Linda A. Tancs's Blog: The Long and Short of It, page 128

A Towering View in York

By Linda Tancs

York boasts some of the finest medieval churches and buildings in England, so you’ll want one of the best vantage points to absorb the skyline. That would be Clifford’s Tower, where you’ll find unmatched views of the historical city as well as York Minster and even the North York Moors in the distance. The tower is all that remains of York Castle (built by William the Conqueror), a site which also served as a prison and a royal mint. Your self-guided tour features a tactile model in the courtyard, showing how the site once looked.

The World’s Highest Monastery

By Linda Tancs

Tibet’s Rongbuk monastery is the highest monastery in the world, located just miles from Mount Everest’s base camp. As you would expect, it’s the perfect locale to see eye to eye, as it were, with one of the highest mountains on earth. Along with its colorful flags and golden stupas you’ll find an observation deck there to take stunning photos. April, May, September and October are great months for a visit.

The Lace of Queens

By Linda Tancs

The lace of queens or the queen of laces. Anyway you label it, the Normandy commune of Alençon has long been celebrated for its lace-making traditions. Thanks to the French court in the 17th century, a large number of women entered the lace-making trade to supply nobility with elaborate designs. The craftsmanship of this local lace is recognized by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It takes seven to 10 years of training to master the Alençon form of needle lace-making.

The Top of Texas

By Linda Tancs

How can you view the top of Texas on foot? Take the Guadalupe Peak Trail in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, site of the four highest peaks in Texas. Not for the faint of heart, the day hike (8.5 miles round-trip) climbs 3,000 feet and travels through a conifer forest to reach the top of Guadalupe Peak. You’ll be rewarded with amazing views to the west and to the south.

Peat and Reed in the Netherlands

By Linda Tancs

Thanks to human hands cutting peat and reed, the largest lowland bog in Northwest Europe was formed. That area now comprises Weerribben-Wieden National Park in the Netherlands. It’s a unique landscape brimming with lakes, reedlands, marsh and bogs. Some species are even dependent on the bogs for survival, such as water soldiers, water lilies and round-leaved sundew. The park also houses almost the entire Dutch population of the large copper butterfly and the Norfolk damselfly. The best way to explore the park is by boat. Electric boats, rowboats and canoes can be rented in Giethoorn and other places in the park. Be on the lookout for rare animals that live there, like otters and black terns.

California’s Largest Lake

By Linda Tancs

The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake in southeastern California, bordered on the south by the Imperial Valley and on the west by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The state’s largest lake (at 34 miles long), both the Salton Sea State Recreation Area and the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge are located on its shores. The lake region boasts the most diverse species of birds anywhere in the West, recording more than 375 species. The wildlife refuge is especially important for migrating and wintering waterfowl (like geese, avocets, black-necked stilts, pintails, teal and grebes)

as well as endangered species including the year-round presence of the Yuma clapper rail.

 

An Archaeological Journey in Jerusalem

By Linda Tancs

Jerusalem’s Terra Sancta Museum houses artifacts culled from excavations carried out for more than 100 years by a Franciscan order. Located in the Old City along the Via Dolorosa, the museum’s new archaeological wing boasts collections from the age of Herod and from daily life in the Holy Land during the time of the New Testament writers as well as a striking stone room used by Crusaders in the 13th century. The facility is open daily.

The World of Ice Giants

By Linda Tancs

Just a small town in the northern part of Salzburg′s Pongau area, Werfen, Austria, has a big claim to fame—home of the world’s largest ice caves, a labyrinth reaching for almost 25 miles. The World of Ice Giants ( Eisriesenwelt) is known as a dynamic ice cave, allowing for a chimney-like flow of air as the cave galleries and fissures form a link from lower entrances to higher openings, a process begun about 100 million years ago. The seasonal changes in outside air temperature result in amazing ice sculptures in the interior of the limestone caves, particularly when water entering the rock fissures in the spring drips into the cooler areas. Open from May to October, the cave tours begin directly at the cave entrance, which offers panoramic views of the Salzach valley in good weather. Dress for freezing temperatures inside the caves, even in summer.

A Knock-Out in London

By Linda Tancs

What’s a collector to do with a motley assortment of historic anesthetic apparatus? Why, donate it, of course. That’s what Charles King did in England when he donated his collection to the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) in 1953. That conveyance formed the basis for the development of the Anaesthesia Museum, part of the Anaesthesia Heritage Centre in London. The earliest object in their collections is a resuscitation set from 1774. A unique resource for research into the history of anesthesia, the museum also contains Morton’s demonstration of ether inhalation in 1846 as well as modern anesthetic machines. As part of their World War I commemorations, the AAGBI has compiled an extensive oral history from interviews with anesthetists who served in wars from Vietnam to more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Open Monday to Friday, admission to the facility on Portland Place is free.

Machu Picchu of the North

By Linda Tancs

Machu Picchu might be Peru’s most-visited site, but there’s an equally dazzling fortress to the north worth a visit. For that head to Chachapoyas, located in the north of Peru along the slopes of the Andes. Already known for its many waterfalls (Gocta being once considered the third highest waterfall in the world), this off-the-beaten-track region of the country boasts a spectacular fortress, Kuélap, outside the city. It’s notable for over 400 circular stone houses inside the complex, occupied by about 3,500 ancient inhabitants. Getting there is the challenging part; air travel is the best route. The nearest airport, Jaén, is a little over three hours away.