(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Even after removing the sights that appeared on other lists and those for which I didn’t have photographs, this was still by far my longest year-end list.  I then decided to put together separate lists of “Sobering Moments” and “Unique Experiences”…and still had to split this cultural and historic list into two parts.  Proceeding once again in chronological order…

1.  Michelangelo’s Pieta at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

Michelangelo carved this from a single piece of marble in his early twenties.  It’s absolutely mind-boggling and is much more impressive in person.  For most people, this would have been their life’s work.  However, Michelangelo did a few other things too, such as painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel…possibly the greatest work of art ever.  I would certainly have included that here as well, but photography is not permitted inside the Chapel.

2.  Ancient Rome

Right in the middle of the modern city of Rome, multiple generations of ancient Rome are built on top of each other.  This is most evident in the Forum but there are reminders of ancient Rome everywhere.  Just like in London, you will stumble across something familiar (Circus Maximus, the Colosseum, the Parthenon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain…) without even trying.

3.  Ostia Antica (near Rome, Italy)

Ostia Antica was kind of a working-class version of Pompeii.  However, instead of being destroyed by a volcano, Ostia Antica was abandoned because of changing watercourses.  While not as opulent as Pompeii, Ostia Antica is huge…it is impossible to see all of it in a single day.  We really enjoyed walking and even climbing around the city; it’s a first-class site and not too crowded either!

4.  Venice, Italy

I was prepared to dislike Venice, as I had read far too much about the crowds, the lousy food, the extortionate costs…even the smell.  Nonetheless, it really is a magical place and it’s best to just wander off and try to get lost.  While the picture above this paragraph shows some of the majesty of Venice, the narrow canals and lanes away from the Grand Canal are even more compelling…it’s just that photography in those tiny spaces is extremely difficult.

5.  Washington D. C.

The National Mall feels like the biggest cultural attraction in the world.  It goes on forever, with one striking monument after another until you reach the Capitol.   If you tire of monuments, adjacent to the Mall are numerous branches of the Smithsonian…seemingly one for every branch of knowledge and culture you can imagine. It’s hard to pick one as the highlight, so I’m just lumping them all together here.

6.  The Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

I went to Mostar, more or less, to see this bridge (see also photo at the top of this post).  Dating back 500 years, it was a symbol of co-existence and tolerance between different religious groups in Bosnia & Herzegovina.  Sadly, it was symbolically destroyed during the conflict of the early 1990s.  Painstakingly rebuilt in an attempt to bring about reconciliation, it once again proudly spans the Neretva River.  It’s a beautiful bridge (and challenging to cross!) even without the history, but knowing the story behind it made visiting the Old Bridge one of the most moving experiences of my travel year.

7.  Dubrovnik, Croatia

Another city in the former Yugoslavia that was pummeled during the civil war, Dubrovnik was rebuilt at a startling pace once the hostilities had ended.  My “pension”, like most other buildings, was bombed and lost its roof in the conflict.  Today, you can once again walk around the entire (and large!) old city on the ancient walls and not even realize that there was a war less than 20 years ago.   The city, formerly known as “Ragusa”, is beautiful at ground level too.

8.  Kotor, Montenegro…climbing the walls

While Dubrovnik’s ancient walls were massive, they can’t claim to go as high as the walls above Kotor!   Not just hundreds but even thousands of years old in a couple of places, this was like walking along the Great Wall of China…in Europe.   One needs to be careful, however, as many of the structures are crumbling.  The walls will also test your physical fitness!  But Kotor is a quaint medieval town and well worth a visit even if you don’t climb the walls.

Part 2 of this list is coming soon!