A few years back I thought my skiing days were over when Graham announced halfway through a week in Ischgl that flying down mountains strapped to thin bits of metal was not something he considered a particularly safe, let alone enjoyable, way to pass the time. But then family came to my rescue and gave me…
Author: Stephen
King Ludwig’s Linderhof
King Ludwig II of Bavaria lived a strange life. Forced to surrender the independence of his kingdom to the all-consuming Prussia, reclusive and sexually confused, he sought consolation in the theatrical scores of Wagner and fantastical architectural projects. The palaces he built are among Bavaria’s most popular tourist attractions but for the king they sustained…
Dusseldorf: The architecture of MedienHafen
Contemporary architecture has given a new lease of life to Dusseldorf’s old harbour. The district known as MedienHafen features striking buildings by such world famous architects as Frank Gehry, David Chipperfield, Joe Coenen, Steven Holl and Claude Vasconi. On a day blessed with beautiful blue skies, it would be the conclusion to our walk through the…
Dusseldorf: A visit to Schloss Benrath
Dusseldorf isn’t blessed with palaces and historic houses but it does have Schloss Benrath, a summer retreat built for royalty in the late 18th century. It was our principal destination on a cold and misty December Saturday. Near our city centre hotel, the Hofgarten park looked fresh and inviting, its leaf-less trees throwing long shadows…
Dusseldorf: Art, museums and memorials
Dusseldorf may not be one of Germany’s picture postcard cities but it’s only an hour’s hop by air from London and has a festive Christmas market to brighten those depressing December days. Our base for a weekend break was the modern and comfortable Melia on the edge of the park known as the Hofgarten, a short…
A stop at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Canada
With a red-eye flight from Toronto to look forward to at the end of our Canadian trip, we needed somewhere to spend a few hours on the way from Niagara-on-the Lake to the airport. The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington were the obvious choice for a green-fingered pair. After checking out of our plush hotel,…
Niagara-on-the-Lake: Just a little too perfect?
Niagara-on-the-Lake is one of the most picturesque towns I’ve had the good fortune to visit. But there’s also something a bit odd about it. After a couple of days exploring, I couldn’t help but feel a bit spooked. It’s just a bit too perfect, and its population just a little too nice. It brought to…
The vineyards of Niagara-on-the-Lake
I had no idea that Canada had a wine industry. As far as I was concerned it was too far north and far too cold. But as we discovered, Ontario is positively Mediterranean in its latitudes and its summers are hot and sunny. Planning our Canadian trip, we read that the Niagara Peninsula is one…
Niagara Falls: A natural wonder scarred by greed
Niagara Falls is a spectacle of epic proportions. Niagara Falls the town is grim, an example of how greed and tourism at its worst can come close to destroying its reason for being. I spent our day and night there trying to ignore the ugly buildings and brazen commercialism, to focus instead on the waterfalls….
Toronto: Cabbagetown and the CN Tower
Wherever we went in Toronto, the soaring CN Tower haunted us. The city’s trademark building dominates the skyline by day and by night, when it’s illuminated in a rainbow of colours. I loved it. But before we took our inevitable trip to the top, we had a few other stops to make on the city’s…
Cycling the Toronto Islands and a stop at the beach
Toronto residents are a lucky bunch for a number of reasons but up there near the top are the beaches. There are plenty to choose from – not least a district called The Beaches – but we opted to visit the Toronto Islands, which lurk just offshore in Lake Ontario and offer plenty of cycle…
Toronto: Historic homes and a cider festival
After a day of rain, we woke in Toronto to sunshine ready to visit some great houses and explore the city’s history. But late-night revellers and the sirens of a city weekend had meant for a broken night of sleep so it wasn’t easy dragging ourselves away from the duvet to grand Casa Loma. Still,…
Toronto: A museum, a distillery and a market
There was no mistaking that we were staying slap bang in the middle of Toronto’s Entertainment district. Throughout our first night we were woken by police sirens and Friday night drunks shouting their way home from the bars and clubs. I somehow managed to get some sleep despite the racket but a disturbed night and…
Bateman’s and a walk through Sussex
A sweltering weekend offered the chance to escape the urban streets of London for a hike in the glorious heart of rural Sussex. We opted for a 9-mile walk from Stonegate to Robertsbridge, taking in the manorial home of author Rudyard Kipling – Bateman’s. And it was a walk that rekindled a few memories too. The…
Whitstable: Food, beer and sunshine
Our day out in Whitstable was accompanied by wall-to-wall sunshine and scorching temperatures. If only all our visits to the English seaside were in such glorious weather… On the north Kent coast and long popular with the bucket and spade brigade, Whitstable’s also become a trendy destination for Londoners seeking fine food. The town’s famous…