Tag Archives: historic places

Attractions, Getaways, Historic Places, Places of History, See America, US Destinations

Surprising Boston: Three Days on the Freedom Trail

October 29, 2024 krubin723

*The Freedom Trail is an actual brick line in the sidewalk that you can follow to Faneuil Hall and other important historic sites. ©Keroack Photography*

by Geri Bain for Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

If you had asked me whether I knew about Boston’s role in the American Revolution before my recent exploration of the Freedom Trail, I would have unthinkingly said, “Of course.” Hasn’t every American heard the story of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride and the Boston Massacre in their history classes? Even people who don’t know who the current president is could probably tell you what happened at the Boston Tea Party. But just as visiting the Roman Forum expands your view of the ancient past, a thoughtful visit to Boston’s Freedom Trail will forever deepen and perhaps change your view of American history.

And it’s fun. You won’t need any maps or preparation. While most tourism routes use the term “trail” figuratively, Boston’s Freedom Trail is an actual 2.5 mile “trail” marked by a red brick line that you can follow to some of the most iconic sites in the birth of our country. Detailed historic markers all along the way make it easy to dip into the stories of our past on your own.

For those who prefer a more structured visit, there’s a wide array of guided tours that provide a more interactive approach. The Freedom Trail Foundation’s several daily 90-minute group tours are led by costumed guides (thefreedomtrail.org) and based on what I heard in passing over the course of my time in Boston, the tours are lively and informative. The Foundation also offers a free online brochure that can act as a self-guided tour. There are also free apps from the National Park Service (nps.gov/boston) with recorded commentary for major sites and apps focused on Black heritage and other themes.

*The Park Street Church was the nation’s tallest building when it was built in 1810.*
*©Keroack Photography*

DAY ONE: To get grounded, I chose a three-hour VIP Freedom Trail Tour by Walks (booked through City Experiences (www.cityexperiences.com/boston) which limits its group size to 15 people. The day I went, it was just me and a family of four. Our guide, Alexandra (Alex) Smith, was a theatre artist and history buff (who was currently directing “Revolution’s Edge,” a historical drama that was playing at the Old North Church). She used anecdotes and questions to capture our imaginations.

Standing in the Boston Common, she pointed out that the corner where the Park Street Church stands was dubbed Brimstone Corner both for the fiery sermons given at the church and because of the gunpowder stored there during the War of 1812.

*A visit to Paul Revere’s House humanizes one of America’s favorite heroes. ©Keroack Photography*

When we got to a statue of Paul Revere, Alex asked the two school-aged kids in our group if they’d heard about Paul Revere racing to Concord and shouting the warning “The British are coming”? They nodded.

“Well that’s not true.” They looked puzzled. First, she explained, all Bostonians considered themselves British back then, so those wouldn’t have been the words he would use. And second, the mission was a stealth operation so he wouldn’t have ridden through the streets yelling. And most important, the King’s soldiers were on patrol that night and Paul Revere was stopped and held for questioning before he could deliver his message to Concord. Wisely, he was not the only messenger who rode out that night, so the message got through.

Most people think of Paul Revere solely as a silversmith, but his work as a printer and an artist was key to his role as a patriot seeking to break with Great Britain. His print of the Boston Massacre was significant to organize public opinion against the British. Paul Revere, The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated on King Street, Boston. (Hand colored engraving, 1770. American Antiquarian Society. Gift of Nathaniel Paine.)

“So why does Paul Revere get the credit?” Alex asked us. She paused, then explained, that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wanted to create a dramatic hero for America so he took artistic license in his poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. It makes for a relatable and patriotically-motivating story to have a single hero.

*A plaque in front of the Old State House commemorates “The Boston Massacre.” ©Keroack Photography*

Another example of drama trumping truth took place at the Old State House. Pointing out the plaque that commemorates The Boston Massacre, Alex showed us a picture of British soldiers shooting into the crowd. That image, engraved by Paul Revere and sent to all the Colonial newspapers turned the “Boston Massacre” into a rallying cry against the British Crown. However, like Wadsworth’s poem, the engraving took poetic license.

Tensions had been building between Boston residents and the growing number of soldiers sent there to enforce new taxes but also taking jobs from local workers. One argument between a soldier and a colonist escalated, with soldiers and Bostonians gathering into a standoff. The soldiers, under attack by the crowd with snowballs, clubs, and other objects, were told to hold their fire, but one of them panicked and shot and then another joined in. Five people were killed.

*The Granary Burying Ground, established in 1660, is the resting place of many Colonial heroes. ©Keroack Photography*

Sam Adams arranged and funded a huge funeral parade for the five victims of the Boston Massacre and paid for the five victims to be buried in his plot in the Granary Burying Ground where he now lies as well. The parade made a big impression both on the British soldiers and on the residents of Boston, Alex said. “Great propaganda!”

That’s just one of many stories waiting to be told at the Granary Burying Ground. Once the very edge of 17th century Boston, this small patch of cemetery is now like a who’s who of the American Revolution. For example, across the grounds from Adams is the tombstone of James Otis, who coined the phrase “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” Otis was one of the great minds behind the Revolution but he suffered from periods of insanity which kept him out of the limelight.

The cemetery is also the final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock, the parents of Benjamin Franklin and an estimated 5,000+ other people. We asked Alex how so many people could fit in such a small space and learned that bodies were often buried one on top of the other.

The tour also included a visit to the Old North Church, and strolled through Little Italy, where Alex explained the difference between the two most popular cannoli spots. Along the way, Alex also shared tips on exploring the city, how to learn about free concerts and events at the Boston Common, and a list of her favorite eateries, making us feel a bit like insiders in the city.

DAY 2: My husband and I were joined by his cousins for a leisurely stroll along the Freedom Trail. We stopped to read the signs at spots that grabbed our attention and toured Paul Revere’s home, where we learned that the Wadsworth poem might have been quite different had his dad not anglicized his Huguenot name from Appolos Rivoire to Paul Revere. (Rivoire is a harder name than Revere to rhyme.)

We also spent some time in Faneuil Hall, which was built and gifted to the city of Boston in 1743 by philanthropist Peter Faneuil to serve as a meeting hall and a marketplace. It was where the “Sons of Liberty”— and activists ever since—gathered and gave speeches.

The hall now houses a moving exhibit called “Slavery in Boston” underscoring how much of Peter Faneuil’s and Boston’s wealth came from goods produced by enslaved labor and slave trafficking. The exhibit also looks at the lives of individual enslaved Africans. One of the most touching was the story of Caesar, an enslaved Black boy, “owned” by one of Boston’s richest families, serving them and children including a son who was his age.

Not far from Faneuil Hall is another stirring site, the New England Holocaust Memorial, (www.nehm.org), an outdoor space that takes you by surprise if you’re not expecting it. As we were walking through Carmen Park, I noticed steam rising from between towering plates of glass that line a black granite path. Walking towards it, I began reading quotes from Holocaust survivors etched into the glass and realized that the steam is a reminder of the smokestacks of the crematoriums at the Holocaust death camps. Looking down through the metal grates, I saw small lights that represent the charred embers of those murdered in the gas chambers. Signs told me that the glass towers represent the smokestacks and the Menorah-like lights atop them are symbols of strength and endurance. It was an impressive experience.

On a lighter note, a great spot for recreation or simply a relaxing sit-down is the Rose Kennedy Greenway, (www.rosekennedygreenway.org/). It was built as an over-the-highway park linking the waterfront to the city. It was a great spot to sit and socialize and our visit was enriched by reading the self-guided tour (available on the website), which provided fun information. For example, the dirt removed to make the Greenway possible could fill a stadium to its rim 16 times, and the concrete used to create it is equivalent to laying a sidewalk three feet wide and four feet thick roundtrip from Boston to San Francisco three times It’s amazing to think about that when you’re strolling through the lovely gardens. We also enjoyed the free (ever-changing) contemporary art installations and exhibitions and food trucks.

*The Oyster Bar at the Union Oyster House where Daniel Webster dined* *©Keroack Photography*

For lunch, we chose the Union Oyster House, an attraction in its own right. It’s the city’s oldest restaurant and a National Historic Landmark. The brick line of the Freedom Trail passes right in front of it. More importantly, it serves some of the best seafood in the city in a genuine historic and unpretentious setting. In fact, in 2023, the restaurant earned a spot among the Taste Atlas Top 50 Most Legendary Restaurants in the World.

Our six-person hardwood booth was across from one with a plaque memorializing the one reserved for John F. Kennedy and family when they dined there. We took quite some time to look around after we ate; the restaurant is filled with fascinating memorabilia and its walls are covered with paintings, photos and newspaper clippings about the famous people—from Daniel Webster to Meryl Streep—who have been patrons here over the centuries. My husband and I liked the restaurant so much that we dined there again the next day.

Day 3: Before leaving Boston, we went for one last stroll through the Rose Kennedy Greenway. We stopped to observe a tai chi group and to watch children scrambling to get on their favorite hand-carved animals which included a peregrine falcon, a green sea turtle and imaginary creatures that were chosen from a fun project drawing on the imaginations of local children.

*A harbor cruise offers a lovely perspective on the city.*

We then took an enchanting one-hour narrated Historic Boston Harbor Cruise, where our guide pointed out how much land was created by landfill, including Back Bay, the Seaport and parts of downtown and Logan Airport. In fact, one-sixth of the city is landfill—a process that began in the 1700s. (The cruise and a hop-on/hop-off bus pass we used, were part of an all-inclusive GoCity.com/boston pass that included entry into more than 45 attractions.

*The Langham, Boston combines elegant architecture with modern art and an inviting pool.*

As you might expect, historic hotels abound in Boston. The Omni Parker House is where Longfellow drafted his poem about Paul Revere. The former Boston Police Department headquarters is now the AKA Back Bay Hotel, and a former jail has embraced its past as the Liberty Hotel.

We stayed at The Langham, Boston, a five-star hotel that is just a short walk from the Freedom Trail and the waterfront and is itself a National Historic Monument. Built in 1922, it was home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston until 1977. Its banking past lives on in details like the green bank-style lamps, the tweed furnishings, and the lock box-style drawers behind the concierge desk.

It’s also a great choice for art lovers. Two N.C. Wyeth murals commissioned by the bank are still in their original spots and The Grana restaurant, which occupies the former grand hall, still has the Federal Reserve Bank emblem at its center, and portraits of eight Fed presidents grace its walls. The hotel also has an extensive collection of modern art, with a series of videos, cued by QR codes, of the artists explaining their works.

One of the best things about staying at The Langham (LanghamHotels.com/Boston was unwinding in the pool, hot tub and sauna after a day of delightful surprises on the Freedom Trail.

Useful Links:

theFreedomTrail.org; provides great info plus special interest and Freedom Trail tours, apps, and more
NPS.gov/bost/planyourvisit/app.htm: offers a free app with recorded commentary as well as focused apps for Black heritage and more.
CityExperiences.com/boston: offers access to historic harbor cruise, VIP walks and other tours and cruises
GoCity.com/boston: offers an all-inclusive pass that includes entry into more than 45 attractions and historic harbor cruise or bundled admission pass
CityPass.com/Boston: offers a package with discounted admission to a choice of four major attractions

Also, meetboston.com offers information about events, activities, food and lodging.

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Attractions, Cultural travel, Historic Places, Museums and Exhibits, US Destinations

California Pacific Highway Roadtrip: Cambria is Enchanting Base to Visit Hearst’s ‘Enchanted Hill’

July 8, 2024 krubin723

The view of William Randolph Hearst’s “Enchanted Hill” – Hearst Castle – an architectural and engineering triumph of Hearst and his architect/engineer Julia Morgan. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin with Eric Leiberman, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

It’s a dark night when we pull into our hotel in Cambria, on California’s famous (and fragile) Pacific Highway 1, so it isn’t until I awake in the morning to a moist mist rising after a rain, that I realize what is just across the road from the picturesque Moonstone Beach and a magnificent boardwalk that extends 1 ½ miles over the fragile seagrass, the ocean crashing against the rocky shore just beyond, where a few seals are resting, the sun making a gorgeous sparkling light,

We’ve driven down from the north, starting at San Francisco, to Monterey (made famous by John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” and now with a world renowned Aquarium); following the Pacific Highway 1 as much as possible as it hugs the cliffs to Big Sur. We pull over frequently to take in those breathtaking views that look like the edge of the Continent just fell into the ocean. We spend a couple of days hiking and exploring, overnighting at the utterly enchanting and historic Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn (www.deejens.org, 831-667-2377), then have to backtrack to Monterey, driving inland three hours on Highway 101 to come into Cambria.

*Moonstone Beach, Cambria, across from our hotel, the Castle Inn © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Cambria is an outstanding base to experience not only its own charms, but to explore Hearst Castle, San Simeon, the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, and even driving north on the Pacific Highway, to Ragged Point, just at the southern end of Big Sur where you can get those dramatic sheer-cliff/crashing waves against the rocky shore views.

Castle Inn, which I found on hotels.com, is a delightful motel that is absolutely perfect for our purpose – the room is spacious and has a beachy (ocean) feel; the motel serves coffee, scones, apples, muffins, oatmeal for breakfast. Later, we will take advantage of its pool and hot tub under the stars, and is so close by to all the things we want to explore – especially having the Moonstone Beach and boardwalk just across the road. (6620 Moonstone Beach Dr, Cambria, CA 93428, 805-927-8605, castle-inn-cambria.hotelsone.com)

We grab coffee and muffins and immediately head out to Hearst Castle just eight minutes up the coastal road from Cambria in San Simeon.

We have to be at the Hearst Castle’s visitor center by 8:40 am for our pre-booked 9 am Grand Rooms tour – the most popular of a selection of tours you can take and the best if you have never visited before (others include “Hearst and Hollywood” “Designing the Dream” “Art of San Simeon,” “Julia Morgan”, “Cottages & Kitchen tour” “Upstairs Suites Tour”, also accessible tours and private tours.)

