Author: Ben Debski

Responsible travel in China

Posted on by Ben Debski

One sunny day in October 2009, I found myself on a wooden walkway overlooking the magnificent quartz-sandstone columns of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Hunan province. As I stood trying to take in the view, wave after wave of people pushed past me, eager to have their photos taken and move on. Around every corner, park staff dressed in ethnic clothing touted overpriced skewers, rickshaw rides and plastic bric-a-brac, and guides wielding megaphones shouted in a dozen different dialects. Fed up, tired and irritable, I then queued two hours to exit the park.

Unfortunately, most of China’s tourism still caters to the mass market. Zhangjiajie received thousands of visitors over the 2009 Golden Week Holiday alone, while Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest stadium received over 30,000 people per day in 2009. So many people passing through a place puts intense pressure on the local environment. What’s more, visitors are shuttled from site to site by large tour operators, outside investors open restaurants and hotels, and local communities have neither the money nor the skills to compete with them. Locals either move out or become part of the show, performing ‘traditional’ singing and dancing routines or selling tacky souvenirs.

But tourism, if managed properly, can be a powerful engine for social change. The concept of responsible travel has been around for three decades, and is based on the principle that tourism should:
– respect and preserve local culture and heritage
– protect the environment and conserve natural resources
– help local communities develop and improve their quality of life.

Happily, this form of tourism is gaining increasing support within China, from both the eco-conscious traveller and those who want to escape the masses and have a more meaningful experience.

New take on an old favourite
Nestled at the foot of Yangshuo’s famous karst peaks in Guangxi province is a shining example of how responsible tourism should work, and IS working. The Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (YSMR) has a holistic approach to sustainability, taking account of both nature and community in every aspect of its design, construction and operation. To reduce its carbon footprint, the retreat uses solar powered water heaters and fuel briquettes made from agricultural leftovers. The restaurant serves fresh food sourced from local farmers and cosy guest rooms are filled with bamboo furniture handmade in the traditional style.

YSMR also provides opportunities for local residents by employing staff almost exclusively from the neighbouring villages and investing in their development. Staff receive extensive training in hospitality, service standards and language and go on an annual learning holiday to better understand best practices in sustainable tourism. YSMR is 100 percent managed by the local people, who share in the profits and are inspired to continually improve services for guests. Located just an hour outside of Guilin, the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat is the perfect place to get off the beaten tourist path. Ditch the crowded tour boats for a spot of punting on the Yulong River, a hike through emerald rice paddies, or a spot of rock-climbing on the nearby Copper Gate Mountain.

Extreme R&R
High in the Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) National Nature Preserve, a local Tibetan is using ecotourism to jump-start sustainable community development. The Pendeba Society, one of the first nonprofits registered in the TAR, was established by Tsering Norbu in 2009 to train volunteer community-service workers (or Pendebas in Tibetan) in nature conservation, basic health and hospitality. Tourism provides traditional herder-cultivators with an alternative source of income, reducing the pressure of grazing and farming on the fragile ecosystems of the Tibetan Plateau. Locals also learn the importance of protecting their precious natural resources. The Pendeba Society Training Centre doubles as a guesthouse, where travellers can go to find peace and experience the tranquillity of the pristine wilderness.

Recharge your batteries
A common misconception is that sustainability means the sacrifice of creature comforts and convenience. While some eco-lodges do offer a more rustic taste of simple village life, places like The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu in Beijing, naked Retreats in Moganshan just outside of Shanghai and Crosswaters Ecolodge & Spa two hours travel from Hong Kong, are showing that high-end sustainable tourism is possible. Conveniently located right outside major cities, these beautiful retreats attract urbanites looking to escape the business of city life, reconnect with nature and recharge their batteries.

Get your hands dirty
Volunteer vacations are a fun and fulfilling way to travel. Projects range from simple litter-picking in country parks to more complex building projects and highly-skilled support such as providing medical aid or technology training. As volunteers pay a fee for their trips, it is important to be careful when choosing projects to ensure that work being done is actually necessary and directly benefits the local communities. Although the concept of volunteer vacations is still relatively new in China, there is growing interest from independent travellers, schools and companies that want to ‘do something good’. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that builds simple, affordable housing for low-income families organises frequent builds in China and around Asia. The Earthwatch Institute invites people to work alongside scientists in field research that promotes understanding action necessary for a sustainable environment. WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) offers opportunities to live and work on organic farms around the world, and in return volunteers receive food, accommodation and the opportunity to learn about sustainable living.

China’s travel industry is growing at a phenomenal rate, particularly in rural areas where it is viewed as quick way to promote economic growth. As travellers go further into China’s wild areas, we must remember to do so responsibly. Next time you take a family holiday, school trip or company retreat why not consider choosing to support responsible travel? Creating enough demand will encourage the industry to grow and China’s beautiful landscapes and unique cultural heritage will remain wild, authentic and incredible to experience for years to come.

Secrets of Shangri-La
There are many ways to experience China’s rich heritage and natural beauty ethically, the Songtsam Circuit is one of the country’s finest.

China has become one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, especially following the buzz of the 2008 Olympics. The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are also fueling this travel boom. In 2020, China should become the largest tourist country and the fourth largest for overseas travel. But very few travelers ever think to explore the off-the-beaten-path destinations in this vast country, tending to stick with iconic destinations like The Great Wall, Beijing and Shanghai. Nevertheless, there are alternative travel options for the discerning traveler.

Imagine waking up in a room facing the dramatic snow-capped peaks of the Holy Kawagebo Mountain, sipping a cup of freshly brewed tea in a courtyard garden on the upper-reaches of Great Mekong River. Imagine meditating with a Tibetan master surrounded by farmland and Buddhist temples or spending a day trekking along an ancient Tibetan pilgrimage route, before returning to an elegant, luxury boutique hotel.

Songtsam Circuit Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Shangri-la (3,200m)
Arrive at Diqing Shangri-La airport and transfer to Songtsam Retreat, furnished with Tibetan art, rugs, and furniture, where you will watch the sun set behind 19,000-foot peaks.

Day 2: Shangri-La
Constructed in 1679 and full of precious artifacts, the Songzanlin Monastery is the biggest Buddhist monastery in Yunnan and home to 700 monks. Add colorful prayer flags adorned with Buddhist sutras to the thousands placed by previous pilgrims, and follow devotees on the sacred path around the monastery. Explore local social enterprises, including a yak cheese producer, traditional Tibetan rug makers, and handicraft workshops. That evening, enjoy an authentic Tibetan meal in a family home.

Day 3:  Shangri-La to Benzilan (2,000m or 6,600ft)
Take a two- to three-hour drive from Shangri-La to Benzilan, another major trade centre. On the way, stop in towns and learn about the local crafts.  After dinner, spend the evening walking around the beautiful village of Benzilan and visiting local families.

Day 4:  Benzilan to Deqin (4,000m or 13,100ft)
An optional morning meditation with a Tibetan master awaits you, followed by a visit to the second largest Tibetan Buddhist lamasery in Yunnan, Dhondupling Monastery. Afterwards, drive to Meili Snow Mountain via Baima National Reserve, a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site that is home to red pandas and snow leopards.

Day 5:  Mount Meili (The Holy Mountain)
Wake up early to witness Kawagebo, the highest peak in the Meili Mountains, bathed in the golden light of sunrise. Enjoy a day hike and appreciate the beauty of the mysterious Meili Snow Mountain. Later mount horses and ride to Mingyong Glaciers, one of the lowest latitude glaciers in the world.

