ESTONIA'S GOT TALLINN — AND BOY, CAN THEY SING

HOT SPOT: Old Town Square and Town Hall in summer

COLD COMFORT: Snowy Square in the dead of winter

THERE are several ways to meet your maker prematurely in Tallinn’s Old Town in winter. You can wander along the pavement and get your skull skewered by a giant icicle falling from a roof, though it’s a rare occurrence. Rarer still, you can be flattened by a rock from outer space — Estonia is the most meteorite-cratered place on Earth. Or you can be killed by kindness.

Walk in the middle of the narrow sidestreets where cars are few and far between and you’ll avoid the icicles (with meteorites you’ve had it), but you can’t avoid the warmth and hospitality extended to visitors.

On a freezing cold February evening, the welcoming smile from waitress Jaana in the Olde Hansa Restaurant (Vana Turg 1, Old Town) where 12 of us sat down to a candlelit banquet would have melted Antarctica. I could have listened all night as she described each piled platter in perfect, singy-songy English which was music to my ears. If she ever decides to release a CD of her simply reading the menu — everything is prepared and cooked following centuries-old recipes — I’ll buy a pile of them as Christmas presents.

For three hours, 11 of us shared 18 delectable dishes featuring game sausages, juniper ripened beef, marinated bear, salmon, roast rabbit, wild boar and several birds which may well have included a partridge in a pear tree while the sole vegetarian pushed some ginger turnip around her plate. All this was accompanied by countless mugs of ice-cold lager, honey beer and shots of schnapps, and when the bill arrived it was delectable too, at €40 a head.

BELLES OF THE BANQUET: Waitresses at Olde Hansa

Food and drink are, on the whole, reasonably priced. A generous three-course dinner in a decent restaurant costs an average €20 a head, a fast food meal is about €2 and a pint of lager can be had for €2.50. I was amazed to find a pint of Guinness for €4.40. In my experience it’s always a lot more expensive outside of Ireland. Take the ferry to Helsinki, just 80km north of Tallinn, and you’ll pay up to €9. Smoking’s banned in bars and restaurants throughout Estonia, so you’ll have to light up outside or in the ventilated rooms provided (a packet of Marlboro Gold costs €3).

Traditional dishes are big on fish — umpteen variations of herring and salmon are favourites — and meat. Lots of meat, much of it preserved in jelly, reflecting the cuisine’s peasant origins. The Estonians, who’ve galloped into the 21st century and embraced it in a bear hug, generally can’t stomach spicy food, but they’re masters at concocting herb-rich sauces, so it’s by no means the land that thyme forgot. It would be wise, though, to keep in mind that the last person publicly executed in the main square was a guy who complained about a bad omelette, so think twice before sending anything back to the kitchen.

CURE-IOSITY: Lunchtime outside Town Hall Pharmacy

I skipped breakfast following my night in Olde Hansa and, more out of necessity than curiosity, popped into the historic Town Hall Pharmacy in the square where they’ve been dispensing hangover cures since 1422 (it’s the oldest apothecary in the world). Among the remedies on display in jars in its mini museum are sun-bleached dog turds, a deer penis, a mummified human hand and a toilet brush that turned out to be a hedgehog when I put my glasses on. Fortunately for me, they also stock Alka-Seltzer, but unfortunately for the 15th century Brotherhood of Blackheads, a local guild of unmarried merchants (no wonder with a name like that), Clearasil didn’t reach the pharmacy until independence in 1991.

Not one drop of blood was spilled during the four-year campaign that led to Estonia’s break from the Soviet Union and became known as the Singing Revolution. It began in 1987 when, instead of holding secret meetings and breaking into weapons stores, the Estonians held hands and broke into song during spontaneous demonstrations. The protests reached a crescendo on September 11, 1988, when more than 300,000 people — a quarter of the then population — came together in Tallinn’s Song Festival Grounds and sang every banned patriotic hymn in the book.

The country’s political leaders could no longer ignore the wishes of the people, so they added their voices to the snowballing independence movement and on August 20, 1991, nearly two years after the Berlin Wall came down, Estonia was finally free, though it was another two years before the last Red Army troops went home.

HYMN AND HERS: Women's choir at the Song Festival

The Soviets have gone, but they’re far from forgotten. On the 23rd (top) floor ­— which didn’t officially exist — of Tallinn’s Hotel Viru, KGB operatives spent  20 years snooping on unsuspecting foreign guests via phone taps and listening devices in 60 of the 516 rooms and bugs in the restaurants, bars and other public areas. Today, the area behind the thick steel door is the KGB Museum (www.sokoshotels.fi), one of the quirkiest and most popular attractions in the city.

It’s not much to look at, just a few tatty rooms with desks, chairs and the wire-spewing remains of receivers, transmitters and tape recorders, but guide Jaana told a fascinating and entertaining tale of intrigue during the one-hour tour (€7). Opening a drawer, she took out a purse and showed the small explosive charge sewn into it — a nasty surprise for an unwitting thief, who would end up even more light-fingered. Then she pointed to an ashtray full of cigarette butts on a desk. “The KGB left in a hurry,” said Jaana. “Whatever equipment they could carry, they took away. Everything else was destroyed or ripped from the walls. Look at the mess. They didn’t even empty the ashtray on their way out!”

