Ten days, four countries, and a ribbon of river tying it all together along the Danube—through old towns, grand cities, and Christmas markets glowing night after night. We tasted our way through cultures, lingered in frost-lit squares, and watched our nine-year-old see Christmas the way only a child still can, reminding us that the real magic of the season is simply being together.
For three decades I’ve brought home an ornament from my travels—now 77 countries’ worth of memories hanging on a nine-foot tree—and this year we returned with our arms full of handcrafted treasures from Europe’s markets. So full, in fact, that a second seven-foot tree now stands in the dining room, holding the newest chapters of a tradition that began with a simple thought years ago: how beautiful it would be to remember a life of travel, one ornament at a time.