Last month, U.S. Catholic magazine published an interview with me on how to travel not as a political act, but as a spiritual one. The entire Q&A is now available online.

As a Christian, I enjoy being open to spiritual experiences while on the road, and there's no more spiritual experience than traveling to the developing world. To be with the world's struggling and downtrodden is to be with Christ. My expertise as a writer and guide, however, is traveling through Europe, which also offers plenty of opportunities to get close to God. Here's my guide to five places in Europe that stoke my spirit.

High in the Alps

As I walk high on a ridge in Switzerland, the Alps strike me as the greatest cathedral in Europe. Ride the rack-railway train from Wilderswil (near Interlaken) up to Schynige Platte, then hike along a ridge to Faulhorn, with its famous mountaintop hotel, and on to the perch called First. As you tightrope along the ridge, lakes stretch all the way to Germany on your left, and on your right is a row of cut-glass peaks ' the Eiger, M

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