wanderlust – Page 4 – The Back Road Chronicles

Luxury sea escape x royal The Hague, part one

Posted on 8 May 2017 by the-back-road-chronicles

We, that is the husband and myself, were beyond thrilled winning an exclusive stay at the newly openend Pier Suites in Scheveningen, hurray…a trip to always inspiring and relaxing Holland! As at a stone’s throw, we combined this trip with a visit to royal The Hague…A weekend to indulge ourselves in luxury, relaxed beach vibes, city exploring, shopping, fun, food and fascination, with special thanks to Linda Magazine that held the contest!

Scheveningen beach

Let’s check in first…the Pier Suites‘ website promises an unforgettable experience, located at the very end of the Pier Boulevard…not hard to understand we were extremely curious to check out our very own suite and view!

suite 2, The Pier Suites, Scheveningen

beer, enjoying the sea view, Scheveningen

seeing all that water gets you thirsty!

bubbles with a view

Just the two of us

Sea through see through

The room has all comfort you’d expect from a suite and offers full free use of the minibar filled with bubbles, beers, white wine, water…if you are the sober type, red wine…there are coffee and tea facilities, etc…however the star attraction of the room is the enormous private terrace to enjoy the spectacular view on and above the North Sea! As the water rustles gently under your room, you feel embraced by the sea, such an indescribable feeling!

The Pierboulevard offers a variety of shops and ‘food truck-style’ eating facilities…had a total crush when I noticed the Spicy Scarves Amsterdam boutique, where lovely enthousiastic owner Waheeda translates her creative passion into stunning handmade layered scarves. Keep this brand on your radar as they often attend the Swan Markets held all over Holland and Belgium and they do of course have a webshop too.

Scarves Spicy Scarves Amsterdam shop pierboulevard Scheveningen

Spicy Scarves Amsterdam shop Scheveningen pierboulevard

feed me color and I’m sold!

Seeking some thrill? The pier has a zipline installed, I heard a lot of woohoo’s and wow’s, so if that’s your thing, zip away! The large ferris wheel is another main attraction and was rather looking forward to a ride, however on the day of our visit it was closed for maintenance. The hotel however did supply me with a voucher, so now have an excellent excuse to return, right?!

ferris wheel, pierboulevard, Scheveningen

Foodwise, no problem here, there’s the foodboulevard on the pier, and on the beach you can find any style or cuisine food bar, lounge club or restaurant you prefer…

colourful resto and lounge bars

art meets sea, must eat fish!

beach boulevard

Kurhaus Hotel Scheveningen

For those into culture and colour, Scheveningen of course joins The Hague in celebrating 100 years De Stijl and artist Mondriaan. No worries if you are normally not a museum visitor or lover, the city will remind you on the festivities and treat you for free just strolling through the streets!

Mondriaan-colours, De Stijl, Scheveningen, Den Haag — Mondriaan-colours

Got a final golden local tip that the best restaurants dinner-wise are situated at the harbour area…definitely going to check those out next time, however we decided to enjoy our ‘room with a view’ as much as possible, so after some small local snacks and bites in one of the beach bars, and a nice walk we headed back to our own private world above the sea, with the company of bubbles, jacuzzi-wise and prosecco-wise and more than enough wine…when night arrives, a starry sky ceiling feature accompagnies sweet dreams…royal city the Hague awaits…to be continued next post!

Ingrid

xxx

The Pier Suites

Pierboulevard

Spicy Scarves Amsterdam

The Hague tourism

special thanks to Linda Magazine

Weekend Namur…and beyond…

Posted on 3 April 2017 by the-back-road-chronicles

The second day of our Namur weekend break was reserved to breathe in nature and fresh air and discover some of the surrounding tiny villages, part of ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonië’

First stop on our route was Thon-Samson, the drive up there coming from Namur is great, following the banks of the meandering river Meuse, you can admire the lovely bordering mansions and the crown on it all: view on Marche-les-Dames, marvelous rock formation where Belgian army troups have their training facilities. To us, Belgians, Marche-les-Dames will forever hold a place in history books as it is the place where king Albert the first, though an experienced climber, found his tragic death.

