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Nostalgic ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad explores culture, folklore and historical significance of the region. By Kathy AntoniottiHunter Pate and the Dr Sheldon Cooper share an obsession. The nine-year-old from Chicago and the famed, fictional physicist from the popular television series The Big Bang Theory are captivated by trains.It’s not a recent infatuation, said Hunter’s mother, Melinda Pate. He has been able to fire off statistics about famous and not so famous train cars in the same fashion as the character in the sitcom played by actor Jim Parsons.“He’s been fascinated with trains since he was little,” said his mother while they rode in a first-class dining car of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in May. It was the family’s second trip on the railroad, and the second year in a row that Hunter’s birthday wish was to spend the day in the refurbished car as it travelled through the mountains at the eastern entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Western North Carolina was an isolated region in the 1840s, and the Great Smokies blocked travel to the north and west. To the south, the Blue Ridge Mountains cut off travel, as did the Appalachian Highlands to the east. But it wasn’t until 1845 when a famine hit the region that residents realised how isolated they really were, and put pressure on the state Legislature to establish a railroad. In 1855, the Western North Carolina Railroad was chartered for a line that would connect Salisbury with Asheville.The Civil War slowed construction, but in 1869, a portion of the Murphy Branch line was finished from Asheville to Old Fort and completed by 1879, after difficult construction through mountainous terrain that required steep grades.Through decades of changing times and turbulent conditions, the railroad struggled to exist and the need for railroads slowed. The North Carolina Department of Transportation purchased it in 1988 for $650,000 and after 100 years, the state again owned a railroad.A new company was formed called the Great Smoky Mountains Railway Inc and started operations at the eastern threshold to the park with two diesel engines.Today, the railroad, which is only 15 minutes away from the Cherokee Indian Reservation, operates with a half-dozen engines and passenger equipment consisting of restored coaches, crown coaches, club cars, dining cars, open cars and cabooses. The train travels 53 miles of track, two tunnels and 25 bridges over river gorges, across valleys and through mountains.Guests are offered daily and seasonal excursions, including the Nantahala Gorge Excursion and the Tuckasegee River Excursion, as well special trips for Halloween and New Year’s Eve. More than 70,000 people rode the train during the Christmas-themed Polar Express in 2014. Moonshine and excursions are quite popular, too.Guests can travel in various classes, some with dining, others in open-air cars. First-class seating comes with souvenir tumblers and unlimited soft drinks in all cars and an embroidered GSMR tote bag. On classes that don’t serve meals, a boxed lunch is available.On the 41/2-hour Nantahala Gorge Excursion, we travelled 44 miles through the countryside and along the Nantahala River in the Harper, formerly called the Dixie Flyer, built in 1949 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Along the route, conductor Bruce Edwards of Ela, North Carolina, kept guests entertained and informed with a running account of the industries that developed alongside the railroad, and the folklore and people of each region we passed through.The railway line travels over the historical Trellis Bridge to Fontana Lake and into the beautiful Nantahala Gorge, where the Outdoor Center is famed for zip-lining and whitewater rafting activities, also offered with railroad excursions. The Harper, used as a bar lounge when the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad merged, was purchased by the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in 1994 and refurbished into a first-class family dining car with a full-service bar.Guests on the warm spring day in early May could order pot roast, fire-braised chicken salad, battered cod, veggie lover’s delight and of course a dish the South is famous for, barbecue. Desserts included a decadent death by chocolate cake, cheesecake and other delicious items.In a one-hour layover at Nantahala Outdoor Center, visitors can grab a bite at the River’s End Restaurant or Big Wesser BBQ & Brew. The NOC Outfitter’s Store carries sporting supplies for whitewater canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, plus gear, apparel, footwear and accessories.Watch the clock carefully: Five minutes after the warning whistle blows, the train pulls out of the station whether passengers have returned or not.It’s the law, explained the conductor, and it’s a long walk back to Bryson City. Edwards warned, “If you can find a local willing to drive you, it can cost you $100, or more.” — Akron Beacon Journal/TNS

By Jessica GeltIt was a gaffe that reignited our fears about our decision to honeymoon in Greece. Like those fears, it turned out to be a classic case of much ado about nothing.As our plane approached Athens in late July, right after a Greek exit from the Eurozone had been narrowly avoided, our in-flight entertainment systems were showing an ABC News segment about the economic crisis. The report went something like this: The country was on the brink of financial collapse. Banks were closed, citizens were standing in lines 20 deep at automated-teller machines and protesters were swarming Constitution Square.We stared at each other in panic. We thought the crisis had ended with the latest bailout, and we hadn’t brought cash, let alone a suitcase full of euros.The TV screens went black, and the public-address system crackled to life. “Ladies and gentlemen, I do apologize,” came the soothing voice of a flight attendant. “It appears we were playing an old version of the news.”Sighs of relief and nervous laughter filled the aircraft.And that was the only effect the Greek economic crisis had on a nine-day vacation that included three days in Athens and visits to the islands of Syros, Paros, Mykonos and Santorini.That’s not to say that the desperation, frustration and fierce pride of the Greek people were not palpable in animated conversations in tavernas and cafes, or in the politically charged graffiti that blanketed nearly every public surface in Athens. It’s just that in many ways this was — and is — an ideal time to visit the country, especially for budget travellers.The usual tourist herds have thinned, traditional Greek hospitality is in overdrive and prices are down for hotels and meals.With tourism accounting for about 18 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Greeks are eager to maintain that revenue flow, and no host wants to risk a bad TripAdvisor review.At the four-star O&B Athens Boutique Hotel (www.oandbhotel.com) near the capital’s bustling Monastiraki neighbourhood our room cost 119 euros, or about $133 a night, and came with an extravagant buffet breakfast of sausage, eggs, yogurt, fruit and fresh-squeezed juice. Upon check-in we were escorted to our room, and shortly after a server knocked on our door with a complimentary tray of olives, nuts and cheeses.In Santorini, which is perhaps the most vaunted and expensive of all the Greek islands, we stayed in the caldera-facing Sunset Hotel (www.sunsethotel.gr), where we had a spacious room leading to a gorgeous patio with ocean views and a cliff-side whirlpool bath for 150 euros, or about $168. When it was time to leave, our host called a driver to take us to the airport, then walked us out to the road.The lovely port-side Aktaion Hotel (www.aktaion-hotel.gr) in Syros came with breakfast and a vase of roses delivered to our room, and cost 76 euros, or about $85. The hotel owner called scooter rental companies to find one that would accept our California driver’s licenses. She wasn’t successful, so she gave us a complete rundown of bus routes and taxi services that would get us to our desired destinations.The kindness and courtesy extended to nearly every aspect of our journey. At Tony’s Rent-a-Car & Moto on Santorini, the owner presented us with a plate of homemade baklava when we returned our all-terrain vehicle, which cost 20 euros, or about $22, for 24 hours.The hotel clerk at Sun of Mykonos Studios (www.sunofmykonos.gr) gave us directions to a hidden beach that locals frequent, far from the techno-pumping beaches of Paradise and Super Paradise. There we discovered a tiny taverna, shaded with grape vines, that looked over the sea. The owner handed out juice to all the waiting patrons, most of whom were enjoying the smell of fresh octopus grilling on an open fire.Visiting a foreign country during a period of historic upheaval heightens just about every travel experience, including touring the Acropolis and imagining how this great country handled a massive financial crisis in the 6th century BC that had citizens considering selling themselves into slavery. Or sipping housemade rose water while pondering Pythagoras’ wisdom: “Everything comes round again, so nothing is completely new.”And so it was with our journey. We spent most days exploring the islands on an ATV, stopping now and again to lounge on a picturesque beach.Evenings were consumed by eating lengthy meals, which typically consisted of a fragrant Greek salad, garlic dip, stuffed grape leaves and tender lamb with yogurt mint sauce. The latter ritual rarely set us back more than 35 euros, or about $39, for two.At the end of our Greek idyll we flew to Rome, where prices soared and our personal economic crisis began. — Los Angeles Times/TNS

MAJESTIC: Edinburgh Castle, built on a dormant volcano, is Scotland’s top tourist spot.By Patti NickellIn the space of a few blocks, I encountered Napoleon Bonaparte, Darth Vader and the Invisible Man, glasses bobbing up and down in what appeared to be thin air.There was a colourfully garbed Korean dance troupe, a woman carrying a kitchen sink, and “Queen Elizabeth,” crown atop her head, giving all passers-by her queenly wave.But my favourite had to be the dancing hot dog, handing out bottles of ketchup and mustard to giggling children and encouraging them to fire away.I was on the Royal Mile, which links Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace, the official home of the British monarch in Edinburgh. These performance artists were all participants in the city’s Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world.As entertaining as the Fringe was, it was just part of the reason for visiting Edinburgh in August.This year, for the first time, six of the city’s 12 major festivals were held during the same period (Aug. 7-31.) In addition to the Fringe, visitors could go to the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Mela Festival of World Music and Dance, the Military Tattoo, and the granddaddy of them all — the Edinburgh International Festival.The International Festival rose from the ashes of World War II, when Britain’s defiance of Hitler came at a high price. Unbowed but very bloody, the island set about remaking itself. One such effort was the International Festival, inaugurated in 1947 to enliven and enrich the cultural life of not just Britain, but all of Europe. To say that it succeeded is an understatement.The three-week festival offers the best in theatre, dance, opera, cabaret and orchestral music. And when I say best, I mean it. Current British superstars Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Jude Law and Hugh Grant were among those who performed at the festival before achieving stardom, and this year’s headliner was French actress Juliette Binoche in “Antigone.”Of the performances I saw, the highlight had to be a richly reimagined production of Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” The music remained the same, but almost nothing else did. This wildly inventive version combined animated and live action (the singers were real) in a kaleidoscope of 1920s silent movies, cabaret, Disneyesque imagery (think “Fantasia”) and Cirque du Soleil-type stage antics.The Fringe began the same year as the International Festival, when eight theatre companies that wanted to perform weren’t invited. They came anyway, and they’ve been coming ever since, with 3,000 performances in venues across the city this year.Many of the performances feature solo artists who stake out a space, but others are world-class offerings. One such was Limbo at the Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows. Described as a circus-cabaret extravaganza, the illusions and breath taking physical feats had me on the edge of my seat. Apparently, they also had Madonna on the edge of hers, as she reportedly saw the show twice.Books, Art and the TattooOf newer vintage are the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the world’s largest celebration of the written word, and the Edinburgh Art Festival, the newest festival, initiated in 2004.It is only fitting that Edinburgh, the world’s first Unesco city of literature, hosts an annual book festival attended by nearly a quarter of a million people, who flock to Charlotte Square Gardens to hear authors discuss their work. It was here that JK Rowling gave a public reading of her first Harry Potter book for a group of schoolchildren.The Art Festival is indeed a moveable feast, with exhibits in museums, churches, galleries and public buildings, as well as outdoor spaces such as the Waverly Train Station, site of my favourite piece: a whimsical sculpture resembling a series of bathroom showers.The prospect of attending the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was one of my primary reasons for wanting to come to the festival. I had seen pictures showing the pomp and pageantry of the Tattoo set against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. I knew it was a demonstration of military musical skill and precision that had morphed into pure theatre — all those kilted bagpipers and drummers from royal regiments throughout Britain.They were all there — the Pipes and Drums of the Highlanders and the Black Watch of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Massed Bands of the Royal Air Force and the Queen’s Color Guard, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Highland Dancers — it was all that an Anglophile could have expected.What I didn’t expect was the rest of the evening’s entertainment, which ranged from colourful Chinese Lotus Dragon and Bollywood dance spectacles to a stirring 75th-anniversary observance of the Battle of Britain, culminating in fireworks and the Union Jack flag projected on the exterior of the castle.By the time we linked arms in a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” and the Lone Piper appeared on the castle battlement, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.Other AttractionsIt’s easy to see how Edinburgh, a city that native son Robert Louis Stevenson described as “a dream in living masonry,” inspired Rowling. The city spills in layers from what was once an active volcano to underground cellars, and there are more nooks and crannies than one could explore in a lifetime. But here are a few must-sees while in the city.Edinburgh Castle. Perched atop craggy Castle Rock, another extinct volcano, this is Scotland’s No. 1 visitor attraction. Most head directly for the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone, also called the Stone of Destiny. However, don’t miss the ancient banqueting hall and the birthing chamber where Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to her son, who later became James I of England, thus uniting the two kingdoms.Holyrood Palace. Speaking of Mary, if you’re fascinated with her dramatic and tragic life, then a visit to her royal palace is a must. Located at one end of the Royal Mile and set in exquisite gardens, the Palace’s 16th century historic rooms are open to the public except when the royal family is in residence.The most lurid is the oratory, where in 1566 Mary’s private secretary, David Rizzio, was dragged from the table where he was dining with the Queen and was killed by her husband, Lord Darnley, and his cronies. Today, overwrought tourists often claim that they can still see blood on the floor from the 56 stab wounds inflicted on Rizzio.Royal Yacht Britannia. For a more benign royal experience, go aboard the yacht that Queen Elizabeth II said was the only place she could relax and shed her official role. Now permanently berthed at Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal and open to the public, the yacht took the queen and the royal family more than 1 million miles around the world over a 40-year period. — Lexington Herald-Leader /TNS

