announcer: american public television presents the splendors of the world in the lifelike reality of high definition television. hi, i'm rudy maxa. we get so many requests for tips on how to break away from the crowds in europe that this time we've put together a special program visiting several of our favorite european getaways. some are easy shots for big cities; others, enticing destinations all on their own. next up, it's great european getaways smart travels. announcer: smart travels is made possible in part by expedia.com, a travel website that offers travelers a variety of ways to find the trip they're looking for, including flights, hotels, and vacation packages. [classical music plays]

captioning made possible by u.s. department of education announcer: smart travels is a grand tour of the old world-- the people, places, sights, and distinctly european flavors. our host is travel writer and columnist rudy maxa, public radio's original savvy traveler. now, tips, trips, and secret places on smart travels. [speaking italian]

oh, up here. we go up here. i keep my passion for travel alive by nurturing a little sense of adventure. sure, i love the great, vibrant cities with their culture-- museums, opera, ballet, fine restaurants. but i think you have to look beyond the well-publicized attractions to get the full experience. ask locals for advice. do a little research. take a few risks. my best tip-- find yourself a local festival. here's where the villages focus on their special history or product. it's our chance to tune into their pride of tradition. each festival is unique, and visitors are very welcome. chateau reynard in provence parties once a year in honor of its dairy industry.

across the alps, the tiny village of chiesa also honors the cows but with a more rustic style. we got cows, we got porcini, we got wine, we got warm milk, we've got local cheese, we got the accordionlayer- i call this a feival.

g toge teaoing back to the middle ag,ties.

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inke ane geway.oing back to the middle ag,ties. we're riding the rails south for a short trip to delft. clmefrom the sea. flat, flat, flat. it's said that napoleon called the region the most beautiful he'd ever seen. delft is about an hour south of amsterdam. and it's so carefully preservedn since 1246, that it looks like a medieval stage backdrop. canals, of course, and narrow alleyways and bridges. there's been royal intrigue in sweet-looking delft. wli oorge was assassinated here, and the bullet holes still mark his residence. d ai in establishing dutch independencees from spanish rule,idence.

and his enemies hoped his death would reestablish spain's dominance. it was not to be. holland emerged from the struggle a world power. its power grewroitiniol and delft pottery, the town's claim to fame, carries some of that history with it today. dutch merchants roamed the world and brought back ideas and goods from all parts of the globe. traditional dutch pottery soon reflected these influences. won: isla cin, we see the 4 main techniques that were produced here. on the top we have the delft blue. in the middle, we have the polychrome, bad eopjoca omheediterranean area. down on the left, we have the pijnacker, based on the japanese imari porcelain. and down there on the right, we have the black delft, based on chinese lacqueare. maxa: even today, if you buy authentic delft porcelain

it will be hand painted according to the traditions of the 17th century. to really relax, try your hand. sign up for a painting workshop. in germany, we picked a favorite alneilgemienld for me, part of the delight is just getting there. from munich, you head south on the back roads for almost an hour. once you're there, let the charm take over. murals are everywhere. bavarian villages spill over with traditional crafts and skilled artisans.

mittenwald's violin mangas enheilgeigtu card for more than 300 years. mittenwald, the quintessenal pi but was a stopping place on the old augsburg-verona trade route. imagine, what a sight for weary travelers. and now let's cross the border to a major jumping off city, vienna. once you cross into austria, strains of strauss waltzes and the sound of music play havoc in your brain next come the images of cafe mit schlag and apple strudel and freud and mozart the 8-year old composing a symphony. all right, all right, so i've seen too many movies.

vienna is a symphony of culture and the arts, stunning structures, and the legacy of hapsburg power. but for those looking for a getaway, it's the perfect setting, nelemajestally onhe mighty nube river. a trip on the danube is restful and delightfully beautif. the river runs 1,500 miles from the black forest to the black sea, and it links central europe to the rest of the continent. not far from vienna, the romantic wachau region stretches for 20 miles on the river to the town of melk. when your boat nears the spectacular melk abbey overlooking a cliff, you'll know it. melk abbey, one of the great sights of europe, also offers tranquil relief from city bustle and noise, and it's done so since 1089.

after centuries of wear and tear, the abbey was rebuilt in the 18th century and transformed into what you see now, austria's spectacular model of baroque architecture. the abbey is still a monastery and learning center, and the library's inventory includes 1,200 medieval manuscripts. europe's royalty liked meeting in vienna, anyway, and they loved to unwind at melk abbey. even napoleon slept here. and of course, as austrian getaways go, it's really hard to beat the salzkammergut, or "lakes district." the town of salzburg itself is a wonderland of overload, mozart, baroque fountains, medieval streets, and a towering fortress. and salzburg is surrounded by nature's stunning backdrop.

the salzkammergut is a scenic drive from salzburg. here, you can find your own sweet escapes, including forgiving mountain trails... and saint wolfgang's lake resort. traffic in resort towns can be a pain, but it's not too bad if you arrive early. that is, if you'd like to stop in saint wolfgang to see for yourself why the 12th-century saint built a hermitage here and why pilgrims followed faithfully. then, you can head out to dachstein mountain, where cable cars climb to the top in a thrilling 20 minutes for breath-taking views that strip away any ragged travel edges.