Back to our destination, Thon-Samson, with Samson referring to the little river running through the picturesque town. A perfect spot to stretch the legs, breathe in that fresh morning air and admire the limestone buildings and view on the valley and surrounding green hills.

Next stop, Mozet, again most houses in limestone and rooftops often in slate. Up on the hill, the church serves as an excellent viewpoint on the area. The Royer farm with its protected Romanesque tower can not be missed and walking further down the same path leads you to the originally 11th century castle now property of the local scouting organisation and serving as holiday and meeting centre.

Heading back north we slowly were making our way back home, however decided to take some smaller backroads as we noticed some road works and a traffic jam earlier and didn’t want to be caught in them. Now that was a smart move, as it lead us to the tiny village of Balâtre, tiny indeed, as no larger than the town square and a few streets, but we discovered a great restaurant/hotel there called ‘La Fourchette à droite’…only had to take one look at the menu to decide we were really hungry all of a sudden and yes, they do things with a little twist here, the fork is on the right-hand side!

What a perfect way to end this weekend! We have had it all, great weather and food for body and soul with Namur and its lovely surroundings as great hosts and companions, we’ll be back!

Ingrid

xxx

Plus beaux villages de Wallonie

Restaurant La Fourchette à droite

Namur & region tourist info

Weekend Namur…the city part

Posted on 31 March 201727 August 2018 by the-back-road-chronicles

Our city break last week, brought us to Wallonia’s capital Namur, in the previous post you could follow in our footsteps along la Merveuilleuse, hiking up the citadel. In this post, time to explore the city itself, however, no hastiness, just follow the rhythm of the city and the stream as do les Namurois.

we arrived at Namur late morning, enough time for a first exploring stroll…

Tourist season hadn’t begun yet last week, usually that starts around the 1st of April, and that showed. Namur sure plans on doing things right, we spotted a lot of constructions sites near the river, a city so it seems that keeps reinventing itself, however, when getting closer to the inner heart, keeps traditions and culture intact.

La fresque des Wallons can be found in the small garden of the city hall, the facade-high mural refers to about 250 persons and events marking a stamp on Walloon identity, may that be important historic figures, artists, scientists, regional produce,…

Time for lunch…our eye fell on Le Pâtanthrope, I remembered it was highly recommended in ‘Le Petit Deborsu’ written by local and fully-declared Namur lover Christophe Deborsu. Gastronomy on the plate without showing astromic prices on the bill, now that’s the way we like it! Wondering were the name comes from? It’s a mix of pâte, which means pasta and philanthrope and their you go! I had scallops as entree, my husband had tartare of green asparagus, baked foie gras and ravioli. As a main, we had beef Rossini on a gallette de rigatoni and I chose stuffed squid with chorizo and ravioli. Desserts brought us moeulleux au chocolat and a delice framboises with macarons. Needless to say we sat more than two hours in the restaurant…and still needed to climb the citadel! However, all dishes were airy and light, as was the bill!

Time to move on, after the restaurant, we first explored the citadel, more on that here Weekend Namur…the citadel part and returned later for a quiet stroll through the car-free streets. A lot of them situated around the St-Loup church, Jesuit order, founded by St-Ignatius. Baroque-style church, same architect had also built the Barrolus Borremeus church in Antwerp and it shows. It is the church where famous poet Charles Baudelaire had a massive stroke, leaving him in semi-paralyzed-state before his death. Struck by beauty? By overwhelming emotions? If only time to visit one church in Namur, St-Loup is definitely the one to go to, the church often acts as decor for concerts and events too and volunteers are availabe on site if you want a tour.

‘In can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no melancholy’ (Charles Baudelaire)

Marché de légumes is thé square in Namur for people watching, we were there just around the hour schools had finished…the square was packed with young and little less young, enjoying the sun and their regained freedom after a day at school and/or work. Enough bars to choose from, though when the weather is fine, no-one to spot inside: everyone sits, stands, hangs in the middle of the square.

and all this under the watchful eye and shadow of St-Jean church, the oldest church in town, though the tower was only added later, as the first one was hit by lightning. Story goes the workmen at that time, 1616, spent more time in the local pub, leaving the bell tower not perfectly straight as was the intention.

At the river border you will find the Walloon Parliament, no worries, hardly to miss, the colour pop’s out! The walk upto the citadel starts right after the corner.