ABANDONED: The Dragon Fantasy amusement park, a 165-acre development in Tangshan City about a two-hour drive from Beijing, has no visitors. One section was opened for a few months in 2013, then closed.   By Jonathan Kaiman and Hugo MartinWei Jiushan spends his day in a fantasy land, surrounded by rides, arcades, souvenir shops, bungee-jumping towers that look like six-story-high banyan trees and a small village of mushroom-shaped houses.But he barely notices all of that. After all, he has his corn to harvest.A gruff, 52-year-old security guard, Wei says he’s been working at the Dragon Fantasy amusement park for three years. The problem is that the park, a 165-acre development in Tangshan City about two hours’ drive from Beijing, has no people. Developers began building it in 2011, opened one section for a few months in 2013, and then closed it again for lack of visitors and funding.So he grows a few rows of corn, two dozen stalks at most, in a grassy island among shuttered ticketing offices and merchandise shops by the park’s front gate.“They don’t allow me to grow corn, but I have nothing else to do,” he said, holding an ear up for inspection. “The corn isn’t even growing well, because the land’s no good. Look, it has worms in it.”The park has all the hallmarks of a white elephant with dismal prospects, in surprising contrast to what’s going on in major Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. That’s where heavyweights such as Walt Disney Co. and Universal Studios are building multibillion-dollar parks, betting on huge growth in the industry.Analysts say that the China theme park market is worth $3.3 billion and will probably hit $4.8 billion by 2020 as the country’s consumer class continues to grow. A forecast by Los Angeles engineering firm AECOM, a contractor on many projects, even predicts the number of parkgoers in China will surpass that in the US by 2020.But outside of major tourist hubs, the parks boom has been less of a thrill ride. Many of the country’s estimated 850 parks developed by cities and smaller companies have struggled to attract thrill-seeking customers.“They have these build-it-and-they-will come strategies — and then the people don’t come,” said Jeffrey Towson, a professor of investment at Peking University.Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, pegs much of the problem on China’s economy, which is no longer growing at the breakneck pace of years past. The issue was highlighted by the August devaluation of the yuan.“We’re already seeing a slowdown with the emerging middle class starting to hold back and not spending as much as they used to,” he said.The Dragon Fantasy park, in Tangshan’s Fengnan district, an eerily uninhabited sprawl of brand-new apartment blocks and freshly paved roads a few miles from the central city, also underscores the challenges that China faces as it attempts to shed its export- and investment-based economic model to one based on consumption.Tangshan is best known in China for being the site of an earthquake in 1976 that killed more than 250,000 people. In the following decades, the city developed into an industrial powerhouse, its factories churning out heavy machinery, chemicals, textiles, cement and steel.Yet China’s appetite for raw materials is declining, and Tangshan officials have tried to transform the city into a tourism destination. A 2014 post on the Tangshan government’s website said that a state-backed company, Tangshan City Fengnan City Construction Investment Co., built Dragon Fantasy with a $235 million investment. It added that the park would create 800 jobs and bring in $88 million of annual revenue.“This project will upgrade the whole industry, play an important part in revitalising the industry, and also provide a high-level foundation for the extracurricular, high-tech education of our youth,” it said.Typically, the parks are developed by local governments or state-owned enterprise that have access to land, a local developer with construction and management experience, and an entity with some source of usually cheap debt or equity, such as a local government financing vehicle, Towson said.“In those cities, it’s like trying to play cards with a really bad hand,” he said. “Maybe they’re just doing what they can. And what do they got? They’ve got land. That’s their main card to play.”There is also money to be made through construction contracts, management fees, and selling extra land for building hotels or apartments. “The trick to getting everyone to say yes to a very speculative project is to give each party compensating near-term profits,” he said.Before the Chinese economy showed signs of slowing, 59 theme park projects were in the pipeline in China, with dozens of Southern California-based designers and contractors winning contracts to help infuse the projects with American ingenuity and imagination.Well-established domestic companies have also positioned themselves to benefit from the boom. The massive Beijing-based property developer Dalian Wanda is investing tens of billions of dollars to build dozens of amusement parks across the country, including a “Wanda City park” in Xishuangbanna, a swath of jungles and thatch-hut villages near the Laos border.So far, none of the major projects proposed by the biggest US and Chinese theme park firms have been delayed or put on hold, such as the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort set to open in the spring.“They are looking at this for the long run,” said Naveen Sarma, senior director at Standard & Poor’s. “In the long term, China is still a huge market. It’s an attractive market.”Still, previous investments abroad have shown that underperforming theme parks can be expensive.Disney was forced to inject $1.3 billion last year to improve and refinance aging Disneyland Paris, which has struggled with attendance and has had a rocky history since opening in 1992.Edward Marks, chief executive of the Producers Group, a Los Angeles-area theme park design and construction firm that has worked on Universal Studios Singapore and Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin, China, said he would not be surprised if some smaller projects on the drawing board are shelved.“I see people revaluating where they are with particular projects that haven’t broken ground,” he said.Wei, the security guard, said that he began working in steel plants when he was in his early 20s. Then the mills went bankrupt, one after another, and he was forced to find new work. The park pays him about $350 a month, he said, less than what he made at the steel plant, but enough to survive.“These are all supposed to be merchandise stores,” he said, waving toward a row of abandoned storefronts, their colourful facades cracked and peeling. “When the park first opened, some families would come, but the rest of the park never opened.“The government probably just ran out of money,” he added, and went back to tending his corn. —Los Angeles Times/TNS

A teacher, left, chats to a female student in a classroom at Khalil Gibran International Academy in New York City.By Christina HorstenThe two 15-year-old girls in headscarves were talking about school and giggling. They said they especially liked math and the hamburgers served in the cafeteria. And teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, of course, along with American movies — preferably with Arabic subtitles — and US President Barack Obama.A year ago Yamama Hassan and Entesar Yahya fled to the United States with their families from war-torn Yemen. Now they take the subway in the morning from the heavily immigrant Flatbush neighbourhood to the centre of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where they attend the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) — the first English-Arabic public school in the country, the school says.“We like it better here. There are more opportunities,” said Hassan in unaccented English.The girls said their fathers had also learned a little English, but that their mothers hadn’t yet.“We’re happier here,” said Yahya. “It’s safer.”New York City epitomises a “melting pot” of diverse races and nationalities. According to the New York City Department of City Planning, 37.2 per cent of the city’s more than 8 million inhabitants are foreign-born, and in some neighbourhoods more than two-thirds are. With foreign-born mothers accounting for 51 per cent of all births, approximately six in 10 New Yorkers are either immigrants or the children of immigrants, and 49 per cent of the population speaks a language other than English at home.Harmony amid the diversity is hardly perfect, of course, and the number of hate crimes, though comparatively small, has recently risen somewhat — particularly against Muslims and Jews. The New York City Police Department reported 127 such crimes in the first half of this year, an increase of 9 per cent over the same period a year ago.The KGIA, founded in 2007, aims to foster better understanding of different cultures. Over the past four years, the city has spent more than 3 million dollars in completely renovating the former hospital building.“It’s a mixture and we’re proud of it,” said Principal Winston Hamann, speaking of a school staff whose diverse backgrounds match those of the student body.Hamann himself comes from Colombia, and the assistant principal from Greece. The Arabic teachers hail from countries including Algeria and Morroco, and the administrative office is headed by a Haitian woman. While the staff isn’t required to know Arabic, knowledge of both Arabic and English is mandatory for students.The school’s dress code isn’t too prescriptive. Students can wear shorts, a headscarf or full body veil. Many have to work after school to help feed their families, a school counsellor said.The KGIA’s lead community partner is the non-profit, secular Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC), New York City’s first and largest Arabic-speaking social service agency. The AAFSC has an on-site “school coordinator” to ensure that all students and their families have access to a wide range of services.Headquartered in Brooklyn, home to the highest number of New York City’s recent Arab immigrants, the AAFSC serves nearly 6,000 low-income people each year through programmes including counselling, legal services, healthcare, anti-violence, and English as a second language. Many of the immigrants who seek its help are illiterate, and most speak no English in the beginning, like Hussein from Egypt.A lottery winner of a Green Card allowing him to live and work in the United States permanently, Hussein had stopped by the AAFSC in a red hoodie.“My four kids have learned English faster, I’m behind,” he said. “But I found work as a driver and I like it here. I want to stay forever.”Yolanda, a Yemeni who lives in the New York City borough of the Bronx, learned how to read and write at the AAFSC. She said her son was a barber and that he used to have to accompany her everywhere. But now she can travel by subway on her own.“The support centres work better in the United States than in Europe,” remarked Lena Alhusseini, the AAFSC’s executive director. “We work more towards building a community. But we’re also witnessing a rise in hate crimes.”She said she had recently helped the family of a 15-year-old boy told by the driver of a public bus to get off because he spoke Arabic.“The family wouldn’t have contacted the police by themselves,” Alhusseini said. —DPA