So secret was this spy base, which also monitored every phone call, telex and fax in and out of the hotel, that the lifts don't go beyond the 22nd floor, where there are great views of the Old Town and the Baltic from the balconies on three sides. Another photo opportunity, in the museum itself which recently won a well-deserved tourism award after just 10 months in operation, is the bright red telephone — the former hotline to the Kremlin. Tours are restricted to two dozen people at a time, so pre-booking is a must.

I SPY: The red hotline to the Kremlin

The Cold War’s over, but the cold winter weather is an inescapable feature of life in Tallinn. February, the driest and chilliest month, sees an average daily high of 30.7F/minus 1C and gets 17 days of snow. October is the wettest with an average monthly 83.4mm of rain, and July is the warmest (71.8F/22C).

While most overseas visitors descend on the city in the summer, snow turns it into a winter wonderland best viewed from a window seat in any of the quaint cafes with a mug of steaming hot chocolate and some marzipan nibbles. We can thank the Town Hall Pharmacy for marzipan. According to the Estonians, this staple ingredient of wedding cakes was invented there by a sweet-toothed apprentice 200 years ago, but confectioners in the German Baltic coast town of Lubeck beg to differ, insisting it was first produced in the local Niederegger marzipan works, also 200 years ago.

The bragging rights have for generations been the subject of a bitter, or rather, bitter-sweet dispute that came to a head in 2005 when Niederegger boss Willi Meier announced plans to celebrate his factory’s gift to the world with a series of festivities. “Oh, really?” said Otto Kubo, the founder of Tallinn’s marzipan museum. “We’ll see about that.” And he organised a big party as well. The argy-bargy is still going on, with no clear winner in sight, except perhaps for both town’s dentists.

What’s beyond dispute is that Estonian software engineers were the masterminds behind Skype, the computer application much loved by grannies that allows 663 million registered users worldwide to make free voice and video calls over the internet. Founded in 2003, it has kept loved ones often separated by continents in touch and, after changing hands a couple of times, was bought earlier this year by Microsoft for $8.5 billion.

KEEP IN TOUCH: Free wifi everywhere

Estonia is internet-mad. Voting in parliamentary elections is done online, as are 98 per cent of bank transactions and 92 per cent of tax declarations. And free wifi, financed by the state, is available everywhere in Tallinn, including shops, bars, restaurants, parks and on buses. The government views it as a fundamental right, though it doesn’t half kill conversation with so many people tapping away at their iPhones and Blackberries. I thought the Perfect Silence Festival held every February might have had something to do with Facebook fanatics getting together for a couple of days of mute messaging, but it’s actually a packed programme of classical music concerts.

The Estonian language, most closely related to Finnish with some Hungarian influence, is fiendishly difficult for foreigners to learn, but it does throw up some comic combinations if your sense of humour is of the sniggering schoolboy variety. For example, one of the historical attractions on the Tallinn tourist trail is a formidable artillery tower dating from 1475 with enemy cannonballs still embedded in its four-metre-thick walls. It’s called Kiek in de Kok (tee-hee!), meaning “peek in the kitchen”, though the name does have its roots in old German. The 38-metre high tower stands on a series of massive earth bastions riddled with long, deep tunnels that have been used over the centuries as storerooms for munitions, air raid shelters and, until they were opened to visitors, a hangout for the homeless and punk rockers. It’s rumoured that the world hide-and-seek champion is still down there somewhere, praying to be found.

WHAT'S IN A NAME: The historic Kiek in de Kok Tower

Talking to God isn’t high on the pragmatic Estonians’ priority lists. Only 14 per cent of the 1.35 million population (412,000 live in Tallinn) profess religious beliefs, and they’re mainly Lutherans. That said, the capital's full of splendid churches reflecting 800 years of influence by various faiths. The 12th century Saint Olav’s was, for 76 years from 1549, the tallest church in the world at 159 metres, but a lightning strike and ensuing fire in 1625 destroyed the spire, which the Soviets used as a surveillance point and radio mast for blocking broadcasts from Finland from 1964 until 1991. After several rebuildings and remodellings it now stands at a still impressive 124 metres and is the tallest building in Estonia, with a 360-degree viewing platform near the top.

There’s only a couple of famous Estonians known beyond the country’s shores. Model Carmen Kass, the former face of Dior’s J’adore and a chess whiz, is from Tallinn. Her hero, grandmaster Paul Keres, who was born in Narva in 1916 and died in Helsinki in 1975, was honoured with a state funeral attended by 100,000 people, and in 2000 was named Estonian Sportsman of the Century. His portrait appeared on the 5 krooni banknote, and just about every household kept one when the euro became the sole legal tender last January.

The lack of notable names on the world stage in no way demeans fiercely proud Estonia’s reputation. A stroll through the Old Town will quickly show why Tallinn is known as Europe’s most beautiful medieval capital. If that’s not something to sing about, I don’t know what is.

HIGH CHURCH: Saint Olav's soars above the Old Town

TALLINN FACT FILE

FLY: See www.ryanair.com for flights to Tallinn from Dublin. Estonian Air (www.estonian-air.com) flies from Heathrow and Gatwick.
STAY: The Merchant’s House Hotel (www.merchantshousehotel.com) is in the heart of the Old Town at Dunkri 4/6, just off the main square. Rooms cost from €89 a night including hot and cold buffet breakfast and use of the sauna.

