Destinations

Vineyards clinging to steep lakeside slopes in early December 2011; skiers flying down snow-covered runs high above St Moritz; jingle jingle of the harness bells of the sleigh as we traversed a small lakeside hill and spied a charming icicle-draped cabin … these were just a few of the many things I recently experienced in one of my favorite destinations in Europe.

It had been a slightly short-of-snow December here in the Alps, but a few days before our arrival, the mountains got a good dusting just in time for the weekend prior to Christmas holidays.  Zürich was our gateway to an 8-day rapid-fire tour of three top-class hotels (The Dolder Grand  located above the lake of Zürich; the Hotel Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne-Ouchy elegantly sited next to Lac Leman and the classic, famed grande dame of St Moritz, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel   plus the services of the Swiss Travel System (train services – lake steamers – postal bus system).

Even more importantly, this trip was a reminder of the wonderful ambience, warm hospitality and self-contained pleasure of being in this landlocked but world-renowned country called Switzerland.  Pre-Christmas season here means shop windows decorated to the nth degree; quality products temptingly arranged albeit somewhat pricey.  Cookies/house-made hot chocolate in small bakery-pastry shops made for cozy eating on frosty afternoons, while the hardier types quaffed helpings of bratwurt, crisp brown bread rolls along with a dollop of tart mustard helped along by spiced wine or cider at outdoor stands located lakeside.   Folks in St Gallen will argue that the best bratwurst are really from there rather than Zürich, but from the quantities being consumed, both places will keep the sausage makers happy.

From Zürich we took an efficient comfortable train to Lausanne with views of famed Bern, Switzerland’s capital city, along the way.  Climate varies from place to place in this topographically diverse country; we had milder clear skies in Lausanne for our stay; the rains only arrived as we boarded our next train two days later.  How timely!  Lausanne-Ouchy are co-neighbors — uphill you have the old town and redeveloping new town of Lausanne; a short new Metro ride to the lake brings you to the softer vistas of distant mountains framed by tree-clad shorline.  All is totally on view from the open balconies of the Beau Rivage Hotel, where we stayed for 2 nights.  Classic décor, spacious rooms, excellent restaurants.  Shabu Shabu, L’Accademia for fine Italian dining, the exquisite cuisine of Anne Sophie Pic’s restaurant — we begin to feel like adjunct members of Michelin or Gault Millau.  Here in Ouchy the famed Olympic Museum resides (to be closed for 2 years for refurbishment but with a temporary museum serving duty until reopening).  To walk under the “high jump” which is set at the highest bar level a human athelete has achieved makes one realize why the Olympics still represents the best in competitive spirit.

Our regular train from Lausanne connected efficiently to the famed Glacier Express.  Going from Visp to St Moritz and beyond, this scenic train takes in the amazing mountain scenery of more southerly parts of Switzerland.  Offshoots lead you to some of the most famous ski resorts; other trains connect you to Italy via some of the most beautiful mountain train passes and worldclass tunnels of railway history.  And what a surprise in St Moritz to find that the fabulous spa located under Badrutt’s Palace Hotel was actually blasted out of the rocks on top of which the hotel rests by none other than the self-same rock-expert engineers who make the railway tunnels.  If you can’t trust them to excavate under your hotel, who can you trust?  The hotel elevator opens into that underground cavern leading you to the joys, relaxations and wellness treatments of the world-class spa.  And the slopes above the town not only let you exercise all day but dine in luxury at Matis Restaurant, located halfway up the ski slopes where the views and the food are top class.

Finally back to Zürich for some short free time for shopping or at least window-shopping in town.  The Dolder conveniently has two ways to get “home” … an hourly private van service from Münsterplatz (at the edge of old town and near famed Bahnhofstrasse) or you can make your own way to Römerhof where the Dolderbahn (the funicular type train service) takes you to the top of the hill just next to the Dolder itself.  Once again the dining and the spa proved world-class.  The hotel’s Michelin 2* The Restaurant (chef, Heiko Nieder) was the topper meal after our indulgent spa treatment in the Spa at the Dolder.  The Dolder combines an old 1890s construct hotel building refurbished over 4 years in combination with two modern wrap-beside wings along with its amazing full-service, in-depth spa facility.  Modern art abounds as the private collection of the owner has slowly migrated to the walls, halls and public spaces throughout the property.

Final note:  service service service, quality quality quality, beauty beauty beauty …. Switzerland continues to find the best combination and triples the experience whether public transport, private services, simple eating or elegant dining, outdoor activities or urban strolling.  The country is par excellence; my visit this time only firmed my many previous experiences into one continuum.

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Thanks to Princess Cruises, cruising to Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico is about to get simpler, more convenient and a lot cheaper for Northern Californians.

Next year Princess will bring an expanded program of round-trip cruises from San Francisco. We can bypass expensive, hassle-loaded flights and their strict baggage rules. We can take public transport or park the car in San Francisco and head for the ship in a short taxi ride.
The Alaska cruise season is over until next May. Watching glaciers, humpbacks, wildlife and some of the most spectacular coastlines to be seen anywhere in the world has to be put on hold for cruisers. But next year Mexico and Hawaii sailings will be added with all the same convenience benefits. Princess has scheduled seven 15-day San Francisco round-trips to Hawaii and one 10-day Mexico cruise. Add to that a dozen 10-day Alaska trips. That’s 20 cruises beginning and ending in San Francisco.

