SEPTEMBER 2011

Soft Adventure Capitals
By Monique Burns
From the storied Alps to sandy beaches, from rushing rivers to rocky escarpments, Europe is a mecca for adventurers. But you don’t have to don climbing gear or a wetsuit to savor Continental thrills. Around every turn, “soft adventures” appeal to travelers of all ages. Satisfying mind, body and spirit, these laid-back experiences mix light-to-moderate physical exertion with cultural activities. Here are three easy-going adventures in France, Switzerland and Wales.

Barging in France
Cruising lazily along a French canal in a luxurious, 100-foot barge, taking in the bucolic scenery of leafy trees and farmlands before savoring a five-course meal, sounds more relaxed than adventurous. Actually, it’s both. While barges typically cruise four or five hours a day, at other times, travelers actively explore the environment—bicycling along canal-side towpaths, strolling through small-town markets, sampling wines in local vineyards, even fishing from riverbanks.
With more than 5,000 miles of canals and navigable rivers in every region, and a season stretching from April through November, France is the world capital of barging. A popular trip takes visitors through the 17th-century Canal du Midi (www.canaldumidi.com), which Thomas Jefferson cruised in 1787. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the tree-shaded Canal du Midi travels 149 miles from the walled city of Carcassonne near the Mediterranean west to Béziers near the Atlantic. Wine lovers can cruise a network of canals and rivers through Champagne, Bordeaux or Burgundy. The Loire Valley’s historic chateaux and gardens, and the dreamy landscapes that inspired Normandy’s Impressionist painters, also can be explored.
There are self-drive barges, but many travelers book hotel barges, which include a captain and crew, and carry 4-22 passengers. Vessels range from first-class barges with cabins, salons, dining rooms and sun decks to ultra-deluxe barges that also have hot tubs, saunas or pools. Trips are usually six nights, but can be as short as three nights or as long as two weeks. Typically included are multicourse meals and wines on board, linens, excursions and bicycles. Hotel barge trips are sold by the cabin for about $3,000-$5,000 per person per week, or on a charter basis, with costs starting at about $25,000 for a four-person barge.

Hiking in Switzerland
With nearly 40,000 miles of Swiss hiking trails, it’s a breeze to discover the country’s famed landscapes, including iconic peaks like the Jungfrau, Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, and their forested and flower-bedecked valleys. Trails are easily accessible by foot or via the excellent Swiss transportation system, an intricate network of railways, buses, lake steamers and cable cars.
East lies Graübunden, site of famed resorts like St. Moritz and Klosters, and the Swiss National Park (www.nationalpark.ch), the Alps’ oldest, and home to ibex, chamois and marmots. West lies charming lakeside Lucerne, where paths encircle Mt. Rigi and Mt. Pilatus. At the nearby 155-square-mile Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve (www.biosphere.ch), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, trails wend through moors, along rivers and even into caves. Southwest, in the Bernese Oberland, heart of German-speaking Switzerland and home of world-famous resorts like Gstaad, hikes lead to the storied peaks of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. South, along the Italian border, in palm-shaded Ticino, trails weave through chestnut forests and around mountain lakes. West, in the French-speaking region of the Valais, or Wallis, home of sophisticated Geneva, hikes lead to Switzerland’s most famous vineyards as well as its largest glaciers, including the 45-square-mile Aletsch.
The Swiss Government Tourist Office website outlines scores of hikes, including 32 iconic excursions. An iPhone app, downloaded from the site, features these top hikes along with maps and other tools. The site also highlights special package tours. For one-on-one assistance, contact the tourist board’s trade center at info.usa@ myswitzerland.com. Visit www.myswitzerland.com