Day 6:  Deqin to Shangri-La
The morning is free for you to enjoy the lodge and its surroundings. You are welcome to take another hike, relax in the spiritual setting surrounded by mountains, or enjoy a Tibetan massage. A farewell hot pot meal (a pot of simmering stock into which ingredients are cooked fondue-style by the diners) caps off a peaceful day.

Day 7:  Depart Shangri-La
Relax while your luggage is handled and transportation is arranged to the airport.  For guests with time in the morning, explore the hotel amenities.

Samantha Woods is sustainability manager for WildChina, an award-winning travel company that provides distinctive, responsible travel experiences to all corners of China. WildChina’s signature community service trips for schools and our new Sustainable Leadership Academy for businesses take travellers to experience China differently and create meaningful change in underserved rural communities. Samantha.Woods@WildChina.com

Slow train through the Orient

Posted on by Ben Debski

Shortly after 6:30pm on a brisk October evening in 1882, the Orient Express pulled out of Paris Gare de Strasbourg station bound for Vienna for the very first time. The train was packed with giddy passengers suited up in smoking jackets and ball gowns for a decadent, pampering ride of their lives across Europe. When the route was expanded a few years later to take in Constantinople, further indulging the colonialist imagination, celebrities, kings, courtesans and spies all joined in the party, cavorting around the cabins and clinking their crystal glasses together to celebrate the promise of a great future. Though the route thrived for a good half a century, war, depression and the advent of the jet airliner brought an end to the gaiety and opulence. By the 1960s, interest in rail travel – to say nothing of luxury trains – had dwindled, and the days of the Orient Express itself were numbered. The train made its final journey in the late 1970s, reduced to a single dilapidated sleeping car and a few shabby saloons.

Now, the Orient Express mythology is back. And how. This year, Eastern & Oriental Express – the Singapore-based sister of the original train company – has launched The Chronicles, four new over-the-top luxury rail journeys through Southeast Asia. In January, I boarded the inaugural trip, Fables of The Hills, for a mesmerising and extremely plush journey from Singapore to Bangkok. With these new routes, the E&O now stands out as one of the world’s most spectacular overland journeys, rivalling the Trans-Siberian in sheer exoticism and trumping the VSOE from Venice to Istanbul for its landscapes (let’s face it: the hinterlands of Southeastern Europe don’t exactly scream Taschen coffee table book visuals).

The 1,249-mile journey can be done in a straight shot of around 42 hours, but why rush things? The E&O offers passengers a leisurely week to take in the paddy fields, lush jungles and handsome temples of the Malaysian peninsula and southern Thailand. For travellers who favour the journey over the destination, your time machine has arrived and is ready for departure

The journey begins
We boarded the train on a balmy afternoon as a kilted battalion of majorettes and bagpipers from the Singapore Police Force Band serenaded us with an eminent rendition of Singapura Oh Singapura. On the train, butlers and attendants scurried about the cabins, making notes of passengers’ preferences for breakfast breads and tea. Guests were led to the observation car and handed flutes of champagne (the train’s non-stop open bar certainly did not hinder social lubrication). And as the locomotive pulled out of Keppel Road Station, crossing the causeway over the Straits of Johor towards the lowlands of Malaysia, we kicked back and gazed out towards a setting sun, drinks in hand. It felt like a theatrical performance – only we were the ones on stage.

Come evening time, we were walked to the dining car, whose tables were bedecked with Speiglau crystal and fine-bone Ginori china. The meals that followed were studies in culinary genius – especially when you consider that the chef and kitchen staff had to prepare everything from a cubicle of a room that regularly moved at speeds of 60mph. The cuisine served was mostly European, with subtle hints of the flavours of Southeast Asia. Wonton of goose liver in truffle bouillon. Fresh crisp fennel salad. Rolled masala chicken on lemongrass risotto. Fragrant Siamese yellow curry. Medallion of beef with fricassee of vegetables. Gnocchi in a fragrant vindaloo sauce. Hardly your standard issue train grub.

Not a single lunch or dinner I ate on that train would have been out of place in a five-star, white-tablecloth restaurant in Paris or London. But the food is just one aspect of the journey that has been honed and fine-tuned over the past twenty-four years.

The E&O dates back to 1987, when Orient-Express Hotels chairman James Sherwood observed that the route between Singapore and Bangkok had all the hallmarks of a luxury rail journey: beautiful countryside, dense jungles, a panorama of ethnic groups and cultures, and heavy colonial mythology. Still, getting an Orient Express set up in Asia was hardly a cakewalk. Until the E&O, a single-journey train connection between Malaysia and Thailand didn’t even exist – there simply was never any privately-owned rolling stock operating on public Asian rails. Setting up the route involved agreements from scores of politicians and bureaucrats – even a special cabinet resolution in Thailand. The two dozen Japanese-built stainless steel railway carriages themselves, which had been in use in New Zealand for nearly two decades, had to be completely taken apart, restored and specially modified to fit the minutely diverging rail gauges of Malaysia (one metre) and Thailand (1.067 metres). Carriages were stripped bare, brakes overhauled, wheels re-gauged, couplers re-machined, plumbing installed, ductwork revamped, carpets re-tufted, windows re-glazed, marquetry chiselled, panels lacquered, teakwood laid, varnish applied and Orfevrerie de Chambly silver tableware ordered.

Sublime settings
Now, the E&O, with its polished cream and green finish and fine rosewood panelling, feels more like a meticulously-restored classic car than a rail transport vehicle. Inside one finds immaculate art deco lamps, walls adorned with decorative lacquer panels carved with inlaid designs and slender wooden corridors that lead to private en-suite cabins with in-ceiling A/C, power showers and Bulgari bath products – veritable bungalows-on-wheels. With trappings like this, it should come as little surprise that romantic and eco-friendly luxury rail travel has become all the rage in recent years: the grandeur of the E&O may just make you forget that you are even on a train.

Still, while the E&O is clearly a destination in and of itself, it is the backdrop of Southeast Asia that makes the journey. We rode elephants and watched monkeys pluck coconuts from trees in Surat Thani. We crossed the bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi. We painted batik prints on silk at a centre dedicated to preserving Malay handicrafts in Kuala Lumpur. We strolled about Malaysia’s most gorgeous religious building, the Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar, the first foothold of the British Empire in Malaysia during the late nineteenth century. It was Agatha Christie who first wrote, “To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns, churches and rivers, in fact, to see life.” Effectively, we experienced a week of travel to the Orient of Old Indochina and Siam.

I had forgotten how hot Southeast Asia can be – not Dubai hot or Kazakhstan hot, but balmy, thick-air sweaty, palm-tree-humid Hawai’i hot. So humid, in fact, that at times the air was even too heavy to stand sitting in the open observation car as the train zoomed forth at full speed. North of Kuala Lumpur we arrived to the quiet hills of the Cameron Highlands, an ex-British hill station with amazing vistas and cool temperatures that provided a welcome change from Malaysia’s muggy plains. In 1885, British surveyor William Cameron was sent here to scout out the viability of a hill station settlement. When the connecting road from Tapah was built several decades later, tea planters and vegetable growers – to say nothing of golf courses, boarding schools, inns and the other calling cards of the colonial experience – soon followed. We tasted tea at leafy plantations and hiked along densely wooded paths.

The next day, when the train pulled into the waterside Butterworth station, we hopped on a ferry to explore the Buddhist temples and Chinese clan houses of UNESCO-protected Penang. The spice island has been defined by multiculturalism for centuries, with co-existing ethnic Hokkien and Fujian Chinese, Tamil-speaking Indians and often-trilingual Malays. It’s a fascinating place if you have an interest in the many melting pots of the world.

