Category Archives: Travel: Europe

The Highest Point in the Valley of Hell

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Les-Baux-de-Provence, France, is known for its bloody and ruthless past.  Known for pushing individuals off the rocky cliffs, decapitation, and other cruel methods of death, the lords of Les Baux are not characters you’d want to cross.   Thus, the area was feared.

It is said Dante modeled one of his layers of hell in the Inferno off of the rocky landscape of Les Baux.

I am not sure which contributed to it, but area became known as “The Valley of Hell.”

An omnious sky over Les-Baux-de-Provence

Gabe and I visited Les-Baux-de-Provence on our whirlwind trip to see the lavender this summer. However, short on time, we didn’t climb the entire way to see the castle & fortifications.  Instead, we wandered around the village checking out churches and views from the mid-heights.

However, this time, Mom & I were up for the adventure.

The wind was whipping at the top of Les Baux

Le Mistral, the fierce Provençal wind, also accompanied us.  However, pressing against the bursts had its rewards.  The top was very impressive with bell towers and rooms carved into the face of the stone cliffs.

Rocky facade of the castle

The sky definitely accentuated the scariness

If you go to Les Baux, don’t miss going to the top!

 

Related Links:

The Swiss Watch Blog:  Les Baux de Provence

Schwingen in Switzerland :  We Didn’t Know the Valley of Hell was So Beautiful – Les Baux

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Popping some bottles in Chateauneuf-du-Pape

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a wine region within Southern France.   The area became notorious in the 14th Century when Avignon, France, became the seat of the Pope during the Catholic schism.  The Popes were lovers of wine and in particular, of Burgundy wines.   However, they needed to find a closer source than Burgundy.  In 1321, Pope John XXII requisitioned wine from this particular area and the production became named ‘Vin du Pape’ for wine of the Pope.  Later the name evolved to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, referencing the wine of the ‘new castle of the Pope’.

The Papal Palace was located in nearby Avignon

I’m sure Pope John XXII was thrilled when the Beastie Boys crooned the verse,  “Like a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape / I’m fine like wine when I start to rap.”

The rocky terrain in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

In addition to its rich history and presence in Beastie Boys songs, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the wine king of Southern France, claiming price points similar to Burgundy and Bordeaux.  The region is known for the rocky terrain, many meters thick, which was created many years ago when the area was once the bed of the Rhone river.

Now the Rhone rests a few kilometers away and the rocks, galets roulés , serve as heaters and water insulators for the terroir.

I was lucky to get a special glimpse at this wine area with a group traveling from Virginia.    Our first stop on the wine tasting adventure was at Château Beaucastel, a lovely maker of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The view from Château Beaucastel

The morning we visited, I had just finished the book, Of Wine And War.  Wine was considered France’s national treasure, and the lengths to which the French winemakers went keeping their good wine from the Nazis was really interesting.   From sending the bad vintages, to building faux walls, and even burying in in the soil, they tried everything to preserve the historic vintages for France.   Our guide at Château Beaucastel said not many vintages had likely escaped Nazi hands as there were not many pre-war bottles left today.

Cellars at Château Beaucastel.  I was inspecting for pre-war bottles, but found none.

The group also visited  domaine de la Mordorée, Domaine Grand Veneur, and  La Bastide St. Dominique, all which produce Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

My graduation year

Related Links:

Schwingen in Switzerland: Wine Museum in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Schwingen in Switzerland:  Châteauneuf-du-Pape rocked us….literally

Art therapy at St-Paul de Mausole

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Just south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence are groves of olive trees and rows of cedars. Driving along the D5 highway, one might miss the Maison de Santé Saint-Paul de Mausole which rests back from the highway. I know our first trip to St-Rémy, we certainly did.

The olive groves off of D5

However, back in the surroundings of this traditional Provençal landscape is a special place of rest.  It is a home for psychiatric patients, individuals with special needs, and the elderly. Art therapy is used with the patients as a method of healing.

