What To Do in Guadalajara

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Sunday, 14 March 2010 18:03

Written by Laura Blum

Like the rest of Mexico, Guadalajara tourism is still recuperating from swine flu. This means lots of healthy bargains for those looking to slip late winter blahs and catch the Guadalajara International Film Festival in mid-March — or just hit its home town anytime.

Plus, you can make up for your Vitamin D deficiency under Guadalajara's generally sunny skies. Perched at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the capital of the state of Jalisco claims to have the best climate in North America, with the mercury hovering around 70 degrees year-round.

The first time I visited, to attend the Guadalajara Film Festival, sunshine wasn't the only thing bursting. The previous year, five gas explosions had torn through the city's sewers, mincing five miles of streets and killing more than 200 people. And in May 1993, two months after I left, an archbishop and six people were felled in a shootout, allegedly between rival cocaine cartels.

But this sort of excitement is the rare exception in a place where the biggest frictions usually involve soccer teams or mariachi guitar chords. Should you be so lucky as to find yourself in "La Perla del Occidente" ('Pearl of the West'), as Guadalajara is affectionately known, here's a quick roundup of what to see:

Catedral de Guadalajara (Guadalajara Cathedral)
Smack dab in the heart of the Centro Histórico rises the Metropolitan Cathedral of Guadalajara, framed by four colonial plazas. Its original towers were smashed in the 1818 earthquake, and the current spires sport yellow and blue tile. Built over the course of 50 years beginning in the 1560s, Guadalajara's refrigerator-magnet staple is an impressive mishmash of Neo-Gothic, Baroque and neoclassical styles (architectural terms whose formal spellings are equally diverse). This being Mexico, there's bound to be a mural inside: Here it's "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin," by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
15 de Septiembre 16
Guadalajara, Jalisco
+525 33 3616 2491‎
 
El Instituto Cultural Cabañas (Cabañas Cultural Institute)
From the unassuming exterior of this cultural center, you'd never guess that inside lurk some of Mexico's "Wow!"-est murals. José Clemente Orozco painted them in the late 1930s to spiff up this former shelter for orphans, widows, the poor and the elderly. "The Man of Fire" is a standout among the muralist's 57 works on display alongside his smaller paintings, drawings and cartoons adoring the Institute's 106 rooms and 20 odd patios.
Calle Cabañas 8, Centro Histórico
Guadalajara, Jalisco, 44100
+525 33 3668-1647

Mercado Libertad (Liberty Market)
Pigs feet, bootlegged DVDs, unidentified fish — you'll find pretty much everything in the this maze of a covered central market at Plaza Tapatia's East end. Nicknamed San Juan de Dios after the nearby church, it's where you'll score herbal remedies for bronchitis, a broken heart and whatever else ails you.
Javier Mina y Calzada Independencia
44100 Guadalajara
Jalisco

Plaza de los Mariachis (Mariachi Square)
Around the corner from the market is the birthplace of mariachi music. For about $10 a song, you can get serenaded by an eight-piece orchestra. Ask someone to translate the corridos (ballads), which typically dish gossip about misbehaving neighbors, politicians and other folks who make oral history come alive.
Av. Lopez Mateos Sur No 2375
at Ave Mariano Otero
45050 Guadalajara, Mexico

Museo del Premio Nacional de la Cerámica Pantaleón Panduro (Pantaleón Panduro Museum of the National Pottery Prize)
Who was this Pantaleón Panduro that got one of Mexico's fabbest museums named after him? The father of modern ceramics in Jalisco, which is to say, in a country of pottery aficionados, a big chingón deal. Among the stunning pieces you'll encounter here, including talavera from Puebla, arboles de vida from Metepec and bruñido from Tonalá, are prizewinners from the Museum's national ceramics competition, held every June. After you've depleted your Spanish synonyms for "beautiful," stroll around the surrounding complex, now called Centro Cultural El Refugio, which in colonial times served a religious community. Keep strolling and you'll hit Tlaquepaque's craft market, where ceramic knockoffs are available for pesos you can afford. Guadalajara's Tlaquepaque suburb is well worth the schlep, with its cobbled streets and converted 19th-century abodes that now house restaurants and boutiques.
Calle Priciliano Sánchez, 191, at Calle Flórida
San Pedro Tlaquepaque
Guadalajara, Jalisco
+525 33 3562-7036