Taste of the east
The only conundrum during the journey was figuring out how to bask in the luxury of teak woods, open bars and butler service and get to experience Asia in any real, meaningful way. I’ve never been one for fully guided tours or cursory travel – the anthropologist within me has always preferred experiences that are, well, experiential. But I discovered that the E&O does enable you to get to know the lands of the Orient – on its own terms.

The experience of reading a dusty photographic tome about Siamese kings in a velvety reading room as southern Thailand speeds by outside the window. The experience of listening to a crooning jazz pianist tap out As Time Goes By at sunset – as the steam whistle of your locomotive blasts in the distance. The experience of sitting at an outdoor hawker centre on Penang as a Michelin-worthy chef guides you through a scrumptious table of stingray, squid, horseshoe crab and cheese-stuffed king prawns cooked in coconut juice. These are, to be sure, experiences that you would never find anywhere else.

When I asked one passenger why he had joined the train journey, he told me that he had worked hard for twenty years trading gold. When his wife had a near-death experience the year prior, they both decided to take stock of their lives. “I realised that I hadn’t seen anything of the world,” he told me, as Asia raced by us, the air thick with scent of palm oil and jasmine. Our time machine was moving full steam ahead.

You close your eyes and hear the train clattering along the tracks, the soft laughter of your fellow passengers and the clinking of ice cubes in everyone’s glasses. You get to be another person, and live in another era. In the last century, passengers on an Orient Express journey celebrated the promise of a great future. Today it’s the past that one toasts on the E&O, but the experience is no less decadent or wondrous. If there were ever a rainy day to save your pennies for, by George I think you’ve got it.

Culture club

Posted on by Ben Debski

Perhaps the best-known and most popularly appreciated of all EU initiatives, the European Capital of Culture programme is high-profile, colourful and fun. In short, it’s everything the EU is often deemed not to be.

It was the inspired idea of a Greek actress as she waited for a delayed flight in Athens airport in 1985. Glamorous Melina Mercouri, then working as Greece’s Minister of Culture, had the idea for the annual scheme while chatting with her French counterpart Jack Lang. Seven months later, Athens became the first ever European City of Culture. (The ‘City’ in the title was changed to ‘Capital’ in 2001). It has snowballed ever since. To date, 44 cities have taken up the mantle, each chosen only after intense bidding and fine toothcomb assessment. Selection criteria have mutated over the years but the most essential – and elegantly paradoxical – requirement remains the same: the city must celebrate Europe’s cultural diversity and its cultural unity. How is the city distinctive, and how does it link with a wider Europe?

Cities aren’t chosen for what they are, but for what they’re going to do. A UNESCO World Heritage Site counts for nothing compared to an inspired set of ideas for events and long-term development. The city must organise a thunderous year-long programme of arts and cultural happenings, and retain a legacy of cultural infrastructure and social improvement beyond its single year in the spotlight. A pretty tall order. Do all the cities ultimately pull this task off? Most of them do, yes, according to independent evaluations.

The benefits to cities holding the ECOC title are readily imagined – massive investment in building and renewal projects, plus golden a opportunity to re-brand > themselves under a sudden blaze of media attention. The EU also benefits from getting its different member states’ citizens excited about each other. Excitement breeds tourism, business deals, and pride in being part of a colourful, united continent. Some cities have made more of their opportunity than others. Notable triumphs include Glasgow, whose 1990 ECOC year rejuvenated a struggling metropolis and sparked off an enduring tourist industry.

Antwerp’s stint in 1993 is said to have diffused extremist political tensions in the city. While Thessaloniki’s spell as ECOC in 1997 revived theatres and transformed old warehouses to leave Greece’s second city with a particularly lavish set of cultural venues.
Not every city has such a smooth time of it, of course. How have more recent title-holders managed? Here’s a look at the seven very different cities to have been a European Capital of Culture in the past three years…

Linz (Austria), 2009
Austria’s industrial capital is a protean city, adept at transformation and self-redefinition. A little trading town until the mid-1800s, Linz ballooned in population and importance with the advent of heavy industry – proper manly stuff like shipbuilding, train-engineering, steelworks and armaments factories. By the mid-20th century, it was a dirty, dull, industrial city squatting beneath a foul cloud of air pollution. So from the 1970s onwards the city burghers began a clever, determined programme of cultural enrichment – the establishment of art schools, an orchestra, an electronic arts festival, museums and so on. Plus strict limits on emissions. These days, the third largest city in Austria, Linz is a lively, progressive place that has successfully carved out its own identity.

This isn’t the Austria most of us know. Linz straddles the Danube amidst the pastoral landscapes of Upper Austria – a world away from the classic, jagged mountainscapes further south. Culturally, Linz shines differently to plump, bourgeois Salzburg or Vienna – celebrating modernity and industry rather than Mozart or waltzes. The city’s Ars Electronica museum, for example, showcases the creative possibilities of new technology and remains one of the most genuinely innovative museums in Europe. As the beloved childhood home of Adolf Hitler and Adolf Eichmann, Linz has every reason to reject the past and embrace the future.

Linz’s stint as European Capital of Culture aimed to underscore the city’s status as a place of dynamic, contemporary creativity  a forward-looking place in an often conservative country. More than three million people attended almost 8,000 events and exhibitions. One project, ‘Hönerausch – High Altitude Euphoria’, drew more than 270,000 visitors and was the most successful contemporary art event ever staged in Austria. While other Austrian cities saw a drop in visitor numbers that year, Linz enjoyed a 10 percent increase in overnight stays (although, disappointingly, tourism dropped by 15 percent the following year). Several projects, such as Linzer Charta and the Kepler Salon, are ongoing.

Vilnius (Lithuania), 2009
A delirium of Baroque architecture, Vilnius sits in a gentle valley surrounded by pine-covered hills. Its myriad domes and belfries bloom above winding alleyways and charming cobblestoned squares. On the south side of the river, the slick towers of commerce point their silver shapes into the sky – including the Europa Tower, the tallest building in the Baltic states.

Vilnius was the first city of the former-Soviet-Union countries to be named a European Capital of Culture. It was a fitting year to do it too, as 2009 was a millennial year in the city’s history. (The first-ever mention of Vilnius was in a medieval manuscript from 1009.) The ECOC selection panel were impressed by Vilnius’s monster enthusiasm to hold the title and by the city’s obvious optimism in considering its new, post-communist future. Vilnius scored big points with its strong inter-European dimension too, having longstanding links with Poland and large numbers of Poles among its citizenry.

Vilnius had lots of clever ideas for its year-long programme of arts and cultural events, and did especially well in involving artists from a wide range of other EU countries. Several of the ECOC events have now become stalwarts of the city’s calendar every year, particularly the chilly winter night-time jollity of ‘Culture Night’. But Vilnius’s 2009 programme suffered greatly from the onset of the recession and subsequent cuts to the organisers’ budgets. Several building projects and events were curtailed.

Being such an attractive city and one that was unfamiliar to most Europeans before its year as an ECOC, Vilnius definitely benefitted from the exposure the title conferred. Many of its 2009 visitors came back, or spread the word to others about the city’s charm.

Essen for the Ruhr (Germany), 2010
Despite being the birthplace of the great guidebook publisher Baedecker, Essen is no tourist city. The unofficial capital of Germany’s industrial-powerhouse Ruhr region, Essen sees a thicket of office towers rising above teeming shopping streets. Yet there are attractions for the visitor here – great nightlife, some extremely handsome early-20th-century commercial buildings, and a wonderful UNESCO World Heritage Site to the north of the city. The retro-futuristic Zeche Zollverein is a cathedral of industry, a vast Bauhaus-style 1930s coal mine and coking plant now sprouting museums and artists’ studios. It’s one of many old factories in and around Essen cleverly transformed into art-spaces.

