Mercedes-Benz scene — Fall/Winter 2014

mercedes-magazine.ca

issn

1925-4148

14· FALL/WINTER

streets ahead Behind the wheel of the S-Class Coupe

Orient express Canada’s new Chinese food rethink the ranch

Cozy in vienna The Austrian capital’s hidden heart

Getaways go zen in B.C.’s cowboy country

Colours of style

Which colour is your delight?

Collection Genuine Delight

SAN FRANCISCO

Shreve & Co tel. +1 415 860 4010

BERLIN KaDeWe • Hotel Adlon tel. +49 7231 28 40 128

TOKYO

The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo tel. +81 3 6434 8070

HONG KONG ifc mall • Harbour City tel. +852 2540 1028

CALGARY: J. Vair Anderson, tel. 403 266 1669 • VANCOUVER: Montecristo, tel. 604 263 3611 • TORONTO: Bandiera, tel. 416 642 8806 www.wellendorff.com

i n

14 20

t h is

issu e

Fa s c i n at i o n From dining to style, Canadian culture stays ahead of the curve.

DESIGN

b r i g h t i de a s

26

EVENTS

c h i l l Fac t o r

42

AREA

r i v e r s da l e R e du x

SCENE

e a s t e r n p rom i s e

76

G E TA W AY

r e t h i n k t h e r a nc h In British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin region, ranches look east – way east – for inspiration.

96

S TAY S

T ow n & C ou n t ry Five of our favourite getaways around the globe, from rainforest resorts to ultramodern chalets.

120

SOCIET Y

p e o p l e & p l ac e s Step out with Mercedes-Benz at this season’s hottest events, from fashion weeks to boat shows.

122

ne x t level

A C- Class for t h e Ag e s The 2015 C 400 4MATIC is the result of an astounding evolution of form and function.

JETSET

f i n di ng gem ü tl ich k eit i n v i en na We go in search of that intangible sense of well-being that the German language so aptly captures.

photo hubert k ang

What to see and do in Saskatoon’s most storied neighbourhood.

118

From secret kitchens to celebrity chefs, the face (and taste) of Chinese food in Canada is changing for the better.

Bars, restaurants and even art galleries are warming up to the fact that the summer patio season needn’t be cut short by winter.

24

fr a me a nd fortune How Alberta-born Todd Towers went from cattle rustling to curating art collections.

Let the sunshine in well into winter with bold, bright furniture, accessories and lighting in yellow, nature’s cheeriest shade.

22

S TA R P R O F I L E

8

14• fa l l / wint er

bu l l e t i n

10

PRESIDENT ’ S NOTE

28

p l ay t i m e

66

treasure hunter

72

Fearless

Valencia has all the makings of a modern vacation paradise: beaches, spectacular architecture and the scent of orange blossoms.

The instinct of a hunter is called for in Cheyenne Westphal’s job: She looks after the multimillion-dollar contemporary art business at Sotheby’s auction house.

Just off the coast of Portugal lurk the largest ocean waves in the world.

That’s when Garrett McNamara ventures into the water.

sp o t l igh t

84

h i g h f ly e r

102

I n n ovat i o n

116

Ic o ns

Circumnavigating the Earth on solar power alone seems a pipe dream, but Bertrand Piccard has no doubt that it can be done.

From gastro pubs to gallery exhibits, here’s where hightech meets fine design on the international stage.

Parking, as a concept, frequently moves people into action, as these unusual facts reveal.

38 52

56

90

o n t h e roa d aga i n We speak to world-renowned classic vehicle restorer Rudi Koniczek, whose specialty is the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.

fit for the cock pit We paid a visit to Paul Di Resta and his Mercedes-Benz teammates at their pre-season DTM training camp.

l u x u ry l i n e r A test drive in the top-of-therange S-Class Coupe introduces you to new levels of perfection.

ta k i n g w i n g The last Gullwing left the factory this summer. Six experts and enthusiasts describe the fascination of this supercar.

9

, PRESIDENT S NOTE

E

ver since its debut as a concept model, the S-Class Coupe has mesmerized onlookers. And while most vehicles begin as concepts whose ideals often don’t actually ever get incorporated into the final product, it is extremely interesting to note that the all-new 2015 S-Class Coupe remained virtually unaltered from its creators’ initial vision. With its stylistically self-assured presence, exclusive appointments and refined sportiness, this stunning automobile combines the classic proportions of a large, sporty coupe with modern luxury and state-of-the-art technology. Many have already labelled the new S-Class Coupe one of the most beautiful Mercedes-Benz cars ever designed (if not the most). I’m sure you’ll have your own opinion once you read our story about it (page 56).

This fall marked the world debut of a new sports-car concept that has taken the world by storm: the Mercedes-AMG GT. Following the spectacular success of the SLS AMG, the new GT is the second vehicle to be fully and independently developed by MercedesAMG. There is no doubt it will thrill with its breathtaking design and supreme agility. As the curtain rises on the new supercar, six experts bid a fond farewell to the iconic SLS AMG (page 90).

As the SLS now enters the annals of automotive legends, we invite you to discover the work of a gentleman who has made it his personal mission to sustain the timeless essence of vintage Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Meet Rudi Koniczek of Rudi & Company, located

10

in Victoria, British Columbia (page 38), and learn how one man’s enduring passion has evolved into one of the busiest and most respected restoration businesses in the world.

Each Mercedes-Benz magazine brings together a variety of carefully curated content designed to inspire and fascinate our readers. In this issue, we travel to Vienna to discover the phenomenon of Gemütlichkeit, or the art of conveying the sense of wellbeing that espouses comfort, unhurriedness and coziness (page 96). Closer to home, we explore the bustling artistic and culinary scene of Riversdale, one of Saskatoon’s oldest neighbourhoods (page 24).

It is a truism that most Canadians love to rant about the weather. Whether it’s a genuine concern for what the future has in store for us or a mere small-talk topic, somehow the very real and unusual shift in weather patterns has created a collective bipolar ethos over the course of the last decades. We hope that this edition will transport you to your very own Gemütlichkeit and make the weather, no matter where you are in Canada, go from frightful to delightful.

Sincerely,

Tim A. Reuss President & CEO

pu bl icat ion de ta i l s Published by Daimler AG · Communications · HPC E402 · D-70546 Stuttgart Responsible on behalf of the publishers Mirjam Bendak Publisher’s Council Dr. Joachim Schmidt (Chairman) · Daniel Bartos · Thomas Fröhlich · Lüder Fromm · Christoph Horn · Jörg Howe · Anders Sundt Jensen · Alexandra Süss Canada Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., 98 Vanderhoof Ave., Toronto, ON M4G 4C9 President and CEO Tim A. Reuss Vice-President, Marketing Gavin Allen Director, Communications and PR JoAnne Caza Manager, National Marketing Communications Virginie Aubert Supervisor, Customer Relationship Management Lisa Hynek Supervisor, PR Nathalie Gravel Coordinator Britany Murphy C o nc e p t a n d e di t i n g Germany Condé Nast Verlag GmbH · Karlstrasse 23 · D-80333 München Contributors Stefan Armbruster, Frank Bauer, Joao Bracourt, Jenny Buchholz, Leandro Castelao, Richard Moreta Castillo, Nathalie Chrobaczek-Prospero, Olwen Evans, Alexandra Gonzalez, Tom Haller, Christoph Henn, Philipp Horak, Steffen Jahn, Enno Kapitza, Ali Kepenek, Daniel Gebhart de Koek, Henriette Kuhrt, Gray Malin, Igor Panitz, Fatih Pinar, Benedikt Sarreiter, Anna Schafer, Jacob Schrenk, James Thew Canada Spafax Canada, 4200, boul. Saint-Laurent, suite 707, Montreal, QC H2W 2R2 President, content marketing Raymond Girard Executive vice-president, content marketing Nino Di Cara Vice-president, finance and operations Paula Pergantis Senior vice-president, content strategy Arjun Basu Director, brand alliances, marketing and PR Courtney MacNeil Senior strategist, luxury and lifestyle brands Christal Agostino Account manager, luxury and lifestyle brands Celyn Harding-Jones Editor-in-chief Natasha Mekhail Associate editor Eve Thomas Contributing editors Christopher Korchin, Mélanie Roy Digital editor Renée Morrison Editorial intern Genevieve Wright Contributors Heather Bruneau, Simon Clay, Andrew Findlay, Adam Leith Gollner, Marianne Helm, Ellen Himelfarb, Frances Juriansz, Hubert Kang, Jasmin Legatos, Thomas Linkel, Paige Magarrey, Celeste Moure, Sandra Raccanello, Sebastien Roy, Julie Saindon, Jessica Sample, Brian Taylor, Chantal Tranchemontagne, Nik West Art director Christine Houde Graphic designers André Bazinet, Marie Roques Production director Joelle Irvine Acting production director Maureen Veilly Production manager Jennifer Fagan Ad Production manager Mary Shaw Production and circulation coordinator Stephen Geraghty Fact checker Jessica Lockhart Proofreader Katie Moore Advertising sales Spafax Canada, 2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1020, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, sales@spafax.com Media director Laura Maurice, Tel. 416-350-2432, lmaurice@spafax.com Rights ©Copyright 2014 by Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. All rights reserved. Reprints and use, as a whole or in part, only with the express written permission of Daimler AG. No responsibility can be taken for unsolicited texts and photographs.

Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher or the editors. Some vehicles may be shown with non-Canadian equipment. Some vehicles may be shown without side marker lights. Some optional equipment may not be available on all models. For current information regarding the range of models, standard features, optional equipment and/or colours available in Canada and their pricing, contact your nearest authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer or visit mercedes-benz.ca.

All other content in this magazine has been compiled to the best of our knowledge, but no guarantee is given.

Mercedes-Benz magazine appears semi-annually, with editions published under cooperation or licence in 40 languages. Number 326, 60th year of publication, succeeding Mercedes – the magazine for people on the move and Mercedes-Benz in aller Welt.

Return undeliverables to Spafax Canada, 2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1020, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8 Printed on paper bleached without chlorine Printed in Canada ISSN 1925-4148 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement 41657520

mercedes-magazine.ca

Mercedes-Benz Customer Relations Centre 1-800-387-0100 12

Sonata Streamline Self-winding. Patented manufacture movement with Silicium technology and 24 hour alarm and countdown.

Titanium case with ceramic bezel.

Also available with 18ct gold bezel.

