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Long, long ago, Pamplona’s fiesta in honor of its patron saint San Ferm?n was just another religious holiday. These days San Fermines, July 6-14, is the most talked about holiday in Spain and on the European backpacker circuit. Ever since Nobel-prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway brought the city international attention with The Sun Also Rises, hordes of visitors from around the world have come to witness and experience the legendary running of the bulls. At the bullring, a statue of Hemingway welcomes fans to Europe’s premier festival, an eight-day extravaganza of dancing, dashing, and of course, drinking.

The Running of the Bulls, called the encierro, is the focal point of San Fermines. The ritual dates back to the 14th century, when it served the practical function of getting the bulls from their corrals to the bullring. These days, the first encierro of the festival takes place at 8am on July 7 and is repeated at 8am every day for the following seven days. Hundreds of bleary-eyed, hung-over, hyper-adrenalized runners flee from very large bulls as bystanders cheer from barricades, windows, balconies, and doorways. Not surprisingly, hung-over foreigners have the highest rate of injury. Experienced runners get lots of sleep the night before and arrive at the course no later than 7am.

Rising above quiet Lake Dove, Cradle Mountain is Tassie’s most famous natural landmark. One of the area’s early naturalists described this alpine environment as the place “where there is no time and nothing matters.” A complex mosaic of glacial tarns, creeks, and crags shelters pockets of the state’s unique biotic gems: sweet-sapped cider gum woodlands; rainforests of king billy and celery-top pine; and carpets of cushion plants. [Supposedly long-dead species including the freshwater crayfish, mountain shrimp, and velvet worm have been found alive and kicking around Cradle Mountain.] The state’s only native deciduous tree, nothofagus gunnii, thrives along the mountain’s skirt, and thousands throng here in late April and May to see the fiery colors of its turning leaves.

The valley below contains the trailhead for Tasmania’s most prominent walk, the Overland Track, which traverses the length of Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park. Meandering through 80km of World Heritage wilderness, the trail takes five to eight days to complete for the more than 2000 hikers who do it each year. A grand array of landscapes and ecosystems await those rugged enough to brave the track. At its southern terminus lies serene Lake St. Clair, once known by aboriginal inhabitants as Leeawuleena, or “sleeping water.” Lake St. Clair, accessible by road from the state capital of Hobart, offers a network of walking trails that range in length and difficulty, with something to offer everyone.

Have heard stories about luggage being loaded onto a bus only to be removed again by someone on the other side. Victims are none the wiser until they reach their destination. Rather than rushing for the best seat, hang back and make sure your luggage actually goes with you.

Wuerzburg, begun in the 10th century, offers fabulous Rococo palaces built by the wealthy prince-bishops who once dominated the city. Nearly destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945, the city has labored long and hard to restore its lost magnificence, and its success has been such that many claim it is more beautiful now than ever before. The biggest attraction, the Residenz, is the Baroque palace in which the ruling prince-bishops lived after descending from their hilltop fortress. The palace was built in 1719 under architectural genius Balthasar Naumann, who dreamed up this structure, now considered the most stunning of Germany’s Baroque palaces. Near the palace stands the Old Main Bridge, which affords a great view of this historic city, and two impressive rows of saints’ statues, located near the Marienburg, another previous royal home.

Further down the Road sits unique Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, which claims to be the best-preserved medieval town in Europe. Rothenburg’s city walls provide a history lesson in themselves. With entrance stairs every 600 feet, they?re the perfect place to take a walk and enjoy panoramas of the houses, steeples, and tiled roofs of the city and the countryside beyond. Within the walls you?ll find a Renaissance fountain, a city museum full of historical artifacts and interesting rooms, and a toy museum with dolls dating back to 1780. The Stadtpfarrkirch St. Jakob, or Parish Church of St. James, includes the world-famous Holy Blood altar, so called because above it hangs a crystal casket containing the church’s most precious relic, a few drops of the blood of Christ. Also not to be missed is the City Hall (Rathaus), a half-Gothic, half-classical structure housing a museum that traces Rothenburg’s role in the Thirty Years’ War.

