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Traveling Through the Alphabet part 4

Here we are, a continuation of https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/traveling-through-the-alphabet , https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/traveling-through-the-alphabet-part-2 and just completed https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/traveling-through-the-alphabet-part-3

same rules as before which were -

Rules: In order through the alphabet, please use the letter after the
previous...

Can be a place name or a country name...

Can you tell us anything about the place and something about an
experience you had there or would like to have there...

Just a little fun for a late spring, early summer weekend - heck
something for the week too

The last post in the original thread was number 2645, and the last post in part 2 was 617 and the last post in part 3 was 457 so just add 3,719 to the thread post count in this part 4 to see where we really are.

We originally started on Saturday May 30, 2020, and when that filled up and messed with the Forums' page server we had to start a Part 2, so we did start Part 2 on Monday, January 30, 2023, Part 3 on Saturday July 6th, 2024 and this Part 4 on Saturday May 17, 2025 - we have been going for exactly 1814 days.

Coincidence isn't it that all new threads except for Part 2 have started on a Saturday... I didn't see that coming...

Or 4 years, 11 months, 18 days.

Or 59 months, 18 days.

or 13 days short of 5 years

WOW

What a RIDE

See you all here from now on, and can I say how wonderful it is to see so many new faces in addition to out stalwart supports who have been with us from the start...

Happy Alphabeting......

Posted by
35795 posts

Round 113 Reached on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 (right after midnight here in the UK) in only 21 days. (Fred for rolling over into this special round with A is for Berlin Alexanderplatz.) at effective post number 420 of this series 3, and post 3,682 overall; or E62 in hexadecimal.

Round 114 Reached on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in FOUR days. (Cyn with for rolling over after the special round with A is for Art Hotel in Wroclaw, Poland) at effective post number 4 of this series 4, and post 3,723 overall; or E8B in hexadecimal (it may be hard to see the 8 vs the B so the hex number is Echo 8 Bravo).

Round 115 Reached on Sunday, June 1, 2025 in 16 days. (Avirosemail with Adler Street in London) at effective post number 35 of this series 4, and post 3,754 overall; or EAA in hexadecimal.

Round 116 Reached on Monday, August 25, 2025 in a record 86 days, almost exactly all summer. (joe32F with Alta Vista, the trail walk on Mt Rainier) at effective post number 63 of this series 4, and post 3,782 overall; or EC6 in hexadecimal.

Round 117 Reached on Saturday, September 20, 2025 in a 26 days, (Fred with Ardennes, and Champagne Ardennes at that) at effective post number 89 of this series 4, and post 3,808 overall; or EE0 in hexadecimal (cute eh?).

For what it's worth....

Posted by
35795 posts

please start just below, starting with rollover with letter A

Back to the normal Alphabet now please

Posted by
8506 posts

A

Art Hotel in Wrocław, Poland, from where I’m posting this. Some tidbits:

Rick Steves doesn’t include Wrocław in his guidebook, but it’s the fourth largest city in Poland, and from what little I’ve seen so far, it’s prettier than Kraków or Warsaw. The city is pronounced “vrotes-wahv,” not “row-claw.”

Arriving last evening after a long train journey and lots of rain, we tried to get into the hotel. The main entrance was up several steps, which were all completely covered by businessmen smoking cigarettes or vape pens. I had to push through them to get into the hotel, as they wouldn’t make way for a woman in her 70’s lugging a suitcase into a hotel. My guess is that none of them were Polish.

Dinner at the hotel’s restaurant was good. They feature seasonal ingredients, so right now, in addition to the regular menu, they have a special asparagus (Szparagowe) menu. This includes white asparagus, which was also once featured on a menu, and thoroughly enjoyed in Switzerland about this time of year, but many, many years ago. It’s grown covered up, so that it doesn’t develop a green color. It’s also very thick, but compared to asparagus at home that’s hard and fibrous whenever it’s any thicker than about a quarter of an inch, this white asparagus was tender and delicious. It was also prominent at the indoor market we went to this morning.

The Art Hotel publishes a book (for sale here for 50 Polish złoty, about $13, with the translated English title, “Around the World in 77 Days 1904-1905.” Released in 2005, a hundred years after this fictitious story ends, and also a hundred years after the death of Jules Verne, author of another circumnavigational story, but which needed 80 days. This one involves Ferdynand Deseire, a Pole whose surname came from his French Father. To win a £1 million bet, his team sets out from London in December 1904, to traverse Earth in 77 days. The book is a series of 77 paintings by Polish artist Janusz Klekot. The protagonist, Ferdynand Deseire, looks curiously like Jules Verne, long white beard and all.

The hotel has 77 rooms, and each features a different panting from the book. They say you’d need to stay here 77 times to see them all. Ours depicts “Aczyńsk” (Atchynsk or Achinsk for non-Polish-readers), a place in Russia about 500 miles north of the point where Russia, Kazakhstan, and China meet, on December 30, twenty-five days into the journey. It features Siberian huskies and a sled, in addition to chilly-looking people.

The book also includes an image of Warsaw, naturally, and a meeting with Tsar Nicholas II who gives them a Letter of Safe Conduct for passage through Russia. Because of the Russo-Japanese war at the time, though, they have to detour south to Shanghai, and then steam to Hawaii (Hawaje). Reaching the USA, they pass through Yuma (Juma), seven years before Arizona became a state, then El Paso, Texas. Two days later they reach Fort Worth, Texas, after passing through Kolorado (Colorado). Huh?!? The map accompanying the book suggests they stayed down in Texas, and didn’t venture so far north to Colorado, then back down to Texas. There is a Colorado City in Texas, so theoretically that’s it, but the painting showed tower rock formations, and red soil, which doesn’t quite add up. Artistic license, I guess.

They later fly in a hot air balloon in Indianapolis, where I was born. Even later, arriving in Liverpool, Day 77 is then a train to London.

From our room on the fourth (Polish third) floor, I can see down the street to a ramen restaurant that has continually had a long line waiting outside the door, last night and all day today. Their noodle bowls must be exceedingly good, or exceedingly cheap.

Posted by
35795 posts

Congratulations to Cyn for taking us into Alphabet ROUND 114 with Art Hotel in Wroclaw, Poland.

Much appreciated as always, adding to Cyn's collection of Nauga stars. You'll need a bigger closet soon.

Thanks to all and appropriate Nauga stars to Cyn!!

Posted by
15648 posts

C

is for Cambrai, France.

Located in Northern France this important town has had me visit it up to now only once over 20 years ago and unfortunately hurriedly, seeing only the centre ville. Obviously, my day visit from Arras was far too superficial and that another more deliberate visit is called for, ie this coming trip.

If you're interested in tracking down WW1 sites, visiting Cambrai and immediate surrounding is important.

Posted by
569 posts

D is for Daugava River in Latvia.

The Daugava runs through Riga. On one bank is the historic Old Town; opposite lies the beautiful National Library.

Posted by
9872 posts

F

Fargo North Dakota, USA

Also the title of a film for which actress Frances McDormand won her first of 3 Oscars. It was also an
Emmy winning TV series that ran on the FX channel for 5 seasons.

Posted by
3185 posts

There is a statue portraying Gandhi sitting in a lotus position that was installed in 1968 in a square near Euston Station (see E above).

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1378971

It commemorates the 100th anniversary of his birth or the 20th anniversary of his assassination, depending on one's proclivities.

It was unveiled by Harold Wilson on this week in May

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Mahatma_Gandhi,_Tavistock_Square

[Note that 1968 was a big year for this area in London. I wonder when it would appear in the news again? (...building suspense...)