We get our wristbands and go to “gate” for the bus that takes guests up to the mansion along the long winding road – just as William Randolph Hearst intended his visitors to experience his “Enchanted Hill.”

The tour starts immediately on the bus, with an excellent narration giving the background – history, architecture, biography – and pointing out the sights along the way, accompanied by music of the 1930s and 1940s.

Hearst Castle is so much more than a magnificent mansion home (one of the most spectacular in the world), even more than an architectural jewel and a breathtaking art collection. It is the story of a fascinating man (love him or hate him or something in between, you still have to give the man credit for what he accomplished) who you come to know because everything about Hearst Castle is so personal to him. It is the story of an age – the coming of age of America, the coming of age of Hollywood and ascendancy of American culture. Everything you see is mind-blowing and breath-taking. And this mansion (he called it his country home), which has come to be known as Hearst Castle, is his personal artistic creation – the architecture and the art collection.

The tour is extremely well organized – it manages to be efficient and yet personal (I’m betting the earlier you can visit the better) – you feel as so many of Hearst’s guests must have felt the first time they were invited.

*The entrance to Casa Grande. William Randolph Hearst was inspired to build his castle from his European tour with his mother when he was 10 years old © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You realize that even if you think you know who Hearst was (and so many imagine Hearst to be the character of “Citizen Kane” but he is only a piece of that fictional character, and Marion Davies, his companion, was a smart, savvy and accomplished woman and quite a fine actress, not at all like the character of Kane’s), you come away with newfound respect and interest – in fact, as compelling a real-life story as the fictional Citizen Kane. (“Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz was one of Hearst’s guests here.)

You also come to learn – and admire – Hearst’s architect for his castle: Julia Morgan was one of the first female engineering majors at the University of California, Berkeley, the first woman to pass the entrance exam in architecture and graduate the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris – the preeminent architectural school of the time – and was the first licensed woman architect in California. (In 2014, Morgan was posthumously awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in recognition of her pioneering career and dynamic buildings, the first woman to be awarded the medal in its 107-year history, https://pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org/julia-morgan/)

*The grand dining room at Hearst Castle © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Hearst was inspired to build his castle and collect art when he took the grand tour of Europe when 10 with his mother. And his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. a philanthropist and advocate for women, introduced him to Julia Morgan. Phoebe began a lifelong interest in Morgan’s career when the two women’s paths crossed in Paris. The films and photos you get to see of Morgan, presiding over the dynamiting to level the summit and build the road, reviewing plans with Hearst, are fascinating.

Even though you are walking through the mansion with a tour group, you actually feel like you were one of Hearst’s guests arriving for the weekend – the home is set out as it would have been – most remarkably, in the grand dining room (it may well have inspired Harry Potter’s Hogwarts dining room, and interestingly, the banners on display refer to an Italian horserace), there are bottles of ketchup and mustard because Hearst himself, for all the spectacular grandeur of the art and architecture, wanted a homey feel to his country home.

*Ketchup and mustard on the table in the grand dining room at Hearst Castle © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The art is breathtaking – Hearst collected the pieces himself, and drawing from his European travels with his mother when he was 10 years old, are predominantly Gothic and medieval – a lot of religious art which Hearst appreciated for the art and the period, not the religious significance, the guide tells me.

*The oldest work of art at Hearst Castle is an Egyptian statue, 3200-3600 years old, of Sekmet, daughter of Ra © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

At the entrance to the Casa Grande – the 68,300 sq ft grand house – we stop in front of the oldest work of art here, an Egyptian statue, 3200-3600 years old of Sekmet, daughter of Ra –with a hieroglyph that translates “Good God, Lord of Two Lands.” The entrance to Casa Grande – has real gold gilding on the door, 1500-year old mosaic tiles, a 600 year old statue.

*The Assembly Room of Hearst Castle gives you your first taste of the opulence and art collection © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We are ushered into the grand Assembly Room – 15^th century church pews, tapestries, line the wall, and the Venus Italica, one of Hearst Castle’s greatest masterpieces, created by Antonio Canova (1757-1822).

In 1935 his collections were valued at more than $20 million (in the height of the Great Depression!), but then he fell into near bankruptcy, and at the age of 75, and had to sell off two-thirds of his collection, estimated at $15 million, at “fire sale” prices. (Marion Davies, by then extremely wealthy in her own right with movies and real estate investments in places like Palm Springs, lent him $1 million so he could keep Hearst Castle; when she died, her estate was worth $8 million; when he died, she gave the Hearst Company shares he left her back to his family and they promptly kicked her out and refused to let her come to his funeral.)

You can easily picture who Hearst, Davies and Morgan were, and the glorious celebrity life they lived because there are home movies, photos!. It is thrilling to sit in Hearst’s own theater and watch Charlie Chaplin mug for the camera. (Definitely take advantage of the outstanding 40-minute documentary about Hearst’s life in the five-story theater before or after the tour.)

In many ways, William followed in his father’s footsteps.

George was a self-made millionaire, starting as a prospector – he owned interest in three of the largest mines in the U.S., including the Comstock Lode in Nevada, the Homestake gold mine in South Dakota and the Anaconda copper mine in Montana, plus the Ontario silver mine in Utah, then acquired large portions of land throughout the United States, especially in California and the West. One acquisition was 48,000 acre Piedra Blanca Rancho at San Simeon in 1865, when William was two-years old. He later purchased the adjoining Santa Rosa and San Simeon Ranchos – amassing 250,000 acres. This place became a retreat for lavish family camping trips.

*Only a small portion of the vast estate – once 250,000 acres – assembled by Hearst © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Late in his life George Hearst served as United States Senator from California from 1887 until his death in 1891. It was during this time that he acquired the small San Francisco Examiner as a repayment for a gambling debt. Although he had little interest in the publishing business and wanted his only son, William, to take over the family’s mining and ranching holdings, William wanted to run the newspaper.

The newspaper business was William’s passion, and he ultimately amassed a huge publishing empire, and even when he was living at this remote castle in San Simeon, he would get the pages each night by teletype by 1 am, and make editorial changes by phone, well into the night.

William Hearst is probably best known for “yellow journalism” which pressured President McKinley into the Spanish-American War (that also made Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation with his Rough Riders.

And following in his father’s footsteps, he was elected to Congress but unsuccessfully ran for Governor and for President.

In 1919 when he inherited the estate, William Hearst, then 56 years old, hired architect Julia Morgan telling her, ““Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something.”

For the next 28 years, the project that we know as Hearst Castle became his life’s work, his creation and hers and unbelievably, was never actually finished, even though the mansion and villas now comprise 165 rooms atop the 1600 ft. high summit of a hill. Hearst, they say, was never as happy as when he was on his “Enchanted Hill.”

*Once this pasture would have held the largest private zoo in America © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

From the bus, we look out over the vast lands where Hearst had assembled exotic animals from around the world, ultimately creating the largest private zoo in America – you would have seen African and Asian antelope, zebras, giraffes, camels, sambar deer from India, red deer from Europe, axis deer from Asia, llamas, kangaroos, ostriches, emus, Barbary sheep, Alaskan big horned sheep, musk oxen and yaks. Though most of the animals were removed by 1937 (when Hearst was near bankrupt during the Great Depression), some that remain are descendents of the original herds, like the Oudads, and get still have 200 head of cattle on the ranch.

We drive the winding road that Julia Morgan designed so that the castle appears, disappears and reappears as you drive around the bends, climbing higher and higher to the hilltop.

Hearst’s guests would have come by private train, but some of Hearst’s guests – like the Vanderbilts, who flew in on a private plane in 1935 to an airstrip below, then would have been driven up these roads.

Hearst created a mile-long pergola of fruit trees, and would ride on horseback through the canopy, “the longest pergola in captivity” Morgan would joke. The fruit trees including oranges and pomegranates, yield 2000 lbs of citrus that are donated to local food bank.

All the food the castle used was produced on site; water was piped in, so the castle was completely self-sufficient.

As we get off the bus, our guide, Gregory Anderson, encourages us to take photos as we see them, because the tour goes in one direction But to a really excellent degree, what we see is what it would have been like to visit in Hearst’s time.

*One of the three villas at Hearst Castle where movie stars, industrial moguls, and political leaders would have stayed © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We stop in front of the first villa, Casa del Sol, “medium sized” at 3600 sq ft., built for a sunset view, Bob and Delores Hope honeymooned here; Edward Hubble, who originated the Big Bang Theory, stayed here; Actor Cary Grant requested a different room every time stayed (came 40 times)

We come to the 2500 sq. ft Casa del Mar cottage, where David Niven (“The Pink Panther) and Winston Churchill stayed (in 1929). Up until 1976, this was the villa that Hearst family members would stay. (William had five sons between 1904-1918, and there are some 70 descendents today and the family – the 20^th wealthiest in the US – now when they come, they stay at the Senator’s House which the Hearst Corporation still owns).

King Vidor, Howard Hughes, Charlie Chaplin, buster Keaton, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Harpo Marx, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo were among the celebrities who came.

Hearst loved to take his guests on grueling horseback rides – delighted in seeing how silver screen cowboys would handle real horse.

Our guide tells us that Hearst Castle was Morgan’s 503rd of 700 projects and was one of the few architects who knew how to work with steel reinforced concrete (important for earthquakes).

Notably, she designed a new Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, still an architectural jewel, which opened within a year after the 1906 earthquake, and propelled her career and her own practice.

Morgan had already designed the block-long Spanish Mission Revival Hearst Examiner Building (1913–15) in Los Angeles. In 1919, following his mother’s death, Hearst inherited the full Hearst estate and decided to build a “modest bungalow” on the hilltop of the ranch at San Simeon – which evolved into the castle.

I find it interesting that Morgan negotiated her commission from 6 percent for architectural services to 8.5 percent to cover the costs of “running the job.” She was providing what today would be called “design-build” services and was responsible for managing workmen, artisans, material suppliers, and warehouses of artifacts – it is fascinating to see the “home videos” of her directing the workers.

*The magnificent Neptune Pool. Julia Morgan had to design and build it three times © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The most spellbinding features of the estate are the two pools – the Neptune Pool which has Grecian feel, is actually the third incarnation: 104 feet long, 58 feet wide and 95 feet wide at the alcove. It is 3.5 feet deep at the west end, 10 feet at the drains, and holds 345,000 gallons of water. Other notable aspects of the Neptune Pool include the oil-burning heating system, the Vermont marble that lines the basin, gutters, and alcove, and four Italian relief sculptures on the sides of the colonnades.

*The magnificent Roman Pool in Hearst Castle © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The indoor Roman Pool tiled indoor pool decorated with eight statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heroes. The pool appears to be styled after an ancient Roman bath such as the Baths of Caracalla in Rome c. 211-17 CE.

Be sure to make time to see the “Building the Dream” biopic in the 5 story theater (plays every 45 minutes) about William Randolph Hearst’s childhood, his travels to Europe, construction of the castle estate, and his architectural collaboration with Morgan. “They built castle but also created legacy.”

Hearst Castle, which first opened for tours in 1958 and gets 600,000-700,000 tourists/year (in the 1980s, its heyday, a million tourists would come each year), is now a California state park.

There are no individual visits to Hearst Castle – you must be registered for a tour. Ticket prices start at $30/adults, $15 children (5-12). (https://hearstcastle.org/tour-hearst-castle/daily-tours/). Reserve tickets online up to 60 days in advance; Reserve online (https://www.reservecalifornia.com/Web/Activities/HearstCastleTours.aspx)

Every year from the end of November through the end of December, Hearst Castle offers a “Holiday Twilight Tour” to experience the estate as Hearst’s guests enjoyed it during the 1920s and 1930s during the Christmas season.

Hearst Castle, 750 Hearst Castle Road, San Simeon, CA 93452-9741, 800-444-4445 (8 am-6 pm PT), hearstcastle.org.

More visitor information: visitcambriaca.com.

Next: Cambria is Great Base for Pacific Highway Roadtrip

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Cultural travel, Destinations, Driveable adventures, Driveable destinations, Historic Hotels, Historic Places

New Brunswick Roadtrip Begins in St. Andrews

September 5, 2023 krubin723

*Picturesque, historic* *St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, with Dave E. Leiberman, Laini Miranda & Eric Leiberman

Travel Features Syndicate, www.goingplacesfarandnear.com

Perhaps the most defining feature of New Brunswick, Canada is that it has the highest tides in the world. But unless you see it, stand in it, walk on the ocean floor one hour and kayak through rock openings the next, it is hard to wrap your head around what it means to say the Bay of Fundy has the “highest tides” in the world.

*Rising tide, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Seeing, experiencing this phenomenon for ourselves is just one of the reasons that brought us to New Brunswick, one of Canada’s Atlantic Maritime provinces and the only one of its 11 provinces that is officially bilingual (English and French). Other unique aspects were also intriguing – like seeing the vestiges of Pangea, primordial earth before the continents split apart, in one of the world’s first and most expansive UNESCO Geoparks; fossils 3.5 billion years old; and the intriguing phenomenon of Reversing Falls (one of only two places in the world).

We are also really excited to sample a new bike trail, 375 miles around the coast, that let us tour its (very French) Acadian Peninsula, going through small villages where the flag most prominently waved is that of Acadia, not New Brunswick or Canada. And then there are the bonus surprises where you can see living history of the First Nations and a colonial Acadian Village.

New Brunswick also is surprisingly easy to reach, located adjacent to Maine (there are 17 border crossings), yet so delightfully foreign and exotic because it is relatively unknown and unexplored beyond New Englanders.

*St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, a picturesque seaside historic town © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We start our New Brunswick exploration in St. Andrews, one of Canada’s most popular seaside resort towns – wonderfully picturesque, with a surprising amount of things to do.

It is also where we will launch our 10-day trip that will take us on the scenic 286-mile Fundy Coastal Drive (St. Andrews, Saint John, St. Martins, Fundy Trail Parkway, Alma, Cape Enrage and Hopewell Rocks), and on to Miramichi and the Acadian Peninsula, where we will cycle the new Acadian Peninsula Veloroute from Tracadie to Shippagan, Miscou Island and Caraquet. (We are grateful to Tourism New Brunswick for creating our itinerary.)

