Milford, Pennsylvania

Hotel Fauchere

I stopped in Milford for lunch and a short perambulation on a hot and humid, July afternoon. I had lunch at the Milford Diner, which has a nostalgic feel but has been substantially upgraded in recent years.  Among the pictures and memorabilia hanging on the wall is a photograph, signature and newspaper clipping of President Clinton. He stopped at the diner in 2008 while campaigning for his wife Hillary during the Democratic primaries. Perhaps even more interesting (and amusing) is another picture frame that contains a photograph and explanation: A scoutmaster from a Boy Scout troop took the boys for a meal in 1983. I am sure there is an excellent story behind the photos and frame (which was not disclosed) and suspect there are many more such stories around the walls of the diner.

Bucolic Ann Street

After lunch, I took a quick walk around town. Among the more intriguing places was the Hotel Fauchére, established in 1852 as a summer hotel. It quickly became famous for its French cuisine under the direction of Louis Fauchére, the chef of Delmonico’s in New York City. Over the years the hotel’s guests included three American presidents and a number of actors, including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Mae West.

Village Diner, on US6

Walking in the residential neighborhoods, many of the houses retain hitching posts for horses in the front yards. The streets are quaint and charmingly kept. Walking the length of Ann Street, there were many beautiful houses and yards. At the end of the street, the petite Ethel Barckley Memorial Park is a beautiful overlook of the Delaware River.
 

About three miles northwest of town, near the 398 mile marker on US6, the Village Diner appears to be a great classic diner.  

Hidden New York

In New York, sometimes it seems that real gems are obscured by the obvious. Earlier this month, I was interested by all the people milling around the 9/11 Memorial Site. The recently opened site intends to honor the victims of that terrible September morning in 2001, complete with an office tower and a shopping mall. Virtually every tourist was taking the same photograph, over and over again, from the same perspective, of the newly completed Freedom Tower. I did not see anyone who noticed the architectural gem at 90 West Street, which was damaged during the 9/11 attack as well. The building opened in 1907 and was designed by architect Cass Gilbert. The primary tenant was the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and it also housed Garret’s Restaurant, billed as the highest restaurant in the world at the time.  Its magnificence is obscured by other tall buildings and the distraction of other sites in lower Manhattan.

Thinking about Holmes and Experiences

As this year’s sojourn to Europe comes to an end, I refer back to my old literary friend Sherlock Holmes. In The Adventure of the Red Circle, Holmes reminds his friend that, “Education never ends, Watson.” With that I am reminded that in each new travel experience we are exposed to new things and increase our knowledge and understanding of the world. Perhaps this is why I (and many others) enjoy travel so much, because it is a high dosage of education. Why else navigate alternative transportation options to spend less than twenty-four hours in Malmö?  Because it is an opportunity to see something new, to experience other things, to learn something.

At the airport in Copenhagen, there is a commemorative display to Danish writer, and national hero, Hans Christian Andersen. The display notes that Anderson made more than thirty trips outside Denmark in his life. This had a profound effect on Andersen and he wrote that travel enriched him and made him happy. In The Fairy Tale of My Life (1855), he concluded, “To travel is to live.”

These nineteenth century literary references tells us of the importance of discovery, experience and knowledge. While phenomena of travel and discovery has substantially changed from the nineteenth century, the basic human need to learn and explore has not. Yet, we would do well to remember that the act of travelling does not require us to go far. It is a state of mind. Any journey, even as short as fifteen minutes, can be a travel experience. It depends on the sojourner’s attitude: Are we willing to see something new? Willing to explore? To learn something?

It is also worth noting that Doyle has Holmes quote Shakespeare near the end of the Red Circle: “Journeys end in lovers meeting.”

Endangered Species 2014

Following a post from last year about the declining number of telephone booths and postal boxes, particularly in the United Kingdom, I found some more examples. This time the condition of each seems more aesthetic than functional. In both Stockholm and Malmö I came across these Rikstelefon booths (neither actually had telephones in them). The booths were located in the old town sections of each of the respective cities.

Stockholm

Malmo

Moate

Additionally, in Moate, Ireland, I found this Victorian era mail slot that was no longer in use. My journeys also took me to the Postal Museum in Stockholm, where I observed several interesting specimens of postal history. In one room a quote about stamp collecting from Charles J. Phillips was painted on the wall: “The King of Hobbies and the Hobby of Kings” (1936). Given the decline in mailed letters and letter writing, and the use of personalized stamps, it seems doubtful whether philatelic pursuits would be popular in the future.  

