An award-winning writer, Sharon Hudgins has had a wide-ranging career as a university professor, public speaker, author, editor, journalist, filmmaker, and photographer.

A seasoned traveler with a sense of adventure, Sharon has lived in 10 countries on 3 continents and journeyed through more than 50 countries across the globe. Her previous residences have ranged from Munich, Athens, Paris, London, Madrid, and Tokyo, to a shepherd's cottage in the Scottish Highlands, a German winery on the Mosel River, a mountain village in southern Spain, and a high-rise apartment building in Siberia. An avid rail rider, she has also logged more than 40,000 miles on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

As a popular speaker on historical, cultural, and culinary topics, she has traveled the world with National Geographic Expeditions, Smithsonian Journeys, Lindblad, Viking, Silversea, Oceania, Zegrahm, and Road Scholar, working on cruise ships from Europe to Northeast Asia to Alaska. Her presentations are highly illustrated with historical and contemporary images—and enlivened by insights from her own experiences of living, working, and traveling in the countries featured on the cruise itineraries.

Sharon is the author of five books on history, travel, and food, including an award-winning travel memoir, The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East, and a new book about the foods of the Asian side of Russia. Her book on Spain: The Cuisine, The Land, The People received a literary award from the German Academy of Gastronomy. She has also contributed to books and academic journals in the United States and Britain, including several Oxford encyclopedias, and has presented 10 papers on food history and culture at the Oxford Symposium on Food. As a journalist, she has published more than 900 articles in magazines, newspapers, and on the Web, including National Geographic Traveler, Saveur, Gastronomica, European Traveler, German Life, Russian Life, and Travel Squire.

Before embarking on her career as a cruise speaker in 2006, Sharon was a professor for the University of Maryland's programs in Germany, Spain, Greece, Japan, Korea, and Russia. She has also taught at the University of Michigan and University of Texas, and in Germany at the University of Munich, University of Augsburg, and European University.

Click here to visit Sharon's website >> www.sharonhudgins.com

Sharon brings first-hand experience to all of her enrichment lectures, which are also fully illustrated with historical and contemporary images. Her geographical areas of expertise include the countries where she has lived, worked, or traveled extensively.

See specific lecture topics for Baltic & Scandinavia – Norway/Iceland/Arctic – British Isles – Atlantic – Mediterranean – Alaska – North Pacific – General Topics.

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BALTIC & SCANDINAVIA:

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1. Baltic Bites: Traditional & Modern Foods of the Baltic Lands
From seafood to sauerkraut, mushrooms to marzipan, aquavit to vodka, the diverse cuisines of the Baltic countries offer plenty to satisfy the most discriminating palate. An introduction to the culinary delights of the Baltic coast, from traditional holiday fare to New Nordic Cuisine. Illustrated with mouthwatering photos of Baltic foods.

2. Baltic Amber: The Gold of the North
For centuries amber has figured in art, politics, love, and intrigue, including the mysterious disappearance of the famous Amber Room in Russia. An illustrated lecture about the natural, cultural, economic, and social history of Baltic amber and how to detect fakes.

3. Native People of the Circumpolar North
From the Sami in Europe to the Chukchi in Siberia to the Inuit in North America, people have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years. A focus on the native groups living in the far North—their habitats, clothing, customs, foods, religious practices, adaptations to the modern world, and challenges they face today.

4. Reindeer! Riders of the Night Sky
The life and lore of these legendary animals, including their history, biology, uses by humans, and the many myths surrounding them. Discover why people, for thousands of years, have thought that reindeer could fly.

5. Feasts, Festivals, & Folklore of Norway
A visual 2,000-mile road trip from Oslo to Bergen and up the entire fjord coastal road to North Cape above the Arctic Circle. The colorful traditions, crafts, folk costumes, holidays, and festivals of Norway, from Stavanger fiddles in the south to Sami reindeer in the north.

