WELCOME BACK FROM THE WATERS OF EUROPE

Last week we told you we were back. This week, we're telling you what came home with us.

The Soulful Experience riverboat cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium wasn't just a trip—it was an education. Between wellness sessions with Kim Fields, culinary experiences with Chef Carla Hall, and dancing our way through European waterways, we discovered Black history that most tour guides conveniently forget to mention.

This week, we're sharing five facts that shifted how we see Europe's past and our present. But first, some news that has us packing our bags again.

Culture Travels has been invited to cover the 2026 World Culture Festival in Karachi, capital of Pakistan. We returned from Europe and there the invitation was in our inbox. We thought it was a scam!

Here's the exclusive: The World Culture Festival, running October 15 to November 8, 2026, has established itself as one of the largest art and cultural festivals in the world and has become an essential pilgrimage for collectors, patrons, and cultural enthusiasts.

And Culture Travels will be the sole publication documenting, connecting, and creating content for the event! Stay tune for more details as we meet with their team and plan this project.

Read the full story: 5 Black History Facts I Learned On AmaWaterways Soulful Experience Riverboat Cruise

While we were learning Black history on European shores, we were also experiencing something rare: a wellness retreat that felt like coming home.

Kim Fields' Refresh By KF, which partnered with AmaWaterways for the Soulful Experience cruise, showed us what wellness travel can be when it refuses capitalism's scripts. No five-figure price tags. No exclusive VIP perks. Just genuine connection, accessible healing, and community that repeats because it actually feeds your spirit.

Read the full story: "She's Not In It for Profit": How Kim Fields Created a Family Reunion Through Wellness Travel

Culture Travels is partnering with The Content Queens, a San Antonio nonprofit, to launch a Youth Travel Media Internship Program. We're training the next generation of Black travel writers, photographers, and storytellers—young people who will shape how the world sees us and how we see ourselves.

But we need you.

Your $20/month magazine subscription directly funds this program. Every dollar goes toward:

Learn more about the program here.

Travel Well!

-Culture Travels Team