The “shot heard round the world” that started World War I was fired on June 28, 1914, when a student shot the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo, beginning a conflict that lasted four years, involved 32 countries and cost 41 million military and civilian casualties, including 18 million lives. By 1917, the war was not going well for …

In the real estate business, the ever-intoned mantra is location, location, location. So, it is no surprise that when people are dreaming of fleeing the frost of January and February, seeking the embrace of the sun, they are faced with demand-pricing for lodging (not to mention inflated air fares) during those winter months — because everyone wants to be in …

STUTTGART, Germany Stuttgart, birthplace of the automobile, is a city of contrasts, a combination of the old and new. It’s an industrial city with a rich cultural heritage. Badly bombed during World War II, the city still has some of its old buildings intact, or restored, and while it has neither the graceful charm of Munich nor the vibrant energy of Berlin, it …