St. Andrews, designated a National Historic Site of Canada, is a charming community with many of the town’s buildings still reflecting its founding by the United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, especially as we walk along Water Street.

Kingsbrae Garden

Our first morning, we explore an absolute treasure of St. Andrews: Kingsbrae Garden, set on 27 acres donated by John and Lucinda Flemer. This was her family’s summer home – she tells stories of taking the train from their Montreal home and hiding in the century-old hedges which we walk through today. In fact, at 93 years old, Lucinda still lives here, walks the grounds most days (making sure everything is up to snuff), Daniel Schmids, director of operations, relates as he guides us around.

In 1996, Mrs. Flemer wanted to do something to benefit the community. She originally thought to create a school to train guide dogs, but the tourism office suggested that a garden would benefit the community more, Lucinda was not a garden hobbyist, botanist nor landscape architect. Nor was Geoff Slater, the artist she chose to design her garden (we see his murals on Water Street). She laid out her vision for the Garden one evening sitting at her kitchen table with Slater over a bottle of wine, and Kingsbrae Garden opened two years later.

*Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The gardens are gorgeous – works of art, really – but they are so much more. You feel the heart, the compassion, that went into their creation and design. You feel as nurtured and protected as the flowers. I have never been so simultaneously excited and serene at the same time.

Kingsbrae pays tribute to some of the great garden traditions such as the White, Rose, Knot Garden, Perennial and Cottage gardens.

*One of the classic gardens at Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

There are also experimental gardens where new and old styles and plant materials are used to preserve and promote home gardening, like the Container Garden (to give apartment dwellers ideas, inspired by her time living in England). Display gardens showcase various collections of plant species and their uses – Rhododendron, Heath & Heather, Ornamental Shrub, Dwarf Conifer, Herb, Hydrangea and Gravel gardens. But Kingsbrae goes far beyond horticulture.

*Lucinda Flemer designed* *Kingsbrae Garden with an artist’s eye © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

There is a Labyrinth & Maze, a Bee Garden (the bees essential to pollinate the flowers), a Monarch Garden (a certified Monarch butterfly way station providing not only the milkweed that Monarchs require but a protected place for the egg larvae to develop), a Secret Garden, and Memory Lane (a row of special trees planted in memory of someone).

*Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, is a certified Monarch butterfly way station; larvae are taken and protected in shelters© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

There is a Peace Garden and Afghanistan Memorial to honor and give comfort to war dead and veterans (military people get free admission); a therapy garden (the gardens work with Wounded Warriors to use gardening to relieve stress); a Scents and Sensitivity garden that invites you to identify the plant by smell or touch (the accompanying sculpture of a guide dog pays homage to Lucinda’s original idea). There is an orchard containing heirloom varieties of apple trees. An Edible Garden showcases edible plants, native and exotic fruits and berries (where the Garden Café chef makes a daily collection for his culinary creations before visitors arrive).

*Animals are among the special delights at* *Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Favorites are the Children’s Garden and a Fantasy Garden that provide outdoor environments for play and learning, with tiny cottages and animals including goats, alpacas and rabbits. The children’s garden is bordered by a “living fence” of 100 criss-crossing apple trees that have grown together over the past 10 years.

*The living fence of criss-crossed apple trees border the Children’s Garden at* *Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Possibly the most extraordinary sight is the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis), a 200 million year old species thought to be extinct but re-discovered by a hiker in Australia; some were auctioned and a St. Andrews man won one and gifted it to Kingsbrae, now protected within a cage.

*The rare, thought to be extinct, Wollemi Pine is on view at Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

“Since dinosaurs roamed the earth to the present electronic era, a few Wollemi pines have patiently survived with their gene pool pure and unchanged, in the Blue Mountains of Australia. What was likely a tasty treat Cretaceous dinosaurs munched on for lunch is a botanical story of the century.”

One of the most magnificent displays is the working Dutch windmill, built to one-third scale. Mrs. Flemer’s husband, John, who was Dutch, had it built as an anniversary gift in 1997 (he passed 6 years ago).

*Lucinda Flemer’s husband, John, had this one-third scale Dutch windmill constructed as an anniversary present*. *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

You can explore a kilometer-long groomed trail through the Acadian forest and an Audubon-certified bird sanctuary, which she created after a visit to India.

Lucinda Flemer had not been a gardening person, but was art-oriented and wanted to create Kingsbrae for “the eye of artist”.

The Gardens even offers an art residency for six artists a year, housed in a historic 1908 building she purchased.

*Kingsbrae Garden is Canada’s largest private sculpture collection © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

And all the way through, tucked here and there, are sculptures that convey a theme or message or are just whimsical (like an apple core you can sit on), as well as a Sculpture Garden. Indeed, Kingsbrae Garden is Canada’s largest private sculpture collection. For many years Lucinda sponsored a sculpture competition, purchasing the top prize winners for the Garden. Now she commissions works. We see the most recent acquisition, a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, appropriately in the Heath and Heather Garden.

*A sculptural tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in the Heath & Heather Garden at* *Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Everywhere you look there is some delightful surprise.

Lucinda Flemer built the garden and then decided to build an 1100-seat amphitheater – in a town of 2500 people! “People laughed. But she thought, ‘Build it and they will come,’” Daniel tells us. And they did. The amphitheater hosts 8 to 10 events a year including Broadway productions (a local actor was Broadway’s “Come From Away” and “Rock of Ages,” and his wife is a casting director), in 2022, one event filled the amphitheater twice.

“She was inspired by what was done well, so she brought here to show people what they otherwise wouldn’t see – the same with art residency. People get to experience different culture.”

Seniors who live in a residence next door come in for free through a special gate. In July and August, there are special mobility tours by golf cart.

*Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, offers whimsical delights like this apple core sculpture that invites you to sit © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We have the most delectable lunch at the Garden’s Café, with items enhanced by the freshly picked produce from the garden, which also houses an Art Gallery. On view are paintings created by the artist who designed Kingsbrae, Geoff Slater (he’s known for paintings out of a single line in changing colors) who also painted the murals on Water Street.

Café executive chef Alex Haun, grew up in St Andrews, started working at Kingsbrae at15 years old as a dishwasher (his father managed the garden). Haun went to Canadian Culinary Institute, competed in International Culinary Olympics, winning multiple gold medals. He probably could have gone anywhere in the world but returned to Kingsbrae. His Signature 12-course “Savor” dinner menu, offered three times a year, sells out immediately.

Kingsbrae Garden, 220 King Street, St. Andrews, 506-529-3335, www.kingsbraegarden.com (Open May-October).

Whale Watching

Dave and I have to rush away from this delectable lunch to get to the dock for a whale watching tour with Jolly Breeze Whale Adventures.

Whale watching is very popular in St. Andrews and there are many different companies. I am thrilled to be taking Jolly Breeze’s 12-passenger Zodiac – extremely comfortable, low to the water, very flexible so you are unlikely to get sea sick, and the Captain can maneuver more easily to get closer to a whale (keeping an appropriate distance).

It is very early in the season and it is really by virtue of Captain Randy’s experience (he started working on the boats when he was 13), knowing whale behavior and pattern and skill that toward the end of the 2 ½ hour cruise, we spot a Minke whale.

But even if we didn’t get to spot a whale, the cruise is really fun on the Zodiac.

*The picturesque East Quoddy Lighthouse is spotted on* Jolly Breeze Whale Watching Adventures, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

They dress us in gear that looks like we are off to explore the Arctic, so we are absolutely comfortable on the Zodiac. We get to see the picturesque East Quoddy Lighthouse, built in 1829 on a small, rocky islet located off the northern tip of Campobello Island (was frequented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and today is the world’s only national park, shared by two countries, Canada and the USA), as well as puffin and seals.

If it had been a little more into the season we might have seen as many as four different whale species that frequent this area at different times in the season. One of the regulars is an Orca they call “Old Tom.”

There is not much splash on the Zodiac, so you can bring a good camera with long lens and a dry bag is available on request.

Jolly Breeze Whale Adventures on the wharf at 4 King Street. 506-529-8116, https://jollybreeze.com.

Ministers Island

We need to pull ourselves away from wandering St. Andrews’ charming downtown by 5 pm, in order to visit Ministers Island, Canada’s largest tidal island and a National Historic Site. Since you have to drive across a sand road (Bar Road) that is quickly overrun at high tide, covered by 15 feet of water (when it becomes an island), we have to mind the time. We will have to be off at 7 pm when the tide quickly envelops the road (rangers round up any stragglers). Each day, there are two windows of opportunity to travel to the island depending on the tide schedule.

*Ministers Island, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Ministers Island is a 500 acre island, 2 miles by 1 mile, located in Passamaquoddy Bay, where Sir William Van Horne built his summer home, Covenhoven, in 1890 – a 50-room mansion, with 17 bedrooms, 11 fireplaces, 11 bathrooms – and the only place still standing that is associated with this significant historic figure.

Sir William Cornelius Van Horne was an American recruited to build Canada’s 2,900 mile-long transcontinental railroad system, finishing a year ahead of schedule (earning a $1 million bonus).

The mansion remained in the Van Horne family until 1961 when it was sold to two Americans, our guide, Susan Goertzen, relates. By 1977, they wanted to auction it off and sold off most of furnishings and artifacts. But three days into the auction, the Province of New Brunswick stopped the sale and bought it. The mansion was closed from 1977 until 1992.

In 2004, a local group took over the operation and put out a call to get back some of the original furnishings and artifacts. It is furnished today with original and period pieces. Most interesting are the paintings that Van Horne painted, the portraits and photographs, the travel posters, the original ice box and stove, his billiards table and game room.

*Van Horne’s original dining set at Covenhoven on* *Ministers Island, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In the “Canadian Pacific Room” you learn a lot about Van Horne – an inventor, an amateur geologist who collected fossils (his collection was given to the University of Chicago), an artist and a major art collector. It is said he only slept four hours a night.

Truly a self-made man, Van Horne, was born in Illinois in 1843, and had to quit school at age 14 when his father died to go to work as a telegraph operator for the Illinois Central Railroad. By 1880 he was general superintendent of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad system. In 1881, he was recruited to become general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway and by 1885, had completed the transcontinental railway system.

*The self-made man, Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, built Canada’s transcontinental railroad © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.co*

Van Horne was not only the architect of Canada’s transcontinental railroad, he was the progenitor of its tourism industry, designing and building a network of Canadian Pacific Hotels. One of the original hotels was the Algonquin here in St. Andrews, where we get to stay; another was the famous Banff Springs Hotel.

We visit the windmill he built to pump water from a 10,000 gallon holding tank (actually a railway water car) 127 feet below ground into the house for running water.

You also can see the carriage house (a gorgeous carriage inside) and an amazing barn which features antique cars, and the magnificent 1911 bath house that overlooks a “natural” swimming pool cut from the rock just below. The setting is absolutely stunning, and can also be enjoyed picnicking and hiking on several marked trails.

There is much to explore on Ministers Island: a shell midden archaeological site, and the 1790 home of Loyalist and Anglican minister Samuel Andrews, a creamery, a livestock barn, a boarding house, an automobile garage, a horse stable, and a greenhouse.

But the tide will soon come in and we have to hurry back. Dave and Eric opt to run down from the hilltop mansion along the trail over the sand bridge (we are only a little concerned about them making it before the tide overwhelms the road again), back into St. Andrews, where we meet for dinner.

Ministers Island, 506-529-5081 https://www.ministersisland.net/ (Open May-October, Admission, $17/adults).

*Dave and Eric race the incoming tide as they dash from Ministers Island, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Where to Stay, Dine

There are so many charming restaurants and cafes along Water Street.

The previous day we sampled some of the town’s marvelous restaurants and sights.

The Niger Reef Tea House (1 Joes Point Rd, St. Andrews, 506-529-8005, nigerreefteahouse.com) is a real find, offering the most marvelous ambiance and distinctive cuisine. It’s where the locals go for an elegant, sophisticated dinner in a homey, casual, comfortable but classy atmosphere. It looks like a Japanese teahouse – in fact, the magnificent murals painted by Lucille Davenport in the 19^th century were uncovered when the residence was converted to the tea house in 1926.

*Enjoying a meal and the ambiance at Niger Reef Teahouse in St. Andrews © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We start with the oysters served on kelp that chef Anthony Davidson has dashed out to the Bay to gather, enjoy the jerk chicken and pesto pizza, and finish with the delectable strawberry rhubarb crumble (the rhubarb is growing in the garden).

The setting – a sprawling lawn that goes down to the Bay – also lets us explore The Blockhouse, the town’s last remaining wooden defensive structure from the War of 1812 (great for picnicking and view of harbor).

*Sunset*, *St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This evening, we find a delightful deck to enjoy the view of the wharf and sunset at Saint Andrews Brewing Company (201 Water St., 506-529-2337) set in what was the Customs House, which serves snacks but invites you to order in the rest of the meal. We order from a delightful restaurant just across the plaza, The Red Herring Pub, (211 Water St., 506-529-8455 – they even delivered!) and just revel in the scenery.

We go down to the wharf to take in a magnificent sunset, but I rush away to get to our hotel, the grand, historic Algonquin Resort, in time for the 9 pm Ghost Tour.

The Algonquin Resort is reputed to be haunted and is said to be the inspiration for Stephen King’s horror story, The Shining. (Bangor, Maine, where King lives, is a two-hour drive from St. Andrews.)

The Ghost Tour is a fun way to see parts of the resort you would otherwise never see. We creep through the underground passageway (the staff wasn’t allowed to be seen by the guests in their street clothes) as our guide tells the story of the tunnel being haunted by a ‘night watchman’ (people hear his keys rattling). There is a haunted piano (one of only two items from the original 1889 hotel that was saved from a fire that destroyed it in 1914; Van Horne had it rebuilt and reopened just six months later) which people claim to hear play even though it is locked shut with a key that cannot be replaced; he tells about a boy named Benjamin who people claim they hear bouncing a ball.

