Review: Fairfield Inn by Marriott Hazelton, Pa.

Fairfield Inns are a moderately priced member of the Marriott chain. They are family friendly and include a buffet breakfast in the rate. Beyond that, they offer a pool, hot tub, exercise room and business center.  I was impressed to see cold apple cinnamon water and cucumber water available for guests, a very classy touch.

This particular Fairfield Inn has a light, bright and spacious lobby. We were warmly welcomed when we entered and our room was waiting for us. I also appreciated being recognized as a Silver Tier reward member. They even had a little plaque on the desk welcoming all the Platinum, Gold and Silver members who were booked in for this night. Nice touch!!

Since the hotel was fully booked we didn’t get an upgrade but our king room was spacious and nicely decorated. I was disappointed that we had no microwave, I guess I usually get a suite!! The bathroom, however, was the most spacious one we have had so far on this trip and the coffee pot was located in the room not in the bathroom which I appreciate. The amenities include lemon and sage body lotion which I adore. Plenty of towels are included and the tub has an overhead shower with good pressure.

The room has the king bed with lots of pillows and a cushy mattress, a club chair, and stool, desk with chair and dresser with flat screen TV.  The number of available channels is excellent at this hotel, at least 70.

Our room was located on the third floor and was quiet. It was the top floor for no-one walking above us. I sat at the desk and used the free high-speed Internet. No password is needed to use it.

While Fairfield Inns don’t serve any meal except breakfast, this one in Hazleton has a Damon’s Grill right across the parking lot where you can get a 10 percent discount by showing your room key. Silly us, we ate there before we checked in.

Breakfast is served from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. which allows you to sleep in or leave early. The room is spacious and the food was replenished as needed.

Parking is free and plentiful. I was very pleased with this Fairfield Inn and would not hesitate to stay here again.

Update: 2020

The hotel has had some very nice renovations, the rooms have a huge TV which offers Internet options so Netflix and YouTube etc and the tub is gone replaced by a walk-in shower. Well done Fairfield Inn. 

Austria: The fascinating Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Vienna

The Heeresgeschichtliches Museum is the Museum of Military History and is located in the center of the Arsenal. The style of the building is very unique; it is Moorish with byzantine influences. It was built between 1850 and 1856 which makes it the oldest museum in Vienna.

The museum is divided into 5 main sections from the 16th century to the end of World War II. This is the history of the Hapsburg family who ruled the Austria, Spain and large sections of Europe for centuries. The first room is the Thirty Years War during the reign of Maria Theresa and Prince Eugene of Savoy who was a great military leader of that time period. There is a set of his armor, which shows what a very small man he was in stature even though he was a great military man. There is an Ottoman tent that was capture during the war with the Turks, loads of amazing guns, early rifles, pikes etc. It is the sort of museum that will appeal to the entire family.

The conflicts with France were an off and on affair over several centuries but the museum is focused for the most part on the Napoleonic era.

For me the most amazing exhibits were the ones leading up to World War I. The car that Franz Ferdinand was riding in when he was assassinated is in the museum, also the uniform that he was wearing and couch that he died on. There is a whole room on Austrian naval history including a replica of the ship that carried home the body of the executed emperor of Mexico, Maximilian, who was Franz Josef's brother.

We had a headphone set to carry around and give us additional information on some of the exhibits. There are also sheets in every room in English that give more information. We spent over 2 hours here and the men especially were fascinated. There is a lot to see and much to enjoy. If you would like to have a guided tour, they will make an effort to provide it for you, you just let them know what your interests are.

The museum is open seven days week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a good option for a Monday when some of the other museums may be closed. In addition to the permanent exhibits there are usually some special exhibits. You can check the museum website to find out what is being shown at any given time. The entire museum offers free Wi-Fi.

To get to this museum we took the UI to Sudtirolerplatz station and then took the 13A bus for 2 stops. It is a little off the beaten track but worth the effort. The museum is free on the first Sunday of the month. Every other day the entrance is  € 6 Euro with an additional €2 for the audio tour. 

