Program 593: Low Country Showdown; The Seine; German Style

Writer Elaine Sciolino explains how the legendary Seine River made Paris into the vital, romantic city you find today. We'll also hear from German tour guides on how their country views its important social issues, and we'll learn the differences between the Belgians and the Dutch.

• Hilbren Buys, tour guide/political analyst from Brussels
• Ellen Janzing, tour guide/translator from Amsterdam
• Elaine Sciolino, author of "The Seine" (Norton)
• German tour guides Fabian Rueger, Daniela Wedel, and Holger Zimmer

• The Rick Steves online guides to Belgium and the Netherlands.
• Elaine Sciolino is a longtime Paris-based correspondent for the New York Times.  Her latest book about Paris is "The Seine: The River That Made Paris."
• Kirkus Reviews named "The Seine" one of the best books of 2019.
• Elaine Sciolino also wrote "The Only Street in Paris," about living in the neighborhood surrounding the Rue des Martyrs, and discusses it on Travel with Rick Steves program 450 from July 2016.  Elaine also wrote about the rather flirtatious French manner of interaction in her book "Le Seduction," which she discusses on Travel with Rick Steves program 254a from February 2013.
• There are online bios for Fabian Rueger, Daniela Wedel, and Holger Zimmer on our website.
• Daniela Wedel includes information about custom tour services from her base in Provence on her Treasure-Europe Travels website.