Walking in Wales
For a country half the size of the Netherlands, Wales boasts an impressive adventure pedigree. On Mt. Snowdon, highest peak in England and Wales, Sir Edmund Hillary trained for his successful ascent of Everest in 1953. In the 1970s, the extreme sport of coasteering— scrambling up and jumping off vertiginous seaside cliffs—was invented there. In the realm of soft adventure, namely walking or trekking, Wales’ take-no-prisoners style is also evident. By May 2012, when the 861-mile Wales Coast Path is completed, visitors will be able to circle the entire country on foot—a feat, officials say, that no other country has accomplished.
Most of Wales’ coast, as well as its inland reaches, are already laced with walking trails. In the windswept southwest corner, the 186-mile Pembrokeshire Coast Path, a charmed landscape of white beaches, rocky cliffs and towering bluffs, passes through popular seaside resorts, follows the shoreline of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (www.pcnpa.org.uk), continues to the 12th-century cathedral town of St. Davids, and ends beneath the Preseli Hills, whose bluestones are at Stonehenge.
In Mid-Wales, skirting the west coast of Cardigan Bay, the Ceredigion Coast Path (www. ceredigioncoastpath.org.uk), is 63-miles with high cliffs, sea caves and an elaborate dune system, home to one of only two populations of bottlenose dolphins in the UK. Also in the region, the 210-mile Severn Way (www.severnway.com), Britain’s longest riverside walk, traces the River Severn.
North Wales has its share of superb walks. In Anglesey (www.angleseycoastalpath.com)—home of newlyweds Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge—paths lead through a 125-mile coast of rocky cliffs, open wetlands and quiet coves where puffins, guillemots and cormorants thrive. The Anglesey Walking Festival, May 28-June 12, features nearly 60 guided walks. Also north, along the English-Welsh border, the 60-mile Wat’s Dyke Heritage Trail (www.watsdykeway.org), opened in 2009 but dating back 1,500 years, parallels the famous Offa’s Dyke National Trail (www.offas-dyke.co.uk).
For information, visit www.walking.visitwales.com

JULY 2011 Issue

City Break: Helsinki and St. Petersburg

By Monique Burns

At the Baltic’s easternmost reaches, along the deep-blue Gulf of Finland, two cities—Helsinki and St. Petersburg—share a similar heritage and a common sea. But it’s their contrasts that fascinate. In St. Petersburg—Russia’s second-largest city—grand boulevards and man-made canals, lined with ornate palaces and gilded monuments, recall the Imperial eras of Peter the Great and the Czars. In Helsinki—Finland’s capital and World Design Capital 2012—stunning Art Deco and contemporary Functionalist buildings point to the 20th century and beyond. With the new high-speed Allegro train linking these two great cities in just 3 ½ hours, Helsinki and St. Petersburg can be easily explored on a single trip.