The museum has a very interesting shop and a cafe if you need to eat. This is a very interesting museum to visit and I highly recommend it.

Austria: Amazing works of art at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

Vienna is known for its wonderful pastries and for the Viennese Waltz. Many people may not be aware of the depth and quality of the works of art that are available to see and appreciate. 

Vienna is a city filled with magnificent buildings and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Art History Museum is no exception. The building will impress you, the collection that it contains will leave you breathless. The collection spans the ancient to the 18th century. The core of the collection was developed from pieces owned by the Hapsburg family. Who better to own one of the finest collections of the old masters? 

The works of art at Vienna Museum of Fine Arts are world class.

Everyone has their own personal favorites when it comes to art. Mine is northern European and the collection at the Kunsthistorisches in no way disappointed, as a matter of fact, it is quite heavy in the work of the Dutch and Flemish artists.

Albrecht Durer, The Leonardo of the North, is well represented here.
Virgin and Child with Half a Pear. 1512

This is not the only Virgin and Child that Durer did, he has another one that also has the pear but this one is only half a pair that the baby is holding. Mary is dressed in the blue but this is not a pastel blue but rather a vibrant blue. Mary is looking down at the child who appears to be almost squirming in her arms and holding the half pear. A very beautiful and interesting piece done in oil on panel and Durer's visits to Italy are evident in the style and composition of this work.

There are several other Durer's in the collection at the Vienna Art Museum. There is a portrait of Maximillian I, A Venetian girl and an altarpiece.

Vermeer, The Art of Painting

This painting has a very interesting history. For several hundred years the attribution to Vermeer was lost and it was believed to be the work of one of his contemporaries Pieter De Hooch, a false signature even appeared on the painting. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that it was recognized as the work of the master. During World War II it was sold to Adolph Hitler and finally ended up in the collection of the Vienna Art Museum. With so few of Vermeer's works having survived, any museum which has one in its collection is very blessed indeed.

Hans Holbein, Jane Seymour

Hans Holbein is well known for his portraits of the Royal family of England. Among the most famous are his portraits of some of the wives of Henry VIII. 

Jane, of course, is wife number three and the one who produced a son who survived into young adulthood. This picture was done shortly after she married Henry in 1536. She shows all the seriousness one would expect of the future mother of the king. 

The collection of works of art Vienna Museum of Fine Arts  is very deep. It has several Rubens and Van Dykes and many, many others. These are just a few of the Northern European works you can only imagine what they have from Italy, France, Spain and England.

Sully Historic Site Chantilly, Va.

The fact that Sully has survived to be shown today I find to be quite amazing. It is located in a very developed area of Northern Virginia and right off a major highway. It survived the Civil War and while it is no longer the massive farm that it once was, enough remains for you to get a fair picture of the life that began here more than 200 years ago. 

Sully was built on a piece of land that Richard Bland Lee inherited from his father Henry Lee II. He lived in the house he had built from 1784 to 1811. He and his wife Elizabeth Collins raised a family here and some of their infants are buried in the cemetery on the property. They have also been reinterred here. 

Today what remains is the main house and outbuildings.  You can tour the outbuildings at your leisure, they include the kitchen smokehouse, laundry,  and dairy. 

You begin your visit at the visitor center and then proceed to walk toward the house. The reconstructed slave cabin is along the way. 

Once at the house, you are allowed in at your tour time, tours are offered on the hour.  You will be encouraged to spend some time in the small museum and will then tour the house with a docent. 

Little of the house furnishing actually belonged to the Lees but the furnishings are to that period. 

You will be visiting both floors of Sully so you do need to be able to climb stairs. 

The gift shop is located in the visitor center and is one that I particularly enjoyed. They sell almost exclusively things that are sourced in the local area. 

Sully hosts a variety of events throughout the year and I highly recommend that if you are going to be in northern Virginia you stop in for a visit, you won't be disappointed. 