We made this little trip discovering Namur winning a contest organised by Pays du Vallées. Our package included an overnight stay in b&b La Noiseraie, a 10′ drive from centre Namur. the b&b is located in a commerical zone with factories, however when going evenings and weekends like we did, these are all abandoned and all is peace and quiet. The domain itself is large enough, green and besides the b&b activities it is a walnut oil producer, hence the name, la Noiseraie. Would recommend to visist in autumn, to get the most out of that experience!

Another post, discovering some of the surrounding villages will follow shortly, stay tuned!

Ingrid

xxx

Pays des Vallées

Restaurant le Pâtanthrope

b&b La Noiseraie

Visit Namur

Weekend Namur…the citadel part

Posted on 28 March 201728 March 2017 by the-back-road-chronicles

When visiting Namur, the local citadel is a must-see, strategically located on a hill at the confluence of rivers Sambre and Meuse, the fortress offers great views. It finds its origins in the Roman era but was rebuilt several times. The route leading to the top is called ‘la Merveilleuse’, offering a combination of steep, but manageable, walks, great views, a mix of culture and nature, a Visitor Centre and guided tours for those in need for some more historic background and tales and a tourist train for those with kids or for those just out of breath…

The walk upto the top offers great viewpoints on the surrounding area as well as the city centre and its churches, on the above photo, from left to right, église St-Jean Baptiste, beautiful baroque église St-Loup and cathedral St-Aubain.

For the Facing Time exposition in 2015 the ‘Searching for Utopia’ turtle, or at least one of the copies of the original, of artist Jan Fabre, was placed on the citadel. After the exposition Namur’s inhabitants felt so connected to the turtle they decided to buy the artpiece, through crowdfunding, linking it forever to the city and the citadel. Les Namurois embrace the slow life, they have a snail as city symbol and mascotte and, well, a turtle fits the slow profile perfectly, funny detail however, the copy in Namur was far more expensive than its original in Nieuwpoort which was bought twelve years earlier.

There is someting with a city by the water, be that the sea or a river: it adds life, motion though at the same time brings peace, slows you and your senses down, exactly the way of life in Namur.

a river runs through it, citadel and cathedral

A new cable car station is being built, linking the city centre to the citadel top and the 2015 Belgian pavillion at the Milan Expo was bought to be installed at the esplanade and stade at the top…old and new…forever in harmony, forever in motion, facing time,…

Ingrid

xxx

Citadel Namur

Walk down memory lane, beers and poems…

Posted on 13 February 201713 February 2017 by the-back-road-chronicles

This weekend, after many many years I returned to the town of my early childhood: the tiny hamlet Eizeringen in lovely Flemish Pajottenland, Belgium. Strange sensation taking this trip down memory lane, driving through this very tiny village: some things never changed in my memory and well…some things didn’t change there either…

I couldn’t recognize at first the house where we used to live, it appears to be a baby and children day-care centre now, however, now I know where it is, should return later to take some pics. We left there and moved when I was still a little girl, think I must have been four or five years old, but we returned many times during school holidays or visiting family. It was only when my grandparents died and we all had our own lives that contact was lost.

School used to be around a ten or fifteen minute walk from where we lived and my grandparents lived only five minutes away. I remember there was this little grocery store on the corner where we used to buy candy, however the store has been long gone I guess, as it isnow a normal house. The school building is still there and it still is a school…they even had left the entrance gate open for me.

On the oppositie site of the school used to be a little forest where we went to play hide and seek, think at lot of trees have been chopped down with the years passing or it might just be my imagination is playing tricks on me…as a child maybe everything just looks bigger, I don’t know…

testfile-1 — gate at the forest opposite school

We, my husband joined me on this trip to my childhood past, also visited my grandparents house, where my aunt now lives and took a little stroll through the village. There used to be a little post office, I remember those stairs well, playing on them going up and down endlessly!

