Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica is a tropical paradise that calls out to those who crave the perfect blend of relaxation, excitement, and ecological exploration. With its lush rain forests, misty cloud forests, active volcanoes, and pristine beaches, Costa Rica offers a bit of everything, but it’s the pura vida, or pure lifestyle, that animates the heart of this country.

“What was it like to grow up in East Germany?”

I get that question all the time. Just the other day a close friend sheepishly confessed to me, “I am somewhat confused about this inner-German wall you talk about. I always wonder, if The Wall separated East and West Berlin, why didn’t people just walk around it? You’re telling me it extended all along the East-West border? And you lived right next to it? What was that like?”

This month we collectively turned 100, celebrating our 50th birthdays the first week of August. We chose to observe this auspicious event in French Polynesia. This remote French territory in the South Pacific is reputed for its luxury overwater bungalows and paradise-perfect beaches, but we had a hunch there’s more to it than that.

As former tour guides, we were accustomed to living out of carry-on suitcases for long stretches. We understand how daunting it can be to compile the perfect carry-on composition for international travel.

When you visit Delphi for the first time—or the twentieth—the site’s natural beauty steals your breath, and you appreciate just how much of an aesthete Apollo was to select that particular hillside as the location of his most significant oracle.

Dotting the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily lay the Aeolian archipelago, a strand of seven volcanic islands cast amid expansive blue waters, white sands, and volcanic pumice.

Aeolus was the god and keeper of the winds who resided on the floating island of Aeolia. He helped Odysseus on his journey home from the Trojan War, warmly welcoming him and his crew and offering them hospitality for a month.

Polyphemus was one of the Cyclopes, a race of one-eyed giants, sons of Poseidon, the god of the sea and earthquakes. He lived in a cave at the base of Mt. Etna on the island of Sicily where he tended to his sheep.

"Know thyself" (gnothi seauton) and "Nothing in excess" (meden agan) are two famous inscriptions that adorned the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, American forces faced some of the most intense and challenging conditions at Omaha Beach. The beach was heavily fortified with German defenses, including bunkers, artillery, machine-gun nests, barbed wire and mines.

My childhood memories are rooted in the Thüringen forest in winter. A Brothers Grimm, fairy-tale kind of place, the dark forest was my playground that spilled into the glowing warmth of the village.