Boston: Behind the scenes at Old North Church

No visit to Boston would be complete without a visit to the Old North Church. This is, of course, the most famous church in Boston. It was from this tower that the famous "One if by Land, Two if by Sea" signal was sent to Paul Revere and the other Sons of Liberty who were spreading the word about the British troop movement in Boston. If you visit the Old North Church you will sit in one of the pews and hear the history of the church, this is not the tour we are talking about, we are going to go where the regular visitor will never go.



Offered on the hour Behind the Scenes is a 30-minute chance to see what happens behind the scenes at this historic church. During the summer months, the tour is offered on the half hour as well. There are no tours in January and February, check their website for the times and days when tours are offered. You purchase your tickets at the gift shop next door to the church. The cost is $6 for adult; $5 for seniors and $4 for children up to 12 years old. You met your guide in the St Francis Garden which is right behind the store.

One thing you need to know before you even considering taking this tour is that it requires a lot of stair climbing, it is not handicap accessible and it takes a good bit of stamina to climb the steep and narrow stairs to the bell ringing room.

The first stop on the tour requires climbing one steep set of stairs. It is the gallery around the upper level of the church. It houses the organ as well as seating on both sides. These are basically the cheap seats. The wealthy members of the church would have paid to sit in the lower level. Servants, African Americans both freed and slaves and poor persons would have been seated in the gallery. Actually, you have a very nice view of the church from the gallery.



We would have gone to the bell ringing room next but the bell ringers were rehearing so instead, we went to the crypt.

The first thing visited in the crypt is a Columbarium. They have dedicated a whole section of the crypt to the burial of ashes. We then headed into the bowels of the church, and bowels it is, if you are claustrophobic or germaphobic don't go on this tour. This is not some romanticized crypt; this has a low ceiling and is, without doubt, a basement. There are cemented over crypts in the walls all the way around on the walls. Many of them are not marked. The reason they are cemented is to keep the bodies from being removed and replaced with new bodies.

Old North Church was not a Congregational Church, it was an Anglican Church. It was the parish church of General Gage and it was from the tower here that he watched the battle of Bunker Hill play out. The tower was the highest spot in Boston at the time of the revolution which is also why it was used to signal the riders.

The last stop on the tour was the bell-ringers room. These are not song bells these are sound bells. There are eight bells of different sizes and sounds. It is up two very narrow, winding and steep staircases. Up is bad, down is even worse.

I highly recommend the Behind the Scenes Tour for anyone who is interested enough in the Old North Church to want to do something beyond just sitting and listen to the 15-minute talk that happens in the regular body of the church. If you are physically up to it, it is very memorable.

For more photos of Boston check out this photo blog http://isabelletravels.blogspot.com/2015/10/photo-friday-welcome-to-boston.html post.

Entertaining yourself on a long flight

Everyone dreads having to take a long flight. The lack of space, privacy and the ability to just move around as much as you would like is a real pain in the neck, literally and physically. Let's face it, long flights are boring, there is no way around that. Passing the time in an enjoyable manner takes a little bit of pre-planning. You will want to pack some items into your carry-on to help you pass the time in the best possible way.

Onboard entertainment

If you are really lucky, your flight will have individual on board entertainment. This allows you to play games and watch the movie of your choice, from their selection of course. While not all airplanes have this options the ones that do are a godsend. Hours of entertainment at your fingertips without the bother of carrying on any electronic equipment and frankly what I like best is checking the progress our flight is making, you can track the entire trip. It makes it seem not nearly as long.

Reading material

Depending on how long your flight is you may choose to bring a newspaper, magazine or that book you have been meaning to read. There are some overseas flights where you may want to bring along all three. These long flights are the perfect time to catch up on business reading as well.

Puzzles

There are many different kinds of puzzle books, everyone has their favorite, Sudoku, crosswords, word search and logic puzzles. All of these can offer hours of entertainment and brain stimulation as well.

iPod

Sometimes you just want to close your eyes and listen to your favorite songs. You can also learn a new language or listen to a book. Let’s face it, it is a lot easier to have a new book you are interested in downloaded into your PDA instead of having to carry the actual book.