A train on the GoldenPass Panoramic line. The Swiss Travel Pass covers popular panorama trains such as the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, GoldenPass Panoramic and Wilhelm Tell Express. By C P RavindranThe best and quickest way to know a country is to travel in its public transport system. The moment you step into a train or a bus in a new place, it immediately gives you a rough idea of the traits of people using them and the way they are run tells you a lot about the living conditions there.  A trip in public transport thus becomes a journey of discovery, so to speak.In Switzerland, the first impression that comes to you when you use its public transport system is that, here is a place where things go like clockwork. That is no wonder as the Swiss are the best watchmakers in the world!  They are aware of it and are, of course, proud of it too. The mountainous country has a dense public transport network, extending over 27,000 kilometres, linking cities, villages, resorts and lakes. For travellers from abroad, the Swiss Travel System offers a chance to discover the diverse delights of the scenic country by road, rail and waterway. And with a single all-in-one ticket – the Swiss Travel Pass. Whether visitors stay in the country for just a few days or for longer periods, a special ticket is available to meet all their travel requirements. The Swiss Travel Pass covers popular panorama trains such as the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, GoldenPass Panoramic and Wilhelm Tell Express – spectacular trips which offer a great travel experience. The country has just launched a new attraction - the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland which links the most attractive rail routes across Switzerland and highlighting selected excursion options. The tour can be enjoyed all-year-round and passengers may start their journey of discovery from any point; there is no pre-determined direction or duration. This trip too can be availed of, using the all-in-one Swiss Travel Pass. The Swiss Travel System is a Zurich-based marketing company, co-founded in 2011 by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), Switzerland Tourism and five private railway companies. The Swiss Travel System’s objectives include the worldwide marketing of public transport in the country and the range of special tickets created exclusively for travellers from outside. The Swiss Travel Pass is its flagship product.“Over many years the development of Switzerland as a dream destination for tourists and travellers has been inseparably linked with that of the country’s remarkable public transport system,” explains a Swiss Travel System official.“The railway revolution of more than 150 years ago, the construction of mountain cableways, the launching of lake steamers and the pioneering of Postbus routes – all have contributed to the enduring appeal of Switzerland and one of the finest public transport systems in the world,” the official told Gulf Times in an interview. “The Vitznau-Rigi Railway – inaugurated in 1871 with Swiss travel pioneer Niklaus Riggenbach himself driving the festive train – was the first mountain railway of any kind in Europe. It cost an unprecedented 1.25mn Swiss francs (around QR4.70mn) but has endured to this day as one of the excursion highlights of any visit to Switzerland. The Jungfraujoch, which celebrated its centenary in 2012, is still the highest-altitude railway station in Europe.” International travellers to Switzerland have always been enchanted by the country’s captivating lakes. June 1823 saw the launching of the first Swiss steamship on Lake Geneva. That was followed in 1837 by the launching of the “Stadt Luzern” (City of Lucerne) vessel on Lake Lucerne. Switzerland comprises some 550 kilometres of river routes and a total of 12 shipping lakes. Popular favourites include the lakes of Lucerne, Thun, Brienz and Geneva as well as Lake Constance. And most shipping rivers and lakes are integrated into the Swiss Travel System.To add to the pleasure of travelling in the country, the Swiss have created a novel system for baggage transportation, called “Fly Rail Baggage”. Under the system, visitors to Switzerland can hand in baggage at any departure airport worldwide – and have it delivered directly to their Swiss destination railway station. This service, operated by Swiss Federal Railways, is available to passengers flying to Zurich, Geneva or Bern Airport. On landing, baggage is automatically forwarded to the destination station without passengers having to wait in the baggage reclaim area at the airport. Depending on flight arrival time, passengers can then pick up their baggage the same day (or at the latest the following morning) from one of the 81 designated railway stations. Fly Rail Baggage is valid on all airlines worldwide and can be booked at most global points-of-sale of the Swiss Travel System and Swiss International Air Lines, including Doha. The price is 22 Swiss francs (around QR80) per luggage.  The service is available for departing passengers too.On their day of leaving (or the day before), passengers could hand in their luggage at anyone of the 57 designated railway stations in Switzerland. At the same time they will also receive their boarding card and requested seat number for the flight. Participating airlines include Swiss, Lufthansa and other selected scheduled carriers – as well as many charter carriers – flying from Bern, Geneva or Zurich. If check-in is not possible at a railway station, Swiss Federal Railways offers an alternative “Airport Baggage” service. Passengers hand in their baggage at their nearest station – and it will be delivered to their departure airport in Zurich or Geneva for pre-flight collection before they check-in in the normal way. The price per item of baggage is again comes around QR80. Sales outlets for Swiss Travel System in Qatar include Regency Holidays, Mannai Holidays, Darwish Travel and Unique Choice.

By Anne Z Cooke“Shuussh!” said Capt. Oliver Kreuss, standing on the bridge of the Lindblad Expedition-National Geographic ship Explorer, training his binoculars on the iceberg-choked fiord ahead. “I can’t talk now,” he barked, cutting the speed to 6 knots and steering the vessel left and right around each floating titan like a dancer whirling his partner across the floor.Half-expecting a collision, the half-dozen passengers on the bridge, there to watch the approach to Ilulissat, on Greenland’s ragged west coast, held their breath as the usually garrulous captain nudged the ship forward. Forty minutes later, with clear water and the anchorage ahead, all was forgiven.“Sorry about that,” said Kreuss, smiling apologetically. “The ship is always my first duty. You were asking about the notches in the rail? Guess. You can’t guess? The notches in the rail represent the number of bear sightings we have in a year. For every bear we see we cut one notch. If the bear has killed and is eating a seal, we colour the notch red. After yesterday, we’re adding six more.”But the Explorer wasn’t the only witness to calving icebergs. While we were exploring the eastern High Arctic, US President Barack Obama was in Alaska, in the western High Arctic, highlighting the same issues: shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels, warmer winters and hungry polar bears.After 10 days on the Explorer, we had a pretty good idea why Lindblad Expeditions has been so successful leading expedition-style voyages to distant regions. In Lindblad’s early days, its ships were considerably more spartan. But after partnering with National Geographic (in 2004), changes included booking more university-trained naturalist-guides and ramping up the comfort index — the Explorer, for example. The result has been a growing coterie of steadfastly devoted fans.Most of Lindblad’s cruises are booked a year in advance, according to Lindblad’s reservation desk. But when a last-minute cancellation opened up space on the 13-day cruise to Greenland and north Baffin Island, we jumped on it. And it didn’t take long to see that even the best-planned expedition can’t account for nature.We were supposed to board the Explorer in Iqaluit on south Baffin Island, then sail north through the Davis Strait. But when ice blocked Frobisher Bay, the Explorer couldn’t dock. Did Lindblad cancel? Never. With the departure day looming, Kreuss, the “hotel” staff and the crew got to work, booking additional flights for all 140 passengers — at Lindblad’s expense — and rescheduling Inuit village visits, tundra hikes, lectures, zodiac fiord tours, naturalist talks, guest lectures, photo clinics, bus rides and glacier over-flys. And they managed it seamlessly.“They’re successful because they’re organised,” said former investment banker Martha Tinker, from Des Moines, Iowa, who confessed (with an embarrassed chuckle) that having taken not two, nor five, but 13 Lindblad trips, she’d given the matter some thought.“By that I mean they’re prepared,” she said as we waited for a Zodiac ride to the shore at Pond Inlet, on north Baffin Island. “They research the destinations so thoroughly that they’re never caught by surprise. If something’s cancelled they have a backup already identified. It happens so smoothly, the passengers don’t even notice.”With the sun shining, we took off our coats to explore Inuit villages such as Greenland’s Sisimiut, pop. 4,453, and Pond Inlet, pop. 5,500, at the north end of Baffin Island. The tour of Sisimiut, a quiet fishing village built on a couple of rocky ridges, meant a long walk uphill and down dale to a history museum, crafts store and a grocery. A half-dozen sled dogs, panting in the heat, snoozed at the end of their doghouse chains. But snow machines and ATVs were ubiquitous. Sisimiut looked neat and prosperous; a Danish territory, Greenland’s economy and schools are heavily supported.Pond Inlet, the Canadian government’s effort to bring distant Inuits from their traditional villages to a central location, seemed both more industrial and much poorer. But the Tununiq-miut Dance group’s drum dance performance, held at the Community Center, provided a rare opportunity to see a genuine effort to keep some of the old culture.On other days, guided zodiac fiord rides, shore tours and “walks” were available (no charge for any of them) along with National Geographic photography clinics. We hiked over rocks identified as the world’s oldest, searched for 1,000-year-old burial sites and contemplated the fact that before Europeans arrived, the Vikings and two groups of ancestral Inuit lived here.Sometimes we saw flowers so tiny you had to kneel to appreciate their intricate shapes, 3-inch high willows and silky-fine clumps of musk ox fur, “qiviut” shed during the summer molt, now stuck on last spring’s dead flower stalks. The musk oxen were there, somewhere, but remained elusive.The most fantastic afternoon wound up on a high note with a polar bear encounter. Spotting three bears napping on an ice flow, the ship slowed to a crawl, waiting for the ice to reach us. Meanwhile, the female stood up, stretched and ambled toward the ship, her two nearly grown cubs in tow.In minutes the cubs were directly below the bow where they spent the next 45 minutes sniffing the air, cuffing each other playfully and stretching out to cool. The female watched it all, then called the cubs and the three ambled away.Taking a poll at dinner, we asked why our table mates, now new friends, chose Lindblad? They liked recognising each other from previous trips and were pleased that the waiters remembered them, too. The cabin sizes and the closets, the spacious bathrooms and the menus were universally praised, along with the open bridge policy, allowing visits any time without an appointment. The afternoon tea and pastries were a favourite, as was the casual dress code. But what was really Lindblad’s secret, the thing that set it apart from its competitors?“For me it’s the naturalists,” said Laurie Goldberg, from Connecticut, who was travelling with her husband, Hank. “These people aren’t just biologists, geologists or historians, interested in their own specialty. They’re educated and they’re friendly, always around if you want to talk. The lectures are educational and they’re entertaining. I never miss a talk.”But there had to be something else and we think we found it. Guess. You can’t guess? No wonder.It was the Lounge, used for day and evening lectures, next-day briefings and happy hour gatherings. A work of genius, this circular space, a theatre-in-the-round design, had a central lecturn surrounded by a circle of chairs, tables and sofas.You faced the passengers nearby and they saw you. You shared a bowl of popcorn. They said hello and you recognised them again when you saw them later. After four days together, you were talking. If you’d been attending lectures in a typical auditorium, sitting in a row facing the stage, you’d wouldn’t have met anyone.The set-up also improved the lectures. Wherever you sat in that lounge, you could see at least two of the seven, wall-mounted TV screens, computer-controlled from the lecturn. The speakers, uninterrupted by mumbling, fumbling with videos or explaining photos that popped up out of order, were more spontaneous, faster paced and often funnier.As for the icebergs, it wasn’t long before we were sailing among monstrous hunks, white giants bigger than skyscrapers. Worse, they had calved off the Jakobshavn Glacier, near Ilulissat, at the west edge of the Greenland ice cap.They were the canary in the coal mine, evidence that Jakobshavn, said to be the world’s “most productive glacier,” is melting faster than ever, leaving some scientists worrying that the ice sheet itself may slide into the ocean. That was the bad news. But the good news is that we were there to see it in person, and to hope that the next decade’s cruise passengers will care just as much.The Nitty GrittyCruises to the eastern High Arctic fly through Ottawa, Canada, and include airport transfers and an overnight and dinner there. Flights the next morning continue to Iqaluit, or to Kangerlussuaq, in Greenland. For other Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic cruises go to www.expeditions.comWhat To BringYour cruise material includes complete information about weather, coats, boots and clothes. Knee-high rubber boots are recommended for landing on some wet beaches or marshes, but the most expensive brands are not necessary. We packed our gardening boots and wore them with thick wool socks.Post Cruise News Ten days after returning home we learned that satellite images from space revealed that during our cruise, and while we were at Ilulissat, a Manhattan-size hunk of ice calved into the sea; it was the second such event to occur over the last three years. —TNS