According to EU rules, only cities can compete for the Capital of Culture title. But Essen cheekily found a way to act as figurehead for a whole region. Marketed as ‘RUHR.2010’, Essen’s year in the limelight was a thoroughly well-organized affair. The German media lavished attention on the city and the region, and the marketing of RUHR.2010 was acclaimed as ‘Cultural Brand of the Year’. The organizers faced a tricky balancing act, celebrating the Ruhr as a whole while also strengthening the identity of each of the 53 individual towns and communities involved. One valuable legacy of the year’s events appears to be a new spirit of collaboration between towns which previously had long-standing rivalries and only acted in self-interest. Now new networks bind them closer together.

In the run-up to 2010, around €1bn was invested by public and private sources in large-scale building and development projects in Essen. During the year itself, 10.5 million people enthusiastically attended 5,500 cultural events – including one of the most spectacular ECOC events of recent years, the ‘picnic on the motorway’. The tragic loss of 21 lives in a crush at the Loveparade in Duisburg cast a shadow over this otherwise highly successful year.

Istanbul (Turkey), 2010
When Turkey’s biggest city was announced as a European Capital of Culture, it came as a shock to some. Not only is Turkey not in the European Union, it isn’t even in Europe. But Istanbul, ever a place of exceptions and paradoxes, enjoys a unique position as the only city in the world to straddle two continents – being partly in Europe and partly in Asia.

Physically and culturally bridging East and West, Istanbul (a.k.a. Byzantium and Constantinople) has been in its time the capital of three world empires – Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. The city offers a dizzying mix of ancient and modern, with millennia-old architectural treasures vying for attention with glossy shopping malls and super-stylish nightlife. The Capital of Culture year came during a boom-time for Istanbul.

Prosperous and expanding, the city was already welcoming new international businesses, casting up new luxury hotels, spawning new suburbs, and watching its property values climb. With a population nigh on 16 million, some independent evaluators asked: would an ECOC year of events even be noticed by most citizens?

Keenly aware that being a Capital of Culture could boost Turkey’s candidacy for EU membership, the organizers put in a very polished and well-structured original bid for the title – emphasizing Istanbul’s huge historical significance to Europe, its liberal stance on religion, its power for cultural exchange, etc. As 2010 approached, the organisers increasingly had to wrangle with politicians who tried to take over, and eventually did so.

Building projects to mark the year included a new concert hall, a new library, new museums, and the restoration of many ancient monuments – including the old city walls. A lively programme of cultural events filled the calendar, with a significant number of activities addressing the status of women – a key area in which Istanbul can be said to lag slightly behind other European cities.

Pécs (Hungary), 2010
A centre for arts and culture since medieval times, pretty Pécs sits contentedly on a series of gentle hillsides in the southwest corner of Hungary. Its delicate townhouses and restrained Baroque buildings flank Roman-era remains and striking pieces of Islamic architecture relics from 150 years of Ottoman occupation. Dubbing itself the borderless city, Pécs certainly has a multicultural past and present. Yesterday’s Magyars, Turks and Balkans have ceded to today’s harmonious mix of Hungarians, Croats and Swabians.
The first university in Hungary – also one of the first in Europe – was founded in Pécs in 1367. The city has sprouted others since. Today Pécs’s modest population of 150,000 includes a whopping 35,000 students, ensuring a youthful buzz in the cafés and on the streets. In fact, Pécs has a relaxed, convivial vibe in general. It’s hundreds of miles from the sea, yet visitors often remark that the place has a vaguely Mediterranean atmosphere.

Pécs had a strong record for hosting festivals and cultural events long before becoming a European Capital of Culture. In securing the title, the city’s main aim was to fund the building of new artistic and cultural spaces. It built a slick combined concert and conference centre, all warm-coloured wood and clever acoustics. It revamped and refitted the various museums on Museum Street. And it revived or improved more than 70 parks or other public spaces – including the entire city centre. Problems came with political change in the city and the late arrival of funding. Thus several of these infrastructure projects weren’t completed until well into 2010. Perhaps most disappointingly, the centerpiece project of the ECOC year – the regeneration of an elegant old factory into the ‘Zsolnay Cultural Quarter’ – still isn’t quite finished.

Tallinn (Estonia), 2011
Before taking up the title in 2011, this Capital of Culture already had lots of cultural capital. One of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, Tallinn is a tourist gem. Visitors are wowed by this unspoilt, fairytale city of cobblestone alleyways, red roofs and needle-fine steeples. But this living museum is also the commercial and political heart of Estonia, whose economy has famously been one of the fastest-growing in the EU since it became a member state seven years ago, having thrown off its USSR shackles in 1991.

Big on IT and communications industries (Skype originated here and Ericsson has a major production facility here), the New York Times once called Tallinn ‘the Silicon Valley of the Baltic’. It’s an energetic, hard-working place, purported to generate about half of Estonia’s total GDP. Business parks throw shiny new buildings against the sky, while designer boutiques and trendy lounge-bars beckon from modern, prosperous streets.

Tallinn is lucky it had so much going for it, because its original presentation bid for European Capital of Culture was wobbly. The selection panel found it all a bit vague, and lacking in ideas for long-term development. Tallinn sought to highlight its ‘mystical charm’ and its ‘everlasting fairytale’ element, and the EU powers-that-be said “OK, but you need plenty of good contemporary, inter-European stuff too.” The Tallinners went away and did some more plotting…

Now that the year is underway, Tallinn’s Capital of Culture programme will count as the biggest cultural event in Estonia’s history, with something happening every single day.

Following the lively calendar of art activities, concrete legacies of 2011 will include an extension to the Tallinn City Theatre, improvements to the important Tallinn Song Festival grounds, and the re-development of an old power station into an arts centre.

Turku (Finland), 2011
Sitting in Finland’s lovely southwest corner, beside a vast archipelago of islands stretching halfway to Sweden, Turku is Finland’s oldest city. It was the original capital, too, until Russia seized the country in the early 1800s and moved the capital to Helsinki – which was at that time “just a fishermen’s village with six huts” as any Turku native will delight in telling you.

The city’s 800-year history aside, today Turku is famed for its hi-tech industries – especially bioscience and IT. Cholesterol-reducing foodstuffs were invented here, as was technology that enabled the development of wi-fi. The Turku Science Park area is home to more than 300 companies as well as various research and teaching institutions. Turku benefits from Finland’s particularly generous spending on R&D, which is the second-highest in Europe in terms of percentage of total GDP. Turku is also big on academia generally, with a fine clutch of universities in the city. Above all, it’s a safe, clean and thoroughly pleasant place to be. Turku’s citizens enjoy a high quality of life, and love nothing more than to sail off into the serene, unspoilt Aland archipelago at the weekend – a dreamy wonderland of swimming, cycling and summer cottages.

The opening ceremony to Turku’s ECOC year was spectacular, attended by 60,000 people well wrapped-up against the cold in scarves and fluffy hats, their cherry-cheeked kids in tow. The chief hub of the year’s events is the Logomo centre, a re-developed former engineering workshop in the old shipbuilding part of town. Inter-European communication will be a recurrent theme for the year – which is only fitting for a city that’s officially bilingual, in Finnish and Swedish, and unofficially tri-lingual, with English almost universally understood. Perhaps the chief legacy for Turku will be international exposure. Few Europeans have previously heard about this secret gem of a city.