6. Dining at the Norwegian Table: From Vikings to New Nordic Cuisine
The evolution of Norwegian cooking from the Vikings to today’s innovative chefs: the effects of climate and geography, ingredients available, foreign influences, the Industrial Revolution, national dishes, traditional and holiday foods, and the Svalbard Global Seed Bank.

7. Bon Appétit! The Life & Times of Julia Child
An especially popular lecture about America's beloved "French Chef," who worked in Asia for the CIA's precursor during World War II, began her culinary career in France (also lived in Germany and Norway), made classic French cuisine accessible to American home cooks, and became famous through books, television, and films. An entertaining lecture for audiences of all nationalities.

8. Germany: Land of Laptops & Lederhosen
An overview of Germany within the context of Europe, focusing on a cultural tour through Germany's scenic regions from the Baltic to the Alps, from Berlin to the Rhine—a surprising variety of landscapes, architecture, foods, dialects, and regional traditions. The speaker includes her own observations and insights from the perspective of an American who lived in Germany for 15 years.

9. Edible Art: Gilded Gingerbreads & Painted Cookies
The surprising cultural history of spice cookies and embossed cookies in northern Europe, from the exotic ingredients obtained through trade, to the control of production by medieval craft guilds, to the use of these "picture cookies" in politics and education. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photos of intricately carved wooden cookie molds from throughout northern Europe.

10. Magnificent Marzipan!
How this almond-paste confection, originally from the Middle East, became such an important (and beloved) product in northern Europe, particularly in the cities of Lübeck and Königsberg. Learn how marzipan morphed from a medieval medicine to today's confection formed into hundreds of different shapes, including modern sculpture.

11. Cooking for Sitting Bull: A Prussian Pioneer on America’s Western Frontier
The remarkable story of the speaker’s great-grandmother who emigrated to America from German Prussia in the 19th century. As a young woman she homesteaded in the Dakota Territory, where she made friends with Sitting Bull and the Lakota Sioux. Hear stories about the meals she cooked for them, the gifts they gave her, and how Sitting Bull protected her family on the frontier.

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NORWAY, ICELAND, & ARCTIC

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1. Feasts, Festivals, & Folklore of Norway
A visual 2,000-mile road trip from Oslo to Bergen and up the entire fjord coastal road to North Cape above the Arctic Circle. The colorful traditions, crafts, folk costumes, holidays, and festivals of Norway, from Stavanger fiddles in the south to Sami reindeer in the north.

2. Dining at the Norwegian Table: From Vikings to New Nordic Cuisine
The evolution of Norwegian cooking from the Vikings to today’s innovative chefs: the effects of climate and geography, ingredients available, foreign influences, the Industrial Revolution, national dishes, traditional and holiday foods, and the Svalbard Global Seed Bank.

3. Iceland’s Surprising Cuisine: From Fermented Shark to Festive Leaf Bread
Discover influences that shaped the unusual cuisine of Iceland, from the first settlers to modern chefs: the effects of climate, geography, and isolation; medieval cooking techniques; imported ingredients; modernization and foreign influences; and favorite foods today

4. Native People of the Circumpolar North
From the Sami in Europe to the Chukchi in Siberia to the Inuit in North America, people have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years. A focus on the native groups living in the far North—their habitats, clothing, customs, foods, religious practices, adaptations to the modern world, and challenges they face today.

5. Reindeer! Riders of the Night Sky
The life and lore of these legendary animals, including their history, biology, uses by humans, and the many myths surrounding them. Discover why people, for thousands of years, have thought that reindeer could fly.

6. Bon Appétit! The Life & Times of Julia Child
An especially popular lecture about America's beloved "French Chef," who worked in Asia for the CIA's precursor during World War II, began her culinary career in France (also lived in Germany and Norway), made classic French cuisine accessible to American home cooks, and became famous through books, television, and films. An entertaining lecture for audiences of all nationalities.