By C P RavindranThe view from Mount Pilatus was breathtaking. Light and shadows shifted in the valley as strings of wispy clouds hovered just below us, delicate veils offering glimpses of Lake Lucerne, its waters glowing like polished glass. It was a magical setting.On a clear day, it is said, Pilatus offers a panoramic view of 73 Alpine peaks. There were dozens of tourists at the summit but there was hardly any sound at all. Words were forgotten and sentences were left unsaid as people immersed themselves in the stunning beauty of the mountain scenery.    In a far corner, a group of Chinese tourists suddenly began doing tai chi as if on a cue, their slow and flowing movements adding to the mystical atmosphere. But then Mount Pilatus (2,128m) has always been associated with mystery and fables. “Maker of weather, dragon’s lair, home to giants and grave of rulers”, Pilatus is one of the most legendary places in central Switzerland. And one of the most beautiful too.I was at Pilatus as part of a group of journalists from the GCC, invited by Switzerland Tourism.Pilatus (2,128m) is a popular destination for tourists in Switzerland.To get to the top, we took a cogwheel train from Alpnachstad. The train rides the steepest cogwheel track in the world. The cog railway, which was built in 1898, still runs on its original tracks.The mountain can also be reached by gondola lift and aerial cable car. The trip, if one wishes to make it more exciting, can be combined with various types of sports and hiking tours. Mount Pilatus has the longest summer toboggan track in Switzerland (0.88 miles or 1,350m) - a thrilling experience one should not miss. What a ride!Coming down from the mountain, yet another treat is waiting for you: the lake city of Lucerne. The city, which could be seen from Mount Pilatus, offers a range of attractions to discover and cherish. Centuries-old sights like the Chapel Bridge, the Musegg Wall, the Lion Monument and the historic Old City form an exciting contrast to contemporary Lucerne with its Culture and Congress Centre (KKL Luzern), abundance of restaurants and a wide range of shopping outlets.Its museums, theatres and festivals have all contributed to establishing Lucerne as a “city of culture” which elegantly combines both tradition and trend.Lucerne was once known as a city of bridges; in 1400, it was the only place in Europe to boast four bridges. The Water Tower and the Chapel Bridge, both built around 1300, are Lucerne’s trademarks. Chapel, the oldest preserved wooden bridge in Europe, displays a number of 17th century paintings on triangular panels under its eaves. A major part of the bridge was destroyed in a fire on August 18, 1993. The reconstructed bridge was opened in April, 1994. Many of the paintings, lost in the fire, have been replaced or recopied. The octagonal Water Tower, like the Chapel Bridge, once formed part of the inner city fortifications and has served as an archive, a city treasury and a prison. Lucerne’s second wooden bridge, the Mill Bridge, built around 1408, has its own series of 17th century paintings, featuring the famous Dance of Death on 65 panels by Caspar Meglinger. Lucerne’s Dying Lion monument, created by the Danish sculptor Thorwaldsen, is one of Europe’s most famous sculptures. It is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss mercenaries who were killed while protecting King Louis XVI during the French Revolution at the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792. Tourism is an important industry for Lucerne and the surrounding region which rank among the most popular destinations in the world. Lucerne has approximately 1mn overnight stays per year and is visited by 4.5mn to 5mn day guests every year. Though people from America, Germany, Britain, China and India form the bulk of tourists visiting the city, it is increasingly becoming a popular destination for travellers from Qatar and other GCC countries. The city plays host to a number of cultural events such as the Lucerne Festival at the Piano, the Lucerne Blues Festival and the Fumetto International Comics Festival. Winter is traditionally ushered out every year with a carnival in February. Comical characters in colourful costumes and masks parade through the streets and squares of the Old Town.After Lucerne, the next stop, for an overnight stay ideally, should be the resort of Weggis where there are a number of excellent hotels to welcome you. Weggis, which is also on the shore of Lake Lucerne and at the foot of the renowned Rigi (called the “queen of mountains”), offers tranquility and relaxation. In 1897, Mark Twain wrote that Weggis was the “loveliest place” he had ever visited.But then that is a description that could appertain to all of Switzerland and not just a small part of it. Mark Twain would have found Rapperswil, located on the upper end of Lake Zurich, as equally beautiful and lovely as Weggis.Rapperswil is called the “town of roses” because of its vast displays of roses in three parks. They contain more than 16,000 plants and 600 kinds of roses. There is even a rose garden in the town centre for the blind with particularly fragrant roses, the names of which are written in Braille on guide panels.Overlooking the town, the Rapperswil castle is perched high on a hill and is home to a Polish museum. This top spot offers visitors panoramic views of the lakeside surroundings. After Rapperswil, our next destination was Zurich, Switzerland’s financial district. The city, situated in the heart of Europe and at the foot of the Swiss Alps, is the ideal base from which to explore the entire country. Zurich Airport, which has direct connections to 170 international destinations, including Doha, is just a 10-minute train ride from the centrally located Zurich Main Station.Lake Zurich, around which the city is built, and the River Limmat, which winds its way past Old Town buildings and through up-and-coming urban quarters, lend the metropolis a refreshing Mediterranean ambiance. Awash with wellness facilities and opportunities for water sports, and as home to Europe’s mightiest waterfall, the Rhine Falls, Zurich entices with a variety of watery experiences, ranging from laid back to action packed.In Zurich, there is no need to look for a supermarket to buy bottled water if you get thirsty, since you can simply drink straight from the nearest fountain. And that can never be far away, because Zurich has the largest number of fountains of any city in the world with more than 1,200 of them. Many of these fountains are themselves small-scale works of art. And they all provide clean drinking water.Zurich’s shopping mile has contributed largely to the city’s reputation as an El Dorado for shoppers and is home to many international fashion labels and jewellery and watch stores.For lovers of art, Zurich has much to offer. The city, which is home to over 50 museums, is the birthplace of Dadaism, an avant-garde artistic and literary movement that began in 1916. Next year, Zurich celebrates the centenary of the Dada movement with a number of events and shows.No trip to Switzerland would be complete without a visit to the Rhine Falls near Zurich. A magnificent spectacle, it is touted to be the largest plain waterfall in Europe, falling from a height of around 23m and 150m at its widest point. The ultimate holiday destination, Switzerland is a treat that will linger in your memory long after you experience the country.

By Kevin RevolinskiWisconsinites in the US might grimace at how rough winters can get these days, but 20,000 years ago much of the state was under a sheet of ice thicker than a mile in some places. This Laurentide Ice Sheet extended south of Chicago. One of the most fascinating marks it left as the ice melted was the Kettle Moraine.A “kettle” forms when debris from a grinding glacier gathers in a deposit as the ice melts away. In this case, a large chunk of ice at the centre lasts a bit longer under the pile and when it finally does shrink, it creates a sunken bowl-shaped middle to the moraine. This long north-to-south area between the crushing forces of two major ice lobes — the Green Bay and Lake Michigan lobes — is so rife with them that the entire region took the term as a proper name.Geneva and Pike lakes are two of the largest kettles. The extensive collection of moraines, eskers and kames is a natural geological textbook, and much of it has been set aside as state forest. When the mosquitoes and hot temperatures are gone for the season, hikers head for Kettle Moraine for its excellent fall colours.Five units make up Kettle Moraine State Forest: the Northern, Southern, Lapham Peak, Loew Lake and Pike Lake Units. Covering 56,000 acres, the units extend 100 miles along glacially altered lands from Elkhart Lake in the north to just south of Whitewater. But the state forest does not encompass the entire Kettle Moraine and several areas outside park borders make excellent hikes as well, particularly along the rustic footpath of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, or IAT.Raymond Zillmer, a Milwaukee attorney, had a dream. A passionate conservationist, he worked to expand the area preserved in Kettle Moraine State Forest, with the ultimate goal to have a long recreational trail. He created a foundation that would become the Ice Age Trail Alliance, the organising force behind the Wisconsin-based hiking trail that has just over half of its 1,200 miles of proposed path completed along an area that roughly follows the edge of the last glaciers. Some of the longest continuous sections of the IAT are within Kettle Moraine.Hard-core hikers may prefer through-hiking the IAT. The trail offers stretches of slightly more than 30 miles of trail in the Northern and Southern Units with shelters for overnight camping along the route. But shorter hikes for day-trippers or families with kids are plentiful as well.The Zillmer Trails, connected by a spur trail to the Ice Age Visitor Center in the heart of the Northern Unit, have a combined 11 miles of grass and dirt paths. Trail loops vary in length from 1.2 to 5.4 miles, with the longest, the yellow trail, offering the most time in the woodland portions.The Greenbush Trails share their name with a famous nearby kettle visible from the road. Start your hike either from the trail parking lot or a nice picnic area along the road. The green and purple loops run 3.6 and 5.1 miles, respectively, but there are three shorter options. All of them are wooded, but the longest route passes Bear Lake and its marsh and offers a look into a kettle.In the Southern Unit, consider the IAT Segment starting from Whitewater Lake Campground. The path straddles moraines through the forest and looks out over an outwash plain at one point.While the IAT often demands a shuttle or backtracking to your starting point, there are occasional loops formed by alternative connecting paths marked by white blazes rather than the characteristic yellow blazes. One such option is the Cedar Lakes segment, which forms a 3.8-mile lollipop when the white-blaze trail is used for a return route. Start south from the IAT parking lot at County Road NN, 4.3 miles northeast of the Pike Lake Unit.Scenic overviews are typical along most of the trails, but a few true high points are recommended for fall colours. Parnell Tower is a 60-foot wooden structure at the highest point in the forest, a short walk from its parking lot and picnic area. If the climb is not enough, you can hike the 3.5-mile loop, which takes hikers through sharply rising and falling topography in thick woods. Part of the trail overlaps the Ice Age Trail as well.Twenty-five miles west of Milwaukee, just off Interstate Highway 94, is Lapham Peak Unit. Known for an excellent cross-country ski trail system, the park offers the same routes, plus a short nature trail and accessible trail, to hikers. At the centre of the park is a 45-foot observation tower on the highest point in Waukesha County.As a glacier melts, meltwater often rushes straight down through the ice from high up on the surface, depositing glacial drift at the bottom of the tube as the water seeks its course underneath the glacier. These deposits are called kames, and in some cases they may grow to be tall conical hills that conspicuously tower above the surrounding terrain when the glacier is long gone. One such kame is Dundee Mountain, the tallest peak in the Northern Unit of the state forest. Summit Trail, a 1-mile nature trail, loops up and over the narrow peak offering excellent views.Kames also make a pretty good place for an observation tower. The wooden platform at Powder Hill, a kame in the Pike Lake Unit, offers a 360-degree view over hardwood forest and Pike Lake as well as a look at another distant kame on the horizon: Holy Hill.The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary sits atop this kame, and visitors can climb up one of its towering steeples for fantastic views that include downtown Milwaukee on a clear day.If you’re not in the mood to hike or considering the route to your trail head, be aware that the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive follows a 115-mile route from Elkhart Lake in the north to Whitewater Lake in the south using various local roads and county highways. All turns and routes are marked clearly so drivers won’t lose their way. Most of the hiking destinations lie along this route as well. While the state forest offers rich woodlands full of fall colours, the occasional post-harvest farm field often features migrating birds, especially sandhill cranes. — Chicago Tribune/DPA