After our little stroll we returned to the church square where we had parked our car and also went to see my grandparents grave. I am not the greatest cemetery-lover, I like to remember my lost ones by the warm memories I have of them or by little objects or photos, however, being in the village after so long, would have felt strange not to go.

testfile-3 — St-Ursula church Eizeringen

testfile-11 — My grandparents at mother’s side

However tiny the hamlet of Eizeringen, part of St-Kwintens-Lennik, may be, on Sundays it often attracts an international and mixed crowd as for many years in a row now the café located in the church’s shadow is voted best beer pub in the world by the influential website Ratebeer.com. It is also known as the second best beer destination in general in the world! Think it has the longest and most peculiar name ever for a pub, it is called “In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst” which you can translate as “In the Insurance against Great Thirst”

It’s a very characteristic pub, stepping inside, brings you into a warm vibrant 40s, or early 50s décor and they serve the most extensive selection of Geuze and Kriek beers, speciality of the region. However, bear in mind the pub has very limited opening hours: Sundays and Public Holidays 10:00-13:30. In February and March, celebrating its 175^th anniversary, opening hours are extended till 20:00. The two owners still have their own jobs aside running this pub, explaining these limited opening hours. They took over the pub from an 85 year-old lady who was about to stop the café activities, closing down that way the last remaining pub in the village. That is where the new owners Kurt and Yves stepped in, as according to them, and very true, a village without a pub just isn’t a proper village!

testfile-7 — the most lovely and warm-hearted company one could wish for on this nostalgic afternoon

We spent some lovely hours there, thoughts and stories were exchanged, my husband and me got the most lovely little drawings from local artist Chris, who used to be an architect and local poet and optimist Fons couldn’t stop charming us all, including me, with his witty rhymes and poems from the heart, which deserved him a hug and kiss, right?!

testfile-13 — Fons, a charmer and true poet

testfile-14 — I will cherish these little drawings from former architect Chris forever

This is the place where you enter, take a seat next to complete strangers, but when you close the door behind you again, your heart is filled with warmth and joy, soft music, lovely stories, little poems…and you drank some excellent beers!

testfile-9 — They can’t take that away from me!

Cheers!

Ingrid

Xxx

Pub In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst

Ratebeer.com

Flanders Today

Tourism Flemish Brabant – what to do, see, where to stay

City-strolling, coincidences and chocolate

Posted on 4 February 20174 February 2017 by the-back-road-chronicles

After some weeks of (un-willing) staying indoors due to the chronic pain struggle thing, and my trips outside the house mostly limited to the local shops in our town, my inner self was desperately seeking an escape and a broader horizon! Thursday the universe didn’t seem to conspire against me and I was looking forward to a few hours of city exploring and strolling, yep, it promised to be a great day!

testfile-20

I took the bus to nearby Antwerp, sun was out when I arrived, temperatures rather high for this time of year, some cafes and bistros setting their outside terraces…Spring was definitely in the air…and in my head! What better way to fill that head with new ideas and inspiration than a stroll through town, some deco-hunting, fashion-inspiration and people watching?!

testfile-21

I actually decided to get off the bus a few stops earlier than my usual stop and firstly explored the Nationalestraat, a street that always keeps re-inventing itself with new shops popping up. I had just left the bus and bumped into author Tom Lanoye. Well, nothing special there, he lives in the city I guess and Nationalestraat is hip and trendy, so sooner or later you are bound to bump into a familiar or famous face! However, a few hours later I found myself in ‘The Chocolate Line’ shop of Dominique Persoone, I know, I know, just follow the chocolate smell when near the Palace on the ‘Meir’ and you’ll be drawn in too! You can admire the interior, taste yummy chocolate, buy some chocolate pills or a seductive chocolate lipstick and get a glimpse of ongoing creations in the open atelier/kitchen…a signature on the writing wall in that kitchen caught my eye…a yummy chocolate quote by…Tom Lanoye!

I had a quick lunch at Lloyd Loom, more out of necessity to have my feet up and take some pain medication than I was hungry at that time…I know they have comfy chairs and it was the perfect place for me to reboot and have a croque madame with some OxyContin, that last one not on their menu! Luckily the meds did their thing and allowed me another two hours filling my heart and head with deco ideas and getting Spring fashion inspiration before a second pain attack rolled in and I wisely decided to head home.

Zahia beads

cat fun at Sissy-Boy Antwerp

Jelly fish deco at Jüttu

Hout van je stad, what a great idea!