Exploring Helsinki
The country’s largest hotel chain, Sokos Hotels (www.sokoshotels.fi) has 47 establishments in Finland, including seven in Helsinki. The landmark 1931 Sokos Hotel Torni, onetime haunt of British spies, has 119 beautifully furnished contemporary rooms and a popular tower bar. A few blocks east is the 499-room Sokos Hotel Presidentti. Perfect for early train departures, the 229-room Sokos Hotel Vaakuna faces the Central Railway Station, a 1919 Eliel Saarinen masterpiece guarded by four massive stone figures.
Tram and bus lines, plus a modern metro, radiate from the city center, but compact Helsinki is made for walking. Most city sights—including the renowned Design District—are just a few blocks from the rail station. A 10-minute walk northwest is marble-sheathed Finlandia Hall, a Functionalist masterpiece by Alvar Aalto. Nearby, the underground Temppeliaukio Church, hewn from solid rock, shows only its massive domed roof.
East of the rail station and steps away from the modern Grand Casino, the 291-room, Art Deco-style Radisson Blu Plaza (www.radissonblu.com) is a great place to enjoy drinks, or a superb Nordic-influenced meal at Restaurant Pääkonttori. From there, it’s a short walk east to Senate Square, dominated by domed Helsinki Cathedral.
Several blocks south of the station, browse through Stockmann department store, whose extensive food hall sells canned herring, reindeer pâté, rye bread and other Finnish specialties. A block farther south is Esplanade Park, four blocks of tree-shaded lawns from which dozens of smiling Finns seem to sprout on sunny days.
On either side of Esplanade Park are Pohjoisesplanadi and Eteläesplanadi, streets lined with Helsinki’s most famous designer shops. This is the northeastern edge of the Design District (www.designdistrict.fi), a neighborhood of nearly 200 shops, boutiques, restaurants and hotels. At 33 Pohjoisesplanadi, 60-year-old Marimekko stocks everything from bed linens and dish towels to shirts and dresses in bold stripes, geometric prints and florals. At no. 25, Iittala, the glassworks retailer, sells wavy Aalto vases and other design icons.
Nearby, elegant Hotel Kämp (www.hotelkamp.com), Helsinki’s only five-star hotel, serves sandwiches, soups and salads in Brasserie Kämp and Japanese specialties at YUME. In the new Restaurant Kämp Signé, Chef Sami Tallberg whips up new Nordic cuisine using organic meats, fish, vegetables and berries. Diners at Salutorget enjoy Scandinavian and continental specialties in a former bank building graced with columns and a huge stained-glass peacock window. Right in Esplanade Park, in a conservatory-like leaded-glass structure, is Kappeli. Established in 1867, and a onetime favorite of noted writers and composers like Jean Sibelius, Kappeli serves up light fare as well as salmon and reindeer. Opposite Kappeli, in the city’s main information center at 19 Pohjoisesplanadi, pick up free city maps and brochures, including an excellent Design District map. Or sign up for the free 2 ½-hour Design District tour (www.helsinkiexpert.fi) given weekdays, June through August. This year’s Design Week special events are September 9-18.  Helsinki Festival, Finland’s largest music festival, will be staged in various venues, August 19-September 4.
At the esplanade’s eastern end, overlooking the South Harbor, lively Market Square is filled with flower and food-sellers. Sightseeing boats cruise the harbor, and ferries visit several ports in Helsinki’s 315-island archipelago. The popular trip to 18th-century Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, takes 15 minutes aboard JT-Line (www.jt-line.fi). Visitors can follow the self-guided Blue Route across the fort’s four connected islands. In summer, guided tours in English are given daily. At Panimo Brewery Restaurant, one of the site’s dozen restaurants and cafés, sample Nordic specialties like reindeer pâté, bear salami, salmon and Baltic herring.
Back on dry land, browse Helsinki’s 19th-century brick Old Market Hall for such gourmet gifts as Finnish rye bread, or limppu, cranberry-like lingonberry preserves, golden cloudberry jam, and dried smoked reindeer.
Head west on Eteläesplanadi to check out the exquisite crafts—including hand-blown glass, jewelry, and wool rugs with geometric patterns—at Taito Helsky Shop. At the corner of Eteläesplanadi and Korkeavuorenkatu is Artek, founded in 1935 by Alvar Aalto. Offerings range from inexpensive postcards and mobiles to pricey birchwood furniture.
The excellent Restaurant Juuri at 27 Korkeavuorenkatu specializes in “sapas,” small Finnish, or Suomi, appetizers like homemade sausage with vodka mustard, Jerusalem artichoke pudding, and smoked reindeer heart with rowanberry jelly. Main courses include poussin with smoky beer sauce and a heavenly pike cake Wallenberg with root vegetable hash. The extensive wine list includes such excellent creations by Finnish winemakers as New Zealand’s Julicher Estate Sauvignon Blanc and Tuscany’s Ciclope Rosso Toscano.
Steps away, the Design Museum, at no. 23, exhibits the works of Professor Kaj Franck, former artistic director of the Arabia porcelain factory, through September 25. The adjacent street, Erottajankatu, leads into the heart of the Design District. Design Forum Finland, at no. 7, has eye-opening objects ranging from brooches made from recycled zippers to quirky leather spats and fine handbags.
To explore Helsinki’s design heritage further, take the 15-minute ride north on tram 6 or 8 to Arabianranta to tour the famed Arabia ceramic factory and its museum. Free factory tours are given in August at 1 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday; for other times, e-mail arabia.visitors@fiskars.com