*Walking through underground passageway on the Algonquin’s Ghost Tour St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I finish the ghost tour in time to take in the wonderful ambiance of the resort and enjoy the Algonquin’s indoor pool and water slide.

One of the original Canadian Pacific Hotels (another ingenious Van Horne idea to promote travel on the railroad) and now part of the Marriott Autograph Collection, the Algonquin lets you drift back into that grand era as soon as you step across the threshold.

*The grand, historic Algonquin Resort, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Set on a hilltop overlooking the town (and just next to Kingsbrae Gardens), The Algonquin has the most magnificent outdoor pool complex, an indoor pool with a water slide, tennis courts, 18-hole golf course. It also has a fleet bicycles available just for the asking to bike over the beautiful Van Horne Trail, built on what had been the train tracks. We wake up early to take advantage before we have to tear ourselves away (you really want to stay) to continue on to our next New Brunswick adventure, in the historic city of St. John.

Algonquin Resort, 184 Adolphus Street, St. Andrews, 506-529-8823, https://www.marriott.com/en-gb/en-gb/hotels/travel/ysjak-the-algonquin-resort-st-andrews-by-the-sea-autograph-collection/

For planning help, visit Tourism New Brunswick, 800-561-0123, www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca

Next: New Brunswick Roadtrip: Saint John, a City of Oldests, Firsts, Amazements

____________________________

© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/KarenBRubin

Adventure Travel, Cultural travel, Culture, Historic Places, International Travel, Places of History

Visit to Peru’s Sacred Valley is Best Way to Prepare for Inca Trail Trek to Machu Picchu

October 29, 2022 krubin723 1 Comment

A weaver at Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center where we see the different varieties of llama and alpaca, learn about how the wool is produced, the raw materials that the dyes are made from, and watch villagers at their looms make stunning textiles on Alpaca Expeditions’ Sacred Valley tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Eric Leiberman & Sarah Falter

Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

We prepare for our Alpaca Expeditions four-day/three-night Inca Trail hiking/camping trek to Machu Picchu by spending an extra day Cuzco and the Sacred Valley – the best way to begin to acclimatize to the high altitude before the trek, which goes up to nearly 14,000 feet. This not only helps us avoid debilitating altitude sickness but also lays the foundation for appreciating what we will see and experience along the trail.

While it would be better to have arranged two or three days to acclimate before the trek – which would also provide more time to visit the extraordinary sights in Cuzco, Pisac and Ollantaytambo – having come from a week in the Galapagos for this grand finale to Eric and Sarah’s six-month odyssey, we only have one full day before starting out on the trek, so Alpaca Expeditions’ one-day Sacred Valley tour is ideal.

Our guide, Jaime, picks us up at 8 am our charming boutique hotel, the Amaru Inca (Cuesta San Blas, 541, Cusco City Center, Cusco, 84) which must once have been a hacienda, and we set out in private car into the countryside, where we immediately see neighborhoods, villages and communities.

*Cuzco’s most famous monument, the statue of **Christo Blanco** with open arms that overlooks the city © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The road begins its twisting rise into the mountains and Jaime stops just before the Sacsayhuaman fortress at a point where we are level with Cuzco’s most famous monument, the statue of Christo Blanco with open arms that overlooks the city. Eight meters high, it was created by Cusco sculptor Francisco Olazo – a gift from Palestine in 1945 – and a mini version of Rio’s statue. From here, the Cathedral and churches and Spanish-style buildings are most prominent.

*Looking down at Cuzco, you see the Spanish structures built over the Incan structures © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Cuzco was the capital of the Incan Empire and the “navel” of the world, according to its lore. At its peak, had 30,000-40,000 inhabitants.

“There is nothing like Cuzco in any other part of South America for the concentration of people and sites,” Jamie says. There are some 1,250 sacred sites in Cuzco.

The hostels we stay in today were once grand homes – first of Inca rulers who began to take over Cuzco in 1000 AD, then rich Spaniards who came in the first century after conquest, in 1536.

The Incan heritage pretty much had to be resurrected because the Spanish did their level best to eradicate the culture, and especially the “pagan” religion which was based on nature worship – literally building their palaces and churches on top of the original foundation stones of the Incan palaces and temples.

“It’s as if they were saying, ‘We are built upon your gods. Submit.’”

*The Spanish conquerors intentionally eradicated the Incan culture and society © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The center square, would have been the city’s market place and where religious ceremonies would have been held, was renamed by the Spanish the Plaza de Armas – the place of arms – where they would have held executions of rebels.

Our guide Jamie explains that the Inca were actually the ruling family – not the people – who basically ruled over some 50 different tribes and city-states, speaking different languages. Some 20,000 to 40,000 Inca nobility ruled over a population of 10 to 20 million that at its peak, spanned as far as Columbia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. The Inca expanded its empire from Cuzco by conquest and “diplomacy” between 1000 and 1536, reaching its peak in the mid 1400s, 125 years before the Spanish conquest.

What is so remarkable is the Empire the Inca built – the monumental architecture and 3,000-miles of road network reaching all corners of the empire – was accomplished without the benefit of draft animals like the horse, the wheel, iron or steel tools, a written language, currency, or slaves.

How was it possible for a few hundred Spanish conquistadors to conquer the Incan Empire ? The Spanish seemed to arrive during a perfect storm of turmoil and weakness in the Empire. The Inca Emperor Huayna Capac had died in 1529 after contracting smallpox, that likely came from Maya fleeing south along the roads the Inca built, who were infected by the Spanish and weakened the population; and two brothers were embroiled in a devastating civil war to become the new Emperor. Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Inca, was victorious, only to be captured, held for ransom, and then executed by Francisco Pizarro.

But a key reason for the Spaniards’ success was that the tribal people were not motivated to battle the invaders. Many wanted to be rid of the Inca rulers and allied with Spaniards (“The Inca weren’t very nice,” Jamie says). Also, the Spaniards seemed to be endowed with supernatural power and the incarnation of the priests’ prophesy of an existential event akin to Armageddon.

The first group of 90 Spaniards arrived in Cuzco in 1533 in Cuzco and lived together with Cuzco population for three years. But in 1536, a second, larger, more militant group came, determined to take the Inca’s gold and silver (the Inca did not understand how the Europeans valued precious metals as a source of power) and forcibly replace the “pagan” religion with Christianity.

The Incan leader Manco realized the Spaniards weren’t leaving, so rose up against them, but the Incan weapons were no match. After the third battle, the indigenous population abandoned Cuzco and the Spanish took over their properties.

If the Spaniards would have come 50 years later, Jaime says, the Incan Empire may have taken over Mexico and been powerful enough, unified enough to drive the conquerors out, he says.

*At the Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center, we learn the vital importance of domestication of llama and alpaca to the Incan Empire © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Spaniards did whatever they could to eradicate the pagan religions. Some continued to observe their religious rituals in secret – even up to modern day and as recently as 15 years ago, would practice secretly. Today people openly practice. “The church knows our religion was respecting nature,” Jamie says.

We stop at the Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center where we see the different varieties of llama and alpaca, learn about how the wool is produced, the raw materials that the dyes are made from, and watch villagers at their looms, make stunning textiles (there’s also a fantastic gallery, museum and a large store).

*A weaver at Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center, © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This visit provides fascinating insights into the culture and heritage, the structure of society and the ecosystem that shaped and sustained the Incan Empire – the environment that supports agriculture in high altitude (enough food and calories to fuel the building of these monumental structures and support an army) and domestication of animals, how the natural materials at hand shaped the culture.

You realize how critical to the success of the Incan Empire the domestication of llama and alpaca were – for carrying goods and producing wool for clothes – the only domesticated animals in pre-Hispanic America. Also, the grasses were food for the animals but also used to make the ropes for bridges and hauling the massive stones (I suspect were also used to make the straight lines without the benefit of rulers.)

These finely-woven textiles and the monumental architecture were the main arts of the Incan Empire; instead of written communications they used knotted strings (quipu), which still cannot be deciphered but which (Karen postulates) might have been a kind of Morse code (so why can’t a computer crack the code?). The colors and patterns of clothes would communicate tribal affiliation, friend or foe.

*The source of the natural dyes for the textiles © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Inca’s success at farming had much to do with the fact the Inca calendar was tied to astronomy. Inca astronomers understood equinoxes, solstices and zenith passages and the Venus cycle. Religious leaders –the only others besides the nobles who were educated – used their knowledge as power over the people who were kept ignorant. The priests would use the solstice as if the people’s religious devotion would bring back the longer days. They couldn’t predict an eclipse, but they well understood how it operated.

*Weavers at Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Inca also used mathematics to divide up political governance (a system of 10s), assess taxes, keep the census, and to do the calculations necessary to create such monumental architecture.

*A father and child at Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We also see guinea pigs in cages. They were a delicacy, served at important festivals, and even today are served for festivals as well as in restaurants.

But the Inca could not have accomplished what they did – labor, military might – without enough food (calories) to support the population, which is why the Machu Picchu Sacred Valley was so vital.

*Sarah and Eric pet a baby alpaca at Manos de la Comunidad, a handicraft center © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We stop at a famous overlook known as El Mirador (Lookout Point) from where we can see the Sacred Valley – an abundance of fertile plains in this high area of the Andes – spread out in front of us.

*The view from El Mirador (Lookout Point) of the Sacred Valley © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Around the year 1000, Manco Capac claimed to be the “son of the sun god Inti,” sent to earth to become the first king of the Inca. He was known for his courage, and taught the people how to grow plants, make weapons, work together, share resources and worship the gods – in other words, set the parameters for the society.

Karen suspects the source of Manco’s power over the people was that he was an agricultural genius – figuring out terraces and irrigation technology – and abundant food production was proof of his divinity. He probably was a popular dictator but later Inca rulers relied on force. Besides military might and a brutal form of “justice,” the Inca ruled through religion and superstition.

Their religion was based on nature and the different tribes had their own local gods and idols – they worshiped the gods and goddesses of rain, lightning, rainbow (connected with fertility), moon, sea and water. The Inca imposed sun worship of Inti over other gods, even Pachamama (Earth Mother). The people drafted to build their palaces and temples did it as much out of devotion to god as their obligation to give service to the state.

*Chancing upon traditional dancers filming a video at El Mirador © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The elevation of the valley provides the perfect climate for growing corn (maize), so Inca named in Sacred Valley (a golden staff also comes into play). The maize was also used to make a fermented liquor that was used in religious ceremonies, adding to the “sacred” nature of the valley.

They modified the river bank with sand bags to control flooding and perfected irrigation techniques to create more arable land; the terraces created micro-climates for producing different crops.

Terracing and irrigation account, plus the ability to find fertile soil and take advantage of micro-climates account for the Inca Empire’s success in producing food © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Inca society was a combination of feudalism and socialism. While they did not have currency and technically did not use slaves, instead, the exchange of goods and services was based on reciprocity between individuals and among individuals, communities and the Inca rulers. Farm production was divided up with 25 percent going to the Inca rulers and nobility, 25 percent to the priests and religious institutions and half kept by the farmers. The Inca rulers (who theoretically owned all the means of production) reciprocated by granting access to land and goods and providing food and drink in celebratory feasts for their subjects.

When the Spanish came, they introduced a feudal system – where the Spanish owned all the land. That persisted up to as recently as 1969, when a socialist (nationalist) president came to power.

“The government bought the land to give to farmers, brought more freedom, and the right to go to school. For the first 15-20 years, it didn’t work well because farmers didn’t know business like the landlord, didn’t have the export connections, and were used to being bossed. The government had to step in, ‘Remember the Inca time’ – and get them to act as a cooperative. Today, every farmer has his own land. Peru’s biggest export is avocado; its corn is shipped to Japan, Germany and Canada.”

*As we drive into the countryside, we see women in traditional dress, pass markets and see buildings painted with election posters © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

As we drive into the countryside, we see women in traditional dress, we pass markets. Many of the houses – still made of adobe – were swept away in a massive flood and are being replaced with brick structures which do not seem completed (to save taxes?). There is an election underway and we note campaign posters painted on whole buildings.

Before the day is done, we will have a chance to explore the archeological sites of Pisac and Ollantaytambo before making our way back to Cuzco for our 6 pm orientation with Alpaca Expeditions for our Incan Trail trek that begins the next morning.

The permits to do the Inca Trail trek are limited to 500 a day for all the trekking companies (which includes 300 set aside for guides and staff and only 200 for trekkers) and get booked up months in advance.

More information: Alpaca Expeditions, USA Phone: (202)-550-8534, [email protected], [email protected], https://www.alpacaexpeditions.com/

Next: Exploring Pisac, Ollantaytambo

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Cultural travel, European travel, Historic Hotels, Historic Places, Hotels & Resorts, International Travel, luxury travel

Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam: Historic Hotel that Played Major Role in History

August 11, 2022 krubin723 2 Comments

Rarely do you find a historic hotel that played such an integral role in a nation’s history as the Sofitel Legend Grand Hotel Amsterdam, a member of Historic Hotels Worldwide © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

I march myself from the Princesse Royal, the ship that has been my floating hotel for the eight-day BoatBikeTours’ Bruges to Amsterdam bike trip the few steps from where we are docked to the free ferry to Amsterdam’s Central Station and into Amsterdam’s historic city center and on to the hotel Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam.

The level of service, luxury and elegance in this five-star hotel makes you feel you are staying in a palace, and frankly, it was, as I soon learn on the hotel’s daily tour.

I always seek out historic hotels when I travel because they tend to be so much more interesting, so connected to place, so full of personality, character and yes, authenticity, but rarely have I stayed in a hotel that played such an integral role in a nation’s history.

A hotel only since 1992, the original buildings and tower that have been repurposed for The Grand were built in 1411 and actually were two convents – one on the northern side and one on the southern side, with canals on both.

