New England

We have never been to Canada before, but that is something we are going to change now. After two hours through lonely forests we cross the border, and another two hours later we reach Lévis on the southern banks of the huge St. Lawrence River. From here we explore Québec City, probably the most European city in Canada, Parc Montmorency with its spectacular waterfalls and the massive pilgrimage church in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. Via Trois-Rivières we arrive at Québec’s largest city, Montréal, where we spend another two days. A few years later we will visit those places again on a long Québec round trip.

Back in the USA, Vermont is the next state on our list. We stroll through the pedestrian area of the university town of Burlington, and after one night in Stowe we go for a hike on Mount Mansfield (with 1.340 meters not very high if you know the Rockies, but really high in this area). In Montpelier, the smallest capital of all the American states, of course we visit the State Capitol.

In the afternoon we have coffee and cake at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. In this luxury hotel – we are in New Hampshire now, by the way – the conference that led to the foundation of the World Bank and of the International Monetary Fund took place in 1944. We also recommend Franconia Notch State Park with the spectacular Flume Gorge and a trip to Mount Cannon, which can be reached by cable car.

Via the nice university town of Hanover and the picture-book town of Woodstock with the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park, we head for the Green Mountains, which are still quite devastated by Hurricane Irene. At the end of the mountain range is Williamstown, our starting point for a trip to Mount Greylock (with 1,063 meters the highest mountain in Massachusetts) and to MassMoCA in North Adams, one of the most important museums for modern art in the USA.

Now it is time for Connecticut and the Talcot Mountain State Park, which we reach after a ride through a picture-book landscape with picture-book towns and picture-book cottages – that’s how you imagine New England. Hiking to Heublein Tower in the park is worth it, as well as a visit to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. Our first ALDI in the USA in New Britain is a highlight that probably only the author can appreciate!

The last New England state on our journey and the smallest state in the USA by area is Rhode Island with its capital Newport, where we visit historic downtown and some striking mansions. We finish our round trip at Cape Cod, the Sylt of America. The small towns like Sandwich, Orleans or Eastham are nice to look at; in the north of the island lies Provincetown, the last stage of our journey. After two days of lighthouses, beaches and a lot of Atlantic coast, we stop at Plymouth (where the Pilgrim Fathers landed in 1620 – see my old English textbook); there is a replica of the Mayflower at the harbor. Then we head back to Logan International Airport in Boston.