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BRITISH ISLES:

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1. Croft & Manor: Daily Life in the Scottish Highlands
How life has changed for the inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands, from the Stone Age to the present, including effects of the Highland Clearances on emigration to North America in the 19th century. The speaker recounts her own experiences of living in a crofter's cottage in a tiny village on Scotland's far northwest coast before recent modernization began to change that remote part of the Highlands.

2. From Sheep to Tartan: History of the British Wool Industry
British woolen tartans, tweeds, and jumpers (sweaters) are known around the world. Learn about the importance of the British wool industry from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution to today, including how technology, trade, and fashion have affected the production of woolens in Britain.

3. Reindeer! Riders of the Night Sky
The life and lore of these legendary animals, including their history, biology, uses by humans, and the many myths surrounding them. Learn about the only free-ranging herd of reindeer in Britain, and discover why people, for thousands of years, have thought that reindeer could fly.

4. From Gilded Peacocks to Clootie Dumplings: Traditional & Modern Cooking of the British Isles
The history of British cuisine encompasses royal feasts, farmhouse cooking, wartime rations, and today's world-renowned restaurants. Learn about the differences among traditional regional dishes, the foreign influences on British cooking, and why British food is much better than its reputation abroad. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photos from around the British Isles.

5. From Pancake Races to Punkie Night: Holidays & Festivals of the British Isles
The traditional (and sometimes quirky) holidays celebrated locally, regionally, and nationally in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, from ancient times to the present. Their origins, rituals, and special foods. Illustrated with colorful images of these festivals.

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ATLANTIC (Coastal Europe):

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1. To the Edge of the World: Spain, Portugal, & the Age of Exploration
How the search for spices in the 15th and 16th centuries changed the world—from the maps we use, to the foods we eat, to the languages spoken on different parts of the planet. Why this "Age of Exploration" is considered the beginning of the modern era, and how it transformed the lives of millions of people around the globe.

2. Grape Thoughts: Sherry, Port, Madeira, & More!
A fascinating focus on the history of fortified wines produced in France, Portugal, and Spain: what they are, how they are made, how they are served, and how Europe’s blighted vineyards were saved by grapevines from America in the 19th century.

3. "Green Spain": People, Customs, & Cuisines from Galicia to the Basque Land
With its lush green landscape, the northwest region of Spain is a different world from the olive groves and sunny beaches of the south. An overview of the land, people, customs, and traditions of Espańa Verde ("Green Spain"), with a special emphasis on its coastal and inland cuisines, from farmhouse cooking to some of Spain's finest restaurants today.

4. Crustaceans, Cream, & Kouign-Amann: The Foods of Normandy & Brittany
From fresh oysters to buckwheat crępes, Camembert cheese to sparkling cider, the regional cuisines of this northern part of France are considered some of the finest in the country. Learn how and why the cooking of Normandy & Brittany differ from other parts of France.

5. Bon Appétit! The Life & Times of Julia Child
An especially popular lecture about America's beloved "French Chef," who worked in Asia for the CIA's precursor during World War II, began her culinary career in France, made classic French cuisine accessible to American home cooks, and became famous through books, television, and film. An entertaining lecture for audiences of all nationalities.

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MEDITERRANEAN:

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1. Worth Its Weight in Gold: History of the Spice Trade in the Mediterranean
How Europe's pursuit of exotic spices from ancient times to the Middle Ages made them more expensive than gold; reasons why spices were so desired in the Middle Ages; surprising ways they were used outside the kitchen; and reasons for the decline of the medieval spice trade.

2. Paella to Pintxos: The Regional Cuisines of Spain
As the author of a book about Spanish regional cuisines, the speaker brings to this lecture a deep knowledge of the subject, as well as her experience of living in Spain and eating her way through all the provinces on the Spanish mainland. Learn the importance of geography and history in shaping the regional cuisines of Spain, and why the cooking of Spain differs so much from north to south, and from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.