Cloister at St-Paul de Mausole

Grounds at St-Paul de Mausole

And one of the patients…Vincent Van Gogh.   The courtyards and grounds are filled with scenes familiar to many.  From an art standpoint, his time in Provence was his most productive period.

Scene for Les Oliviers

Vincent Van Gogh’s, Les Oliviers, image courtesy of Google Images

Scene for Le ravin des Pairoulets

Vincent Van Gogh’s Le ravin des Pairoulets, image courtesy of Google Images

Van Gogh lived here after his stay in Arles, and after the loss of his ear, committed himself.  It is evident the staff appreciated Van Gogh as they let him paint alone outside, a designation not given to many.   In St Rémy, Van Gogh created 143 oil paintings and  100 drawings within one years’ time.

My aunt, Miss Talent, enjoying the grounds at St-Paul de Mausole.

Still today, patients create masterpieces in the form of painting and sculpture. They are for sale in the small shop that sits below Van Gogh’s old room.  It makes you wonder about undiscovered potential, perhaps within one of today’s artists living there.  After all, Vincent maybe earned $100 as an artist before he died.

The Irises, was also painted by Van Gogh at St-Paul de Mausole.   In 1987, it was the most expensive painting ever sold. Image courtesy of Google Images.

Our leader Kay read this quote as we pulled away from the site,

“The world concerns me only in so far as I have a certain debt and duty to it, because I have lived in it for thirty years and owe to it to leave behind some souvenir in the shape of drawings and paintings – not done to please any particular movement, but within which a genuine human sentiment is expressed.” ― Vincent van Gogh

I for one am very glad for his souvenirs.

Neuschwanstein Castle & Bavarian Landscapes

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After a full day of beer drinking at Oktoberfest on Friday, we had opted to get out of Munich and do a little sightseeing on Saturday.  This was both a good and bad idea.    The good was that it prevented us from signing up for another day of beer drinking.   The bad was that we had to get up early and  navigate how to get to the little village we’d selected, all whilst suffering from a bout of cocktail fever.

Nevertheless, we boarded the correct train at the München Hauptbahnhof towards Fussen.   We marveled at the hoards of people coming in that day for Oktoberfest.

Our train. Direction Fussen.

Revelers, coming in from their villages, ready for the day. You’ll see some good examples of traditional German dress here.

Lederhosen and party hats.  Don’t these guys look like they are 16?

Notice the crates of beer they’d brought with them to consume on the train.

The scene made us glad we weren’t on those trains coming into Munich.   There wasn’t a seat to be had!    Our train was busy, yet seats were available.    We enjoyed the peaceful two hour ride through the Bavarian countryside.

Taking the train through Bavaria

We got off at Fussen and took a cab into the nearby village of  Hohenschwanau.   Towering above the town was the Schloss Hohenschwanau.   This19th Century castle was built by Maximillian II of Bavaria.   It is more famous nowadays for being the childhood home of King Ludwig II who built Neuschwanstein castle, the castle that Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle was modeled after.

View from town of Hohenschwanau

View from above of Hohenschwanau and the tiny village

Ludwig II built Neuschwanstein a stone’s leap away from his parent’s house, funded from his own fortune.    He built the castle as a tribute to Richard Wagner, the composer.  He wanted to make it feel like one of Wagner’s pieces had come to life in the castle, to make it a reality.   That, and he fancied living in the Middle Ages.  The castle helped bring these fantasies to life, creating a retreat which resembled Middle Age living, far outside the city of Munich.

Neuschwanstein castle

Sadly, King Ludwig II never was able to live inside his castle.   He was deposed of his throne due to mental incapacity and building stopped.   Only about one-third of the rooms were finished.   Shortly after, he died mysteriously in the shallow waters of a nearby lake.   There is speculation about the medical prognosis due to the sudden and unexplained nature of his death.  Some think that there was a conspiracy to take his crown.   Only the shallow waters know, I suppose.

We were able to tour the castle because Olga had pre-arranged tickets.   For those interested, I’d recommend her approach: buying tickets in advance.  You can only tour the castle with a reservation on one of the official tours.   When we arrived to pick up our reserved tickets, the wait was 4 1/2 hours to get a tour for those who had not.