COLOURS: Flowers at the John F Kennedy Memorial frame boats on Hyannis Inner Harbor on a rainy day on Cape Cod. By Ellen CreagerRotaries. Lobstah rolls. Beaches. Widows’ walks.Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are the popular kids of summer vacation in the USA.The Obamas just stayed two weeks on trendy Martha’s Vineyard. This summer’s best-selling beach book, Rumors, is set in tony Nantucket. Cape Cod is so coveted that vacationers spend hours inching along in miles of traffic just to get there.Filled with New Englanders and New Yorkers, the Cape and islands can make a regular person from, say, Michigan, feel like an outsider (“Why does WBZ radio keep telling the weather for the Cayman Islands?” I ask, prompting my husband, normally a nice guy but who, after all, is from Massachusetts, to laugh hysterically at my Midwest dimwit ears that can’t hear “Cape and islands,” which is what this area is collectively called).There is, however, one thing that makes it worthwhile to join the teeming throngs spreading to Falmouth and Edgartown and Oak Bluffs and Chatham and Nantucket and Hyannis. Beauty. Sheer beauty.That, and the feeling that you stepped into a novel, where everything is more vivid than in your plain old dull life back home.Where’s the ferry?The first problem people who are not from the East have is figuring out where the heck these places are. Is the Cape an island? How far is Martha’s Vineyard, and is that a city or what? Where does Nantucket fit into the picture?So a basic geography lesson. All of them are in Massachusetts, USA. The Cape is part of the mainland, south of Boston and Plymouth. It is an hour-long fast ferry trip from Cape Cod to the islands of Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard.The Cape is 339 square miles, and the Vineyard is 87, and Nantucket is 105. All of them have cars and traffic jams. In winter, lots of people still live on the Cape, but the islands are empty of vacationers.Wealth-wise, Nantucket is the most exclusive, followed by the Vineyard, then the Cape. History-wise, all of these places are significant: settled by native people for a thousand years and by Westerners since the 1600s.Everyone on the Cape and islands thinks they are special. Maybe they are.The real star, however, is the climate. Temperate and mild in summer and winter, it always smells good here, with a bracing salt tang and the scent of scrub pines. The light is gentle, with vivid riots of daisies and effervescent blue hydrangeas. The houses are a soothing grey. Down Cape, on the far eastern edge, the Atlantic sweeps in hard on the shore, but the rest of the beaches are delightful and somewhat protected.Where can a beginner start? I’d recommend visiting Cape Cod in the fall — September and October — and taking day trips to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Here are a few tips to get you started:Cape CodMore than other destinations, you will feel the whispers and ghostly presence of generations of vacationers who have been here before you. It is big, so don’t try to see it all. First-timers should try to get out to see the Cape Cod National Seashore, a windswept and rather forbidding swath of natural beauty. For fun, shop in downtown Falmouth, wander the art shacks by the harbour in Hyannis, eat cantaloupe ice cream at the famous Four Seas in Centerville; take a whale watch tour. The Kennedy legacy is big on the Cape; the Kennedy Museum in Hyannis is moderately interesting. You will find excellent beaches all along the southern Cape and warm water through September. Fall is a great festival time, with the Scallop Festival in September and the Wellfleet Oysterfest in October. By the time you leave, you’ll be feeling like a local as you head “off Cape” and “over the bridge” back to the real world.Nantucket A carefully managed island so pleasing to stroll that it looks like a movie set. Thick cobblestone streets, soothing grey cedar shake homes, old mansions of brick, pale yellow and white. The stores are something to marvel at: cashmere shops, a store with giant spherical clocks, a store with $2,000 handmade Nantucket baskets and a dandy department store called Murray’s Toggery Shop. Do not miss the wonderful whaling museum here, which illuminates the island’s past. Nantucket Restaurant Week is in late September and the Nantucket Arts Festival is in October. Best deal on the island? Shuttle buses that charge only $1 for a ride to the beach or elsewhere. A nickname for Nantucket is the “Grey Lady,” but don’t call it that in casual conversation or people will look at you funny.Martha’s Vineyard A joyful island full of lively restaurants and nightlife, celebrities, conspicuous consumption and “Jaws” tourism. Known by locals as “the Vineyard,” it features notable architecture such as a string of “gingerbread” cottages in Oak Bluffs and the classic white town hall in Edgartown. Interesting beaches include the Oak Bluffs Town Beach (Inkwell) and State Beach, where part of Jaws was filmed. This island also has great African-American heritage sites. The Food and Wine Festival is in October. You will fit in even more if you shop at the super-preppy Vineyard Vines clothing store and wear that getup around the island.Lobster AdviceEvery restaurant on the Cape and islands has its claws into lobster rolls. With lobster in season, lobster rolls (either plain, or more authentically, mixed with mayonnaise or other secret ingredients) are on every menu. While they may be plentiful, they are not cheap. A lobster roll meal with fries and coleslaw at the classic waterfront restaurant Baxter’s in Hyannis is $23, while their chicken salad roll is $8.99.Still. The best lobster rolls, with buns, a bit of lettuce and the lobster piled high in the fold, is a delight for those who live far from the lobster’s realm. Ranging from about $18 to $25, the sandwich sings of summer. It feels light. And it’s tasty.One other note? Massachusetts folks are extremely particular about clam chowder. While tourists might like big chunky potatoes in their chowder, locals prefer a more authentic, quite thin, almost gritty, white soup with plenty of clams.It may sound like a lot of regulations and rules, I know. How thin the soup. What texture the lobster. What flowers to grow. What ferries to take. What nicknames are allowed. But the Cape and the islands promise you, it’s worth it. —Detroit Free Press/TNS

IMPRESSIVE: The National Theatre in Skopje. The Macedonian capital Skopje is being rebuilt with expensive showy monuments and buildings to impress By Thomas BreyIt would be a task for many to find Macedonia on a map of the world, or even on one of Europe. The poorest of the former Yugoslav republics mostly gains global attention when refugees storm trains to get out, or when ethnic conflict boils over.A frenzied rebuilding programme in the capital, Skopje, is aimed at overturning patronising perceptions. Its advocates say Skopje is emulating the great big European cities with its own huge statues, fountains, bridges and even a triumphal arch.Macedonia also wants to highlight its contested claims to an ancient and noble history it claims.“We are paying homage to all our ancestors with these buildings,” Macedonia’s chief architect Vangel Bozinovski told dpa. “We are showcasing 8,000 years of our history.”That claim directly contradicts the international scholarly consensus, even found in local Macedonian history books, which say that ancestors of the Slavic Macedonians arrived in the region from Asia in the sixth century during the Great Migration Period.Neighbouring Greece is especially suspicious, perceiving Macedonia’s adulation of the world-conquering Alexander the Great as a covert way to lay claim to the Greek province of Macedonia.“We did not immigrate. We were always here,” insisted Bozinovski.The glorious history of Macedonia, which was Ottoman territory until 1912, is now supposedly represented in Skopje through two dozen neo-classicist buildings, around 40 monuments, the refurbished facades of Communist-era buildings, four new bridges and two large fountains.It’s a big change from the old Skopje, where the centre was dominated by so-called brutalist buildings erected after a disastrous 1963 earthquake. The bare-concrete architecture ended up looking dreary.The new Triumphal Arch — Porta Makedonija — near the parliament building has no relative in the past and is unusual for the present.On the national day on August 1, a new water fountain was inaugurated amid great pomp and the cornerstone was laid for a massive Ferris wheel modelled on the London Eye.Foreign critics have blasted the revamped Skopje, using words like kitsch and Disneyland to describe its awkward attempt to be pretty or posh.Economic expert Branimir Jovanovic, of Solidarnost (Solidarity), a local organisation critical of the government, describes the construction effort of increasingly authoritarian conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s government as an attempt to appeal to nationalists in Macedonia.It became an independent country by splitting from former Yugoslavia 24 years ago.The buildings’ appeal only addresses “Slavic” Macedonians — doing nothing for restive ethnic Albanians, who make up close to one-third of the 2.1 million inhabitants of the country. Albanians took up arms once in 2001 in a fight for more rights.“It is a nationalist project directed against the Albanian minority,” concurs Ulf Brunnbauer, a historian from Regensburg, Germany and an expert for Macedonia.During a rumbling year-long tussle with Gruevski, the opposition in May published wiretaps it had somehow acquired in which Gruevski issues detailed construction instructions to his ministers, talking about buildings he saw and liked abroad.Locally renowned writer Aljosa Simjanovski estimated that the verdict on the new Skopje is yet due.“The people are happy with it. Time will tell who was right,” he recently told the daily Utrinski Vesnik.The style aside, critics blast Gruevski over the cost of the project.The bill has grown from around 80 million euros (89 million dollars) in 2010 to 500 to 600 million euros now. The figures are an estimate, because the government keeps the expenditures for the development of central Skopje a top secret. —DPA visitors.

STILL OPERATING: The Strasburg Railroad began excursion rides in 1959 and continues to offer one-hour round-trips from Strasburg to Paradise. By Rob OwenParents instinctively want to re-create their favourite childhood memories for their own children. When we adopted our son, now 5, he arrived with an innate love of trains that reflected and even outpaced my own childhood devotion to all things railroad. It was only a matter of time before we retraced my childhood visits to railroad sites in this Amish county town in Pennsylvania, USA, with our tow-headed young’un in tow.Strasburg RailroadSince 1959 the Strasburg Railroad has offered excursion rides along its tracks through Amish farm country in lovingly restored coaches that are in extremely good condition, especially compared to some other short-line railroads across the country.Each ride — pulled by a steam engine — is a little less than an hour, and the conductor’s patter hasn’t changed much from what I remember when riding these rails as a child. The conductor still points out the turkey farm the train steams past and teases guests with the notion of a “ghost train” across the valley that responds to the Strasburg Railroad’s whistle.“We pay that ghost $27.50 a day to sit there and blow that whistle back to us,” the conductor joked about the echo.The Strasburg Railroad does offer more coach options than it did two decades ago, including reasonably priced lunches in air-conditioned dining cars. Just last month the Pinball Pendolino Car debuted, offering guests a chance to play pinball while riding the train.Our son arrived at the station dressed in his striped engineer overalls, eager to board the train and equally interested in the station-based add-ons, including hand-propelled Cranky Cars and a miniature steam train originally used at Coney Island (both free for kids 2 and under, $5 ages 3 and up).Red Caboose MotelFor the train fan who visits Lancaster County, there’s really no other choice: You must stay at the Red Caboose Motel, a fixture along the Strasburg Railroad tracks since 1969. Each of the motel’s 40 rooms is a retired train car, 38 cabooses plus one baggage car and one mail car.Larry DeMarco bought the motel in 2005, and he’s renovated many of the cabooses over the past decade. The original room design from the 1970s was marked by tacky composite wood panelling; the cabooses with makeovers feature less dingy accommodations with neutral-coloured walls, larger bathrooms and sometimes reconfigured bunk beds in the caboose’s cupola. (We stayed in Caboose No. 7, which includes a double bed, three bunk beds and a spacious bathroom.)“When I got it, the bank owned it and only four or five rooms were even functional,” DeMarco said. “We had to upgrade the plumbing, the electrical and some other stuff.”A self-described real estate investor, DeMarco was living in Philadelphia when he bought the Red Caboose Motel. “I always wanted a home away from home, and I thought it was something my kids would love,” he said.He moved to Lancaster permanently in 2009. “I like trains, but I wasn’t a train buff. I’m just an adventurous guy who likes trying things.”This summer he rented out the property’s barn and farmhouse for use in the sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, due in theatres next year. (Friday and Saturday nights during the summer, weather permitting, motel guests can watch movies projected on the side of the barn.) “We’re working on getting the barn redone so we can have events there,” he said. “Barn weddings are big now.”The motel includes a dining car serving breakfast, lunch and dinner that’s leased out to a restaurant operator. As a child, it was one of my favourite places to eat because the car was on a hydraulic system that made it bounce as if it was clickety-clacking down the track. During our June visit, the hostess claimed that the system was operational but we couldn’t feel any movement. Also, the music playing wasn’t the endless loop of railroad songs as I remembered from my childhood, a disappointment. But any trip to the Red Caboose Motel is a good trip when you have a pint-sized train devotee in tow who can amuse himself turning the caboose brake wheel and shouting “All aboard!” repeatedly.“We have so many rail fans and former Red Caboose kids who bring their kids, it’s just great,”  DeMarco said. “This place will be here forever because we have so many fans and then there are people just discovering it, too.”Train museumsThree train museums sprang up within a mile of the Strasburg Railroad, two devoted to toy trains and one that displays the real deal.The National Toy Train Museum, situated directly behind the Red Caboose Motel, displays toy trains from the 1800s to the present. It’s more suited to collectors or aficionados of Lionel trains and the like from times gone by. But there are also buttons to push to activate several train sets that offer some appeal to train-crazy kids. The Choo Choo Barn displays one enormous, highly detailed train set, complete with tiny versions of the Strasburg Railroad and Red Caboose Motel among other Lancaster attractions.The enormous set-up also features an A-frame house that routinely catches fire. A firetruck exits a nearby fire station, and when it stops in front of the house that smoke wafts out of, tiny firefighter figures hop off the truck, raise a ladder and real water squirts from their hoses until the faux fire is extinguished. The level of detail holds appeal for children and adults alike.For travellers with time and budget for just one train museum, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is the best bet. This museum boasts an impressive array of railroad equipment — steam and diesel engines, various types of train cars — housed inside a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall.The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is officially dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting objects relating to the history of railroading in Pennsylvania, but it also offers a lot for children, including an educational wing filled with toy trains to play with, a diesel locomotive cab simulator and a steam engine mock-up where kids can shovel “coal” (pieces of black foam) into an engine’s boiler.On the last morning of our stay in this railroad buff’s paradise, our son started barking like a dog from the top bunk in the cupola of our caboose room, which is not unusual. He imitates our dog a lot. When we asked for a translation to English, we knew our trip to Strasburg was a success: “Thanks for bringing me here,” he said sincerely.  —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS

MASSIVE: The penstocks and turbine house of the Itaipu Dam, one of the world’s most powerful hydroelectric power sites, in Paraguay. Water runs away at right after driving the turbines.By Detlef BergIt’s just a narrow bridge that spans the totally unspectacular Parana river. It connects Foz de Iguacu on the Brazilian side with the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este.  It’s hard to believe that the placid waters here will, after just a few more kilometres and a meeting up with the waters of other rivers, spill over the mighty Iguacu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina.Enter Paraguay, a landlocked patch of South America between Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, and you are on virgin territory in tourist terms. The famous South American places are all abroad. You even have to cross the border out to Brazil to see the Falls.“Paraguay is unfortunately an unknown country by and large. It’s not on the tourist map,” concedes a local, Gerhard Franz Beyer. “We are a country without sea or white sandy beaches, but with a surprising variety of nature.”Paraguay does have some technology worth seeing. A few kilometres upstream from Ciudad del Este is an immense hydroelectric power dam, a concrete giant nearly 200 metres high and 8 kilometres long. The Parana river backs up more than 170 kilometres behind the Itaipu Dam. Its name in the local Tupi language means “the singing stone” and it is one of the largest hydroelectric power dams in the world.The turbines and penstocks are on Paraguay’s side of the border, though most of the electricity is taken by Brazil. “It is worth seeing the gigantic power plant,” says Beyer. “It is a joint project of Brazil and Paraguay and there are regular guided tours.” Visitors can go inside the dam and see from close up the 20 huge turbines driven by the plunging water to produce electricity.Beyer, 68, who runs a hotel and restaurant in Ciudad del Este, is thrilled to receive visitors from far continents. His accent discloses his Viennese roots. His grandparents came over from Austria, lured by newspaper ads promising European immigrants free land, in 1934.“They imagined that their beginnings here would be easier than things turned out,” Beyer says, telling his family story over a Vienna-style schnitzel in his hotel’s outdoor restaurant. His disappointed grandparents didn’t have enough money left over to return to Europe. In 1939 World War Two broke out. So they made do.They started up a joiner’s workshop and sawmill. After some time, they had enough money left over to start up a restaurant.Today, Beyer says, “We have a good life here and have put down strong roots.”There is in fact a waterfall worth seeing inside Paraguay, the Salto del Rio Monday. “Naturally it can’t compare with the Iguacu, but you can experience this natural setting without all the tourism hassles,” he says.The next day, a tour of the country with rented cars gets under way, along the Ruta 6 highway. It leads through gently rolling hills, where soybeans are being cultivated left and right and harvested by modern farm equipment.In the town of Bellavista, Tannia Acosta is waiting for the party. She shows visitors around a mate production facility, pointing out the leaves and stems of the growing mate are plucked, then roasted and ground up to make tea.“Mate is our national beverage,” Tannia says, offering each visitor a cup. “Not a day goes by here without this thirst-quencher.”Just a few kilometres from Bellavista are the ruins of the towns of Jesus de Taravanguje and Trinidad de Parana which are on Unesco’s list of world cultural heritage sites. Between 1608 and 1767, Jesuit priests were active in Paraguay, working to convert the Guarani Indians to Christianity. The Jesuits built over 30 small city-states with the aim of having the Guaranis settle down permanently in them.In 1767 the king of Spain drove the Jesuits out, because he thought they were becoming too influential. What remains are the impressive ruins of churches, fortifications and residential houses that they had built.On the road to Asuncion, a side excursion through Caazapa Province leads to Matthias Wagenknecht. Originally from eastern Germany, Wagenknecht headed to Paraguay to take part in a reforestation project after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. “Nobody gets an easy break here,” he says. “You have to really work hard.”Wagenknecht points to a young forest that is a mixture of pine and deciduous trees, and says, “That timber is my capital.” He also has built the Estancia Curuzua, a little guest house.If truth be told, there is not a great variety of things for tourists to do in this sparsely populated region.“If we want to go to the cinema, we have to drive to Ciudad del Este or the capital Asuncion,” he says.It’s a good 200 kilometres to Asuncion. With some stretches of the highway still unpaved, the trip takes more than three hours.The capital is a green city that is now in the process of rediscovering its river, the Rio Paraguay. Many ugly buildings on the bank of the river have been torn down, giving way to an attractive riverside promenade. The imposing government palace is located on the river. The sightseeing attractions of Asuncion are quickly ticked off after the cathedral and the Pantheon, the burial site of the heroes of Paraguay’s war of independence, have been visited. It is worthwhile to simply stroll through the Plaza de la Democracia with its many souvenir stands. And in the evening, those yearning for a grilled steak will head to one of the many churrascarias, where a range of meats are barbecued churrasco style.  —DPA

TRADITION: Papier-mache skeleton figures dressed as musicians for the traditional Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico.By Itzel ZunigaMexicans tend some unique cultural and musical rituals with ancient roots that demonstrate their affinity with death and an obsession with the afterworld.One of these rituals takes place in Veracruz state where indigenous people belonging to the Zoque, Mixe and Popoluca ethnic groups, the latter descendants of the Olmecs, the most ancient culture in Meso-America, help their deceased ones reach the afterworld with music, song, food, dance and even old clothes and shoes and leftovers.  Twenty-one days after a loved one has died, the community gathers together to play “dead and lost-soul ‘sones’” (pronounced ‘sonh-ehs’) as part of a Catholic ritual that has its origins in pre-Hispanic customs. In some villages the family waits 40 days, more in keeping with the Catholic tradition.“The ‘ghost or dead-people sones’ are so called because they are supposed to help the deceased find his or her way. We are talking about 150 ‘sones’, and they are played accompanied by a violin and a ‘jarana’ (pronounced ‘hah-rah-nah,’ a stringed instrument). The tunes are played at midnight. Not all of them: a selection is made,” explained anthropologist, archaeologist and historian Alfredo Delgado.The intention is, following syncretisation with Christian belief, that the music and singing will convince Saint Peter to open the doors of Heaven for the departed. But in fact “what the lost soul does is to re-enact what Homshuk, the Popoluca Deity of Maize, did when he was on Earth for 21 days,” Delgado told DPA.  Delgado, a researcher with the Mexican National Anthropology and History Institute, is an expert in these types of musical forms and compiled a record in 2000 called “Dead and Lost-Soul Sones” which contains 23 ghost songs.   “As in all societies, in pre-Hispanic culture, individuals refused to die. They knew that, inevitably, that moment would come, but they sought ways to avoid it. Thus they created other worlds with opportunities for that time after death,” archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma has written in his book, Death at the Edge of Obsidian: How the Nahuatl People Confronted Death.All Mexicans lavishly celebrate the Day of the Dead in November, a feast that Unesco in 2008 declared a part of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Papier-mache skeletons are made and outfitted with guitars as part of these festivities.The lost-soul “sones” are a form of Jarocho “sones,” that took root in Sotavento, in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Tabasco and Veracruz.In 2014 Mexico proposed that Jarocho “sones” (one says a “son” in the singular) be declared a part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.Jarocho “sones” are lively and gay; they are generally played during a fandango, a popular Mexican feast with music, dance, poetry and song with strong Spanish influence.However ghost “sones” are sadder and with religious overtones. The “sones” chosen at a person’s funeral must match the deceased. For example the “stingray son” is chosen for fishermen, the “horse son” is played for a bargeman or cowboy, a soft “fandango” is played for a woman, and the “son for little ones” when it is a child who has departed.  The ceremony for the deceased person begins with a Catholic mass in his or her honour. Then relatives and friends prepare a special meal shared by all those present.   Then they gather some of the dead person’s belongings. They throw old shoes and clothes into the stream, as they do leftover food from the feast. These items are not considered rubbish but rather objects that nobly fulfilled their purpose and can follow the person on his or her way to the afterworld.Delgado explained that relatives also make an offering of the brains of a hog in the same place. “The intention is to prevent ‘Joonchu,’ a rubber dwarf who lives on the hills, from sucking out the brains of those who broke the rules,” he said.Ancient peoples such as the Nahuatls or Aztecs, the Popolucas and the Toltecs believed that when they died, souls needed to pass through seven underworlds, making their way through a forest filled with animals, a desert or rivers. These elements are found in several post-colonial manuscript books illustrated by indigenous people in Mexico.  Archaeologist Matos Moctezuma mentions the dead-people or lost-soul “sones” in his book. He explained for example that at a ceremony for the deceased, musicians play the “cloud son” so that the dead soul may receive water as he or she crosses through a desert and the “monkey son” for help climbing through a forest.The precise origins of “dead people and ghost sones” are unknown although it is believed that they were created in the 17th century. They have survived through oral tradition.   But experts warn that they are now in the process of disappearing. Fewer and fewer indigenous communities carry out the ceremonies for the dead souls; there are fewer and fewer musicians who can play the “sones” and fewer and fewer artisans making the instruments needed to accompany them.  —DPA

VANTAGE POINT: A digital image from above of buildings to be reconstructed on the site where several alleys of pre-war Frankfurt were destroyed in World War II bombing. At left is the Main river and at back are office skyscrapers. By Ira SchaibleThe reddish facade of a new events venue already reaches upwards alongside the landmark of Frankfurt’s Catholic Cathedral, as the city seeks to turn its architectural clock back to before the devastating bombing raids of World War II.Already complete is the ground floor of the house occupied by an aunt immortalised by the city’s most famous son — national poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — in his autobiography Dichtung und Wahrheit.Several alleys of Frankfurt’s Old City are taking shape again over an area the size of a soccer pitch between the cathedral and the Roemer — a medieval building that has served as city hall for centuries and was itself badly damaged by the bombs.Fifteen historic buildings are being reconstructed and 20 of modern design will fill the gaps, aiming to recreate the cramped conditions that prevailed before Allied bombers destroyed the city centre just a year before the end of the war.“Everything is going to plan,” says Patrik Brummermann. By the start of next year the basic structures of the buildings will be complete.“But we can hand them over only once they are fully finished,” says Brummermann of the DomRoemer company tasked with the project.Most of the work is to be completed by the end of 2017, with the last details of the most noteworthy of the buildings — the house of the “Goldene Waage” (Golden Scales) — being finished at the start of 2018.This half-timbered Renaissance house built by a rich Flemish spice trader in 1619 is to be completely replicated. It abuts the new events venue facing the cathedral square, to be used for parties and concerts, and will remain in the possession of the city authorities.The ground floor will be given over to restaurants to help bring the square in front of the cathedral to life, while the upper floors will be used by the Historical Museum, according to Brummermann.Frankfurt was rebuilt in modern style after the spring 1944 bombing, but with many of its unattractive post-war buildings reaching the end of their life cycle, interest has grown in recreating the look of the past.First a 20,000-square-metre underground carpark was built, then concrete frames copying the pre-war buildings were erected over it, with replica roofs to follow. The interiors will be modern, but the facades will be hand-crafted reproductions of the past.Frankfurt is one of the last German cities to attempt to replicate whole streets of what was lost in the war. Dresden’s centre has, for example, been almost completely rebuilt, despite criticism that the replicas lack the patina and crookedness of age. Critics say Frankfurt’s old-new alleyways will be just too squeaky clean and look like a theme park, not an historic place.Deputy mayor Olaf Cunitz, an historian, defends the creation of a “lively quarter” in the centre of Germany’s financial capital and rejects allegations that a kind of Disneyland is being created.“We are building neither a museum nor an amusement park,” he says. Possessing Germany’s main air hub, wealthy Frankfurt is a major shopping destination for tourists visiting from other continents, and the city hopes they will be enchanted. The Frankfurt project is to cost around 170 million euros (190 million dollars), of which the city will stump up 100 million.How constricted space was before the area was laid waste can be seen from the proximity of the events venue, or Stadthaus, to the cathedral. It blocks a view of the cathedral — a fact that many have complained about. But this is historically accurate and so what was demanded, Brummermann says.For example the distance from the Esslinger — the house occupied by Goethe’s relatives — to its neighbour at the address Markt 20 is just 3 metres. “But that is the most restricted spot,” Brummermann says.It borders the Huehnermarkt — the Chicken Market — where passers-by will be able to have a coffee in front of a fountain.The home of Goethe’s aunt is one of the few with a half-timbered ground floor and will be painted white. The city has decided to retain original colours where possible.The Esslinger, a Gothic half-timbered structure, was built in the mid-14th century, with Goethe’s uncle later having it rebuilt in the style of the Late Baroque. The building will have a commercial use, although it is not yet clear precisely what this will be.Brummermann says that a decision on who will occupy the 20 small shops will be taken only next year. But it has been decided that no high-street chains will be allowed.The 20 new buildings with a total of 54 flats have already been snapped up, with the apartments measuring from a tiny 35 to a generous 190 square metres and costing between 5,000 and 7,200 euros per square metre.By contrast, the space in the Esslinger house, the neighbouring Old Esslinger and the Golden Lamb is not yet on the market, with one possibility that a museum could take some of the space.The “Coronation Route” taken by Holy Roman Emperors from the Roemer to be crowned in the cathedral can already clearly be seen. “The pergola will be the last item that we build,” Brummermann says. — DPA