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3185 posts

***Hogarth House* was where Virginia Woolf and her husband started a printing press as a hobby while they weren't writing themselves, so they named it Hogarth Press.

They ended up publishing writers that included TS Eliot, EM Forster, and a lot of translations of Russians like Dostoevsky.

In 1924 they moved the press to their townhouse on Tavistock Square, close to Euston Station (see E above)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogarth_Press

Posted by
2718 posts

Inwood, Manhattan area of New York City. Located at the most northern section of Manhattan, this is a unique area bounded by the Hudson and Harlem Rivers and home to the Cloisters a division of the NY Metropolitan of Art dedicated to ancient history. it is a truly beautiful building and The view from this on a good day allows you to see across the Hudson River to the New Jersey Palisades, a high cliffside section of New Jersey overlooking the river.

Posted by
3185 posts

For about forty years on either side of 900 CE what is now the city of York was instead known as

Jórvík

because it was being run by Vikings making a long stopover.

Posted by
9872 posts

K

Kettleman City

The location of the In n Out Burger I stop at when driving on I-5. Helps break up the monotony.
Double Double with fries!

Also helps there’s a nearby Chevron gas station. Food and fuel!

Posted by
103 posts

L is for Łódź Poland, the city where my paternal grandfather was born in 1899. Łódź is pronounced "Wootch." Łódź is known as a former textile-manufacturing hub, which I find fascinating because my grandfather eventually worked in the NYC garment industry, or the "Schmatta Business" as we say in Yiddish, AKA "Yidglish" or "Yinglish.". (Schmatta means "rag" or "old ragged garment" in Yiddish. The word is very similar in Polish, which is not surprising since Yiddish is a mishmash - yes, another Yiddish word, BTW -- of Slavic, Germanic, and Hebrew words.) This was a common vocation for Jews of his generation, as it was for many immigrants. He later owned a sewing machine shop.

As we are remembering the 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII, I have been reading and watching documentaries about various aspects of the war. I got chills when I recently learned that the Łódź Ghetto was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of German-occupied Europe after the Warsaw Ghetto.

I thank my great grandparents every day that in the early 1900s (when my grandfather was quite young), they understood that it was time to leave. That is true for all of my great grandparents, especially those from Ukraine. I do not know the full story of the reasons for the migration, but I imagine it's something akin to this, "they're trying to kill us, it's time to leave." The timing is about right, as the pogroms against Jews were escalating in the region. A common story, unfortunately; certainly not one that is unique to my family.

I have not been to Poland, and I'm not sure I will ever be ready to go there. But the history lessons are so important.

I recognize that I've touched on a heavy topic amidst other ones that are more lighthearted. Thank you for listening.

Posted by
103 posts

M is for Marais

OK, I'll lighten it up a bit, although I will continue somewhat on a Yiddishkeit theme. (Yiddishkeit is loosely translated as the quality of Jewishness.) And I'm taking a page from Avi's playbook by immediately posting the next letter in the alphabet.

I love Le Marais, in the 3rd and 4th Arr. of Paris. I knew I wanted to stay there on my first trip to Paris as a solo traveler in 2013. I stayed in a studio apartment, in the St. Paul neighborhood just north of the Seine, for 10 days. In addition to all the amazing museums and other sites in that area, I appreciated being near the Jewish quarter and soaking up so much Jewish culture... Falafel Row on Rue des Rosiers, The Jewish Art & History Museum. the Holocaust Memorial (where my friend's grandmother is memorialized by name in the 1942 section, identifying those who were deported from Paris to Auschwitz).

Even if I stay in another area of Paris, I always make a point to visit Le Marais, whether it's to hang out in Place des Vosges, visit the Picasso Museum, or enjoy a galette at Breizh Café. It feels like home now.

Posted by
9872 posts

N

Nevada Falls Hike, Yosemite

Good day hike. 7.3 miles up and back.

Fun is on the Mist Trail part of the climb.

Posted by
4060 posts

O is for Orth auf Fehmarn

A very beautiful small village on the island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea. Once a secret place, only well known for owners of small yachts as a stop before / after sailing or motoring over to Denmark.

My memory was that in my young teen days I sailed with friend family K. on their yacht and we stopped there for 2 nights. Wonderful daughter Chris wanted to bike the island and I was following here with some pink glasses. The whole day we cycled up to Burg auf Fehmarn and back with folding bicycles. I rarely had a worse sunburn in my life. Oh man, that must have been young love.

Today most Germans have seen Orth (btw not like Ort from High German) in the very beloved TV crime series "Nord bei Nordwest" (North by Northwest). So, no secret place any longer.

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3185 posts

Passfield Hall is an undergrad dorm at the London School of Economics (LSE) which wouldn't normally be notable for a travel discussion BUT it also happens to be in use as traveler accommodation.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/halls/passfield-hall

This is their hostel listing on booking.com to prove it:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/lse-passfield-hall.html?

Pasted from that link:

This historically listed building offers bed and breakfast accommodations in Bloomsbury, one of the most popular areas of central London. It features a unique mix of classic Georgian architecture, and modern facilities like Wi-Fi, which is available free of charge.
Other features at LSE Passfield Hall include a games room where guests can play table football, a TV room, and a kitchen area with a microwave, kettle, toaster and fridge.
Rooms at Passfield Hall are cozy and simply furnished, with traditional décor. Each has a desk, a wardrobe for storage space, and some also have an private bathroom.
The attractions of London’s West End are within walking distance, including the British Museum and British Library. London Euston Underground Station is a 5-minute walk from the building. Passfield Hall is a London School of Economics' student residence, which is open to the public as a hotel in the summer, spring, and winter vacations.

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715 posts

Q is for Quarnstedt, a collection of homes near Kellinghusen in northern Germany. It's unremarkable except that it dates back to the 1200s. If I had to guess, it's probably home to a few hundred people at most. But hey, it starts with Q (Quarn is a derivative of an old word meaning mill).

Posted by
8506 posts

R

Rynek, which is Polish for the Main Town Square. In the case of Toruń, Poland, which we just departed this morning for Warsaw, the medieval part of town has two Ryneks, the Old Town Rynek, and the New Town Rynek, which is just 31 years newer.

Way back in 1233, Toruń was granted Town status, and had a requisite square, but prospered so much that a new town on the other side of the protective town wall was soon needed. It was chartered in 1264, and got its own market square. Most of that medieval wall is gone, and the New and Old towns are now collectively called “Old Town,” but the Ryneks are still identified by Old and New.

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3185 posts

Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury

is informally known as the peace square because of the memorials located there, including the Gandhi statue (mentioned above) and a Hiroshima memorial cherry tree and a conscientious objectors memorial stone.

This is especially notable because on 07 July 2005, Hasib Hussain detonated a bomb on a route 30 bus idling on the west side of the square. The explosion killed 13 passengers, plus Hussain himself. Many others were injured. This was part of the 7/7 suicide attacks

Apart from the bombers, 52 people of 18 different nationalities were killed and nearly 800 were injured in the 7/7 attacks, which were timed for the morning rush hour. [None were from the USA so the event does not lodge in American memories, perhaps.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings

https://bloomsburysquares.com/the-squares/tavistock-square/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/macollections/albums/72157709040686182/with/53830776048

A memorial honoring the victims and the efforts of those who gave assistance was unveiled in September 2018.

Posted by
4060 posts

Seems the S was missing.

