I just joined my TV crew and our local guide, Colin Mairs, for our Scotland shoot. We’ll be here 18 days, filming three new shows for public television. Our first episode features Glasgow. And for architects, a big draw here is the Art Nouveau work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Here’s a look at a tea house he designed that makes for some tasty sightseeing. To give it context, here’s the “on camera” we filmed for our show:
These tearooms, opened in 1903, are an Art Nouveau masterpiece by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Glasgow’s famous hometown architect gave this a spritely modern feel. Tearooms like the Mackintosh at the Willow were hugely popular during the industrial boom of the late 19th century.
During this age of Victorian morals, the temperance movement was trying to discourage the consumption of alcohol. Tearooms like this were designed with an agenda: to be an appealing alternative to eating in pubs.
In addition to giving office workers an alternative to pubs, these tearooms provided a place where women could gather while unescorted — in a time when being out alone could give a woman a less-than-desirable reputation.
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Just being out and about on the road, you stumble onto scenes that give insight into different worlds. On my latest swing through Central Europe — Berlin, Prague, Vienna — I enjoyed being a “cultural lint brush.” Here are some slice-of-local-life insights I picked up.
Berlin’s late-night convenience stores — like bodegas in New York City — are nicknamed “Spatis” (meaning roughly “late-ies”). And when there’s a big soccer game on TV, they’ll set up a TV on the sidewalk, put out some milk crates for customers to sit on, and host a party. For the cost of a grocery-store beer, the neighborhood gathers and enjoys sharing the event together. My Berlin friends — who say “this would never be allowed in Munich” — love these examples of Berlin community.
In the last couple of years, a new fake tradition has been born in Prague: stands selling chimney cakes, or trdelník. You’ll see these stands on virtually every corner, with saucy medieval maidens hard at work baking rotisserie pastries…all conspiring to be seen as a local custom. But chimney cakes have nothing to do with Czech culture or traditions (they’re originally from two countries away, in Hungary). They’re just another clever way to make money off tourists.
In Prague, ATMs not attached to real banks offer famously bad rates. Every local knows to avoid these rip-off ATMs.
In Vienna, the city government — knowing both locals and tourists are dealing with hotter days than ever, thanks to climate change — have put out big cold-water stations with reminders to stay hydrated.
You see a lot of marijuana leaves and green packaging throughout Europe these days, and you might think, “Wow, I didn’t know pot was legal here.” But this is CBD cannabis — legal only if it contains less than one percent THC. CBD makes you calm and is considered a medicine. THC pot — the stuff that makes you giggle — is not yet legal here. Don’t worry (that’s OK)…be happy (not yet).
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I’m wrapping up my time in Central Europe: Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, and Berlin — a great itinerary. We have individual guidebooks for each of these cities (except Bratislava, which is included in both our Vienna and Budapest books). And with so much to experience in each city, keeping all of those books up to date is no easy task. But with the help of co-authors and guidebook researchers, we update each book, in person, every two years. And this year, it was my turn to take a spin through the great cities of Central Europe. Here are a few travel memories that are sticking with me.
Along the way, I got to meet lots of our happy tour groups and their wonderful guides. At my Budapest hotel, Gerlóczy, on three successive nights I got to pop in on Rick Steves Tour groups who were having dinner in the dining room. Each group was convinced that their guide — Peter, Etelka, and Katka — was the greatest guide on the Continent. For me, that’s a wonderful disagreement.
(clockwise from top) Tour guides Peter, Etelka, and Katka with their groups in Budapest.
A highlight for me in Vienna is dropping in on Karin and Gerhard, who have lovingly built — from nothing more than their love of the movie The Third Man — a museum that tells its story, and the story of Vienna in the dark and spy-filled days after WWII. It’s only open on Saturdays and by private tour appointment…and it’s in the top ten list of things to do on TripAdvisor for Vienna. Bravo! Our tour groups enjoy a private tour of this fascinating museum.
Karin Höfler and Gerhard Strassgschwandtner, Vienna’s Third Man Museum
In Vienna, I learned to spot pickpockets working the crowded tram system. They work in pairs and dress up as tourists, studying maps, wearing little touristy backpacks, and relieving careless tourists of their wallets all day long.
Traveling alone with four different books to update this month, I’m in a very focused state of mind. With impressive discipline (as I have a very hard time not being out and about in these amazing cities), I make sure to take time in my room to get all the new information massaged into the files for that book’s new edition. My hotel desk (strewn with “lady laptop,” maps, and notes) makes a wonderful on-the-road office.
In a few days, I’ll be meeting my TV crew in Scotland. It’s always a bit stressful to get a pre-TV shoot haircut in a land where I don’t speak the language. And hairdressers are one of those occupations where you’re likely to encounter some communication challenges. As I always say, if it’s important, have a local friend write your message on paper: “Please not short. Only a trim.”
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I was feelin’ pretty groovy on a recent sunny afternoon in Prague. I was with one of my favorite guides, munching on a picnic lunch before jumping into Europe’s biggest castle, and it occurred to me, “I’d love to share this simple and joyful moment with my travelers.” My guide, Šárka, has helped me for many years with my Prague guidebook. She and her team of guides earn a good living giving travelers great private tours. Imagine the joy of having your own guide to bring out the magic of a city like Prague. The cost: about $30 an hour…affordable luxury.
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I’ve long wanted to better understand Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood — traditionally the home of many Turkish immigrants, and today gentrifying fast. Just like many Mexicans are guest laborers in the USA (doing the scut work that middle-class Americans and their kids don’t want to do), Turks have long served that “Gastarbeiter” role in the much wealthier Germany. As usual, the guest workers get the worst neighborhoods. And, in the case of the Turks here in postwar Berlin, it was “up against the Wall”…the Berlin Wall. Then, suddenly, in 1989, the Wall’s gone and Kreuzberg is free to blossom. I enjoyed a delightful afternoon with Hashim Anik, a Turkish German guide who grew up right here and has seen a lot of positive change. Join us for a little walk. I’d love to hear about any Kreuzberg experiences you’ve enjoyed.
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