Marken is a picturesque village located in the municipality of Waterland in North Holland, Netherlands, and known for its charming houses and coastal scenery. With a population of about 1,730 it offers visitors a glimpse into Dutch culture and history. The village is often described as a perfect side trip when visiting Amsterdam, especially for those looking to immerse themselves in a quaint, traditional Dutch atmosphere.
Marken features beautiful wooden houses typical of Dutch fishing villages, making it an appealing destination for tourists and photographers alike. Visitors can enjoy the serene coastal environment while exploring the unique architecture and cultural heritage of this small fishing town. Marken is a popular summer and weekend retreat for the people of Amsterdam with its waterfront boardwalk having all the charm of a traditional Dutch village that makes it an ideal spot for exploration, fishing, boating and relaxation.
Often included on tours from Amsterdam that include the iconic windmills it’s a perfect half-day tour to take in the Dutch countryside. A selection of Viator tours can be explored HERE*.
*This link is provided just as a reference and The Intentional Travelers do not get paid any commission from this site.
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When we think about The British Isles we often focus in on London or Belfast, Liverpool or Edinburgh, but there’s also a wild side to be explored.
The Scottish Highlands alone are a vast rugged area covering roughly the northern third of Scotland, of about 10,000 square miles, encompassing diverse mountainous landscapes and numerous lochs.
Another seriously wild part of England is Wales with roughly 8,000 square miles of sparsely populated countryside that’s mostly mountainous with an equally rugged coastline. .
Ireland’s coastline is approximately 4,600 miles long, encompassing the entire island and its numerous offshore islands, with the famous Wild Atlantic Way alone covering about 1,600 miles with those dramatic Atlantic cliffs. .
So if you’re looking for some amazing landscapes and remarkable hiking spend some time visiting the wild side of the British Isles.
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You see them all the time and everywhere – statues erected to celebrate a person of importance. Inevitably pigeons find them a great place to land or even roost and there doesn’t seem to be anything to effectively prevent it from happening. This one sits in a park in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. and when I took this photo I was more focused on the pigeon and didn’t pay any attention to the statue. Maybe that adds to the indignity.
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On the banks of the Danube in Croatia is the beautiful town of Vukovar. Walking its streets today you come across a number of odd structures that seem to have suffered a calamity. A riverside hotel with a facade full of holes, the towns water tower damaged, along with a church and the building pictured above. If you talk to locals and do some research you will find that they are there as memorials to war crimes.
In 1991 the Yugoslav People’s Army, along with the Serb Territorial Defense forces and paramilitaries from Serbia, launched a full-blown military assault with a siege on the town of Vukovar in eastern Croatia. It started on August 25th with thousands of artillery shells raining down on this tiny town. The siege would last for 86 days and leave around 3,000 soldiers and civilians dead with even more wounded before the town’s defenders had no choice but to surrender. What followed became a mass murder of many of the mostly Muslim survivors. Later a U.N. war crimes tribunal was empaneled to try Yugoslav officers for criminal responsibility in the 1991 massacre of non-Serbs in the Croatian town with a number being convicted.
A Memorial To A Siege And War Crimes
Bećarski križ (Reveller’s Cross)
The oldest and largest public crucifix in Vukovar gave name to the Old City that was centered on the Reveller’s Cross. The crucifix was originally erected in 1805 and was the first public crucifix in the city sculpted in stone. The Reveller’s Cross was demolished in 1996 by artillery during the seige of Vukovar. After the war the Reveller’s Cross was replaced with an accurate recreation of the original.
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As American as hot dogs and apple pie is how the expression goes but here are some great hot dogs you have to leave the United States to ge
There was a joke among business flyers years ago about the South. “If you die in the South you cannot go to Heaven without first connecting through Atlanta”. A business associate from Atlanta had an add-on comment. “That’s because God wants you to have time for lunch at Varsity Hot Dogs for one last Earthly pleasure.”
“What’ll ya have? What’ll ya have?” For those in the know, it’s a sin to drive through Atlanta without stopping for lunch at the famous Varsity Hot Dog next to the campus of Georgia Tech. It isn’t hard to find as it takes up almost a whole block near the dense area around the university. The size of this hot dog place speaks a lot about the value and quality of this remarkable hot dog. To grow to that size you know their hot dogs have to be really good.