ok, now we've moved away from city destinations and their easy shots at getaways into regions where the whole area could be considered a getaway." so, are you ready for a glimpse of laid-back france? let's head for provence. with a car, it's easy to explore at your own pace-- enticing villages pull you in. provence's countryside quite simply encourages meandering, and one charming and restful village leads to another. narrow alleys, houses crowded together, solid stone buildings, crumbling ruins: part of the fun in visiting these villages is trying to imagine the life that pulsed through them. what's always interesting to me is--what were people eating? well, they weren't slurping down spaghetti or corn or potatoes.

not even chocolate, coffee, tea, rice or tomatoes. those things arrived in europe centuries later. instead, the medieval housewife, say the wife of a successful merchant, headed to the market every day-- remember, there was no refrigeration. in aix-en provence, a medieval housewife might still find her way. centuries ago, she was picking over live chickens and ducks... live fish and eels swimming in water barrels, salted beef, meat-filled pastries, cheese, wine, oil, and bread-- not a bad selection. [speaking french] she added flavors from her own kitchen garden with onions, leeks, greens; herbs like basil, sage, and parsley; and fruits like apples and pears.

[speaking french] she sprinkled flower petals in stews and salads: day lilies, lavenders, peonies, marigolds, and sunflowers. if the lady had extra pennies, she splurged on spices brought in from the mysterious east. it's a tradition as old as the villages of provence. once a week, every village, no matter how large or small, has an outdoor market. try to find out when it is. most guidebooks will tell you, or ask any local. now, on to italia! if high-energy italy is your dream destination, believe it or not, there are places to get away. florence, however, is not one of them.

wandering here is like floating in an overwhelming time warp with the awesome renaissance halting you at every turn. i love it. however, a wander down narrow streets or along the ponte vecchio offers no hint of escape. to complicate matters, the nearby medieval hill towns of tuscany bulge with tourists much of the summer. there's a reason-- they are magic towns. so, how do you find italy's magic without feeling trampled? take heart. this is when you rent a car. and if you're bullish on avoiding crowds, drive past and beyond the big name hill towns. the provinces of tuscany and umbria are breathtakingly rural, historic, and abundant.

part of the magic is discovering a village on your own. just south of siena lies the region of val d orcia. one look at the lush vineyards, and you feel wine tasting in the air. the upscale wine brunello di montalcino is the pride of the fortified town. castello banfi winery-- once an 11th-century fortress-- sits on 7,000 acres high above montalcino and provides a full range of tuscan wines. both brunello and chianti wines stem from the sangiovese grape.

in tuscany, you can tour a winery at almost every turn, and it's a lively way to learn about wine and to meet locals. man: in fact, the name of sangiovese means "the blood of zeus." maxa: of zeus? zeus. maxa: i did not know that sangiovese meant "the blood of zeus." man: yeah. maxa: naturally, food tasting goes along with wine tasting. one must always make time for a tuscan meal. as you've noticed, the roads less traveled are no longer the secret of a few savvy explorers. more and more tourists are asking locals for advice. they plan with care, seek out the back roads, and are discovering the richness of europe's past.

they have found orvieto, for example, halfway between florence and rome at 1,000 feet up. they come for the ancient walls, medieval character, and a startling cathedral facade of marble and mosaic. these sights touch the surface of the region's culture and lead to quieter places. for me, a light bulb went off underneath orvieto in the ruins of an ancient city-- velzna or volsinii. the etruscan haunt goes back to the seventh century b.c. in this netherworld, you really do grasp how civilizations are layered on top of each other.

which triggers us to head southwest of orvieto to a string of less traveled hill towns and my favorite, pitigliano. [man singing opera] these very old settlements are nestled into the hills of steep volcanic tuffa rock characteristic of south tuscany. walking the streets in pitigliano, you're swept way into the past. nearby cave-tombs give evidence of etruscan settlements dating to several centuries before christ. then, pitigliano was nicknamed "little jerusalem" because of a vibrant, large jewish community that once existed here,

migrating from rome as early as the 1400s. at dusk, pitigliano and its neighbors, such as the well-fortified sorano, appear to float up and out over the rocky hillsides. they're ideal spots for wandering, musing on events that passed here, and enjoying your precious downtime. oh, grazie. prego! mmm! mmm! mmm! south tuscany shines among images of europe's great getaways. we've barely touched on our travel escapes for catching your breath all over europe. there are the bucolic getaways in the english countryside and the awesome hilltop ruins of sicily. that isolated greek beach and the hidden villas are still calling.

not to mention france's loire valley, cradling acres of renaissance castles and gardens. true, travelers before us found many of europe's tranquil places-- medieval hill towns, hidden forest trails, blue-water coves. also true, countless such discoveries are no longer secret. but there are others. with a bit of adventure, a word from locals, and time for the quest, we will find our get-aways with no traffic and no tourist hassle. announcer: all videos and dvds of smart travels are $24.95 each plus shipping. call... for the 3-episode dvd or video on classical europe, renaissance europe, and great getaways. details of all of our travel videos, dvds, and best guidebooks are on the web at... please have a credit card ready and call... or visit us on the web. captioning made possible by u.s. department of education

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- announcer: smart travels is made possible in part by expedia.com, a travel website that offers travelers a variety of ways to find the trip they're looking for, including flights, hotels, and vacation packages.