Thoughts on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – Rick Steves’ Travel Blog
Nowadays is a profoundly sad day. Russia’s intense action is heartbreaking for the death, suffering, and economic turmoil it will cause in Ukraine and, indirectly at minimum, over and above. Listed here at Rick Steves’ Europe, we hope that a diplomatic solution can be uncovered and peace will return to that fragile and prolonged-struggling portion of our earth.
Our mission at RSE is to help Us residents improved know and fully grasp our neighbors through travel. But when we deliver travelers to a further country, we also deliver their pounds — dollars that would help Putin’s aggression. Therefore, as of these days, we have canceled all 2022 tours that incorporate a end in Russia.
Of class, we will hold a near eye on unfolding gatherings and watch any travel impacts through the rest of Europe. But it is vital to retain geographic realities in mind and bear in mind that a war in Ukraine is as significantly from our European trip goals as a war in Guatemala would be from Texas or Florida. For 40 a long time now, we have lived, worked, and traveled by a lot of durations of tragic warfare in lands significantly from the place we guide our tours (and some closer). And at this time, we see no reason to modify the rest of our journey and touring programs.
The tragic actuality unfolding in Ukraine only reminds me how crucial it is for People to continue to keep on touring and to do so in a way that makes us superior and extra engaged citizens of our planet. I’m traveling to Europe up coming thirty day period for a 40-day excursion as a result of a dozen good metropolitan areas from London to Athens — and I’m very pleased that hundreds of my fellow vacationers will encounter the European trip of their goals whilst having abundant discovering encounters significantly from house on a 2022 Rick Steves tour.
In the meantime, let us be thankful for our blessings, assistance our nation’s leaders as they do their best to navigate this crisis, and preserve the troubled corners of our globe (Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, and more) in our ideas and prayers.
—Rick
