Credits

RESEARCHERS

For help with this edition, Rick relied on...

Ben Curtis

Ben is a native of the Pacific Northwest, but he’s lived in the UK, Germany, Spain, Norway, and Hungary, too. He’s worked as a university professor, a tour guide, and an advisor to the British government, and has written several books on history and politics. Nowadays home is Prague, where you might run into him at a classical concert or out wandering through the Czech mountains.

Glenn Eriksen

A solo backpacking trip across Europe and Scandinavia back in the ‘70s turned out to be Glenn’s first step on the road to Rick Steves’ Europe. Today, as a guidebook editor and researcher, he indulges his love for the Old Country while helping Rick’s readers “keep on travelin’.” Glenn lives in Seattle with his wife, Kathy, and enjoys hiking, photography, and keeping in touch with his Norwegian roots.

Carlos Meissner

Travel came with Carlos’ passports. As the son of a German civil servant and a Costa Rican diplomat, he grew up on both sides of the Atlantic before earning his PhD in History in England. The impact of the World War II and Germany’s subsequent division made history very present in Carlos’ family. He enjoys relating this on his tours for Rick Steves and drawing on his experiences as a teacher at an international school in Berlin.

Gretchen Strauch

Before Gretchen became the online-content editor for Rick Steves’ Europe, she spent three years in a town on the Swiss/German border teaching English and spending all her spare time and money on forays into the land of snowy peaks, melted cheese, and unpronounceable German.

Ian Watson

Ian has worked with Rick’s guidebooks since 1993, after starting out with Let’s Go and Frommer’s guides. Originally from upstate New York, Ian speaks several European languages, including Italian, and lives with his family in Germany.

CONTRIBUTORS

Cameron Hewitt

Cameron Hewitt was born in Denver, grew up in Central Ohio, and moved to Seattle in 2000 to work for Rick Steves’ Europe. Since then, he has spent about 100 days each year in Europe—researching and writing guidebooks, blogging, tour guiding, and making travel TV (described in his memoir, The Temporary European). Cameron married his high school sweetheart, Shawna, and enjoys taking pictures, trying new restaurants, and planning his next trip.

Gene Openshaw

Gene has co-authored more than a dozen books with Rick, specializing in Europe’s art, history, and culture. In particular, their Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler and Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces have helped bring European art to life. Gene also writes for Rick’s television shows, produces the audio tours, and is a regular guest on Rick’s radio show. For public TV, Gene has co-authored Rick Steves Fascism in Europe and the ambitious six-hour series Rick Steves Art of Europe. Outside of the travel world, Gene has composed an opera called Matter, a violin sonata, and dozens of songs. His latest book is Michelangelo at Midlife. Gene lives near Seattle, where he roots for the Mariners in good times and bad.