Lemon and dreams of Spring and Summer

In the evening I got treated to a third attack, however, it is so much easier to counter such an attack when having beautiful memories or inspiring things in mind to cling onto: the warmth of the sun that made me long for Spring, the contours of the city hall against the blue sky and the group of German tourists I helped out by showing them the direction to the cathedral, the funny jellyfish deco I spotted in Jüttu and the beautiful printed blouse of designer Natalie Vleeschouwer, the Valentine decoration and Spring/Summer fashion that is filling the shop windows, the overwhelming abundance of colours in flower shops and in the Zahia store where I buy beads for necklaces, oooh and let’s not forget the smell of chocolate! Yes, some days are just great…though it took me almost two days to recover before being able to go through the pics and write this post!

testfile-15 — Dries Van Noten Modepaleis

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testfile-4

Hope you enjoyed your own little stroll reading through, enjoy your day!

Ingrid

Xxx

Ready, steady, go…where?

Posted on 16 January 2017 by the-back-road-chronicles

We had already decided last year that this year, holidaywise, would mean an ‘ in-between’ year. Meaning somewhere between home and away, only not too far or too long: tightening those strapping belts around the suitcases, after last year’s expensive, but worth-wile, USA road trip.

Like the cliché says, it’s not where or how far you go, it’s the journey, the experience and Lady Luck clearly decided to grant us some more experiences as both husband and me won a weekend break, how much fun is that?!

Some careful planning and scheduling and must admit the calendar looks quite inviting the next couple of months, and after that, well, we’ll see, first mission is surviving Winter and am extremely looking forward to these up-coming Spring breaks!

End of March we are heading for a b&b near Namur, capital of Wallonia, Belgium. Only heard great stories of those who already visited Namur, so am anxious to explore the city and region ourselves, which might also involve a visit to close-by abbey of Maredsous, well-known for it’s beers and cheeses.

In May, somewhere around Ascension, our wandering feet and hearts will bring us to Lenk in beautiful Swiss Bernese Oberland. Childhood nostalagia for my husband who has visited the region as a child with his family many, many times and since the first time I,myself, laid my eyes on the lush green pastures and lovely mountains covered under their snow blanket, it is also my place to exhale and relax! We were always fortunate with the weather when going in May, so do hope the good luck continues, can’t wait to be there again!

img_1379_edited

Somewhere in April of early May, still to decide, we’ll be heading for the Dutch city Den Haag (The Hague) and seaside with a stay on the pier of Scheveningen. You can take that litterally as the hotel with it’s Pier suites is located on the far end of the pier and all suites offer private terraces with perfect view on the North Sea which is just at and below your feet, which should be a unique experience.

Think for the next months, in my book and with a little help of Lady Fortune, this is a perfect match of countryside, mountains and sea. A perfect balance between city and nature, time for new experiences and time to exhale! I am ready…

Ingrid

To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.
(Hans Christian Andersen)

A christmas stroll at the beguinage with a touch of Notting Hill…

Posted on 20 December 2016 by the-back-road-chronicles

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of the twinkling lights of Christmas in homes and streets, reflecting in our eyes and making our hearts glow. However, when that last week before the big day sets in and craziness and too many people hit the shopping streets and the supermarkets get overrun, I seek refuge: in our own home, the kitchen, nature, smaller less crowded cities and sometimes that little peace and quiet I was looking for is just in the very heart of busy city life!

On all the many occasions we visited Lier, situated southeast in province Antwerp in Belgium, we had never paid an actual visit to the local beguinage, which is a true shame as it is on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site! The beguinage itself found its origin in the 13^th century though most houses date from 17^th and 18^th. The last beguine died in 1994 but walking the alleys gives a pretty good insight on how life must have been. Once you walk through the monumental gateway it’s like walking inside a history book and the peace and quiet are such a lovely companion on this discovery walk!

Alley with glimpse of St Margaret’s church

You might even, with a little imagination at a certain moment think you’re in London’s Notting Hill, well Flemish style, of course!

Though there is a meaning behing the colour scheme, it was custom that the house closest to the church had the colours of it’s patron saint, in this case Margaret yellow…

The system of long-lease makes it possible for civilians like you and me to even ‘own’ a house there, or at least the use of it as the ownership returns after the stipulated time, which is the thing with these long-lease contracts. Many houses have already been restaured, within very strict limititations and keeping authentic details of course…and you need a serious budget!