*The Princenhof (still the name) at the Sofitel Legend Grand Amsterdam has accommodated Maria de’ Medici, Queen of France, and William of Orange © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In 1578, with the success of William of Orange’s revolt against Catholic Spain, Protestantism swept the Netherlands and Amsterdam. The two convents were given to the city. The northern side was empty for a time, but the southern building became the Royal residence – The Princenhof (still the name). The Maria de’ Medici, Queen of France, and William of Orange himself stayed here at some point.

In 1652, after a fire at Dam Square destroyed the building where the Council met, they moved into the northern part of the building, which served as the Council Chamber for three years until Dam Square was renovated (the room is still set up as a Council Chamber).

In 1655, the powerful Dutch East India Trading Company made this their headquarters. The company, which set up trade, exploration and colonization around the globe, functioned as a military power, government, and even agricultural producer and helped make this small nation a global power, from 1602 to 1800. (A little research reveals the Dutch had an advantage in resources because they were on the cutting edge of capitalism. The Dutch East India Company had a more successful strategy because of sound money, an efficient tax system and a system of public debt by which the government could borrow from its citizens at low interest rates. See https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/what-made-east-india-company-so-successful)

In 1808, the French took over and Napoleon installed his brother, Louis Napoleon, as King of Netherlands. He wanted Dam Square for his palace, so the Council came back to this building for the next 108 years (until as recently as 1988, which explains why the room is still set up as a Council chamber.)

A portion of the five-story high stained glass window by Roland Holst (1868-1938), given to the city of Amsterdam in 1925 by the city of Rotterdam on the occasion of the capital’s 650^th anniversary © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We see an astonishing five-story high wall of stained glass by Roland Holst (1868-1938), given to the city of Amsterdam in 1925 by the city of Rotterdam on the occasion of the capital’s 650^th anniversary. The first nine stained windows present the founder of Amsterdam, Gijsbrecht van Amstel. The others depict dike constructors, fishermen, floral patterns, symbols of trade, education and jurisdiction. There are three crosses of Amsterdam symbolizing fire (a lot of fires afflicted the city); water (the city is below sea level) and plague (to show respect for people).

*The Wedding Chamber at the Sofitel Legend Grand Amsterdam Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The Wedding Chamber at the hotel Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*The Wedding Chamber at the hotel Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

In 1925, the Wedding Chamber was painted with a most magnificent Art Deco series of murals that our guide, Donna van der Heul, of guest relations, relates, tell the story of a couple who meets, are seduced in a sneaky way (symbolized by a snake), stay true, meet each other (there is a little flame between their legs), become engaged (the flame becomes bigger), a wedding showing the happy couple. Another panel shows the couple with a child with a flame of her own, and another panel shows them as an old couple, still together. (We have to rush through the chamber because a wedding is getting underway shortly).

*Princess Beatrix and Prince Klaus then were married here in 1966 before the Sofitel Legend Grand was a hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We visit the Council Chamber (which looks like parliament). Princess Beatrix and Prince Klaus (the present king’s parents) in 1966 and you can see a photo of their wedding .

*The Council Chambers was used for 108 years © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We visit the beautifully decorated Oriole Garden Bistro where there is a mural that was painted in 1949 when the building was City Hall. Titled, “Inquisitive Children,” by artist Karel Appel, it depicts begging, crying children, with sad eyes, in the aftermath of World War II’s human destruction. “The Council Staff thought it would make people feel uncomfortable so they put it behind a wall. But when the building became a hotel and the painting was found, the artist, Karel Appel, had by then become a famous painter. They had Appel sign it and repair the painting. Now it is behind glass and doesn’t look sad,” our guide relates.

*“Inquisitive Children,” by artist Karel Appel, is now proudly displayed at the entrance to the Oriole Garden Bistro © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

She also points out the marble floor with pieces that are arranged with a “book marking” design that form a butterfly, so the butterfly images and theme is around hotel .

The Princenhof – once the royal residence – is used for meetings. Obviously an immensely popular venue for weddings, the hotel has its own florist and wedding planner.

*The hotel Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam is set on a historic canal © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Located between two historical canals in the heart of the historic city, the hotel Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam has turned its pedigree from a 15^th century convent to royal residence to Dutch admiralty headquarters to Amsterdam’s city hall, into a five-star luxury hotel with a particular “Amsterdam” ambiance, French elegance and grandeur. You feel the five-star luxury in every aspect of the hotel, from the moment you check in. The lordly complex became a hotel in 1992.

*The bar at The Grand © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

It offers the restaurant Bridges, the Oriole Garden Bistro serving Mediterranean-style cuisine, the Garden Terrace within an inner garden, the Library ‘Or’ where Grand Afternoon Tea is served, and the Flying Deer pop-up bar and a spa.

*The Library ‘Or’ where Grand Afternoon Tea is served © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The Sofitel SPA offers a heated indoor pool, sauna, hammam (Turkish steam bath) and fitness area where you can also order from a spa menu.

The Grand is one of the Sofitel Legend’s collection of stately heritage hotels and palaces found in iconic cities around the world, “exclusive hotels in legendary places, offering world-class service, stunning décor and inspiring culinary experiences. Step into a timeless story that’s still unfolding to this day at Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam.”

The Grand features 178 guest rooms of which 52 are luxury suites. Throughout, you see a harmonious blend of traditional and contemporary French design and typical Dutch style elements. The rich heritage of the structure has been carefully preserved, while ensuring that the accommodations are updated with the amenities and advanced technology travelers today savor. (I can testify to the exemplary service.)

Guests who stay in the suites are provided an extra layer of luxury: Butler Service, with exclusive benefits, such as “personalized rooming” – (un)packing of suitcases and presenting the “pillow menus” and “bath rituals”.

Sofitel Legend Grand Amsterdam, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197, 1012 EX Amsterdam, The Netherlands, www.sofitel-legend.com, www.sofitel-legend-thegrand.com.

Historic Hotels Worldwide

Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam is a member of Historic Hotels Worldwide®, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the USA, and an international companion to Historic Hotels of America (historichotels.org). Historic Hotels Worldwide is a prestigious collection of 360 historic treasures that include historic hotels, castles, chateaus, palaces, academies, haciendas, villas, monasteries, and other historic lodging spanning ten centuries and more than 45 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

The Sofitel Legend exemplifies the mission and criteria of the membership. Hotels inducted into Historic Hotels Worldwide® are authentic historic treasures, demonstrate historic preservation, and celebrate historic significance. With a growing global collection of hotels that have faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity, Historic Hotels Worldwide® membership is comprised of the world’s finest hospitality brands, chains, collections, and independently owned and operated properties.

Historic Hotels Worldwide® is dedicated to promoting heritage and cultural travel to these prestigious historic treasures. Membership in Historic Hotels Worldwide® encourages revitalization and enhances preservation of magnificent architectural and cultural legacies.

To participate in Historic Hotels Worldwide, historical lodging properties must be at least 75 years old; utilize historic accommodations; serve as the former home or be located on the grounds of the former home of famous persons or a significant location for an event in history; be located in or within walking distance to a historic district, historically significant landmark, place of historic event, or historic city center; be recognized by local preservation organization or national trust; and display historic memorabilia, artwork, photography, and other examples of its historic significance. Hotels located in the United States must be a current member of Historic Hotels of America to qualify for participation in Historic Hotels Worldwide.

Hotels are in diverse cultural settings, ranging from a 12th-century castle set among the rolling hills, prehistoric monuments, and Celtic landmarks of Ireland’s Ancient Eastin, (Kilkea Castle, Castledermot Ireland, circa 1180) to a medieval village nestled in the Tuscan countryside that dates back to the 11th century (La Bagnaia Golf & Spa Resort Siena, Curio Collection by Hilton, Siena, Italy circa 1081).

Travelers can find and book these historic hotels them at HistoricHotels.org, which since 2012 has served as a global travel website, or call 1-800-678-8946. The Annual Directory can be found by visiting HistoricHotels.org/Directory.

36 Hours in Amsterdam: Time-Traveling in the Jewish Quarter

36 Hours in Amsterdam: Time-Traveling Through Amsterdam’s Jewish Quarter

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© 2022 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com, www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin, and travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/. Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. Visit instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near and instagram.com/bigbackpacktraveler/ Send comments or questions to [email protected]. Tweet @TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Biking Tours, Cultural travel, European travel, Historic Places, International Travel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

August 6, 2022 krubin723 1 Comment

*Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of centuries old windmills © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Day 6 of our BoatBikeTours bike trip from Bruges to Amsterdam proves to be the absolute highlight (out of many) and not just for the iconic attractions (spoiler alert: windmills!), but the serendipitous experiences that are the essence of travel.

*Biking along the river as our ship, the Princesse Royal sails by © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We set out for this day’s ride, 35 miles from Dordrecht to Vianen, riding along a berm that looks down on the river where we can see our ship, the Princesse Royal, sailing along on the left while on the right, just behind a row of houses, we see windmills.

We soon come to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see one of the best collections of these centuries old windmills (the name literally means children’s dike).

I always thought of windmills as industrial engines to grind grain or saw wood, and windmills had that function in Holland as well, but in the mid-1700s, Holland used windmills as pumps to drain water to create farm land that otherwise would have been below sealevel. They began by reclaiming two huge patches of land with a system of canals, dykes and windmills to pump water out. Methods changed over time, with the addition of steam engines, electric pumps, that are in a race to take the water out of reclaimed land. But it is expected that this place will eventually succumb to the sea and be below sea level. (Like Venice, see the windmills now!).

The Dutch have been building hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agriculture and settlement since the Middle Ages and have continued to the present day. And these windmills’ most critical task was the ongoing water drainage because 26 percent of The Netherlands is below sea level. Each year, 5 trillion gallons of water must be pumped out to avoid flooding the low-lying parts of the Netherlands. (https://netherlandsinsiders.com/why-is-the-netherlands-known-for-windmills/)

At its peak, there were more than 10.000 windmills operating in The Netherlands. Today, there still are more than 1,000 (and we encounter many of them along our ride – along with the modern day version, wind turbines).

Two of the mills at Kinderdijk, Nederwaard Museum Mill (built in 1738), and Blokweer Museum Mill (which shows what life was like in the 1950s) are opened daily to the public, in addition to boat tours, which can be visited with an entrance ticket .

Kinderdijk is an enchanting place – like a Dutch painting come to life – and after giving us a good amount of time to explore on our own, we get back on the bikes and follow the trail through this entire expanse to continue on our way to Schoonhoven.

We bike to where we are having lunch – a delightful market and a marvelous shop, which usually has tables outside. But they are doing construction so we sit at tables in the barn, with cows, goats, rabbit, lambs. (Unexpected!).

*Sharing lunch with cows © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Rain is expected and sure enough, it comes in like clockwork (1 pm) as a furious downpour with thunder and wind. We are cozy inside with the cows and goats. (I’m just so grateful the rain waited until after we visited Kinderdijk.)

Right on time, the thunderstorm passes, but more is expected, so our leaders decide not to offer the option of the longer ride (we were looking forward to riding through peoples’ backyards, as our leader, Arnold Thurko, described), and so set out.

*Enchanting scene after a rain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The atmosphere is utterly magical – a milky/creamy quality washing over the green/grey landscape with touches of yellow and orange, dotted with windmills.

*Enchanting experience riding through the countryside after a rain © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The ship meets us at Schoonhoven and takes us on to Vianen.

Dinner this evening is a delicious broccoli soup with cucumber; cod with white herb sauce; vegetables, potatoes; and for dessert, a white chocolate mousse with pistachio.

*The Princesse Royal © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Vianen: Free City

After dinner, we walk off the ship and our leader, Corrie Stein, guides us on a tour of of Vianen, delighting us with her storytelling. Vianen, she says, calls itself a “free town,” by which I take to mean they are libertarians, resistant to national authority, like paying taxes, and not too welcoming to outsiders. “The city is proud of being a free town.” “Libre” is proclaimed on a sign as we walk in.

She points out other aspects of culture: “Dutch symmetry”. “People will have two of the same planters for symmetry/balance” and the tradition of keeping curtains open (so others can see how nice it is inside).

The local hero here is Hendrik von Brederode, a nobleman who lived from 1531-1568. He became important during the Dutch revolt against the Spanish king for religious freedom, the Eighty Years War.

Vianen’s local hero here is Hendrik von Brederode petitioned the Spanish for freedom of religion, and earned the nickname “Grote Geus” or the “big beggar” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

“In the Netherlands, when we want something badly, we can petition parliament. Nobles sent Hendrik to the representative of the Spanish king in Brussels to petition for freedom of religion. But in translation, the word ‘beggar” or ‘begging’ was attached to him. “From then on, they called themselves ‘beggars’.” Hendrik was nicknamed the “Grote Geus” or the “big beggar”.

“Eventually we got freedom of religion, after the 80-year revolt.”

Most villages have a main square. Vianen – being so independent, I guess – has a boulevard instead.

*Vianen shows its free-spirit by a boulevard instead of a town square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Napoleon made a road from Paris to Amsterdam and armies and Napoleon came here (& Dordrecht) and drank red wine.

At the Town Hall, Corrie explains that the ground does not support tall towers, and there is not a lot of stone to build with, so it is very prestigious to build with natural stone instead of brick.

On the chimney on top of the Town Hall we see a stork nest – Corrie says the story that associates storks with delivering babies comes from Dutch tradition.

*Vianen’s Town Hall with a stork’s nest © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

On the outside of the apothecary, there is a bust of a taste tester “to show the medicine was safe.”

Where the historic castle used to stand today there is a water tower – the first in Netherlands to be made of concrete – which turns out to be an icon of Vianen.

She also points to a tree – the Queen Wilhelmia tree. “The House of Orange was depending upon one small girl to keep the house going – would she stay alive? Communities planted trees of hope. The House of Orange had one child – Queen Juliana – who had four daughters.”

