Inhaltsverzeichnis für November/December 2016 in AFAR

IN 2007, I WAS IN A MASTER’S program in philosophy at Arizona State University focused on ethics and values. I wanted to think about what it meant to live a good life. As stimulating as my studies were, the most rewarding part of my life at that time were the trips I took. My travels, which included five-week journeys through both South America and India with AFAR cofounder Joe Diaz, allowed me to directly engage with many of the questions I’d faced in the classroom: Why do we choose to live the way we do? How do we build a just society? We weren’t traveling to check sights off our bucket lists but to talk to people and understand their perspectives. Traveling in this way challenged my worldview and my…

ELIZABETH WEINBERG Photographer At Home at the End of the World p.100 Not your average island: “I was in awe of the diversity of Tasmania. We visited white sand beaches with turquoise waters, fished in Coles Bay, saw the sun rise from Mount Wellington, and drove on empty dirt roads, all in just five days.” Local treats: “The oysters from the island were unreal. At Maggie’s house, we ate fresh ones shucked right there at the table. They were perfectly briny and salty, and I was in heaven.” Find paradise with her: on Instagram @eliz JASON WILSON Writer How Do You Like Your Wine? p.120 The wide world of wine: “You think you know it. Then you travel to a place like the Swiss Alps and find grapes you’ve never…

1 EXPLORE WHISTLER’S NEXTDOOR NEIGHBOR The booming enclave of Squamish is close to the action but feels a world away. Whistler dominates the ski scene of British Columbia, and for good reason. But ask the locals where they hang out when they’re not on the slopes, and they’ll tell you about Squamish. The town sits on the edge of Howe Sound Fjord, 36 miles south of—and downhill from—Whistler Village. Mild daytime temperatures hover around 40 degrees, perfect for hiking the surrounding Squamish Valley or rafting the Squamish River, which flows lazily this time of year. You might even spot bald eagles in the trees that line its banks. The Sea to Sky Gondola leaves from just south of town and carries passengers into the mountains to snowshoe trails. Later, enjoy…

1 Le Barthélemy ST. BART’S The newest hotel on the Grand Cul de Sac specializes in tranquility. All of the 46 rooms and suites have drop-down screens that transform outdoor terraces into private spaces. French chef Guy Martin, of the two-Michelin-star Le Grand Véfour in Paris, developed the menus for the two restaurants. Book the “Picnic Chic” service and a concierge will pack beach chairs, a hamper of canapés, and a bottle of rosé for you to take to any of the island’s secluded beaches. From $682. 2 Playa Grande Beach Club DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Hidden away at the end of a pristine mile-long beach on the less visited north coast, Playa Grande Beach Club comprises a central great house and nine sea-facing, bohemian-chic bungalows done up in sherbet tones and…

BEFORE I ARRIVED in Sarajevo, the 555-year-old capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, I had no impression of the city beyond the televised atrocities I had seen in the early 1990s. In 1992, the country, once part of Yugoslavia, voted to become independent. Just over a month later, Serbian forces began a siege of Sarajevo that lasted 1,425 days, shelling the city relentlessly. Eventually, NATO air strikes forced the Serbs to negotiate, and the Dayton Accords brought an end to the violence in 1995. Twenty years later, a whole generation has no memory of those difficult times, yet the past lies just beneath the surface of people’s lives. Most visitors to the city spend much of their time in Baščaršija, the old Turkish quarter filled with mosques, antique stores, shops, restaurants, and shisha…

WHEN I WAS 20, I STUDIED abroad for a year at Trinity College in Dublin. My mom joined me during spring break and we drove all over the country together. I was studying Irish literature, so writers figured prominently in our itinerary—we visited more than a few historic houses, churches, and grave sites. But the part of our trip that I recall most vividly is our time in County Donegal in the northwest, an area far off the typical tourist trail and ripe for getting comfortably lost. By the time we got to the town of Donegal, we were proficient at navigating bogs and livestockblocked roads. It was the end of our trip, and we were spending the night at a historic manor house called Ardnamona, by the banks of…

