Genealogists with a desire to learn more about their ancestors’ homeland or simply an interest in history and culture will enjoy watching some of the more than 400 short video clips about 30 countries on the new Rick Steves Classroom Europe website.
Since 2000, the American travel writer has hosted the travel series, Rick Steves’ Europe, on public television. Now, he has taken all 120 full-length episodes of the program, selected the most teachable moments, and created short video clips, with still more to be added.
You’ll take a tour of the ancient Roman Forum; learn why people in Barcelona speak Catalan; ponder why pilgrims trek 30 days across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela; see how and why Switzerland designed its major bridges and tunnels so they could be destroyed at the push of a button; and visit a vibrant market in the south of France. — Rick Steves
Italy tops the list of countries with 71 video clips, followed by France with 39, and Germany with 36.
The video clips range in length from three to five minutes, with some as long as eight minutes.
Searchable
The videos are fully searchable. Just enter a word or phrase at the top of the page to search the full text of each clip. Using the filters on the left, you can then limit your search results by city, country, historical era, and theme.
Playlists
You can create a playlist of videos by clicking on “Add to playlist” next to the video or videos of your choice. A title and description can be added to a playlist, and you can rearrange the videos in any order you desire.
When you’re ready to use your playlist, you can play it directly in your web browser. If you want your family and friends to view the playlist, you can send them a link that they can use to view the playlist contents from home.
If you don’t want to create your own playlist, take a look at the list of public playlists by the Rick Steves’ Europe staff and teachers. You can filter these playlists by theme, country, or historical era.
Thank you so much for this information, Gail. I am interested in adding context to my ancestors lives and this looks like a great resource.
Thanks for this. Really timely interesting videos. I am planning a trip and I have just searched and found some of his videos will be perfect preparation.