Breukelein Bridge

In the morning of Day 7, our last day of cycling, our ship, the Princesse Royal, sails from Vianen to Breukelein, which I learn (most delightedly) that this is where the first settlers of Brooklyn came from. (Corrie jokes that it has its own Breukelen bridge; we stop at for photos). We will bike from here to Amsterdam (New York, you will remember, was originally New Amsterdam) – our last stop on our boat/bike tour.

*Okay, not quite Brooklyn Bridge, but the people from Breukelein settled Brooklyn © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The path from Breukelein along the River Feckt that goes up to Amsterdam is gorgeous, dotted with literal mansions built by textile magnates. “400 years ago this was an important place- the wealthy from Utrecht and Amsterdam would flee the city in summer –heat, diseases – and built impressive summer houses,” Corrie tells us.

They were built over a 400 year period and French destroyed many and many were replaced, so they have different styles. Many have impressive gardens and tea houses. It is reminiscent of Newport’s “cottages.”

*Over a period of 400 years, wealthy merchants from Utrecht and Amsterdam built mansions along the river where they could escape the summer’s heat © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

“It was scary for people to be outside city, so they even “controlled” their gardens and would buy the view across the river (that remains true today).

We cycle on to a dairy farm and cheese factory, Willigen, in Vreeland and are given a truly fascinating tour by owner Corey, (her brother, Henry Villa, is famous for his cheese shops but his sister, who uses the same recipes, prefers to stay small scale). I’m fascinated by the sophisticated, computerized operation. (They also have a bnb, www.dewilligenlogies.nl/nl/)

They have 80 milking cows on 180 acres of land. The cows come in for milking at 5:30 am and 5:30 pm – 10 cows on each side. One person can milk the 80 cows in an hour. The cows all have computer IDs – when their head is inserted, the computer knows the cow, how many kilos and type of food pellets every cow needs. Each cow is milked 300 days of the year and produces 30 liters of milk a day.

*Learning about computerized milking, feeding and cheese-making practices at the Willigen cheese farm © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The milk, just five minutes old, goes to the cheese-making factory. “The difference between farmer cheese and factory is the farmer is not allowed to pasteurize milk. Milk that is three days old is used as starter milk for the cows.It takes 10 liters of milk to make 1 kilo of cheese.

*Dairy farm © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We bike along the River Vecht where there are number of houseboats – we are getting closer to Amsterdam.

At Muiden, we take a bit of a detour to see Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, one of the oldest and best preserved castles in the Netherlands. The castle was built around 1285 and has a long and turbulent history. It forms part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam and the New Dutch Waterline, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It has been a museum since 1878.The castle is surrounded by gardens (muiderslot.nl).

*At Muiden, we take a bit of a detour to see Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, one of the oldest and best preserved castles in the Netherlands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We set out again for Amsterdam, our end point, but the option to take the longer route is taken away because of concern for a severe rainstorm.

We ride fast to get to the ship before the rain, meet the ship and sail into Amsterdam, where it is already raining.

*Bicycles of Amsterdam: just a small section of the bicycle parking lot beside Amsterdam’s Central Station © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We are docked on the opposite shore from Amsterdam’s city center, but Amsterdam is so bike/pedestrian friendly, the city offers free ferries that run constantly.

We literally step out of where the Princesse Royal is docked and walk a few steps to the ferry to Amsterdam’s Central Station and the historic city center. So I hop on one to go into the historic center for a walk-about in the rain before our gala, farewell dinner.

*Enjoying a gala dinner onboard the Princesse Royal at the end of our eight-day BoatBikeTours Bruges to Amsterdam trip © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Corrie and Arnold also help those who need to get a COVID test before traveling back to the US make the appointment (an extremely efficient system from Spoedtest.nl in Amsterdam, and helping us organize for our departure.

*Princesse Royal’s captain and owner Roy van der Veen, first mate, chef, housekeeper, host and our tour leaders Corrie Stein and Arnold Thurkow © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This is an ideal trip especially if you are traveling on your own, if you are new to biketouring, or with a family or just want a relaxing, incredibly scenic and interesting ride. The scheduling, route, itinerary, tours and excursions are excellent – and I especially love how our ship in most cases docks right at the town so we can walk off and visit.

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400, [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

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Biking Tours, Cultural travel, European travel, Historic Places, International Travel, Museums and Exhibits

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

August 5, 2022 krubin723 1 Comment

*Antwerp’s historic center, ringed with Guild Houses © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Our BoatBikeTours route on Day 4 of our Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour into Antwerp would normally involve going through an interesting 500-meter long tunnel. But our leader, Arnold Thurko, tells us that the 1930s-vintage elevators broke and they haven’t been able to find the spare parts to fix it, so we ride over a bridge and take a ferry into the city instead, which proves a delightful ride with gorgeous views of the city and a fun (quick) ferry ride.

*Arriving into Antwerp by ferry© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We park our bikes (Arnold stays with them) and go off with our leader, Corrie Stein, for a guided walking tour of Antwerp’s historic city center.

Antwerp’s Golden Age was the 1500s (earlier than Amsterdam), largely because of the advantage its Suikerrui (canal) provided traders by connecting the city to the sea. (Today it is closed off but you can visit the De Ruien, the underground waterway. You get to walk along old vaulted ceilings, narrow canals, bridges, sewers and sluices, and see the city’s underbelly. You can visit The Ruien by booking a guided group walk, walk on your own with an interactive tablet at fixed times or navigate a small section of The Ruien by boat. Go to www.deruien.be). I have this on top of my list for a return visit to Antwerp.

*Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Antwerp was apparently spared bombing in World War II. As a result, we can still marvel at the City Hall, which dates from 1560, and a magnificent square ringed with Guild Houses, one for each guild and each with its own decoration.

The square has as its center the Silvius Brabo statue, a mythical Roman soldier. According to legend, Corrie relates, a giant, Druon Antigoon, who lived on river, would demand a toll from people who wanted to pass the bridge over the river Scheldt. If they refused, the giant would cut off their hand and throw it into the river. Brabo killed the giant, cut off his hand and threw it into the river. This is supposed to have been the origin of the city’s name, Antwerp, translated as “hand throw.”

*Statue of Silvius Brabo, a mythical Roman soldier, who gave Antwerp its name by killing a giant* *© Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We walk over to the Cathedral of Our Lady, built 1550-1800 in Gothic style. The belfry, 1339 meters high is included in the Belfries of Belgium and France list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The cathedral possesses some major works of art: including three major works by Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (two of which were confiscated by Napoleon and moved to France but returned to the Cathedral in the 19^th century).

We get back on our bikes and ride to where our ship, the Princesse Royal, is tied up at the dock, and walk a few blocks away to the Red Star Museum, which BoatBikeTours has arranged for us to visit.

This is a fascinating museum that is a kind of bookend to our Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York City. Indeed, Ellis Island is where 2 million Europeans who boarded the Red Star Lines at Antwerp to come to America would have wound up. But this museum does more – it tells the age-old story of migration through individual people, going back to the Neanderthal, and why migration is such a fundamental quality of being human.

*Antwerp’s Red Star Line immigration museum © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The commentary doesn’t shy away from condemning phrases (that are factually true) – for example, describing the brutal, impoverished conditions these desperate people were escaping, or taken by force as slaves, or fleeing persecution, and up to modern day anti-immigrant policies and speech that has lead to the plight of so many undocumented immigrants.

Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island, with a whopping 1,004,756 entering the United States in 1907 alone. Of these, only 2% were turned away (and if were sent back, it was at Red Star’s expense, which is why, we learn, the line was so very scrupulous with their own medical evaluations)

Anti-immigrant fervor took hold in the United States after World War I; the Great Depression, effectively brought an end to migration to America. By then, almost 20 million Europeans had emigrated to America – settling the West, populating the factories of new Industrial cities. The Red Star Line ceased sailing in 1934.

The exhibits are candid about the difference in how the wealthy traveled in such luxury and style compared to those in steerage. You get to see how passengers in different classes were treated – ‘livid’ – don’t disguise how tough steerage was (but compared to what leaving?). The inescapable conclusion that steerage class was actually key to the company’s revenue and profit.

The exhibits are remarkably personal. It is amazing to see these old photos and recognize the buildings, to see postcards, passports, ID papers, and personal effects.

What I loved most is the display on the first floor which so vividly conveys the central theme: there has always been migration, from beginning of man – and they personalize with one representative person for each era – even Neanderthal.

They show what compels migration in a honest way.

Interestingly, for many, Antwerp became their final stop and today there are some 170 nationalities in Antwerp (another similarity to New York City). You can see it in the faces of school children on their outings, in restaurants that represent all nationalities.-Vietnam, Indonesia, Argentina, Italy, France.

*For many immigrants, Antwerp became their destination and their home – you can see it in school children’s faces © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

This is the evening we are on our own for dinner. (I miss out on visiting the Red Building, which houses an important museum, but even though it is closed, you can take escalators up eight floors to see the photos of people, old and young, then climb two stories higher to the top for a view.

I go off to wander Antwerp myself and on my way back to the ship, find myself in Antwerp’s Red Light District.

*Stumbling into Antwerp’s Red Light district © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

I have a story to tell when we are all back on board.

The Oklahoma couple says they wound up at a French restaurant, Bistro de Pottenbrug. They saw steak on the menu and wind up feasting on flattened pig heads, escargots, eel soup in creamy base.

“On this trip,” Lindsey says, “I decided instead of saying ‘no,’ to say ‘yes’.”

*Antwerp’s diversity is reflected in its restaurant offerings © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

She asks what others’ weirdest meals have been: Anne’s weird meal – bone marrow from buffalo; Janet’s was fish eye. Lindsey says, “Last night’s pressed pig head – but it could have been marketed better.”

*Art abounds in Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*Art – and a sense of humor – abounds in Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

What is so notable about Antwerp, which is still a major industrial city, is that in one view, you can see dozens of wind turbines, coal being shipped, even a nuclear plant billowing smoke, which we see as we sail out of Antwerp the next morning.

*Antwerp is ringed by wind turbines © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

*An “all of the above” energy strategy on view in Antwerp: wind turbines, nuclear plant, and fossil fuels © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Antwerp is really worth a longer stay. The Antwerp City Card provides free entrance to the city’s top museums, churches, attractions and public transport; as well as some great discounts (www.visitantwerpen.be/en/antwerp-city-card).

We leave Belgium and continue on into The Netherlands.

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400, [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

__________________

Biking Tours, Cultural travel, European travel, Historic Places, International Travel

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

August 4, 2022 krubin723 3 Comments

*Touring Ghent by canalboat on Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Though technically our Day 2 of BoatBikeTours’ eight-day Bruges-Amsterdam bike tour, our first ride takes us 35 miles from Bruges to Ghent along waterways, through farmland and villages and we get oriented to how they organize the ride, the gorgeous bikeways, local culture, and stunning scenery.

*Setting out on our first day biking from Bruges on BoatBikeTours biketrip to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We stop at a very interesting Canadian War memorial – it’s actually the mangled tank turned into sculpture – and our leader, Arnold Thurkow (who spent a career in the military) tells us the story of these World War II defenders.

We stop next at Castle Lovendegem where our leader, Corrie Stein, tells the story of this place: it is privately owned by a Paris-based prominent wine merchant who grew up here and uses the castle for wine tastings (funny how contemporary history sounds more like gossip). We have a coffee break in the town of Aalter where I get to wander around and look into a bakery and a church.

One of the most unusual sights along the trail that winds beside farms comes when Corrie stops at vending machines where you can purchase a basket of the freshest, sweetest strawberries you have ever savored (Corrie says there are even vending machines to buy fresh chicken!).

*Buying farm-fresh strawberries from a vending machine along the country road © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

As we set out, we quickly see just how popular cycling is in Belgium – one biking club after another and families on an outing, come as a steady stream on these magnificent bike paths, trails and dedicated roadways.

*Biking into Ghent © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Our group on this first day of riding has been a bit slow (not my fault, I swear) so we have divided into two. I join the slower group so I don’t feel self-conscious shooting photos as I ride. As a result, we reach Ghent about 40 minutes after the first group, just in time to rush to meet up with the rest of our group for the pre-arranged sightseeing canal boat tour of the city (but the other group had 40 minutes to explore – we won’t make that mistake again).

During the sightseeing canal boat trip, the guide points out a grain depot from the 1200s; a toll booth; a tiny tax house; a 16^th century guild house; one of the historic city gates; a fish market that operated from the 15^th century to the 1950s when it became a car wash but now is the visitor center. He points out a statue of a boy peeing – it’s a famous image – but he said it actually represents the leather tanners union because they used the urine of boys to smooth the leather (it was tasted to determine if the urine was of good quality), so there are many of these pissing statues.

Ghent was one of first industrialized cities that made textile barons wealthy. But the men, women and children who worked in factories lived in pollution, overcrowding and squalor – they worked in 16 hour shifts for low wages. This, along with the university, helps explain why Flemish Socialism was born in Ghent (still a liberal/progressive city, with Socialists still in the majority).

He points to a cannon dating from the 15^th century that was installed here in the 16^th century for defense. “It was only used once – two people died operating it. Today it is a peace symbol.”

Ghent, I learn, was the birthplace of Charles V who became the Holy Roman Emperor. At the time, Ghent was the 3^rd largest city in Europe. To honor their favorite son for his 500^th birthday, the city built the Bridge of Imperial Delight decorated with his bust. (Nearby is a sign, “Boat Tourism. Noise Pollution.)

*Ghent’s Hall of Justice was used as a torture chamber, we learn on a canalboat tour of the city © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We see a formidable castle, called the Hall of Justice, which (interestingly? ironically?) became a torture chamber. In 1949, students occupied the Castle to protest rising beer prices. “They didn’t change anything, but every November, they celebrate.”

After the canalboat tour (really excellent and appreciated), we still have another few miles to ride to get to St. Michael where our ship, the Princesse Royal is docked.

This day’s ride turns out to be the longest and also the hottest of our trip and when we return to the ship we are greeted with fruit-infused ice water and snacks.