EAT: Kuldse Notsu Korts (The Golden Piglet Inn), next door to the Merchant’s House, serves traditional dishes with the emphasis on pork. Hell Hunt (The Gentle Wolf, Pikk 39), where a big plate of fish and chips costs only €5, has a sign on the wall that reads: “Large groups and stag parties are not welcome. Management reserve the right to evict disturbing customers.” Now, that’s my kind of pub/restaurant, and it brews its own lager and dark beer which are great. NEH Padaste Manor Seasonal Kitchen in the City (Lootsi 4) offers a two-course lunch for €13 and three-course dinner for €22, and the walls are given over to exhibits of Estonian artists’ work. MEKK (Suur-Karja 17-19, Old Town) sources most of the produce used in the kitchen from Estonian organic suppliers, and three courses cost €30. Restaurant Tchaikovsky in the 5-star Telegraaf Hotel (Vene 8, Old Town) is very posh, which is reflected in the prices, so it’s more of a special treat venue. The cuisine is a fusion of Russian and French, and it’s one of those places where diners photograph each dish to show off to their friends.

˜See www.visitestonia.com and www.tourism.tallinn.ee

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IRELAND: ALL ABOARD AS TITANIC GETS SET TO SAIL AGAIN

REFLECTED GLORY: The remarkable Titanic Belfast building

Something very big is taking shape in Belfast, much as was the case just over 100 years ago. Back then, the finishing touches were being put to RMS Titanic, which was launched on May 31, 1911, an occasion commemorated six months ago with a series of celebrations.

Now, just a stone’s throw from the great ship’s long-redundant and filled-in slipway, a spectacular new addition to the city’s skyline, the £97 million Titanic Signature Building (www.titanicbelfast.com), is nearing completion. With its light-reflecting aluminium and zinc shell in place, the TSB, which will be known as Titanic Belfast, is already a sight to behold. When it opens on March 31 it’ll be the biggest purpose-built visitor attraction on the island of Ireland, with up to 500,000 people a year expected to pass through its doors. But I think that’s a conservative estimate. Or as they say in Belfast: “Aye, right.”

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is presently the most visited purpose-built attraction in Ireland, but I can see them crying into their pints when the first-year figures for Titanic Belfast are announced. That said, the massive investment in the North will hugely benefit tourism on both sides of the border, with so-called Titanoraks flocking to Belfast and to Cobh, Co Cork, the liner’s last port of call where 123 passengers boarded on April 11, 1912.

A band of dedicated people have taken on the monumental task of refocusing the world view that Titanic is synonymous solely with disaster. Its loss, and the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 passengers and crew on board four days after it set out across the Atlantic, were an appalling tragedy — most sorely felt in Belfast — that should never be forgotten. But the ship also represents a triumph of engineering and craftsmanship of which the city should be chest-burstingly proud. What happened to Titanic was a disaster, but the ship itself was a marvel.

LINK WITH THE PAST: Susie Millar and the two coins

Happily, as Titanic Belfast creeps closer to welcoming its first visitors there’s a buzz on the streets, but don’t expect the excitement to bubble over as the big day dawns — Belfast doesn’t do fever pitch. If ever a place had its feet set firmly on the ground and its emotions kept in check, it’s this one. For decades, any local asked about Titanic and the terrible fate that befell it would say: “It was all right when it left here,” and change the subject.

But that attitude is changing, and it’s thanks in no small part to people like Susie Millar, the great granddaughter of 33-year-old Harland and Wolff engineer and widower Thomas Millar who went down with the ship, leaving his two young sons orphaned. Susie, who runs the acclaimed Titanic Tours Belfast (www.titanictours-belfast.co.uk), tells the story of how, before he left on that fateful maiden voyage, Thomas gave both boys two shiny new pennies and told them: “Don’t spend those until I see you again.” The younger son, William Ruddick, who was just five at the time, kept his pennies all his life and passed them on to his son, Susie’s late father Rupert, who in turn gave them to her. Those coins are her most treasured possessions, and she has them framed along with a photo of Thomas in his straw boater.

Former TV news reporter Susie recently published a book, The Two Pennies, that tells the story of the Millar family in the lead-up to the Titanic’s launch and how its sinking affected the lives of so many people, particularly Thomas’s sons. It’s poignant and superbly told, and copies are available from Susie’s website.

HULL OF A GUY: Titanic walking tours boss Colin Cobb

Brothers Colin and Richard Cobb, who conduct walking tours (www.titanicwalk.com) of Queen’s Island where Titanic was built and launched, know everything there is to know about the great White Star liner and impart that knowledge with healthy doses of humour. Among the sites of interest their tours take in are the Harland and Wolff drawing offices where Thomas Andrews designed Titanic and her sister ships Olympic and Britannic; the Thompson graving dock, 880 feet long, 128 wide and 44 deep and holding 184 million pints of water, Guinness or whatever floats your boat, which was last used in 2001; and the adjoining pumphouse whose massive motors could drain the dock — which took 500 men seven years to build — in 110 minutes and where a fascinating video of archive footage is shown.

A couple of hours in the company of lifelong Titanic fanatics Colin and Richard is time well spent as they take visitors back to the days when Harland and Wolff ruled the waves. The yard, which employed 15,000 workers in 1912, has had to diversify to survive, and is now a world leader in the construction of wind turbines.

