The Weekly Passport

Issue #56

Author

Culture Travels
January 12, 2026

WELCOME BACK FROM THE WATERS OF EUROPE

Soulful Experience Karaoke Night

We're back, and we've got stories to tell.

The Soulful Experience aboard AmaWaterways just wrapped, and let me tell you—it was Black. We Knucked and We Bucked our way down European rivers, porting in cities like Ghent, Utrecht, Brussels, and Holland, learning about the influence of Trinidadian culture on salt fish cuisine in The Netherlands.

We got angry as we thought of the more than 10 million Congolese people killed by the greed and violence of King Leopold II at the Africa Museum in Tervuren, but found joy back on the boat as we danced and sang while the boat sailed into the next country.

The Soulful Experience owes us absolutely nothing. See why below.

COMPANY UPDATE
THREE STORIES, ONE JOURNEY

Utretch, Amsterdam

1. Documenting the Soulful Experience - Pieter Philip Jurriaan Quint Ondaatje, was an illustrious Dutch patriot and influential revolutionary politician at the end of the 18th century.

2. Producing Our Fashion Show - We’ve filmed the final segment of our fashion travel show.

3. Interviewing Chef Alexander Smalls - James Beard winner, Chef Alexander Smalls, curated a Juneteenth dinner that transformed the dining room into a space of remembrance and celebration, gifts me his newest book. A signed copy!

See the first video from the trip here: Youtube, Instagram, or Facebook 

TRAVEL
WHEN A BELGIAN DRIVER LOVES BLACK PEOPLE (AND HATES TRUMP)

CULTURE
BEHIND THE SCENES OF FLAVORS OF TRAVEL—ETHIOPIAN & ERITREAN CUISINE

Marie in bliss after sipping Ethiopian coffee while holding a Jebena, a traditional Ethiopian pot.

While we were in Europe, our Flavors of Travel series was already plotting its next move. Watch a behind the scenes clip here: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook

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Travel Well!

-Culture Travels Team