Walking up to Neuschwanstein

The inside rooms that we saw were miraculous – amazing detail.  Ludwig was very creative in weaving the stories of Wagner’s operas into the artwork, carvings, and castle floors.

We weren’t able to take photos inside, but this photo is courtesy of wikipedia.

Ludwig even thought to construct a man-made cave that lead from his bedroom to his dressing room, to mimic a scene of a cave in one of the operas.   Olga mentioned this was the “original man cave” which drew a lot of chuckles from some of the guys on the tour.

Image courtesy of wikipedia

After the tour, we took a lovely walk through the fall foliage and stood on Marienbrücke, Mary’s bridge, to take pictures.  The bridge is a 15 minute walk from the castle.  If you end up not being able to tour the castle, we would still recommend getting the vantage point from Mary’s bridge.  It was pretty awesome.

Mary’s bridge is the little white horizontal line in the center of the photo. Sorry our point-and-shoot camera isn’t the best at focusing.

This shaky little bridge made me a bit nervous, especially after looking down!

Heidi, Olga, Gabe and me on Mary’s Bridge.

We followed our experience by drinking some King Ludwig beer at the little restaurant Bräustübert, underneath the castles.  As we’d hiked a mile on a steep uphill, had a tour, and made a stop at the bridge, all within lunch hour, we really were ready for some delicious German food.  We all got some form of sausage or schnitzel which did the job of satiating our hungry bellies, along with the delicious beer.

My schnitzel and weissbeir. A good lunch.  

Oktoberfest

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We had a few friends from the States visiting Europe and they suggested a meet-up in Munich during the 16-day long Oktoberfest.   Sure, twist our arms!

While this was my first time to Munich & Oktoberfest, Gabe was no stranger to the event.   He attended the 201o Oktoberfest on it’s 200th anniversary.

As the biggest festival / fair in the world, with 6 million attendees, it was quite a site to behold. The first thing I noticed is the beer tents are not actually “tents” but beautifully designed wooden buildings.   I was expecting muddy shoes and being outside in the elements, but was pleasantly surprised!

Our group outside our “tent”.

I thought the tent was so beautiful.

Our friend from Geneva, Mr. Lederhosen, arranged for an amazing table inside the tent for us.  Apparently, you have to get tables a year in advance and still you need to be a VIP – either German with a lot of ins, or willing to fork over a lot of cash.   We met some Americans the last day whose concierge said he could get them seated for 5000 euro for their group of six.

Our awesome table location

Mr. Lederhosen hooked us up big time with his Munich connections.   We paid 20 euro each for our seats, and got a liter of beer and a half chicken, a Hendl, to boot!

A and I with our first liters

The best chicken in the world. Mmmm.

There is a special attire for Oktoberfest.  Men traditionally wear  Lederhosen, and the girls wear a German dress called a Dirndl.  Both can wear Bavarian hats called Tirolerhüte.

Typical storefront in Munich

Gabe with A & A in their German attire.

Our host, Mr. Lederhosen in his authentic lederhosen

7 million liters of beer are served annually at Oktoberfest.  We had our fair share.

Prost!

So did the rest of the tent.   I loved when the band played, “Ein Prosit”……

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit 
Der Gemütlichkeit 
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit 
Der Gemütlichkeit. 

A toast, a toast
To cheer and good times
A toast, a toast
To cheer and good times.

An enthusiastic crowd.

It was pretty impressive how much the beer girls could carry.

A typical delivery – 7-8 liters without a tray.

We tried to have a stein-holding competition as well as a beer girl competition.  It was pretty hard.

Who can hold it the longest?

A gave it a good try!

Certain vendors are very popular.  My favorite were the folks selling pretzels.

This pretzel stand means business.

Don’t worry about getting up out of your seat. Pretzels come by every 5 minutes.

The pretzel was the size of my head. So was the beer for that matter.

Gabe liked the pickle guy.