W W W . U LY S S E - N A R D I N . C O M

Goods

W h e n a p r o p e r t y is truly remarkable, selling it requires a certain refined approach. That’s where the Garage Sale comes in. Turning the traditional real estate process on its head, the luxury auction house, based in Kelowna, British Columbia, deals primarily with homes and properties above the $4 million mark, provides bespoke marketing and media and sells a limited number of tickets to its auction events for prospective prequalified clients. As if to demonstrate the unrivalled calibre of their service, the Garage Sale even offers an optional live-in experience – complete with gourmet chef and 24-hour concierge service – that allows buyers to test drive the property before the bidding begins.

Full House luxuryauction house . com

g o o d s

S T Y L E

C U L T U R E

T R A V E L

D I N I N G

fa s c i n at i o n ST Y L E

Built to Specs bonlook . com

Born out of a desire to offer fashionable and affordable prescription eyewear online, BonLook is the brainchild of Sophie Boulanger. The Montrealer, who has worked for the LVMH Group and Groupe Germain hotels, brings her flair for design to four fashion-forward collections a year, plus capsule collections every six weeks. After enjoying a healthy launch in the United States in 2010, BonLook specs are now available in Canada. The brand’s 50 fresh shapes and designs for women (available in three colours apiece) are now joined by a full new men’s collection. Interested in a pair? Use the site’s virtual Try-On feature to see what style suits you best.

14

dining

Raising the Bar nadegepatisserie.com

E v e r y 15 days from January to August, a ritual takes place in the Piura region of northern Peru. White cocoa beans are handpicked from trees as old as 150 years and are then transformed into coveted Illanka chocolate. For 2014, Chef Nadège Nourian of the famed Nadège patisserie shop in Toronto has developed the Illanka Collection, a Canadian exclusive-edition line made up of 63 percent of this grande cuvée cocoa. The distinct macarons, bonbons and tablets are infused with notes of blackberries, blueberries and black grapes, and feature a decadent creamy texture. Find them in retail shops or online.

D ININ G

Mix It Up barlelab . com

GOODS

Chef Style mediumrarechef . com

If you’ ve e ver been to Le Lab in Montreal, you’ll recognize it as the place to go for creative cocktails. The endless menu is full of libations, from the whimsical to the wicked, and the bar recently branched out to start selling artisanal syrups. Celebrated mixologist Gabrielle Panaccio started building Le Lab’s handcrafted, small-batch and 100-percent natural collection with four syrups: Tempête d’Épices, Gingembre Infernal, Fraîche Récolte and Tonic Ancestral. The latest additions to the lineup include Tiki 1930, a special blend of spices, ginger and lime, and Orgeade, a French almond syrup.

D o w n r i g h t d r a b c h e f u n i f o r m s are what sparked Calgary restaurant owner Cam Dobranski and former chef Andrew Dallman to launch Medium-Rare Chef Apparel. In 2006, the pair started the brand as a low-cost uniform company but soon began offering premium products. Their list of items – which includes sturdy aprons and waxed-canvas-and-leather knife rolls – has grown well beyond traditional chef gear. By working with designers across North America, they’ve homed in on what makes sense in the culinary world. Their latest offering, launched this fall, is a full lifestyle line – think T-shirts, hoodies and hats – that can easily transition from the kitchen to the street.

ST YLE

Against the Grain getyourbo . com

IF T H E R E ’ S o n e fashion item that announces a man’s confidence and sense of adventure, it’s the bow tie. Recently, a Vancouverbased company has upped the ante on this audacious menswear accessory. Bö by Mansouri, headed by the father-and-son team of Mehran and Saman Mansouri, takes its cues from reclaimed raw materials. Wood cut-offs from North American mills serve as the main body for the Bö ties; soft leather offcuts are fashioned into adjustable neck straps; and artisanal paper twine from Austria is dipped in natural dye and added to the pieces for a pop of colour.

15

STY L E

Depeche Mode maison matthewgallagher . com

TR AV E L

Best Case Scenario ebbyrane.com

I n s p i r e d b y travelling

Italian -tr ained, Nova Scotia-born designer Matthew Gallagher has been quick to catch the eye of the global fashion industry. After training at the Istituto Europea di Design in Milan, he launched his eponymous line of women’s wear, with attention to detail being his focal point. Gallagher has only been on the scene since 2013, but he previously did a stint as a freelance illustrator for Canadian luxury brand Ports 1961, and his collection debuted at World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto last year. Collection availability is only through private consultation or custom order with a made-to-measure, atelier experience: Gallagher imports only the most exquisite fabrics from Italy and will create your perfect fit by hand.

chests, the Quartermaster carry-on case from Ebby Rane is carefully crafted to elevate the travel experience. Toronto’s Sonja M. Salmon, a former corporate lawyer and frequent flier, designed the leather-trimmed valise, which helps direct your packing through a clever patented system of carryalls, each one embossed with gold lettering. There are bags for laundry and beachwear, sleeves for footwear and soft cases for cosmetics, jewellery and liquids, as well as a stylish document pouch that can easily double as a clutch. Available in three colour combinations, the Quartermaster turns heads whether your runway is the catwalk or the pedway to Terminal 2.

DINING

Ripe for the Sipping domainevb . ca

I n t h e s u m m e r o f 19 3 8 , tomatoes grew like weeds in Omer Miche’s garden in Belgium.

Perplexed about what to do with his overabundant harvest, he eventually put the fruit through a process of pressure, steeping and fermentation that transformed it into a wine-like elixir. The recipe has been closely guarded for four generations – until now. At Domaine de la Vallée du Bras in Quebec’s Charlevoix mountains, Pascal Miche, inspired by his ancestor’s inventive technique, is producing an heirloom-tomato aperitif wine called Omerto. The standout Moelleux vintage, light and golden with vegetable notes, is one secret worth sharing.

16

bugatti-fashion.com | 1.800.363.7442

C U LT U R E

T R AV E L

Second Skin

Notable Nosh rkkitchen . com

dermalogica . ca

C a l g a r i a n R e b ecc a K le m ke is a descendant of the city’s first family of food – her uncle, Pat O’Connor, is the founding owner of Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts and a champion of Western Canadian cuisine. So when she released Decades of Decadence in 2012, a compilation of 300 family recipes, the cookbook was an instant hit.

Decades of Decadence was named Best Culinary History Book in Canada, then was shortlisted and named Best in the World in the historical recipes category at the 2014 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Beijing, China, this past May. Klemke’s next literary foray: a mouth-watering dessert cookbook.

O l d Mo n tre a L just got a facelift – no surgery required. Earlier this year, cult skincare line Dermalogica selected the neighbourhood for its first Canadian “hybrid” Learning Centre, a spot where skin therapists can train, but also where clients can come to shop, get complimentary Skin Bar consultations and book a MicroZone treatment, which focuses on one specific issue (tired eyes, chapped lips, breakouts) and targets it in 20 minutes. But just because the brand is cutting-edge doesn’t mean you should expect a clinical atmosphere. The centre’s design reflects the area’s famous old-world charm, with accents like exposed brick walls and vintage medicine cabinets.

Celebrate in Style 1

3

2

Whether as a hostess gift – or for yourself – festive pieces from the Mercedes-Benz Collection make a home glow with holiday cheer. Made of hand-blown glass, star logo tealight holders (1) cast subtle Mercedes-Benz shadows and create an intimate ambience for dinner parties. The star-patterned porcelain mug (2) makes an elegant addition to winter’s hot-cocoa ritual. Surprise a Mercedes-Benz lover with the set of four glass ornaments (3), gold with star detailing and logo, while decorating the Christmas tree. thecollection.ca

18

REAL BEAUTY LiEs wiThin ThE wALLs

Perfection is in our bones. attend our free information sessions. register today! BONEstructure.ca san francisco . VancouVer . calgary . edmonton . regina . Winnipeg . toronto . ottaWa . montréal . st John’s

©2014 BONE Structure Inc. | BONE Structure. The illustrations can differ from the actual model. Architectural works relative to BONE Structure homes are subject to international copyright laws.

The simple fact of using or copying the plans of BONE Structure Inc. in whole or in part or to fabricate or build directly or indirectly a home based, in whole or in part, on plans, scale-models or model homes of the former, without the express consent of BONE Structure Inc. might constitute an infringement to international copyright laws.

f a s c i n a t i o n :

d e s i g n

2

1

3

Bright Ideas Let the sunshine in well into winter with bold, bright furniture, accessories and lighting in nature’s cheeriest shade, yellow. To make the most of the primary hue, choose one stand-alone item and keep it simple, or take the look a step further by combining yellow pieces with geometric accents to create a show-stopping space. w o r d s Pa i g e M a g a r r e y

20

1

2

Primo Pendant

String Theory

Since 2011, French designers Julie Ferrero and Guillaume Darnajou of Montreal studio Otra have been focused on steering Canadians toward a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Case in point: Otra’s geometric Craft lampshade, a DIY kit that consists of a recycled cardboard shade that can be assembled two different ways, without any tools.

Alberta-born, Toronto-based designer Laura Carwardine’s exploration into the relationship between furniture and oversize textiles resulted in the Loom Chair prototype, which she launched at the Interior Design Show in Toronto. The armchair is framed in wooden dowel with a single piece of extra-thick, citrus-hued rope wrapped around the frame to create the seat and back.

otra - design . com

lauracarwardine . com

5

4 6

3

4

5

6

Centre Stage

On Golden Ground

High Wire

Blown Away

veroniquelamarre . com

jardindeville . com

The best centrepieces don’t need any further adornment. Windsor studio Tsunami Glassworks’ Leaf decorative platters, with flowing, organic lines and gentle curves, look great even when they’re empty. The vessels, shown here in strawberry/saffron, come in four sizes (ranging in width from 23 centimetres to 76 centimetres) each with varied diameters and thicknesses, owing to the handblown technique.

Janna Watson and Nico Soule of new Toronto studio Watson Soule launched their first collection of vibrant, playful rugs – more art pieces than floor coverings – earlier this year. The Fools Gold rug, hand-tufted by the designers in 100-percent wool, is naturally stainresistant. Watson and Soule oversee every stage of production to ensure it’s consistent with their mandates of topof-the-line-quality and ethical labour.

Sometimes the most striking designs are the simplest. To create her minimalist Popsi lamp, Véronique Lamarre – a former product developer for lighting manufacturers who started her own workshop to focus on recycled materials – paired an emptied tourie, a glass wine jug, with a 60-watt bulb and coloured cord (shown here in yellow). The lamp adheres to CSA standards and comes in a variety of sizes.

