Day 4 - The White Mountains of New Hampshire

The White Mountains in New Hampshire are sometimes called the rooftop of New England. And with its many forests with dense vegetation, it is a very popular place for nature lovers ... and tourists in the fall. Because with its variety of trees and therefore variety of foliage you also get a variety of discoloration, so  you are not alone here in the fall. Cars, motorcycles, pickups, buses, caravans, mobile homes and a single sports car form a train on the roads through the White Mountains. All with the same goal: admire the discoloration of the leaves. And that happens under our nose. It is just the beginning, but the discoloration has started.

The White Mountains are worth a visit in every season. With 2,000 km of hiking trails, babbling brooks, covered bridges, quiet streams, ponds, lakes and waterfalls which water dies on the rocky bottom, you immediately feel  one with nature. A walk through all that beauty makes you  immediately zen. An ideal way to start the day. The covered bridges, designed to protect the wooden path, are the perfect location to watch fishermen cast a rod. And from here you also have a beautiful view of the trees along the waterfront. The foliage of the age-old oak turns into maroon leaves, the red maple is figuratively on fire with its bright red leaves, and the birches turn into a golden glow. And then there are the everlasting green conifers. How beautiful this will look in just a few days when the Indian Summer will be at its peak. 

There are also some popular ski resorts in the White Mountains, known for their adventurous descent on a snow white carpet. On Mount Cannon there is a ski lift waiting for us. Not for skiing because the snow still needs a few weeks to come. The cable car takes you in 8 minutes to the top at more than 1,200 m from where you have a panoramic view of the surroundings. Not suitable for people with a fear of heights. This means eight minutes of anxiety for me while the greenery passes beneath my feet and the cabin rocks back and forth. But I hang in there with the prospect of all the beauty that I will soon see from the top.

Via the Kancamagus highway, seen as the most beautiful fall route, we continue to Bretton Woods, another notorious ski area and our overnight stay. We have the incredible privilege of staying at the Mount Washington Hotel and Resort, beautifully situated with Mount Washington in the background. We are in one of the outbuildings with a frontal view of the hotel. The hotel is really a grand hotel and not only because of its immense size with no less than 200 rooms. But it is the history that sparks the imagination. The hotel was built by Joseph Stickney in 1900 with a cost of around $ 1.7 million. The hotel was built in Renaissance style, completely in granite, for which he brought 250 craftsmen from Italy. After his death, his wife continued to build on the beautiful piece of art that it is today. Apart from the architectural gem and the well-kept interior, the hotel also has a historic value. In 1944 the Bretton Woods Conference took place here. During that conference, the World Bank, IMF and the exchange rate system were established. The Gold Room where the signing took place, still looks just like it did then.

An 18-hole golf course surrounds the hotel. From the Victorian terrace looping the hotel  and with a cocktail in hand, you can enjoy the peace and quiet that darkness brings. After my second drink, the hotel starts to look suspiciously like the hotel from The Shining. Author Stephen King was born in neighboring Maine and still lives there. Now that I am giving free rein to my thoughts, I have the idea that all those long dark winter evenings in this peaceful part of the country, can make a person get weird thoughts. Strange thoughts that are undoubtedly the inspiration for Stephen King's horror books. Luckily I don't have those thoughts yet. Even a ride on the cable car to a height that was dizzying for me hasn’t changed that. I enjoy my delicious cocktail, the coolness of the evening, the healing air full of oxygen, the flaring fire pits at the bottom of the terrace and the stylish service of the hotel. I really feel like the ‘grand lady of the hotel’ here.