SUNRISE: Jeff Cianflone and his daughter, Julia, wait for the first glimpse of the sun at Nauset Light beach in Eastham, while vacationing on Cape Cod.By Peter MartekaThe Cape Cod experience in the United States, for some, is lathering on the sunscreen, grabbing the boogie board and riding the waves of the cold Atlantic Ocean. For others, it’s eating freshly shucked oysters and cracking a boiled lobster and extracting meat like a skilled surgeon.But for me, the Cape Cod experience is the scent of the pitch pines and crunch of pine needles under foot. It’s the sun-setting across Cape Cod Bay. It’s standing high on a dune looking out across the Atlantic — “stand there and put all America behind” you, as Henry David Thoreau wrote in his book Cape Cod.For me, the best of Cape Cod runs from Chatham north to the tip of Provincetown. This is the home of Cape Cod National Seashore and its 43,500 acres of kettle holes, pitch pine and scrub oak forests and miles of high dunes and sandy beaches.The seashore was created on August 7, 1961, when American President John F Kennedy signed a bill preserving more than 26,500 acres. During a dedication ceremony in 1966, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall said the new national park was dedicated to “all people who search for a rendezvous with the land.”“Beyond the noise and asphalt and ugly architecture we yearn for the long waves and the beach grass,” he said.So here are a few spots along the Cape’s bended arm — beyond the miniature golf courses and seafood shacks — where visitors can still find Cape Cod on a hike or by visiting a piece of its nautical past.Fort HillAlthough many believe the Cape Cod National Seashore’s Salt Pond Visitor Center is the gateway into the park, your first stop should be Fort Hill, in Eastham. Saved from the bulldozer and subdivisions of huge homes by the creation of the park, the hill has panoramic views across Nauset Marsh to the dunes and waves of the Atlantic Ocean.From the top of the hill, visitors can see a former Coast Guard station rising high on a bluff. Fishing boats pass in and out of an inlet in the marsh and into the Atlantic Ocean. A hiking trail takes visitors through a field filled with wildflowers. A huge glacial erratic boulder sits near the marsh, a popular climbing spot for children and the young-at-heart.The trail continues past rock walls — an homage to the area’s agricultural past dating back to the 1600s — and winds back through the fields to the Penniman House, the former home of whaling captain Edward Penniman. He went to sea at 11 years old and by age 29 was captain of his own ship travelling across the world in search of whales.From Route 6 in Eastham, turn east onto Governor Prence Road, then go right on Fort Hill Road and travel to the parking area at the end of the road. Tours of the Penniman House are 11am Monday and Friday. There is an open house 1-3pm on Wednesdays.Perhaps the most famous lighthouse within the national seashore is Nauset Light, which adorns Cape Cod Potato Chip bags. The lighthouse is also the location of the popular Nauset Light Beach.But before Nauset Light and potato chips, three clapboard lighthouses known as “The Three Sisters” warned mariners of the treacherous sand bars along Cape Cod. Today, the Sisters’ new home is in the middle of an oak and pitch pine forest just to the west of Nauset Light. A trail wraps around the three lighthouses, with a paved path leading to Nauset Light.“The station got a nickname early on its career,” according to the book Life On The Edge, The Lighthouses of Nauset by J Brian West. “From offshore, the three towers looked like three ladies in white dresses with black dress hats and veils peering over the edge of the cliff.”Take Route 6 in Eastham and turn east onto Brackett Road. At end of the road, take a left on Nauset Road and then a right on Cable Road. Look for three lighthouses in the woods about a mile on the left. Tours are 5pm on Sunday and Tuesday with parking at Nauset Light Beach.Wellfleet Bay Wildlife SanctuaryAlthough its outside the borders of the seashore, the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s 937-acre sanctuary showcases the beauty of the Cape Cod Bay side of the outer Cape. With five miles of trails, the sanctuary is home to just about every kind of ecosystem on the Cape, from tidal creeks and marshes filled with scurrying fiddler crabs to deep pitch pine forests and moors filled with wild blueberry bushes.There are a number of overlooks, both man-made and natural, that offer panoramic views of Cape Cod Bay and Great Island. At low tide, the ghostly Billingsgate Island can be seen out in Cape Cod Bay. The island was once home to a fishing community in the 19th century before eroding away. A hike out to Try Island offers some of the most beautiful views.Take Route 6 to Wellfleet/Eastham border and turn west into the sanctuary. There is a fee of $5 for adults and $3 for children.Marconi Site/Atlantic White Cedar SwampThe Marconi Site in Wellfleet is where Guglielmo Marconi — “The Father of Radio” — built his station that sent the first trans-Atlantic wireless telegram from President Theodore Roosevelt to England’s King Edward VII in 1903.Today, only a few cement pads remain where the towers once sat. But the site is home to one of the highest points on the Outer Cape, giving it one of the best views not only of the moors and dunes along the Atlantic, but also out to Cape Cod Bay.The area is also home to the extremely rare Atlantic White Cedar Swamp. It’s the kind of forest that greeted explorers when they first landed on Cape Cod. Only a patch of it remains today, with a 1.2-mile trail winding through a pitch pine forest and boardwalk through the dark swamp filled with huge cedar trees, many of them more than a century old.Turn east off Route 6 at Marconi Beach and then take a quick left for the Marconi site. Follow that to a parking area at the end of the road for both the Marconi site and the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp trail.Uncle Tim’s BridgeFor many, a wooden bridge across a tidal creek is about as Cape Cod as it gets. And Uncle Tim’s Bridge in Wellfleet is a great spot to see the sunset or explore the skeleton of the old Cape Cod Railroad bridge.The bridge spans Duck Creek and allows visitors to watch the tides rise and fall and explore an island with views out to Wellfleet Harbor. A hike along the island’s shore will lead to the old railroad bed and the remains of a bridge that once crossed the creek, bringing rail passengers to Provincetown.Travelling Route 6, turn west onto Main Street in Wellfleet. Take a left on Commercial Street and look for Uncle Tim’s Bridge on the left. There is a small parking area just past the bridge.North Truro Air Force StationOver the past few years, television shows that focus on life after humans have become very popular. A setting for one of those shows could be the former North Truro Air Force Station, a link to our Cold War past abandoned since 1985.Today, the base is home to the Highlands Center at Cape Cod National Seashore — a burgeoning scientific, arts and education community. It is also home to the Woods Walk at Highlands Center, a mile-long trail that wraps around the former radar base to an overlook high above the Atlantic Ocean.Visitors can walk abandoned streets to see the remains of military housing and helipads losing their battle against the Cape Cod forest. Old chain-link fencing is rusting among the bearberry with the blue backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean in the background. An old radar dome that once monitored the skies for Soviet bombers and nuclear missiles stands on a bluff.Follow Route 6 to Truro, turn east onto South Highland Road and then take a right on Old Dewline Road to the old base. There are tours at 3pm on Sundays.“Millions of people will come here in search of solitude, peace of mind and rejuvenation of the spirit which comes from communing with nature and here they will find what they seek,” former Massachusetts Governor John A Volpe said at the dedication ceremony for the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1966.That remains true today as visitors head off to discover their own Cape Cod escape.  —The Hartford Courant/TNS

The new Audi R8 can go from 0-100 in 3.2 seconds, and from 0-200 in 9.9 seconds. The naturally-aspirated V10— one of two variants — delivers 610HP to power the car to its maximum speed of 330km/h. “Car racing has been a part of our Audi DNA for many decades,” says Prof Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Board Member for Technical Development. “Audi stands for automotive dynamism, and this applies very much to our new high-performance R8 sports car. In all technical areas it is extremely close to being a race car. It is the most powerful, fastest and sharpest production Audi ever.”The R8 V10 Plus with 610HP it is the most powerful and fastest production Audi ever built, yet the fuel economy has gone up by 13% compared to the previous R8.In the power train, the lightning-quick shifts of the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission, an optimised mechanical differential lock and a new electro hydraulically activated multi-plate clutch work together. The actively cooled all-wheel drive system can distribute torque freely between the axles. The intelligent dynamic control system for the quattro drive is incorporated into the Audi drive select dynamic handling system that offers four basic modes.In its performance mode, it offers three additional modes: dry, wet and snow. They make handling even more precise and sharper, tuned to the friction coefficient of the specific road surface. The new technology is also available on the R8 V10, including the steering wheel that is used to select the special modes.The new Audi R8 V10 plus has a dry weight of just 1,454 kg. This was primarily due to its newly conceptualised Audi Space Frame (ASF) in multi-material construction – which consists of aluminium and CFRP parts. The ASF weighs just 200 kg. The entire under body has a smooth covering, like on a race car, and the air flow exits via a large diffuser. This increases down force. At top speed, this amounts to 40 kg at the front axle and 100 kg at the rear axle. The large CFRP rear wing also plays an important role in attaining these top figures.The interior of the R8 focuses on the driver. The driver can read off all key information at a glance from the Audi virtual cockpit. The steering wheel, instrument cluster and road all line up along one central visual axis. Drivers can operate all important functions with the multifunction and satellite push-buttons without having to take their hands off the steering wheel or look away from the road.The Audi virtual cockpit is user configurable, and it shows all displays in elaborate 3D graphics – if desired, with one large rev counter and auxiliary gages that show much more information, such as tire temperature and torque output. MMI navigation plus with MMI touch is standard equipment in the new R8. The new R8 is hand crafted at a new plant near Neckarsulm. Its range of optional technology components extends to the sound system from Bang & Olufsen and the Audi laser spot, which doubles the range of the high-beam light. No other Audi production car shows as much affinity for the race track as the new R8. This is also proven by its sister models – the new GT3 race car, the Audi R8 LMS. For the first time, Audi developed the two versions simultaneously, in order to optimally exploit synergies. Both the new Audi R8 and its motorsport variant, the R8 LMS, have made significant performance gains, thanks to the close cooperation between race car engineers, motorsport specialists and developers. Just ten weeks after its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, the R8 LMS made its dazzling entrance on the 24 hour racing scene, seizing overall victory on the Nürburgring.