3. Catalan Cuisine: Layers of Flavors from Medieval to Modern
Catalan cooking has long been considered some of the finest in Spain. Learn about the foreign influences on the history of Catalan cuisine; the surprising flavor combinations found in many dishes; and the creative Catalan chefs on the cutting edge of "modernist cuisine."

4. Foods & Wines of Andalucia, from Moorish to Modern
Introduction to the cuisine of this largest region in southern Spain; how 700 years of Moorish influence is still tasted in dishes eaten there today; how sherry and jamon serrano are made in Andalucia; and why the region has so many kinds of gazpacho. As the author of a cookbook about Spanish regional cuisines, the speaker has eaten her way around the entire region of Andalucia, from remote mountain villages, to the cities of Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla, to the sunny seacoast.

5. Grape Thoughts: Sherry, Port, Madeira, & More!
A fascinating focus on the history of fortified wines produced in France, Portugal, and Spain: what they are, how they are made, how they are served, and how Europe’s blighted vineyards were saved by grapevines from America in the 19th century.

6. Bon Appétit! The Life & Times of Julia Child
An especially popular lecture about America's beloved "French Chef," who worked in Asia for the CIA's precursor during World War II, began her culinary career in France, made classic French cuisine accessible to American home cooks, and became famous through books, television, and film. An entertaining lecture for audiences of all nationalities.

7. Mangiare! From Mortadella to Mozzarella: Italian Meats & Cheeses
An introduction to the surprising variety of Italian sausages, hams, and cheeses, from prosciutto to Parmigiano (and many lesser known types)—where they come from, how they're made, and where you'll find them in an Italian meal.

8. Celebrate! The Foods & Festivals of Sicily
An introduction to the geography, history, and religions that have shaped both the foods eaten in Sicily and the colorful holidays celebrated there today. Learn about the special foods associated with Sicily's religious and secular holidays, how they are prepared, and what they symbolize.

9. From Phoenicians to Falcons: History, Traditions, & Foods of Malta
From ancient Phoenicians to medieval Arabs to 19th-century British, a long line of invaders, colonizers, and rulers have left their mark on the architecture, customs, and cuisine of this small, but strategic, island archipelago. Learn how Maltese culture, including its language, differs from those of other Mediterranean countries.

10. From Retsina to Revani: Culinary Customs of Greece
Greece boasts a variety of culinary customs and regional cuisines. Learn about the Ottoman, Arabic, Persian, French, Italian, and Balkan influences on Greek cooking; the special ingredients found on certain islands; and how the Greek Orthodox Church has been so important in the fasting and feasting traditions of Greece.

11. Balkan Bites: Culinary Adventures in former Yugoslavia
An overview of the geography and history of former Yugoslavia, including its ethnic groups, languages, and religions, with a focus on the various regions and the influences that have made its regional cuisines so distinctive. The speaker includes insights from her own road trips in this "land of the south Slavs" before and after Yugoslavia split into separate countries in the 1990s.

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ALASKA:

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1. Russian America: The Russian Discovery, Exploration, & Settlement of North America
History of Russian expansion into North America in the 18th and 19th centuries; the Russian-American Company and Russian settlement from Alaska to California; the decline of Russian influence along the North American Pacific Rim; and the remnants of Russian culture there today.

2. Native People of the Circumpolar North
From the Sami in Europe to the Chukchi in Siberia to the Inuit in North America, people have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years. A focus on the native groups living in the far North—their habitats, clothing, customs, foods, religious practices, adaptations to the modern world, and challenges they face today.

3. From Shamans to Saints: Alaskan Native Religions & Rituals
Religious beliefs and practices of Alaska's indigenous people, from ancient times to the present; native religious art and artifacts; influence of the Russian Orthodox Church and modern-day Protestantism; and how native Alaskans have merged a variety of religious beliefs into a harmonious whole.

4. Dining at the Native Alaskan Table: From Frozen Seals to Fermented Stink Heads
An entertaining introduction to the foods of Alaska's native people; the hunting and processing of animals; foraged foods; ancient cooking utensils and techniques still in use; types of food preservation; and modern-day meals.