S is for Stade

Stade is a beautiful small town close to Germany's second largest city Hamburg. It has an old town part and an old harbor. It is really worth visiting also in combination with Altes Land - a tip for foodies looking for special and old fruit varieties.

@Nigel and other train fans: Stade is also start / end point of the Moorexpress to / from Bremen. It leads through a beautiful lowland landscape through the Devil's Moor.

Next letter is "U".

Posted by
10575 posts

The 7/7 memorial mentioned above is a very sombre, unphotogenic memorial, deliberately so, which often gets covered by undergrowth in the summer. It was originally across the road at BMA (British Medical Association) House. They have their own memorials to members lost in both world wars.
7/7 is regarded as a defined "conflict" by the IWM.
It is one of 20 known memorials across the country to 7/7- including two memorials of solidarity produced by US Servicemen based at Lakenheath and Croughton- both now at Bury St Edmunds Town Hall
At 51 Tavistock Square was the Victory Club for Ladies commemorating all women who served in WW1. As a club it was short lived and the building was destroyed in the Blitz in 1940
And look up on Woburn House (North East corner of the square) and there is a plaque to two members of the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) lost in a different WW2 incident - one of a large series of such plaques across Greater London - supposedly covering every AFS Loss.

Posted by
15648 posts

T

is for Tarnow, Poland.

When I was in Krakow in 2001, I didn't realise or simply forgot the this town was close.

Had I remembered that piece of salient information, I would have done a day trip for a couple of hours from Krakow to see this WW1 connected historical town , logistically very doable and easy since the hotel was right by the Krakow central station.

Not until our departure day from Krakow did I see on the platform showing the next train to Tarnow.

Posted by
3185 posts

[Aargh, @isn31c !!

You're getting ahead of the plot --

I was saving Woburn House for when this round got to the 'W'.

Darn.

Now we're at sixes and sevens in this round which is neither sixth nor seventh.

Mea culpa for botching it all up.]

Posted by
715 posts

U is for Überseequartier, a section of Hamburg's Hafencity. The area is supposed to be sleek and modern, but I find it a bit soulless. But that's me, and I don't spend a lot of time there. And it certainly beats the dead space that was there, so there's that. And the design is supposed to be super eco-friendly.

Posted by
10575 posts

W is for Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, England

This was a Cistercian Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, after which it was given to the Duke of Bedford, and they built their grand house there instead. It was visited by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (2nd and 3rd US Presidents).
The house, gardens, deer park and safari park are still owned by the Duke of Bedford.
In WW2 the Abbey was the home of the Political Warfare Executive - a propaganda unit who after the war also "re-educated" German Prisoners of War.
At one time the family owned most of Bloomsbury, London - hence Woburn House in Tavistock Square (above)- a holding now much reduced but still significant.

EDITED - I have put the word "re-educated" into quotation marks in deference of my German colleagues on here.

Posted by
3185 posts

Xi'an has a population of about six million and the larger metropolitan area is now at twice that much.

The Muslim quarter is a popular tourist destination, not unlike the Rue de Rosiers in the Marais, because most tourists go there for the food -- in this case lamb stew and kebabs instead of falafel.

Posted by
4060 posts

Y is for Y 880

Y 880 was the number of submarine "Wilhelm Bauer" as ship in the fleet of the Federal Republic of Germany. Originally it was build and sunk as class XXI submarine U-2540. These former new submarines to start a new wave of successful submarine war but came to late into operations.

Today visitors can see it as museum boat sponsored by the Wilhelm Bauer Technology Museum Association in the Old Port in Bremerhaven, where the German Maritime Museum is also located.

A must-see for WWII weapon interested people on their way between Amsterdam and Hamburg.

Posted by
35795 posts

This little project originally started on Saturday May 30, 2020, at 1:51pm British time.

It is now Saturday May 31st, 2025 and I note that after the most recent post of submarine Y 880 posted by MarkK we have gone past that time by a day. The next post when it comes will be the first of Year Number 6, years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 now being complete.

Yay!

Posted by
2718 posts

Z. Zamboanga Philippines. I have never been there but I do remember my father singing about it when we were kids so I just looked it up. It is a city of about 1,200,000 people in the Philippines and the US Army soldiers stationed there during WWII sang The Monkees Have No Tales In Zamoanga My dad fought on the Burma Road and in some areas in India so that is where he learned it. Nigel this is start of next round!!

Posted by
3185 posts

Adler Street in the Tower Hamlets, just east of the City of London, is named after Nathan Marcus Adler who was the chief rabbi of the British Empire from 1845 through 1890.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Marcus_Adler

The apple didn't fall too far from the tree -- his dad was the chief rabbi of Hanover; during the blitz of London in WWII German bombs destroyed several buildings named for him in the neighborhood.

Among his distinctions is being the founder of The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSPCC

Posted by
35795 posts

Congratulations to Avirosemail for taking us into Alphabet ROUND 115 with Adler Street in London

All these contributions and especially as this the first rollover in Year 6 are very much appreciated.

Just 16 days for this rollover since 17th of May.

Thanks to all and appropriate Nauga stars to Avirosemail!!

Posted by
10575 posts

C is for Chesters Roman Fort, on Hadrians Wall-

It seems to have a far lower international profile than the likes of Housesteads and Vindolanda in the rugged hill country.
However it is the best preserved Roman Cavalry fort in the UK, and also has the only remaining roofed Roman structure in the UK- the fort's Treasury or strong room.
It is in the fertile farmlands beside the River North Tyne. In particular for those using public transport it is more accessible, not being solely reliant on the AD122 bus.
You can even stay right next door at the George Hotel, Chollerford.

Posted by
9872 posts

D

Dolmites

A mountain range in northeastern Italy. Popular for BASE jumping, climbing, hiking, cycling, and para gliding. 2.5 hours by car from Venice.

Posted by
2284 posts

F is for Fotheringhay, a hamlet some ten miles west of Peterborough in the UK. Several weeks back I was looking for a campsite to stay and to my surprise it was adjacent to the remains of a castle. Later I learned it was the place where the granddaughter of James IV, King of Scotland was beheaded, namely Mary Stuart or better known as Mary, Queen of Scots. Her death was the tragic outcome of a power struggle with Elizabeth I of England.

What is left of the castle is just a man made hill and a big lump of masonry with a wrought iron fence around it and a table with info about Mary Stuart.

Posted by
3185 posts

Gosport is a small town on the west side of Portsmouth Harbor.

Queen Victoria had a semi-private railroad spur built from there to an even more private jetty where she would ferry over to the Isle of Wight. The railway station was built in Italianate style to match her manor house on the island.

Since there was an extension spur to the jetty, the station was not technically a terminus, but that is how it is referred to in histories of the Harbor area. The station stopped serving passengers in 1953 and freight in 1969, but stayed in use by the military well into the '70s.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum is there for the public, and there are engineering schools for military officers as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy_Submarine_Museum

Posted by
9872 posts

H

Humbolt County

A Northern California County known as the Home of the Redwoods.

OR

H

Hackney

A London neighborhood. Great breakfast at the Well Street Kitchen.

Posted by
3185 posts

John Hawkins Square in Plymouth is named after Francis Drake's cousin.

Piracy and slave trading was good to them both: Fran became Mayor of the city and Johnny Treasurer of the royal navy.

From Wikipedia:

The square gained media attention in June 2020 during the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom, due to Hawkins' connection to the Transatlantic slave trade. Plymouth City Council announced plans to rename the square.

