Frankfurt, Germany, had one of the most prominent Jewish communities called Juden-Gasse (Jews Lane) in the 19th century. Daniel decides to visit in hopes of learning more about the history and religion of Judaism. In chapter 32, Daniel wanders around the Jewish ghetto and attends his first synagogue service, where he encounters a friend of his grandfather. Daniel describes the area saying, “he remembered well enough its picturesque old houses; what his eyes chiefly dwelt on now were the human types there ..

Tolkien lived here when he wrote the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings.  After the success of the books, Tolkien had to move to a new house due to obsessive fans standing outside his house to gawk and people calling his house at 4 a.m. to ask him questions about the book.

Tolkien died on September 2nd, 1973.  He was buried at Wolvercote Cemetary with his wife.

Tolkien took a position at Oxford University, where he would eventually give his lecture Beowulf: The Monster and the Critics.  While there he also formed a social group called The Inklings, referencing the fact that everyone in the group were writers, with one notable member being C.S. Lewis.  Tolkien published several other works during this time, including the poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in the Oxford Magazine.

The River Somme is a river in France where the Somme Offensive took place in World War I.  Tolkien was a soldier deployed to the front lines of the Somme.  After a few months in and out of trenches he was sent home to Britain with Trench Fever.

While on his trip through Switzerland, Tolkien stayed in Zermatt, which is near the Matterhorn mountain.  It is thought that the view from where he stayed would eventually serve as the inspiration for the Misty Mountain in The Hobbit.

Historically, Cambridge University in Cambridge, England, was generally considered the second-best university in the country, after Oxford, which its founders split from ca. 1209.  (Enyclopedia)