Find out why Germany's "second city," the industrial northern port of Hamburg, is a favorite getaway among Germans. Then get the inside scoop on Rick's new TV series, which explores the backstories of Europe's greatest artworks. And consider what drives some death-defying athletes to go all-in for "extreme sports."

• German tour guides Caroline Marburger and Holger Zimmer
• Gene Openshaw, writer for the "Rick Steves Art of Europe" TV series
• New York Times sports journalist John Branch, author of "Sidecountry" (W. W. Norton)

• The Rick Steves online guide to Hamburg.
• Caroline Marburger writes at BerlinLocals.com about Berlin history.
• Caroline's Facebook page includes her contact information. 
• Holger Zimmer can be reached for custom tours at explore@berlin.de.
• Rick's new six-hour, six-week miniseries, Rick Steves The Art of Europe, is airing now on public television nationwide. Check your local listings.
• Gene Openshaw is Rick's co-author on their recent book "Europe's Top 100 Masterpieces."
• Sir Kenneth Clark's closing thoughts from his 1969 "Civilisation" BBC-TV series.
• John Branch writes about sports for the New York Times. His book "Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports" features 20 of his favorite feature articles. 
• John won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2012 feature story "Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek" about a deadly avalanche near Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State.
• Rick spoke with John Branch about his book "Sidecountry" on Travel with Rick Steves program #665 in February 2022. They discuss what John wrote about in "The Last Cowboys" on program #680 in July 2022.