Varsity Hot Dogs
Portillo’s Chicago
As American as hot dogs and apple pie as the expression goes. The American approach to the hot dog has a number of regional variations like the Chicago Dog. Said to have originated with Portillo’s in Chicago, it is really the series of toppings that define it. The classic is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle slice, tomatoes, hot peppers and celery salt. A bit too much for my taste but still a great dog. If you want a taste of Chicago dogs and can’t get to Chicago, the second best is Hot Dog Heaven with locations around the country. There’s one in Ft. Lauderdale and another in Orlando. Since 1987, Hot Dog Heaven has been specializing in Authentic Chicago Hot Dogs prepared with Vienna Beef Products. Their quality ingredients are shipped from Chicago directly to their stores for a truly authentic taste. The hot dogs, buns, and the toppings are all from Chicago.
Nathan’s Coney Island
New York has Nathan’s Coney Island Hot Dog made famous at the beginning of the twentieth century when Nathan Handwerker, a Polish/Jewish immigrant sold them on the Coney Island boardwalk for a nickle. His wife Ida created the hot dog recipe and used her grandmother’s secret spice recipe. It is recognized as a classic all-beef hot dog today and served traditionally with mustard and/or sauerkraut.
Oddly enough, Ft. Wayne Indiana is also famous for a Coney Island Wiener Stand. Opened in 1914 by Vasil Eschoff, a Macedonian immigrant who’s descendants have operated the restaurant ever since. The Coney Island in Fort Wayne is described as a small, pink hot dog with a “peppery-sweet” coney sauce on a soft bun and the coney sauce brings the flavor of a savory pork sausage to the dog.
Icelandic Got Dogs
A lot of purists will argue that the United States has the best hot dogs in the world. However, the origin of the hot dog goes back to Germany with the invention of the Frankfurter in the late 1600s by Johann Georghehner and Germany still has a tradition of selling similar hot dogs today.
Today it isn’t just America and Germany that are famous for hot dogs as there are variations in countries around the world from Austria to Iceland to Vietnam.
As we travel food is always part of the experience and oddly we have had people recommend local hot dog stands as something to try in a number of places. Often it’s the dressings that makes many of these dogs unique. In Vietnam they add pickled vegetables and in Hawaii, it’s a pineapple relish.
Iceland – Famous for hot dogs
Bill in Iceland
The Icelandic hot dog is sold at hot dog stands and convenience stores everywhere but in Reykjavik, the recommended hot dog stand is Bæjarins beztu pylsur (pylsur means hot dog), which has been open for over 60 years. Icelandic hot dogs rank near the top of the list of world’s best. Icelandic dogs are traditionally served with sweet mustard, a crispy onion relish and remolaði sauce. You can also order it Clinton style which is with just mustard the way Bill liked his.
Würstelstand Vienna
Würstelstand hot dog
When visiting Vienna our Austrian friends, who were out of the country when we visited Vienna, were very specific about trying a hot dog at Würstelstand, a hot dog and sausage stand behind the famous Vienna Opera House. The dog ranked way up on our list and judging by the lines Austrians agree. Their dogs are served in a long baked bun where they hollow it out with a counter mounted spike producing a “pig in a blanket” effect. Order yours Vienna style with a squirt of brown mustard.
Since first venturing into the wonderful world of hot dogs we’ve had a number of recommendations sent to us as belonging on a list of America’s best hot dog:
This is the Russian Embassy in Estonia. The fence is intended to keep the Estonians from defacing the embassy and the signs are protesting and condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine. Today there were no typical protesters because of the rain but often there are 50 to a 100 demonstrators outside Russian Embassy.
Talking to Estonians it’s easy to understand why and how much they hate Russians. During the Soviet occupation thousands of Russians moved into Estonia as they took control of the Estonian government and its larger businesses. In 1991 after independence a majority of those Russians fled back to Russia, many taking spoils of the occupation with them.
Estonia regained independence after a “Singing Revolution” where Estonians used national songs and gatherings to demand freedom, leading to the declaration of full independence on August 20, 1991, after a failed Soviet coup against the government, with the USSR formally recognizing it on September 6, 1991. This marked the restoration of the pre-1940 Republic of Estonia, ending the long illegal Soviet occupation.
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