Fa Caldo !

Even the statues need shades with all this sunshine!

Whether you are in Europe or the United States, right now chances are you are feeling the heat.  In Italian we say fa caldo - it’s hot. 

Much of the world is experiencing a dramatic ondata di caldo (heat wave) which has many of us (me included) feeling more than a little bit grumpy. I am trying to run errands early in the day, the afternoon finds me staying indoors. I’m a bit envious of my Australian friends, for whom it is not summer but winter.  If only they could bottle that cool air and send it our way!

Italians have many expressions to describe the intense summer heat.  These range from the humorous, mi sudano le mutande (my undies are sweating) to the slightly profane (to be used only when it is really, really hot) un caldo della Madonna! Whenever the name of the Madonna (the religious figure, not the pop star) is used, well then, it’s a pretty serious complaint.  Perhaps it is more politically correct to say that there is un caldo bestiale, a brutal or beastly heat.

On a hot summer day in Lucca a Caffè Shakerato is essential. Either straight espresso or with a little milk, this iced coffee drink is just the thing on a hot afternoon.

This summer you could say si può friggere un uovo sulla marciapiede (you could fry an egg on the sidewalk) or sul cofano della macchina (on the hood of the car). In Texas last week, someone was baking bread in their mailbox.  That’s hot!

These very warm days have me thinking about all the ways to keep cool in the heat of summer, from cool summer drinks to no-cook meals to dips in the pool. 

It’s much too hot to cook during the day, so creative entertaining and dining are called for. Fancy entertaining is just not happening in this heat. An aperitivo happily replaces meal preparation. Better yet when accompanied by a crisp white wine or a tart summer cocktail! It’s hard to beat a spritz or a cosmopolitan sipped with a pretty Italian view.

A cold, creamy gelato is practically medicinal in the summer heat. And if a gelato is good, an affogato (ice cream “drowned” in espresso) might just be even better! It’s a real pick-me-up.

Sailing School, Rapallo

I’ve also been thinking of the different places I’ve gone over the years to escape the heat. 

The Ligurian coast, still hot but cooled just a bit by a sea breeze, is a wonderful summer escape.

With August just around the corner it’s a sure thing that the Italians will be headed for the coast.

In the US, coastal Oregon, with its rocky beaches and old lighthouses, provides a wonderful summer escape.  Even the fog was delightful.

The mountains of New Mexico and Colorado are a favorite summer vacation spot for my family. Cool mountain air, river paths to walk, lakes, and lots of fun activities keep my grandkids happy despite the heat. Truth be told, I am happy to be in the low humidity heat of the western US in the summertime and usually head to New Mexico to avoid the hot, humid Italian summers.

England and Scotland provide a nice break from the heat of summer. Even in August a light jacket or sweater might be needed. Better still if you can get to Edinburgh to celebrate the Fringe Festival in August. Fun performances and cool weather make Edinburgh a great summer choice. And the interior of those castles stay cool too.

Wherever you are this summer, I hope your strategies for staying cool are working!   As for me, I will return to hot and humid Italy in mid-August. You will find me cooling off on the shores of an Italian lake.

An August escape to the Italian lakes holds at least a promise of cooler temperatures.

Do you have a favorite place to cool off, or a favorite summer time food / drink? If so, post some photos on the Two Parts Italy Facebook page.  We could all use the inspiration!

One Day in Cologne, Germany

Cologne also has beautiful parks, green spaces, and walking paths.

Cologne (Köln in German) is a city of contrasts.  The city has 2000-year-old Roman roots, some ruins of which are still visible underneath the modern city.  Today Cologne blends the few Medieval structures that survived heavy bombing during WW II with reconstructed areas designed to look as they did before the war. 

Add to these the modern architecture of the post-war city and you get a snapshot of modern-day Cologne.

 Most of Cologne’s sights – including the Cathedral, the Historic Old Town, and the 12 Romanesque churches – lie on the west (left) bank of the Rhine River and within easy walking distance of the Viking ship dock just across the Hohenzollernbrücke (don’t ask me to pronounce it!) bridge on the opposite riverbank.   

Cologne’s Left Bank - the Rhine, the Hohenzollernbrücke bridge, the Cathedral and the train station are all found here at the edge of the Old Town.

The second stop on my Viking Rhine River Cruise began with a morning walking tour led by an excellent local tour guide.  The walk took us through the Old Town, past colorful tall houses, through small squares, and in front of the town hall with its tall clock tower.  We even had a chance to sample the two famous Eau de Colognes (perfumes) produced in town. The walk ended in front of the Cathedral with plenty of free time to explore it on our own.   