We relax onboard the Princesse Royal and enjoy our dinner: a delectable pumpkin soup with basil; beef stew prepared like chili; a superb mango sorbet for dessert.

An Artist’s Gallery

Day 3’s ride, from Ghent to Merelbeke is 32 miles (or 24 for those wanting a shorter route) to Dendermonde-St. Amands.

We start cycling along the canal and stop at Castle Van Laarne, and visit the small village for our coffee break.(The sign reads: Kasteel Van Laarne-Dit Domein is Prive Eigendom”)

*Stopping for a peek at Castle Van Laarne, now privately owned © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We ride on to Lake Donk, Belgium’s second biggest lake and a popular recreational center where we have the relaxing lunch we packed from the ship.

Continuing on we take a free ferry across a small river, and bike along the river.

We ride into the city of Dendermonde. Corrie points out a statue of Queen Astrid, who is like Belgium’s Princess Di. She died in the 1920s in a car accident when her husband was driving. “He was so distraught, he couldn’t bear to look at his kids and they were sent to live with someone else.” Many squares in the country have statutes to her. Across the way is the International Court of Justice, where apparently “smaller” conflicts than are handled at The Hague (mostly about money) are heard.

Corrie tells us about this town’s most unique and important festival, held every 10 years (the 2020 festival was delayed until May 28, 2022 because of COVID; 85,000 watched). There are banners all over the city featuring the Horse Bayard with four boys on its back.

*The historic Town Hall of Dendermonde © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The legend (which I really can’t understand why this would be celebrated), goes like this: Aymon, Lord of Dendermonde who was related to Charles the Great (Charlemagne), had four boys who were on track to become knights. One boy was very strong (and apparently aggressive) and had to have strong horse. Bayard, to match. The boy played chess with Charlemagne’s son and in a fit, killed Charles’ son. Charles took their father captive, told the boy that to get his father back, he would have to give up his horse, Bayard. Reluctantly, the boy gave up the horse, which Charlemagne had drowned.

*A banner promotes the festival of Dendermonde, held every 10 years © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

So, every 10 years, the small town commemorates this event with a huge horse, 4 meters high, who carries 4 boys on its back. The boys who are chosen have to have grandparents and parents from here, be four boys born in a row (no sisters) and be between ages of 16-25.

Dendermonde also holds a Traditional Giants Parade, Katuit, each year on the last Thursday of August when three giants – lndiaan, Mars and Goliath – parade through the town, accompanied by 1000 actors in medieval attire, floats, bands, flag-tossers, professional street performers and torchbearers.

*Dendermonde’s historic town square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

We bike to St. Amands where the ship is docked (actually next to another BoatBikeTours’ ship, the Magnifique IV) and can walk into this quiet village before dinner.

*Sahara Stones, the gallery and home built by artist Joris Maes in St. Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

After dinner (beef carpaccio with truffles, pasta with salmon and lobster sauce), Corrie and Arnold lead us on an excursion to visit Sahara Stones, a gallery and home of artist Joris Maes and his wife, who gives us a tour and explains his extraordinary art.

Joris built his house and everything in it, and spends his winter in the Sahara, driving down in a van, to collect fossils and stones which he sculpts for his art. The fossils are embedded along with stones in the walls of his house. “The house is the history of my life,” he tells us.

The fossils, some of them absolutely enormous, encapsulate the history of earth, and Joris has turned them into rather marvelous sculptures – birds, animals. You think how the heck has he been able to acquire these pieces that you would think would be the nation’s heritage or in a museum. They are 360 million year old fossils, “before the continents formed,” he tells us. (sahara-art-stones.com)

*Enjoying the sunset from our ship, the Princesse Royal, docked for the night at St.Amands © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Kasteel Wissekerke

On Day 4, we set out from St. Amands for a 30 mile ride to Antwerp (the shorter option is 21 miles).

We stop briefly to see a16^th century castle which, Corrie tells us, was once owned by a cousin of William of Orange who led the Dutch revolt against Spanish King Philip II. The revolt – largely over religion (they call it religious freedom) began in 1568 and was finally won 80 years later. The castle is privately owned today.

The cycle path follows the river. At Kruibeke, Corrie introduces us to what she calls their “statue of liberty” – a modern, sensuous statue of a woman, “curvey like the bends of the river.”

*“Curvey like the bends of the river.” © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

The town is significant because Gerardus Mercator, the 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer, most famous for creating a revolutionary 1569 world map, was born here (by accident – his parents were visiting relatives).

Mercator’s map represented sailing courses as a path of constant bearing, measured relative to true north (Rhumb lines)—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts. In their day, they were as revolutionary as GPS, and improved navigation at a time when global shipping was the key industry contributing to a nation’s wealth.

He wound up being imprisoned here in 1543 by the Catholic Church “for radical thinking. “When he couldn’t work, he became poor.” We ride passed Graventoren (Earl’s Tower) where he was imprisoned. There is also the remnants of a castle in Rupelmonde in the town of Kruibeke, where there is a statue of Mercator and a museum.

A bit further on, we stop to eat our picnic lunch at a restaurant that is also a farm museum, the VZW Museum De Schuur, with interesting antique implements that belonged to the proprietor’s husband (we see black and white photos of him). (www.museumdeschuur.be)

It is just down the road from a stunning (privately owned) castle (Kasteel Wissekerke) and garden which presents a gorgeous scene.

There has been a castle here since the 10th century, but the present one was largely built in the 15th century with lake, park and a suspension bridge. In fact, it is the suspension bridge, rather than the castle, that is of major importance: the bridge is one of the oldest surviving wrought iron suspension bridges in Europe, designed in 1824 by Jean-Baptiste Vifquain, an engineer from Brussels. “Though it only spans 23 meters, the bridge is of great industrial archaeological importance because of its historical and structural uniqueness,” notes read. The bridge, castle, gatehouse and pigeon tower were designated a protected historical monument in 1981.

*Kasteel Wissekerke in Kruibeke © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Among the important people who lived at Wissekerke, was the influential family of Vilain XIIII –who were mayors of the town of Bazel for 139 years. In 1989, the castle was purchased by the town of Kruibeke, which has since handled the restoration work. The castle is also venue to many cultural activities, tours and exhibitions.

*The gardens of* *Kasteel Wissekerke in Kruibeke © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

It is an idyllic scene.

We bike on to Antwerp.

*Wind turbines are the new windmills as we bike toward Antwerp © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

Boat Bike Tours, Aambeeldstraat 20, 1021 KB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, tel.: +31 20 72 35 400, [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

Bruges-Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Biking to Ghent

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Antwerp, Medieval Jewel

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: Dordrecht, the Birthplace of Holland

Bruges to Amsterdam by BoatBikeTours: The Windmills of Kinderdijk

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Biking Tours, Cultural travel, European travel, Historic Places, International Travel

Bruges, A Sleeping Beauty Awakened

July 28, 2022 krubin723

*Bruges exemplifies the biking culture – and infrastructure – that will take us on BoatBikeTours’ eight-day ride from here to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

I’ve come to Bruges for an eight-day BoatBikeTours trip from here to Amsterdam and smartly (actually following the operator’s advice) have come a day early to have time to explore this UNESCO World Heritage city, known as the “Pearl of Flanders.”

So I wake in the Flanders Hotel, nestled within the historic district, enjoy a marvelous breakfast in their lovely breakfast room overlooking a garden with a koi pond, and have time to wander, immersing myself in the extraordinary beauty and peacefulness of this place, before getting myself to the ship, the Princesse Royal, that will be my floating hotel to Amsterdam.

The boutique Flanders Hotel in Bruges’ historic district © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I come upon a street market just across from one of the city’s prominent art museums, Groeninge Museum, near the Church of Our Lady, with an extensive collection of Flemish primitive, 18^th and 19^th century and modern art. In my wanderings, I take note of some of the city’s museums and attractions: Historium Bruges, Gruuthusemuseum, Chocolate Story, Bruges Beer Experience (this is extremely popular and I can’t resist going inside), and Old St. John’s (Memling Museum).

Tranquil morning scene in historic Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The hotel has given me a late checkout, so I time my wanderings to return to collect myself and get myself to the ship.

Walking through the historic gate to Bruges’ Burg © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I am greeted by our tour leaders, Corrie Stein and Arnold Thurkow, and shown to my cabin – a pleasant single with its own bathroom (!!). We are fitted for our bikes and get to take a bit of a spin that takes us to visit Bruges’ historic windmills, located on top of what would have been the city’s ramparts along the canalside bike path from our ship.

Sint-Janshuismill, the oldest windmill in Bruges, built in 1770, is the only one still standing on its original site © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

These four windmills, between the Dampoort and Kruispoort, are what’s left of 23 that once stood here, principally to grind grain, and were part of the town walls since the end of 13th century.

Sint-Janshuismill, the oldest windmill, built in 1770, is the only one still standing on its original site and is the only one with a museum inside that is open for public. Incredibly, the wooden mill is still grinding flour.

Back on the ship, Arnold leads a bike safety talk and orientation about our week-long bike trip – there is surprisingly a lot to learn about the various traffic signs and rules just for cyclists, a testament to how prevalent biking is in this region – we will even have our own trails, paths, roads and traffic signals. (Arnold, after explaining right-of-way at the yield signs – these triangles painted on the pavement – counsels, “Don’t take the right of way. Give it.”).

The Princesse Royal docked in Bruges for our eight-day BoatBikeTours bike tour to Amsterdam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

After a delightful dinner that sets the tone for the rest of our cruise, Corrie and Arnold take us for a walking tour of Bruges and I get more insights into what I had been seeing on my own walks.

Corrie (as we discover throughout our bike trip, since these narrated excursions of interesting places are the routine everywhere we stop at something of interest) is a fabulous storyteller, able to impart insights and call your attention to things that would otherwise escape notice.

Interesting in the scheme of world history, Bruges, she says, was a leading trading center in the 14^th century because of its innovative canals that linked the city to the sea, the source of its wealth and prosperity; international merchants built Bruges into one of the largest Hanse cities. But Bruges was displaced by Ghent’ rise as a trading center because of technology and events in the 15^th, Antwerp in the 16^th century and Amsterdam in the 17^th century.

Bruges developed into a major trading city because of the canals that connected the city to the sea © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Corrie calls Bruges a “Sleeping Beauty” with exquisitely beautiful buildings but, as it lost its economic base, its inhabitants got poorer and poorer. Ironically, the result was that Bruges’ medieval heritage remained intact as the city was ignored by development. But a 19^th century novel, “Bruges la Morte,” by the Belgian author Georges Rodenbach was like the kiss that awakened the Sleeping Beauty. First published in 1892, it was the first work of fiction to be illustrated with photographs, and the photos spurred tourists to see the city as it was in its Golden Century, with its canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. UNESCO designated the entire city center as a World Heritage site. Today, some 2 million visit Bruges, providing the economic base to sustain its heritage and exquisite architecture.

Our ship, the Princesse Royal, is docked just across from Minnewater Park. We walk across an intriguing, modern red bridge into the park, one of the most romantic sites in this romantic city (you can see why Bruges attracts so many couples). Legend has it that Minnewater, the Lake of Love, is where water nymphs (“minnen” in Dutch) lived, giving the lake its name. Add to that a tragic love story and trees with intriguing shapes and you get a place overflowing with romance.

We see swans (so picturesque!) and learn that they are not only legendary in Bruges, but an obligation. Corrie relates that at the end of the 15th century, the oppressed people of Bruges revolted against the unpopular Emperor Maximilian of Austria, capturing him and imprisoning him in the Craenenburg House on the Markt Square, together with his equally unpopular chief of police, Pieter Lanckhals (he was executed). After four months, the Emperor was freed by his army. The people tried to placate him, reminding him that their revolt was because the Emperor’s wife had made promises she failed to keep. Maybe that worked, because his “revenge” on the town seems fairly tame: he decreed that ‘until the end of time’ the city would be required at its own expense to keep swans on all its lakes and canals. Why swans? Because swans have long necks, and the Dutch for “long neck” is “lange hals,” or “lanckhals”. (The beautiful benches that are so popular with couples have swans.) You can see wrought iron swans on the park benches where couples sit.

Swans hold up bench. The people of Bruges were obligated to keep swans, “long necks,” as penance for revolving against Emperor Maximilian © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We go to a walled complex that Corrie says was built by Countess Mary of Constantinople to shelter widowed ladies, who engaged in spinning and weaving. “She took care of the ill and the poor. They wanted the sheltered life to be safe.” In 1927, the complex was taken over by Benedictine nuns.

Horse-drawn carriages add to Bruges’ picture-perfect ambiance © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We stop in front of Bruges’ most famous brewery, Brewery of Halve Moon, which has operated here since 1856. Bruges has been brewing beer since the Mid Ages – it was important because water was not safe, so everyone, even kids, drank beer at every meal, Arnold relates. (One of Bruges most popular attractions is the Beer Experience.)

The Beer Experience is one of Bruges’ most popular attractions © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Corrie points out a building that would have been a hospital in the Middle Ages and where there is an entrance from the canal. “They knew some diseases were contagious, so had a separate entrance for those people.”

Notre-Dame de Bruges has a 115.5 meter-high church tower, one of the tallest in the world © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We stop outside the Notre-Dame de Bruges, with a 115.5 meter-high church tower (the second tallest in the world, we are told). It is notable for having the only statue by Michelangelo outside Italy. Corrie relates that the statue was of a naked child and wasn’t deemed acceptable to display in Italy, so a Bruges merchant bought it and brought it here. The church has many art treasures, paintings, 13^th and 14^th century painted crypts and 15^th and 16^th century tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold.

The Burg is Bruges’ seat of power © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

We come to The Burg, the seat of power in the city: the 14^th century Stadhuis, the Gothic Town Hall, two palaces of justice, the original gate to the city bordering a majestic square.