The entrance to the beguinage is free and will lead you through 11 alleys and 162 houses and at the centre you will find St Margaret’s church. Throughout your walk you will discover some references to Felix Timmermans, Flemish writer and poet, born in Lier who often came to the beguinage in search for inspiration. He nicknamed the place ‘The almond bean of Lier’.

Hell in the street doesn’t refer to the dark place but the steep hill

A lot of water pumps to be found too in the lovely alleys, or as Timmermans once wrote about them ‘statues dedicated to no one’

If you find yourself close to Lier, do visit this unique place, you won’t regret!

And for those not into the peace and quiet, no worries, plenty more things to see and do in Lier, more on that in another post!

Not sure if I will find time to write another post before Christmas, so wishing you all already everything you wish for, peace in your heart, joy and passion in what you do, peace for the world, love and warmth to fill the lonely, cold or aching hearts, all those small and little things that should be obvious and don’t need a shiny paper or much bling bling, just a genuine smile and twinkle in the eye.

Ingrid

Xxx

Escape to enchanted woods, a medieval tale of fairies and monsters…

Posted on 3 November 201627 August 2018 by the-back-road-chronicles

Belgium’s little gem Durbuy, situated in the province of Luxembourg and nicknamed smallest town in the world, could not leave you more enchanted than on the last day of October when the medieval town centre becomes the magnificent open-air stage for the annual Halloween celebration. Think Captain Jack Sparrow parading in the winding cobbled 17th century streets, fairies and witches, jugglers and other costumed street artists performing, lots of food and drinks of course, musical acts and a show with light and sound effects and fireworks to end the festivities with a sparkle.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Some window shopping in Durbuy

Halloween not your thing? No worries, Durbuy and this region have so much more to offer: nature lovers can stretch their legs and catch some oxygen in the surrounding woods or tiny hidden villages. Those searching for some more adrenaline can go kayaking or head for the outdoor adventure parks and if you are searching to excite your taste buds, look no further, this region has a large number of gastronomy level restaurants and chefs using excellent local produce.

Chapel St-Hubert, Vervoz, tiny village breathing history and architecture being an ancient Roman colony

Being blessed on this little getaway of ours with plenty of sunshine and temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius have our batteries recharged. Nothing beats a wonderful yummy breakfast, some nature exploring and lunch and dining al fresco when end of October/early November, right?!

Just like four years ago again we stayed at b&b La Lisière, just outside Durbuy city centre. They have three lovely cosy and spacious rooms, one gîte and one cabin in the garden, all offering nature views. Bénédicte and Stéphane, your hosts, are keen on reducing their ecological footprint, this also translates into fresh local produce at breakfast and promoting local beers which you can enjoy relaxing in the cosy bar.

Well, Halloween has left us for this year, peace and quiet have returned, but plenty of good excuses remain if you want to plan a trip to Durbuy: November hosts a lot of hunting season concerts and December says Christmas market of course! Just check out the city’s tourist info page for more detailed info on upcoming activities or nature inspiration.

Remember, never stop exploring!

Ingrid

Xxx

Durbuy tourist info

b&b La Lisière

Durbuy region tourist info

town of Vervoz

Resto La Table de Manon

Tapas bistro Resto Sept by Juliette

for a little snack or sweet tooth with great outside terrace, la Vieille Demeure

Off to prison with a smile…only in San Francisco!

Posted on 12 September 201627 August 2018 by the-back-road-chronicles

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Not just any prison of course, talking about Alcatraz, the Rock, limitless source of inspiration for writers, moviemakers, travelers, etc…bottomless frustration for those who ended up there, most of them already serving a life-long sentence.

Normally offenders couldn’t be sent off to Alcatraz directly by jurisdiction or court, they were transferred to this ‘super max’ institution from other prisons, due to bad behaviour, not complying with the prison life system or being a danger to other inmates, guards, themselves or escape risk. Needless to say some of America’s most notorious criminals called this place ‘home’ before it was shut down in 1963. After closing down the penitentiary this place stayed abandoned for several years as no one came up with an actual plan or great idea to re-use the facilities. In 1969, and this up to 1971 the island was occupied by American Indian activists. Each year, members of all different tribes still return to Alcatraz to remember this occupation. Many Indian people now consider the seizure of Alcatraz to have been a new beginning, a kind of reawakening of American Indian culture, their traditions, identity and spirituality.
Since 1973 Alcatraz falls under the National Park Service and the number of visitors just keeps growing year after year. Just to give you an idea, every year, more than 1.3 million visitors travel to Alcatraz Island!

