THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD

If you take a trip through the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the Canadian Pacific Railroad you will be in company worthy of name-dropping. Others who have slept aboard include Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and more recently, Bill Gates.

The Canadian Rockies need no introduction, but the star of this vacation is the train, which originally ran this route in 1881. Picture a fleet of refurbished cars, each fitted for its own function: dining, lounging, games, sleeping, in keeping with its aristocratic history. Life aboard is leisurely and luxurious; in all likelihood it is much the same now as it was then, with upgrades like air-conditioning and the probability that the sophistication and variety of meals served on board is an improvement over those of the last century. This is the train that united Canada, and the current tours are inspired not only by the show-stopping scenery, but by Canadian train travel as it used to be.

The tour begins with dinner and one night spent at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary, which is adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railroad Station. The hotel fits nicely into the atmosphere of nostalgia, with its old-world paneled public rooms, grandma’s ferns, dining room with walk-in stone fireplace and candlelight glowing on damask tablecloths. Guests of the CPR stay on the “Entre Gold” level, where they are white-gloved with their own lounge, concierge, complimentary beverages and snacks, and VIP treatment.

After breakfast, it’s all aboard with a bit of hoopla –photographer, bagpiper–but even without the fanfare, one feels a rush at the first sight of the gleaming row of waiting cars, red-jacketed staff and the welcoming upholstered chairs in the cozy “Observation Room.”

As the train proceeds slowly, the passengers, (no more than 24 per trip) begin to get acquainted, and soon, there’s lunch. The menu may include penne with chorizo sausage or chicken with apricot relish as it did on a recent trip, but there are possible substitutions for vegetarians, and accommodation is made for other diet restrictions. (Passengers are interviewed before the trip to make certain their preferences are known to the chef.) The meals are comparable to star-quality restaurant dining–dinners feature marinated quail, Sockeye salmon, beef tenderloin, for example–and wine and champagne flow generously.

If God is in the details, so is quality. At every dinner, fresh flowers sit on the table, service is attentive, and it’s hard to miss the linen dinner napkins, which get folded in increasingly elaborate shapes as the weekend progresses. Saturday night the staff is spiffed up in white jackets trimmed with gold braid, local musicians appear at a lake called Crowsnest where passengers leave the train to sip cocktails at its shore before dinner. No dish is ever repeated and desserts get high marks, as for example, a praline white chocolate cake with raspberry coulis, or, for the occasion of a wedding anniversary on board, a croque en bouche that towered well over a foot high under its web of spun sugar.

Soon, to bed. The train does not move at night, so no shake, rattle and roll will disturb slumber. While beds are regulation size double or twin, the sleeping compartments are compact, bathrooms mini, so when packing, bear in mind that less is more.

Each day, there is at least one stop at a location of some interest, a few hours’ excursion that usually begins with a short bus ride and a chatty guide. And, each return to the train is greeted with a welcoming drink – a Bacardi Breeze, say, a Kir Royale, or just some funky, fruity cooler – another nice touch.

One such side trip took CPR passengers to the fittingly named Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Heritage Site. Here’s where thousands of years ago, Indians massacred herds of buffalo by luring the animals to a cliff and watching as one after another went over the side, follow-the-leader style, to a quick suicide death below.

A less chilling short excursion took all aboard to see living animals at Spruce Meadows, the largest North American equestrian center for the sport of horse-jumping. A tour of the stables, television studio and a hurdle-jumping competition was a great favorite with the crowd. This year there’s an “interpretive hike” and another photo op led by a guide along an idyllic area along the shore of Lake Louise.

A sort of busman’s holiday was the visit to Cranbrook, site of the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel. The tour snaked through rows of railroad cars, circa 1907, in varying stages of restoration, showing upper-lower bunks, old dining cars complete with china place settings, mohair seats and smoking cars–a close-up view of the way passengers crossed the continent then. Ft. Steele, another side trip, featured a late 19th Century style restored village, with actors dressed in period costumes, a blacksmith’s demonstration, a lunch prepared and served as it might have been then.

