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Author Carl Austin

Why Travelers Are Starting to Notice This Overlooked Capital

Skadarlija Street

Set at the meeting point of two great rivers, this energetic capital is a city shaped by centuries of upheaval, resilience, and reinvention.

10 Best Places to Visit in Sweden

best places to visit in Sweden

Sweden is famous around the world for lots of things: Saab and Volvo automobiles, the music group ABBA, pickled herring and the DIY megastore IKEA.

10 of the Best Places to Visit in Serbia

places to visit in Serbia

Serbia today is a blend of cultures, having been fought over by the Romans, Ottomans, Hapsburgs and other people in its war-torn past.

10 Best Places to Visit in Hungary

Budapest

While Hungary is famous for its goulash and paprika (which, by the way, originated in the New World), it’s known for much more than that, including world-class fine wines and its pear liqueur, an orange-colored sweet dessert treat, sometimes known as palinka.

You’ll Be Surprised by How Different Australia National Parks Really Are

Getting to far-off Australia involves a long flight for most travelers.

10 Most Charming Towns and Villages in Holland

Giethoorn

The capital city of Amsterdam is a must-see for any visitor to the Netherlands. It has fabulous art museums, the Anne Frank House and numerous canals.

11 Most Awesome Places to Stay in Chile

San Alfonso del Mar

Chile is a country in South America that it is longer than it is wide.

These Lochs Are Why Scotland Feels So Magical

They’re rugged, scenic and starkly beautiful. Some have legendary monsters swimming in them.

9 Most Amazing Places to Stay in Switzerland

Switzerland has some pretty amazing mountains. In fact, the scenery is mind-blowing just about anywhere in the country.

11 Most Amazing Hotels in Vietnam

Just a few decades ago, Vietnam was a Third World war-torn country. Today, it’s one of the world’s hottest travel destinations.

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Bardstown, Kentucky

Bourbon Made This Town Famous, but That’s Not What Makes It Special

George Peabody Library Baltimore Visitor Guide Most visitors don't expect to find one of the most striking interiors in America tucked behind a row of white columns in a quiet Baltimore neighborhood. You walk through the doors of the Peabody Institute in Mount Vernon, turn a corner, and suddenly you're standing beneath a skylit atrium that climbs six stories above a polished marble floor. It stops you cold. The George Peabody Library Baltimore is that kind of place. It doesn't announce itself from the street. There's no flashy signage, no grand plaza. But step inside the stack room and you'll see why people call it a "cathedral of books." Over 300,000 volumes line the walls, and the space itself feels like something pulled from a 19th-century novel you half-remember reading. Johns Hopkins University runs the place as part of its Sheridan Libraries system. This isn’t a museum replica—it’s a working research collection. You can visit for free during public hours, which makes it one of the easiest cultural stops in Baltimore. Whether you’re chasing that perfect symmetrical shot up through the iron balconies or just want a quiet ten minutes surrounded by something genuinely beautiful, the library delivers without asking much of your time or your wallet. Cast-Iron Balconies And The Soaring Atrium The first thing that hits you is the scale. Five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies rise from the ground floor and climb 61 feet to a massive skylight that floods the room with natural light. The effect is vertical and dramatic, like standing inside a very elegant cage made of books and ironwork. Each balcony tier is lined with gold-and-black volumes shelved behind low railings, and the repeating geometric patterns of the iron railings create a visual rhythm that photographers obsess over. Point your camera straight up from the center of the floor and you'll get that iconic symmetrical shot that's all over travel feeds. The image almost looks digitally generated, but it's real, and it's been here since 1878. The marble floor adds to the atmosphere. Sound carries differently in here. Footsteps echo softly, and conversations drop to whispers without anyone being told. The reading room on the ground level sits just off the main atrium, offering a quieter space with wooden tables and the kind of warm, worn-in feeling that modern libraries rarely manage. The light keeps the space from feeling like a museum. On a clear afternoon, sunlight pours through the skylight and shifts across the iron railings and book spines, changing the room's character every hour. You could visit twice in the same day and walk away with completely different impressions. A Quick History Of The Landmark George Peabody, a financier who got his start in Baltimore before heading off to London, founded the Peabody Institute in 1857. He wanted to give something meaningful back to the city that launched his career—a free public library, a lecture series, a music conservatory, and an art gallery. The library building itself took its sweet time, finally opening up in 1878. Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind teamed up with Nathaniel H. Morison, the institute's first provost, to design the interior. Lind focused on that dramatic stack room—he wanted it to feel grand enough to match Peabody's vision but still practical for researchers. Local craftsmen made the decorative cast-iron balconies, and people immediately noticed the design. It stood out as one of the most distinctive library interiors on the East Coast. The collection changed hands a few times. In 1966, the City of Baltimore took over and ran things through the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Then, in 1982, Johns Hopkins University stepped in, and the library became part of the Sheridan Libraries system. These days, the focus is on 18th- and 19th-century works—architecture, religion, science, geography, literature—with gems from folks like Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. George Peabody Library Baltimore

One of America’s Most Beautiful Interiors Is Hidden in Baltimore

Mount Vernon

It’s Hard to Believe an American President Once Called This Beautiful Estate Home

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