On 18 June 2020, Plymouth Council proposed that the square be renamed Jack Leslie Square after Jack Leslie, who would have become the first black football player to represent England internationally. The decision became the subject of a legal challenge in August 2020. On 4 December 2020, a court rejected the attempt to prevent the change of name.

On 8 November 2023, a proposal was announced to rename the square to Justice Square.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawkins_(naval_commander)

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3185 posts

Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow hosted an International Exhibition in 1888.

Glasgow was the British Empire's "Second City" and they wanted to raise enough money to build an art museum that fit the nickname.

This is the museum, which opened in 1901, today:

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/kelvingrove-art-gallery-and-museum

more info here:

https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/libraries/family-history/stories-and-blogs-from-the-mitchell/times-past-blogs/1888-exhibition-times-past

Posted by
9872 posts

L

Lost Horizon

Director Frank Capra’s 1937 film starring British/American actor Ronald Coleman who found Shangri La.

While going to grad school I worked at David Woodley Packard’s Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, CA.

He was dedicated to screening films made before the 50’s. He adored Garbo, Irene Dunne, Ingrid Bergman, Rita Hayworth.

One day I asked if he could obtain a print of Lost Horizon. Long story short the Packard Foundation contributed to the restoration of the film.

After the restoration he did obtain a print and screened the film. He even invited Coleman’s daughter (Juliet ) who came and answered questions about her famous father.

Lines to see the film went around the block. He didn’t get it.

I smiled and said, “ David, it’s simple. Everyone wants to go to Shangri-La.”

Posted by
155 posts

M is for Marbella, Spain

Marbella is a lovely town in the Costa del Sol. There is a walkable promenade along the beach front area. We enjoyed the Old Town of Marbella which was very charming with cobbled side streets and artisan shops. I bought a cork purse there which I really like.

We stayed at the Puente Romano Beach Resort which was an Andalusian Village style resort in Marbella. It was very relaxing.

Posted by
4060 posts

N is for Narva

Seldomly a town was more often mentioned in European security circles and podcasts because Narva is not only the third largest city in the Republic of Estonia but the center of Estonia's Russian-speaking minority, which accounts for around 95% of Narva's population. Therefore it is discussed as one of three main options if Russia wants to test NATO's reaction. I hope it will not happen.

For its remarkable location at the border and the special and impressive Hermann Castle it is on my list for visiting Estonia.

Posted by
3185 posts

Osterley House is one of the few remaining neoclassical/Georgian estates in London.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/osterley-park-and-house/the-house-at-osterley-park

You can get sort of close to it using the Piccadilly line to the Osterley tube station, but there's still a 20-minute walk from there.

During WWII the house and grounds were used for some really nifty military training, including camouflage techniques, improvised explosive devices, and close-quarters knife fighting, but it was closed after a year or so because Churchill was worried that the instructors were too leftist -- they had fought in the war in Spain in the '30s on the communist side. But didn't all the interesting cosmopolitans do that?

Posted by
374 posts

P is for Pickering

A town in Yorkshire where you can catch the North York Moors Railway to Whitby.

Posted by
485 posts

Q - Quedgeley

(who knew?) Quedgeley is a town and civil parish in the city of Gloucester district in Gloucestershire, England. A thin strip of land between the Severn and the Gloucester Ship Canal occupies the west, and the south-eastern part of the town is Kingsway Village, directly to the north of which is Tuffley.
https://www.expedia.co.uk/Quedgeley.dx6050368

Posted by
9872 posts

R

*Ranelagh Gardens *

In London near the Chelsea Bridge. A spot I came upon while headed to the Sacchi Museum. Gates were open, no guard so walked into the area. Was fantastic. As I meandered I discovered a small gift shop. Then found a cafe and engaged a pensioner in conversation. Lovely time.

Posted by
2718 posts

SAM the Sullenberger Aircraft Museum at the Charlotte Airport in Charlotte Virginia. We stopped here as a good place to take a break on our way to PA from FL and it was well worth it. Quite a few airplanes and helicopters on display. Lots of artifacts. Most interesting is the original aircraft from the Miracle on the Hudson, the plane that struck birds on takeoff and had to ditch on the Hudson River in New York. The captain and first officer donated their uniforms and many passengers also donated items they were carrying. Everything is very well done and worth a couple of hours for a visit.

Posted by
2261 posts

T
TROPEA, italy

Delightful city in Calabria. Very walkable with great food and vistas.

Posted by
12110 posts

U for Utrecht in Netherlands with a fantastic transportation museum, heavy on the trains. Really big trains. Great getaway from Amsterdam.

Posted by
4060 posts

W is for W:O:A

The annual hardrock / metal festival Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) just started for this year. The small village Wacken is not located in the middle but at the rim of nowhere. Every year over 70,000 visitors are coming to the place northwest of Hamburg, camp on the green and enjoy hardrock and metal for four days. Traditionally the festival is sold out within minutes, also traditionally it is heat or raining - also this year - and the band of the village's firefighters play first in front and wit full support of a few thousand metal fans.

Background of W:O:A in German language:
https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/35-jahre-wacken-seit-1990-ist-dorf-mekka-des-heavy-metal,wackenopenair100.html

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3185 posts

[let's keep this thread alive]

The Red House at Bexleyheath features a prominent architectural element known as a cross-gable, which creates a distinct "X" shape on its exterior.

Cross gables: These intersecting gables are a key characteristic of the house's style and a clear example of the "X" element.

https://www.meer.com/en/85737-the-red-house-morriss-vision-of-beauty-and-purpose#:~:text=artistry%2C%20London%2C%20England-,The%20Red%20House%2C%20situated%20in%20Bexleyheath%2C%20the%20house%20was%20envisioned,Morris%2C%201860%2C%20London%2C%20England

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374 posts

Yorkshire

Specifically the North York Moors Railway. It has been spoken about many times in the forum and ridden on by many, maybe most, of you. One of the things that makes it so special to me is the discovery of it, one of my "stumbling upon" experiences.

We were stopping in Yorkshire for 3 nights on our way to Glasgow to visit family. I really wanted to walk on a Yorkshire moor. I was thinking about the Secret Garden. I found Pickering because it was close to the moors and had a hotel that appealed. Our first morning, the staff at the hotel told us about the NYMR when we were asking where to access the moors for a walk. We immediately decided to go. It was delightful and full of discovery. We got off in Goathland and got some directions, wandered through town (sheep were just wandering around town themselves) and made our way up onto the moor.

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4297 posts

Z the weather has cooled off here in Austria and I finally had a bowl of Zuppe for lunch! I could have had, but didn’t, Zwiebeln Zuppe.

Edit: we arrived in Austria from Italy so I’m mixing up my soup spellings :)

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35795 posts

Congratulations to avirosemail for getting us off top dead centre and making the wheels spin again (the analogy works with both traditional automobile engines and railway steam engines), and to Mona for a really cute Z, and to joe32F for starting us off on round 116 of the Alphabet game with Alta Vista.

This puts us into Alphabet ROUND 116 with Alta Vista, the trail walk on Mt Rainier.

All the contributions in this round are very much appreciated.

Unlike the last round which took just 16 days, this rollover has been more gently strolling through pretty much the whole summer since the 1st of June - a record 86 Days

Thanks to all and appropriate Nauga stars to joe32F and the supporting crew. Well Done

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15648 posts

B

is for the Bavarian Staatskanzlei in Munich.

This time instead of dilly-dallying i decided to put some real effort into tracking down specific sites on my three night stay there. One of those pleasant surprise was the State Chancellery , another esoteric site was the Bavarian Soldiers' Monument of WW1....impressive, somber, and poignant.

