Travel Maven blog

Germans celebrate 20 years after the Wall

As Germans celebrate this next week and the world watches -- 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain -- here are some Internet sources for remembering, with maps, pictures and perspectives. 

You might start with my series: Remembering the Berlin Wall and Cold War, including ideas for travelers to explore Eastern Germany and Berlin, experiencing old lives, chills, and fears. 

Others I recommend:

Twenty years later, how Germany has healed the scars of the Berlin Wall.

You may comment on the Berlin Wall Twitter site.

Take a historical and geographical journey of the Berlin Wall through the memories of those whose lives were shaped by it.

Cycling the Berlin Wall, a peaceful ride where guard dogs once roamed

Museums where you can see glimpses of life under communism

The Trabi revived as an electric car

"Wind of Change" is the anthem most associated, cigarette lighters aloft, with the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago this November 9.

Vacations in Germany, planning a trip

Bidding for travel bargains at SATW

If you like to travel and bid for bargains, the annual auction by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) is a fun two-fer.

This year's auction is up, online, with bidding until 10 p.m. MDT on Friday, November 20.

Top items range from cruises on the Royal Clipper from Barbados and on Maine Windjammer's Stephen Taber, to a Germany getaway with roundtrip tickets on Air Berlin and four nights for two persons at hotels in Berlin and Dresden.

At SatwAuction, you will find deals on goods, hotels, resort and vacation packages in the U.S., Canada and abroad. Values of donated items range from $50 to $3,962.

Honors for Texas, Maine, Oregon, Virginia, Florida

Efforts to restore and conserve five important natural and historic sites in Virginia, Florida, Texas, Oregon and Maine are honored this year with Phoenix Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW).

The annual awards, given since 1969, are to recognize individuals or organizations actively involved in conservation, preservation, beautification and anti-pollution campaigns that further the growth and appeal of North American travel destinations.

Here's a list of the five Phoenix Award winners and why they won. Thanks to Rich Grant of VisitDenver for providing the list of award winners.

Cruise passengers bob in the Atlantic

News from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean: Passengers on a trans-Atlantic cruise aboard the SeaDream II jumped overboard for a dip last week.

The 56-passenger cruise ship, one of two luxury vessels owned by SeaDream Yacht Club, was on a route from Spain to Puerto Rico.

Passengers said they wanted to swim, said SeaDream II’s Captain Terje Willasen.

 "At dawn on Thursday October 15, I knew that this was the day. The seas were as still as a pond,” said Willsen.

At latitude 26 degrees, 28 minutes, longitude 39 degrees 40 minutes, 958 nautical miles from the Azores and 1541 nautical miles from San Juan, a group of passengers slipped into the ocean from the ship’s special stern Marina and bobbed about in the sea, before continuing their journey to San Juan.

SeaDream calls its two small ships mega yachts. Information from SeaDream.com

Culinary excellence on Celebrity Equinox

One of this year’s sleekest new cruise ships stakes its reputation on style and food.

Celebrity Equinox, second of five new ships planned by Celebrity Cruises, poses the question: Can a big ship provide service and dining that is equal to a vacation on land?

So far, the answer is yes. Reviews have been solidly positive for the Celebrity Solstice, which debuted last year, and its twin sister, Celebrity Equinox, which began cruising in Europe late July and will be in the Caribbean out of South Florida this winter.

Both ships sport a sophisticated contemporary design, fine art collections, and a group of specialty restaurants that have drawn raves from critics and passengers. 

See: Cruising on the Celebrity Equinox at TheTravelMavens.com

Above, mother and daughter from Surrey, England, snuggle in a tented nook on the Celebrity Equinox.