From great train rides of the world to the often uncharted land of Scandinavia to the business world of Tokyo, this weekend we have a relatively eclectic tour of destinations.
15 Great train rides of the world
Whether crossing almost 300 bridges and rolling through about 100 tunnels, Switzerland’s Glacier Express is a joy. Its tracks trace routes through the Alps that travel by cars can never experience. And the lunch aboard the vintage dining car beneath snow-covered peaks is an elegant joy.
This story outlines another 14 spectacular train routes from South Africa to Siberia and from Norway’s fjords to royal India. These are trips of a lifetime train lovers can enjoy one summer at a time or on their own timetable.
10 reasons to visit Gothenburg and West Sweden
This town was my first destination in Sweden. It was where the ferry landed crossing from Denmark. I only spent a few hours in Gothenburg. Here are some good reasons to return.
West Sweden is a unique region in the heart of Scandinavia. A breath-taking mix of coastline, islands, lakes and thick forests, offering visitors everything from lobster ‘safaris’ and sea kayaking to historic manor houses and art museums. Vibrant Gothenburg, the gateway to West Sweden, is a coastal city with a lively cultural scene, stylish shopping and a fast-growing reputation as a foodie hotbed.
Doing business in Tokyo
Fellow travel scribe, Chris McGinnis, was particularly pleased with his capsule view of Tokyo. You can enjoy his observations and learn from him some of the ins and outs of this enigmatic (for Westerners) city.
His paragraphs on dining follow, but the article covers places to stay, things to do and some local customs.
Unless well versed in the Tokyo restaurant scene, visiting executives out for a celebratory meal are best served by the abundance, diversity (and multilingual menus) at hotel restaurants. As an added bonus, your Japanese counterparts will likely be excited by an invitation to dine at an international hotel.
Chef de cuisine Stefan Resch and his team at the New York Grill enjoy the same spectacular view as patrons, with the open kitchen surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo. That view, plus a menu packed with prime Japanese beef, seafood and poultry, a 1,600-bottle wine cellar and live jazz drifting in from the adjacent New York Bar have been drawing an international crowd for 18 years.
Dine on the city’s finest Cantonese cuisine in the elegance of a Chinese garden overlooking the busy streets of Marunouchi at Hei Fung Terrace in the Peninsula Tokyo. For an unusual celebration, book the chef’s table in a glassed-in nook in the restaurant’s busy kitchen.
