Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for travel writing
The King of Ragtime’s House
By Linda Tancs
Scott Joplin, an American composer and pianist, was known as the “King of Ragtime” because of the fame he achieved for his ragtime compositions. Many of his best-known works (like “The Entertainer,” “Elite Syncopations,” “March Majestic” and “Ragtime Dance”) were written between 1901 and 1903 in a small flat on what is now known as Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. Ragtime enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1970s when the motion picture “The Sting” used “The Entertainer” as its theme song. The Scott Joplin House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is now a State Historic Site filled with turn-of-the-century antiques and exhibits interpreting Joplin’s life and work.
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Norway’s National Museum
By Linda Tancs
The largest art museum in the Nordic countries, Norway’s new National Museum (Nasjonalmuseet) in Oslo is also one of the largest art museums in Europe, right behind Russia’s Hermitage and the Louvre in Paris. Its signature architectural feature is the Light Hall. Reserved for temporary exhibitions, its exterior walls are made of marble glass, a thin layer of marble between two panes of glass. Reaching 22 feet in height, the hall also boasts 9,000 adjustable LED lights and can be completely darkened, depending on the nature of the art installation. From the roof terrace you can enjoy stunning views of the facility’s location at Rådhusplassen (City Hall Square) as well as Aker Brygge (the waterfront area) and the fjord.
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Enchanted Ice in Edmonton
By Linda Tancs
Named after Britain’s Queen Victoria, Victoria Park is a picnic and activity park forming part of the North Saskatchewan River Valley park and trail system in Edmonton, Canada. This time of year it’s best known for the Victoria Park IceWay, a skating trail wrapping through the majestic forests of the park. At night it’s illuminated with colorful lights, making the experience all that more magical. Public skating is from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and admission is free.
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Israel’s Highest Waterfall
By Linda Tancs
Located in the center of Israel’s Golan Heights, Gamla Nature Reserve is a nature reserve and archaeological site. It’s where you’ll find the country’s highest waterfall (at around 167 feet) flowing year round. An easy path leads to a lookout terrace for the best views. Other features of the area are the eagle observatory and Bronze Age burial mounds. The reserve is about a 15-minute drive from the Sea of Galilee.
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America’s Oldest Theatre
By Linda Tancs
Founded in 1808, Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia is America’s Oldest Theatre. Given its historic bearing, it’s also the Official State Theatre of Pennsylvania as well as a National Historic Landmark. As with any historical property, stories abound. During a backstage tour, you’ll hear many of them, like who took the first curtain call and how the venue started as an equestrian circus. Some of the world’s most famous performers have played there, including Marlon Brando, Paul Robeson, Audrey Hepburn, Helen Hayes, Groucho Marx and Sidney Poitier. If only the walls could talk, and in some cases they do, considering that centuries-old brick is exposed in some places. The theatre is conveniently located in the heart of Center City.
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Amazon of Europe
By Linda Tancs
The world’s first five-country UNESCO biosphere reserve represents the shared nature of wildlife and ecological preservation among Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia. The reserve covers the riverine and estuarine ecosystems of the Danube, Mura and Drava rivers, an area in Central Europe so rich in habitats that it’s been dubbed the “Amazon of Europe.” Forming one of the great wetlands, its range of rare habitats includes large floodplain forests, river islands, gravel and sand banks, side branches and oxbows, providing shelter for endangered species such as the little tern, black stork, beaver, otter and some vulnerable fish species.
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The Little Apple
By Linda Tancs
Nestled in the heart of the scenic Flint Hills, Manhattan, Kansas, is probably best known as the home of Kansas State University. Given its name, it should come as no surprise that it’s nicknamed “The Little Apple” as a play on New York City. Like its eastern sister, you’ll find great dining, shopping and outdoor activities. Just outside the city is Konza Prairie scenic overlook, where reportedly you’ll find some of the most picturesque Kansas sunsets. Hike the trails and learn about the endangered tallgrass ecosystem.
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Americana in the Valley
By Linda Tancs
The centerpiece of the Brandywine Valley, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate formerly owned by renowned antiques collector and horticulturist Henry Francis du Pont. Located in Winterthur, Delaware, it reportedly has the most significant collection of American decorative arts in the world, boasting nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America since 1640. Along with the stunning mansion, Winterthur also features 1,000 acres of protected meadows, woodlands, ponds and waterways as well as a 60-acre garden designed by du Pont. To make the most of your visit, buy the Winterthur Experience Package, which admits you to the major entertaining spaces on a self-guided tour of the fifth floor of the house and includes access to the garden and walking trails.
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California’s Oldest Zoo
By Linda Tancs
Founded in 1907, Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka is California’s oldest zoo. It bears the distinction of being nestled amidst the majestic old-growth redwoods in Sequoia Park, providing a magnificent backdrop for one of the smallest accredited zoos in the country. Because of its modest size, it doesn’t house the star attractions like elephants, giraffes or lions, but it does feature rare and endangered animals such as red pandas, bush dogs and Chacoan peccaries along with a barnyard experience for children with donkeys, alpacas, rabbits, goats, sheep and fowl. You can also experience the forest along the Redwood Sky Walk, the longest sky walk in the western United States, which is only accessible through the zoo. Reaching 100 feet above the forest floor, it comprises a network of suspended bridges that reach across and through old-growth and mature second-growth redwood trees.
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A Legend in Princeton
By Linda Tancs
The boyhood home of Renaissance man Paul Robeson takes pride of place on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Known appropriately enough as The Paul Robeson House of Princeton, the three-story, wood frame house is the place where the legendary actor, singer, activist, scholar, writer, law school graduate and athlete was born. The son of a former slave-turned-preacher, he remained in the home while his father served as pastor of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. The home’s executive board provides programs for individuals and organizations sharing Robeson’s commitment to advocacy and human rights.
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