This year, exclusively on the August 26-29th (2001) trip, a special “Royal Clubhouse Excursion” will make stops at Banff Springs, Greywolf and St. Eugene Mission Golf Clubs, where passengers will be able to disembark, lunch and play at world class courses.

The best show, of course, is the one seen through the train windows. From Alberta through British Columbia, the train glides and rumbles through interior valleys carved by the Columbia River, across the world’s largest railway trestle bridge, past craggy mountains that look like oil on canvas, across prairies, into dark, spiral tunnels or through towns with names like Okonoks, Fernie, Lethridge, Banff. One sees a herd of cows here, a white-water rafting expedition there, and most often, lakes and rivers, streams and ponds, in a spectrum of blues that sometimes looks as if pots of paint had been dumped into the water.

On board, “Everything but a grand piano,” as one passenger commented. Outside, everything scenic that Western Canada has to offer, in a pageant of full, cinematic color.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD RUNS FROM MAY TO OCTOBER. FOR RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION: 1-877-665-3044

E:info@cprtours.com

http://www.cprtours.com

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT BREW IN BRUSSELS

Beer and I have made a late connection. Ordinarily my preferred drink is anything with the word “Diet” on its container, but as I headed for Belgium, I knew I had to give the biére a chance. Making, pouring, serving and drinking it are the very heart of Brussels, whose other delights–chocolate, lace, art, architecture–are another part of the city’s brew.

The image of a little naked boy is seen everywhere here. It is of the city’s famous spouting stone fountain, known as Le Manneken Pis, and it comes with a legend: In the early 17th Century, a barrel of gun powder ignited in the town square. The five-year old hero pulled down his pants and with his own handy little spigot, doused the fire and saved the city. In 1619 a statue was erected in his honor, and later, the stone figure was given a tiny uniform. These days he has a vast wardrobe, and there is no souvenir shop without his likeness on a key chain or as a bottle opener.

At some beer festivals, Le Menneken Pis spouts beer, but I’m not sure which beer. The 450 varieties brewed at all times in this small country are overwhelming. A favorite with Belgians is Duvel, which translates into “Devil.” It is said that after one glass, the devil tempts one to take another. Duvel is served in its own signature glass, as is every Belgian brew, to underscore its distinctiveness. Beer names tend to be quirky, as in Delirium Tremens, with its pink elephant logo, or Malheur, which means “Misfortune” in French. LaChouffe, from one of the smallest breweries, is named for the forest elves who were said to have inspired this double-fermented ale. The elves would have thrown up their little hands if they saw me trying to describe the taste difference between their ale and the popular Stella Artois or a Hoegaarden.

Other top favorites include the beers made by Trappist monks. They are mostly served in glasses resembling the holy grail (!) but whether or not monks literally take time off from prayer and meditation to brew, stir and bottle as they once did, is moot. More often they hire someone to run the operation under the Abbey name. The Trappist beers tend to be powerful drinks with an alcoholic content of 6-12 per cent (American beers tend to be 4-5 percent alcohol by volume) and in some quarters are seen as “masculine”. The stereotypical “feminine” beers are the sweet Kriek (cherry ale)or sweeter Kriek “max” or Frambozenbier (raspberries), the very thing for a beer sissy like me.

The choices run the gamut; there are artisanal beers (creative, made by hand) and Lambic ales, (tend to be tart if not sour) blonde beers, homemade brews and so called white beer, made with wheat, common througout Brussels and Belgium.

Oddly enough, Les Brasseurs de la Grand Place is the only brewpub in town, but bars are ubiquitous. Some are hidden in dark alleyways, as is Le Cercueil (Cemetery in French) where the ambience is fun-house dark and the brews are served in skulls, or the more cheerful La Becasse, on Rue Tabora. The best shop for buying a bottle or a case is at de Bier Tempel, located near the Grand Place on Rue Marche Aux Herbes.