That one really had to pay attention in locating it as it is easy to miss.

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15648 posts

C

is for Cuxhaven , Germany.

In 2017 I took the train to this city from which the ferry departs to Harwich, England. Interesting in seeing the country side and the little towns from Hamburg as you're going to Cuxhaven.

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15648 posts

D

is for Douai, France.

Twice in the late 1990s I was a part of a French group that went to a small town in the great Arras region, ie in Nord Pas-de-Calais. It could have been Douai, with all the changes in street contours it is difficult in trying to recognise the place.

Spent a few hours here in this small northern French town as a day trip from Paris Nord, this time exploring and obviously, this town was in the thick of the fighting in WW1, the soldiers' memorials attest to that.

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4297 posts

E is for Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt. While we didn’t visit the palace near Vienna on this trip we did visit the Esterházy Keller in central Vienna.

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4297 posts

F is for Faiker. The carriage drivers in Vienna have a long history with this city. We have observed tourists, wedding parties, and baby reveal couples in central Vienna being driven around the city by Faikers.

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4297 posts

G is for goulash. We’ve had some delicious goulash meals in Vienna including Faikergoulash. Next week we can compare it all to…

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4297 posts

H is for Hungarian goulash which we’ll try when we arrive in Budapest. That’s all for now.

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2718 posts

Isla Verde Puerto Rico, a wonderful pristine beach area with high end hotels, restaurants etc. We were able to spend six days relaxing and taking short taxi ride to Old San Juan several days.

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26 posts

K is for Keukenhof, located in Lisse, Netherlands (about 40 minutes from Amsterdam) is one of the world's largest flower gardens. Approximately 7 million bulbs are planted annually and the garden is only open during an 8-week blooming season in the Spring, so plan accordingly - it's gorgeous!

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56 posts

L is for Leiden in The Netherlands which is the birth place of Rembrandt. In the 17th c. it was home for the Pilgrims who had escaped from England.

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3185 posts

editing to add that it looks like you can walk or bicycle from Richmond metro station to Marble Hill along the Thames towpath in about half an hour.

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3185 posts

In southwestern Gloucestershire, Newark Park is open to the public every day in the summer and weekends in the Fall.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/gloucestershire-cotswolds/newark-park

There's a big Tudor-era hunting lodge and a lot of parkland and farms to tramp around.

Five hundred years' worth of furnishings are stuffed in the house, including architect Bob Parson's stereo system; he died in 2000 and is buried in the garden.

Have you noticed that chinoiserie entry lions are often misidentified as dogs in estate catalogs?

https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/170791

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4297 posts

O is for Otto Wagner. We dug deeper into Otto Wagner’s architectural legacy in Vienna this summer. I was fascinated with the elevated stations with all of their green ironworks, tile and golden elements. I thought I might come home and try out a green paint touch on a decorative welded garden gate I have. I don’t think it will translate well but I might just try it…

Edit: to Avi we stayed in Twickenham for a month one summer. We enjoyed doing the reverse Thames walk past Eel Pie Island, Marble Hill into the green at Richmond on several occasions. Highly recommend a Thames walk along this stretch.

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4297 posts

P is for Pasties. We spent eleven days in Cornwall this summer and ate a few meat pasties. A couple of the towns we visited, St Ives and Padstow, smelled like giant bakeries. The smell just hung in the air from every back street.

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9872 posts

Q

Quiz Nights.

Fun to enjoy in a pub. Any first time visitors to London should try to experience one. Competition at its finest!

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4297 posts

R is for Reisenrad The Wiener Reisenrad is one of the oldest, 1897, still operating ferris wheels still in operation. It’s iconic wagon looking cars featured prominently in a famous 1949 film The Third Man.

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12 posts

S is for Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland.

Located on the south coast of Iceland and one of many beautiful waterfalls in the "Land of fire and ice". Visitors can also climb almost 500 steps for the panoramic views of the area and more waterfalls/scenery upstream.

Spent a week in Iceland this past August and absolutely loved the diverse scenery in this beautiful country. Visited Skógafoss on the first day of the trip and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend visiting Iceland.

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12 posts

T is for Tipperary County, Ireland

Tipperary is a landlocked county in the province of Munster and shares a border with eight other counties of Ireland. It is the home of the iconic Rock of Cashel and Cahir Castle among many other places of interest. Located in the heartland of Ireland, it is comprised of mountains, rivers, lakes and farmland.

In 2024, while driving from Kilkenny to Killarney, I took a route through County Tipperary and had the opportunity to travel through the Glen of Aherlow, a picturesque valley in between the Slievenamuck and Galtee Mountains in the western part of the county.

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1179 posts

Upper Angora Lake, the site of Angora Lakes Resort at the edge of Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe in California. A short but steep hike takes you to an alpine lake, where you can rent a canoe or kayak, swim, and get a snack or lunch from their limited menu. It's a family favorite: We have been there several times with our daughters, and more recently just the two of us. A pitcher of lemonade is highly recommended. Elevation: 7,450ft/2,270m.

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3185 posts

Down in Hampshire, the Vyne estate was gifted to the national trust in 1958 by its last owner along with more than a thousand acres of land and an endowment to pay for its upkeep and to make it available to the public.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/hampshire/the-vyne/history-of-the-vyne

There was a manor house on the site going back to at least the 13th century, which itself may have been built over a Roman rest stop that eventually grew to include several buildings enclosing mini village green.

It was the family home of Henry VIII's Lord Chamberlain for some time, and from the mid 1600s until it was given to the trust it stayed in the Chute family, who did some fixing up of the buildings but paid most attention to the farmland.

Recall that Henry VIII took Hampton Court from Cardinal Woolsey b/c it was such a great home -- some records seem to show that if he hadn't taken Hampton Court he may well have taken The Vyne instead (or in addition). More here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vyne

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9872 posts

W

Wellington Barracks London

For me a good spot to watch preparation for the Changing of the Guard ceremonies at nearby Buckingham Palace. You can see them march over and back. Believe there are 3 different guard groups that are housed on the property.

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4297 posts

X is for Xanten. I just saw KGC recommend this town in NW Germany and it looks very interesting! Thanks KGC! It is noted for its Roman Ruins and is close to Kleve, as in Anne of Kleve’s birthplace. I’d like to do some more looking around in this corner of Germany. Sorry if this town has been used before but I hadn’t seen it until today’s other post about historic towns in Germany near the border with the Netherlands.

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4297 posts

Y is for Y, France. France seems to have a disproportionate number of towns that start with the letter Y. We’ve stayed near a couple of them ourselves. Y, France intrigues me though. It even made Atlas Obscura. Look it up and read why it was given the moniker, A Place of Death.

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4297 posts

Z is for Zelendorf, a suburban area in Berlin. We have friends who live in Zelendorf-Nord and we have spent many hours walking in the woods, visiting the lake with its nice restaurant and admiring the homes in this area. It is well described in Wikipedia (see below) complete with our friend’s S-bahn stop, Onkel Toms Hütte.

« Many walking trips are available in and around Zehlendorf. Popular destinations include the Grunewald trails north from the Onkel Toms Hütte U-Bahn station and neighborhood shopping center, the walk from Krumme Lanke U-Bahn station to the lake of the same name, and the cross-Zehlendorf walk from the end of the U-Bahn at Krumme Lanke to the S-Bahn station in the center of old Zehlendorf. Zehlendorf shopping center has undergone major changes with plenty of new construction centering on the S-Bahn station "Zehlendorf." »

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15648 posts

A

is for the Champagne Ardenne region in France.

