The Travel Monocle sparks a lust for unusual places, adventures, and curiosity all over the globe. We dare boldly to connect you, body and spirit, to experiences not ordinarily considered. From the of-the-beaten-path gem of a restaurant to the frequently-visited monuments, the perspective you get from our travel monocle will be like none other.
The Travel Monocle
My wife and I have spent a total of four months in Africa over 30 years: Egypt, the Seychelles, the Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Our recent five-week trip was intense. Visiting the continent requires heightened savvy and willingness to tolerate some creature discomforts. However, it was enriching beyond expectations, as exotic wildlife…
Many Caribbean islands are little more than water sports or beachcomber destinations. Jamaica is pleasantly different. The birthplace of reggae, her charms extend well beyond her saltwater shores and adventure opportunities. Now that her bauxite mines are mostly shuttered, vacationers are the new mother lode, drawing 4.3 million tourists per year. When we visited,…
Eons ago (1969), my first vivid memory of Vietnam was a Viet Cong rocket cratering not far away from where I was brushing my teeth. For the most part, it got better from there, though it was difficult to appreciate the beauty of the place in a war-time environment. Asia’s answer to elongated Chile, this…
When last in Norway, I enjoyed Oslo and the surrounding sights. Modern, chic, and progressive: Scandinavia on steroids. On another visit, I participated in Bergen’s Rain Festival, which, could have been celebrated on any of 240 days of the year. Norway will stun you with breathtaking scenery: high mountains, deep fjords, verdant valleys, massive forests,…
An April The Wall Street Journal article touted a three-day sample of Switzerland’s charms using a special rail pass. It also inferred that things run like clockwork in that Alpine country. Having personally sampled Swiss efficiencies and maintained a bank account there, I would concur. Switzerland is landlocked, walled in by some of Europe’s highest…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner The last two weeks in February were spent giving the Sunshine State a thorough going-over, putting 1,700 miles on a red Mini Cooper. Unlike our laid-back trip to Florida’s panhandle last fall, we crisscrossed the state twice, putting a big toe into the Everglades before departing. If you’ve not…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner My first trip to Hawaii was for rest and relaxation from Vietnam in 1970, and I returned last month. Early on, there was some internal debate about the best island in the chain. Of course in paradise, there are no losers, but we continue to favor the Big Island.…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Once the largest steel town west of the Mississippi, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company dominated Colorado as its largest employer for a century. Founded by William Palmer to manufacture rails for his trains, it attracted skilled laborers from all over Europe. Now owned by Russian EVRAZ, a marvelous…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner My wife and I just returned from a fall colors trip out east. We went, expecting to see the Catskills and Finger Lakes of New York floundering economically, as much heavy industry along the Erie Canal has fled. What we discovered instead was a renaissance in process. Old towns,…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner My wife, Barb, and I just returned from Taos, New Mexico. A captivating and photogenic mecca, it is the same place New York elite artists, Bert Phillips and Ernest Blumenschein uncovered a century ago. The society of artists and their story is essential to understand if one is to…
By Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photos We once owned a home in Bend, Oregon and sold it – felt there were better investment opportunities. What a colossal mistake. The town has doubled its population and appeal in 20 years. Bend is the absolute gem of the Beaver State. Dead center in Oregon, in high desert country,…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Excepting Yellowstone and the Tetons, one might dismiss Wyoming, our northern neighbor, as a windy, wild western coal-rich frontier. In some places, maybe so. But to ignore her sweet spots would be a grievous error. If you relate to game warden Joe Pickett through author C.J. Box, it’s time…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner In late March, to retain our sanity in a COVID-obsessed world, my wife and I lit out for the Florida Panhandle. We flew to New Orleans, drove four hours through Mississippi and Alabama, and entered the western edge of the state in Pensacola. Our only disappointment was our inability…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” so said Marcellus in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. He was definitely wrong. The fact is, Denmark is so sublime, it may indeed be the happiest place on the planet. Actually, Denmark was rated as one of the top three happiest places…
By Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photos I smile at our Irish memories twice yearly, during lambing season in April and while remembering September oyster festivals. In spring, no one need ask why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle; the color green surely was invented there. Although Ireland’s history begins in ancient times, her allure is quite…
