Greetings ! I live much of the year on luxury cruise ships as an enrichment lecturer, exploring the intersection of history, culture, and cuisine. I write about these in my weekly Destination Curation, 8-Hour Guides to Cruise Ports, and Books for Travelers reviews. I'll help you make your travel full of meaning and context! Join me!
Share
📚 Books for Travelers | February 8, 2026 📚
Published 2 months ago • 5 min read
February 8, 2026
Greetings!
Hello from Riga!
Did you receive this newsletter from a friend? Click here for your own free subscription.
This has been a busy week, and one characterized by some trips around Latvia. Dmitry and I went to Ventspils to re-register our EU residency, grateful, as always, to the Government of Latvia for having us for another year! Yesterday, we made our way to Jelgava to explore that city’s annual ice sculpture festival.
My association with ice sculptures stems primarily from the decorations for the expansive brunches we enjoy on cruise ships and Moscow’s rather crude interpretations of cartoon characters and folklore heroes during the winter holiday period. The festival in Jelgava was completely the opposite: sophisticated, stunning, and very thought-provoking pieces made by artists from all over the world, even places like Indonesia, which I don’t associate with ice. It made for a wonderful day out, capped by meeting one of my podcast heroes, Joe from the indispensable Latvia Weekly Podcast.
​
As usual, the Latvians had laid on a lot of their signature winter dishes: hearty sauerkraut, solyanka, sausages, and pork knuckles generating mouth-watering steam as they simmered in kettles. Some photos below give you an idea of the art and atmosphere. Jelgava is a lovely city, and I’m looking forward to a return visit.
​
During our long car rides to and from Ventspils, I took some time to brainstorm new topics for talks. I’m finding the gossipy royal history goes down well, so I dipped into some of my favorite royal biographies and found the time to write reviews for Books for Travelers. I think the three below are not only superb studies of three very different women, but they also do a fantastic job setting the scene in late 19th-century London, Berlin, and Bucharest. I’ve used each biography as a guidebook to explore those cities, and I return to them again and again for truly satisfying reading. I think this revisit has convinced me that Marie of Romania needs her own talk!
I hope you will find these books and podcasts as enjoyable as I do!
An Uncommon Women - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm
Review | The Last Romantic: A Biography of Queen Marie of Romania
​
Royals in the 19th century were by default glamorous. But there was one clear leader in the glamour stakes: Queen Marie of Romania, whose dramatic life crescendoed against the backdrop of the seismic events of the early 20th-century. Born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh in 1875, Missie, as she was known in her family, entered the world as British royalty with an extraordinary pedigree. Her father was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria, and her mother was the redoubtable Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Alexander II. This dual heritage placed young Missie at the intersection of Europe's most powerful dynasties, ensuring she grew up speaking multiple languages and moving effortlessly between the courts of England, Germany, and Russia. Her childhood, though privileged, was marked by her mother's strict discipline.
As long-time readers of my site know, I’m a frequent speaker on Cunard’s very elegant Queen Mary 2. One of my more popular talks is on Queen Mary, in whose honor the ship was christened. This was a real joy to put together. I love royal history, and the research stage gave me an excellent excuse to revisit possibly the greatest royal biography of them all: James Pope-Hennessy's Queen Mary. Queen Mary has not only educated and entertained me, it has also been an invaluable companion on trips to London and the many residences that make up the Royal Collection. Queen Mary’s careful curation of the Royal Collection was key to making it the largest art collection in the world.
Be sure to check in with the Destination Resources Reading Lists, which I update regularly with new books, podcasts, TV and film, and other resources designed to make your travel meaningful. I did a big update recently, changing the format to make it easier to navigate. Visit via this link!
Podcast Recommendations
​
My long week of decluttering was made far more enjoyable thanks to the marvelous mini series on Alexander the Great by the Ancients. This is a topic I lecture on, but it was a positive treat to hear Dr Adrian Goldsworthy’s thoughts on Alexander’s early years.
I’m working on a lecture about Christmas and stumbled on this delightful two-episode podcast from Empire on the origins of Santa Claus a.k.a St. Nicholas. The Empire team traces the origins of this beloved Turkish saint, his links with pagan deities, and the race to steal his tomb, as well as pin-pointing how a number of beloved Christmas traditions developed.
If you’ve sailed with me, you know I am really interested in the voyages of Zheng He, and I could not believe I had not listened to this excellent episode of In Our Time on these extraordinary explorations! Highly enjoyable!
I hope you've enjoyed this edition of the Destination Curation | Books for Travelers Newsletter.
If you'd like to share it with a friend, just forward it, or copy and paste the URL and share it in any way you wish! I deeply appreciate your support for my work!
That's all for this week, and I hope you'll enjoy browsing these books and podcasts! The week ahead is also a busy one, but hoping to get out into Riga for some more cultural trips.
I love hearing from you, so do please let me know how I can help make your travel meaningful. I am rolling out new 8-Hour Guides to popular cruise destinations and love getting suggestions for new ones from this amazing community of readers.
Did you miss my last newsletter? Here are links to the previous three editions.
You received this email because you interacted with my website, jennifereremeeva.com, where I curate and share destination enrichment information, recipes, and book recommendations. You are free to unsubscribe at any time, using the link at the bottom of this page.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. This newsletter contains Amazon and other affiliate links, and by clicking them I may earn a commission, but never at any additional charge to you. I use the revenue to support the development and maintenance of my website and this newsletter. If you do choose to buy through one of my links, thank you for your support.
Destination Curation Newsletter: Make Travel Meaningful
Greetings ! I live much of the year on luxury cruise ships as an enrichment lecturer, exploring the intersection of history, culture, and cuisine. I write about these in my weekly Destination Curation, 8-Hour Guides to Cruise Ports, and Books for Travelers reviews. I'll help you make your travel full of meaning and context! Join me!
April 19, 2026 Greetings! Hello from La Coruna, Spain, famous as the cruise gateway to Santiago de Compostela and scene of the famous Siege of Coruna, when Francis Drake attempted a counterattack on the Spanish. While the English were successful in capturing the lower town, the Spanish, rallied by a local woman, Maria Pita, could ultimately repulse Drake’s troops. This took place two years after the better-remembered Raid of Cadiz by Drake, where he made off with 2,900 barrels of sherry, thus...
April 12, 2026 Greetings! Hello from Riga and a very happy Orthodox Easter to everyone celebrating today! I’ve been having a marvelously productive and busy time here at home, where spring is making its cautious way to the Eastern Baltic. I’ve been immersed in all things fortified wine to prepare for a new series of talks and articles on sherry, port, and Madeira. Did you receive this newsletter from a friend? Click here for your own free subscription. I look forward to sampling all three on...
March 29, 2026 Greetings! As you read this, I’m on my way home to Riga, having disembarked the Viking Vela after a highly enjoyable month searching for the northern lights. And we found them!! I really was beginning to despair. We had a few sightings, but rather lackluster. I wondered what all the fuss was about. And then in Tromso, on this final leg, we had a phenomenal display that lasted several hours and was simply spellbinding. I’m working on a longer piece for the website with...
​