Family-owned Quebec furniture manufacturer and retailer Jardin de Ville recently launched Blow Up, a collection that includes a club chair, loveseat and ottoman with thick, rounded pads in cheery yellow. Designer Céline Godin achieved the effect of inflatable furniture (minus the vinyl) by covering a durable aluminum frame in Sunbrellaupholstered pads. The result: ultra-soft seats suitable for indoors and out.

tsunamiglassworks . com

watsonsoule . com

21

f a s c i n a t i o n :

E V E NTS

Chill Factor

All across Canada, bars, restaurants and even art galleries are warming up to the fact that the summer patio season needn’t be cut short by that little inconvenience called winter. The new MO: Build a winter patio and they will come. And they will stay, provided there are plenty of creature comforts.

Blankets? Check. Fireplaces? Check. Soul-warming drinks?

Check. All of it proving that just because the mercury drops off the scene, it doesn’t mean we have to. w o r d s Celes t e M o u re

Winnipeg

RAW:Almond rawgallery . ca

From January 26 to February 13, some of Winnipeg’s top culinary artists team up with chef Mandel Hitzer at RAW:Almond, a pop-up restaurant where gastronomy meets design.

A collaboration between Winnipeg’s RAW Gallery and Deer + Almond restaurant, the tented dining room is set at the fork of the frozen Assiniboine and Red rivers. Sheepskin throws, blankets and heat lanterns keep things toasty while you toast chef Hitzer’s wine-paired menu.

22

Edmonton

Parka Patio latitude 53. org / parka

On January 30, in-the-know Edmontonians will hit up Latitude 53, a contemporary art centre that features live music, installation art, DJs and a live auction. Outside the gallery doors, find a heated patio where, in past years, local artists have created chilled-out environments – an igloo, a winter tunnel, an ice bar – in which guests sip signature cocktails served through an ice luge.

Toronto

Rose and Sons Big Crow roseandsonsbigcrow . com

This outdoor covered patio evokes a vibe of urban winter glamping thanks to old-fashioned lanterns that hang from the rafters and heat lamps that keep the mercury up. Wrap a wooly blanket around your lap, order a pint of Santa’s Stache (a citrusy spiced ale) and you might just feel like you’re in the Canadian wild – minus the hassle of having to leave town.

M ONTREA L

Nordic Terrace at the Foodlab

Whistler

Fifty Two 80 Eatery + Bar

sat . qc . ca / en / terrassenordique

Digital culture and nomadic traditions fuse on the terrace of the Société des Arts Technologiques (better known as SAT), where a yurt becomes the hot place to be on cold winter nights. Here, low tables, fur-wrapped benches, pine tree branches and twinkling Christmas lights set the winterland scene while patrons warm up with mugs of hot grog.

fourseasons . com / whistler

photos Marianne Helm (r aw ); Mack d. male (l atitude 53); Sébastien roy (foodl ab)

Featuring stunning views of Whistler Mountain, this outdoor patio at the Four Seasons hotel welcomes the après-ski crowd, snow gear and all. The blankets and fire pits are there, of course, but this bar throws in live music and a kids’ menu (the five-andunder set eat free). Don’t miss the delish spicy chicken wings smothered in sweet chili sauce and complimentary s’mores station.

Va n c o u v e r

The Roof at Black + Blue the - roof . ca

Vancouver winters are so notoriously wet that locals affectionately refer to the rain as liquid sunshine. But this downtown steakhouse keeps damp weather from spoiling the fun with an expandable roof over the patio. Diners sit on comfy sofas arranged around individual hearths, while two surrounding walls of glassed-in fireplaces offer peekaboo views of the city. The menu by executive chef Zuzana Harsaghy is also fiery with spicy eats like bulgogi beef ribs with housemade kimchi and pork belly steamed buns with pickled rutabaga.

23

f a s c i n a t i o n :

A R E A

1

2

3

Riversdale Redux What to see and do in Saskatoon’s most storied neighbourhood. w o r d s C H R I S T O P H E R KO R C H I N

24

T R AV E L

Goods

The Scene

The Shops

There’s no denying it: For several decades, Saskatoon’s Riversdale neighbourhood was tougher than a Prairie winter. But yesterday’s notoriety has given way to a new spirit of innovation and cooperation.

An influx of artists, designers, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs has transformed its legendary haunts, and the arrival of big money in the form of residential-commercial projects like The Banks is giving the former Boomtown an exciting second act. Saskatonians themselves barely recognize the new Riversdale, and its selection as Downtown of the Month last June by the International Downtown Association shows the world is also taking notice.

Many of the dry goods shops are gone, but life goes on. Adilman’s Department Store now houses designer furniture store Anthology and, for a shopping break, Little Bird Patisserie & Cafe. Head a few doors down to Green Ark Collected Home for eco-friendly furniture – much of the wood and other materials used in the designs is sustainably-harvested, salvaged and repurposed. And who knew that Saskatoon could support an ultrahigh-end homeware emporium, located in a former springworks factory, like GA Interiors? For a change of tune, when the furniture shopping is done, head to Village Guitar & Amp Co. for a vintage Fender or Les Paul.

4

1 The Hollows preserved a Riversdale icon, the vintage Golden Dragon restaurant sign.

2 Green Ark sells upcycled and eco-friendly housewares. 3 The Roxy is one of Canada’s few remaining early 20th-century cinemas.

4 The lush setting of River Landing on the South Saskatchewan inspires long summer strolls and wintertime cross-country skiing.

5 Damara Day Spa is the place to unwind Saskatonian style. 6 Sustainably harvested fare at The Hollows. 7 The modern interior of nouveau-Chinese restaurant Odd Couple.

5

7

6

photo heather bruneau (golden dragon sign)

c u lt u r e

The Arts

The Spa

The River

Somehow, the glorious Spanish Missionstyle Roxy Theatre, built in 1930, survived the threat of wrecking balls and wellmeaning makeovers to re-establish itself as the district’s cultural nexus. Buy a ticket to this jewel on 20th Street to catch an auteur film or a special screening of a silent classic like Nosferatu or The Lost World – with musical accompaniment by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra – in one of the country’s last “atmospheric” theatres. Head a block west to the street-level gallery space at AKA ArtistRun for challenging work by local and international artists, then stop in at the Underground Café for purchasable art on the walls – and indie bands at night.

Damara Day Spa is a little outside Riversdale proper, but it’s well worth the 10-minute walk. There’s a menu specifically designed for men, including a deep cleansing facial, featuring Skin Regimen products, plus foot and hand treatments. And both sexes can sample the full range of therapeutic massages and skin treatments. There’s even a selection of Little Goddess treatments for kids 12 and under. Another plus? The spa’s location in the Delta Bessborough. The classic railway hotel has been popping up in Saskatoon postcards since 1935 and is the perfect place to prolong that post-massage bliss.

If Saskatoon really is the Paris of the Prairies, then the South Saskatchewan River is its Seine. One of the nation’s great waterways, the South Saskatchewan is “middle-aged” by the time it reaches Saskatoon, so it still moves pretty swiftly and is full of swirls and surprises. You can board a cruise near the Mendel Art Gallery on the 20-metre Prairie Lily to tour the town and the Meewasin Valley, or simply explore the revitalized River Landing area on foot.

The truly intrepid can head to Escape Sports down on 19th – they’ll get you on the river on a stand-up paddleboard in the summer, or set you up with Nordic skis, a kick sled or snowshoes in the winter.

Dining

The Menu You wouldn’t have wanted to mention the word quiche in these parts 20 years ago, but now you can order one – in fact, an excellent one, like the sweet potato version – at Two Gun Quiche House. Riversdale is also home to Saskatoon’s Chinatown, and the culinary tradition continues at Asian eateries like Odd Couple. The landmark Golden Dragon, alas, is gone, but not to worry: The Hollows, which has taken its place and serves sustainably sourced foods such as elk carpaccio, beetroot salad and steelhead trout, has cleverly kept the famous neon sign, the dishware, even the matchbooks.

25

p r o f i l e

Frame and Fortune How Alberta-born Todd Towers went from cattle rustling to curating art collections for the world’s most luxurious hotels. w o r d s E L L E N H I M E L FA R B

The Agrarian process was a big lens of inspiration. It was a good incubator for me. todd towers

26

B Baku, Azerbaijan, doesn’t roll off the tongue like Shanghai or Dubai, but the Near Eastern capital is revelling in a cultural renaissance that can rival any city in the world. It’s the art you notice first: It spills from galleries, surges from street corners and transforms public spaces into living museums.

In the midst of this boom, the newly opened Fairmont Baku hotel occupies 36 floors in what is arguably the city’s most famous piece of architecture: the Flame Towers, a trio of fireshaped skyscrapers that gleam silver by day and light up with animated LED displays by night. As I step into the hotel’s soaring 17-metre-high lobby, the first thing that strikes me is a wall covering washed in aqua and pierced with decorative metal finials that reaches more than halfway to the ceiling and spans two reception desks. To its right I spot a jubilant collage by Reza Derakshani; opposite, a delicate paper sculpture by Hadieh Shafie.

In fact, everywhere my eyes come to rest hangs a spellbinding piece of art.

“Who assembled the collection?” I ask a concierge in Prada glasses, expecting the name of a double-barrelled aristocrat – or something Swiss.

“Farmboy,” she replies, with a look suggesting she hardly believes it herself.

She means Farmboy Fine Arts, a Vancouverbased consultancy that has curated art collections for luxury hotel brands from the W to the Four Seasons. Its founder, Todd Towers, is the farm boy in question, reared 10,000 kilometres from the Caspian Sea in Red Deer, Alberta.

The sixth-generation cattle rancher left the family farm for art school in the 1990s. He describes the white-cube galleries that he saw in urban centres around the world on his postart-school travels as “extremely intimidating.”

You wouldn’t know it to see him now: With his smart blazer, GQ accessories, stubble just so, Towers seems better suited to the back of a limo than the back of a bronco. But the fresh face has remained, along with the conviction that art should be accessible to all.

The nickname stuck, too. Towers’ fellow students coined it as they watched him rush home on weekends to wrangle cattle. When it came

photo Vancouver Creatives ( Todd Towers)

S t a r

1

3

4

2

Off the Wall Todd Towers shares five of Farmboy’s most memorable projects.

1 R o s e woo d Ho t e l G e org i a , V a n c o u v e r , Canada With this project we wanted the work to jump out at you, and kept it local with commissions from Vancouver-based artists Brent Comber, Derek Root, David Robinson and Douglas Coupland.

5

2 Fairmont Baku,

4 Eastern

B a k u , A z e rb a i j a n

M a n grov e s , Ab u D h a b i , UAE

Before Soviet rule, everyone had been to Baku. Mongols, Iranians and Muslims alternately ruled it, then came the Rockefellers and Rothschilds in the first oil boom.