Grand Place, in fact, is the Times Square of Brussels minus the theaters, with shops and restaurants radiating like the rays of the sun from its sides. When not imbibing, here’s where to shop and meander, hopefully peeking into the majestic fifteenth century Town Hall, with its cathedral-like spire, and into the Maison du Roi, which houses 16th Century tapestries as well as the 400 costumes of Manneken Pis. A few steps from Grand Place is the bronze of Serclaes, whose tongue and feet were cut off, his dog killed, for defending Brussels from the Flemish in the fourteenth century. It is said that touching the statue will bring good luck; in my case perhaps luck meant finding the best place for dinner.

The choices along the Rue de Bouchers are beaucoup, but I didn’t go wrong in Aux Armes de Bruxelles. It’s a good place to try the local specialty, mussels, served in eight different ways here at about twenty Euros, including the frites. Despite cobblestone-weary feet, the Brussels experience also demanded a visit to In’t Spinnekopke, a few short streets away. With a hundred and fifty brew choices, and a menu of items blessed with beer, this homey place is where I tried the outstanding Carbonnades au Lambic. It’s hearty and delicious, costs about 12 Euros and is best followed with a dish of sorbet. Here even that dessert is made with you-know-what.

Of course it’s not only about drinking here. Part of enjoying the Brussels brew is indulging the other senses. On every side there are centuries-old architectural wonders, ancient churches and quiet parks, museums housing art collections that span seven centuries. There’s the music of spoken French and Flemish, and of course, there is that famous, unforgettable, fabulous Belgian waffle!

Where to stay:

Novotel Grand Place: Convenient location with business facilities and garden @ 174-248 Euros per night

Ibis Brussels City: For the budget-conscious, with business facilities @ 62-112 Euros per night

Amigo: Former prison, now a luxury hotel with period décor and all amenities @ over 248 Euros per night

Restaurants:

In’t Spinnekopke: (huge choices) Place du Jardin aux Fleurs 1

Chez Léon: (casual) Rue des Bouchers 18

Aux Armes des Bruxelles: (Favorite of Jacques Brel) Rue de Bouchers 13

CONTACT: www.visitbelgium.com

Or (212)758-8130

REMBRANDT’S AMSTERDAM TODAY

The rooflines are what you’ll remember: rows of houses shoulder to shoulder, each with a distinct gable setting it apart from its neighbor. Those and the watery halos of the 165 canals the city is known for, with their little bridges studded with light after dark, are what will always speak of Amsterdam.

It was through these streets that Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn walked during his life in the seventeenth century, and the year 2006 will mark the 400th anniversary of his birth. It should be a good year to visit his city and nearby Leiden, where he was born. Each month will be filled with festivals and events that celebrate the artist, his life and his art.

Rembrandt’s work was celebrated for its chiaroscuro, his extraordinary contrasts of brightness and dark, and ironically, his life was also a mixture of light and shadow: Along with intermittent success and prosperity, he endured the death of four of his five children, bankruptcy and the loss of his two wives. He did however, manage to buy a substantial two-story house–a third story was added later–in which he lived for twenty years and which has been immaculately restored. His etchings are displayed on its walls and in 2006, some of the paintings created under this roof will be back for the first time in many years. During the time of his bankruptcy, every item he owned was sold, so not one piece in the house on view actually belonged to him. However, from the bills of sale made at the time, the recreation of the interior was possible with furnishings that are authentically seventeenth century and duplicate the originals. There is a replica of his box bed, his kitchen utensils, the table at which he took his meals. To stand in his studio, with its spears, skins, tortoise shells and plaster busts, in which he painted his masterpieces, to look out of the same windows through which he saw the light that illuminated his canvases, is probably in itself worth the admission price of a. Various exhibitions are scheduled here during the year, including special demonstrations of printmaking and etching. There will also be a display of the artist’s work along with paintings of others sold by his art dealer. At the time, these were Rembrandt’s competitors.