WHITE STARS: Sister ships RMS Olympic and Titanic

DRY THAT FOR SIZE: Thompson graving dock where Titanic was fitted out 

WATER SIGHT: The Thompson graving dock pumphouse

If Charlie Warmington ever gets tired of being the foremost authority on the history of shipbuilding in Belfast and the heritage of the River Lagan that runs through it, a new career awaits him as a Spike Milligan lookalike. The resemblance is uncanny, but while the late, great former Goon was a giggler, this guy’s humour is of the dry-as-a-cream cracker variety.

Charlie provided the chuckle-a-minute commentary when I joined an hour-long cruise of Belfast Lough and the Titanic sites on the little red and yellow puffer Mona (www.laganboatcompany.com), and everyone on board was hanging on his every word. We were also hanging on to anything we could when the skies opened and made the going a bit choppy, but that only added to the adventure as we viewed Titanic Belfast and the giant Harland and Wolff cranes, Samson and Goliath, and stopped for a few minutes at the edge of the slipway.

Last May 31, hundreds gathered on the same slipway to remember the day 100 years before when Titanic began her 62-second journey towards the water. TV crews from around the world mingled with the spectators and pointed their cameras skyward as a single flare whooshed into the air at 12.13pm — the exact moment the ship was cut loose — and all the vessels in the lough sounded their horns. It was a moving, magical moment.

Among those enjoying the celebrations was Noel Molloy, the Titanic Belfast project manager who has the huge responsibility of delivering the new building on time and who has latterly become one of the most avid Titanoraks around. Here’s a man who takes immense pride in his work, as did all those thousands who built Titanic, and his enthusiasm is contagious. If Noel, Susie, Colin, Richard and Charlie appeared on Mastermind, specialist subject you-know-what, the smart money would be on a perfect-round, five-way tie.

PIER-FECT: Titanoraks on board the Mona at Titanic slipway

MAKING WAVES: Young Carl Grant at launch event

Countless other people have minor and major yet equally important roles in ensuring next year will be one to remember, none more so than the team at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board whose wider brief is to keep Titanic Belfast and the whole Titanic experience in the domestic and international spotlight far beyond 2012. While they have an initial promotional budget with more zeroes in it than a colander, it won’t be hard to fill planes, trains, ferries and hotel rooms once the doors of the new building open, because word-of-mouth alone will pack the place for years to come.

The six-storey Titanic Belfast, which some local wags have said — not entirely inaccurately — looks like an iceberg, though its four 90-foot jutting wings more closely and intentionally resemble the liner’s bow, will house nine walk and ride-through exhibition galleries equipped with the latest 3D CGI and video technology. They’re Boomtown Belfast, Arrol Gantry and Shipyard Ride, The Launch, The Fit Out, The Maiden Voyage, The Sinking, The Aftermath, Myths and Legends and Titanic Beneath and Ocean Exploration Centre.

Nearby, in the Hamilton graving dock where it’s being restored, sits SS Nomadic, the Harland and Wolff-built Titanic and Olympic tender that was launched in April 1911 to convey first and second class passengers in Cherbourg and is the last remaining White Star vessel in existence. Now in the care of the SS Nomadic Charitable Trust and the Nomadic Preservation Society, it more recently served as a floating restaurant on the Seine in Paris before falling into dereliction and being moved to Le Havre. In January 2006 the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development bought it for €250,001 and, six months later, it was brought back to Queen’s Island, where it rightly belongs.

When Titanic left Belfast on April 2, 1912, never to return, scores of thousands of shipyard workers and citizens waved their handkerchiefs and sang “Rule Britannia”. Thirteen days later, when news of her loss reached the city where she was built, big tough men wept openly and unashamedly in the streets. In a few months’ time there will be good reason to sing again and, no doubt, tears will be shed. It’s taken 100 years, but Titanic’s finally coming home.

TITANIC BELFAST FESTIVAL 2012 HIGHLIGHTS

April 7-11, Titanic Light Show: Titanic Belfast will be in the spotlight in more ways than one when it’s officially launched with five nights of lights and laser shows and installations.

April 11, MTV Music Event: The Titanic slipway will be the venue for a huge outdoor concert.

April 14, Titanic Centenary Commemoration: On the 100th anniversary of the night Titanic struck the iceberg, the Waterfront Hall will host a spectacle of words, music and memories in honour of the thousands of ordinary Harland and Wolff workers who built an extraordinary ship and in memory of those who lost their lives.

MAIN MAN: Oceanographer Dr. Ballard

April 14, Robert Ballard: American oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic in September 1985, will present previously unseen material from the liner when he addresses an audience in the new building.

April 22-May 20, Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, 1912): A specially-commissioned verbatim play by Northern Ireland’s premier playwright Owen McCafferty to be staged at the new Metropolitan Arts Centre. Described as an emotive courtroom drama full of intrigue, bravery and human frailty, it’s guaranteed to be a sell-out, not least because it comes from the pen of Belfast-born and bred McCafferty.

September 8, BBC Titanic Proms: The songs and music of Northern Ireland and Belfast will be celebrated with a massive concert in the city’s Titanic Quarter.