That diverse history is mirrored in the work.

Anantara wanted a high percentage of Emirati talent. And it was easier this time, because people knew who we were and the artists were forthcoming about getting their work in the hotel.

3 Ya s I s l a n d , Ab u D h a b i , UAE

5 Bell agio, L a s V e g a s , USA

The landscape looked like Tatooine from Star Wars when I showed up. I thought, You can’t be serious. But by the end we opened seven hotels at once with thousands of pieces of art.

The botanic-inspired art collection of nearly 4,000 pieces featured in the Bellagio guest rooms draws its inspiration from the hotel’s own Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.

time to name his fledgling art consultancy, he reckoned Farmboy epitomized its grassroots spirit. Towers now employs more than 20 consultants who operate in a rarefied world of Richters and Raphaels. Yet the model has never strayed far from the collective ideal.

“The agrarian process was a big lens of inspiration,” he says. “It was a good incubator for me.”

Towers describes his fondness for art as “a love that came up within me.” But after graduation he traded the solitary painter’s existence for a “cross-pollination” of artists and buyers and launched a cooperative studio. “In farming you can’t do anything alone – the scale’s too big,” he says. “I put that principle of working collectively into Farmboy.”

Early high-flying clients disappeared when the tech bubble burst. Then 9/11 pushed art further down the agenda. “It was three years of starving.” But when farming is in your DNA, says Towers, “you don’t give up easily.” Things bounced back when boutique hotels began to emerge as social and cultural hothouses.

Suddenly there was an audience for art outside the gallery.

In 2004, Towers convinced the W Hotels group to start procuring art – as both an investment and a lure for travellers without time to explore the local culture. The W Seoul launched that year with 2,000 works selected by Farmboy staff. The project revolutionized the company – and the experiential direction of design hotels. “In terms of scale,” says Towers, “it grew really quickly.” By 2009, Farmboy had been hired to source 8,000 works for a resort on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

The collection at the Fairmont Baku is Farmboy’s crowning achievement. And though it might seem an elite setting, there can’t be many people in Baku who haven’t experienced it, whether as a guest, a diner, even a driver.

Whoever you are, the work gets under your skin.

“One of our main goals is establishing collections that are meaningful to everyone,” says Towers. “You don’t have to be a high-networth individual – it’s about what you see in an image that resonates with you. It could be in Baku or South Dakota. That’s what keeps > us excited.”

27

b u l l e t i n

SHEER STYLE Valencia’s unique charm is the sum of many factors, such as wine from wooden casks in a place like Casa Montaùa, and the huge municipal project Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.

words henriet te kuhrt

28

photos enno k apitz a

Playtime Valencia has all the makings of a modern vacation paradise: beaches, spectacular architecture, magnificent wines and the scent of orange blossoms.

But for a long time the city suffered from a cultural inferiority complex with respect to Madrid and Barcelona. Now, though, it has taken a major step forward.

29

bulleti n

Ingenious, narcissistic design

t im e t r av e l Alejandro (left) and Emiliano Garcia run a cozy bodega in the former fishing village of Cabanyal.

With protestors right outside their doorstep objecting to the planned construction of a new boulevard, father and son are concentrating on preserving tradition inside their bodega.

L

30

a Más Bonita café is blessed with an ocean view, and outside a beautiful, warm morning is getting underway – just another of the 300 sunny days Valencia enjoys each year. Paula Sanz Caballero orders a cup of tea and opens up her laptop. A slender 44-year-old with an engaging laugh, she works as an illustrator for magazines in Spain, the United States, Japan and Germany. First she will sketch a scene, simply and elegantly, then superimpose fabric onto figurines using embroidery or glue. Caballero’s work has enjoyed global success, but for her there’s no alternative to life in Valencia. “We Valencians like to socialize. My family and friends are here – lots of times we’ll have a beer in the early-evening sun and end up partying until late at night.” Caballero’s life wasn’t always this carefree. “Before I went to art school, I worked as a flight attendant. I was in an unhappy relationship: I was willing to follow this man anywhere. I got so bored on the overnight flights, I started doing embroidery.

It was only later that I realized I actually needed to live through this phase of my life – that heartache and pain are necessary to give birth to beauty.”

The same might be said of Valencia. Despite all the gifts that nature, history and its hard-working residents have bestowed upon the city, Valencia still suffers from an inferiority complex – the sense that it is neither as big nor as cosmopolitan as Barcelona or Madrid.

Even the city’s soccer team, FC Valencia, tends to defer to its two main rivals. So deep-seated are these feelings that the city’s residents refuse to designate their dialect Catalán – the official term here is Valenciano, even in the strongholds of government.

To combat such sentiments, government officials decided to upgrade the city’s image. The result is the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of the Arts and Sciences), a spectacular cultural park complete with opera house, cinema, museums, a gigantic aquarium and a planetarium. The brilliant, highly original design hails from Santiago Calatrava, architect, engineer, artist and the city’s most famous son. Like lethargic aliens, the buildings rise amid a former riverbed. As contemporary landmarks, they rank among Spain’s top 12 cultural treasures, along with the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

The city’s residents have other things on their mind, though: like Emiliano Garcia, who just handed over the reins of Casa Montaña – a bodega considered an institution in the Cabanyal neighbourhood – to his son Alejandro. Along with sensational Spanish wines and delicious absinthes, the bodega also offers a taste

we valencians like to socialize. Lots of times we party until late at night.

the neighbourhood’s venerable buildings were snapped up by artists at rock-bottom prices; nowadays, the city’s bohemian set is busy transforming them into co-working spaces.

paul a sanz caballero

A city’s growing pains Sidewalk cafés dominate the streetscape, with vintage clothing shops, vegan eateries and tiny art galleries squeezed in between. Here, high above the rooftops, is where Vinz Feel Free – a street artist regarded as the Valencian equivalent of Banksy – has his atelier. A highly alert man in his mid-thirties, Feel Free keeps his real name a secret because his works, though highly sought after, don’t exactly walk the straight and narrow: After photographing his naked models, he paints their bodies full-scale on yellowed sheets of paper which he pastes onto walls throughout the city, adding birds’ heads painted directly on the walls’ surfaces. These mythical creations are his way of addressing Spain’s Catholic heritage, his city’s growth and the Spanish crisis in general. His works are transitory by nature, and their nudity offends some Spaniards. Collectors, on the other hand, will not hesitate to rip a genuine Feel Free off the wall. And although Vinz’s works are exhibited in galleries in London and New York, where street art commands much more respect than in Spain, he remains true to his hometown. “I can’t live in the cold,” he says. “In London it rains four months at a stretch – how could I possibly do street art there? Here in Valencia the weather is so good that you can be outside almost all the time. And I love my family.” And so he has chosen to export the new Spanish style to the world’s great metropolises – from a city that still can’t < quite believe that it numbers among their ranks.

A Mercedes-Benz B-Class outside a star-studded house in Cabanyal.

of the past: Its interior, complete with tiled rooms and old wooden casks, has hardly changed in 175 years.

An odour of vinegar lingers in the air, fishermen wander in to refill their wine from the casks. And while Alejandro hobnobs with guests from behind the bar, Emiliano is already on his way to a meeting whose goal is the preservation of the former fishing village.

Plans are afoot to construct a grand Avenida Valencia that marches straight to the sea, right through the heart of Cabanyal. The quaint two-storey houses adorned with colourful tiles are scheduled for demolition. But if there’s one thing residents have learned over the years, it’s that taking the city’s destiny into their own hands is a worthwhile endeavour.

Russafa has already shown the way forward: The old neighbourhood located right in the centre of town is enjoying a new lease on life, even while being overshadowed by massive construction projects. Initially,

happy Ending An unhappy love affair was the inspiration behind illustrator Paula Sanz Caballero’s art. Nowadays her work is in demand all over the world.

31

b u l l e t i n

j u st d esse r ts Up-and-coming Valencia chef Quique Barella won’t have much longer to wait for his first Michelin star.

Playtime in the Kitchen "Keep calm and play around

KEEP IT SIMPLE Torrija is the name of this dessert created by Quique Barella: white bread soaked in almond milk, then caramelized.

32

in the kitchen” is the fitting motto adorning the wall of Quique Barella’s restaurant, although it stands in contrast to the restaurant’s nononsense design and straight-lined furnishings. Barella truly plays with his ingredients, combining tried-and-true foodstuffs with more radical ones to catapult Valencian cuisine into the 21st century. He rejects the old credo that everything should be available at all times in favour of a more original approach to managing the Valencian culinary heritage. Barella can afford to break a few rules, as he’s been following them since childhood – his grandmother had a market stall where she sold fish, and his parents ran a small restaurant in

Artana, a village near Valencia.

“I’ve been hanging around the kitchen since I was 14,” he explains. His menu consists of tapas-size portions in which the chufa – the earth almond beloved of Valencians – plays a recurring role.

It appears as foam atop oysters, as a reduction served with hake and finally as a sugary accompaniment to a French-toast-like confection with cinnamon. The meal concludes with a regional dessert: pea sorbet with cauliflower foam, which sounds like a meat eater’s nightmare but is in fact delicious, fresh, sweet and exotic all at once. Michelin stars may not be hanging on Barella’s wall just yet, but for this artist and playful chef, such accolades won’t be long in coming. qdebarella.com

h ot s p ot At Casa Carmela, guests can look right into the kitchen.

By tradition, paella is prepared over an open, wood-burning fire.

i Agua de Valencia An unkind myth has it that Valencians are so fond of drinking, they’ll gladly quaff the water out of flowerpots if necessary. Thankfully for the flowers, there’s a drink that is far more popular:

L I V E LY L I B A T I O N Chilling at a sidewalk café is even more pleasurable with a sweet Agua de Valencia cocktail in your hand.

200 ml (7 oz) orange juice 50 ml (1.75 oz) gin 50 ml (1.75 oz) vodka 750 ml (26 oz) cava and a pinch or two of sugar Combine ingredients in a pitcher. Serves four.

Be warned: Agua de Valencia may taste innocent, but the volatile mix can knock you flat on your back pretty quickly, particularly as it’s served in ordinary juice glasses. Salud!

A Secret Remedy for Inferiority Complexes V alen c ia ’ s ne u r o s i s lies in the belief that the rest of the country doesn’t think very much of it. And this despite all of Spain having Valencia to thank for the national dish: paella. Since the city limits of the past didn’t yet stretch to the ocean, traditional Paella Valenciana was prepared using rabbit, chicken, snails and white beans – everything the land could provide. That list of ingredients used to include field rats, but thankfully no longer. The city’s very best paella can be found at Casa Carmela.

