

Hear about travel to the Northeastern region of the Netherlands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Rachel Heller from rachelheller.org about her adopted country.

Hear about travel to Tbilisi and the eastern part of the Republic of Georgia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Tommo & Megsy from FoodFunTravel.com who have settled in Georgia.

31 October 2019

Trade between Central and Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa has increased significantly in the last decade and a half. There is a strong case to be made for greater economic re-engagement, especially in terms of investment, that has the potential to support inclusive growth in both regions.

Research Event

In 2016, from an estimated pre-war population of 22 million, the United Nations (UN) identified 13.5 million Syrians requiring humanitarian assistance, of which more than 6 million are internally displaced within Syria, and around 5 million are refugees outside of Syria. In this podcast, Aula Abarra, consultant in infectious disease from London,...

Americans across a large portion of the Northeast are in the midst of an unusually late-season blast of Arctic air courtesy of the polar vortex.

CALL FOR PAPERSINTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Shaping the ‘Socialist Self’? The Role of Psy-Sciences in Communist States of the Eastern Bloc (1948–1989) Date: 6 November 2020 Venue: Prague, Czech Republic Deadline for applications: 30 June 2020 Organizing institutions: CEFRES (French Research Center in Humanities and Social Sciences in Prague) Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences Collegium Carolinum … Continue reading CfP: Shaping the ‘Socialist Self’? The Role of Psy-Sciences in Communist States of the Eastern Bloc (1948–1989) →

Polish people -- Genealogy.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American.

As teachers across the country grapple with the challenges that come with remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic, an elementary school teacher on Maryland’s Eastern Shore faces the added challenge of a lack of internet access at home. 

The South Eastern Gazette (1852-1912), formerly the Maidstone Gazette, was a major regional title for the south-east of England. Available free in the UK thanks to the 'Your Heritage Lottery Fund' and the Kent Messenger, the title covers much of the South-East of England from East Hampshire through to Surrey and Sussex to South Essex and parts of London.

Long-term care homes in Eastern Health's jurisdiction are allowing for people to again visit their relatives by windows, just in time for Mother's Day. 

There are now 176 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in northeastern Ontario, and seven deaths.

More than a dozen First Nations in northeastern Ontario have closed their borders to outsiders during the pandemic. It's creating some friction, but in the long-run could help to better define what Indigenous self-government really means. 

The Kivus region of eastern Congo again faces escalating violence, including by a rebel force acting as a proxy of neighbouring Rwanda. To stop the repetitive cycle of rebellion and avoid large-scale killing, donors and African mediators need to move from crisis management to conflict resolution with the right set of pressures on Kigali and Kinshasa.

The fight against entrenched armed groups in eastern Congo such as the ADF-Nalu needs to switch from a military to an intelligence-based approach.

The Framework Agreement signed by the UN, African organisations and eleven countries and the deployment of an intervention brigade in North Kivu are positive steps, but conflicts in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo also require a bottom-up approach aimed at improving intercommunal relations and restoring peace at the local level.

Snow and record cold are in the forecast for New York City and the Northeast Saturday.