Pickle guy

They also have Lebkuchen – gingerbread hearts for sale.   Gabe brought me back one of these in 2010 that said “I love you” in German.  He had a work trip in Europe afterwards so by the time it reached me, I needed to wet the cookie in the sink to soften it enough so we could bite into it.

Cookie stand

It was still a lovely thought and I really enjoyed getting to experience Oktoberfest myself!

Eating in Istanbul

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While in Istanbul, we were excited about the mezes (small plates) and eating fresh seafood.

Our first night, Gabe selected a restaurant in old town with a view of the Sea of Marmara.  We enjoyed a cold meze plate to start, and for mains, Gabe had lamb shish and me a fish shish.   The mezes were so-so but the shish was delish.  The setting was really serene.

Teras
Ahırkapı Sokak Cankurtaran
Hotel Armada

The second night, we went to a fish place.  We ordered a salted sea bass to share, and were wowed by the presentation.  The staff was exceptionally great and we really enjoyed sitting out in the street, watching a typical evening in Istanbul’s old city.

Salted sea bass

The fish coming out of its salted carcass

These little guys were wowed too.   Notice the pairs of eyes on either side of me.   I am constantly entertained by the cat beggars in Greece and Turkey’s coastal cities.

Fish House
Alemdar Mah. Prof. K. Ismail Gurkan Cad. No:14  
Sultanahmet, 34122 Istanbul, Turkey 

For lunches & snacks, we filled our tummies with street food and shish.

Fish sandwich from Eminou

Bread rings….Image courtesy of instanbuleats.com

Note to readers:   We know we didn’t venture out of Sultanahmet (old city) which we heard is crucial for seeing the true Istanbul culinary scene.  However, for our 48 hour stay, we figured it was easiest to stick within walking distance vs. figure out the tram system or take a taxi.  We loved our “first taste” and hope to come again to Turkey for a more authentic sense!

From Europe to Asia & Back: Cruising the Bosphorus

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On Sunday, after the Blue Mosque, we headed down to Eminou port and caught a Bosphorus tour.  There are countless tour operations, and even more guys in the street trying to lure you in chanting “Bosphorus Tour….Bosphourus Tour…..Bosphorus Tour”.

However, we had read about one particular company that offered a service of hopping on and off on opposite coastlines.    This was really appealing to us, since the Bosphorus strait is the separation between Europe and Asia.  We thought it would be neat to have lunch in Asia.   For reference, this company has three departures a day – 10:35, 12:00 and 1:35.

Also a tip for European travelers, make sure your watch is set to the appropriate time zone.  We bought tickets thinking our boat left in 30 minutes.  However, we were on Swiss time.  An hour and a half wait. Oops.

We had a snack (bread ring for me, fish sandwich for Gabe) on the bridge, waiting to set sail.

It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon. Since hoards of crowds were out, happily dining in the daylight after Ramadan, the peacefulness of the boat was a plus.

Pulling out of Istanbul

Dolmabahçe Palace

 

Khedive Palace

Rumeli & Anatolian Fortresses beside Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

Bosphorus Cruise – near Yenikoy

Bosphorus Cruise – Yoros Castle

The Black Sea

Bosphorus Cruise – Rumeli Kavagi

 

After a two hour ride, we docked in  Anadolu Kavagi and selected a restaurant based on the smell of the delicious fish we saw grilling on the side of the building.

They said a fresh fish would take 15 minutes, no problem with the timing.   So, we had some mezes to bide the time.  However, after about 30 minutes, we were getting nervous having time to eat and catching our return boat.   It all went a little downhill from there, but let’s just leave it at I got a whole fish in a aluminum tin “to go”.

Entertaining, but it made for a fun rest of the trip home, trying to eat this with the toothpicks I swiped from the restaurant.

Basilica Cistern

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The day before our departure, I mentioned to some Geneva friends that we were going to be traveling to Istanbul for a quick weekend getaway.  J, my friend from South Africa, enthusiastically recommended the underground cisterns that are somewhat underneath or nearby Hagia Sophia.

The Basilica Cistern was built in the 6th Century during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, so it is the same age as Hagia Sophia.   It was originally under a Basilica that no longer stands. It is said that 7000 slaves worked to build the site.

