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The Daily Telegraph {Travel}
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Den Bosch
UK Saturday 28, May 2016 21 905 sq. cm ABC 498474 Daily page rate £46,000.00, scc rate £214.00 020 7931 2000
The ultimate European road trip A month ahead of the EU referendum, Jonathan Thompson embarks on a 21st-century take on the Grand Tour
H
istorically, a “Grand Tour” of Europe was a rite of passage for young Englishmen: a pilgrimage across the continent, expanding their cultural and social horizons over months, or even years. My goal this summer – accompanied by a photographer and videographer – is a 21st-century spin on that concept, confined to one calendar month: a “mini” Grand Tour. We’re aiming to take in all the key stopping points of a traditional tour – from Calais to Vienna to Rome – but also to unearth some hidden gems such as Wallonia, Transylvania and Moravia to the backstreets of Europe’s liveliest second cities, like Aarhus, Turku and Brno. Unlike our forebears, we’re not restricted to horse and carriage as our primary means of propulsion but, to
even things up, we’re making it more difficult for ourselves. Blessed with tarmac roads and GPS, we’re aiming to visit every country of the European Union. There are 28, from the UK to Cyprus, and to make the route function within the confines
of a month (or, rather, Europe’s car ferry schedules) we’ll also need to cross two others: Turkey and Albania. So, there’s a neat target for our millennial road trip: 30 countries in just over a month – and back in Britain for the long-awaited referendum on June 23. Finally, to complete this latter-day Grand Tour, there was only one car we could really go for: a racing red Mini Clubman.
Days 1-5: UK to Sweden “Hej!” chirrups the voice at the other end of the line. “You will soon be connected to a random Swede.” A click, a pause and then there he is – our very own unpremeditated local. In this case it’s “Lars”, primed to answer any question we might have on his homeland. Sweden is the first country to introduce a hotline that plugs you into the nation itself. It began last month and is already receiving 5,000 callers a day. “We’ve had calls from 185 different countries already,” says Lars. “There are only 11 nations who haven’t called Sweden for a chat.”
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The Daily Telegraph {Travel}
Keyword:
Den Bosch
Unlike Syria, Guatemala, Kazakhstan and the other global party-poopers, I’m a fully paidup Swedophile today, following a reinvigorating night spent at an eco-hotel near Malmo. Angavellen, a working farm with 26 guest cottages, was a greedy gulp of fresh air after four days on the road from home, with an organic restaurant justifiably lauded as “a living Utopia” by Gourmet magazine. But I’m not ringing Sweden to boast about last night’s dinner. I need directions to a party in Stockholm. Thanks to yet another ridiculously cordial initiative – a “Slice of Swedish Hospitality” – tourists can now be “adopted” by a local host, who will feed and entertain them for the evening. I’ve duly been assigned to a buoyant bear of a man named Bjorn Arvidsson, known in Stockholm’s hilly Vasastan area for his daily backyard barbecues. Tonight I’ve been invited to join him, his wife Anni and assorted friends for their ritual. Bjorn turns out to be a warm and gregarious host and is predictably proud of his country’s endemic benevolence. “Of course we’re friendly,” he laughs, expertly marshalling the flotilla of meat currently sizzling on his grill. “We haven’t been at war for 200 years; Sweden is proud of being everybody’s friend,” he adds. It’s another hearty meal to fuel our epic European road trip. Our first five days has seen us cross seven nations: the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and now Sweden. The Belgian leg in particular was a real treat, driving down the winding country roads of rural Wallonia – the French-speaking southern half of Belgium – before spending the night in Durbuy, the smallest (and quite possibly the prettiest) city in the world. Perhaps deterred by the all-too familiar flatlands of Flanders, nobody seems to talk about how truly lovely Wallonia is, framed by the verdant hills and the Ardennes forests. Across the border, the Dutch
UK Saturday 28, May 2016 21 905 sq. cm ABC 498474 Daily page rate £46,000.00, scc rate £214.00 020 7931 2000
town of ’s-Hertogenbosch is having its own moment in the sun, thanks to the 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch, its most famous son. Here (after a stop in Luxembourg to check out the Mudam Museum) we took a fascinating “Heaven and Hell” boat tour through its cobweb of rivers and canals, featuring large-scale projections of the artist’s fantastical work onto its subterranean tunnels. Universally nicknamed Den Bosch, the city has a particularly vibrant social scene (particularly around bustling Korte Putstraat – a thin street of wall-to-wall restaurants) and, like Durbuy, is criminally overlooked by most Brits. From Den Bosch we pushed north to Hamburg for lunch at the quirky riverside steampunk beach bar Strand Pauli, before reaching the next of our major stops – Aarhus. Denmark’s second city, Aarhus is finally stepping out of Copenhagen’s long shadow, with new British Airways flights from London, a major Grayson Perry exhibition about to open at its outstanding art museum ARoS – and European City of Culture status in 2017. From Aarhus, it was a straight shot past Copenhagen and across the epic Oresund Bridge to Malmo, to begin our 36-hour Swedish odyssey. Reflecting on the first five days of the mini Grand Tour from our cabin aboard the AF Chapman – a floating hostel at the heart of Stockholm Harbour – it seemed incredible that we had covered so many places in such a short time already. We all agree that we’ll miss Sweden the most of the countries we’ve visited so far. But it’s comforting to know that, like any old friend, we can now simply pick up the phone for a random chat at any time.
travel, or see Twitter and Instagram: @ JT_Travelsvideo Jonathan has been assisted by Mini and by Aferry.com Call Sweden on 0046 771 793 336. Jonathan Thompson, far left, plans his trip; and the racing red Mini Clubman, above
Essentials See video of Jonathan Thompson’s mini Grand Tour of Europe at telegraph.co.uk/
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The Daily Telegraph {Travel}
Keyword:
Den Bosch
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Reproduced by Gorkana under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd.
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The Daily Telegraph {Travel}
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Den Bosch
OLI HILLYER-RILEY
UK Saturday 28, May 2016 21 905 sq. cm ABC 498474 Daily page rate £46,000.00, scc rate £214.00 020 7931 2000
Reproduced by Gorkana under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd.
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