The chefs there have been preparing the famed dish for nearly 100 years, and that comes through in the flavour.

Authentic paella is prepared over a wood-burning fire, and through the oversize kitchen windows, guests get a bird’s-eye view of the chefs bravely defying the inferno’s wilting heat. So delicious are the results that, despite its admittedly hefty prices, the restaurant is patronized almost entirely by locals. casa-carmela.com

33

b u l l e t i n

Fruits, Fashion Labels and Facades 1

UNEXPECTED REFUGE Valencia’s charm is rooted in its down-toearth attitude. The city’s architecture is meant to serve the people – witness the Mercat Central in Spanish Art Nouveau style. In addition to regional foods, there is also a small bar in which Michelin-starred chef Ricard Camarena serves up wine and tapas. mercadocentralvalencia.es

2

GREAT EXPECTATIONS The Calle del Marqués de Dos Aguas is Valencia’s Rodeo Drive – every luxury label under the sun can be found here, including the Spanish brand Loewe, which manufactures handbags famed for their quality workmanship. The company’s outlet store is furnished in similarly high style.

3

loewe . com

IMPRESSIVE EXTERIORS The terms “ceramics museum” and “exciting” aren’t usually mentioned in the same breath. But the elaborate marble and plaster facade that adorns this venerable palace is worth a visit in its own right. Inside, the sheer grandeur of the old Spanish nobility takes your breath away. mnceramica.mcu.es

T h e P a l a c i o del Marqués de Caro was earmarked for transformation into a five-star downtown hotel. Then renovation work on the municipal palace uncovered some valuable artifacts: 2,000-year-old Roman columns and mosaics, parts of the Islamic city wall and Moorish tableware and blue tiles. Architect Francisco Jurado and interior designer Francesc Rifé had to rethink their original design and integrated the historical material into the new structure: Now the remains of Roman columns loom over the bar, while the front reception area features lots of glass and a beautiful mosaic.

Naturally, there’s also a five-star breakfast, a friendly, polyglot porter and extremely comfy pillows. But it’s the feeling of spending the night somewhere between the past and the present that makes a visit to Caro so worthwhile. carohotel.com

Spanning past and present

34

“I have tried to approach the boundary between architecture and sculpture as closely as I can, in order to understand architecture as an art form.” s a ntiag o c a l atr ava , a r c hite c t

‘What gives you the license to do this?’

T H E CEO OF A M AJ OR SWI S S W ATCH BRAND ON HEA R ING A B O U T C A L IB RE SH 2 1, CH R ISTO PHER W ARD ’ S FI RST I N- HOU S E M OVEM ENT.

The chronometer-certified C9 Harrison 5 Day Automatic, with 120-hour power reserve, is the first watch to house our own movement. Conceived and designed by our master watchmaker, Johannes Jahnke, and manufactured by some of Switzerland’s finest watchmaking craftsmen, it is destined to be one of the most talked about watches in years. And, yes, you do have the license to own one.

CA LIB RE SH 2 1

EXC LU SIVELY AVAILABLE AT ch r i s t o p h er w a r d . co m

b u l l e t i n

Good to Know A CLASSIC SWEET Among the most significant of Valencia’s gastronomical specialties is the chufa, the earth almond. A special type of milk is manufactured from it, often enjoyed together with a fartón – a sweet doughy pastry – which gets dunked into the milk.

The word fartón translates as “voracious” – the pastry does an excellent job of absorbing the milk.

Not to mention that it’s impossible to get enough of it. A good place to sample one (or three) is the Horchatería El Siglo, Plaz de Santa Catalina, 11.

LIVING WISDOM Pensat i fet – think it, then do it – goes a Valencian proverb. Just go for it, don’t think about tomorrow, and above all else, don’t make any plans. The city’s complexity always has a way of interfering with them anyhow.

STONY SINNERS Take a good hard look and keep your camera at the ready. From their perches on bridges and old buildings, the gargolas leap into your imagination – fear-inspiring, half-wolf, half-demon sandstone creatures. They symbolize that this is a place where sin does not belong.

Never-ending Stories L u i s L o n j e d o was an art teacher before painting itself took over his existence. Taking as his motif everyday life in the city, he photographs seemingly unimportant scenes and recreates them on canvas, discovering equal parts beauty and tragedy in them – like in the painting pictured above, depicting women heedlessly strolling past street musicians. In his view, the Mediterranean lifestyle plays itself out mainly in the open air, on the biggest stage, and Valencia is a city rife with infinite stories. Pictures by Lonjedo can be found in the Teatro Olympia (Calle de San Vicente Martir, 44) and in Galería 9 (Conde Salvatierra, 9). luislonjedo . es

KIDS PARK

the wild side of the city

36

Tu »Ríu r

ia«

Last but certainly not least: the Fallas. This uniquely Valencian spectacle shuts down the city for four whole days in the spring. Fallas clubs work all year long to build gigantic papier mâché figures, in some cases as big as houses. On the last day of festivities in the city, the figures are ignited, accompanied by magnificent fireworks and pop concerts for the younger set, all of it witnessed by nearly 100,000 festival goers. If it sounds crazy, that’s because it is. But it’s all in celebration of the city’s culture, its patron saint and life itself. fallas . com

VALENCIA

LAS IEN C DE AD Y LAS D CIU TES AR

S CIA

BIKES.CO

M

Let’s Go !

Walking or jogging through the former Riu Túria is well worth it, especially in the morning. In years past, the river was the source of devastating floods; in modern times it has been diverted and its former bed transformed into a huge municipal park. Strolling through it gives you a good feel for Valencia: The route passes by the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and the Gulliver playground. Renting a bike will > take you on a more extensive tour.

illustration anna Schäfer

Valencia

GLA. Always ready.

A Daimler Brand

2015 GLA. The brand new compact SUV from Mercedes-Benz.

Discover more at newgla.ca

Š 2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

s p o t l i g h t

On the Road Again Rudi Koniczekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion for classic vehicles has secured him a spot in automotive history. We speak to the world-renowned restorer, whose specialty is the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, about how he went from building model SLs as a teenager to becoming a global authority on the real deal. w o r d s J a sm i n L e g at o s p h o t o s N i k W e s t

38

R Rudi Koniczek’s Vancouver Island farm is separated from the outside world by a pair of iron gates, flanked by stone walls and grassy mounds. “It’s like our own private country,” says the Germanborn entrepreneur. The four-hectare compound is where Rudi & Company’s clients first come to meet the man behind the 40-year-old business. “We cook, we drink wine and we get silly,” he says. “I want to make sure that I can laugh with them, otherwise I won’t work on their car.” When you’re one of the world’s foremost car restoration experts, particularly of the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing and Roadster, you can afford to be choosy.

“When one of our cars comes up for auction, it seems to sell for the most,” he says with a chuckle.

Koniczek fell in love with the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL as a child growing up in Toronto. As a teen, he worked in a hobby shop and, in lieu of a salary, asked to be paid in model car kits – many of them versions of the SL. Soon his miniatures, which he displayed in the store, started netting him far more than his 25 cents an hour. One day in 1965, with an invitation to meet then-president Rainer Lange-Mechlen, he took a subway ride up to the Mercedes-Benz Canada headquarters on Eglinton Avenue.

Lange-Mechlen was so impressed with the 15-year-old’s passion and handiwork that he helped him find a job as a lot boy at a Mercedes-Benz dealership. From there, he became the only factorytrained apprentice in Canada, studying under three meisters who had come directly from the brand’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. It was his third meister who encouraged Koniczek to strike out on his own. “He said that I was a natural, that I was destined to be more than a mechanic.”

A trip to Western Canada in 1969 inspired him to move to Victoria, British Columbia, where, in 1971, he slowly began building one of the busiest restoration businesses in the world, with clients hailing from as far away as Japan and Bahrain. To date, his shop is responsible for more than 100 complete SL restorations, including the silver Roadster that Justin Trudeau inherited from his PM father Pierre, and four of the 29 alloy-bodied 300 SL Gullwings in existence. He famously unearthed > one of these specimens, #21, in a Santa

39

spotlig h t

Monica barn and spent two decades convincing the owner to sell it to him. Buried under piles of junk for 40 years, the 1955 special alloy-bodied Gullwing is now completely restored. “It’s one of our best,” says Koniczek.

Vision and hard work Rudi & Company’s garage is a far cry from your typical auto repair shop. The light-filled space is welcoming, and classical music plays in the background while Rudi and his eight full-time staff take apart the cars and put them back together again.

It’s a labour-intensive process that lasts anywhere from a year to a year and a half and typically costs upward of $350,000. Vision is a necessity – Koniczek has dealt with SLs that come to him after being crumpled in collisions or sustaining extensive fire damage. “We can fix anything. The SL in particular is like an airframe; you can rebuild and rebuild and rebuild it,” he adds.

Admittedly, that’s the best part for Koniczek – taking something on the edge of demise and making it new again. “It’s like automotive art.” But Rudi & Company doesn’t just make art: They make sure that what’s under the hood is just as authentic and true to the original as the colour of the upholstery or the paint job. In fact, the shop is so busy (in spite of never having advertised) that Koniczek has earned the right to be uncompromising in his restorations. “We once had a fellow from Los Angeles who wanted us to put an ostrich-skin interior in his SL, and I declined. It just didn’t fit the car’s lineage,” he says. “In the end, I won out.”

Passion and dedication are what inspire such loyalty, both from his crew of restorers, five of whom have been with the company for over two decades, and his clients, who help spread the word. “We encourage our customers to pick the cars up in person so that they can actually drive them,” Koniczek says. That’s why a good part of the restoration process is dedicated to break-in procedures, where Rudi and senior members of his staff test the cars to ensure there are no unusual squeaks or hisses. “We basically deliver a brand new old car,” he says.

Vancouver Island provides ideal terrain on which to put these vehicles through their paces. One of Koniczek’s favourite drives is from his farm up to the Saanich Peninsula, where he often stops for lunch at the Deep Cove Chalet. Koniczek never thinks of his restorations as showpieces destined to languish in a garage. “These cars are meant to > be driven,” he says. “This is a lifestyle.”

40

RUDI koniczek has performed over 100 restorations, making him one of the world’s foremost SL restorers.

Steps to a Restoration 1 When Koniczek’s team receives a request for restoration, they first evaluate to ensure the vehicle in question is the right fit. Then, they arrange shipment. Most of the automobiles arrive in shipping containers, usually through the Port of Vancouver or as air cargo. Owners can expect the restoration to take between a year and a year and a half, depending on the vehicle’s condition.

