Richard John Steves Jr. (born May 10, 1955), known professionally as Rick Steves, is an American travel writer, author, activist, and television personality. His travel philosophy encourages people to explore less-touristy areas of destinations and to become immersed in the local people's way of life. Since 2000, he has hosted Rick Steves' Europe, a travel series on public television. Steves also has a public radio travel show called Travel with Rick Steves (2005−present) and has authored numerous travel guides, the first of which was the popular Europe Through the Back Door. In 2006, he became a syndicated newspaper columnist, and in 2010, his company released a mobile phone application called "Rick Steves’ Audio Europe" containing self-guided walking tours and geographic information. Early life and career Richard John Steves Jr. was born in Barstow, California to parents Richard John Steves, a high school band director and piano technician, and June Erna Steves, née Fremmerlid. His mother, June Erna, was born to Norwegian immigrants Harold and Erna Fremmerlid. He has two sisters, Jan and Linda. The family moved to Edmonds, Washington in 1967. When Steves was 14, he and his parents took a trip to Europe to see the factories that manufactured pianos. The family owned a piano store named "Steves Sound of Music" where they imported and sold pianos, and also tuned pianos. He documented what he saw and experienced on the backs of postcards which he numbered sequentially. He still has all of those cards stored in a wooden box. The family also visited relatives in Norway during the Apollo 11 moon landing, and in a park in Oslo, Steves came to a realization that would influence him throughout his life: "This planet must be home to billions of equally lovable children of God." When he turned 18, he again visited Europe, but without his parents. He kept journals of all of those experiences, as well. Steves attended the University of Washington, majoring in European history and business administration, graduating in 1978. In his 20s, Steves started teaching travel classes through The Experimental College, a student-run program of non-credit classes at his alma mater, the University of Washington, and working as a tour guide in the summer. At the time, he also worked as a piano teacher. In 1979, based on his travel classes, he wrote the first edition of Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a general guide on