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A sip of Irish history

Beer, holograms and history – these are the ingredients that make the Smithwick’s Experience a must-do brewery tour.

The multi-sensory and interactive experience takes visitors on a journey through the story of the famous ruby red ale, exploring its place in one of the country’s coolest destination cities, Kilkenny.

Starting in a candle-lit cavern – it re-creates the atmosphere of the centuries-old St Francis Abbey Brewery that inspired John Smithwick – the tour uses a cool array of technology to illuminate the story of Smithwick’s creamy pints, from right up to the present day.

The 300-year-old brewing process is brought to life through installations and plenty of tactile experiences introducing you to the smells, tastes and textures of the raw materials involved in creating the perfect pint of ale.

Like any good brewery tour the trip ends with a pint of the good stuff, where you’ll raise a glass to the celebrated Smithwick family.

A taste of Teeling

Located in Dublin City Centre, in the historic Liberties, the Teeling Whiskey Co is the only operational distillery in the city and the first of its kind to open its doors in more than 125 years. Here, you can experience the sound, smell and feel of a whiskey distillery.

Teeling Whiskey, which has produced award-winning single grain, single malt and small batch drops, has only been open to the public since June 2015. The city’s only operational distillery is an unmissable destination for all whiskey fans, although if you’re not yet a lover of the amber liquid this is the perfect place to start your education.

Offering a selection of tours, including the Teeling Small Batch & Seasonal Whiskey Cocktail tasting, the Teeling Trinity Tasting and the Teeling Single Malt tasting, visitors can get up close and personal with all the aspects of the famed Irish whiskey-making process.

Ireland’s top licks

You might not think you’d discover a real gourmet treat in a tiny Irish beach town, but creamy gold awaits those who venture to Strandhill in County Sligo. The folks at seaside Mammy Johnston’s have been making gelato for three generations and now its chief ice-cream churner, Neil Byrne, has struck gold in the home of gelato.

At Italy’s Sigep Rimini trade show, which brings artisan bakers, gelato makers and coffee connoisseurs together, he picked up an award for the best honeycomb-flavoured gelato. Seems like these two countries share more than just the first letter of their names.

Get Soothed by Seaweed

Let the powers of the wild Atlantic Ocean soothe your muscles with this special treatment at Voya Seaweed Baths in the picturesque town of Strandhill, Ireland. Located along the Wild Atlantic Way, Voya uses specially harvested local seaweed to create a tension melting treatment that is simply one of a kind.


Before you sink into a bath of hand-plucked plants in the name of improved circulation and plump, pert skin, you’ll experience a steaming treatment to open up your pores. Then lay back and let the spa work its magic.

Beauty of the Balkans

While the stocks of countries like Croatia are on the rise, there are other places on this European peninsula still far from most tourists’ paths. Photographer and Olympus Visionary Chris Eyre-Walker explores Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A House for Essex

Anything designed by Grayson Perry is sure to have more than a touch of the kooky about it, and this holiday house, inspired by fairy tales, shrines and baroque architecture, is no exception. Perry, in conjunction with architectural firm FAT, created the two-bedroom home based on a character called Julie, for whom he produced an entire backstory.

It’s just one of a number of homes in a series by Living Architecture, an organisation that aims to increase appreciation of architecture by offering immaculately designed properties at reasonable rates. We love everything about it, from the ceramic green and while tiles (depicting safety pins, cassettes and hearts) covering the exterior to the Lego-like kitchen.

Leap of Faith

"Are you scared?” Petr asks me as he untangles the spaghetti of coloured chords attached to a large orange chute laid out behind us. I’m staring over a cliff that drops almost 2000 metres down to a miniature Swiss village. I can’t respond.

“You just have to walk fast when I tell you. Then everything will be fine. You are not too heavy. Soon we’ll be flying!” He’s laughing as he tells me this. “You are lucky today. Fiesch is the best place in the world for flying!”

And with that my new best friend takes a big step forward with me strapped to his front. We walk awkwardly together like clumsy Siamese twins. The chute catches the wind and my steps get decidedly longer. “Keep walking!” yells Petr. “I am!” I yell back, finally finding my voice, only to stare down at my feet frantically pedalling air as the lush green mountainside drops away.