On our recently concluded Alaska voyage, Sea Princess Captain Martin Stenzel explained the logic. “Demographics were closely examined by Princess and the future looks good. About 75 percent of the passengers on this cruise are from Northern California. We keep seeing more and more people who just don’t like to fly. We cover 3,400 nautical miles between San Francisco and Juneau, where some 12 cruise lines dock. But Princess is the only one from San Francisco.”
Alaska cruising starts in May and runs through September. It’s a trip loaded with whale watching. Alan Cortash the ship’s lecturing naturalist quipped, “Watching the humpbacks is a major reason for some of you to take this trip. For others, it’s the only reason. We also have plenty of killer whales coming in and out of Glacier Bay. Bay currents clash with Pacific currents, whipping up a fish feeding frenzy for the whales, porpoises and otters. We see an average of 20 whales in the Inside Passage and maybe six at sea.”

A day of leisurely looking at massive glaciers close up is a sight remembered for a lifetime. The endless photo ops ensure that. Sure, it can be a bit cold standing on the open decks, but smart cruisers know the value of dressing in layers to take advantage of Alaska in and out “sunshine.”

Glacier Bay Park rangers board the ship to do a daylong commentary. They explain the crystal cathedrals rising from the glaciers, which they describe as rivers of ice on ball bearings.

At each port visit there are endless outdoor activities for both the laid-back and the hearty. In addition to sightseeing, there are fishing trips, rafting, walking trails, hiking in wilderness, plus many others. But you get only a taste. Alaska is BIG. It’s two and a half times the size of Texas with 47,000 miles of coastline, 100,000 glaciers, 70 volcanoes, multiple earthquakes, but only 700,000 people.

Cruising Alaska has some other important advantages. Passengers never really are out of access to U.S. medical coverage and U.S. cell phones work on almost every port stop. And, it’s still the love boat. Some make it a romantic marriage at sea, combined with an exciting honeymoon. Capt. Stenzel, who has skippered this cruise for more than five years, has performed an estimated 50 marriages at sea.

There’s plenty to do on the four sea days. Food is available 24/7 in the dining rooms, cafes, grill and the self-service Horizon Court. Production shows are staged nightly and there are music, comedy, games and lectures on tap most of the time. Princess’ Anytime Dining makes it easy to enjoy a restaurant dinner when you’re ready and that goes for partying too. The ship’s upscale Sterling Steakhouse is available for a dinner reservation. It’s the only pay-to-dine restaurant aboard.

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I just returned from a marvelous experience cruising the Top End of Australia –  The Kimberley Region west of Darwin.

Darwin: a somewhat smallish, almost ‘frontier-like’ town rebuilt since a devastating typhoon in December 1974  almost destroyed the town.  Vibrant with new moneys both from the Northern Territory as well as from burgeoning iron ore resources which are ‘aplenty’ in this region of red rocks, I spent a day exploring town.  Darwin has a new waterfront development with water park, trendy restaurants, and condominiums overlooking the harbour.  Its shopping streets newly umbrella-ed with sun-protector covers as defense from this tropical zone’s intense heat are a social gathering spot in town.  I also visited the Contemporary Gallery of Art that currently was highlighting modern works on paper, acrylic and oil paintings, and sculptures in a juried show heavy with Aboriginal art influences.  Darwin is near one of the major Aboriginal reserves and Kakadu National Park.

ØRION awaited its complement of 85 passengers on the 03 September sailing.  Boarding was easy, gracious and welcoming.  I found myself the solo American on board this Australian adventure cruise.  Ørion Cruises has a variety of wonderful soft-adventure cruises in the South East Asian region as well as in the Sea of Japan, Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, Borneo, Isles of Indonesia, New Guinea/Tobriand Islands.  This particular cruise is a draw for Aussies from all over the continental nation as it is almost inaccessible by land without a major investment in driving time, on-road adventures and long days in vehicles.  I was really delighted to have a total immersion course in Aussie humour, adventurous spirit and fascination with their own country.

We were lucky to have a well-regarded film crew on board for our 10-day adventure; they do a travel program for Channel 7 TV  Australia (TravelBugTV) on an  independent basis and have exposure in Australia,  the UK and other countries as well.   All on the ship became ‘extras’ in the film although the team of four young men never intruded but only added fun and excitement to our explorations each day. View the video here.

Using zodiacs to explore the rivers, bays and the huge Montgomery Reef of this tropical sea where tides can vary up to 15 feet, we saw Australia’s natural environment up close and personal … saltwater crocs kept us out of the water much to their chagrin, amazing sea eagles, ospreys and other raptor species soared overhead, we searched for and found humpbacked whales on migration, sea snakes and dolphins along our smooth sailing via East Timor and back   to the Kimberley range.  This trip was a nature exploration — on the seas, hiking overland, on zodiac rides through the emerging reef structures — all this balanced by on-board lectures by our exploration leaders who were specialists in botany, deep sea diving, Aboriginal culture /artistic expressions and general love of the environment.

Dining on board was always varied and excellent.  Delicious breakfasts buffet style downstairs in the dining room or out on deck .. hand-made omlettes cooked on demand, yoghurts and fruit choices, cereals and a variety of baked bread stuffs.  Lunches out of deck were varied  — salads, soups, themed menus and always interestingly presented.  Dinners ran the gamut — barbecue on the back deck with the chef doing the honors grilling fresh fish, steaks, prawns cooked to perfection to a full gourmet meal one night prepared by the chef and his staff.   Afternoon teas with a trivia competition amongst guests were hosted by the two entertainers on board — Fran and Gus.  Fran was the perfect hostess keeping the afternoon/evening events going; Gus’ fantastic saxophone or piano medleys could not be matched  — both were low-key and welcoming.   We had a crew entertainment evening which found hidden talents amongst the cabin, deck, bar and restaurant staff.

Returning to Darwin at the end of the cruise was the only sad moment we had on board …. leaving felt like leaving one’s family behind knowing that we might meet up some time in the future or maybe not.  I certainly hope I do rejoin Ørion soon again!!!  Too many fascinating places yet to see and how better to do so than aboard a fine vessel in good company.

Tags: activities, adventure

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