Mike Hoekstra

Stories

"Culture history"

Gaudí at 100: Barcelona's Most Famous Architect "Raising the Roof" of the City

Culture & History

One hundred years after his death, Antoni Gaudí remains impossible to separate from Barcelona. The Catalan architect died on June 10, 1926, one of the most defining architects of any era,...

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Why is it Called ‘Easter’ Island?

Culture & History

You likely already know that’s a trick question.  This tiny dot in the eastern South Pacific Ocean, but technically a territory of Chile, is actually properly called Rapa Nui. The world...

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Places Outside of Dublin to Get to Know Ireland – and the Irish

Culture & History Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

On St. Patrick’s Day, the saying goes, there’s a ‘little bit of Irish’ in us all. For some of us, it’s true all year round. Today, Ireland has about 5...

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Cuisine to Caftans: Latest Cultural Heritage of Humanity Listings Inspire Travel

Culture & History

For the first time, a country’s entire cuisine has been recognized as part of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” of humanity. It was an astonishing moment at the announcement of UNESCO’s...

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Amsterdam at 750: Still the City of the Future

Culture & History

In 1275, no one could ever have imagined that a simple dam on the Amstel River would become a city that pioneered so many elements of modern life in the...

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Celebrate Jane Austen's 250th Birthday in Britain

Culture & History England

If the famous line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” makes you smile...

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When is the Jamaican Rum You're Drinking Not Jamaican?

Culture & History Jamaica

It’s only champagne if it’s from Champagne. Ham from Parma is equally exclusive. And now, some rum producers in Jamaica are causing quite a ‘stir’– working to tighten rules that...

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