Cologne’s Old Town with its cobblestone streets, small squares lined with colorful buildings, shops, and cafes.

 After lunch, the rest of the afternoon and evening was free to explore on our own.  I appreciated that the cruise included a full day in Cologne as there was so much to see. Even with a full day, we barely scratched the surface of this complex city and I have lots of ideas of things to see - including museums, several historic churches, museums, and even a chocolate museum - on a return visit.

Cologne’s Cathedral of St. Peter

 Some highlights of the day we spent in Cologne:

The Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of St. Peter.   This is the most visited landmark in Cologne and for good reason.  Built mostly in the 14th century (but not completed until much later), It is one of the tallest churches in the world.  Its huge spires dominate the skyline of Cologne.  Those spires also likely saved the church from destruction during the war as the Allied pilots used them as they navigated into Germany on bombing raids.  The style is Gothic with flying buttresses and a forest of small spires on the exterior.  The inside is a wonder. Its towering height is full of tall columns, ribbed ceilings, beautiful stained glass, paintings and statues, detailed mosaic floors, and iron work. 

The most significant artifact in the Cathedral is the Shrine of the Three Kings (The Magi).  The shrine, located behind the main altar, holds a large gold covered sarcophagus said to hold the bones of the Three Wise Men. 

Historic photo of the destruction of Great St. Martin Church during WW II.

 The Great St. Martin Church.   With a one-day visit there wasn’t time to visit all 12 of the Historic Romanesque Churches, most of which were destroyed during the war and later rebuilt.  My friend and I chose to visit St. Martin’s, a beautiful part of the skyline of Cologne.   Smaller than the nearby cathedral, it has a central tall spire and smaller ones at each of its four corners.  There are 3 apses, giving the lower part of the church a clover-leaf shape.  Nearly destroyed during the war, it only reopened in the 1980’s.  The interior is simple with little decoration save for remnants of paintings on the columns and some mosaic floor tile. The starkness and quiet, along with the distant echoes of war, were quite moving.  Its location in the old part of the city, surrounded by colorful houses and small streets, gives it a very human dimension.

 Love locks on the Hohenzollernbrücke.   This long bridge serves as both a pedestrian bridge and a railway bridge.  It connects the broad pathway on the right bank to the old town on the left.  The bridge is full of love locks placed there by hopeful couples.  The locks are of various shapes, sizes, and colors.  Some look very old and some are shiny and new.  There are so many that the city is worried about the weight they are adding to the bridge! 

The nicest part about strolling across the bridge are the wonderful views of the city skyline, including the Cathedral and the nearby church of Great St. Martin.

Eau de Cologne.   Perhaps the most famous product of the city of Cologne is a type of perfume which bears the city’s name.  The history of Eau de Cologne has an interesting Italian twist.  Giovanni Farina, born in Italy but a resident of Cologne in the early 1700’s, developed a perfume which, in his words, had the scent “of a spring morning in Italy, mountain narcissus, and orange blossom just after a rain”.  He named it after his adopted city of Cologne and founded both a much loved scent and a family dynasty.  Today the 5th generation of Farinas produces the citrus scented Eau de Cologne that bears their name. Of course, he had some competition - a few years later a local German man produced a similar perfume and even tried to market it under the Farina name.  Legal battles ensued, were won by the Farina family, and the name of the other perfume was changed.  Today that second perfume, re-named 4711, is equally famous. 

Our guide brought along samples of both for us to test. Which was my favorite? It was the lighter, fresher scented Farina Eau de Cologne.

 Local Beer.   I am not much of a beer drinker, but I still found the beer culture in Cologne interesting, especially in the way that it is integral to the local identify.  The beer produced here is called Kölsch and it is served in the many brewpubs in town.  Production is regulated and only beers produced in and around the city, according to set standards, can be called Kölsch. 

The pubs have an old-world atmosphere. The waiters wear traditional costumes as they carry round trays of beer in narrow glasses called stanges.  The servings are small, around 6 ounces, but are automatically refilled when empty!  To stop the refills, the coaster is placed on top of the glass. 

We made a quick stop at a traditional brewpub - Peters Brauhaus (pictured above) - to have a look around. It was much too early in the morning for a beer, but fun to see the inside of this historic brewpub.

It is impossible to miss the importance of beer culture in Cologne. Look closely and you’ll find small gnome-like carvings of Köbes (waiters who serve the Kölsch) outside some of the pubs. Viking offered an optional excursion for a dinner in a local brewpub for those passengers who wanted to experience the culture first hand.