2 Once the car is at the workshop, the team, including a researcher, starts documenting it.

They take hundreds of photos, match the vehicle’s serial numbers to those from the factory and make sure it’s authentic. If that all checks out, Koniczek invites the customer to his farm for a few days so they can get to know one another better and so that he can share his vision of where he wants to take the car.

3 Once the customer delivers the first deposit, the team starts to take the car apart, down to the last nut and bolt. For the typical 300 SL, this can take around two months. Then, the reconstruction process starts. The vehicle’s frame is bead-blasted and paint is applied.

Koniczek will only use the Mercedes-Benz colours that are faithful to the classic vehicle’s year and make.

4 When the chassis and the interior of the car are complete, the restoration team takes the car out for 800 kilometres worth of road tests. Once it meets Koniczek’s exacting standards, the owner gets the muchanticipated phone call to pick it up. “They spend a couple of days with us and we head out on the road,” he says. “We also show them how to drive it and take care of it.”

s c e n e

42

Eastern Promise

From secret kitchens to celebrity chefs, the face (and taste) of Chinese food in Canada is changing for the better. w o r d s A D A M L e i t h G O L L N E R p h o t o s franc e s j u r i an s z

on the menu In Toronto, Luckee by Susur Lee offers updated Chinese cuisine and presentation (opposite) while in Markham, Fung Lam Court presents the best of traditional dishes and decor (this page).

43

scene

communal-dining concept, are notable for one reason: They are influenced by Chinese cuisine.

Momofuku’s celebrated chef, David Chang, is a KoreanAmerican New Yorker, but there’s a significant Chinatown touch to many of his most successful dishes, from his trademark steamed pork buns to the Chinese chicken noodle soup featured in the first season of the PBS series The Mind of a Chef.

When I last ate at Momofuku, the standout dish was a combination of broccoli florets with lap cheong sausage, black vinegar and tea egg. “It’s our take on a Chinatown classic,” Jed Smith, sous-chef at Momofuku Daisho¯, told me. As perfect as it was, he admitted that it didn’t taste exactly like it would if I ordered it at a real Chinese restaurant. “If we tried to do it straight-up traditional, we wouldn’t be able to do it as good as they do it in real down-and-dirty kitchens. When it comes to Chinese food, you can never beat the real thing.”

Smith and the chefs at Momofuku are always looking for “the real thing” in Toronto’s Chinese food wonderworld – and it is increasingly easy to find. Many top chefs from China have immigrated to Canada over the past few decades in search of a new start and better lives, though the fame they had back home doesn’t always follow them. For the past few decades, up to 12 percent of immigrants to Canada have come from the People’s Republic of China, making it this country’s number-one source of new arrivals. A surprising but fortunate side effect: Some of the best food in Canada today is actually Chinese.

Hidden gem

W When Toronto’s Momofuku Sho¯to¯ opened in 2012, it took a mere eight weeks for The Globe and Mail ’s food critic to declare it “the best restaurant in the city.” Since then, diners have continually been blown away not just by the quality of the food, but by the restaurant’s ability to bring together such a diversity of global cuisines into one seamless experience. At Momofuku’s Toronto location (which includes a noodle bar and a bake shop), there’s European technique, a North American emphasis on local ingredients and inflections detectable from places as disparate as Japan, India and Colombia. But, arguably, many of the best dishes served at Momofuku Daisho¯, the restaurant’s third-floor

44

good taste Momofuku offers both prime views of Shanghai artist Zhang Huan’s sculpture Rising (above) and chef David Chang’s famous steamed pork belly buns (opposite).

I first learned about this food-related phenomenon from British Columbia sushi master Hidekazu Tojo, an omakase pioneer (and self-proclaimed inventor of the California roll).

“China’s best chefs keep coming here,” he confided over dinner at his eponymous Vancouver restaurant. To see (and taste) for myself, Tojo suggested I have a meal at one of his favourite restaurants in the city, but one I may never have discovered on my own: Shanghai Lu (formerly Golden Great Wall) on West Broadway. The space itself is only a grade or two above a hole in the wall, but I ended up having one of the best meals of my life there. The menu lists 353 items; fortunately, Tojo told me what to order. I started with marinated cucumbers and Shanghai-style soup buns, handmade by a xiao long bao dumpling guru imported from Shanghai.

Then came cod with Chinese celery, the thin, crisp slivers of green flavour bursts perfectly complementing the delicate white fillets. (It was prepared, Tojo informed me earlier, by Qing Zou, a chef who’d risen the ranks in Shanghai prior to his almost anonymous arrival in Vancouver.)

Next, some Peking duck arrived on the table, joined by fried green beans and mapo tofu courtesy of chef Rui Yang Xie, who devoted his life to Szechuan technique before immigrating to the New World. Everything was utterly sensational. > Even the rice was superior to any I’d ever tried before.

45

local flavour An influx of Chinese immigration to Ontario means a rich range of Asian dining options, including Luckee (top), Momofuku (left) and Fung Lam Court (opposite).

46

> chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most talented kitchen teams are the secret ingredient in Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chinese food scene.

47

adjusting the height of the wok fire using a lever he controls with his knees. He makes sure I notice the licks of flame that dart out from the firepit and through the food itself, adding that essential component to proper Chinese cuisine: “the breath of the wok,” or wok hei.

That flame-licked, heat-seared quality is one of the things Momofuku’s chefs admit they can’t quite replicate in their own, more Westernized kitchens. Not that they need to: They aren’t aiming to do straight-up Chinese food, they’re crafting their own personalized take on global cuisines.

Lucky break

China’s most talented kitchen teams aren’t only appearing out west – they’re also the secret ingredient in Toronto’s Chinese food scene, which is heavy on Hong Kong-style Cantonese. The reason for this is straightforward: An influx of immigrants who left Hong Kong in the 1990s, when the British colony-turned-Special Administrative Region’s fate looked to be in limbo.

Karisa Lui, a Toronto-based member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, told me that the single best place to try authentic Chinese cuisine in the GTA is Fung Lam Court, a tip I can heartily affirm. Like Shanghai Lu, the setting is deceptively simple and the food, magnificent. The restaurant, located in the suburb of Markham (where many of Toronto’s premier Chinese restaurants are currently found), is helmed by Wing Lai, who came to Canada in 1974 as a chef and has been wowing diners with his specialty – braised crab in rum sauce – ever since.

“I’ve been cooking in kitchens since I was 13 years old,” Lai tells me as he selects a couple of massive crustaceans from the tanks in the main room. He then leads me into the back of his restaurant to watch the woks in action.

“When I’m cooking,” he adds with a smile, “I still feel like a teenager.” It’s easy to see why: Entering the kitchen at Fung Lam Court is like being transported to an amusement park. The flames are so wild and ferocious that you feel your face grow flush every time Lai tosses seasonings into the baby bok choi or sautés some garlic and ginger with the lobsters. Lai knows how thrilling it is to see this kind of high-wire cooking, and he relishes every second of the performance, tilting his high white toque back and

48

> At Fung Lam court the setting is deceptively simple and the food, magnificent.

full steam Dim sum gets prepped at Fung Lam Court (above) and served at Luckee (right).

Part of the joy of a truly excellent Chinese restaurant such as Fung Lam Court or Shanghai Lu is the immense level of skill and know-how that goes into what seems like the simplest dish. The surroundings and decor may be humble, but the flavours are unparalleled. Those looking for a more high-end version of Fung Lam Court also have a new option in Toronto, started by celebrity chef Susur Lee, perhaps the brightest star to have departed Hong Kong for Canada. After apprenticing at the historic Peninsula, he emigrated in search of culinary fame in the late 1970s. His accomplishments are legion: Not only has he appeared on Iron Chef, Chopped and Top Chef Masters, he has also opened a string of lauded restaurants, both at home and in Singapore, with plans for an upcoming venue in the newly built World Trade Center.

Lee’s latest venture, Luckee by Susur Lee, located inside the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Toronto, focuses on “Nouvelle Chinoise” cuisine, in which classic Hunan and Guangzhou dishes, as well as dim sum, get updated and enhanced by Lee’s kitchen staff. And therein lies the winning formula: Luckee’s staff consists of a dream team of many of the best China-born chefs in Canada, cooking in a sleeker version of a classic Chinatown kitchen under the aegis of one of the best chefs in North America.

Luckee aims to present Chinese cuisine at its most sophisticated levels – and they succeed with aplomb. Meals start with an amuse-bouche of edible flowers scattered over watermelon cubes and fried tofu soaked in mirin. That delicate prelude sets the tone for the rest of the meal, which > boasts everything from shrimp cheung fun to

INNOVATIVELY LIGHTER

THE NEW FIRELITE COLLECTION

AND STRONGER

samsonite.ca

eight-spice slow-braised beef with lo bok (it cooks for 72 hours at the lowest heat imaginable) and dishes far daintier than those usually seen in Chinese restaurants.

French twist There are more flavours awaiting discovery across the country. Even as immigration from Hong Kong has slowed, new waves of prowess have been arriving from the mainland – a culinary exodus that is already altering the nation’s kitchens. This is quite evident in Montreal, a city that doesn’t attract anywhere near the amount of Chinese immigrants as Ontario or B.C. (there are currently about 710,000 and 460,000 people who identify as Chinese living in each province, respectively), but is still home to several great Chinese chefs. One of them is Beichuan “David” Yang. Originally from Beijing, he is now chef de partie in one of Montreal’s most acclaimed kitchens, Maison Publique, co-owned by local Derek Damman and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Yang’s most notable personal touch on the menu is his XO sauce,

> it is a culinary exodus that is already altering Canada’s kitchens. hot and spicy Sizzling green beans at Luckee (above) and a tray of custard tarts at Fung Lam Court (inset).

a homemade take on the spicy Hong Kong staple.

The team at Maison Publique also lead me to Andy Su, chef at a new Szechuan restaurant called Gia Ba, opened earlier this year in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.

“I opened up this little shop – this petite maison – because of my passion for Szechuan cuisine,” says Su. His first restaurant, Cuisine Szechuan (co-owned with Norman Fei Peng), has gained a cult following for its hot-pepper-heavy dishes like chili beef and spicy tofu.

While Cuisine Szechuan’s downtown location is barely noticeable from the street and the look is standard wipe-down tables, Su’s new spot is located in Monkland Village, a quaint suburb-within-a-suburb that’s brimming with young families.

The decor at Gia Ba is more sleek Asian bistro than Cuisine Szechuan’s student-friendly basement. Su is also trying out new dishes, including some Quebecois and Canadian takes on Szechuan and Taiwanese classics (like sweet and sour ribs with maple syrup). Still, he says some dishes accept no substitutes – for example, he still ships his beloved lantern chili peppers in from China.