Academia has probably played the single largest role in Heidelberg?s history. The University of Heidelberg was founded in 1328 as the first institute of higher learning in Germany and since then it has remained one of the world?s leading academic centers. Lining the steep cobblestone streets are the many libraries and classrooms that have produced such great minds as Max Weber, the founder of sociology, and Clemens Brentano whose collection of folk poetry inspired the Brothers? Grimm tales. If the youth of the prestigious Uni acted naughtily (e.g. were rowdy in the street or were caught being too flirtatious with a woman in public), they were sent straight to the Studentenkarzer, the student jail. Students, who before 1914 were under the sole jurisdiction of the university faculty, were in essence “grounded” for these petty offenses. Today you can read the spirited graffiti they wrote to amuse the next generation of incarcerees.

The next unavoidable stop-off point for any tourist must be Heidelberg?s Castle, das Heidelberger Schloss. It was begun in the early 14th century, and after 1329 served as the home of the Prince Electors, one of the seven men who voted for the Holy Roman Emperor. Over a period of almost four hundred years, but principally during the 16th and 17th centuries, many of the Castle?s dwellers commissioned their own additions, so the present courtyard displays fa?ades from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Directly in front of the entrance, the statues of the princes decorate the fa?ade. In 1615, Frederick V, married to James I of England?s daughter, Elizabeth Stuart, had an entrance gate built in one night to surprise her on the morning of her nineteenth birthday. But the castle?s history hasn?t always been so romantic. During the 30 Years? War, it was destroyed and later rebuilt. Then the Elector Karl Ludwig married his daughter Liselotte to Louis XIV?s homosexual brother. When the Elector?s son died without an heir, Louis XIV invoked his claim to the territories by leveling the castle and the entire town. After a second reconstruction, an angry lightning bolt shocked the Castle in 1764 and crumbled big chunks. Ironically it was only after this damage that the Prince Electors decided to move their residence to a place with less of a curse. The Schloss is easily accessible by foot or by the Bergbahn. Note that getting inside is only possible with a tour.

Train travel may be better than flying or driving, but the most environmentally friendly solution is also the simplest don’t go anywhere. While this may seem radical, don’t dismiss it out of hand; when’s the last time you visited a local museum or hiked through a local trail. People are often so blind to their surroundings that most New Yorkers have never been to the Statue of Liberty except as a child, most Londoners last saw the Tower in primary school, and most Australians know Europe better than their own outback. It’s a surreal experience being a tourist at home especially if you do it properly: buy a guidebook (Let’s Go or Lonely Planet, naturally), stay in a hostel, eat out every night, and don’t go home until you’ve seen everything there is to see!

Towering over the Mausoleum of Sultan Hasan is Cairo’s main fortress, the massive Citadel, built by the legendary Saladin, or rather by the many prisoners he took during the. The Citadel once housed the sultan’s palaces and offices, but most of these buildings were destroyed in the 19th century to make way for the grand Mosque of Mohammed Ali, modeled on the great monuments of Istanbul. Mohammed Ali was a great admirer of France, and decorated the interior in a lavish style inspired by the Rococo decorations of French palaces. The ornate clock in the courtyard was a gift from France in return for the obelisk that now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris; Egypt’s rulers were somewhat miffed at having traded a perfectly good obelisk for a clock that broke soon after delivery. From the terrace next to the mosque you can look out over the city in all its vastness, the skyline dotted with medieval minarets standing out ahead of the modern office blocks in the distance.

North of the citadel is the famous Khan al Khalili bazaar. The bazaar occupies a tangled warren of narrow streets crowded with merchants selling souvenirs, jewelry, spices, and perfume. Amidst the tourist dregs there are some well made items, especially jewelry and boxes inlaid with mother of pearl. All prices here are negotiable and be sure to bargain hard to get a good price. Fishawi’s Cafe is a great place to catch your breath in between bargaining or admiring mosques. This cafe has been open day and night for the past several centuries; gossiping neighbors and tired tourists all converge on Fishawi’s for a refreshing cup of mint tea or a leisurely smoke on a water pipe (sheesha).

Ever fly to Hobart from Sydney? One point’s redeemed return ticket from Sydney to Hobart will set you back 25,000 points. Use your points to redeem two individual one way tickets at 9,000 points each you save yourself 6,000 points. Upgrade yourself to business/first class and your still 2,500 points better off then if you had have redeemed a 25,000 point return ticket.