Viennese whirl

Posted on by Ben Debski

On the banks of the Danube, Vienna and its population of over two million people bask proudly in their cultural heritage. Vienna’s love affair with the arts stretches back centuries and helped make it today, Austria’s number one tourist attraction.

A romantic imperial city, Vienna bears the hallmarks of a capital steeped in history, beautifully contrasted by its modern infrastructure. A city of music, Vienna was home to some of history’s greatest composers. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss were all proud to call Vienna their home.

Vienna’s musical heritage has been preserved to the present day. The Vienna Boys Choir is ever popular and the Wiener Philharmoniker remains a world class orchestra. But it’s not all about classical music. Vienna boasts a vibrant nightlife that compares with the best, catering for folks of all ages, young and old.

Historically a city of culture, Vienna boasts many talents amongst its repertoire. Whatever the time of year, you can be certain the city has plenty to offer.

A theatre break is always a rewarding experience; witness the latest film and dance productions or just sit back and soak up the best of classical opera. A vast array of concerts and exhibitions are held throughout the year.

If you just want to relax and idly watch the world go by then make a beeline for one of Vienna’s many coffee houses. Take the weight off your feet and exchange thoughts of the day with your fellow coffee connoisseurs.

For those in need of something a little stronger, a visit to one of the city’s wine taverns will have you unwinding in no time.

Historical charm
Throughout history, Vienna has embraced the world of art and proudly boasts many of its own world famous artists. Through the centuries, kings and queens of Austria were passionate art collectors, rendering Austria – and Vienna in particular – a treasure trove of fine art.

Many of these masterpieces can be seen at the Museum of Fine Arts; a magnificent building exhibiting works from across the world, in particular that of its favourite sons.
Indeed, art and literature feature predominately during Vienna’s history. Underground railway stations designed by Otto Wagner are listed properties; coffee house literature is digested by both young and old.

Wherever you stay in Vienna, historical landmarks are never far, many dating back to medieval times.

Set in beautiful grounds, Belvedere Palace is a magnificent example of Viennese architecture. Designed by the famous Baroque architect Von Hildebrandt, the fabulous palace was originally built for Prince Eugene of Savoy.

Besides their love of the arts, the Viennese love to shop. Markets are scattered throughout Vienna but most popular is the Naschmarkt. Dating back to the 16th century, everything from children’s shoes to apples can be purchased. If you can endure the crowds, bargains are aplenty.

Indulge in the fun and games at the Prater, Vienna’s biggest funfair. If the noise and crowds become too much, escape to the open fields or take a stroll through the adjacent forest and chill out with the wildlife.

For spectacular views of the city head for the Danube Tower, known locally as the Concrete Needle. The tower is over 350 meters high; with your head in the clouds, Vienna never looked so good.

Vienna was once home to Habsburg Empire. The Empire is long gone, but Vienna remains rich in Imperial history and there are many historic attractions to be seen throughout the city and you’ll find that many of the narrow medieval alleyways, cobbled lanes and imperial squares have survived the centuries.

City delights
Many ancient monuments can be found throughout the city. The Schonbrunn Palace and the Imperial Palace (Hofburg) are a treat to behold. The Imperial Treasury is a must see when you visit Vienna. The Imperial Furniture Collection is also a popular stop for visitors to the city. If you walk along the Ring Boulevard you will find examples of stunning majestic architecture.

Make sure to visit the Stephansplatz in the heart of the city where you can see the cathedral’s tall spire. You are able to climb to the top of the spire and despite the effort, it is well worth the stunning view of the whole of Vienna and some of its countryside that you will be rewarded from the top. Parliament and the aquarium zoo are other sites that may interest tourists to Vienna.

There are a variety of accommodation options in Vienna and tourists should be able to find accommodation to fit any style or budget. You can find beautiful five star luxury hotels and if these are beyond your budget you can choose to stay in a reasonably priced pension or bed and breakfast. Apartment-hotels are a popular choice in Vienna as they provide extra space and privacy with a fully equipped kitchen. Rental apartments are also available, ranging from luxury apartments to smaller, cheaper ones.

Sweet like chocolate

Posted on by Ben Debski

Brussels, Belgium is a city shouldering many responsibilities. It is the capital of Belgium, the capital of Flanders, the capital of the French Community of Belgium. It is a lso the location of many of the European Union’s institutions and is therefore considered the capital of the European Union. And if that weren’t enough, it’s also the political seat of NATO. Although its responsibilities give it an air of importance, Brussels is not to be overlooked as one of the premier vacation cities in Europe.

The city’s name is derived from an old Dutch word, “broucsella”, which means “marsh home” or “home consisting of one room, in the marsh.” Along with its rather quaint name, Brussels has an equally charming body of local traditions.

One such tradition is the House of Toone, a theatre of marionette puppets. Originally in the Marolles area, it now holds shows that introduce visitors to the local languages and customs in a 1696 estaminet just steps away from the Grand Place.

Another popular tradition in Brussels is the Ommegang, which means “walking around.” The tradition began in the 14th century as a religious processional. It occurs each July and is held in memory of Charles V’s Joyous Entry into Brussels in 1549. The parade is very colourful, including floats, giant puppets, and groups dressed in medieval costumes.
Still another interesting custom is the Meyboom or “tree of May” celebration. As part of this ancient festivity, a young beech tree is paraded through the city and planted among joyful music and giant puppets.

There is a language border that more or less separates the country of Belgium into two entities. The northern part of Belgium is Dutch speaking, where as the southern half is French speaking. There are parts of both sides that speak both languages, and the city of Brussels is the same way. Brussels is a bilingual city which allows for a more diverse culture and the ease of entry for a larger group of people.

Marvellous eccentricity
Brussels also has many cultural attractions and landmarks, such as Grand Place, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and the Royal Palace of Belgium. Belgium is also the birthplace of many comic characters, like the Smurfs, Largo Winch, Tintin, and Lucky Luke, so there are many murals and frescos throughout the city honouring these characters.

Indeed, the comic spirit of the inhabitants of Brussels is evident in its most famous statue. A quirky little bronze statue called Manneken Pis or Jeanneke Pis. It depicts a little boy urinating into the basin of a fountain. Legend has it that this modest little fellow once saved the city’s inhabitants from an invading foreign power by urinating on explosive charges set on the city walls. There are however numerous stories regarding the origins of the statue – which one you’re told largely depends on the tour guide. As if all this hype surrounding the pint-sized hero isn’t enough, the statue has its very own wardrobe of more than 100 costumes, of which a different one is donned several times a week and in accordance with special events.

Historic town centre
One of the most popular attractions in Brussels is the Grand-Place. This is thought to be one of the most breathtaking squares in the world. It is surrounded by old buildings such as the Hotel de Ville. The origins of the Grand-Place date back to the 12th century when a market was developed to be linked to important commercial roads to the Rhineland and Flanders. From the 14th Century onwards the square played an important role in the rise of local merchants, tradesmen and guilds, many of whom left behind exquisite examples of their craft symbols gilded on to surrounding buildings. The square is also flanked by the medieval Brussels City Hall, built between 1401 and 1455. Towering 96 metres into the sky, a statue of St Michael slaying a demon sits atop to form one of the most iconic and beautiful buildings in the city.

If you are in Brussels to soak up the culture this is a must see. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts is the best collection of art in Belgium, and thousands of people from all over travel to the museum on a yearly basis.

Exploring Brussels’ many nooks and crannies is an even more pleasurable experience thanks to a wealth of traditional and contemporary bars and restaurants. Indulge with a famous crepe and devilish Belgian chocolate, or simply relax with a bowl of moules frittes and mug of traditional beer.