At the Rijks Museum in the “Masterpieces” exhibit, his are the centerpiece of the collection. The most famous of these, “The Jewish Bride” and “The Night Watch” hang here, in an exhibition that also includes the work of Jan Steen, Frans Hals and Vermeer. During the festival other of his works will be recalled from museums around the world, and will be shown here in juxtaposition with his Italian contemporary, Caravaggio. This is being done to contrast the two artists, show the traditions, the disparities and similarities of the Northern and Southern baroque styles.

Other shows will include one at the Municipal Archives, another at the Jewish Historical Museum–“How Jewish Was Rembrandt?” and there will be a walking tour, “In the footsteps of Rembrandt,” leading to the Oude Kerk (Old Church), the Waag (Weighing House), the Royal Palace and the artist’s other local haunts.

Leiden, less than forty minutes by train from the center of Amsterdam, weighs in with its own three exhibitions. Rembrandt lived here for the first twenty-five years of his life and the emphasis in this city is on the young artist. The Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal is located in a 17th Century building and will feature paintings believed to be of his family members; a walking tour includes a look at the house in which he was born, his school, and Swanenburgh’s studio, where the young Rembrandt spent many hours. As a part of the festival, a city square will be transformed into a bit of 17th Century Leiden. In the unlikely event one has not seen enough of the artist’s work in both cities, there’s a gallery of his paintings at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, which is the fourth largest in Europe. Here’s where one can not only view museum-quality art but also throw dice at a casino, have a shampoo at a spa or watch the kids play in the airport’s playground. With 55,000 employees and every conceivable service and product available under its roof, it is a weatherproof city in itself.

Rembrandt (known always by his first rather than his last name since that is how most often he signed his canvases) might be surprised not only to see his work hanging at an air terminal but at the Americanization of modern Amsterdam. These days, everyone speaks English here, eats KFC, bagels and burgers, shops at Old Navy. On the other hand, the city is still very European. There’s smoking allowed in every restaurant, cold cuts are common breakfast fare, 400, 000 bicyclists known here as “flying bombers” zip along without helmets, and same sex marriage is a civil right. There are outdoor cafes, like the popular terraces of DeJaren, where one can sit undisturbed with a glass of beer, maybe the local Grolsch if not a Heinekens, and watch the boats on the Kloveniersburgwal. And of course, as in the days of van Rijn, there are cobblestones, ancient churches and windmills. There is a flower market that features Technicolor tulips however you’ll have them–real, painted on glass, in bulbs, seeds, or carved from wood.

Of course, one must not forget the city’s other famous native son, Vincent van Gogh, known more for sunflowers than tulips, represented by 206 paintings at his eponymous museum.

In a city of 32,500 hotel beds, 70 glass-topped sightseeing canal boats, 260 city trams, and Rembrandt everywhere you look, with a flying time of six or seven hours from the east coast of the United States, an art-loving vacationer can hardly go wrong in Holland’s favorite city.

www.holland.com , www.goholland.com , or information@holland.com

ANGERS – THE LOIRE VALLEY

Originally called The Black City because of the dark slate mined and widely used here, Angers (ahn-jay) is considered the gateway to the Loire Valley. This pretty city, with its gardens and large artificial lake, is the former capital of the district of Anjou. It’s easy to reach: the TGV, or high speed train, leaves Paris from a terminal directly in the Charles de Gaulle Airport and zips into town in two hours and fifteen minutes.

Aside from its central location, its major claim to immortality is the Fortress Castle. This overlooks the city from a rocky promontory, covers half a square mile and with its moat and bridge brings to three-dimensional life every sword-and-cannon battle you’ve ever read about in school. Principally built in the thirteenth century, the local counts originally created a stronghold here in the ninth century to protect themselves against the Normans. Only two side walls from this era remain, but following the expulsion of the Plantagenets, Saint-Louis added 17 towers. In the fourteenth century, local dukes erected new buildings inside the fortress, including the Royal Lodge, the chapel and the inner castle.