FIRST CLASS FARE

Conor McLelland and his wife Bernie, who own and run the award-winning Rayanne House guesthouse and private dining restaurant (www.rayannehouse.com) in Holywood, just outside Belfast, have recreated the last menu served to first class passengers on the Titanic.

The nine-course menu (originally 13), which is available for private parties at £69 per person, makes for mouthwatering reading. It comprises canapes a L’Amiral; cream of barley soup with Bushmills whiskey and cream; asparagus and watercress salad with champagne-saffron vinaigrette served with roast squab (baby pigeon); poached salmon with mousseline sauce garnished with cucumber and fresh dill; rose water and mint sorbet; pan-seared fillet mignon topped with foie gras and truffle drizzled with a cognac, Madeira and red wine reduction served with potatoes Anna, creamed carrots and zucchini Farci; spiced peaches in Chartreuse jelly and French vanilla ice cream; cheese and fruit; coffee and petit fours.

Rayanne House, the former home of the Smith family, has its very own link with the Titanic — a print by JW Carey depicting the liner steaming down Belfast Lough on April 2, 1912, at the start of her maiden voyage, includes the house and hangs on the wall opposite reception.

FOOD SPEED AHEAD: Titanic menu at Rayanne House

CROWNING GLORY: Belfast's best-known bar, the Crown

A BELFAST JEWEL

The Crown Liquor Saloon (www.crownbar.com) in Great Victoria Street, opposite the Europa Hotel, is the best-known, most ornate and most photographed pub in Belfast, a gas-lit Victorian gin palace that’s on every visitor’s list of must-sees whether they drink or not. Step up to the red granite bar and you might find yourself rubbing shoulders with film or TV stars who don’t get a second glance from the regulars, so used are they to famous faces dropping by (Brad Pitt, Bill Murray, Michael J Fox and Ruby Wax are among the big names who’ve recently enjoyed a pint there). The Crown’s connection with the big screen stretches back to Carol Reed’s gritty 1947 movie Odd Man Out in which it featured as a location. When the cameras stopped rolling it was a hangout for James Mason and his fellow cast members.

Owned and preserved by the National Trust, The Crown — a Grade A listed building where the men who built Titanic enjoyed a pint — was established in 1849, although it was previously the Railway Tavern. The remarkable original interior is the work of Italian craftsmen who were brought to Belfast in the 1880s to fit out several new Catholic churches and who were persuaded to decorate their favourite watering hole after hours.

On the business side of the counter, barmen Michael Cosgrove and Jim McCann are a brilliant double act who keep customers entertained with the wittiest line in banter. Jim once convinced an American tourist that Michael, who was flashing a new gold tooth, was changing his name to Clint “in honour of his favourite spaghetti western — the one with cash in the title”. “You mean A Fistful Of Dollars?” asked the visitor. “Naw — A Mouthful Of Money!” said Jim.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: Tickets for Titanic
Belfast are like gold dust

OTHER 2012 EVENTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

May 3 to 13, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (Belfast): From the most humble of beginnings 12 years ago when he had to beg, steal and borrow to put a programme together, festival founder and director Sean Kelly has turned this annual event into a winner. If ever there was an unpretentious arts festival that catered to the man in the street, this is it. I remember having a pint with Sean in Lavery’s pub in Belfast in the run-up to the first CQAF, and he was a nervous wreck, but he believed in what he was doing. His faith has paid off — next year’s festival will be his 13th. I hope he’s not superstitious. See www.cqaf.com

June 21, Peace One Day Concert: The venue is Ebrigton, County Derry, and Massive Attack are one of the headline acts in an event marking the opening of the London 2012 Festival of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. See www.peaceoneday.org for updates on the line-up.

June 30, Land Of Giants: The Titanic Slipway will be the site of the biggest outdoor arts event ever staged in Northern Ireland, with spectacular fireworks and more than 500 acrobats, aerial dancers and musicians performing before an audience of 20,000. This small but fiercely proud country will be punching far above its weight when it celebrates the iconic giants from its history — the legendary Finn McCool, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver, the Giant’s Causeway, the Samson and Goliath cranes and, of course, Titanic itself. See www.landofgiants.info

June 30 to July 8, Clipper Round the World Yacht Race & Maritime Festival: Derry, the 2013 European City of Culture, will host the mother of all parties when it celebrates the arrival of the yacht Derry-Londonderry and the other competitors on the homecoming leg from Nova Scotia. See www.derrycity.gov.uk/clipper

September, Giants Causeway Visitor Centre Opening: It’s a World Heritage Site, and rightly so, and the new interpretative centre will be inaugurated in a blaze of glory. See www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giantscauseway

October 19 to November 3, 50th Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queens: This packed programme of domestic and international music, dance, opera, visual arts, theatre, literature and film attracts performers, exhibitors, speakers and visitors from around the world. See www.belfastfestival.com

˜For more information on Belfast’s Titanic centenary celebrations and details of accommodation and holidays in Northern Ireland see www.discovernorthernireland.com and www.belfastcitycouncil.gov.uk/events

˜Cobh, which was called Queenstown until 1922, has its own programme of centenary events (www.titanic100.ie) and a renowned heritage centre (www.cobhheritage.com) with a permanent Titanic exhibition. Visitors to the centre can also learn about mass emigration — 2.5 million people left Ireland from here between 1848 and 1950. See www.titanic.ie to book a historic walking tour, and www.titanicexperiencecobh.ie for details of a new interactive visitor attraction due to open in the original White Star Line offices in January.