Getting there and around
As you might expect from a city that’s dubbed “capital of Europe”, Brussels enjoys strong transport links – not only within Belgium and Europe but throughout the globe. Brussels has strong rail links with other European countries and the city has an efficient internal public transport system that utilises underground, trains, trams and buses.

Getting there by air
Brussels most prolific airport is “Brussels International Airport” (located in Zaventem) and is 13km away from Brussels city centre. The majority of airlines fly to this destination and as you would expect it has the features & facilities you would expect from a major international airport. From Brussels International, you can reach your ultimate destination by train, taxi or bus.

Getting there by train
The Eurostar operates a full service to Bruxelles Midi, and the Thalys Express also runs between Brussels and destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, The Hague and Cologne.

Getting around – trams, trains, buses & taxis
It’s fairly easy and inexpensive to move about within Brussels. A single ticket can be purchased for under two euros and can be used anywhere on the STIB network (metros, trams and buses). The network is quite comprehensive so it’s fairly easy to hop from one location of Brussels to another. Don’t forget to stamp your ticket – if you’re caught without a valid ticket there are hefty fines of up to 55 Euros imposed. There are various options for discounted tickets depending on your length of stay – for around 30 Euros you can grab a “Brussels Card” which allows unlimited public transport travel for three days as well as free admission to various landmarks.

Public transport in Brussels is made up of a comprehensive yet easy to navigate train system that’s well supported by a further network of trams and buses.

The tram network is a good way of navigating around the city centre. Trams are quite frequent and not only meander through Brussels town centre but also reach much of the outer city and suburban areas.

Swiss well-being

Posted on by Ben Debski

The eagerly anticipated Le Spa at the Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva has set a new benchmark in elegant destination spas, offering a superb menu of authentic Ayurvedic therapies from India and beautifying treatments. The result is a natural ambiance of tranquillity in contemporary Asian and Arabian surroundings.

Le Spa boasts 1,400m2 across two luxurious levels of this chic city hotel and features twelve large treatment rooms, a traditional Hammam with two scrubbing rooms, a post treatment relaxation area, a yoga room, an expansive VIP suite complete with private Hammam and oversized tub, a state-of-the-art fitness centre and the largest private indoor pool in Geneva.

Le Spa at the Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva exclusively offers the much coveted and award-winning Cinq Mondes created therapies whose massages, aromatherapy and cosmetics are inspired by ancient cultures. “Fascinated by massages, aromatherapy and cosmetics, I have spent several years travelling the globe to discover five ancestral cultures and find the best treatments, massages and cosmetics products possible for the most prestigious Spa: the Beauty Rituals of the World” says Jean-Louis Poiroux, President of the brand.

Respecting the five formulation principles – tested under dermatological control, no silicone, no artificial colouring, no animal-based raw materials and no mineral oil – the Cinq Mondes cosmetic preparations benefits from the effectiveness of plant extracts from the pharmacopoeia of the country of origin whilst guaranteeing total safety.

The design of the Spa is unparalleled: Carefully selected natural materials like dark wood bamboo, as well as delicate mosaics and fresh flowers, accentuated the elegance and warmth in the treatment rooms. The marble floors and golden ceiling add to a refined atmosphere, complimented by the subtle scent of sandalwood and amber diffused throughout to awaken the visitor’s senses.

“With the opening of our Spa, we reinforce our commitment to positioning the Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva as a unique destination in the heart of the city”, added Thierry Lavalley, General Manager.

For further information visit: www.kempinski-geneva.com or contact: Delphine.martorell@kempinski.com. Tel: +41 22 908 91 44. Quai du Mont-Blanc 19, C.P. 176, CH 1211, Geneve 21, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 908 908 1

Stay happy in Vienna

Posted on by Ben Debski

Demand for premium rental housing with hotel-style services will continue to increase sharply. During this period of growth, future housing will have to take on stronger individual identities. For example, the composition of home areas for entertainment, residence, and relaxation is so important. Consumer behavior will depend more on the little things. Working people with busy schedules increasingly seek help in their day-to-day chores, such as dry-cleaning pick-up, room service, dog-sitting etc. What better idea than to have a concierge living in your apartment building? The first impression counts and that will become more noticeable in the future. The home’s atmosphere must begin at the front door and be immediately convincing from the outset.

Boarding House OrchideenPark in majestic Vienna offers elegant furnished apartments with concierge service for short or long-term stays. This is a compelling alternative to a traditional hotel stay.

Usually, hotel rooms make you feel crowded for lack of space and storage. However, the apartments at Boarding House OrchideenPark are fully equipped with kitchen, appliances, furniture, marble bathroom, TV, DVD player, and even a small yard. Do your laundry, cook a meal, and invite guests to your apartment. Here, you truly are home away from home. Boarding House OrchideenPark is perfect for business travellers and visitors alike.

State-of-the-art gym facilities, a modern lobby and an attentive concierge provide you with the after-work atmosphere to network with other tenants. Your trained concierge handles your little extras: Courier services, dealings with public authorities, a table for your business dinner, child care or theatre tickets. Boarding House OrchideenPark is located in the quiet residential area “Döbling” of Vienna. Various world-famous destinations can be reached on daytrips, like the wine village Grinzing, as well as the recreational value obtained at the “Vienna Woods”. The estate is surrounded by excellent public transport connections, tennis courts nearby, and the outdoor pool awaits you in the summer.

Experience five-star treatment with personal flair at a convincing price. Starting rate @57 per apartment and night, including amenities like gas, water, electricity, heat, change of bedding once a week. No doubt, this rate is cheaper than a hotel.

Boarding House OrchideenPark – Furnished Apartments, Püchlgasse 1A-1D, 1190 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43/1/236 29 88 10; concierge@orchideenpark.at; www.ig-boardinghouse.at

Enter a world of luxury, tranquility and wellbeing

Posted on by Ben Debski

Whether you wish to immerse yourself in the private seclusion of your comfortable guestroom in absolute laziness, indulge a day in the spa, enjoy a meal by the cascading waterfalls on the pool area – or if activities are what matter most, choices range from horse riding, shops, clubs, bars, restaurants, beaches, international casino, marina, water sports and of course the finest golfing to name only a few.

The Hilton Vilamoura As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa is nestled in four hectares of idyllic and romantic gardens, with enormous pools, cascading waterways, lakes, grottos and pavilions that create a sense of complete serenity. The modern architecture has a distinctive Moorish accent, in keeping with Vilamoura heritage.

The Hilton Vilamoura was voted Best Luxury Hotel in Portugal 2009 by Business Destinations magazine, Portugal Leading Hotel in 2009 and Portugal Leading Golf Resort in 2010 by the World Travel Awards.

The Hilton Vilamoura As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa houses 260 rooms including 11 suites and 125 one, two, three and four bedroom apartments. All enjoy large balconies or terraces, with rooms and suites overlooking nearby golf courses or the resort’s lush gardens. Rooms are air-conditioned, all with movies and tea & coffee facilities available…the relaxation you’d rather feel.

As with all Hilton Worldwide Resorts there is a real passion to provide the finest dining experience the area has to offer. Portugal is well known for its rich gastronomy, so you’ll find delightful specialties here and the food you’d rather enjoy.

In the hotel there are three restaurants and two bars; The Cilantro restaurant with traditional Portuguese and Latin American Cuisine, the Moscada Restaurant offers buffet menus for Breakfast and Dinner while the Aquarela Bar & Restaurant opens during summer time for alfresco meals and thematic buffets/barbecues. Cocktails, spirits, tapas and light snacks are available at the Rubi Bar, while the Beach Club As Cascatas is also open during the summer for refreshing cocktails and light snacks.