Need I say that during the planning of our recent road trip and visit to SF this ranked top of the ‘must visit’ list?! On advice we decided to go for the night tour, adding just that extra mystery, also the experience is more intimate due to lesser crowds, there are additional programs and guided tours and don’t forget the bonus skyline by night on the ferry ride back! Consider that ferry ride a treat on its own, if you’re a bit like me, nose and hairs in the wind!

Do make sure to book as soon as ticket sale starts, which is three months in advance, especially in high season! Do take the English narrated audio-tour and not your native tongue as otherwise the original voices of inmates, guards, etc will be overspoken and that spoils the fun, at least to my opinion! And do take a look in advance at the chalk board mentioning the theme presentations and programs that evening/day because some of them overlap. Wear comfy shoes and enjoy! Choices will have to be made! In total, ferry ride, audio tour, personal time, taking photos, following one or more guided tours will give you about three hours of fun! Go to Alcatraz Cruises for all info and booking tickets.

Now you see me…

…now you don’t!

Hospital room

yummy!

Choices, choices!

More than some people have these days, not that I would want to trade!

Laundry room

Not the medical attention we have in mind, right?!

aaaaah, the key!

After the audio tour we ourselves opted for the presentation on Robert Stroud, better known as Birdman, what a great tour guide we had, natural born story-teller! We got there ten minutes early and could chat with our guide a bit about our road trip, the itinerary, etc…Yosemite NP would be our next destination and guess which one happened to be his favourite Park? So we got a lot of tips on which hikes to do etc,…guess the sweet man just didn’t realise we where not that hardcore hikers and we didn’t have a whole week to spend there, but we loved him and were thankful for it nevertheless!

During the tour we walked from site to site but never long distances and always in the open air so we had perfect views on Golden Gate Bridge , SF skyline and Bay Bridge the whole time.

Definitely must rewatch that movie now that we have so many inside details on the intriguing person Stroud was!

He was imprisoned after committing a murder but due to several severe incidents with other inmates and afterwards stabbing a guard to death, he got sentenced to death by hanging. Later on this death sentence was changed into life long imprisonement in Leavenworth in a segregated unit, due to his violent character and outbursts. Apparantly Stroud had developed quite an interest in ornithology after finding a baby sparrow and inmates were allowed to have a canary as company in their cells, so that’s how the ‘Birdman’ story begins. He wrote several books on bird and diseases topics and even got the attention of J Edgar Hoover, …rings a bell? He was the director of the FBI…well he ordered a canary with Stroud…only it wasn’t a canary, Stroud had used a sparrow which he had painted! Ah well, make no mistake, this was no nice guy in the end…he was considered a psychopath with an IQ of 134 who manipulated and knew when to stay under the radar. He was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942, none of his birds allowed there, he spent his days in segregation and afterwards in the islands’s prison hospital. He later was moved to a medical prison centre in Springfield. Stroud never saw the movie that made him famous by the way, he died in hospital prison the day before JFK was murdered. This is just a short version of the little bits and anecdotes I remember the guide telling us, if you want to know more on the Birdman or other famous inmates of the Rock, just go to Alcatraz History and Alcatraz Cruises History.

San Francisco Bay Alcatraz

No Visit to Alcatraz without the ferry ride, if you’re lucky to have clear skies, enjoy the wonderful views on the bay, SF skyline, the bridges, Angel Island and of course that thrill when approaching the Rock and on your way back, if you had the night tour like we had, well it’s enjoying with a Big Bonus ✨

and let’s not forget the most important thing: the taste of freedom…we escaped!

Alcatraz Cruises night tour experience with a smile!

Hope you enjoyed! More stories and pics of our trip to follow, so stay tuned and if you ever visit SF, hope this has inspired you to put Alcatraz on your ‘to visit’ list, you won’t regret it!

Ingrid

xxx

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