The purpose was to provide water for the Great Palace.  It even continued to provide the water source for Topkapi Palace after the Ottaman takeover in 1453.

The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns. Historians believe many are ‘recycled’ from older buildings all over the Ottoman Empire.   The water-tight wall is 4 meters / 13 feet wide.   The cistern was filled with water from Belgrade Forest and was transported via aqueducts.   It can store 100,000 tons of water!

There was such a peaceful feeling in the cistern.   I delighted in the fact that there were huge fish still swimming around.   I also enjoyed the two mysterious Medusa head columns – one on its side and one upside down.

Gabe said it looked familiar when we walked through.   And, for good reason….this enchanting underground site was featured in James Bond From Russia with Love and The International.

There was not a lot about this site in our guidebooks, so I really appreciated the unique recommendation.

The Blue Mosque

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The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is most commonly called “The Blue Mosque” because of the 20,000 handmade blue-colored tiles that decorate the interior of its dome.

It was built by Sultan Ahmed from 1609-1616 so is around 400 years old.    The mosque dominates the skyline of Sultanmet.  One of my books said that if Sultan Ahmed could see how many hotels advertise “Blue Mosque” views, then he would be pleased.  His intention was to build a structure more magnificent than Hagia Sophia.

Tourists are allowed to go in, as long as it is not a worship time.  We visited Sunday between their worship services, which occur five times daily.

They have scarfs and skirts to borrow if you aren’t dressed in accordance to the requirements for the mosque which require modest attire and no shoes.  I’d dressed in a longer dress that covered my knees and had cap sleeves, based on my typical preparation for Italy.  I also brought a scarf for a head wrap, hearing from friends that they are required.   However, both Gabe and I had to borrow Velcro “skirts” to make sure our legs were covered.

The tile/dome was quite beautiful.  However, I think Hagia Sophia was more impressive to me based on the fact it was built 1000 years before.   The fact it was the first dome of its kind still wows me.

It happened to be the last night of Ramadan when we were in Istanbul.  We thought Istanbul was busy before, but as night fell on Saturday indicating the end of the 30 day period of daytime fasting, the city came alive.   Since 99% of the Turkish population is Muslim, literally everyone was out and about.

The light sign on Blue Mosque reads, “Say Goodbye to Ramadan”

Hagia Sophia

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From our hotel room at Burckin, we had a lovely view of Hagia Sophia, standing out in the Sultanmet skyline.

Hagia Sophia at night, from our room

View of Hagia Sophia at breakfast

 

Hagia Sophia, meaning Divine Wisdom, has a very interesting past.   Three churches have held the name on the very same spot.   The Hagia Sophia that stands today was finished in the year 537, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian.  It is the oldest church in the world, and was also the largest church in the world for 1000 years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.

It was a Christian church for most of its existence, but in the 1453 Fall of Constantinople (Istanbul was previous named for Constantine), it was converted to a mosque by Sultan Mehmed II.

Turkey’s first president, Ataturk, secularized it and converted the Istanbul gem to a museum, re-opening it in 1935, as it was a treasure for both Muslims and Christians based on its rich historical past.

What is most striking to me is the dome.   This amazing feat in Byzantine style is said to have changed the history of architecture.  I had flashbacks to 6th grade when we all had to attempt to build a dome in model-size.  Our teacher had given us this exercise to show us how difficult it is to construct this type of structure.  I can’t imagine the talent and skill it took back in the 6th Century.   1000 skilled tradesman and 10,000 workers were needed to complete Hagia Sophia.

And….it was magnificent to walk beneath it.

We had the opportunity to walk up a winding ramp to the top to get a different angle.

Hagia Sophia falls at the toop of my impressive religious structures list we have seen.  Others making the list are:

  • The Duomo of Florence
  • The Duomo of Milan
  • The Duomo of Siena
  • Lyon’s Basilica
  • The Emerald Buddha & surrounding temples at Grand Palace, Bangkok
  • Notre Dame in Paris

Impressed with Hagia Sophia