When I ask him why so many of the best chefs in China have come to Canada, it’s clearly something he’s thought about before. “The answer used to be simple: It was all about money,” he explains. “You could make triple the amount here for the same hours you’d do over there. But now it’s changing. People realize it isn’t really about coming here for a better quality of life anymore. As a chef, all you can do is work all the time, so what it has to be about is passion. You have to care about what you do – and finally, > I’m able to do that here.”

6 Must-Try Chinese Dishes in Canada 1 Fried green beans, Szechuan-style a.k.a. dry and hot at Shanghai Lu (Vancouver) 2 Dungeness crab hotpot with kabocha squash at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant (Vancouver) 3 Luckee duck with Peking-style garnish at Luckee

by Susur Lee (Toronto) 4 Momofuku’s pork buns with hoisin, scallion and cucumber at Momofuku Nikai (Toronto) 5 The classic desserts (almond soup, cashew soup, black sesame soup and herbal grass jelly) at Fung Lam Court (Markham) 6 Yu xiang eggplant with maple syrup at Gai Ba (Montreal)

50

Where to Stay Start your day with a taste of Toronto’s Chinese food scene at the Shangri-La Hotel in the city’s financial and entertainment district. The Hong Kong-based hotel brand’s roots are visible throughout the property, from lithographs by Shanghai’s Wang Xu Yuan to Asian-influenced dining options. Have breakfast at signature restaurant Bosk and you’ll find, alongside pastries and omelets, steamed dim sum and traditional congee (rice porridge) topped with garnishes like shaved ginger, scallions, toasted peanuts and Chinese donuts. To get a taste of Chinese culture and cuisine on the other side of the country, try the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver. shangri-la.com

Driven by the driven.

A Daimler Brand

The path to extraordinary is often the path of more resistance.

But it can lead to great things, like the all-new 2015 C - Class.

The perfect combination of refined style, athletic performance and advanced technologies: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a visceral experience like no other. Visit your local dealer or AllNewC.ca

Š 2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

s p o t l i g h t

COMEBACK Scotland’s Paul Di Resta is back in the DTM after a foray into Formula 1. And once again he’ll be driving for the Mercedes-Benz DTM team.

52

words Christoph henn

T To win DTM races you need not only a perfectly prepared car but also perfectly prepared drivers. We paid a visit to Paul Di Resta and his Mercedes-Benz teammates at their preseason training camp.

hree minutes 40 seconds, and there’s just a hint of a shimmer as vibrations pass through the muscles between his shoulders and head. But it’s almost imperceptible, and his head drops no more than a few millimetres toward his therapist’s waiting hands. Paul Di Resta doesn’t need a safety net, and he ratchets up the tension in his neck another notch. His expression remains impassive – a face contorted with pain wouldn’t suit him somehow, nor would it fit in with the drill. To the naked eye, he’s lying comfortably on his back.

Crucially, though, the couch reaches to the shoulders only – it’s Di Resta’s job to support the weight of his head. The first 30 seconds or so of this neck-training exercise pass relatively smoothly, even for those of us less used to physical exertion. But then the effort builds, until it becomes unpleasant. After two minutes the pain kicks in, growing increasingly intolerable with every second. A man of average fitness will last around two and a half minutes.

Fit for the Cockpit

RIDING TEST Paul Di Resta and his teammates are exceptional athletes. Training on the bicycle ergometer is not half as demanding as the enormous stresses placed on the drivers during a DTM race. Inside the cockpit, the drivers’ average heart rate soars to 180 beats per minute.

The 28-year-old Scot, however, is fresh from three years in Formula 1, where centrifugal forces of up to 5G – i.e., five times the Earth’s gravitational force – put the neck muscles to the sternest of tests. He’s not the type to give anything away.

“I’d never say what the greatest challenges were for me in a race,” he explains. “That would be flagging a weakness to the other drivers.” This exercise provides little to encourage his rivals, that minor wobble hardly worthy of mention. And Di Resta is not interested in halfway measures, not when a target duration has been set. He passes the four-minute goal with something to spare.

The Scottish driver packs another seven strength tests and an exercise ECG into the team’s morning at the sports medicine institute in Innsbruck, Austria. This performance testing is one of his first engagements since rejoining the DTM ranks.

For Di Resta, renewing acquaintance with the German touring car series marks a return to the scene of his greatest success – also with MercedesBenz. From 2007 to the end of 2010 he notched up 21 podiums (including six victories) in 42 races, winning the drivers’ title in that final > year. The Scot then moved to the Force India

53

s p o t l i g h t

STRENGTH COMES FROM CALMNESS The training camp focuses not only on energy and endurance, but also on physical control and coordination.

STRESS TEST The drivers spend around an hour inside the car at temperatures of 60째C and under four layers of fireproof clothing. They lose up to four kilograms per race in sweat alone.

54

team in F1 where, although ultimate success was to prove elusive, he collected 121 World Championship points over three seasons.

Now, though, it’s time to prepare for the next challenge. This year, as every year, Mercedes-Benz has corralled its full squadron of DTM drivers for a pre-season training camp. Joining Di Resta in Austria for six days of fitness work are Gary Paffett, Robert Wickens, Christian Vietoris, Pascal Wehrlein, Vitaly Petrov, Daniel Juncadella and Roberto Merhi. Cars are conspicuous by their absence. The week begins with performance examinations, which Di Resta completes with the same poise and assurance as a lights-to-flag victory on the track. Indeed, he isn’t far off the maximum scores when it comes to push-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups, leaving every teammate in his wake. “He’s in great shape,” says the man at the centre of Di Resta’s fitness regime. Gerry Convy looked after his fellow Scot last year in F1, having previously worked with the likes of Pablo Montoya and David Coulthard. “A Formula 1 driver needs the stamina of a triathlete, the upper body and neck of a boxer and the catlike reactions of a fighter pilot,” says Convy. These are all attributes Di Resta has in his locker, and he’s in no mood to let them gather dust in the DTM. He trains for three hours a day – running, swimming, machines – and nowhere is he more at home than on his racing bike on 100-kilometre tours around his adopted Monaco. “If anything, I’m training even more now than when I was in F1,” he says. “It’s psychologically important never to let your standards slip,” agrees Convy.

photos fr ank bauer; igor panitz

A marathon tomorrow? Why not Despite all that, the training camp is not about exploring physical pain thresholds. Yes, the drivers all need to be as fit as possible to withstand the enormous pressures of a DTM race. After all, they spend around an hour at a time inside the car at temperatures of up to 60°C under four layers of fireproof clothing, and lose three to four kilograms in sweat per race. A driver releases around 250 nanograms of the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline every minute of a race, says sports scientist Ingo Froböse. That’s double what he would produce at maximum attack on a bicycle ergometer. This constant hormone release drives his average heart rate in qualifying and the race to around 180 beats per minute – so a high level of endurance is essential. “If you asked me to run a marathon tomorrow, I’d like to

what the drivers need is inner strength, willpower and impressive concentration. to ni m athi s , dtm te a m t r a in in g c o n s u lta n t

BODY CHECK Bioelectrical impedance analysis measures levels of body fat and fluids.

think I could do it,” says Di Resta matter-of-factly.

So that’s the physical side of being a racing driver. But mental fitness is equally critical. The drivers have to make countless considered and instinctive decisions under the exacting conditions of a race in order to nail corner entry, braking points, etc. “A driver needs inner strength, willpower and impressive concentration,” says Toni Mathis, who has worked with Mercedes-Benz’s DTM teams for more than 20 years as a physiotherapist, nutritionist and training consultant, and put together this preparation week in his native country. To nourish these inner values, the Austrian employs techniques such as bagua.

Rather than pushing your physical limits to achieve a goal (such as with push-ups), this special form of tai chi extends beyond muscle power alone. Instead, Mathis conducts the drivers in excruciatingly slow circular movements. Despite some initial snickering among his charges, Mathis knows from experience that bagua will help them improve their body control and find their inner strength.

There is also some unintentional amusement when Mathis hands the drivers a set of small balls. Drills include stepping back with one leg – on Mathis’ call – as they catch the ball, and another involves throwing two balls in the air and crossing their hands to catch them. This type of training, known as “Life Kinetik,” is already followed by professional soccer players at German club Borussia Dortmund and by skiing star Felix Neureuther. As well as the physical movements, the drills are also a workout for the brain, an exercise in overcoming coordination and visual hurdles. That makes them ideal for racing drivers, who have to look straight ahead and out of the corners of their eyes at the same time during a race. Not that there isn’t room for improvement with the ball in the air: “No way!” protests Di Resta, laughing, as he grasps at thin air, his right eye covered by a patch as part of the test. But a few days later, the Scot is completing the exercise with flying colours. Ask anyone who has worked with Di Resta and they’ll tell you he doesn’t shrink from a challenge. He’s a racing driver through and through, one with a steely will to win. You won’t find him constantly checking his weight or getting fixated on lactate stats and heart rates.

But at the end of the training camp, he’s credited with an outstanding level of fitness. And there’s something even more important than that, he < adds: “I know I can drive.”

55

S P O T L I G H T

Luxury Liner Spectacular design, impressive power, intelligent technology: A test drive in the top-of-the-range S-Class Coupe introduces you to new levels of perfection.

streets ahead The S-Class continues the tradition of the grand coupe.

E U R O P EA N V EH I C L E M O DE L SH O W N

56

wo r d s J a ko b S c h r e n k

p h o t o s S t e f f e n ja h n

57

S P O T L I G H T

bright idea Using LED technology, the active LED headlamps illuminate the road surface more efficiently with reduced dazzle, lower energy consumption and a much longer operating life.

58

Clear lines reflect clear ideas.

59

S P O T L I G H T

Y

our head begins to fill with important questions even before you drive off in the S-Class Coupe. It starts as soon as you open the door, sink into the driver’s seat and close it behind you – a familiar routine you have carried out thousands of times before, but one that in the S-Class Coupe becomes a celebration of engineering brilliance: With just a few millimetres to go, the door is gently pulled shut by the on-board electronics. Click: a pleasing sound, and a pleasant feeling. In fact, it makes you want to open and shut the door all over again. Hence the questions that spring to mind: Why is it so rare to feel that everything is functioning in perfect harmony, that everything is just as it should be? And another question: Could it be that perfection in life does exist after all?

Winning fans before you set off The S-Class Coupe draws the eye from afar, long before you reach for the door handle. Perhaps it has something to do with the silhouette, which is both spectacular and straightforward. The design looks deceptively simple for a process that was undoubtedly both time-consuming and expensive. The elongated hood runs seamlessly into the elegant curve of the roofline – undisturbed by any B-pillar – and then gently subsides into the rear, creating a harmonious profile that intuitively strikes you as being just right.