DVD Player

Watching a favorite movie or one that you have been meaning to watch is a great way to pass at least two hours. If you bring along several movie you are good for a transatlantic flight.

Laptop/iPad/Tablet

While this is bulky to carry unless you have one of the new very small laptops and getting through the TSA checkpoint is a real drag, once you are on the flight your laptop can be the difference between a boring flight and one where you accomplish a lot of work. This is the perfect time to write articles, organize your photos, type up some long overdue letters and even balance your checkbook. When you get tired of being good, a few games of Solitaire, Free Cell or Candy Crush will be an enjoyable respite.

Take a nap

On a very long flight, ask the steward or stewardess for a pillow and a blanket and get comfortable. If you bring along an eye mask you can shut the outside world out especially if you have your PDA playing your favorite tunes in your ears. There is nothing better than getting a few minutes sleep, especially on a trans-Atlantic flight. Jet lag is always an issue and a nice nap can be a big help.

Get up and walk around

This is good advice on any long flight, it helps you avoid some of the medical problems that can result. In order to get up however if you are not in the aisle seat, you must get the person or persons between you and the aisle to also get up. This may become a problem if one of them has followed the advice to take a nap. If you can't get up stretch your arms and legs as much as possible and try changing positions, it makes it less uncomfortable, at least for a while.

Play cards

If you are solo then I am afraid it is going to be solitaire for you. If, however, you are with one or two others then it is easy to play setback, rummy or pinochle. As long as you have a deck of cards along, you can look forward to many hours of fun.

Passing the time on a long flight is not hard if you plan ahead and keep your sense of humor. Take the time to relax, to catch up on some things that you have been wanting to do and visualize yourself arrive at your final destination.

My personal photo of a plane in flight.

Visiting Walton's Mountain

Schyler, Va. was a company town. Alberene Soapstone Company was the main employer and at one time, Earl Hamner Sr. was an employee. Today, it is a town of about 400 people nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is also the location of the Walton's Mountain Museum.

When Earl Hamner created the Walton family, he based the characters on members of his own family. He condensed eight children into seven by combining two of his brothers into Ben but the rest are, if not named the same, a rough representation. Fans of the show had a hard time separating fact from fiction. After the show ended people would come to Schyler looking for Walton’s Mountain and for Ike and Cora’s store.

There isn’t a Walton’s Mountain or "the" general store. The people of Schyler needed a community center and they came up with the idea of having a Walton’s Mountain Museum to help finance the center. The schools consolidated in the early 1990s and one of the schools was available. With the help of a local designer who had made good, they created a museum about the fictitious Waltons. As a happy circumstance, the school which now houses the museum is also the school Earl Hamner graduated from.

This is a simple museum. The day we were there it was a quiet one and we did not get a guided tour. You can tour the museum on your own. We entertained ourselves in the main room while we waited for someone to notice us. The man who was in charge that day was very busy fixing some things that needed fixing around the building.

A 30-minute video runs whenever there are enough people to justify it. We had to wait quite a while because it was running for quite a bunch of people when we got there. It is still a surprisingly popular place even though the show has been off the air for more than 25 years. On the video we hear from Earl Hamner and we learn not only about the show, but about the real Hamner family. We also heard from the actors and how this particular show affected their lives. Will Geer and Ellen Corby were very much grandparents to the young actors on the show. Earl tailored the show characters to the personality of the actors.

What you will find here are recreated rooms from the TV show. None of the items from the show has found its way here, but the local antique stores have done a fine job of giving a similar feeling. You see the kitchen, the parlor, John Boy’s bedroom, the living room, and several exhibits including "the recipe machine" room. They also have a room with many of the original scripts from the show.

You can have your picture taken behind the grill at Ike and Cora’s store and there certainly is a very nice gift store on the premises. For fans of "Walton's Mountain" this will be an interesting blast from the past.