One of the day trips from Paris by train I made it point to do this trip was to see the city of Charleville-Mezieres in this region. The weather interfered as the those dark ominous clouds reappeared and I had no desire to get caught in a downpour walking around .

Charleville-Mezieres is worth a more detailed return visit.

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15648 posts

B

is for the little town of Bar-sur-Aube , France, in the Aube river region.

The train from Paris Est is a direct shot to Bar-sur-Aube. It impressed me a lot as if the town were still century ago, or even back in 1814 when Napoleon was fending off the invading Prussians and Russians heading for Paris. The architecture is absolutely fascinating seeing such a historic place. I saw only a little, this town I'll be going back to for extensive exploring and to see the Aube.

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15648 posts

C

is for St. Cloud, one of the Paris suburbs.

The last activity I did in Paris before heading out to Roissy the night before the flight to SFO on the 17 Sept was to go to St Cloud, at least check it out.

The train from Gare St Lazare takes you out there. The chateau is the specific site I want to see as it is connected to Napoleonic history and to him in particular.

That will have to wait for the real visit in 2026, the neighborhood was sociologically revealing, middle class, diverse, architecturally interesting.

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9872 posts

D

Dark Winds on the AMC channel.

Filmed in New Mexico it was the last project produced by Robert Redford. It also included his last screen appearance when he and co executive producer George R Martin ( Games of Thrones ) were seen playing a game of chess.

RIP artistic genius.

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15648 posts

E

is for Epinal, France.

This little town is located on the Moselle. I spent a couple of hours there as a day trip from Metz. In the July Crisis of 1914 this town was demanded by the Germans as a "pledge" ( designed of course, to be rejected by the French) along with Toul and Longwy. Of the 3 towns Longwy was the least interesting to go to, ie not worth the time in it checking out.

Epinal and Toul are very worth visiting, both towns have singular remembrance soldiers' memorials connected with 1870, especially Toul. An explanatory plaque in the centre ville of Epinal point out the town's recognised importance back to 1793 in the War of the First Coalition against Revolutionary France.

As you walk from the train station all the way into the centre ville and beyond, cross the bridge over the Moselle, yes that important river in Lorraine and see the Vosges high in the foreground, one can see why this little town is historically significant and the perceived reason for the Germany demand in 1914.

Were there tourists in Epinal? Yes, French, as expected but I did see a British couple tracking a tourist map of sites worthy of seeing.

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35795 posts

wow, turn your back and there is an avalanche!

Congratulations to Fred for bringing us into Alphabet ROUND 117 with the Ardennes, Champagne ones no less.

All the contributions in this round are very much appreciated bringing us around in 26 days.

Nauga stars to the contributors and big sparkly ones to Fred

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2298 posts

F is for Freinsheim.

The 1400 year old medieval walled city in the middle of the Rhein Wine Route that is only known to German tourists. You can walk the entire wall. You can see the storks nesting on the rooftops in spring. You can get jealous of the people who have included the gatekeepers house and the watchtowers into their more modern homes.

There's a walking tour laid out with life sized cutouts of people for the major locations. There's really good places to eat and drink. Small shops, sidewalk venues, and on occasion festivals. Overlooked, but worth a visit.

https://www.stadt-freinsheim.de/

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3521 posts

G is for Greenland.

It is the world's largest island and the second largest ice cap, behind Antarctica. The population is only about 55k for the entire country. They are known for their dog sledding, kaffemik which is basically an open house for celebrations, the Inuit culture, the midnight sun, and of course icebergs. It is a wonderful place to visit, but you have to be extremely flexible as flights often get delayed/cancelled, and there may not be flights every day. I highly recommend going!

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12 posts

H is for Healy Pass on the Beara Peninsula in southwest Ireland.

The Healy Pass is a scenic, winding, 12km mountain road (R574) that crosses the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula. The road links County Cork with County Kerry and offers panoramic views of the Irish countryside and surrounding mountains, as well as Bantry Bay and Kenmare River.

Originally built in 1847 as Famine relief to prevent starvation, the pass was named after Timothy Michael Healy, the first Governor-General of the Irish Free State, and is a popular route for drivers, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Be careful of the sheep when driving!

Drove the Healy Pass earlier this year and highly recommend a visit if you happen to find yourself in Western Cork, Ireland.

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3185 posts

Ilam Hall is a Grade II listed building now occupied by a youth hostel that overlooks a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), on the banks of the River Dove that joins Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

It is one of several properties in the Peak District that has ended up under the National Trust after not-quite-avoiding demolition during the 20th century.

"Lime" is the English name for certain varieties of Linden trees, rare versions of which are found only in these woodlands.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/ilam-park-dovedale-and-the-white-peak/history-of-ilam-park-dovedale-and-the-white-peak

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilam_Park

It's hard to make a case for a special visit to this area of Derbyshire if you're not a big fan of the Peak District, but if you happen to be on your way to or from Leicester you might take a route that goes through. Or if you have a twinkle in your eye for Triumph scrambler motorcycles then this is the area that they had in mind when designing them. Dress appropriately.

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26 posts

J is for Jesuit Church, Lucerne. The first large Baroque church built in Switzerland north of the alps. Fun facts, I can see it now from my balcony room at Hotel des Alpes, where Rick Steve's Best of Switzerland Tour is also staying, as I saw a placard on the check in desk with the day's activities.

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K

Kettleman City

Where I stop for an In and Out Burger off Interstate 5 when I’m driving home from NorCal.

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15648 posts

L
is for Lambersart , France.

This little town is next to Lille, the urban and cultural center of Northern France with its university and a host others interesting sites.

To get to Lambersart one has to go to Lille to catch the bus, the #10 or 25 that goes into the little town.

I took the wrong bus, well not exactly, since the #10 didn't get me close enough to the esoteric WW1 site I was tracking. I just walked from the centre-ville and walked., finally reached the site and saw the # 25 stop across the street or just a bit down the block. Had I obviously known that, that would have saved me all that walking (yes, you do it too for the exercise).

Both buses depart from Lille Flandres but from different bus depots

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2718 posts

Mahwah NJ a lovely borough , the northern most borough in Bergen County just north of NYC and on a clear day you can see the NYC skyline. Birthplace of the poet Joyce Kilmer who wrote Trees. Also home to one of
the oldest pizza places in NJ opened in 1937 and still serving great pies.

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35795 posts

thanks to Claudia for reaching the 100 posts in this the 4th extent of this game .... keep 'em coming!! And everybody for getting us there, and Fred and Gail for continuing the push.

I'll be back upthread with the stats from the last round asap but medical issues keep me from the laptop

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12 posts

N is for New Hampshire, USA.

One of the 13 original U.S. colonies that rebelled against British rule during the American Revolution, New Hampshire is located in New England at the northeastern corner of the country. It is a charming state offering a variety of destinations and attractions including historic river valleys, mountains, New England villages, miles of scenic forests and parks, inviting lakes, picture-postcard rural landscapes and numerous outdoor recreation opportunities.

One of the best times to visit is during the fall foliage season and perhaps the best place to view fall colors is the Kancamagus Highway, a 34.5-mile National Scenic Byway, as well as the nearby White Mountain National Forest.

I’ve visited this beautiful state numerous times throughout the years and have considered relocating here when I decide to leave New York. Highly recommend a visit to New Hampshire!