Article by Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photos Years ago, I consulted for Swedish battery manufacturer, OPTIMA. Normally, a fair-weather traveler, a meeting at headquarters called me to Stockholm in the winter. What a treat. Since industrial grade winters are the norm, Swedes prepare through their traditions, entertainment venues and infrastructure. Fear of cold and snow does…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Sandwiched softly between Brazil and Argentina is Uruguay, a compact, laid-back progressive republic. Independent since 1828, she is stable and urbane. Likened for decades as a Switzerland without the mountains, Uruguay still remains under the radar of all but the most seasoned traveler. Big mistake. To visit makes for…
Article and photo by Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photo Singapore, you say? I first visited Singapore in 1987 and last in 2017. It stunned my senses both then and now. Once a tiger-infested malarial swamp claimed by the British in 1795, Singapore became a republic in 1965 when it detached from Malaysia. By 1987 under its…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photo Rated the safest country in Southeast Asia, Thailand is magnificent holiday country with 1,000 miles of coastline. Few know that its standard of living is high, ranking 61st in the world, above Peru, Hong Kong, China and Brazil. Buddhism is practiced by 85% of its citizens, a…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner But for an offer from friends to stay at their Lima home, we might never have sampled this land of the Incas. Regrets? Only having overlooked it for so long. We allocated time between the capital, Cusco and the not-to-miss Machu Picchu. Our visit took place in early November,…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photo One absolutely, positively cannot oversell northeastern Spain. The environs of Barcelona, Bilbao and San Sebastian are simply exquisite with cultural, gastronomical and urban attractions among the finest in all Europe. It was in 1979 that a friend insisted I visit his birthplace, Barcelona. The 1888 World’s Fair…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner We parted in Warsaw last month. No history of Poland is complete without knowing it once was the center of a Nazi killing field. The pre-war Jewish population was huge, as Poland was the most religiously tolerant country in Europe. The Holocaust began when Nazis rounded up the Jewish…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner While international travel for pleasure is not an option currently, now is the time to break out your photo albums and relive your previous travel adventures – or travel vicariously here through mine. World War II ended 75 years ago. Poland was a major casualty, ground up by the…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner In 2005, my wife and I discovered this diamond in the rough. Rough, as Slovenia was still drying out from the oppressive former Communist rule of President Josip Broz Tito and transitioning to a managed capitalist economy. Slovenia among the Balkan states, was ready for the free world, stoking…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner After touring Wellington last month, let’s ship out, on a 3.5 hour, $44 ferry ride, crossing Cook Strait to the South Island. The 12th largest island on Earth may also be its finest. If you are Maori, you’ll call it Te Waipounamu; if you are Hobbit, Middle-earth. After sampling…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner An exquisite hike to a special place: Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula.Our family has visited this magic land in the South Pacific frequently. We’ve tramped hundreds of miles on her world-famous tracks, lived through the Christchurch Earthquake and treated her two islands as our adventure land, writ large.…
The color contrasts at Binalong Bay detail the orange lichen, azure seas, white clouds and blue skies of the region. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner As noted in the October issue of The Connection, the Tasmania experience is a breed apart. It is refreshing and temperate, unlike the Australian mainland. Lightly populated, it’s a…
A small sction of the Painted Cliffs rock formation at Maria Island National Park. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy map Among the world’s most remote and enticing places, Tasmania vies for my blue ribbon. Time will stand still for you in “Tassie”… Getting there takes some doing. Brace yourself: Denver to California, then…
A postcard highlighting many of Dresden’s architectural wonders as they stand today, rebuilt and celebrated. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photos Scant months after the Berlin Wall came down, I visited. Heady days for those fleeing Communism. Consumer goods. Variety. Freedom to do most anything. “Osties” with cars would drive west gawking at…
Step into the past and ride the old Soviet-era trolleys still in use in Lviv. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Having visited Germany almost annually since 1953 and being the son of a 1927 immigrant father, I am intimate with this enchanting land. When one braids 150 years of history with natural beauty, economy,…
Scandinavian design has long been seen as avant-garde by the world; the Helsinki Central Library Oodi (pictured above) does not disappoint. By Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photos One has favorite cities; Helsinki remains high on my list. With granite foundations, a comparable resolve in her people and Nordic wooded beauty, the allure is magnetic! I visited…
The Blue Lagoon in Ulodeniz, Turkey is one of the most photographed in the world. The gradations of blue and green are spectacular. It swims well too! Cappadocia. Formed in the same manner as Castle Rock’s buttes, the towers and geology of this region is otherworldly. One can spend days wandering and appreciating the region…
Hagia Sophia. Mosque built by Emperor Justinian designed to impress. It will, guaranteed. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner My rapture with Turkey began in 1987 while visiting Istanbul on my way around the world. Numerous visits would follow. In 2018, it was time again to swill that city’s “wine.” The political actors had changed,…