El Pantéon de Belén (Belen Cemetery)
"…when the tree destroys the tomb completely, the vampire will be free to once again attack those who stay up too late.” So goes the last line of a famous vampire tale about this historical cemetery dating to 1786. Intrepid souls may want to take a guided night tour of the grounds. The rest of us wimps can catch the crumbling tombstones in daylight, and check out the museum. Or hear more legends of haunted souls, from "The Pirate, The Lovers and The Monk" to "The Child Afraid of the Dark" and "The Story of José Cuervo."
Belén No. 684
Belén, El Retiro
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
+535 33 3613 7786
 
El Tequila Express
If you have a free Saturday, hop the first-class train to nearby Tequila and the factory where the Sauza brand of the municipality's namesake spirit is produce. There, some nine hours of mariachi music, tequila and beer will keep you properly hydrated. The Hacienda de San Josel Refugio, where Tequila Herradura is concocted, offers a tour elucidating everything you didn't know you didn't know about the Tequila-making process. Eat, drink, make merry — and drink some more.
Avenida Washington at Calzada Independencia
Fracc Guadalajara
Jalisco  44100

 

Washington, DC A Tourist Capitol

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Sunday, 14 February 2010 01:03

Written by Lloyd Carroll

New Yorkers should feel right at home in Washinton DC for numerous reasons ranging from culture, points of interest, fine restaurants, to a first class mass transit system. You really don’t need a car because Washington’s subway, better known as the Metro, can get you to almost anywhere in the Beltway. The trains are clean, the service is frequent, and it only costs $1.35 during off-peak hours.
      
Many of the most popular attractions in Washington do not charge admission. The National Zoo, located in the city’s tony Adams Morgan neighborhood, attracts millions of visitors each year who want to view its primate and big cats exhibits, and of course, the big draw, the great pandas from China. The zoo is quite hilly so be prepared for strenuous exercise if you want to see everything here.
      
One can spend weeks visiting all of the Smithsonian museums. My suggestion is to see the Museum of American History and the Natural History Museum first. The former places a lot of emphasis on pop culture. Among the displays here are the ruby red slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz,” Fonzie’s leather jacket from “Happy Days,” and the chairs that Archie and Edith Bunker had in their fictional Rego Park living room from the classic ‘70s CBS breakthrough TV comedy, “All In The Family.” The latter, which has just gotten a lot of play from the recently released sequel to the Ben Stiller film, “Night At The Museum,” features numerous artifacts and fossils.
      
There are some novel and intriguing privately-owned museums as well. The Crime & Punishment Museum chronicles the history of organized crime in the United States, with particular emphasis on such 1930s gangsters as Al Capone, John Dillinger, Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow, to nefarious serial killers as Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy , Albert “The Boston Strangler” De Salvio and Ted Bundy. Of interest to Queens residents is an exhibit on the late Howard Beach “Dapper Don,” John Gotti, and a 1992 letter from David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz to an old friend in which he reminisces about the fun nights that they spent in taverns on Queens Boulevard. Fox Television’s popular Saturday night show, “America’s Most Wanted,” has its studio here.
   
A block away from the Crime & Punishment Museum is the International Spy Museum which looks at the history of espionage from the time of Benedict Arnold right up to today. The Spy Museum has plentiful information about Allies spies behind the Axis lines in World War II, to the CIA-KGB battles during the Cold War. The museum spares no details about such American traitors as Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen and John Walker Lindh. On a lighter note, there is a lot of spy pop culture here including props from James Bond movies, as well as from such TV shows as “Get Smart,” “The Man From UNCLE” and “The Avengers.”
    
As a journalist, I have to admit that I am partial to the Newseum, the first museum dedicated to the history of news reporting, starting with the early days of the Gutenberg printing press right up to the Internet. The current front page of a daily newspaper from each American city is on display, as well as those capturing historic moments such as V-E Day, the JFK assassination, and 9/11. Photojournalism has a dedicated wing here as well.
    
On the Newseum’s second floor, visitors are apprised that community newspapers are thriving while their daily counterparts are in financial trouble. It would be nice if there was an exhibit dedicated to community weeklies instead of just getting a pat on the back.
     
The most somber, yet emotionally-moving, museum arguably in the world is the National Holocaust Museum which of course examines the hate-filled world of the Nazi Empire that cost millions of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Gentiles who dared to stand up to the Hilter regime their lives. The June 10, 2009 rifle attack on the Holocaust Museum by 88 year-old Nazi sympathizer James von Brunn that killed heroic security guard Stephen Johns is a reminder that hate is sadly very much alive. Ironically von Brunn’s despicable action is a stark reminder of why everyone should make at least one visit here.
       
