After my explorations in Windsor, I had about an hour and a half to explore Detroit on my own before my scheduled driving tour of the city. With its impressive 20th century architectural heritage, Detroit had long fascinated me and I was going to take the next four days to explore this city up close. One of the buildings making up Detroit's skyline that has always captured my imagination is the Michigan Central Depot, an...more
My abode for my last two days in Detroit was the Inn on Ferry Street, a beautifully renovated complex of six historic buildings in the Midtown area of Detroit. It encompasses four mansions as well as two carriage houses that were each built for prominent Detroit families. After many years of languishing, these buildings have been re-functioned into 42 stunning guest rooms.The East Ferry Avenue Historic District is a historic area...more
One of the main reasons I had come to Detroit was the fantastic architecture that this city has to offer. Detroit celebrated its heyday in the early 20th century when the automobile industry took off, and car ownership became available to everyday people. Witnesses to this boom are the many stunning historic skyscrapers in Detroit, particularly from the 1920s, buildings that still define one of the most recognizable skylines in the world.Of course the Great Depression of the 1930s put an end to this exuberant construction activity, but to this day Detroit features a great collection of architectural treasures. One of the most well-known landmarks is the former Book Cadillac Hotel, which at its opening in 1924, was the tallest building in Detroit and the tallest hotel in the world.The Book Cadillac was developed by three brothers who intended to turn Washington Boulevard into the "Fifth Avenue of the West". They commissioned prominent Detroit architect Louis Kamper to design their hotel property which was to be built on the location of the earlier Cadillac Hotel, a property dating back to 1885. With big fanfare this grand hotel opened in 1924, featuring 1,136...more
Finally it was time for another excursion. As a true architecture buff, Detroit had been on my radar for a long time, and I definitely wanted to explore this unique city in detail. So for the last few weeks I had been working with Visitdetroit, the city's visitor and convention office, to map out a detailed itinerary of the city...more
It was barely mid-day by now and we had already seen so much. Our ride on the Number 11 bus had introduced us to some of the city's main sights from the comfort of the upper level of a double-decker bus. And our subsequent walking tour had taken us past Buckingham Palace, Whitehall and the Houses of Parliament where we listened...more
Regardless of what city I travel to, I always try to build in some sorts of a sports activity, whether it is bicycling, hiking, rollerblading, or - in this case – kayaking! I had tried whitewater kayaking once before in the Canadian wilderness, and the results were less than stellar. As a matter of fact, I was quite scared to death by the untamed power of the treacherous rapids on the Ottawa River. Of course this would be a different proposition: there were no rapids here, just the calm and serene waters of Regent's Canal.In order to make it to our sunrise adventure we got rattled out of bed before 5 am and made our way to Regent's Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, to meet Danny Gillard from Thames River Adventures. Together with his partner Niamh, Danny is the co-owner of this unusual adventure travel company. We arrived and Danny had already set up three recreational touring kayaks as well as the spray skirts. The sun was slowly rising from the horizon, and bright rays of sunshine were flooding the waters of the canal.We carried our kayaks down to the canal, put on our spray skirts and gingerly made our way into the vessels. Fortunately, touring...more
Our second day in London greeted us with brilliant sunshine, and even though it was still early May, temperatures in the mid twenties (Celsius, of course) were in store for us. Andrea and I started our day with a nice breakfast at the...more
It's amazing what you can pack into a day: our sightseeing tour on the Number 11 bus had introduced us to some of London's most important sights. During our walking tour we explored Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Trafalgar...more
After five great days in my temporary home in the Western Bay of Palma it was now time to relocate and have a closer look at the eastern side of island. I needed to check out today and move into my next apartment in Port d'Alcudia....more
With my love for the Spanish language and my fascination for Mediterranean landscapes, the island of Mallorca has been one of my dream destinations for a long time. A couple of months ago or so I had finally decided that 2009 was going...more
On my last full day in Mallorca my plan was to explore the eastern part of the island. I had spent the vast majority of my time in the north of Mallorca, where the dramatic Serra de Tramuntana mountain range had held an almost magical...more
After a tasty home-made breakfast on the balcony of my studio apartment in Port d'Alcudia I was ready to head out for a full day of explorations. Somehow, the northern mountainous part of Mallorca has an almost magical spell on me....more