Thoughts on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Currently is a profoundly unhappy day. Russia’s intense motion is heartbreaking for the loss of life, struggling, and financial turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at the very least, past. Listed here at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic solution can be identified and peace will return to that fragile and lengthy-struggling part of our environment.

Our mission at RSE is to aid Us citizens much better know and comprehend our neighbors as a result of travel. But when we convey tourists to yet another country, we also carry their dollars — pounds that would aid Putin’s aggression. Thus, as of now, we have canceled all 2022 excursions that involve a quit in Russia.

Of program, we will maintain a shut eye on unfolding events and monitor any journey impacts via the rest of Europe. But it is critical to continue to keep geographic realities in intellect and bear in mind that a war in Ukraine is as significantly from our European getaway desires as a war in Guatemala would be from Texas or Florida. For 40 a long time now, we have lived, worked, and traveled through many intervals of tragic warfare in lands considerably from in which we lead our tours (and some nearer). And at this time, we see no motive to improve the relaxation of our travel and touring designs.

The tragic actuality unfolding in Ukraine only reminds me how important it is for Us citizens to hold on touring and to do so in a way that would make us improved and extra engaged citizens of our world. I’m traveling to Europe next month for a 40-day journey by means of a dozen wonderful metropolitan areas from London to Athens — and I’m very pleased that countless numbers of my fellow tourists will practical experience the European excursion of their goals though owning rich learning ordeals far from property on a 2022 Rick Steves tour.

In the meantime, let us be thankful for our blessings, aid our nation’s leaders as they do their most effective to navigate this crisis, and continue to keep the troubled corners of our world (Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, and more) in our feelings and prayers.

—Rick