There are no shortage of terrific dining experiences in DC. For those on a budget, Nando’s Peri-Peri Restaurant, has very tasty flame-grilled chicken and has quickly become a favorite of the business lunch crowd. A great way to spend an evening is to take a three-hour Odyssey dinner cruise. You get to enjoy both a four-course meal and a trip on the scenic Potomac that sails from Georgetown to Alexandria, Va. Finally, the Juniper Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel is renowned for its Sunday brunch as well as for its local seafood dishes such as Maryland crab cake.  
      
The Fairmont Hotel is also a great place to stay. Located in the beautiful West End district that is home to lovely brownstones and several parks, and away from the DC hustle and bustle, the Fairmont is located near two Metro stops and is a short walk to hip Georgetown. There is also a beautiful outdoor courtyard in the center of the hotel that has been used for many a wedding.
    
Washington is easy to get to via Amtrak (I recommend taking the Acela Express which is quite cheap on weekends). There are also several bus carriers such as Bolt, Megabus and
DC Trails that compete so fiercely that fares are frequently just $25 each way. For those in a hurry, both Delta and US Airways have hourly service from LaGuardia, while Forest Hills’ own JetBlue flies from JFK to Dulles Airport throughout the day.
     
For more information, log onto www.destinationdc.com or call the Washington Visitors Bureau at (202) 789-7000
       

Quick Tips On What To Do in Berlin

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Sunday, 14 February 2010 00:36

Written by Laura Blum

My German was schlect, but I could deduce from the "Willkommen in Ost-Berlin" sign that the east side of the breached Berlin Wall was now open for business. Was it ever.

We're talking February 1990, the first time that the Berlin International Film Festival was held in both halves of the city, and the first time in 20 years that East and West Berlin reestablished cultural links. I had taken a day's break from the Zoo Palast cinema for a train ride across the former divide and a strut down übercool Unter den Linden.
 
The boulevard was a little cracked, but the optimism seemed inviolable.
 
If hope was the theme of that bracingly forward-cocked era, now, 20 years hence, the mood has somewhat thickened. The capital of Germany — eurozone's biggest economy — is braced for a drubbing, both by debt crisis and by unremitting snow.     
 
Of course, Berlin has been through considerably worse, and today's comparative blips won't keep her down. She remains a pulsing center of Kulture, Kaffeehäuses and Kitsch, and few places beat her for a smart mind bang.
 
Crammed among her 3.5 million residents and 341 square miles are myriad reasons to come visit (or to venture beyond the Kino, if you're already there for the Berlinale). Here are 10 of them:
 
Unter den Linden
You could do worse than to start, as I did, with Under the Limes. The east-west axis has pretty much all the check-list monuments for a walking history lesson, from the Hohenzollern dynasty, Weimar Republic and Third Reich on through to the German Democratic Republic (GDR). There's Greek antiquity to boot, what with that Acropolis Propylaea knock-off, the Brandenburg Gate.

Brandenburg Gate
Nothing says "national symbol" quite like Brandenburger Tor. During the Cold War it straddled no-man's land between East and West Germany. Also known as "The Gate of Peace," Berlin's triumphal arch was ground zero for celebrating the fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989, two centuries after Frederick William II of Prussia commissioned it as a giant peace sign. That victory goddess riding atop was filched by Napoleon's troops as war booty, but eventually restored after the French took their lumps.

To the north of Brandenburg Gate stands the Reichstag, seat of the German parliament; Tiergarten park sprawls westward; and Friedrichstrasse offers serious shopping in the south. Enthusiasts of ancient civilization should venture east to: 

Museum Island
A billion-euro renovation is underway of Berlin's best spot for museum hopping. Museum Island (Museuminsel) spans five historic buildings in the Mitte district, wedged between the River Spree and Kupfergraben. The centerpiece is the Pergamon Museum, which houses the Ishtar Gate from Babylon and the towering Altar of Zeus. For now it is Germany's most popular museum, but the recently reopened New Museum (Neues Museum), with its bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, may soon inherit the boast.

Other islanders include the Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie), where key Impressionist and other 19th-century collections were consolidated after German reunification, and the Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie). Gobsmacked by its art and archeology, UNESCO added Museum Island to its roster of World Heritage Sites a decade ago.
Bodestraße 1-3
10178 Berlin
www.museen-berlin.de
 
Zoo-Aquarium
Tiergarten, mentioned above, translates as "Animal Garden" in German. Originally a royal hunting ground, it hosts the country's oldest and largest zoo. Giraffes, orang-utans and of course, Knut — the baby polar bear whose trademarking doubled the zoo's value at the Berlin Stock Exchange — count among the14,000 animals and 1,500 species padding around the Zoologischer Garten grounds.
 