˜The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra, just outside Belfast, is home to a £1 million exhibition, TITANICa: The Experience (www.nmni.com/titanic), which features more than 500 original Titanic artefacts.
˜Titanic Stories is a fabulous website jam-packed with information, interviews and videos on everything to do with Titanic and Belfast. It’s so fascinating that you’ll have to set your alarm or you’ll lose all track of time and miss appointments. Do yourself a favour and visit www.the-titanic.com

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Iceland: Reykjavik and Fish & Chips

The city of Reykjavik may be the Northern most capital in the world, but it's more of the character of a town than a city of almost 120,000. Icelandic cuisine may not be as famous as that of the Scandinavian countries, but Reykjavik has sufficient diversity in cuisine.

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The main drag through the town's commercial district is Laugavegur, the strip of expensive boutiques, bars, and restaurants. Although much of Iceland's appeal lies in the scenery of the majestic glaciers in the winter and the mossy green fields in the summer, the capital does have its appeal as a cosmopolitan scene with a sophisticated populace. Alcohol is expensive, as is most everything; it is not uncommon for Icelanders to pre-party at home before hitting up the many bars around town.



Trying to stick to a budget, I didn't want to break the bank with any meal in Iceland. Entrees at low end restaurants average around $20-$40 USD. A cursory glance at Chowhound pointed me to famous establishments like 3 Frakkir and Einar Ben. Instead, I settled for the moderately priced Icelandic Fish and Chips.

I had heard that this restaurant provided fresh catch of the day, battered in organic spelt and barley. The result is a fried fish that doesn't weigh you down while highlighting the natural flavors of the fish. The catches of the day were haddock and cod so we ordered one each.



The "chips" are oven roasted potatoes, but we also got a side of deep fried zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower. Icelandic Fish and Chips is also famous for their skyr dipping sauces. Skyr, technically a cheese, but most closely resembling a strained yogurt is ubiquitous throughout Iceland. It is like a very thick Greek yogurt and can be eaten sweet or savory. At this restaurant, the menu offered a selection of "skyronnaise" sauces. We had to try the sampler.



The flavors were basil and garlic, coriander and lime, rosemary and green apple, ginger and wasabi, tartar, roasted peppers and chili, honey and mustard, orange and black pepper, mango chutney, and sun dried tomatoes. Honestly, having that many sauces to choose from, I lost track of which one I liked the most.

It wasn't until after the dinner that we realized this was our Thanksgiving meal. Although this may have been the first time I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving properly with a family meal, we were too content to notice.

Icelandic Fish and Chips 
fishandchips.is
Tryggvagata 11
101 Reykjavik
+354 511-1118

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Iceland: Blue Lagoon and Smoked Lamb

Greenwich Mean Time. This was my first time at 0:00 +/- 0. Perhaps I didn't think it too clearly when I booked a redeye flight from JFK to Reykjavik; I had neglected the five hour time difference and the ten hour flight was only five in reality. Luckily, we had a direct transfer from the airport to the majestic Blue Lagoon spa.



I ended up with multiple surreal experiences in Iceland, but chief among them was this geothermal hotsprings. The weather was cold and icy. For the first hour we were there, we had ice in our hair from the unrelenting snow and hail. However, the water was comfortably around 100 degrees. The constant rising steam blocked out most of your vision beyond twenty feet or so. The ground was soft in places, as the mud is used as a facial exfoliant. Grab a bright blue cocktail from the floating bar and kick back with an underwater massage or a sweat in the sauna.



My first meal in Iceland was actually a sandwich at the airport convenience store. Iceland is known for its lamb, as its sheep are allowed to graze all over the countryside. The organic lamb is a mark of pride for the country, so I made an effort to try lamb dishes wherever I went. It was not a problem as lamb was on every menu no matter the cuisine. Thus, I skipped over the ham and cheese and went for the smoked lamb and bean salad.



The smoked lamb stood out right away. A richly dark smokiness permeated the sandwich. Iceland is a cold country and Icelanders seem to love their calories. All the sandwiches I had were smothered in mayonnaise and this bean salad was no exception. Although the sandwich could've been lighter on the mayo, it was delicious and a great entry into the country's cuisine.

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SCOTLAND: THE MOST FAITHFUL LITTLE DOG THAT EVER COCKED A LEG

PUP-LIC HOUSE: Greyfriars Bobby's statue and bar

ALMOST every overseas visitor to Edinburgh who tries haggis declares it delicious — until they’re told what it consists of. A haggis is a sheep’s stomach that’s scalded, pulled inside out, soaked overnight in brine and then stuffed with the chopped heart and lungs of a lamb, a pound of beef, diced onions and a half-pound of oatmeal. The cook then boils the bejaysus out of it and it’s served with bashit neeps and tatties — boiled and mashed turnip and potatoes.

On ceremonial occasions, the haggis is piped into the dining room by a guy in a kilt called something like Hamish McSporran and, shortly afterwards, it’s piped out by the emergency plumber.