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4297 posts

O is for Ottolenghi. For a foodie 18 year old granddaughter in 2023, it was worth it to take a pause in her self financed (well we bought her airfare) post graduation European trip to take the Eurostar from Paris to London for 3 nights to experience some Ottolenghi restaurants in person. She and her family had a few of his cookbooks and love a good fresh approach to ingredients and cooking. We followed in HER footsteps in May 2025 and ate at one of his restaurants when we were in the Spitalfields/Brick Lane area.

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35795 posts

sorry to be slow with this round's awards - they are back near the beginning of the round, between E and F.

unfortunately I have been overwhelmed and was just able to return

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4297 posts

No rewards necessary, take care Nigel and C.

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15648 posts

R

is for Romilly-sur-Seine, France.

This summer's trip involved disruption of normal train service. One way this was manifested was part of the route normally done by train and was replaced by the bus., not a bad i idea at all. This way the local population would not be at the mercy of service cuts. There was none. That bus had to go through the town, which was very revealing as to the old architecture of the town, seeing the monuments and the churches, etc

In the greater Paris area Romilly-sur-Seine like its adjacent little town Nogent-sur-Seine was one of these towns. I got to Romilly but will have to do a return visit of a couple more hours. I went back twice to Nogent.

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4297 posts

P and Q. To fill in the gap I’ll do P and Q. This summer we took our first trip to Cornwall. We enjoyed getting to know several charming coastal towns with their stout little harbors. Padstow was charming and we took a boat ride to see Puffins on a rock just outside of the harbor and estuary. NewQuay was further away but boasts the regional airport for all of Cornwall. Now we are on to S please.

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10575 posts

A real Q in Cornwall is Quintrell Downs- a small village a few miles outside Cornwall, and a railway station on the Par to Newquay line.
(1 of 8 railway stations in the UK starting with Q).
Close by is the Goss Moor National Nature Reserve. This vast expanse of heathland and wetland is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including rare species such as the marsh fritillary butterfly and the nightjar. The reserve is also a popular spot for birdwatching, with species such as the curlew, lapwing, and snipe.
Quintrell is believed to have French origins as 'Cointerel' from a term meaning 'Fop' or 'Dandy' - Downs refers to the common open land in the area - the village located to the South of the Two Clomes Inn - an area known as the common. There is also the well known Quintrell Jerseys Dairy Herd of cows in the village.

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12 posts

S is for Statue of Liberty, New York City

The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. It was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886. In 1924, it was designated as a National Monument, and employees of the National Park Service have been caring for the Statue since 1933.

Construction of the Statue was completed in France in July 1884 and the massive sculpture stood tall above the rooftops of Paris awaiting her voyage across the ocean. Back in America that same year, construction of the Statue’s granite pedestal got underway. For its trans-Atlantic voyage, the Statue was reduced to 350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. The ship arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885 and the Statue remained in pieces on what was then called Bedloe’s Island while awaiting construction of its pedestal. Subsequently, the dedication ceremony of the Statue of Liberty by President Cleveland occurred in front of thousands of spectators.

While I have seen the Statue of Liberty from afar numerous times, I have never been to Liberty Island to view it up close. I hope to visit both Liberty Island and Ellis Island in the near future.

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2298 posts

T is for Tauberbischofsheim.

Yes, it sounds like a sneeze when you say it, but it's a very old, rarely visited, little town on the way to Wurzburg. The remains of the medieval wall remain, but there's nothing but trees and rocks where they once had three separate castles. The usual half-timbered houses and the remaining tower in the Altstadt date back over 800 years.

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4297 posts

U is for Un The buzz words for travel for several years have been phrases such as undiscovered area, under touristed, unexplored, etc. Thank you KGC for the inspiration of another unique place to discover. Hoping to be in the area of Germany you’ve been describing lately next summer.

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3185 posts

St. Vith in Liege, Belgium, is named for St. Vitus.

In the last two hundred years, it has changed which country it belongs to several times.

Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, St. Vith, formerly part of Luxembourg, became part of the Prussian province of Rhineland. The population speaks German and has a Germanic tradition. At the end of the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles offered the canton to Belgium, to repair the damage suffered by the country. It was then taken over by Nazi Germany within 10 days of the invasion of Belgium in 1940. Finally, Saint-Vith became Belgian again after the Second World War.

This means that it has been bombed over and over again by more-or-less modern munitions, a pre-nuclear example of making the rubble bounce.

In 2004, 60 years after the Ardennes offensive, Saint-Vith was awarded the title of martyrdom town by the Belgian government.

https://www.landofmemory.eu/en/sites-historiques/saint-vith/

TI website is here:

https://www.st.vith.be/de/tourismus

note that Walloon-y German calls the town Sankt Vith.

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3521 posts

W is for the Westfjords of Iceland. This is the far NW corner of the country and much of it is very remote. Dynjandi is a famous waterfall there, and Hornstrandir is a nature preserve with arctic foxes that are completely protected from hunting. There are no roads on Hornstrandir and the only way there is by boat, most often via Isafjordur.

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4297 posts

X is for the X-ed (crossed) horse heads on barn gables found all over northern Germany and the symbol for the Austrian bank, Reiffeisen. We spent 6 months in Nordrhein-Westfalia and I took so many pictures of these big beautiful barns, some with thatched roofs. Many were half timbered with decorative and colorful dates and words carved on the door lintels. This is also the first place where I saw the apprentices with their pointed hats and cloth bags tied to the end of a stick walking to their next restoration job of barn or house lettering. Ahhhh but that’s another story and our Bielefeld friends said we were so lucky to see some of “them”.

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10575 posts

Y is the initial letter of the three letter IATA [International Air Transport Association] code for the vast majority of Canadian airports.

The second and third letters of the code replicate the original morse code allocations for the transcontinental railway stations of the respective cities, and the leading Y apparently just means 'Yes'- a 'Yes' that in the immediate post WW2 years when three letter codes were allocated the airfield had a weather tower/radio transmitter.

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10575 posts

Z is for Zennor- a small village in Cornwall, a few miles north of Penzance, firmly in former tin mining country. The name is a corruption of Senara- the local saint.
In the Parish Church there is an interesting mermaid chair with carvings of fish, and a mermaid admiring herself in a mirror.
Very little is known of the life of the Saint.

There are a lot of prehistoric and iron age sites in the immediate area. During WW1 D H Lawrence lived there with his new German wife. However they were accused of spying and signalling to German submarines (a not uncommon event for those of German extraction, it happened in the coastal Lake District as well for instance). They were lucky, in that they were "allowed" to leave voluntarily at 3 days notice (many of the accused elsewhere were interned).
During WW2 there was a Commando training exercise nearby (Operation Brandyball) for a seaborne raid scaling cliffs. Unfortunately two lives were lost. Unlike many such incidents there is no memorial that I am aware of to the incident.

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15648 posts

A

is for Arras in Nord-Pas-de-Calais in Northern France.

Next to Lille this city is the largest city in Northern France. In both wars of the 20th century the city was the objective of the German offensive of 1914 and Hitler's Westoffensive in 1940. The British established their Gen. HQ in Arras in WW1. Arras was the home town of Robespierre.

The Tourist Office is located in the city hall, walkable directly from the train station. I first saw Arras in 1995.

If you want to see WW1 military sites and those of WW2 , Arras has reminders of that , such as British military cemetery of WW1. A horrific Nazi site can also be found in Arras, "Mur des Fusilles , " (the wall of those shot). My second time seeing this site hit me more than the first, even though was a shocker too., much different from seeing military cemetery site. French locals told me of the place and within walking distance from the British WW1 cemetery.