When it opens in 2018, the Oaxaca coastal highway will shrink the drive from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido from seven hours down to two. Go before that floodgate opens to savor a swath of Pacific coastline where sea turtles swim and big-name surfers shred. Thirty minutes north of Puerto’s tiny, three-neighborhood center, claim one of 16 palapas at Hotel Escondido, a retreat with midcenturymodern sofas, an infinity pool that overlooks a vast shore-line—and a prime spot next to Casa Wabi, a gallery and artists’ retreat created by the Mexican artist Bosco Sodi. It’s just a 500-peso (US$27) taxi ride to Puerto’s Rinconada district, where new galleries and restaurants have cropped up. Gota de Tierra sells biomorphic porcelain jewelry and geometric tapestries, and Spanish expats run La Lolaila, a temple…

1 Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour ST. KITTS The 126-room Park Hyatt, opening in March, was built to minimize impact on its surroundings. The layout allows rainfall from surrounding hills to flow to the sea on its natural path, lighting in public areas has been designed to avoid disturbing turtle nesting sites, and appliances conserve water and energy. From $500. 2 Oil Nut Bay BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Oil Nut Bay, a resort reachable only by boat or helicopter on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, is aiming to become completely carbon neutral. Solar power (a first for the BVIs), gray-water recycling, desalination plants, and living green roofs are all part of the ambitious sustainability plan. From $750. 3 Barbuda Belle BARBUDA Located in the Codrington Lagoon National Park…

WHO Christopher Bastin WHERE Vasastan, Stockholm I WAS BORN AND raised in Stockholm and spent much of my life in the Östermalm district, the poshest part of town. But I felt that nothing there ever changed, and I wanted to live somewhere that felt alive even after the shops close. One day four years ago, I was randomly walking around and found my dream home in Vasastan. I bought it one week later. Vasastan is just a 10-minute bike ride from the city center, but the neighborhood feels like a totally different world. It has its own vibe: It’s a lot less stiff-upper-lip than Östermalm, but it’s not pretentious and artsy like Södermalm. There’s a slower pace of life here. It doesn’t feel like everyone is in a hurry. Most…

“Iran has a beautiful and diverse landscape,” says photographer Samuel Zuder. “But in order to experience the depth of the country, you need to meet the Iranian people.” On a four-week trip, Zuder found that Iranians were happy to welcome him into a world that exists outside the strict rules that govern public life. “Iranians, especially the younger generation, are very well educated and excited about discussing politics and culture with foreigners— especially Westerners,” Zuder says. “Every day, someone new invited me into their home to share a meal, or offered to show me around.” One day, while he was shooting in Tehran, a young man and two young women—all students— approached Zuder and invited him for a drive around the city. Twice, they were stopped by the secret police.…

I sure as hell didn’t recognize them. Nicolas Gonin didn’t either, and “I’ve been looking for them for a long time,” he said with a smirk. We were gazing toward the ceiling of a 12thcentury abbey in Saint-Chef, a medieval town in France’s Isère department, in the Alps east of Lyon. Most visitors to the abbey focus on its Romanesque mosaics, but we were looking at something else: a frieze above the altar that depicted grapes. Even though I have been a specialist in obscure wine and spirits for many years, and Nicolas is a young winemaker of some renown, we had no answer for Jean-Luc Etiévent, the third member of our party, when he asked, “See the grapes and leaves? What is the variety? This is your first ampelographic…

“Whenever I travel to a new place, I ask myself, ‘Could I live here?’ On a recent trip to Switzerland and Denmark with my husband and daughter (her first international trip!), the answer was an emphatic yes. Both countries prize work-life balance, beautiful outdoor spaces, top-notch cultural institutions, and family time. A few highlights: In Lucerne, we rode an aerial tram to the top of Mount Pilatus for views straight out of Heidi. Just over the German border from Basel, we took in the Alexander Girard exhibit at the Vitra Design Museum. In the seaside city of Svendborg, Denmark, we explored castles and barbecued rød pølse (Google it). In Copenhagen, our final stop, we lounged at the fabulously cool SP34 Hotel, spent an afternoon at the Louisiana Museum of Modern…