5. A Thousand Miles of History: Alaska's Aleutian Islands
Introduction to the history of the Aleutian Islands from ancient times to the present; Aleutian native people and Russian influence since the 18th century; role of the Aleutian Islands in World
War II; the Japanese occupation of the Aleutians and interment of native islanders; and the military use of the islands during the Cold War.

6. Reindeer! Riders of the Night Sky
The life and lore of these legendary animals, including their history, biology, uses by humans, and the many myths surrounding them. Discover why people, for thousands of years, have thought that reindeer could fly.

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NORTH PACIFIC (See also Alaska):

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1. Hokkaido: Foods of Japan’s Far North
Focuses on the culinary specialties of Hokkaido, from unusual fruits and vegetables, to local dishes, to Hokkaido’s famous beer. Includes the geographic and agricultural history of Hokkaido, which is different from that of mainland Japan.

2. Meow! Cats in Japanese Culture & Commerce
An entertaining lecture on how cats have been depicted in Japanese art, mythology, religion, advertising, and popular culture throughout the ages, from Japanese woodcuts to Hello Kitty, from venerated temple cats to modern cat cafes.

3. Native People of the Circumpolar North
From the Sami in Europe to the Chukchi in Siberia to the Inuit in North America, people have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years. A focus on the native groups living in the far North—their habitats, clothing, customs, foods, religious practices, adaptations to the modern world, and challenges they face today.

4. Adventures in North Pacific Islands: Kurils, Sakhalin, Tulenny, & Pribilofs
Brief geology, geography, and history of these diverse islands, including humans and animals living there today. Illustrated with photos from the speaker’s trips to these islands as a member of
expedition teams.

5. Reindeer! Riders of the Night Sky
The life and lore of these legendary animals, including their history, biology, uses by humans, and the many myths surrounding them. Discover why people, for thousands of years, have thought that reindeer could fly.

6. Eastward Ho! The Russian Exploration, Conquest, & Settlement of Siberia
History of the Russian discovery, exploration, and annexation of Siberia, from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean; the economic and political impetus for Russian conquest; the indigenous people and animals they discovered there; and the ultimate European settlement of this Asian side of Russia.

7. All Aboard! History of the Trans-Siberian Railroad
Travel through 125 years of this legendary railroad's history, from its initial construction in the Russian Far East to the heyday of luxury travel on the world's longest railway line; its role in opening up Siberia to settlement; its importance during both world wars; and why travelers still consider it the railway journey of a lifetime. A lecture enhanced by the speaker's experience of traveling extensively on the Trans-Siberian railroad, logging more than 45,000 miles on that route.

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GENERAL TOPICS (for anywhere in the world):

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1. Tails Under Sail: Mascots, Stowaways, & More!
Hear the true tales of cats, dogs, birds, reindeer, and other critters that have sailed aboard ships on the high seas, from ancient times to World War II.

2. From Sitting Bull to Red Square: Personal Encounters with History
Hear the speaker’s stories of historic people and events that have intersected her own life: famous generals, secret scientists, mistaken spies, and real revolutions.

3. Cooking for Sitting Bull: A Prussian Pioneer on America’s Western Frontier
The remarkable story of the speaker’s great-grandmother who emigrated to America from German Prussia in the 19th century. As a young woman she homesteaded in the Dakota Territory, where she made friends with Sitting Bull and the Lakota Sioux. Hear stories about the meals she cooked for them, the gifts they gave her, and how Sitting Bull protected her family on the frontier.

Speaker for National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions, Smithsonian Journeys, Viking Cruises, Zegrahm Expeditions, Silversea, Oceania, Road Scholar, and university tours. Total of 35 cruises/expeditions since 2006. Geographical areas: Baltic, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Black Sea, North Pacific (Arctic, Alaska, Russian Far East, and Japan).

Currently hold a 3-year multiple-entry visa for Russia (July 2018 - July 2021).

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.