I like going to Arras as a get-away from Paris, (usually cooler too) from Arras you can reach Vimy by train. This trip saw me back there too.

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15648 posts

B

is for Babelsberg , Germany.

This famous town is next to Potsdam, you can see that Babelsberg and Potsdam are adjacent to each other because the zip code between the two are almost identical but for one digit. My first time seeing this well-known town for film in the 1920s was in 1997 but that only seeing part of the Schloss . Schloss Babelsberg belonged to Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, in that context Babelsberg is connected to Prussian-German history, which you see on the river cruise on the Havel from Potsdam.

Until this summer I never saw the town itself. I went there on Sunday, still folks around riding from bicycles to get around likewise in Potsdam, except that Potsdam is much greener with designated bike paths, etc.

The architecture piqued my interest in Babelsberg, seems very typical Brandenburg. , a return visit is on.

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2298 posts

C is for Closter Maulbronn (Anglicized spelling)

This 900 year old monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site, still working, and fantastic. On the northern edge of the Black forest, just 15km from the city of Pforzheim, it's huge, architecturally varied, and well worth the visit. Tours are limited to 35 people, always in German, and only done (on average) once a month. They make wine, beer, schnaps, and a number of other non-liquid products. This is where Herman Hesse studied. Excellent restaurants and a really good bookstore on site also.

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15648 posts

D

is for St. Dizier, France.

I went to this little town this trip for a couple of hours thinking that would be ample time to satisfy my curiosity on its connection to Napoleon and the invading Allies in 1814. Not quiet. The town's architecture is another feature, several of these little towns have this unique feature.

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E is for Esthwaite Water- one of the less well known lakes in the Lake District.

It is privately owned, so there is very little shoreline access.

It lies between Hawkshead and Beatrix Potter's Hill Top and is best known for it's brown trout. You can rent boats on the lake to fish the trout (and pike).
It is believed to have been the inspiration for Beatrix's Jeremy Fisher.

Ospreys are often seen at the lake.

On it's western shore is Esthwaite Old Hall- an excellent example of 16th century Elizabethan architecture. The Hall was also used as a Military Hospital in WW2.

The lake also features 4 times in Wordsworth's poetry.

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F is for Fugging, Austria. Previously known for its earlier spelling which meant everyone speaking English wanted to be pictured next to the village sign.

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G is for Grizedale Forest (this follows on from Esthwaite as it is in the hills above Hawkshead).

Grizedale Forest Centre at one time had a lovely little theatre, but is now better known for the many sculptures in the forest. This year (2025) a new Observatory and Planetarium was opened at the Forest Centre.

Before WW2 there was Grizedale Hall- a 40 room mansion (demolished in 1957, originally built in the 1640's). When WW2 commenced the Hall was designated as Prisoner of War Camp 1 to house captured German Officers. Ultimately there were over 600 POW camps around the United Kingdom but the original plan was to have just 2 as the intention was to ship PoW’s to Canada to save the effort of feeding and guarding them and also to remove any possibility of an uprising in support of the expected German invasion.

Grizedale Hall became known colloquially as the U-boat hotel. It's most famous resident was Oberleutnant Franz von Werra. This pilot had been shot down in Kent on 5 September 1940 and, after interrogation at the ‘London Cage’ (the HQ of the Prisoner of War Interrogation Service (PWIS) at No. 8 Kensington Palace Gardens) he had been transferred to Grizedale Hall. He escaped from a working party outside the camp on 7 October 1940 and managed to survive on the fells for six days in very poor weather conditions. He was re-captured and, after another escape and re-capture from a camp at Swanwick, Derbyshire, was shipped to Canada. In transit within Canada he escaped from a train and crossed the part-frozen St. Lawrence river to the (then neutral) USA. He was then smuggled back to Germany via Mexico and Panama only to die on 25 October 1941 when his Me109 came down, cause unknown, in the sea off Holland.

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Of those 600 POW camps, one of which was called Trumpington. In 1992 I met a former POW, a Wehrmacht soldier whose camp was Trumpington., taken at Beauvais at the end of the Falaise Pocket.

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Trumpington, Camp 45, is one of many which are quite interesting. In 1943 it was an Italian POW camp, in early 1945 a German working camp and by the end of that year an Austrian camp with Germans returning there in May 1946 before repatriation.
After closure in 1948 it was a National Service Hostel before closure in around 1954.

Working camps were for low risk prisoners (which most were) where they worked on farms and such like. So the other main camps in Cumbria at Moota (Camp 103) and Merrythought (Camp 76) (the latter survives, and Moota has only finally been demolished in the last few years, having been a hotel and garden centre previously) both had satellite working camps which were very low security.
Moota also had a Chapel rather like the Italian Chapel on Orkney- now destroyed due to post war anti-German sentiment, but elements of it survive in the Roman Catholic Church in Wigton. Moota Camp was used after the prisoners had been repatriated for displaced civilians from Eastern Europe who couldn't or didn't want to return to what were now communist countries. A couple of the DP's died in tragic circumstances and others married, never to return home.

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H is for Hook Head, Ireland

Located in County Wexford, Hook Head is in the southeast corner of the country on the Hook Peninsula. Part of untouched ancient Ireland, the peninsula is famous for its breath-taking vistas, magnificent natural landscapes, national heritage sites, beautiful gardens, pure sands and views of the sea.

The Ring of Hook is a scenic coastal drive around the peninsula, which highlights many historical sites including various abbeys, castles, and beaches, offering visitors stunning scenery and a journey through Ireland's rich history. One of the landmark sites on the peninsula is the Hook Lighthouse, one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world dating back 800 years to medieval times.

Earlier this year, we visited the lighthouse and this beautiful area on our 2nd trip to Ireland and highly recommend a visit if you happen to be visiting southeastern Ireland.

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I is for both Iceland and a town there called Isafjordur.

Iceland is great any time of year and there is so much to see and never enough time. We have over 65 nights there already, and still have much more to explore. In the summer you have very long days, about 22 hours and it still doesn't really get dark. In the winter there is of course much shorter days but there is still so much to see and do. Iceland is all about nature. Reykjavik and Akureyri are the only cities, and even Akureyri is a stretch to call it that. Otherwise there are small towns and mostly villages.

Isafjordur is a town way up in the Westfjords. It is way off the usual ring road, and takes a few hours to get to. The town itself is tiny, but you have the massive Dynjandi waterfall about an hour away. You can also go to Hornstrandir, a nature reserve that is only accessible by boat, and the boats leave from Isafjordur. There are no roads, no services, really nothing there. Back in the 1950's the last permanent residents left. Before that the population topped out around 200 people, but life was rough and just not feasible to continue. There are still just a handful of homes left, private summer residences, but nothing else. The hiking there is very rugged, but with amazing views, and very few actual trails. Near the campground just on the edge of Isafjordur is Bunarfoss which is a beautiful waterfall with hiking trails. The Troll Seat is a popular hike in Isafjordur, and can be seen from all over town.

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J

is for Jemappes, Belgium.

Streets and squares (Place....) in France are named after battles, (among others), obviously those historic battles where French arms triumphed over the "ennemis de la France" to quote that song line from French Revolutionary Wars.

One of these major French victories took place in 1792 (ie, pre-Napoleon) at Jemappes. You see in towns a Place Jemappes , which I did this trip.

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K is for Kitzingen, Germany, a short drive east from Wurzburg. I very attractive old city on the banks of the Main River in Franconia. Not as well known as Bamberg, but still worth a visit. The drive from there to Furth is really scenic.