A podcast about tour guides navigating a pandemic. We don't get up-close, but we do get personal with tour guides from all over the world; documenting their highs, lows, hopes and fears, as they face an uncertain future.
Episodes
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
Today, we're in Edmonds, Washington talking to Rick Steves. Yes, that Rick Steves. The 'Rick Steves Europe' Rick Steves. The travel guru is on a decades-long mission to move people- namely U.S. Americans- to get over themselves, broaden their horizons and experience the world. As he asserts in his new book, Rick sees travel as a political act. After 9/11, he worked to convince folks they needed to travel more, not less. So just how does he plan to carry on his mission when combating the coronavirus requires us to stay home?
This was a special collaboration with the Berlin Guides Association.
Conversation from July 27th 2020. The full 1-hour video conversation.
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This is where Rick's at currently.
A review of Steves' book Travel as a Political Act by NPR.
The New York Times Magazine piece on Rick Steves by Sam Anderson.
Rick Steves' Commencement Address for the Class of 2020
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Monday Jul 27, 2020
Monday Jul 27, 2020
With over ten years’ experience running her own tour guide business, Arja Jacob is confident that she’ll be back on her feet once tourism is. She’s well-connected. We’re back in Berlin to talk about a return to travel as a luxury, keeping the tourists where they need to be and why she’s not sorry about mass tourism taking a long holiday.
Conversation from May 11th 2020
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Arja's tour company called 'Berlin Locals'.
Arja's whereabouts in Niedersachsen.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Friday Jul 24, 2020
Friday Jul 24, 2020
This Friday and we’re in conversation with Ramzi Salsa, a Catholic Palestinian guide who got into tourism between the First and Second Intifadas. This is not the first time his career has been affected by external factors. We talk about pilgrims, dual narratives and putting your whole heart into your work.
Conversation from June 20th 2020.
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Beit Sahour, the Palestinian city close to Bethlehem where Ramzi is living. Capernaum is one of Ramzi's favourite tourist destinations.
The Dual Narrative Tours are run by Mejdi Tours.
The First Intifada and the Oslo Accords.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Hello from Bratislava! We’re having a chat with Michal Nejeschleba, a guide and new dad for whom the evaporation of tourism came at an ok time. We talk about the positives of life on board a cruise ship and what to do when your floating germ tub is met at port by a human chain of protesters.
Conversation from June 1st 2020.
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Michal's Green Hat Tours.
'The End of Tourism?' in The Guardian.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Monday Jul 20, 2020
Monday Jul 20, 2020
Today we’re talking to Pål Johansen in Oslo, a guide and travel writer who has worked all over Scandinavia. We discuss ways to keep your brand alive, how to make Norwegian pancakes and of course the Vikings.
Conversation from May 15th 2020.
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Pål's travel site and his YouTube channel (Waffles!)
Norway's Constitution Day.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Friday Jul 17, 2020
Friday Jul 17, 2020
Today's guide is Samantha from Zürich. Before landing a tour guiding job, Samantha was a croupier on a cruise ship, a translator for the Swiss police, volunteered to help zones hit by earthquakes, and worked for 13 years for the Swiss Ministry of Foreign affairs. Naturally we had plenty to talk about..
Conversation from May 7th 2020.
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Book a tour of Zürich with Samantha through AirBnB Experiences. And have a look at her Instagram account.
Samantha's coaching and mindfulness website.
The infamous Needle Park. And a little news clip on how bad things were in the late '80's/early '90's in the park.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Wednesday Jul 15, 2020
Wednesday Jul 15, 2020
Originally from New York City, Bonita Rhoads has been operating a travel business in Prague since 2014. Despite the pressure it puts on a small city, she’d never tell her colleagues not to take a cruise tour gig. We talk about why that is, why she’s happy to be in Europe right now, and why we have to know what’s behind that hill.
Conversation from May 21st 2020.
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Bonita's tour company called Insight Cities. With tours running in Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Salzburg and Budapest.
The National Geographic article on Prague.
The book that Bonita and Vadim wrote on the Serbian film maker Dušan Makavejev.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Heidi Evans is the founder of Women of Paris, a tour business illuminating the women who shaped the City of Lights. We chat about the difficulty of guiding in a city that’s already been hit by one crisis after another, and the challenge of placing women firmly in history, rather than beside it.
Conversation from May 14th 2020.
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Women of Paris walking tours. And all of Heidi's Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Marie Antoinette and Simone de Beauvoir.
The longest transportation strikes in France's history.
The 2015 Paris attacks.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Friday Jul 10, 2020
Friday Jul 10, 2020
Today’s conversation is with Shira Kleinman, a guide in Haifa who immersed herself in Hebrew- and tears- in order to get her license. We talk about the importance of food, staying positive and why her New Jersey family thinks she’s getting soft.
Conversation from May 21st 2020.
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Mount Carmel and The Shrine of Báb.
Book a tour with Shira! And follow her on Facebook.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by Chris Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.
Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
Today we’re chatting to original Liverpudlian Matthew Staunton, who’d been guiding in the “Pool of Life” for only eight months when corona shut it all down. We talk about the free tour model vs boutique offerings and why his city is at odds with the current government.
Conversation from May 20th 2020.
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On the 'Managed Decline' of Liverpool by Margaret Thatcher.
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Music by Mark Schilders. Design by CC Whyte, and Chris' non-profit charity project 'The Chariso Press'.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Or send us an e-mail.
More discussion in our Facebook Group 'Real Talk'.