Off to St. Petersburg
Blame it on the city’s accessible beauty or the Finns’ easy-going charm, but leaving Helsinki is tough. Fortunately, the Allegro makes the transition painless. In just 3 ½ hours, the high-speed train journeys from Helsinki’s Central Railway Station to St. Petersburg’s Finland Station, just north of the city center.
Among the city’s loveliest and most centrally located establishments is the 331-room Sokos Hotel Palace Bridge (www.sokoshotels.fi), one of the city’s three Sokos hotels. In the hotel’s red-brick underground vaults is The Cellar pub, with a regulation bowling alley, and the tony Eliseev Wine Cellar. The hotel has three restaurants, and a three-story spa featuring eight different saunas, including the unusual Snow Paradise.
From the hotel, it’s a 15-minute walk across one of the city’s 342 bridges to the Neva River’s left bank and St. Petersburg’s most famous attraction, The Hermitage. In four opulent palaces, the museum collections range from 500,000-year-old Paleolithic finds and 12th-century icons to 20th-century paintings by Wassily Kandinsky and Marc Chagall.
To the south, St. Petersburg’s main boulevard, Nevsky Prospekt, is lined with restaurants, churches and shops. Jewelry made from Baltic amber can be found in various shops, including the gift shop of the Stroganov Palace art museum. Don’t forget to stop at Dom Knigi, or House of Books, an enormous bookstore housed in the ornately sculpted 1904 Singer & Company building. Nearby, domed Kazan Cathedral sports a majestic horseshoe-shaped colonnade. East, along Konyushennaya Ulitsa, is The Church of Our Saviour on the Spilt Blood whose fanciful onion-shaped domes, in red, blue and green enamel, recall St. Basil’s in Moscow.
On Nevsky Prospekt’s west side, along the Neva River, rises the gold-spired Admiralty, founded by Peter the Great in 1704. Just south is St. Isaac’s Square where the trendy, glass-walled Mansarda restaurant serves up innovative international cuisine and panoramic views of huge domed and columned St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Here, too, is St. Petersburg’s landmark 210-room Astoria Hotel (www.theastoriahotel.com), built in 1912.
After several blocks’ walk, take the wide Blue Bridge over the Moika River to Mariinsky Palace, a yellow-and-white Neoclassical confection built for Czar Nicholas I’s daughter. West lies Mariinsky Theatre, an aqua-and-white music hall where the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova once performed. A visit here sets the mood for dinner at nearby Sadko, with colorfully painted vaulted ceilings and outsized red Murano-style chandeliers. Starters include the beet-and-cabbage soup, borscht, pork and beef dumplings called pelmeni, and crepe-like blinis with red caviar and sour cream. Pike, perch and salmon share the eight-page menu with Russian standards like beef Stroganov and chicken Kiev. The food is delectable, but even better are the young waiters who serenade diners with passionate arias and Russian folk songs—a fitting end to a romantic interlude in St. Petersburg.

For More Information
Finnair (www.finnair.com), Finland’s national carrier, has direct flights daily from New York’s JFK to Helsinki (about 8 hours). In May, daily direct flights began aboard code-share partner American Airlines (www.aa.com) from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to Helsinki (about 10 hours). Connecting flights are available through major U.S. gateways and through Frankfurt, London and Paris.
Finnish Railways (www.vr.fi) operates four daily Allegro trains to and from Helsinki’s Central Railway Station and St. Petersburg’s Finland Station. First class costs 134 euros (about $187), second class costs 84 euros (about $117). Visas for U.S. citizens are available from the Russian Consulate General in New York (www.ruscon.com). For reservations, visit www.vr.fi/allegro or www.raileurope.com
For information on Helsinki, log on to www.visitfinland.com, www.visithelsinki.fi and www.wdc2012helsinki.fi For information on St. Petersburg, log on to www.visitrussia.org.uk and www.saint-petersburg.com