A rhino's charge away is the aquarium. Its three-story menagerie contains endangered fish, amphibians, insects and reptiles lit artistically enough to win a cinematography prize at the Berlinale. (Most agree the crocodile hall is the showstopper.) Elsewhere lurk green iguanas, poison frogs and those smarter-than-the-average-invertebrates, octopuses.
Hardenberg Platz 8, Tiergarten
Budapester Straße 32
10787 Berlin
+49 030 25401-0
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
Cultural Forum
A slightly longer rhino's charge away is the Cultural Forum (Kulturforum), a complex of museums, galleries and libraries. Heard of the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, perhaps? Or the New National Gallery, Mies van der Rohe's "temple of light and glass" housing the likes of Munch, Kirchner and Kokoschka? Surely Postdamer Platz, that gallery's famous street, rings a bell. The Cultural Forum was part of an ambitious development plan to stretch a "Mental Ribbon of Culture" across Berlin to the Museum Island. Sadly for the city and for architect Hans Bernard Scharoun, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 laid to waste that modernist vision.
New National Gallery
Potsdamer Strasse 50
10785 Berlin
+49 30 266 2651
 
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Ask a Berliner where the "lipstick and powder box" is, and they'll point you toward Breit-Scheidplatz on Kurfürstendamm. (That's Ku'damm for short, one of Berlin's most famous avenues.) You're looking for a church. So here's the story behind the cheeky moniker: The original 19th-century church on the site, a vast red-sandstone affair, caught hell during World War II, and its replacement preserved the remaining walls and neo-Romanesque spire as a reminder of war's lesser virtues. Architect Egon Eierman's avant-garde design includes an octagonal hall illuminated by colored glass bricks. Check out what remains of the west tower, mosaic and reliefs that survived the bombing, and the plaque marking the 20th anniversary of a plot to assassinate Hitler.
Breitscheidplatz
Kurfurstendamm
10789 Berlin
+49 (0) 30 218 5023
 
Alexanderplatz
Originally called Ochsenmarkt, or "ox market," Alexanderplatz was rechristened when Russian Tzar Alexander I visited in 1805. But you can call it "Alex." If you've read Alfred Döblin's modernist novel, Berlin Alexanderplatz, or seen Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 15+ hour screen adaptation, you may expect the square to be a hotbed of ex-cons. Arguably, though, its greatest offender is a TV tower. Known as the Fernsehturm or Tele-spargel (toothpick), this high point of socialist architecture became an icon of East Berlin. Also wearing the style are the World Time Clock (Weltzeituhr), by Erich John, and the Fountain of International Friendship (Brunnen der Internationalen Freundschaft), by Walter Womacka and other artists. All three of these Alexanderplatz landmarks were built in 1969. What were their architects smoking?
 
Berliner Ensemble
For some of the most cinematic work you'll see during the Berlinale, head over to the live stage of the Berliner Ensemble. Lars von Trier, Jean-Luc Godard and Hal Hartley are but three directors whose films are influenced by the German playwright, poet and theater director. One of the town's most venerated theaters, Berliner Ensemble carries on the tradition of Brecht and his wife and collaborator, Helene Weigel. Following their deaths, it expanded its repertoire to the plays of other dramatists, though you may get lucky and catch a performance of Mother Courage and Her Children or The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.
 Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1
10117 Berlin
+49 (0)30 284-08-155
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
http://www.berliner-ensemble.com/   
 
Reichstag
Unless you fell asleep in History 101, you know that the home of the German parliament (Bundestag), all but fried in 1933. The textbook on who started the fire remains to be written, though the Communists got fingered, and Hitler's National Socialist German Workers Party would soon Sig Heil its way to power. The neo-renaissance building was further blighted when the Soviets entered Berlin at the end of the war. Even when you look at the Reichstag now, it can be tough to forget that shot of a Red Army Soldier hoisting the Soviet flag. The most recent renovation, by Sir Norman Foster, added a glass dome over the plenary hall. That was completed in 1999, the year the Reichstag once again became the seat of parliament, signaling the shift of the German capital from Bonn to Berlin. Part of the Reichstag is open to the public, and you can even walk up to the top of the dome.
Platz der Republik 1
11011 Berlin-Tiergarten
+49 227 32 152
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.bundestag.de
 
Café Einstein Stammhaus
You can't leave Berlin without arguing philosophy at a café. Even if you don't do caffeine, come for some Apfelstrudel and 19th-century charm. There's plenty to consume among the red leather banquettes, parquet floors and hanging newspapers of this ultimate Berlin hangout that's actually Viennese. 
Kurfürstenstraße 58
10785 Berlin
+49 30 263919-0
www.cafeeinstein.com