Every morning, while blissfully clueless tourists tuck into this so-called delicacy at the breakfast table, fresh flowers are placed on Edinburgh’s most-visited grave which is marked with a red granite stone bearing the inscription: “Let his loyalty & devotion be a lesson to us all.”

This isn’t the final resting place of a war hero, an industrialist, a renowned scientist or a celebrated poet or author, of whom Edinburgh has produced many. The cuddly toys and squeaky rubber bones that vie for space with the flowers suggest an altogether more humble, but no less revered inhabitant. For beneath the lovingly-tended turf and within stick-throwing distance of the nearby pub that bears his name lie the remains of the most famous dog of all time — and I don’t mean Scooby Doo.

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye terrier who died, aged 16 — or 112 in doggy years, which would make me 336 — on January 14, 1872. That was almost 140 years ago, but the heart-warming story of this remarkable little scamp lives on and attracts scores of thousands of visitors every year to Greyfriars Kirkyard where he’s buried.

GIVE A DOG A STONE: Bobby's grave

Bobby’s master was police officer John Gray, and the unlikely pair were a familiar sight on their daily beat. Police dogs in those days were invariably big snarling brutes you’d cross the street to avoid, but placid Bobby stood hardly halfway up Constable No. 90’s shins. Nevertheless, when ordered into action he was an able ally, as ne’er-do-wells found to the cost of their ankles.

Sadly, it was a short-lived partnership of just two years. Gray, who had bought Bobby as a pup, succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 45 in February 1858 and was laid to rest in Greyfriars Kirkyard. In dying, he gave birth to a legend, because for the next 14 years faithful Bobby remained at his grave, sleeping on it at night when weather permitted and sheltering beneath a nearby tomb when it rained or snowed.

In the early days after Gray’s passing, his little dog was frequently chased from the cemetery by caretaker James Brown — the rules said no animals and no children, and Brown was a stickler. He was also, like other watchmen throughout the city, haunted by the memory of the ghoulish deeds 30 years before of William Burke and William Hare who, in the space of just 12 months, murdered 16 people and sold their bodies for dissection to Dr Robert Knox. Not that Bobby was any threat to the residents of Greyfriars — the only bones he was interested in came from the butcher’s bin — but nerves were still raw, Brown was on his guard and everything was done by the book.

The gruesome twosome paid dearly for the crimes that horrified Edinburgh (contrary to abiding popular belief they weren’t grave robbers). Burke, from Strabane, County Tyrone, was hanged for murder in front of a baying crowd of 25,000 at the city’s Lawnmarket in January 1829 and his body was publicly dissected in the Medical College. Afterwards, Professor Alexander Monro dipped his pen in the skull and wrote: “This is written with the blood of Wm Burke, who was hanged at Edinburgh. The blood was taken from his head.” The Surgeons’ Hall Museum contains many fascinating yet creepy exhibits including Burke’s skeleton and a wallet made from his skin. The Police Centre Museum on the Royal Mile has a similar wallet. Hare, from Poyntzpass, County Down, saved his neck by turning King’s evidence and fled to London where he was blinded by a mob and spent the rest of his life as a beggar, although it’s unknown when he died.

EDIN-BURY: Greyfriars Kirkyard and the castle, beyond

No matter how often Bobby was ejected from the cemetery, he always sneaked back in, squeezing through the bars of the main gates to resume his lonely vigil. Brown soon grew tired of evicting the tiny trespasser and came to grow fond of him. He started feeding Bobby each morning and made him a bed by placing some sacking and an old blanket under the tomb where Bobby sheltered from the elements. Customers in Traill’s Coffee House next to the cemetery gates — it’s now Greyfriars Bobby’s Bar — got to hear of the caretaker’s new friend and encouraged him to come in. But he’d never enter until he heard the one o’clock gun from the castle battlements, which had been the signal for Gray and him to knock off for lunch and is still fired each day.

Bobby’s daily ritual began to attract curious crowds who’d gather at the kirkyard gates waiting for the gun to sound. A few seconds later, they were rewarded with seeing the little dog dashing out of the cemetery, running between their legs and heading straight into Traill’s. But in 1867 a bye-law requiring dogs to be licensed was passed and the police were ordered to round up all strays, which were to be destroyed (I won’t tell you how). As masterless Bobby was to all intents and purposes a stray there was, understandably, a public outcry, but common sense prevailed. His admirers raised a petition that was presented to Lord Provost (Mayor) Sir William Chambers who was so moved by Bobby’s story that he ordered that his licence fee be paid indefinitely by the city council. Not only that, but Chambers, who was a director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, went out and personally bought him a collar which, along with his dinner bowl, are the most popular exhibits in the Huntly House Museum on the Royal Mile.

HILL OF A VIEW: Looking from Calton, high above the city

Just outside Greyfriars Bobby’s Bar, directly across the street from the National Museum of Scotland is the most photographed statue in Scotland, erected to the most faithful little dog that ever cocked a leg. It was commissioned by philanthropist and animal lover Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts, at one time the richest woman in Britain, who asked the council for permission to install a lasting memorial. The members agreed, and went one better, unanimously awarding Bobby the freedom of the city (others on whom the honour has been bestowed include Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, US Presidents Ulysses E. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Alexander Graham Bell, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth, Sir Sean Connery and Nelson Mandela). The life-sized bronze statue by WH Brodie, which sits on a granite plinth and was unveiled in November 1873, is a magnet for visitors.

