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Bike Boston

Last summer, Boston followed in the footsteps of Montreal and Denver and initiated a bike-sharing program. The Hubway features 600 bikes in 61 stations throughout the city. You pay a yearly or daily membership fee and the cost of rental for the ride (trips shorter than 30 minutes are free) and bike from one station to any of the other stations. Alta Bicycle Share, the company that designed the bike-sharing program in Washington, DC, and Melbourne, Australia, was hired to oversee the Boston network. It was such a huge hit last summer that the Hubway reopened last week with plans to expand to neighboring Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville. Sure, there were naysayers at first who said Boston drivers wouldn’t share the roads with bikers. But that’s an absurd excuse, because now they’ll just have to get use to us two-wheelers! 
 

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Salt Lake City’s Natural History Museum is a Gem

Salt Lake City reminds me a lot of Calgary, especially the way skiers scurry out of town upon arrival to hit Park City, Snowbasin, Alta, and Solitude, all within an hour drive. After spending three days solely in Salt Lake City, I would highly suggest making time to check out the city. There’s a lot happening in town, from the revitalization of Main Street thanks to the year-old shopping center, City Creek, to emergence of neighborhoods with an indie vibe, like 9th and 9th. The food was exceptional. Highlights include the crab and corn bisque at Bambara, kumamoto oysters at Naked Fish, turkey mole at the authentic Mexican joint, Red Iguana, sturgeon fish and chips at the Copper Onion, and the kale caesar salad at Pago. 

 
My favorite stop in town was the year old Natural History Museum of Utah next to Red Butte botanical garden in the foothills of the Wasatch Range. When you think of it, what better place than Utah to have a natural history museum? Rich in Native American culture, geological wonders like the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and the stone arches at Arches, and still very active with dinosaur digs around the state, Salt Lake City should have one of the finest natural history museums in the country. Displaying vibrant Navajo baskets, intricate Paiute beadwork, dinosaurs, a working paleontologist on site, and stunning views of the valley below, this site alone would inspire me to return to Salt Lake. 
 
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Bring Your Yoga Mat and an Open Heart

New England is known for its abundant number of private retreats where you and your group of friends can rent out the entire enclave for a weekend of yoga, meditation, and hiking and biking in the outdoors. Yet, the list of these retreats can be overwhelming so it helps to have friends who do the research for you. I was excited to be included on the guest list for a momentous birthday this past weekend at Spirit Fire Retreat Center in the remote hills of Leyden, Massachusetts, just north of Greenfield. What a find! We were hosted by Steve, a talented cook who served us tasty organic meals like a hot and sour soup with turkey sausage, leek frittatas, salads topped with ripe avocadoes and tomatoes, and much more. We ate meals around a large wooden table. Sunlight and the sound of wind poured into the large meditation room (can fit up to 16 people), only enhancing the poignant words and direction of our cherished yoga and meditation instructor, Checka Antifonario. When we ventured outside, we were treated to an hour-long hiking trail in remote woods, wine and cheese along a raging river, and seeing the twinkling night sky around a fire pit while roasting marshmallows. Do your body and mind a favor and splurge on a weekend here. You’ll thank me for the recommendation. Better yet, hire Checka to come along! 
 
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ActiveTravels Ranks No. 278 of World’s Top Travel Blogs 2018

Found out this week that ActiveTravels made the list of top travel blogs in the world, according to Gary Arndt’s Everything Everywhere. The extensive list was based on SEO metrics, but it’s obviously skewered toward his liking since Everything Everywhere is ranked number 4. Regardless, I appreciate the effort Gary took to finally have a list of travel bloggers all over the world. He mistakenly notes that I started blogging 19 years ago. I actually purchased the ActiveTravels URL 19 years ago but didn’t start blogging until 2009. It’s nice to be recognized for my work on the blog. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to check in now and then to find out what’s new in the world of travel. Keep it up so I can crack the Top 100 listing by 2020! 

 
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A Must-Stop at the East Side Gallery in Berlin

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches

Another of my main areas of interest when I was in Berlin in January was to experience first-hand the “East divided from West” Years. The separation of Berlin began in 1945, and, in 1961, East Germany built the Berlin Wall, circling West Berlin, to prevent its residents from migrating. My husband Josh and I landed at Schoenefeld Airport (the airport in the former Soviet quarter of East Berlin and formerly the main airport of East Germany), and thus began this aspect of the adventure. 
 
In my two days of touring, we criss-crossed Berlin constantly, from what was West Berlin to what was East Berlin, without distinction. There are certainly many memorials to a city divided, and to understanding that history, but none as interesting to me as the East Side Gallery. Once it was the Berlin Wall. Now it’s the longest open-air gallery in the world. Almost a mile long, one section of the Berlin Wall was not demolished and instead became a living canvas for paintings about change, happiness, hope, and freedom Beginning in 1990, 118 artists from 21 countries painted pictures on the wall. They are vibrant, interesting, and, frankly genuine (this is all outside, not hidden from the weather). I would have loved to stop and photograph each one. In fact, I bought a book of Wall paintings to bring home. Of course “progress” is always a challenge: a section of the East Side Gallery was removed a few years ago to make room for luxury condos along the River Spree. 
 
There are many other areas of Berlin which I visited related to the “East divided from West” Years, including: the Berlin Wall Memorial (with tunnels underneath marked); the gigantic Soviet War Memorial for the 22,000 who died taking Berlin in WWII; the TV Tower (famously built VERY tall, tallest in Germany, by the East Germans, intended as a symbol of communist power); and Checkpoint Charlie, which was silly and not even in the right place (one of the actors playing a soldier was a Syrian refugee, and the other had a second job at Chippendale’s). 
 
If Berlin (or Germany in general) interests you, let ActiveTravels assist with your journey.
 
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Day Trip to Rosario Islands from Cartagena

Only an hour by boat from Cartagena, the Rosario Islands are home to the only underwater national park in Colombia. We snorkeled for 45 minutes with a guide and spotted wonderful coral formations and large schools of neon-colored fish. You also have the option of scuba diving or sea kayaking in the mangroves. Then we had a glorious lunch of fried red snapper and an Aguila beer, before going for a dip in the warm waters and passing out on my chaise lounge chair. Several couples on our boat spent the night at Hotel San Pedro de Majagua, perfect for that romantic and very private retreat, especially when the daytrippers leave. 

 

Bike Bourbon Country with Backroads

Biking Bourbon Country Having visited the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, stopping and touring historic distilleries, after rolling up and down bucolic horse country, I can easily say I can’t wait to get back. Sampling bourbon, dining on exceptional Southern food, and viewing the seemingly endless green hillsides of the Bluegrass State, it’s hard not to be hooked. We were excited to see that Backroads introduced a 5-day itinerary to this region of the country last year and it’s already immensely popular. The first trip leaves April 11-15 and if you’re a little leery of drinking high-proof liquor while biking, realize that most of the drinking is at Happy Hour and you can always grab an e-bike for those challenging hills. Please let ActiveTravels know which dates look good and we’ll check availability.

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