The eye-popping treasure within its walls is a tapestry approximately 340 feet long, woven on a loom 700 years ago. This “Apocalypse” which represents scenes from the Bible and depicts the ultimate victory of Christ and the triumph of his church took twenty-five people eight years to complete. It is best examined with one of the castle’s guides, who will describe the individual scenes and offer snippets of astonishing information. Over the years, for example, farmers unwittingly used lost panels from this masterpiece as if they were simple fabric scraps. Until rounded up locally by curators and restored for display, tapestry pieces were found covering shrubbery in winter, at the rear of a barn to protect a horse, or fulfilling some other prosaic function.

Castles, of course, are the big draw in the Loire region and they’re almost as common here as turns in the road. A dazzler to visit is the fifteenth century Chateau de Brissac, at seven stories tall, the tallest in France. It is owned by the 18 th descendant of the original duke. This current Marquis de Brissac speaks elegant English, serves as a chatty host and will happily rent out one or all of the castle’s four guest rooms. And what rooms! Picture twenty-foot ceilings, paneling, fireplaces, carvings, four-posters covered with damask and Oriental carpets underfoot in the bathrooms. Famous feet have walked on these or danced in one of the ballrooms. (Photographs of Sophia Loren and Gerard Depardieu are a big tip-off; among other celebrities, both stayed here.) Parties can be arranged in one of the castle’s banquet rooms, there is a theatre on the premises and a surrounding park complete with centuries-old trees.

There’s plenty of life outside the castles, too. The plant at which Cointreau is made and bottled is nearby. Here’s where dried orange peels get turned into the drinks that give a nice glow, thanks to the addition of alcohol and sugar syrup. The formula is a dead secret but guided tours of the plant reveal almost everything else. Tours leave twice a day, more often during the summer season. The liqueur is there to taste as part of the entertainment, and it’s offered for sale here as well.

Perhaps lunch calls for further glass-raising. This is wine country after all, so an appropriate place to eat might be Le Bouchon. This casual restaurant, (in which you’ll sit at a table on backless stools) offers a choice of five hundred wines and, yes, interesting dishes too. La Chiffonnade de Rillauds à la Graine de Moutarde is the house specialty and its translation is “breast of pork in mustard”. The price of this dish is about eight dollars, average for a main lunch course here.

Walk it off shopping. On Rue Toussaint find “antiquités,” as for example at Jolivet, which features exotic pieces, or Antica specializing in furniture. In others you’ll find old French books, bibelots, silver, porcelain. Stop at the half-timbered La Maison d’Adam for local crafts or check out the Angers branch of the big Parisian department store, Galeries Lafayette. Since the area is a popular tourist destination most everyone speaks English. The restaurant menus do need some translation help though, so do bring your French phrase book and learn to say, d’accord, which means, “it’s okay with me.”

If your budget permits, stay at the Château de Noireau in nearby Briollay. This former vegetable farm, now refurbished into a Relais et Châteaux resort, gives special meaning to the word Perfection. With fireplaces everywhere including in the huge guest rooms, a tennis court and swimming pool, gardens to meander in and service that’s a dream, you owe it to yourself at least to take one meal in its pale gold dining room. Every last thing, including the breads and desserts, is prepared under this roof and fifty or sixty dollars will buy you a dinner served under silver domes reflecting light from the chandeliers above. It’s followed by an exotic assortment of original desserts–mousses, ice creams, parfaits, you- name-it, each a piece of sculpture on your plate–followed by petit cookies you can take with your café.

In Angers, you won’t be at a loss about what to write on your postcards home. The Tourist Office on Place Kennedy in town will give you more ideas on how to enjoy the fountains, the gardens, the Cathedral. And within another hour’s driving time, the rest of the Loire Valley waits.