The Viking ship Baldur left Cologne at 10pm, headed for the dock at Braubach and visits to Koblenz and the Marksburg Castle. More on those stops in a future post.

The Windmills of Kinderdijk

A river cruise along the Rhine River, from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Basel in Switzerland, passes through beautiful scenery and stops in fascinating places.   Over the next weeks I will write about some of those stops, beginning today with one of my favorites – Kinderdijk.

The Viking Baldur sailed out of Amsterdam at 11 pm on day one of the cruise and arrived in Kinderdijk the next morning just after breakfast.  It was an easy walk from the spot where the boat docked to this unique UNESCO Heritage site, famous for its 19 historic windmills.

 Any visit to Kinderdijk begins with the story related to its name which means “Children’s Dike” in Dutch.  The story goes something like this – way back in the year 1421 a huge flood brought destruction and many deaths to the area.  A little boy went to check the dike (not the famous Hans Brinker but a different boy altogether).  The boy found a cat atop a cradle floating in the flood waters.  Inside the cradle was a baby girl.  And so, we have the name Children’s Dike.   Another version of the story pre-dates the flood and is a bit more specific.  The baby was named Honigje. She had been cared for by a midwife and her cat named Dubbeltje. It was this cat who saved the baby from flood waters.  The legend was explained in the Viking Daily, an on-board newsletter provided each day with tidbits of information about the various stops along the cruise.

Viewing the windmills from a small canal boat was an optional excursion at this stop.

The local tour guide for our morning at Kinderdijk was a very tall Dutch gentleman who had grown up in the area.  If you’ve never experienced Dutch humor and frankness, then I will simply say that it is an added bonus during the visit.  We all had a laugh when he warned us about not stepping in goose droppings by saying “watch out, there’s a lot of goose sh*t around”.  Oh, those plain-spoken Dutch! We tried not to laugh, really we did, but it was impossible!

 The visit began in the gift shop where a model of the area provided an explanation of how the windmills worked together to pump water from the below-sea-level lands up to the drainage canals.  This was also made clear by the fact that our ship, which was docked on the river, sat well above the lower lands of Kinderdijk.   Attached to the gift shop building was an area with old tools along with huge mechanical equipment – pumps that later were added to make the process of moving water much more efficient that doing so with the windmills alone.  Of course there were also souvenirs to purchase.

 A small educational building provided a chance to listen as our guide demonstrated the wooden structures used in the oldest windmills.

At Kinderdijk the windmills date back to the 1700’s, among the oldest in the Netherlands.  Our guide also discussed how the windmills work and the changes that occurred over time as construction changed from wood to iron. This brief introduction made the next stop, a visit to the interior of a windmill, much more valuable.

The windmills at Kinderdijk functioned to keep the land from being submerged. They also provided a home for the keeper of the windmill and his family.

The day of our visit was quite cold and windy. Despite that, the small home inside the windmill was cozy.  The table sat beside a pretty window, the wood stove stood ready to cook a meal, and the china cabinet was full of pretty painted pieces.  The bed, tucked inside an alcove in the single main room of the home, looked warm and inviting.  There is something intriguing about the glimpse into a very different way of life that a visit to a furnished home provides.  

 The more adventurous in our group climbed the ladder into the upper workings of the windmill while some of us kept our feet on the ground exploring the big wooden wheels that drove the windmills and seeing the sails (blades) of the windmill from below.  

An interesting tidbit – the position of the sails also served to send messages, including warnings of imminent visits from Nazis during World War II. 

This early spring cruise was a bit too early to see the famous Dutch tulips of the area.  Instead, there were lovely yellow daffodils in bloom, tall graceful grasses, budding trees and some pretty dramatic skies. 

 The windmills of Kinderdijk made for a perfect first stop on this week-long cruise.  Coming up, stops along the Rhine in Germany and France.

Amsterdam in Early Spring

Put together two words - Amsterdam and spring – and most of us immediately conjure up images of colorful tulips in bloom.   But what happens when you arrive in early spring after a period of unusually cold, rainy, windy weather in the Netherlands?  Well, what happens is that the tulip fields are not yet in bloom and the only tulips to be seen are cut stems in the marketplace and shops, or tulips planted in a protected pots. 

One sure place to find tulips in bloom is at Amsterdam’s Tulip Museum. The shop full of flowers, bulbs, and tulip themed merchandise is a great place to browse or pick up beautiful souvenirs.

One of the many houseboats that can be found along Amsterdam’s canals.

