Storied Sojourns Travel

07/17/2026

Educators – the new article is live!

When most people think of European festivals, they think of Oktoberfest, but some of Europe's most fascinating festivals tell stories that go far beyond the celebration itself.

This new blog post explores five summer festivals where history still shapes the experience:

🎭 Edinburgh Festival Fringe - born from Europe's cultural recovery after World War II
🎭 Festival d'Avignon - part of France's postwar artistic renewal
🎶 Tomorrowland - held within reach of the battlefields of Flanders
🏝️ Sziget Festival - celebrating freedoms Hungarians spent decades fighting to reclaim
🐂 San Fermín - a tradition that takes on new meaning when viewed through the Spain Ernest Hemingway knew before the Spanish Civil War

History isn't only found in museums. Sometimes it's found in the ways people celebrate, create, and remember.

📖 Read the full article here: https://storiedsojourns.com/post/european-summer-festivals-history-travel

Which European festival would you most like to experience?

Europe’s festivals are shaped by more than celebration. Discover five summer festivals where war, political change, cultural recovery, and historical memory continue to influence how people gather, create, and celebrate today.

06/19/2026

Europe’s battlefields are not only places of history - they are landscapes where the effects of war still remain visible more than a century later.

From trenches hidden beneath forests to unexploded artillery shells uncovered during the “Iron Harvest,” these sites continue to shape how travelers experience the past today.

In our newest Storied Sojourns article:
“Respecting the Front Lines: Staying Safe at Europe’s Historic Battlefields,”
we explore:

* battlefield safety
* memorial etiquette
* preserved trenches and fortifications
* guided battlefield visits
* the importance of approaching these places with both curiosity and respect

For educators, students, and history travelers alike, these landscapes offer opportunities to better understand not only war itself, but also the lasting impact conflict leaves on people, communities, and the land.

Read the full article here:

Europe’s battlefields are not museums - they are living landscapes shaped by memory, sacrifice, and the lingering traces of war. Learn how to safely and respectfully explore historic battlefields, trenches, memorials, and wartime landscapes.

06/06/2026

Some of Europe's most fascinating stories can still be found in the places where they unfolded.

From a World War I hospital in Edinburgh to memorials in Berlin, battlefields in France, and artistic districts in Paris, our newest article explores destinations connected to LGBTQ+ figures whose lives helped shape the twentieth century.

Travel with us to discover:

📍 Edinburgh, Scotland
📍 The Somme, France
📍 Berlin, Germany
📍 Paris and Menton, France
📍 Wadi Rum, Jordan

Along the way, we'll encounter stories connected to poets, soldiers, artists, scientists, and activists whose experiences offer new perspectives on war, culture, identity, and social change.

These destinations are more than places on a map. They are opportunities to connect with history through the landscapes, buildings, and communities where it unfolded.

Read the full article here:

https://storiedsojourns.com/post/exploring-hidden-lgbtq-histories-europe

If you could visit one of these locations tomorrow, which would you choose?

From the Somme to Berlin and Paris, discover the places connected to LGBTQ+ figures whose stories reveal new perspectives on Europe's turbulent twentieth century.

05/22/2026

Educators,

Some of the most famous stories of war are not entirely true.

A football match in No Man’s Land.
Angels appearing over the battlefield.
An unstoppable Russian army that never really existed.

And yet these stories still shape how people think about history today.

In the newest Storied Sojourns blog post, we explore five famous wartime myths and the places across Europe where travelers can still encounter the landscapes, memorials, and battlefields connected to them.

Because sometimes the most interesting thing about history is not just what happened.

It is what people believed happened.

Read the full post here: https://storiedsojourns.com/post/war-myths-europe-travel-sites

Which of these stories fascinates you most?

Explore European sites where famous war myths took hold - and what actually happened there.

05/08/2026

The history of Europe between 1900 and 1950 was shaped not only by soldiers and statesmen, but by women whose lives changed science, resistance, medicine, and memory.

