Program 766: Endangered European Languages; Black Women Travelers; Beating the Crowds, Part 2

On the next Travel with Rick Steves, we'll look at how languages help to define cultures, especially in Europe, with a linguist who studies languages that are in danger of disappearing.

Also, travel host Oneika [ oh - NEE - kah ] Raymond tells us how she encourages women of color to explore the world on their own. And tells the rest of us some of the issues black travelers often have to face.

Plus, Rick checks in with more listeners who share their own strategies for finding meaningful and uncrowded travels in Europe.

• Ross Perlin, co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance and author of "Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues In New York" (Grove Atlantic)
• Travel host Oneika Raymond

• Ross Perlin wrote "Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues In New York" to profile how six New York City residents are working to document or possibly revive their native language before it disappears. Ross is also co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance.
• Oneika Raymond hosts the "About the Journey" podcast, and the "Big City Little Budget" TV series on the Travel channel. She blogs from her travels at OneikaTheTraveller.com.
• Oneika recommends Nomadness Travel Tribe as an online resource for travelers of color.
• Caller Michael in Arizona hosts the website EuropesCountryRoads, with tips for independent travel and meeting people in Europe.

• "Over the last 30 years, my wife and I have made it our mission to find uncrowned back-door villages and sights. Instead of Rothenburg we go to Mockmuhl. Instead of the Rhine we go to the Necker. We go to East Tyrol to see the Grossglocker. We stay on farms and become part of a farm family. Our motto is: It's the people you meet, not the things you see, that create the most lasting memories." Caller promotes his "EuropesCountryRoads" website. (Michael in Pine, Arizona)
• "Sidle up to the bar and get a pint in the neighborhood pub in London, grab a glass of wine and a chicchetti and stand at the counter at a bacaro in Venice, join a raucous shared table at a beer garden in Munich…and just talk to the people. You'll get all sorts of insights into hidden gems that locals have discovered!" (e-mail from Craig in Vancouver, British Columbia)
• "A group of friends and I visited the Harz Mountains in central Germany, when traveling between Amsterdam and Berlin. The village we stayed in (Wernigerode) was quaint and very beautiful, but we didn't encounter a single other American." (Andrew in Treynor, Iowa)
• "We went to the Acropolis/Parthenon in Athens. To beat the crowds, we got in line at the back entrance at 7:30am, 30 minutes before they opened their doors. By 7:50 the line behind us snaked beyond where we could see. When the doors opened, we walked and climbed as quickly as we could to the top and were done with our pictures and looking around, passing hordes of people on our way back down the hill." (e-mail from Ginger in Redlands, California)
• "The island nation of Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean is part of the European Union and an ideal back door. They have 365 churches that really come alive during religious festivals, which are almost weekly. Try going during Saint Joseph's Day or Palm Sunday or some other time that is not in peak season. You will experience local culture come alive. Processions can have as many as 500 locals in costumes participating, and each village rivals one another. Mosta's cathedral is one of the largest unsupported domes in the world, with a World War II shelter that is a museum today. The three islands of Malta also include Blue Lagoon beaches and medieval towns like Rabat and Mdina which blend eastern, western, and North African styles." (e-mail from Dusty in Honolulu, Hawaii)
• "I've traveled during the Christmas holidays, especially to Germany for the Christmas markets, but I've found that while the markets are busy, the museums and most other sights are not. With the exception of Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg (which was crowded but I had no wait time with a reservation) every other sight had no wait time. From museums in Berlin and Munich to Europa Park outside Freiburg, I walked right in with no wait." (Alice in St. George, Utah)

• GaGaElectriX, "Get Down," On The Beat / (self-released)
• SPARKLE_SPARKLE_0031_01401_Wandering_a_APM
• SOHO_SOHO_0171_01801_Atlantis_APM
• MUZ_MUZ_0077_00201_My_Sevgli_Peri_APM
• SON_SCDV_0021_01701_Bangkok_Memories_APM
• * Carlos Nuñez, "Diferencias Sobre la Gayta," Carlos Nuñez: Discover, disc 2 / Sony Music (France)
• CEZ_CEO_2030_00201_Un_Coin_De_Ciel_Bleu_APM
• Little Louie Vega, "Mozalounge," Samba Sunset (collection) / Nettwerk
• Taj Mahal, "Queen Bee," Mali to Memphis (collection) / Putumayo
• TRL_TRL_0107_00901_Living_Easy_A_APM
• Desmond Dekker, "Intensified '68 (Music Like Dirt)," Forgetting Sarah Marshall (soundtrack) / Verve Forecast
• KOS_KOS_0167_00901_Electric_Cafe_APM
• * The Clarks, "Melanesia (Nygma Remix)," (dance EP) / Beach Rush
• Coco Steel & Lovebomb, "Yachts (A Man Called Adam mix)," Hôtel Costes, Etage 3 by Stéphane Pompougnac (collection) / F Com
• MMIT_MMIT_0001_00701_Via_Veneto_APM
• KOS_KOL_0054_01401_Trip_APM
• Musica Subterranea, "Maltese (Turkish) Bransle," Incantare / (self-released)
• Dave "Baby" Cortez, "Rinky Dink," Chess Pieces: The Very Best of Chess, disc 1 (collection) / Chess

* Indicates filler music used during internal breaks on the broadcast

• As examples of the European linguistic diversity in New York City, Ross Perlin notes at 17:52 that the city hosts Welsh-language church services, a Basque club, and a Catalan literature festival.
• The segment C open phones this week centers on strategies to avoid overcrowded locations on a European vacation.
• At 50:43, Rick tells caller Andrew that he will be traveling to the "Valley of the Clueless" in the former East Germany "in a couple of weeks." The caller replies that he might be traveling to Utrecht in the Netherlands "in April."
• In a reset at 51:36, Rick promotes the first part of the open phones "beating the crowds" topic on program 763 that aired in August.
• Caller Alice at 56:15 recommends Christmas market towns in Germany (Munich, Berlin, Nuremberg) whose other sites remain uncrowded before and during the Christmas season. She adds that she's attended the markets the last two years and plans to visit them again, and describes seeing the Christkind character in person at the market.