Simon Griffith

"Along with the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation represented the growing pains of a Europe evolving from the Middle Ages into the modern age. Today, on the 500th anniversary of this pivotal event in European history, Rick Steves travels in the footsteps of Martin Luther, distilling the story of that bold monk, the chaos of the Reformation, and the larger political, economic, and theological context into an engaging, inspiring, and enlightening...

Zipping from Haarlem to Rotterdam, and from Delft to the former Zuiderzee, we'll enjoy fragrant cheese markets, soggy polderland, charming towns, and windmills both new and old.

We'll visit Italy's five tiny seaside towns known as the Cinque Terre, while stopping to fish for anchovies, sip wine from barrels, and savor twinkling Mediterranean vistas.

As we ramble through the heart of Rome, we'll admire breathtaking Bernini statues and ponder sunbeams inside St. Peter's Basilica. After dinner, we'll take a nighttime stroll, lacing together the city's piazzas and fountains.

We enjoy Renaissance art in Florence, the city that propelled Europe out of the Middle Ages. Then we visit two cultural capitals in their own right: Pisa, where we'll marvel at a tipsy tower; and Lucca, where we'll celebrate Puccini.

In Turkey, we'll marvel at the fascinating landscape of Cappadocia from high above in a balloon...and from deep below, prowling an underground city where Christians once hid out.

Exploring Palestine - the Muslim and Arab half of the Holy Land - we'll visit Jerusalem, harvest olives near Ramallah, follow pilgrims to Bethlehem, and bob in the Dead Sea.

In Paris, we'll cruise the Seine River, pay a visit to Napoleon's tomb, and take in the majestic Louvre. Then we'll shop in a village-like neighborhood, attend church in a pipe organ loft, and celebrate Bastille Day.

Hiking through the Cumbrian Lake District, we'll admire idyllic lakes, discover misty waterfalls, tour a slate mine, and climb up to a stony summit. Then we'll play some cricket, hike Hadrian's Wall, and be dazzled by Durham's cathedral.

We'll ride a unicorn into the Middle Ages at Paris' Cluny Museum, get a heavenly look at stained glass in Sainte-Chapelle, go on a tombstone pilgrimage at Père Lachaise Cemetery, and savor the Parisian cafe scene.