 If seeing tulips is the main reason for a trip, then best not to plan a late March arrival.  Locals told me the blooms would appear in about three weeks, which meant not until mid-April.   But, the first rule of travel is flexibility and not letting any single thing determine the success of a trip.  Tulips in bloom or not, Amsterdam is a fabulous city.

 My early spring visit was still full of color.  The long stems of tulip buds in the market provided a hint of the color to come. 

New green leaves and delicate pink flowers were emerging on trees. Tiny purple flowers peaked up in planting beds and a spectrum of greens spilled out of the flower pots on the steps leading up to those tall, narrow Dutch houses.

The palest of pink flowers in bloom on this tree just outside of Vondelpark in Amsterdam.

 And then there were the spring time yellows.  Forsythia were in bloom throughout Amsterdam in late March, an especially welcome sight on a cold misty morning in Vondelpark.

And all those daffodils!  Bright sunny yellow ones popping up all over town- in planting beds and in beautiful Vondelpark.   

Does anything say spring better than daffodils?

An early morning walk through the park presented a perfect sense of early spring in Amsterdam.   

 One of these years I will return later in spring to see the fields of tulips in bloom, but this year I was quite content to see the colors of early spring in Amsterdam.

Taking Tea

While visiting, and now living most of the year in, Italy I have learned to appreciate good coffee – a foamy morning cappuccino, a fragrant afternoon macchiato.  I have even learned to drink a straight espresso on occasion, providing it is laced with plenty of sugar.  

A breakfast tea in Florence at the hotel Morandi alla Crocetta

But, thanks to an Irish mother and grandmother, I was raised on tea. They firmly believed that there was no problem in life that was too big to be solved over a cup of tea, especially when served with sugar, milk, and a side of something sweet.

 They left a lasting legacy - I still love a good cup of hot tea.  It is the way I begin every morning.  When I travel I love to find a hotel with a good morning breakfast tea service. It starts the day off right. 

But “taking tea” is so much more than just a way to start the day.  Tea is an event! One thing to remember - it is nearly criminal to order tea without something sweet to go along with it because, as a British transplant to Lucca once told me, “without some cake your tea is just too wet”.   Words of wisdom!

While Italy does not have as much of a tea tradition as some places, there are several spots where, in addition to great coffee, pots of tea are served along with a pastry or a slice of cake. One such spot is Cafe Manon Lescaut in Piazza Cittadella. When my British friend Judy came to visit she was delighted with the afternoon tea there (pictured below).

These days one of my favorite places to take tea in Lucca is the H&G Coffee Lounge.  Don’t let the name fool you, it isn’t all about the coffee.  At H&G they also brew lovely pots of tea and describe tea as a “perfectly codified ritual”.  The loose leaf tea comes in a stoneware vessel alongside a little timer so that the brewing time is just right.  And they have a selection of tasty cakes to go with.  Best of all tea is served in a pretty room with comfy chairs and quiet music.  Unlike the Italian habit of quickly downing a coffee, here you can linger with your pot of tea. Sitting at H&G on a rainy afternoon, with a good book to read and a hot cup of tea, is a joy.

 One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to find a place, simple or elegant, to have tea.  I’ve taken tea in various US, Canadian, and European cities. Below are photos of some of my favorites. Top row: Lauduree in Paris (left and middle), Cassandras Cup Tea Room, near Jane Austen’s cottage in Chawton, England (right). Bottom row: Gilli Cafe in Florence, souvenirs from The Empress in Victoria, Canada, and (bottom right) the very elegant tea room at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest. Each place had its own character and charm.

One of my all-time favorite teas was on board a Viking Ocean Cruise.  The ship had a bright and welcoming tea room that served a daily high tea.  Taking tea in their beautiful tea salon definitely made me feel spoiled! I could have gone every afternoon on the cruise, but oh the calories!

  When I return to Albuquerque to visit my family you can bet I will spend one afternoon at the Saint James Tea Room. They serve a high tea complete with savories, scones, lemon curd, and sweets.  The Saint James ranks right up there with the best tea rooms in Europe. The setting, with cozy alcoves, beautiful china, and a sweet gift shop, is part of the fun.

I am trying to introduce my granddaughters to the concept of tea.  I started with a simple home tea party a few years ago - complete with hats and Oreos. Tea manners were definitely in the infancy stage.

They’ve now graduated to the Saint James.  Let’s just say that dressing up for tea, using soft voices, and appropriate tea conversation is still a work in progress.  This was tea with giggles.

Do you have as favorite tea spot?  I’d love to see photos on the Two Parts Italy facebook page!

Tea and a Marionberry scone on the coast of Oregon