Stephen Travels


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Appreciating Milwaukee’s Best Without the Buzz

City Hall, Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee’s sudsy past — when breweries such as Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz were filling up millions of barrels of beer every year, and the titular characters in Laverne & Shirley worked as bottlecappers in a brewery — has given way to a less foamy present (although it remains one of the best places to grab a cold one). The city’s Major League Baseball team’s name still conjures up those days of countless brewers, but the old “Beer Capital of the World” offers visitors so much more than a refreshing pint. From a museum of Harley-Davidson motorcycles to countless ethnic street fairs to one of the world’s largest music festivals, Milwaukee proved to be one pleasant surprise after another. These are my top five things to see and do in Wisconsin’s largest city >


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Top 5 Buildings in Vienna, Austria

Stephansdom, Vienna, AustriaTourism in Austria is a very big deal: It constitutes about 9 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Austria is the 12th most visited country in the world, attracting about 24 million tourists annually. Vienna captures the bulk of that number, and it’s easy to understand why. Over the past five years, Vienna has been ranked both the most livable city on earth and the smartest city on the planet. With a long history and a deep reservoir of cultural events and venues, Austria’s capital teems with opportunities to be impressed. It’s also a great city in which you can follow in the footsteps of Sigmund Freud, Leon Trotsky, and Mozart by lingering over a cup of outstanding java and a rich dessert from a window table at one of the famous coffee houses while admiring all the outstanding architecture surrounding you. From cathedrals to museums, from opera houses to palaces, the entire city seems to have been built for greatness. These are my top five buildings in Vienna. Read more >