JUNE 2011 ISSUE

Europe’s Never-Ending Summer Festivals

By Maria Lisella

Most American travelers do not plan their trips around events, but the serendipity of finding a wonderful street parade or an off-beat celebration can turn a day of touring into a cherished memory worth telling and retelling. Here are a few of the most popular summer festivals taking place this summer along with a short guide on getting to them. For details and links to individual tourist offices, visit the European Travel Commission’s Guide to Europe at www.visiteurope.com

Croatia
The most celebrated and largest cultural event in Croatia is undoubtedly the 62nd Dubrovnik Summer Festival that takes place July 11-August 25th. An all-star line-up of international performers and an ever-increasing number of visitors arrive to enjoy performances in the most unique indoor and outdoor venues in this fabulous walled city and UNESCO Heritage Site.
Zagreb joins Dubrovnik and Split in becoming Croatia’s third city to offer visitors a card giving unlimited travel on public transport, discounts at most of the city’s museums and at many restaurants, shops, and service providers. The card is valid for 24 or 72 hours and can be bought online, at any Zagreb Tourist Information Centre and at most hotels.

Czech Republic
If you arrive in Prague during the first week of June, your visit will coincide with the final performances of the 66th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Festival. Hot on its heels is the colorful Straznice International Folklore Festival from June 24th–July 27th when dozens of folklore ensembles and groups gather in Prague to show off their songs, dances and traditions and spectators get to admire their costumes and customs, not to mention tasting their specialties.
Film buffs should not miss the International Karlovy Vary Film Festival (July 1st-9th) set in the famous spa town.
One of the oldest Czech events is the Palava Vine Harvest and Wine Festival that takes place in the Southern Moravian town of Mikulov this year from September 9th-11th.
Strings of Autumn is a classical music festival that runs annually from October to November; its particular forte is illustrating links between classical music and jazz.
To get there, the only nonstop service from the U.S. to Prague is on Delta; same as Croatia, all major European carriers operate routes through their hubs into Prague. Finland: Finnair continues to operate flights into Helsinki and recently added a direct flight between Chicago and Helsinki on May 1 in cooperation with American Airlines; SAS also operates seamless and frequent service.

Finland
The Midnight Sun is no fairytale or myth especially in Lapland where its magical surroundings are filled with seemingly endless sunshine. The 26th edition of the Midnight Sun Film Festival Sodankyla (June 15-19th) is a joyride for filmmakers and film aficionados. This year the festival limo brings us Atom Egoyan from Canada, Michael Chapman from the United States and Souleymane Cissé from Africa. Denis Côté, also from Canada, represents the younger generation this year.
The Baltic Jazz Festival (July 8-10th) headlines internationally distinguished Nordic jazz artists and is fast becoming popular with the yachting set that anchors inside this endless coastal archipelago in Southwest Finland to hear and see top class classic melody jazz in a historic seaside ironworks milieu.
Some say the landscapes of Lake Tuusula form the cornerstone of the Finnish cultural world, and from July 24-31st, it provides the backdrop for a journey among the homes of Jean Sibelius and his contemporaries in an event dubbed Our Festival.
Make no mistake, there are other fascinating festivals going on south of the North Pole. From July 28- 31, the Kotka Maritime Festival is the backdrop for concert programs ranging from rock to classical music, the Maritime Song Festival, Maritime Jazz, exhibitions, street theater and the Children’s Maritime Festival.

