April 15, 2000

This Week: The Kindness of Strangers

Now, far south of Cairo, just off the coast of Tanzania is the small island of Zanzibar. That's our first stop this week as we search for the kindness of strangers on the road. A few weeks ago I asked you to call me with your stories and I've got to say, I'm impressed. To hear our listeners tell it, we're pretty lucky the people out there are as friendly as they are.

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Next Week: Confronting the Past

I have an interesting subject for this week's travel question. I want to know how travel has helped you deal with history, how going somewhere, and seeing something has actually helped you make peace with the past, our history as Americans, or maybe your family's history, or a heritage of struggle.

Let me explain: I thought of this question when I saw a photo in the New York Times last fall. It's a portrait of Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Mr. Barak has this sort of pained look on his face and Gerhard Schroeder is staring at him, very pointedly. In the background you can make out, above them, the blurred words "Arbeit Macht Frei". They're standing right in front of the gates of Auschwitz. So we want to know, what kind of trip did you take, maybe to gain perspective on a historical wrong or to better understand a part of history?

Send us an email or call 888-SAV-TRAV (888-728-8728) to tell us how you confronted the past while traveling.

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