Just down the street is the Elephant House Cafe where another legend was born. It was here that struggling single mum Joanne Rowling wrote the first words of the Harry Potter series in her notebook. Fans of the boy wizard flock to the cafe every day, and most then stroll the short distance to have their picture taken at Bobby’s statue and, perhaps, have a drink in the pub. If they have their pets with them, there’s a drink for them, too, because at the foot of the plinth is a water trough for dogs. I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to the tiny terrier.

AN EDINBURGH JEWEL

I was introduced to The Cafe Royal (www.caferoyal.org.uk) 30 years ago, and I make a beeline for it every time I’m in town. It’s a pub in as much as it serves drink, including many cask ales and a huge selection of malt whiskies, but it’s the decor that stops first-time visitors in their tracks the moment they step inside. I always try to sit facing either of the doors to see their reaction, which is invariably a look of wide-eyed wonder followed by a “Waow!”. The AA Hospitality Awards judges who last month named it Scottish Pub of the Year obviously felt the same.

THE BEST BAR NONE: My favourite pub, the Cafe Royal

Dating from 1863 in its present location in West Register Street opposite the Balmoral Hotel, it’s a splendid example of Victorian and Baroque elegance where it appears no expense has ever spared in justifying the “Royal”. Stained glass, highly-polished dark woods, marble, ornate plasterwork and brass fittings abound, and the unique Doulton ceramic murals depicting inventors Benjamin Franklin (another Edinburgh freeman), Michael Faraday, James Watt, William Caxton, Robert Peel and George Stephenson at work were made in 1886 yet look as fresh as the day they left the kiln.

Fresh, too, is everything that comes from the kitchen. Oysters are the signature dish, but the regularly changed bar menu also offers mussels, fish stew, seafood platters and grilled sea bass plus smoked salmon sandwiches. If you’re feeling particularly peckish, the Stornoway black pudding and apple gratin starter is superb.

WHERE TO STAY

The 187-room Apex Waterloo Place (www.apexhotels.co.uk) is my home from home in Edinburgh. This 4-star boutique hotel with free wifi, a pool, sauna, Technogym and spa is situated at the eastern end of Princes Street close to Waverley Station and is overlooked by Calton Hill, which affords the best views of the city.

˜Bill Hill, who knows Edinburgh like the back of his hand, is the man to call if you want to take an informative and entertaining guided tour of the city. A raconteur, singer and songwriter, he’s a fount of fascinating facts and figures that bring the history of Scotland’s capital to life. And when it comes to Greyfriars Bobby, Bill’s shaggy dog story beats them all. Call him on 0131 445 1296 or see www.edinburghtourguide.co.uk

˜For a Burke and Hare evening walking tour of the Old Town (£9.50) see www.westporttours.com. The Edinburgh Dungeon’s actor-led Burke and Hare experience costs £11.20 when booked online (www.the-dungeons.co.uk/edinburgh).

˜For further information on what to do and see in Edinburgh, go to www.visitscotland.com

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Junoon: Indian Entry into NYC Michelin

The dining room is spacious, not only by New York standards, but with the high ceilings and wide spaces, Junoon would not be out of place in a city with cheaper commercial leases. I entered into the vestibule and saw framed reviews, all from this year. The new restaurant received a Michelin star this year. I had high expectations for the my first Michelin rated Indian restaurant.

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Open kitchen. Immaculate chefs' jackets. White table clothes. Well-trained waiters. Junoon had all the makings of an upscale Western restaurant. With the exceptions of some service hiccups during the lunch, all the other ambiance aspects were in place for high end. Little quirks like the elaborate lounge seating in the bar area and the spice cellar add to the experience. But what about the food?



Junoon offers a three-course $24 prix fixe for lunch Monday through Friday. My appetizer, piri piri shrimp in a Goan chili sauce with avocado and jicama salad raised my expectations even higher than they had been. Huge prawns with a spicy sauce cut by the citrus dressing served as a delicious first course.



Whenever I go to a new Indian restaurant, I always order a lamb korma. It is my barometer dish, the standard that I use to compare Indian places. Granted, not all Indian places do an excellent korma, but unless an Indian place specializes in something else, my favorite dish is an acceptable measure. The lunch prix fixe menu at Junoon had a chicken awadhi korma with toasted cashews, cream, green cardamon and saffron, not quite what I wanted, but close enough. The curry dishes come with excellent naan and basmatti rice. In fact, the naan was the best I've ever had. Unfortunately, the korma was one-dimensional and unbalanced in flavor. The only flavor profile I remember is salty. In retrospect, for a restaurant like this, I should've picked a more modern, fusion dish. Nothing about Junoon was traditional; I imagine that the best dishes wouldn't be in a typical Indian household.



A finely shaped cube of cardamon kulfi was my dessert. Kulfi is often characterized as Indian ice cream, except it isn't whipped. The result is a dense block of creamy mouth feel, but digging at it with my fork felt like chiseling a block of marble.

I wanted to like Junoon more. I encourage some diversity in Michelin's guide. I'll have to return to try the more famous halibut or lamb dishes for dinner and give it the attention that the restaurant's interiors inspire.

Junoon
junoonnyc.com
27 W. 24th St.,
Flatiron District, Manhattan
(212)490-2100

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