Did You Know ... ? The English banned the kilt, tartans and bagpipes in the 18th century. Macbeth was the last Highlander king of Scotland. The Highlands are less populated today than they were in the 18th century. Loch Ness holds more freshwater than all lakes and reservoirs in England
Did You Know...? Greece has around 6,000 islands and islets, of which only 227 are inhabited. The Peloponnese Peninsula became an island only when the Corinth Canal was opened (1893). Much of the “Mamma Mia” movie (2008) was filmed on two Greek islands, Skiathos and Skopelos. Three Greek islands are
Did You Know? The Parthenon’s horizontal lines — stair steps, beams and roof — are curved in a slight dome shape. The eternal flame of Altis, at Olympia, is the source of the flaming torch carried to the modern Olympics. Statues on ancient Greek buildings were typically painted with bright
Did You Know...? Although British, the Turks islands sold salt to George Washington's Continental Army. For nearly 100 years, the TCI flag misrepresented the islands’ iconic salt mounds as igloos. The roads on Salt Cay are paved with salt. Several U.S. astronauts, including John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, trained for
Did You Know...? Hurricane Ivan destroyed some 85% of all structures in the Cayman Islands (2004). The 1966 Batmobile, in the Cayman Motor Museum, was based on a $250K “concept car” created by Ford. Southern stingrays use electroreceptors on their snouts (as well as smell and touch) to locate food.
Did You Know...? The island’s western tip was a haven for gunrunners during the U.S. Civil War and rum runners during Prohibition. The Caribbean yellow pine is the most common tree on the island. Grand Bahama provided film locations for two of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. Freeport got
Did You Know...? About 22% of German wine is made from the Riesling grape. Bad Durkheim hosts the world’s largest wine festival [600,000-plus attendees annually). Speyer boasts it has the world’s oldest unopened wine bottle, from 325 A.D. Six of Germany’s 13 wine regions are in Rhineland-Palatinate and they produce
Did You Know...? KD German Rhine Line is the world’s oldest river cruise company (1826). The Rhine-Main-Danube Canal creates a water route from the North Sea to the Black Sea. The Danube crosses more countries (10) and more capitals (four) than any other river in the world. Eighty percent of
Did You Know ... ? Bavaria’s King Ludwig II never saw Neuschwanstein Castle without scaffolding. Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German while at Wartburg Castle (1521) in Eisenach. The 19th century Hohenzollern Castle was never occupied except for a few months in 1945. Germany’s oldest wine-growing village is
Did You Know ... ? The prisoner fictionalized in “The Man in the Iron Mask” was held on Ste. Marguerite Island off Cannes. Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald worked on “The Age of Innocence” and “The Great Gatsby,” respectively, while living on the Riviera. Grasse counts about 30 perfume