The Hilton Vilamoura As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa takes pride in having a state-of-the-art Spa – the largest in Portugal with over 2800m2. However, it is not its size that impresses but the repertoire of health, beauty and rejuvenating wellness products you will find in there. Every single detail is thought for your most memorable, relaxing experience…the treat you’d rather indulge in…

The hotel features a comprehensive array of business amenities – perfect for meetings, conferences and corporate team-building exercises for up to 400 people. A total 1,210m2 of flexible meeting space is available, including Tejo Ballroom for 400 people. Six flexible rooms can also be divided in 10 multi-purpose breakout rooms, foyer area and courtyard ideal for cocktails and exhibitions. The Business Centre comes equipped with a dedicated Hilton Meetings Manager, on-site audio-visual team and state-of-the-art multi-media equipment.

Easily accessible from Faro International Airport, which provides quick and easy access to the European capitals, the Hilton Vilamoura utilises all of Hilton’s expert knowledge on business services to provide unrivalled catering options and efficient meeting spaces that will impeccably serve all of your group needs.

www.hiltonvilamouraresort.com
sales.vilamoura@hilton.com
Tel: +351 289 304000

Czech please

Posted on by Ben Debski

Situated on the banks of the Vltava River, the Hilton Prague is within walking distance of the city centre with its numerous attractions, shopping and lively night life. It is also just 25 minutes from Ruzyne International Airport, a few steps from Florenc metro station and one kilometre from the main railway station for seamless transport connections.

The largest upscale hotel in the Czech Republic, the Hilton Prague also features renovated Guest Rooms, Executive Rooms and Apartments over eight floors, making it a perfect rendezvous for business meetings and leisure trips.

Immaculate treatment
For a luxurious stay in the historic city of Prague, the range of 618 Hilton Guestrooms and 173 refurbished Executive Rooms, Suites and Apartments feature flat-screen TVs with international channels, air conditioning, high speed and WiFi internet access, hot drinks facilities and safes for added security. Guests staying on the two Executive Floors will also have access to the esteemed Executive Lounge, where private check-in facilities, complimentary breakfast, snacks and bar area will guarantee your stay in the height of luxury.

Outstanding meeting facilities
The Hilton Prague is fully equipped to meet your needs for world-class business meetings. A state-of-the-art Congress Hall is available for 1,500 guests while the elegant Hilton Grand Ballroom is an ideal venue for social events of up to 650 guests. Thirty-three multifunctional meeting rooms also offer the latest high-tech equipment.

Work, rest and play
– The Cloud 9 sky bar & lounge is the first true sky bar in Prague located on the rooftop of the Hilton Prague, with unique and inspiring views of the Prague Castle and the city from the all-glass interior as well as from the two outside terraces.
– The Atrium Restaurant has capacity for 350 persons, offers a lavish all-you-can eat breakfast and is also ideal for group lunches or dinners.
– The CzechHouse Grill is Hilton Prague’s flagship restaurant and features a show kitchen offering Czech and European specialities alongside fine international wines.
– The Hilton Prague also features the 24-hour Café Bistro and free access to the fitness-centre and pool for guests.

Hilton Prague was awarded the Best Business Hotel in the Czech Republic, Business Destinations Travel Awards 2010 and as the Best Hotel in the Czech Republic for four consecutive years, TTG Travel Awards 2011.

Hilton Prague Old Town
Right in the heart of Prague’s historic centre, the Hilton Prague Old Town opened its doors in November 2007 following an extensive refurbishment programme.

The Hilton Prague Old Town has excellent local and international transport connections, being just 20 minutes from Ruzyne International Airport.

303 Guestrooms are spread over nine floors and include 34 Executive Rooms, ten Executive Suits, six Junior Suites and one Penthouse Suite. For those embarking on business travel, 12 meeting rooms feature almost 1,000m2 of space, meanwhile, the ballroom Dvorak has a capacity for 240. All rooms feature state-of-the-art interiors and natural daylight.

There’s also sumptuous European cuisine with an Asian touch at the Zinc restaurant and a wide selection of fine beverages at the Zinc lounge & bar. Both the Hilton Prague and Hilton Prague Old Town offer guests the HHonors Event Bonus loyalty program for the chance to earn air miles and HHonors Points for meetings and events.

Hilton Prague, Pobrezni 1, 186 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic. Tel: +420 224 841 111;
www.prague.hilton.com

Hilton Prague Old Town, V Celnici 7, 111 21 Prague 1, Czech Republic. Tel: +420 221 822 100; www.prague-oldtown.hilton.com

The grandeur of the Grand

Posted on by Ben Debski

With its baroque facade, colourful stained-glass windows and Russian antiques peppered throughout the property, the art nouveau-style Grand Hotel Europe blends perfectly with St Petersburg’s ancient architecture.

But while this building dates to the beginning of 19th century and holds the spirits of the classical masters, it still feels as fresh and lively as it must have when it opened. From that time far in 1875, the Grand Hotel Europe is steeped in Russian imperial history.

Tchaikovsky spent his honeymoon there, Johann Strauss occupied “comfort room No 26” for 14 days, Rasputin dined there, George Bernard Shaw met Maxim Gorky, Dimitri Shostakovitch played a sonata for Sergey Prokofiev. The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II given reception for the King of Siam – and talking about Royals: the Romanovs, Russia’s eminent tsar family, are still gathering at the Grand Hotel Europe for family reunions.

A living part of the city’s history, the hotel is conveniently situated on Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s finest avenue, and overlooks the Bolshoy Philharmonic Hall. It is close to the stunning Hermitage Museum, and adjacent to the Russian Museum, containing the world’s finest collection of Russian art, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre of opera and ballet.

However, the hotel itself is like a museum, – with its collection of more than 200 objects of antiques and treasures preserved through the history, – “the only museum in the world that rents rooms”.

Elegance reigns throughout the Grand Hotel Europe’s palatial interior, where history becomes a precious setting to modern comfort and convenience. The 301 spacious rooms and suites include 250 rooms that have recently been entirely renovated and decorated in traditional style, yet incorporating the latest technological advances. In surroundings redolent of the belle époque, the seven restaurants and bars of the Grand Hotel Europe offer the complete dining experience, from authentic Russian specialties and classical European dishes, to light meals in informal cafés. Centre stage is the Caviar Bar, offering an extensive selection of caviar, served with ice-cold vodka – the true taste of Russia.

The Health Club and SPA offers a fully equipped gym with the latest weight-training equipment, as well as a sauna, a solarium and beauty salon. Hotel’s events facilities are ideal for important meetings, conferences and banquets for up to 250 people. Also hotel provides catering for large or small gatherings in the best of St Petersburg’s opulent palaces.

Recently the Grand Hotel Europe has devised a new concept for its historic floor. The first floor is reached by a magnificent marble staircase, which echoes with the footfalls of these and many other eminent figures in the spheres of culture, science, sport and politics.

Historic floor houses the hotel’s most luxurious rooms and suites, which first amazed the world more than 135 years ago.  Corridors with the hotel’s best rooms lead off in different directions from this room, and many of these rooms can justly be called celebratory rooms.

Guests staying on the historic floor can benefit the services of their own personal butler.

Each of the historic suites, the largest of which have Italian marble bathrooms big enough for a cocktail party, has its own decor and character. The Dostoevsky Suite, for example, is on a corner overlooking two streets, reflecting the Russian writer’s preference – he liked to observe street life while writing and always favoured a corner room. The Pavarotti Suite, where the Italian tenor stayed during his farewell tour in 2004, has a full-size grand piano.