Our newest Storied Sojourns article explores five women connected to places travelers can still visit across Europe today, including:

🇫🇷 Marie Curie’s Paris laboratory
🇧🇪 Edith Cavell’s memorials in Belgium and England
🇩🇪 Sophie Scholl and the White Rose sites in Munich
🇫🇷 Resistance landscapes tied to Nancy Wake in rural France
🇳🇱 Anne Frank-related sites in Amsterdam and Westerbork

These locations add depth to traditional World War I and World War II itineraries by focusing not only on battlefields, but on the people who lived, resisted, healed, and endured.

Read the full article here:

04/17/2026

For educators, travel has never been just about movement. It’s about standing in places where decisions were made, where systems failed, and where people responded under pressure.

This year, even the journey itself reflects that reality.

The systems that carry travelers across the Atlantic are under strain. Flights are tighter, costs are rising, and flexibility is shrinking. Travel is still possible, but it now requires something more deliberate.

In this new post, I break down:

-What is actually changing in transatlantic travel
-Why flexibility has become the biggest constraint
-How to plan in a way that protects the purpose of your trip

Because when you travel with intention, the stakes are different. A missed connection is not just an inconvenience - it can mean losing the experience that anchors an entire unit.

If Europe is on your mind this year, personally or professionally, it is still within reach. It simply requires a different approach.

Read the full post here:

Planning a trip to Europe in 2026? This guide helps educators navigate rising costs, limited flexibility, and plan intentionally in a changing system.

03/27/2026

I've heard from many fellow educators here in Israel that this conflict is quite different from past experiences, even those during the times of the Intifada and earlier wars.

Unfortunately, the children - including some of whom are too young to really understand what is going on - are among those who suffer. I've worked with TALMA for four years now, and it's been quite rewarding. The students they help are those in the periphery, both social and economic, and are the most at-risk.

03/05/2026

If you are planning a student trip to Europe, new entry systems are changing how travel works - but not why it matters.

The UK Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), EU Entry/Exit System (EES), and upcoming European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) will affect student travel beginning in 2026 and beyond. These changes don’t make educational travel harder. They make preparation more important.

Students will still walk the beaches of Normandy, stand in Berlin’s streets, and explore the cities where history unfolded. What changes is the preparation behind the experience.

I’ve published a guide explaining what these new systems mean and how educators can plan with confidence.

Read the full guide here:
https://www.storiedsojourns.com/post/eta-ees

If you are considering a student program in 2026 or beyond, this will help you understand what to expect.

If you are planning a student trip to Europe, the rules are changing - not dramatically, but meaningfully. Europe is moving toward fully digital border systems, and group leaders need to understand what that means before booking flights, collecting deposits, or hosting parent meetings. The shift is....

02/05/2026

When students travel abroad, the most meaningful lessons often come from the quiet, everyday differences they did not expect. Paid public restrooms, slower meals, older buildings, and different expectations around public space can feel unfamiliar at first, but they reveal how culture, history, and long-term thinking shape daily life.

In a new post on the Storied Sojourns blog, I explore how these subtle differences turn travel into education, helping students learn to plan ahead, slow down, and observe rather than judge. These moments are not inconveniences, but opportunities for reflection and growth.

If you’re interested in travel that treats culture seriously and learning intentionally, I invite you to read the full piece: https://www.storiedsojourns.com/post/europe-differences

01/23/2026

Between World War I and World War II, Europe was not waiting for the next catastrophe - it was actively reinventing itself.

New democracies emerged, cities rebuilt, and architects, artists, and thinkers experimented with what modern life could look like, often under intense political pressure.

In our latest article, we explore five European cities - Prague, Kaunas, Warsaw, Amsterdam, and Brno - where the interwar years are still visible in architecture, culture, and memory.

These are places where optimism and anxiety existed side by side, and where the foundations of modern Europe were quietly laid.

🔗 Read the full article here:

Europe between 1919 and 1939 was shaped by ambition, innovation, and uncertainty. In cities like Prague, Kaunas, Warsaw, Amsterdam, and Brno, the interwar years left a powerful imprint through architecture, culture, and political experiment. Exploring these places reveals how modern Europe was imagi...