Germany
A high point of the 125th anniversary of the motorcar is the Summer of Cars. Bertha Benz Memorial Route commemorates this event and gives people the chance to relive a moment in history by following her route. Another must is the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart; the Meilenwerk in Sindelfingen (just outside Stuttgart), the Volkswagen’s flagship Autostadt theme park in Wolfsburg, the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt (Bavaria), the BMW World and museum in Munich, the ‘Transparent Factory’ in Dresden, the August Horch Museum in Zwickau, and the Car & Technology Museum in Sinsheim.
The Dresden Philharmonic will honor composer Franz Liszt with several concerts in 2011, including the Dresden Music Festival on June 1 at the Semper Opera House. “Liszt under Water” will take place June 21-July 1st at the Toskana Thermal Baths in Bad Sulza, and “Sky over Liszt” from June 18-July 3rd at the Jena Zeilss Planetarium.
No surprise here but the 90th Mozartfest runs through the end of June and has been doing so since 1921 with a small interruption but was revived in 1951. The Leipzig Bach Festival, June 13-20th, is one of Germany’s most important classical events, performed in St. Thomas’ Church by acclaimed musicians including the St. Thomas Boys’ Choir.
Germany will once again be hosting a FIFA World Cup in 2011, only this time it will be the sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup from June 26 to July 17, 2011 with the official slogan: “The Beautiful Side of 20Eleven.” The Sixteen teams will contest the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.
Berlin’s Bode-Museum presents “Faces of the Renaissance” from August 25-November 11, showcasing the history of portrait painting in Florence with works by Donatello and Botticelli, among other portrait painters at the Italian courts.
Lufthansa may be a global carrier but still offers a tremendous amount of flexibility when it comes to reaching corners of Germany; close second is Air Berlin, the second largest carrier in Germany and fifth in Europe; and don’t forget the American carriers.

Poland
From June 24-July 3rd, The Jewish Culture Festival takes place in Cracow. Since its inception in 1988, it has emerged as one of the most important and largest events of its kind in the world. The First Festival focused on a conference on cultural encounters between Jewish and Polish scholars. The event takes place in one of the most fascinating corners of the city, the cobblestoned streets of the Kazimierz district, which has undergone its own renaissance since the days of Solidarity. A factory on the edge of the neighborhood was used as a setting for the film, Schindler’s List.
The Galicia Jewish Museum recently opened with a moving and thought-provoking exhibit, Traces of Memory, by the late museum director and photographer Chris Schwarz, showcasing his documentation of ruined synagogues and cemeteries throughout the towns and countryside of this region of Poland.
Events take place in synagogue, cellars, theatres and cafes culminating with a huge open-air concert on the picturesque Szeroka Street. Among regular performers, hot names to look out for are Kroke, Brave Old World, The Cracow Klezmer Band and Ukrainian newcomers The Kharkov Klezmer Band.
Ever since Delta took over PanAm’s routes, its Central and Eastern Europe routes have been richer for it. LOT Polish Airlines also operates frequent nonstop service to Poland from the U.S. and has just signed a codeshare with Continental, giving the carrier more feeder service from other U.S. gateways.

Spain
The Celtic link to Spain’s northwestern region, Galicia, is one of endless speculation and fascination and is the inspiration for the Celtic World Festival that takes place on the third weekend in July on the slopes of the Capelada, Coriscada and Faladoira Hills that lead to the sanctuary of San Andrés de Teixido.
Not to be outdone by any other region, San Sebastian in Basque country is hosting the Festival de San Sebastian International Film Festival Sept. 16-24th. What makes this event particularly exciting is that each year, 20 new talents show up in San Sebastian with their first or second movies to compete for the Kutxa-New Directors Award (EUR 90,000) for the maker and importer to Spain of the winning film.
Would Spain be Spain without a fabulous wine harvest festival? Logrono is the setting for the Rioja Wine Harvest Festival dedicated to San Mateo. Be ready to participate in the traditional foot-crushing of grapes, the offering of the first wine to the Virgen de Valvanera, throw in a little bull-running, parades with floats, music, popular meals and ball games.
There is no shortage of airlift between the U.S.; this spring, Iberia inaugurated two new flights; one from Los Angeles to Madrid and the other, between Miami and Barcelona.