The finishing touch of the excellent services delivered to the guest of the Grand Hotel Europe is the fleet of BMW 7th series limousines responding to any transportation caprice.

Mikhailovskaya Ulitsa 1/7 191186
St Petersburg, Russia. Tel: +7 812 329 6000; fax: +7 812 329 6001; hotel@grandhoteleurope.com; www.grandhoteleurope.com

A false economy

Posted on by Ben Debski

My bona fides first. For the record I’ve turned both left and right when getting on planes.
For almost 25 years it was mostly left into Business, away from the cattle truck conditions which I now understood are known colloquially as ‘goat class’.

As regular readers will know I’ve experienced the delight of the aeroplane bed, the cosy slippers, the space to spread out, the in-flight bar, the manicure, underdone roast beef on Delft porcelain, the Veuve Cliquot and the fluttering attentions of those delightful ladies and gents who minister to the lucky beggars up in First and Business Class.

More recently as I’ve abjectly confessed, I mostly turn right, since it’s my own credit card being whacked down for that ticket not the multi-national company for whom I worked.

(Apropos. I calculated recently that for the price of a Business Class return to Hong Kong – which for an insane second I was seriously contemplating purchasing – I could take my two loved ones on a Spring sunshine holiday including food and drink. And yes, too right. I bought a cut-price Economy ticket, slummed it, and will soon be soaking up some desert sun.)

OK, so I’ve been forced to join the hoi-polloi and as I sit cramped, hungry, and irritable, waiting for the eventual arrival of the food trolley as it makes its way down the aisle with all the speed of a differently-abled snail on Valium, I confess I curse inwardly.

But there is one thing you will never, ever, ever catch me doing, and that is trying to blag an upgrade.

I’ve been given one or two over the years, but I refuse to ask. It’s degrading, especially as you can see the face of the check-in person puckering up in disgusted anticipation as they wait for you to ask.

I’ve seen grown men and women degrade themselves, beg, lie, wheedle and even threaten, to get up to the front of the aircraft in the big seats. And whatever reason they give, the check-in person has heard it all before; bad leg, bad back, claustrophobia (That’s a good one; if you’re claustrophobic how the hell can you fly at all?)

It’s sickening to behold, and no-one would dream of doing it at Kings Cross. “Oh go on, please Mr Ticket Collector, let me go into First Class, my leg hurts.”

So why at the check-in counter of Virgin or British Airways or Cathay Pacific? My view is, “Look mate you shelled out £490 for a return to Hong Kong. Why on Earth should you be sitting next to someone who’s paid four grand?”

It used to infuriate me in the days when I did go Business – and sometimes First – when we’d be ready to push back, I’d be stretched out, another big empty seat next to me, and the flight attendant would push up some scruffy git, or worse, scruffy fat git who’d obviously been upgraded at the last minute for a reason like the hardy annual of his seat not reclining or his in-chair video being broken.

And yet worse still, when instead of keeping shtum about it, he’d insist on boasting of his chicanery, “I conned ‘em rigid. Brilliant innit?”

No it isn’t mate. I was entitled to be up there and you were not. So when I went out on my own I made a vow. If I had an Economy ticket I’d never try to get upgraded. If I was, well, the Gods would be smiling and I would not let on that I had been given preferential treatment.

The irony is that sometimes by not trying to get upgraded – they upgrade you.

I once had to fly back economy from Dakar, Senegal, Air France with a colleague. At the check-in the local man was a trainee having great difficulty under the gaze of his French supervisor. My colleague and I were patient (even though at one point we had to take our tickets across to a different counter to be amended). We also spoke French as best we could, and did our best to help out the sweating trainee.

As the tortuous 20-minute long procedure came to an end we saw the supervisor whisper to the trainee. As he handed us the tickets we saw that they were Premiere Classe all the way back to Paris via Bordeaux. Our patience and lack of irritation or bad temper had been noticed – and rewarded. Vive la France!

But I still won’t beg!

Hard currency

Posted on by Ben Debski

Well if you thought 2010 was a tough year, 2011 will probably bring much the same for the currency markets, with volatility certain to be the ongoing theme; all of which can cause unexpected and unwanted surprises for the business traveller.

To predict the direction of Sterling is certainly a tricky call to make this year. Despite the UK economy struggling and unemployment levels rising, inflation in the UK remains way off the Bank of England target of one to three percent and is likely to increase even further in 2011.

Whether inflation rises or falls is crucial for sterling, because if it remains around the three percent mark in the medium term, pressure is going to mount on the Bank of England to raise interest rates.

We have already seen two members of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, Andrew Sentence and Martin Weale, calling for an interest rate hike and there is a growing belief that when rates do rise in the UK they will go up very quickly which should have a positive effect on Sterling. However, realistically any rate increase will probably not come until late 2011, possibly not even until early 2012, and when you couple this with the latest set of GDP figures showing that the UK economy in the fourth quarter of last year was at best flat, and at worst, actually contracting once again with the threat of a double dip recession looming as the harshest winter in a century hit retail and service sectors, the business traveller is often left not knowing which way to turn when budgeting for those important business trips.

Planning your trip in advance and taking advice from a currency broker such as Currencies Direct can help you get the best foreign currency exchange rates when you travel overseas on business.

Because currency brokers deal directly with the currency markets they can offer the best foreign money exchange rates that the banks find hard to beat meaning that you get more for your money, increasing your spending power overseas.

Prepaid cards are perhaps the most secure way of taking money abroad. Customers can only spend what is on the card, so there is no chance of going overdrawn and being stung by hefty charges when you get back. A number of cards are specifically aimed at overseas travel, such as the Currencies Direct Prepaid MasterCard, and can be a great alternative to using your own cards or traveller’s cheques.

Cards can typically be purchased in pounds, euros or dollars, meaning you can select the appropriate currency for the country you are visiting and are designed to help you avoid these hidden merchant and banking charges. Moreover, as most Currency Cards are prepaid cards, you will not be able to spend more than the balance available in the card.

And should an airline crisis develop unexpectedly such as a volcanic ash cloud or an airline strike (stranger things have happened!) you won’t need to feel helpless without access to funds abroad; you can simply add more funds to your card either online or over the phone.

The challenges facing the euro in 2011 will be much the same as in 2010 – the need to service the debt of the southern European states. Italy, Spain and Portugal have to finance in excess of €800bn of new and existing debt and should they find the market has no further appetite then the euro could really start to fall apart.

China could come to the rescue of the euro, as they certainly do not need their biggest trading partner imploding, and the Chinese are also keen to move away from having a huge dependency on the value of the US dollar.

The global economy is very different from two years ago when, post-Lehmans, Central Bank intervention to slash interest rates and flood the markets with liquidity was an easy and obvious action.

The US is out on a limb with its latest round of quantitative easing and accusations of causing “currency wars”. The eurozone and the UK are implementing austerity measures and avoiding stimulus at all costs, and the Asian economies are struggling with rapid economic growth and a constant flow of hot money into their economies which has lead to currency intervention and rate hikes.

So if you’re looking for certainty this year, the only thing we can really be sure of is that volatility will once again be the key driver in 2011 – all the more reason to mitigate your foreign exchange risk and remove the hassle from the complex world of international payments by talking to a currency specialist, allowing you to focus on your core business.

Keith Spitalnick is regional sales manager at Currencies Direct in Spain and Portugal. He enjoys a first-class reputation as a foreign exchange commentator and public speaker.