USRJ S3 Ep02 Miami

Miami – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 2

In Miami I stay at the DoubleTree Grand, Biscayne Bay, visit the Miami Beach Botanical Garden and travel to Amtrak’s Miami station to join the Silver Star.

View the photographs that accompany this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Getting to the Miami Beach Botanical Garden:

I have a good night’s sleep at the DoubleTree Grand, Biscayne Bay. After a relaxed breakfast in Primo’s Kitchen I book an Uber to take me to the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens.

I’ve never used Uber before although I did set up an account in the UK. I’m using a US SIM  card and miraculously I’m able to change my phone number to the one I’m using in the US.

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden:

My Uber drops me at the main gate for the Miami Beach Botanical Garden. I’m sure that the driver has never been here before!

The garden dates from 1962 and is built on land that was previously used as a golf course. Sadly, over time, the civic garden falls into disrepair. In 1996 a group of residents approach the city to create the Miami Beach Garden Conservancy. Today this oasis is owned by the city and managed by the Conservancy. It is a dynamic venue for arts and cultural programming, environmental education and cultural tourism.

Oh, and well worth a visit!

Amtrak Miami station:

I check out of  the DoubleTree Grand and travel to the station which is at the end of the line. The station first opened in 1978 and is snot connected to the local rail network.

Next up:

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this podcast. Please join me in a couple of weeks when I start my journey on the Silver Star to New York.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

The website for the Opera House restaurant is here.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses the theme, Steam Railway and Horticulture  and Joseph McDade licences Ambient Rock – On the Verge for use in this podcast.

© The MrT Podcast Studio 2019 – 2023

TH2022 Ep10 Hanseatic League

Season 2022 – Talk 10 – The Hanseatic League

In The Hanseatic League Richard Thomas tells us the amazing story of this operation which controlled much of the trade between northern European countries from the late 13th to the late 17th Century.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

Introduction:

The Northern Crusades lead to the Germans settling in and controlling the southern Baltic in the second half of the 12th Century. At this time the Holy Roman Empire is very powerful.

England, Denmark and Sweden are developing as ‘nation states’ at the same time.

Trade is badly affected in the mid 14th Century because the Black Death kills 30% of the population in northern Europe.

The Renaissance begins in Italy and spreads, because of the trading relationships, across Europe. This is a period where the Arts and Sciences flourish. From 1440 ideas circulate even faster because printing is born and paper becomes important.

It is a time of great exploration as Columbus discovers the ‘New World’ and Vasco da Gama reaches India.

The Holy Roman Empire is powerful but it has to contend with Martin Luther and free thinking.

Lubeck:

Known as the ‘Queen of the Hansa’ because Lubeck is the heart of the whole trading organisation. In 1226 it becomes a free imperial city under the Holy Roman Empire. This base for merchants develops the trade in Baltic herring and salt.

Other cities join with Lubeck through alliances and German merchants spread to Russia, England and Poland.

London:

The city becomes a major clearing house, or Kontor, when the Hansa is granted trading privileges in 1266. These exempt the Hansa from duties and taxes. The ‘Steelyard‘, their London base, is established in 1282. It is a walled enclave of about 1.3 acres with all the buildings they need for their activities. Their warehouses are on the edge of the Thames.

Nothing of the original Steelyard exists today because it burns to the ground in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Canon Street station is above the site and a nightclub, called the Steelyard, is in the railway arches under the station.

Decline:

From the 16th Century the Hansa started to decline because of many factors. These include the Ottomans taking Constantinople, the herring stocks moving from the Baltic to the North Sea and the growth of stronger ‘nation states’ wanting their own trade agreements.

Listen to the podcast and hear Richard Thomas tell the full story of this great trading organisation.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History  Group. It is not possible to use many of the images in the original talk for copyright reasons.

The Farnham u3a site is here.

You can also listen using Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use as the theme music.

© The MrT Podcast Studio and Farnham u3a World History Group 2018 – 2023

USRJ S3 Ep01 From London to Miami

From London to Miami – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 1

From London to Miami charts my journey from the Premier Inn near Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport to the DoubleTree Grand, Biscayne Bay in Miami.

View the photographs that accompany this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

To Terminal 5:

Because of a rail strike on the 23rd June I decide to stay overnight at the Premier Inn Terminal 5 so that I won’t get caught in traffic on my way to Heathrow.

After a peaceful night I cross the road and take the 423 bus to the terminal, a journey of around 5 minutes. The fare (January 2023) is £1.65. You can pay this by a contactless or Oyster card although I was able to used my ‘antique person’s bus pass’.

In addition the bus saves me the £5.00 terminal drop off charge at Heathrow.

At Terminal 5:

I take the lift from the bus station to the Terminal 5 Departures level and then quickly pass through check-in and security. Once I’m air-side I decide to have breakfast whilst waiting for my flight. Looking through the windows I see across the airport and watch all the activity.

My British Airways flight leaves from Terminal 5C so I take the ‘Transit’ in good time to board the Airbus A380. We wait for some time at the gate as there are delays. Fortunately it is a short taxi to the runway.

Miami:

We land late because the airport has a runway out of action because of an incident a few days ago. I pass through immigration, collect my bag from the carousel and get a taxi to my hotel, the DoubleTree Grand Biscayne Bay, which is on the water’s edge.

Next up:

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this podcast. Please join me in two weeks time when I spend a day in Miami and visit the botanic gardens.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses the theme, Steam Railway, for use in this podcast.

The Flower Duet by Delibes and played by Mosaica Music is from MUSOPEN. It has the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

© The MrT Podcast Studio 2019 – 2023