In August every year car enthusiasts from all over the world gather for the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach to immerse themselves in the fascination of both automotive treasures from years gone by and pioneering studies for times to come. This year, the BMW Group has come up with the world premiere of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R – a car that celebrates both the 40th anniversary of BMW in North America and the heady racing success of the BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975. 1975 was the year the Bavarian manufacturer founded BMW of North America, its first official sales company outside Europe. It was also the year in which BMW Motorsport made its debut in motor racing stateside – in the IMSA series – with a specially made BMW 3.0 CSL. Just a few weeks later BMW recorded its first, historic triumph at the 12 Hours of Sebring. This was followed by a succession of victories, including one at Laguna Seca, just 15 miles from Pebble Beach. BMW’s rookie year duly culminated in the white BMW 3.0 CSL, decked out in eye-catching BMW Motorsport livery, winning the manufacturers’ championship at the first attempt. This success, coupled with the car’s striking design and the “Bavarian Motor Works” legend emblazoned across the sun protection film on the windscreen and rear window, announced the BMW brand’s arrival in racing-mad North America with a bang. “Motor racing is all about the ability of cars to mesmerise, about the unbridled joy of driving,” explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “And as such it represents the heartbeat of BMW. Back in 1975, as today, winning races came down to how man and machine could work together. Technical innovations have taken the effectiveness of this partnership to ever great heights. And with the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R we’re aiming to show how much closer the driver and car can grow in the future.” The helmet visor assumes the functions of a display and projects situation-based information such as the car’s speed, gear engaged and engine revs into the driver’s direct field of view. The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R thus enhances the driver’s direct perception. The side-section design of the large carbon-fibre seat shells reflects the anatomy of the seated driver, thus providing maximum support in any driving situation. At the same time, the seats ensure the driver’s body has the best possible connection with the car, giving him a physical feel for it with almost his whole body, in any situation, and thus allowing him to react faster and more effectively. A carbon-fibre roll cage integrated into the structure of the car’s roof and side sections forms the basis for the interior’s singularly minimalist geometry. The only “comfort” functions are the two vents on the sides of the steering column, which supply the driver with fresh air at ambient temperature. The exterior design of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R is a pure expression of motor racing. The stretched body is framed by distinctive air deflectors, powerful wheel arches and a prominent rear spoiler, which likewise cite the successful IMSA racing version of the original BMW 3.0 CSL. Every detail of the Hommage car has its origins in the successful racing machine from 1975, but all have since been updated and integrated technically into a modern design language. The colours and graphics used, not to mention the addition of a number 25, reference the extraordinary record of success notched up by the works BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975. “Both inside and outside, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R is primarily a reflection of its function,” explains Karim Habib, Head of Design BMW Automobiles. “The exterior and interior design is based around the requirements of motor sport as far as the car and driver are concerned; aerodynamics and driving dynamics on the one hand, the most direct connection between driver and machine on the other. In my view, that’s something the Hommage car expresses in a very emotional way. At the same time, all the details from the BMW 3.0 CSL are present in the Hommage model. And they are all there to be discovered in their original form. It’s a bow to the 1975 car.”

AFP/Bishkek Plump passengers beware! The national airline of Uzbekistan says it has begun weighing those travelling along with their carry-on luggage. The isolated Central Asian state's carrier said that it had introduced the new regulations out of concern for "flight safety". "According to the rules of International Air Transport Association, airlines are obliged as a rule to weigh passengers with their hand baggage to ensure flight safety," Uzbekistan Airlines said in a statement posted online on Thursday. The International Air Transport Association has, however, denied knowledge of such a regulation. The airline took the statement down from its website following a storm of media interest. There are very few airlines that weigh humans in addition to baggage at check-in. One other exception is the Pacific island of Samoa, where obesity is rampant and the country's national carrier has introduced extra-large seats.

VARIETY: No redevelopment project has received more attention in Memphis than its pyramid, which has been turned into a Bass Pro Shops, and includes a hotel, bowling alley and shooting range. By Josh NoelI woke at 8:30 one Friday morning in a pitch-black hotel room, slipped on a robe, pulled back the curtains between me and my balcony and stepped out for a stunning Memphis view: hundreds of people ambling through the aisles of a Bass Pro Shops store.It wasn’t just any Bass Pro Shops outlet. It was the world’s largest, and the only one housed in a big, shiny pyramid along the Mississippi River where the floor is packed with things such as fishing poles, guns, sunglasses, boats floating in water, fake cypress trees, real alligators, the tallest free-standing elevator in North America and, of course, camouflage for men, women and children of all shapes and sizes.And, literally, my hotel balcony looked onto this teeming mass of shopping humanity. That Friday morning, as I relaxed in a wood rocking chair and sipped a cup of room-brewed coffee, a woman in culottes and a flowered shirt browsed the T-shirt selection just below me. About 50 yards away, a young family boarded one of the boats parked at the dock built within the Bass Pro ecosystem. Fortunately, the gun counter was beyond my view.The unlikely, if slightly surreal, hotel experience was the culmination of a Memphis makeover that has caught fire in recent years and brought fresh life not only to the city’s long-dormant Pyramid but to Memphis itself.Tennessee’s largest city long has been a destination: Elvis’ Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum (which previously was the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated), the 90-year-old Peabody hotel, the tourism magnet that is Beale Street, a rich barbecue landscape and the Sun and Stax record studios.But recent years have been good to Memphis and made it a city worth visiting for much more than barbecue and Beale: restaurants, art galleries, two new music museums and, of course, one of the world’s largest pyramids, refashioned into a massive outdoors emporium.“I can’t believe how different it is,” said Jake Hall, 29, whom I met at the coffee shop near downtown where he worked. He described himself as a “die-hard Memphis guy” who moved away for college, then came back to a city that was in the midst of slow change. In recent years, that change has accelerated.“It’s totally a different place,” Hall said. “It’s crazy how much more open-minded things feel here.”The first thing he cited, when asked where he saw the change, was safety. A rejuvenated downtown has mellowed the streets, he said, and newer restaurants have brought stability. Attitudes have become looser and more progressive.Construction and rehabilitation projects are dotted through the city, like the long-abandoned 1.5 million-square-foot Sears Crosstown building, which sits just east of downtown. Hall said he and his buddies would break into the building during their high school years just for something to do. As an adult, he’s thrilled to see it finally being put to use.Long-depressed neighbourhoods are getting jolts from new businesses, especially restaurants that boast menus full of fresh and locally sourced ingredients. The ghosts of old Memphis still hang over the city, in the weathered and lovely brick buildings that fill downtown. But these days, they’re home to restaurants with fresh ideas, such as Tamp & Tap, which pours cold-brew coffee from a tap and has a menu geared more toward “fresh and local fare” than, say, fried okra.The changes managed to lure brothers Davin and Kellan Bartosch home. The brothers were raised in Memphis, and both left to work. But when they decided to open their own business, which they named Wiseacre, they came home. Wiseacre quickly has garnered a national reputation.Wiseacre sits on a stretch of Broad Avenue in central Memphis, where the Bartosch brothers admit they never would have guessed that they would own a business. Kellan Bartosch called it “a post-apocalyptic wasteland” when they were kids. Now it’s home to Wiseacre, a hip new coffee shop called City & State and one of the city’s most buzzed-about new restaurants, Bounty On Broad.Overton Square, about two miles from Broad Avenue, has seen a similar revitalisation. One of the city’s more popular areas in the 1970s, Overton Square fell into several decades of disarray before bouncing back during the last couple of years with new restaurants (brand-new burger spot Belly Acres is a gem), a yoga studio and a wide concrete court where people are free to play cornhole (or “bags,” as it also is known) throughout the day.“There’s definitely a feeling of the youth taking back over,” Davin Bartosch, 36, said. “And I’m kind of old to be saying that.”“People we grew up with are opening great restaurants,” Kellan Bartosch, 34, said. “It’s taken a while, but people are very excited about what’s happening.”As several other locals did, the brothers attributed a piece of the city’s revival to the presence of the Memphis Grizzlies, a National Basketball Association franchise that moved from Vancouver in 2001 and has been one of the league’s better teams in recent years. Davin Bartosch admits he thought the team wouldn’t last five years in Memphis; the city couldn’t, and wouldn’t, support a professional sports franchise, he figured. Instead, the team added a new reason for people to spend time downtown and offered a cause to rally around.“I was totally wrong,” he said. “And now I love the Grizzlies. I’m up at 12:45am watching them when I know I need to be at the business at 6 the next morning.”And then there is that pyramid. Excitement, or at least curiosity, about the project was palpable during my visit to the city. Every time I gazed down at the shopping floor from my room, there was at minimum a healthy number of people milling about, and at most a storm of eager shoppers. The second Saturday afternoon that the store was open, the aisles were an absolute madhouse, not unlike the anthills we can stare at endlessly as children. As I exited an elevator that’s open only to hotel guests, a woman asked in a thick drawl, “How are the rooms?” When out and about, I mentioned to a local that I was staying in the Pyramid. “The one that opened eight days ago?” he asked with awe (as if there could have been another option).Perched at the intersection of Interstate Highway 40 and the Mississippi River, the Pyramid opened in 1991 as a basketball and concert arena. Along with the occasional graduation or religious events, it continued to live that life until the city opened a new downtown arena for the Grizzlies in 2004. The Pyramid sat largely dormant for the next decade.There was discussion about turning it into a casino or a theme park. There was talk of knocking it down. And there was chatter about turning it into the world’s largest Bass Pro Shops store. After many false starts — and tens of millions of dollars kicked in by taxpayers — the Bass Pro outlet opened at the end of April. There has been plenty of criticism of the project, and questions have been raised about whether it is well-spent tax money; The Atlantic magazine’s CityLab website asked in December, “Is Memphis Making (Another) Massive Mistake With Its Pyramid?” and concluded mostly in the affirmative.But mistake or not, the refurbished Pyramid has landed. In addition to the massive shopping space, it includes a bowling alley, gun range, archery range, two restaurants, an observation deck at the top of that 36-story elevator and the 103-room Big Cypress hotel, where most of the rooms don’t face out — they face the retail.As I toured the hotel during the first week it was open, I asked the manager, Lana McDonald, to describe the target audience. I confessed that I didn’t know many people who would want to spend at least $259 a night (that’s the starting cost) for a hotel room that looks out onto a Bass Pro Shops store.“The target audience is the extreme outdoor enthusiast and families who want to have fun,” McDonald said.Wouldn’t that cost put off some extreme outdoor enthusiasts? McDonald said the cost reflects more than a hotel room: It’s an immersive shopping experience crossed with the handful of activities. Sort of like a theme park, I suggested. Exactly, she said.The cliche, “We have something for everyone,” is usually grounds for letting your attention drift elsewhere, but when McDonald said it, she followed with, “You can spend a relaxing day in our spa or bring your gun and shoot in our shooting range!” And that seemed to make the notion somewhat true.There still were a few kinks to be ironed out when I visited. When Memphis was hit with a heavy storm, a drip emerged on the roof of my porch, presumably coming from a crack somewhere in the Pyramid wall. (Patching a leak in a pyramid must be one of life’s worst home fix-it jobs.) Traffic could be fierce, and parking was like a competitive sport (though there seemed to be plenty of spaces). Though I self-parked, I later learned that the hotel doesn’t allow self-parking and that a guest’s only option is to spend $20 per night for valet service. (I’ve never heard of such a practice before, and the hotel should drop it.)But all in all, designers seem to have succeeded in the task of converting 535,000 square feet into an unlikely retail and hotel space. The store itself has been made to look more or less like a big cypress swamp, with 80-foot (fake) oak trees towering about the floor. It is a dim space, with bridges connecting the store’s various pieces over waters that include fish and two alligators (there were four, but two didn’t take to Pyramid living).The chaos that is hundreds of people shopping in a massive open space has been reined in admirably and turned into a moderate din of white noise that is pierced mostly by the occasional shrieking child or duck call (emanating from the waterfowl department, naturally).Designers also paid admirable attention to detail in the 103 rooms. They’re appointed with rustic wood touches and trim throughout and include at least a couple of pieces of taxidermy on the walls. The hotel notes with a card placed in every room that “the mounts on display have been acquired through generous donations and from existing private and museum collections.”In other words, no animals were harmed in the making of this hotel — this very large and very unlikely hotel in the heart of Memphis. — Chicago Tribune/TNS