In a corner of the Burg square, too, is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The chapel is behind a richly decorated facade which is actually a 16th century staircase connecting the Romanesque Saint-Basilius chapel on the ground floor with the neo-Gothic Holy Blood Chapel on the upper floor. It seems to me this chapel has singularly put Bruges on the map.

Chapel of the Holy Blood houses a phial said to contain a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Originally built in the 12th century as the chapel of the residence of the Count of Flanders, the church is famous because it houses a venerated relic – a phial said to contain a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ, allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders.

The relic is kept in a silver tabernacle with a sculpture of the Lamb of God in the large side chapel of the upper church.

I’m intrigued to learn more from Bruges’ visitor site: “Legend has it that after the Crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea wiped blood from the body of Christ and preserved the cloth. The relic remained in the Holy Land until the Second Crusade, when the King of Jerusalem Baldwin III gave it to his brother-in-law, Count of Flanders Diederik van de Elzas. The count arrived with it in Bruges on April 7, 1150 and placed it in a chapel he had built on Burg Square…

“However, recent research found no evidences of the presence of the relic in Bruges before the 1250s. In all likelihood, the relic originated from the 1204 sack of Constantinople by the army of the Count of Flanders, Baldwin IX during the Fourth Crusade. Ever since, the phial has played no small part in the religious life of the city. Pope Clement V issued a papal bull in 1310 granting indulgences to pilgrims who visited the chapel to view the relic.” (https://visit-bruges.be/see/churches/basilica-holy-blood)

The relic is shown to the public every Friday and also each day from May 3-17. Outside the chapel is the Holy Blood museum, which contains the shrine for the Holy Blood and other treasures belonging to the chapel. (You can visit the first floor chapel for free, but there is a fee to go to the upper floor. https://visit-bruges.be/see/churches/basilica-holy-blood)

I see the banners that herald a Bruges tradition that dates back to 1304 – the relic of the Holy Blood carried around the city in the Holy Blood Procession on Ascension Day. This folk tradition involves everyone in the city and was recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

In 2014, Belgian carilloneurs were also given significant international recognition. The sound of the carillons can be heard all around Bruges throughout the year, but one of the best places to listen is on the Markt Square or in the Belfry courtyard. (I get to hear it during a concert of re-orchestrated 300-year old Flemish music coordinated with the bells).

The 13^th century Belfort, with a 47-bell carillon and 83 meter high tower dominates The Markt Square © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The 13th-century Belfort (belfry) with a 47-bell carillon and 83m high tower dominates The Markt Square, which is called the “beating heart of Bruges.” You can buy a ticket to climb it for panoramic views. There is the magnificent Bruges City Hall building, the Historium Bruges (fictional characters tell a story of medieval Bruges). The architecture all around the square is breathtaking – there is the imposing Provincial Court and colorful buildings with stepped gables. The scene is all the more picturesque for the many horse-drawn carriages.

The Markt Square, Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

There is so much to see and enjoy, Bruges really warrants a longer stay: What seems to be the most popular, must-see is the “Bruges Beer Experience” just around the corner from the Belfort; chocolate museum (Choco-Story). Also: torture museum; Diamond Museum, Lace Centre, archeology museum, Our Lady of the Pottery (historic Gothic church with baroque decor, a famous statue and a hospital now serving as a museum). (Must come back.)

Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I am sad to leave Bruges, but excited to start our bike journey. Tomorrow we will bike to Ghent.

Visit Bruges, Postbus 744, B-8000 Brugge, tel. +32 50 44 46 46, [email protected], https://www.visitbruges.be/.

Boat Bike Tours, [email protected], www.boatbiketours.com.

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Cultural travel, European travel, Historic Hotels, Historic Places, International Travel

The Benefits of Staying in a Historic Hotel in a Historic City: The Flanders Hotel Bruges

July 28, 2022 krubin723

Staying over at the Flanders Hotel in Bruges’ historic district, allows enjoyment of iconic scenes like the colored gabled buildings in The Markt town square at night, enjoying the serenity after the day-trippers have gone © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com

Bruges, Belgium’s UNESCO World Heritage city, is impossibly beautiful. Walking around, you almost feel like you are in Busch Gardens Colonial Williamsburg themepark or a movie set – it is that perfect, that fantastical, almost unreal in its perfection. The sheer beauty of this extraordinarily picturesque place, gives you such a sense of peace. I walk every route multiple times, entranced.

Bruges’ cobblestone streets © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I feel sorry for the day-trippers who flood into Bruges but leave before they can experience how magic descends in the late afternoon glow, the evening light, the reflected lights on cobblestone streets at night, and the early morning stillness when only the occasional swan makes a ripple in the canal – it’s as if the fairies wait for the people to leave the forest before they come out. I am so grateful to be staying overnight, having come a day early for my eight-day BoatBikeTours’ Bruges-Amsterdam bike trip.

The Burg, Bruges’ soul © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I stay in the Flanders Hotel, a four-star boutique hotel and a member of Historic Hotels of Europe – beautifully renovated and updated for modern tastes, and within the historic district.

The hotel provides the perfect ambiance in which to appreciate and immerse myself in Bruges.

The Flanders Hotel, a member of Historic Hotels of Europe, is in Bruges’ historic district © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I always seek out historic hotels – they typically are perfectly situated (location, location, location!), have charm and character and embody the stories and heritage of the people – in effect, they offer an “authenticity” and a sense of place. The owners and managers invariably see themselves as stewards, as guardians of that heritage and are fierce protectors, and it shows in the loving care they bring.

The beautiful bar, lounge and terrace at the boutique Flanders Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Designed by one of Bruges’ foremost architects of the 19th century, the Flanders Hotel building stands where the former Grand Hotel Verriest once served travelers from all over the world. The structure includes a Gothic room, which once was part of a Dominican Monastery dating from 1304.

The Flanders Hotel puts you right in the historic district, and within a short (exceedingly pleasant) walk of all major sights in the historic inner city as well as offering amenities that make the stay here an absolute delight– there is actually a beautiful indoor pool, a stunning lounge-bar connected to an outdoor terrace, gardens with a picturesque pond and a lovely parlor. Much of the hotel has been recently renovated. Inside it’s actually hip.

A pleasant garden and koi pond provide scenic views while enjoying breakfast at The Flanders Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Flanders Hotel offers 50 rooms: the classic room type mostly face the garden and pond; spacious club rooms; extra large Grand Double which has a canopy bed and mezzanine bathroom; and Triple and Family rooms set up to accommodate three to five persons, and offer excellent value.

A breakfast buffet is served from 8 to 10:30 am (weekdays) and until 11 am on weekends in its charming restaurant that looks out to the garden and pond.

Its lounge-bar (‘barazar’) is stunning, serving fine wines, cocktails and local specialty beers, as well as other beverages and finger food, daily from 4 pm to 1 am.

I am also impressed by the personal service with attention to detail, as well as online tools that have everything prepared for my stay before I arrive, and arrange for a taxi to bring me to the boat that will be my floating hotel to Amsterdam at the end of my stay.

The hotel is surrounded by loads of restaurants and eateries of all kinds, from Michelin star gourmet cuisine to local specialties and international dishes.

The Flanders Hotel has an indoor pool © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

I am delighted with the accommodations, and love that just walking out of the front door, I am immersed in the city’s charm. It’s a very short and picturesque walk to Bruges’ key sites including the Burg and Markt (Town Square).

I quickly discover why it is said that Markt Square is Bruges’ heart and Burg is its soul.

The view just down the street from The Flanders Hotel © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Markt Square, the beating heart of Bruges, is dominated by the Belfry, 83 meters high and the city’s most prominent building (you can climb to the top for a breath-taking panorama). In the Market Square itself, I marvel at the imposing Provincial Court and a line of buildings with colorful stepped gables. Horse-drawn carriages complete this exquisitely picturesque scene. Here on my first evening I come upon one of the nightly concerts – this one of Flemish music going back 300 years that is coordinated with the bells ringing from the famous Belfry tower.

A concert underway in The Markt Square is synchronized with bells from the historic Belfort © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

The Markt Square is the heart of Bruges, but the Burg Square is considered its soul. For centuries this has been the center of power in the city, and Bruges’ city administration still occupies the 14th century Gothic Town Hall. This grand, majestic square is lined with monumental landmark buildings built over the centuries and reflect the building style of their age. They include two palaces of justice, the Liberty of Bruges to the Deanery, and the renowned Basilica of the Holy Blood.

Night scene, Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Wandering down a street of shops – chocolate, waffles and such – I come upon a street festival where I mingle with locals.

It says something of the neighborhood that the Flanders Hotel is mere steps away from what is today the Grand Hotel Casselbergh Brugesbut from 1656 to 1659, served as the Royal Palace of England, Scotland and Ireland, where King Charles II held court.

“King Charles II lived here with his brothers James, Duke of York, and Henry, Duke of Gloucester until the restoration of the monarchy,” a marker outside states. King Charles II “loved Flanders and Bruges in particular. In 1662, the grateful Monarch wrote, ‘The Flemings are the most honest and true-hearted race of people I have met with.’”

Flanders Hotel Bruges, Langestraat 38, 8000 Bruges, [email protected], call +32 (0)50 338889, https://www.hotelflanders.com

Morning in Bruges © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Historic Hotels of Europe: A Notable Collection

The Flanders Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of Europe, an exclusive collection of independent and unique hotels, castles, palaces, country houses and other properties of historic importance throughout Europe.

Each property has been handpicked for its historical authenticity, quality and unique story. The owners see themselves as guardians of heritage, with a responsibility to cherish each property as a historic national treasure. Accommodating guests provides the economic support to preserve, sustain and improve each property and keep their stories alive.

You can click on Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Montenagro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales to find historic hotels, castles and manors.

You can also search by themed itinerary (cultural routes; gastronomic road trips; wine-lover’s trails, fairytale castles; rooms with the best views) and bookmark an Itinerary Inspiration guide; or search by collections, wedding ideas, experiences. You can also arrange for gift vouchers.

And you can search by 2022 winners of the Historic Hotels of Europe Awards (https://www.historichotelsofeurope.com/award.html):

There were ten categories for this eighth edition of the awards to vote in this year, including two new categories – the Historic Hotel Sustainability Award and New Entry Historic Hotel Award:

Historic “A Story To Share” Award 2022: Known as “the hotel from fairytales,” Dalen Hotel in Norway snagged this year’s “Story To Share” award, no doubt because of its “floating” spa, jaw-dropping architecture and exciting common areas that include a terrace and gallery. (Silver Award Winner: Schloss Hertefeld in Germany; Bronze Award Winner: Suter Palace Heritage Hotel in Romania)

Historic Castle Hotel Award: Chateau Liblice in the Czech Republic has perfected the art of blending the old with the new, and combines a classic atmosphere with contemporary comforts, restaurant and spa. (Silver Award Winner: Castello di Gargonza in Italy; Bronze Award Winner: Barberstown Castle in Ireland)

Historic Hotel City Award: Hotel Stefanie has swept the accolade of best historic city hotel for the second time (having won this category in 2020). Having operated since the year 1600, it’s the oldest hotel in Vienna, Austria, and has clearly lost none of its charm or first-rate hospitality over the centuries. (Silver Award Winner: Hotel Britania in Portugal; Bronze Award Winner: Hotel Cattaro in Montenegro)

Historic Hotel Wedding Experience Award: The Slovakian gem Hotel Gino Park Palace, has been named the best place in the Collection to say “I do”. (Silver Award Winner: Villa Bergzauber in Austria; Bronze Award Winner: Villa Cipriani in Italy)

Historic Natural Setting Hotel Award: Overlooking Bantry Bay and Garinish Island on the Eccles Hotel is situated in one of the most enviable places in all of Ireland, the famous Wild Atlantic Way coastline. (Silver Award Winner: Kyrimai Hotel in Greece; Bronze Award Winner: Renvyle House Hotel in Ireland)

Historic Romantic Hideaway Hotel Award: Greece’s island of Santorini has long-been called one of the most romantic places to travel to in Europe… especially if you stay at Esperas Santorini, according to this year’s voters. This pearlescent property contains 17 Greek-style studios complete with such perks as jacuzzis, luxurious beds and bathroom amenities. (Silver Award Winner: Manowce Palace in Poland; Bronze Award Winner: Hotel Villa Schuler in Italy)

Historic Top Hotel Restaurant Award: Foodies are never more delighted than when settling down at a table at Ghan House. This Irish hotel’s restaurant has won numerous awards over the years and is loved by tourists and locals alike for its gourmet dishes. (Silver Award Winner: Twr y Felin Hotel in Wales; Bronze Award Winner: Castel Rundegg in Italy)

Historic Spa & Wellness Hotel Award: The spa and wellness services at Italy’s Relais San Biagio are inspired by the age-old traditions of the property and the monks who once lived there. It’s the place to boost your mind, body and spirit before exploring beautiful Perugia. (Silver Award Winner: Le Bouclier d´Or Hotel & Spa in France; Bronze Award Winner: The Ice House in Ireland)

Historic Hotel Sustainability Award: Schloss Wartegg in Switzerland is Historic Hotels of Europe’s first to be dubbed the best sustainable hotel. Along with its strong focus on cycling and bike tours, the property prizes organic ingredients and makes the most of its extraordinary locale on the shores of Lake Constance, a remarkable slice of Swiss nature. (Silver Award Winner: Hotel Schwarzer Bock in Germany; Bronze Award Winner: Allegory Boutique Hotel in Greece)

New Entry Historic Hotel Award: The peaceful Komierowo Palace in Poland is a wonderful recent addition to the Collection. Not only does the building boast a sauna and jacuzzi house, 16 hectares of enchanting parkland and gorgeously-furnished rooms festooned with Art Deco elements, it has a fascinating history populated with knights, royalty and noble families. (Silver Award Winner: Blue Haven Hotel in Ireland; Bronze Award Winner: Hotel Chesa Grischuna in Switzerland)

More information at www.historichotelsofeurope.com

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Going Places, Far & Near

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