Above: Cathrin (center, in black skirt) in the newsroom in East Berlin, circa 1989 Cathrin Baumbach has worked for UnTours for over 10 years and runs our programs in Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe and Greece. Cathrin grew up in East Germany and was living in East Berlin when the wall fell, 25 years ago. Here…
Friendly dogs and sandy beaches aren’t the first things that come to mind for me when I think of Nafplio and our Greek UnTour. My 14-year-old daughter opened my eyes to new sides of this lovely seaside town when we visited Greece this summer. Anna didn’t join me on a work trip to Greece to see…
1. Tell us a little bit about your most recent UnTour and why you chose to go there? My son and I did one week on the Rhine and one week at the Castle in Germany and one week in Salzburg in Austria. Our most exciting thing we wanted to see was Neuschwanstein Castle and…
Switzerland is where UnTours started, 40 years ago! Our Heartland and Oberland programs are the originals, steeped in the mountainside traditions of Heidi. Ticino rounds out our offerings there perfectly, adding southern flair with its Italian food and language. Its lakeside towns are filled with brightly colored houses, narrow picturesque lanes, and inviting trattorie….
1. Tell us a little bit about your most recent UnTours. Recently we took two UnTours. The first was in October 2012, when we returned to Quebec City where we had spent our honeymoon 50 years ago. It was as delightful as we remembered it. Definitely deserves a return visit. It’s a great UnTours North…
At last count, Germany has 39 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within its borders, making it one of the world’s top five countries for UNESCO-recognized riches. UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Its mission, in brief, is to foster dialogue and understanding among different cultures, civilizations and people. With their World Heritage…
The UnTours Foundation loan recipient, EcoZoom, has been nominated by Smithsonian and Cooper Hewitt for the People’s Design Choice Awards. People’s Design means that we, the people, get to vote! If you’re already on board, please do vote for them right here, every day! The dirty story of cookstoves As I’ve gotten to know EcoZoom and…
Dee McConnell just celebrated her 20th anniversary with UnTours, and over those decades, she has worn many hats here. She is our air specialist and works hard to find and ticket good airfares, monitor schedule changes, and help out in the occasional crisis. I’ve always admired her chutzpah, never more so than when I’ve watched…
1. What is your favorite UnTours memory? Waking up in Meiringen to crystal blue skies and seeking the sun rise on the Wetterhorn Mountain. Chalet Margrit—where they stayed 2. How is taking an UnTour different from other ways of travelling? An UnTour gives a traveler a chance to get settled and to feel “at home”…
1. Tell us a little bit about your most recent UnTour. My last UnTour was to Alsace and Tuscany. Alsace was beautiful and we loved the little villages. Tuscany is simply amazing. 2. Why did you choose to go there? I chose Alsace as I had never been to that region of France. I chose…