Copenhagen Central Train Station

A train station is an interesting crossroad of people on the move, especially in Europe. Travelers and commuters converge at stations. All types of people walk through, from the young girl in her early teens in full makeup, carrying a soccer ball and cleats, to the elderly man who meanders from shop to shop, occasionally checking the departure board, in no particular hurry. Watching people in a train station is always fun and interesting and there is no telling who and what you are likely to see. 

When it is close and my hotel has an overpriced breakfast, I sometimes duck into a train station to have a coffee and croissant for breakfast. This was the case on a recent Saturday morning in Copenhagen. Sitting in a coffee shop at a window seat, I watched travelers meet, search, shop and hurry off to catch trains to their destinations. As my previous posts have indicated, I like train stations: It is a place of waiting, and a place of rendezvous.

Train stations contain symbols of, and information about, the city and culture they inhabit. Copenhagen Central Station is one of the busiest I have experienced.  I have heard more than one person say that there is always a line for tickets. Yet, most people are helpful and patient. Even though the majority of passengers are people, it is also a place for dogs. Sometimes the canine passengers seem more excited about their travels than their human companions. Yet, the dogs are seemingly always well behaved; human, on the other hand, are not always as well behaved.  

Opened in 1911, the main Copenhagen station is composed of brick, steel painted brown and a brownish red tile for flooring. The ceiling has slats that appear to be made of wood. It gives the station a surprisingly dark effect.

An interesting note: A smoking ban on the platforms will not come into effect until 1 July 2014 (it is surprising how many people were smoking). 

Remember the Camps in Denmark

In looking over my posts for this year’s trip to Europe, I noticed that I have not mentioned the Holocaust in any great detail. My only entry on the subject this year will be the nondescript plaque in the churchyard of Helligaandskirken (The Church of the Holy Ghost) in Copenhagen. There is no other explanation, except: “Tomb of the Unknown Concentration Camp Prisoner” in four languages. It is an interesting contrast to the Tombs of Unknown Soldiers in many countries. 

Riding Bus 20

The bus that runs between Dublin and Galway for Bus Eireann is designated Route 20. There is an express bus (X20), which only stops in a few major destinations; however, the regular service winds through many small towns and back roads. These buses are well used, but not overly crowded. A few years ago, as I was riding Bus 20, I began writing down notes on each town, what was there, facilities, hotels, and pubs to help me select a town to spend a few days exploring and relaxing. It has become a way to gauge the economic health of the midsection of Ireland. From one year to the next, I can note the prominence of restaurants, cafes and pubs.

This year my ride from Dublin to Athlone was on a bus that was about half full, on a Friday during the mid-to-late morning. We left Busáras (the main station) at 10:30 and made our way along the docks before turning into the tunnel heading to the airport. As we approached the terminal, there was a good sized protest march by Aer Lingus cabin crews, supported by the pilots. The cabin crew were striking for better working conditions and formed a long line marching to the airport. The strike disrupted many flights that day.

As we departed Busáras there were two elderly men sitting at the back of the bus having a lively conversation. As the bus got underway in earnest, the conversation was muffled by the sound of the highway. I could hear the men talking, but I had no idea what was being said. But in their Irish accents it was as if the two mean, with worn faces had stepped off a movie screen.

After a few stops at intersections and a school, the bus came into Enfield. The town has many well-kept houses with nice gardens. The bus stop is at the Street Side Café, a seemingly inviting place to enjoy a sandwich and a tea after a bus ride. The town also has a canal or river with a walking path that runs on the western edge of town, as well as a train station.

Kilbeggan has a whisky distillery on the edge of town that is a tempting tourist destination. As we pulled into town, the bus sounds die down enough so that I can once again understand the conversation between the two men at the back of the bus:

“How old is she now?”

[I could not understand the answer]

“I don’t believe it… (long pause) …she’s a pretty girl.”

The bus made its way through Moate, an old market town, and then onto Athlone. As we pulled into the bus station, the conversation once again was audible. One of the men was lamenting the changes in the world: “It’s a different way of life…they don’t take the time to talk.”