It is suddenly quiet but for the wind hissing past my ears. My initial fear is replaced by awe as I stare, mouth agape, at the jagged white teeth of the Swiss Alps around us. To my left I can make out the white highway of the incredible Aletsch Glacier, winding its way from the peaks of Jungfrau and the Eiger down towards the Rhône valley. In the distance to my right the Matterhorn towers through the clouds.

The Valais region of Switzerland is a mecca for paragliders, with the valleys creating a perfect storm of thermals and winds. Petr tells me the record for the longest flight was recently set at more than 11 hours. The pilot flew wind-assisted from Fiesch to Zurich and back.

I ask Petr what happens if you lose a thermal and have to land far from home. He laughs and tells me they simply jump on the nearest train. “Swiss Rail is the best in the world. Always on time. We can fly anywhere and get home easy!”

I’m in no hurry to get home though, and as we rise over the undulating valleys below, I ask Petr if he can fly me to Zurich airport tomorrow. He laughs again and says: “Catch the train. You are too heavy!”

Luxembourg

If you’re a tiny country in a huge continent crammed with history, culture and gastronomic delights, what is it you can offer that your more famous neighbours can’t? That’s easy – more of the same, but in a simple, clean, easy-to-navigate package. Take that, rest of Europe!

Luxembourg, officially known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, epitomises everything that’s exceptional about this region. Cycle or hike in the hills, head to valley of Moselle to taste the local wine at cellar doors, explore some of the more than 50 castles around the country, and let your hair down at festivals that run the gamut of themes from contemporary film to medieval times.

Its people are a mix of different nationalities – primarily French, German and Belgium – and at any time you’ll likely meet more travellers than locals. That’s one of the minor downfalls of being such a tiny nation.

The lively capital, also called Luxembourg, is a mix of the new and historic. Its old town is World Heritage listed – during the early sixteenth century its fortress was considered the most impressive in Europe. For those who’ve worked up a hunger exploring, the city has an impressive four Michelin-starred restaurants (there are 11 around the country).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine

Whether you travel for incredible scenery to discover stories about the past or to meet people from far outside your social set, you won’t be disappointed in Ukraine. Sure, it’s had its troubles, but that doesn’t change its all-round beauty.

The capital, Kiev, on the Dnierper River, is best known for its vast gold-domed churches, but there’s a definite mix of old and new. Seeing the potential in the tourism dollar, money has been ploughed into luxury hotels, as well as huge nightclubs (the party starts at midnight and goes well into the next day) and fancy restaurants.

The city of Lviv, near the border with Poland, is another city steeped in layers of history. Be sure to visit a banya (Russian-style sauna) while you’re there, and partake of the city’s reinvigorated nightlife, where cavernous clubs and hidden bars are all part of the action. For a bit of film history, head to Odessa, on the Black Sea. Here, in 1925 the famous Odessa Steps massacre sequence was filmed for Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin. We don’t suggest you re-create the set-up, but you can certainly see where it was staged, as the steps are the main thoroughfare from the harbour to the city.

For rolling, forested landscapes head to the Carpathians in the country’s southwest. Here, you’ll discover a rural way of life since the mountains are home to the Hutsul people, who maintain may of the traditions – a colourful style of dress, travel by horse, the art of egg decorating known as pysanka – of the Ukraine of old. The area is popular with hikers in summer and skiers in winter, and houses the country’s largest national park.

Make sure, before you make any travel plans to Ukraine, to check the latest travel advice.

 

Torre Trasita

Lord it up above the turquoise waters of the Amalfi Coast and play king of your very own castle with a stay at Torre Trasita. Jutting from a rocky cliff near the Italian town of Positano – once a small fishing village favoured by Romans on vacay – this former watchtower has been part of the landscape since the sixteenth century. Restored this year with all the trimmings of a seaside hotel, the torre sleeps six in style.

Order insalata di frutti di mare (seafood salad) to be delivered from a local restaurant to the blue-tiled terrace up top, and wash down 360-degree views of the town that inspired Picasso with a chilled glass of bubbles. If your creativity stirs there’s even a piano for you to play – after all, all nobles fancy a tinkle on the ivories from time to time.

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