Left to right. City Market in St. John, N.B. Great place to find most anything, including lunch. Roosevelt Cottage, Campobello Island, N.B. Middle Head Hike, Cape Breton National Park, N.S. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Part two features the large southern provinces, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Should you have more time, consider pastoral,…
Seascape looking out from the Ferryland Lighthouse in Newfoundland. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Canada is vast, a travel jigsaw. Where to begin? How about in the east since the eastern provinces are more compact? Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland-Labrador have much in common. Shaped by the Atlantic with a…
Potsdamer Platz before (bottom) and after (top) – from wasteland to the symbol of New Berlin. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, reunification began instantly. Freedom was visual, in the faces of former East German citizens cascading with joy through gaps in the wall. In the satisfaction of…
Berlin’s Red Town Hall, seat of the mayor of Berlin. Built 1861-69 in Italian renaissance style. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner To visit Paris, London, or even Rome for a week or so is fashionable. Each packs a wallop of culture, green space, architecture, and history. For a place like no other, try Berlin;…
Joe Gschwendtner/author standing on parapets of Valenca’s 13th-century fortress. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner The Douro River valley is reason alone to visit Portugal in the fall. Terraced hills are necklaced with red, orange and yellowed leaves on vines grown heavy with grapes awaiting harvest. A bit of cheese, bread and last year’s vintage,…
View of Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in the Belem district. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Many tourists in Portugal don’t get much beyond Lisbon. For good reason. It is a welcoming city of cobbled street neighborhoods, hills, monuments, wide boulevards, arches and squares, rich in architectural delights. Aimlessly wandering alleys, boulevards and seven hills makes…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Portugal was on top of the world in the 16th century. Capitalizing on the skill of her navigators, their discoveries and trade routes, untold wealth flowed into the national treasury. It was a golden age in which (King) Manuel I and his explorers set the pace for all of…
By Joe Gschwendtner In May, I got another close whiff of Russia on the Curonian Spit in Lithuania. For those with a yen for history, Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave, surrounded by Lithuania and Poland. It is a heavily militarized, warm water port on the Baltic. It was also once Königsberg, home of the Teutonic…
Cathedral Square in Vilnius was the start of a human chain “The Baltic Way”– more than 2,000,000 people linked by hand to the Baltic Sea demonstrating solidarity of their suffering under the USSR. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Lithuania is the southernmost and most populous of the three Baltic Republics. Like her neighbors, she…
Article and photo by Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Latvia.eu Sandwiched between Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia accommodates some 2 million people. Like Estonia, her terrain is rich in natural beauty, thickly forested with rolling plains. But for capital Riga with a million inhabitants, Latvia is otherwise a country of small towns and villages. In a…
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in old town Tallinn, Estonia. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner While Europe struggles with politics and copes with a mass influx of not-always-welcomed migrants, three small Baltic States offer fresh adventures: well-preserved cities, idyllic lakes, sand dunes and enchanted forests – what travel guide “Lonely Planet” calls the super-nature experience. Many…
Every year in May, umbrellas appear like butterflies in front of Potocki Palace on Kopernick Street. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner I set off to Lviv (‘Le-view’), Ukraine in May. Friends thought I had finally gone off the reservation. Know this: Ukrainians have a thirst for freedom likely second to none on the planet.…
The Assumption of Mary Church, built in late 17th century. It’s tower is 171 feet tall. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner For 40 years, communist Joseph Broz Tito dominated the Balkan Peninsula. After World War II, excluding Greece and Albania, this land of various ethnic groups became known as Yugoslavia. While the capital of…
Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Superlatives today are not lacking. Everything is amazing, incredible, awesome, special or very unique, the latter actually impossible. But how about “paradise” as perfection, a place against which all other places on earth are measured …? Check your world map, and travel 900 miles east of Zanzibar and 600…
Valley of the Moon, Atacama Desert; inset Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glacieres National Park Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Mature Americans seldom consider South America for independent travel. Currency devaluations, revolutions and erratic creature comforts lead most travelers to tours and cruises. Chile is decidedly different. Discoverable along a 2,700-mile axis, she offers epic…
A bird’s-eye view of San Sebastian, Spain (Donostia, if you are Basque) on the southern coast of Bay of Biscay. Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Harry is an old friend. I met him on a ferry in New Zealand in 1990. We got to talking about places and getting to the real marrow of…