Top Dream Days of 2017, E-Biking Emmental Valley, Switzerland
We spent a glorious week in Switzerland in July before the start of our Backroads hiking and biking trip in the Swiss Alps. We loved our stay in Bern to see the inner workings of the famous Medieval Clock Tower, visiting the apartment Albert Einstein lived when he proved his Theory of Relativity, and stopping at the wave-like building Renzo Piano built to house the works of local talent Paul Klee. But my favorite day was getting on electric bikes to roam the narrow and mountainous country roads of neighboring Emmental Valley. Our guide, who looked like Roger Federer, led us through the farmland and small villages to a restaurant known for creating fondue from the local emmental cheese. We returned to Bern on the train with more than enough time to swim in the Aare River. An easy walk down the hillside from our wonderful hotel, the Bellevue Palace, led to a park where hundreds of people lined the river catching rays. We strolled down a path with a long line of folks who dragged their tubes, rafts, and dry bags. Then jump in the cool water anywhere and off you go with the strong current. The hardest part was finding a place on the shores to stop and pull yourself out.
In 1990, I left my job as a broker in Manhattan and booked an open-ended ticket to Sydney, stopping at numerous South Pacific isles along the way. The day before I left, I was at the 5th Avenue Book Fair, when I spotted a book titled Travel Writing, For Profit and Pleasure. More than 1500 stories and 9 travel books later, I can honestly say that the author of that book, Perry Garfinkel, changed my life. Now you have the rare chance to have Perry inspire your life. He’s 
Several ski writers who came into Boston last week for the Boston Ski Show mentioned that they loved their hotel, 
The fall foliage road trip was designed with places like South Dakota in mind. Venture to Rapid City and you’ll have the chance to cruise with relatively little traffic up and down the pine forests and granite passes of the Black Hills. Highway 385 will lead you to Vanocker Canyon and 
If the thought of climbing a mountain makes you sweat long before leaving your car, wipe your brow and give 2,804-foot Willard a try. In less than an hour, you’ll make it to the peak where jaw-dropping views of Crawford Notch stand below you, a reward for your slight efforts. The hike begins behind the Crawford Notch Visitor Center, former site of the Crawford railroad station. The trail starts off sharply but becomes more gradual as you crisscross through a forest of dense pines. Eventually, sunshine seeps into the woods and you’ll reach a large opening, the light at the end of the tunnel. Look down from the rocky ledge at the old railroad line, carved into the mountainside, and the onslaught of cars that snake through Crawford Notch on Route 302. Then pat yourself on the back for climbing a White Mountain. 
Lisa and I went to an all-day seminar on Monday with Tourism Norway to meet with a dozen travel reps from all over this Scandinavian country. I’ll probably write a longer piece on Norway for the newsletter, but I wanted to report on all the exciting new developments at Norway’s signature cruise line, Hurtigruten. They will debut a new hybrid vessel, the