The interior displays a similar clarity of lines. You don’t feel you’re in some futuristic spaceship – you feel, quite simply, that you’re at home. Much of this is due to the seats, which provide firm support yet are still as comfortable as armchairs. They will even offer a massage if required. The dashboard is dominated by two large screens. The left-hand one displays the tachometer and speedometer; the one on the right shows, among other things, sat-nav information or pictures from the 360o Camera, which generates a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle’s surroundings to facilitate parking.

Nowadays we tend to be rather spoiled and demanding – we are never quite satisfied and always find something to complain about. The new computer freezes at work, or a newly purchased jacket starts to develop a crease at the back. These are, of course, trivial problems, but they stoke our desire for everything to be perfect, just once. Perhaps it makes sense that this wish has been fulfilled by an automobile – a product born of the marriage of high tech and craftsmanship, a vehicle that is both fast and stylish, that triggers emotions and bristles with technical innovations. A vehicle that is, quite simply, > a thing of beauty.

60

WORLD FIRST Available Magic Body Control enables the coupe to tilt up to 2.65 degrees, reducing lateral acceleration and maximizing ride enjoyment.

Taking the curves like a slalom champion.

61

S P O T L I G H T

RA I SED E Y EBR O W S With Active LED High Performance Lighting System as standard, the S-Class Coupe exudes a self-assured air.

E Y E - C AT C H I N G The two generously proportioned displays dominate the cockpit and set the tone for the interior.

i S 550 4MATIC Coupe Engine/Performance 4.7-litre twin-turbocharged V8, 449 hp at 5,250 to 5,500 rpm; max. torque 516 lb-ft at 1,800 to 3,500 rpm

Transmission 7G-TRONIC PLUS seven-speed automatic

Starry nights

So it is hardly surprising that the S-Class Coupe starts attracting attention even before you embark on your test drive. Passersby crowd around, peering into the interior, asking questions about performance and price. Real perfection is something people find hard to tear themselves away from. And even as the driver, you catch yourself stroking this vehicle absentmindedly: the elegant curve of the dashboard and its fluid transition into the door cladding; the soft materials lining the glove box and armrest compartment; the gleaming inlay on the steering wheel. Of course, you could always busy

62

yourself switching on the “fragrancing” function or putting a bottle of mineral water in the generous 8.5-litre refrigerated compartment in the rear to chill (only available on the S 65 AMG).

But we’re not in a high-tech home, we’re in an automobile. So it’s hands on the wheel, finger on the starter button, foot on the accelerator – and off.

You cruise gently through the city streets toward the highway, and when you reach the on-ramp you put your foot down – a blissful sensation. At highway speed, the vehicle runs > so smoothly that the landscape passes by

As if by magic, the opaque panoramic glass roof becomes transparent at the touch of a button. The MAGIC SKY CONTROL function conjures up an open-air experience.

Rich sounds Two flaps in the rear silencer of the twin-pipe exhaust system are opened and closed pneumatically, depending on engine speed and preselected drive program.

When open, they produce a rich, throaty roar.

The above data do not relate to an individual vehicle and do not form part of an offer but serve solely to facilitate comparisons between different models.

MERCEDES-BENZ.CA

CITY LIFE EVERYWHERE NOW. Downtown is all around in the Networked Society.

By connecting the most isolated areas of the world with the most populated, you no longer need to live central to enjoy the benefits.

Our technology and services enable change and change makers around the world. The opportunities are everywhere now â&#x20AC;&#x201C; take them!

Ericsson is a trade-mark of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Ericsson Canada Inc. is a licensed user.

S P O T L I G H T

in a stately manner. Even the throaty roar of the engine upon acceleration suggests a perfect balance of power and control. The twinturbocharged V8 generates 449 hp and has an electronically governed top speed of 210 km/h.

Clinging to the road like a painted line On a test drive, everyone is equal. But somehow, on this test drive, you can’t help feeling special.

It’s simply that everything is just right – from the carefully calculated resistance of the indicator lever to the way this all-wheel-drive car clings to the road like a painted line. The rearwheel-drive S 65 AMG Coupe also offers MAGIC BODY CONTROL: A camera scans the road ahead to identify any unevenness in the surface, and in a split second the air suspension is

F O R M A L P ER F E C T I O N Elongated hood, low roofline, powerful rear end: The silhouette of the S-Class Coupe is intuitively just right.

64

adjusted to compensate for it. The car is also accompanied by a world first: the new curve tilting function that enables the vehicle to lean into curves at an angle of up to 2.65 degrees, reducing the lateral acceleration acting on the occupants and making for a more comfortable ride while increasing the fun of negotiating winding roads. But rest assured, this function isn’t just a toy for engineers – it really does improve the ride experience. With or without this innovation, the S-Class Coupe by nature responds calmly and instantaneously to the driver’s wishes, shutting the door when you were about to do so yourself and reacting with alacrity to the slightest movement of the steering wheel. The fact that it also leans intuitively into curves just like you do brings driver and > automobile that much closer together.

400 hours a year commuting.

And you don’t think you need more channels?

Upgrade to Sirius Premier.

SiriusXM gives you the best in audio entertainment. And now you can get all the content

you love plus exclusive premium channels, including SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, SiriusXM PGA TOUR® Radio, MLB Network Radio™, NBA games, Oprah Radio® and more, all for just $19.99/month*. Visit siriusxm.ca to learn more.

*Additional fees and taxes apply. © 2014 Sirius XM Canada Inc. “SiriusXM”, the SiriusXM logo, channel names and logos are trademarks of Sirius XM Radio Inc. and are used under license. MLB is available on the XM network only. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit MLB.com. The NBA and NBA member team identifications are the intellectual property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams. © 2014 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. © NHL 2014.

All rights reserved. PGA TOUR and the Swinging Golfer design are trademarks of PGA TOUR, Inc. and used with permission. All other trademarks, service marks, images and logos are property of their respective owners and are displayed in this publication with permission. All rights reserved.

B U L L E T I N

Treasure Hunter

66

IKB 271

by Yves Klein temporarily hangs in Westphal’s office along with another work by Klein.

Discretion and the instinct of a hunter are called for in Cheyenne Westphal’s job: She looks after the multimillion-dollar contemporary art business at Sotheby’s auction house. Here she talks about the fascination of record sales figures and what they mean for collectors, artists and museums.

INterview Ale x andr a Gonz alez photos Ali Kepenek

67

B U L L E T I N

S

ince last February, Cheyenne Westphal and Alexander Rotter have been jointly responsible for contemporary art at Sotheby’s, the world’s leading auction house for fine art alongside Christie’s. Westphal grew up in Baden-Baden, Germany, went to school in Scotland and studied at Berkeley, California.

Ms. Westphal, you have been working at Sotheby’s for over 20 years. You were recently given global responsibility for contemporary art. What kinds of changes has that meant for you?

I guess the main difference is I now spend much more time in New York. But in Europe, I also focus more on the pictures that will be sold in New York. European collectors have magnificent works that play a part in shaping the New York market.

When Tobias Meyer, the star auctioneer whose charismatic appearances and numerous recordbreaking sales made him for many years the face of Sotheby’s, left the company last November, I took over the role. My first major assignment in that position was a London auction, which went unbelievably well. Generally, though, New York auctions for contemporary art fetch higher prices – somewhere between $300 million and $500 million in total.

And you are there to ensure it doesn’t drop below that level?

The market is our measure. A great deal is possible at the moment. Prices are high, customers are interested in selling and the buyers are out there.

I imagine you’re always looking ahead to the next auction. How does an artwork find its way to Sotheby’s?

There are certain artists who always fetch high prices: all the Americans from the Pop Art movement, Europeans such as Lucio Fontana and Piero Manzoni and, increasingly, of course, German artists like Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer, Martin Kippenberger… Then there’s the younger league, people like Jeff Koons and Christopher Wool. And we’re also working on a fresh program involving young talent. We might get our hands on one of Lucien Smith’s “Rain Paintings,” which the New York-based artist creates by aiming paint-filled fire extinguishers at a white canvas.

What’s the best way to get hold of pieces that are in demand?

It’s really all about nurturing good relations. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for years. Generally

68

Flügelschlag is the title of a 2014 work by Berlin artist Michael Kunze.

It hangs in Sotheby’s S|2 gallery.

speaking, collectors acquire an artwork with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It’s my job to make sure that parting with it again, once they decide to resell it, is as simple a process as possible. That means I look after the consignment from the outset and try to match it up with a buyer who is an equally valued client.

With Christie’s as a rival, you presumably have to invest everything into securing the acquisition. What’s it like when you pull out all the stops?

I’m extremely focused from the very beginning – both on the artwork and on the seller. We usually operate as a team and deliver an excellent offer tailored to the specific requirements of the vendor. Then it’s all about finding the right level.

What price should the work fetch? What kind of marketing is required? Where should we exhibit?

Do we show the work at our Hong Kong branch because it’s appropriate for the Chinese market?

Or do we take it to Doha because there may be possibilities in the Middle East? How should we put the catalogue together, and what about our Internet presence? Then there’s always the delicate issue of whether the seller prefers anonymity.

I can’t afford to ease off for a second. I know that

our competitors will be hard on our heels and making their own pitch. We have to tailor every aspect individually.

Tobias Meyer once wept in an interview when describing the nerve-jangling, emotionally charged process he went through to acquire Warhol’s Silver Car Crash.

I can understand that completely. It’s not every day you get to see a monumental masterpiece like that.

What takes priority in your job: discretion, the killer instinct or knowing how to handle a collector?

You need all of those things. A hunting instinct can be very important, because the market is driven by fierce competition. You have to be quick off the mark, as well as a little brazen sometimes.

You might approach a collector who is not even thinking of selling and ask, “So, how about it then?” Discretion is very important, particularly with collectors who value privacy above all else.

Sometimes it can take years to even develop a point of access.

You are working in the biggest and fastestgrowing market segment in art. Given the size of the business involved, isn’t there a risk that the artwork itself loses something of its original appeal?

It’s always important to find something you identify with strongly. Take this wonderful “Anthropometry” series painting by Yves Klein for the New York auction. [She points to the canvas with an ultramarine-blue print depicting a woman’s body.] This is a work I’ve loved for years.

Another work for which I have huge admiration is Wand by Gerhard Richter. The artist had the painting in his own collection in 2010. And last February we auctioned this sensational work for $28.7 million in London.

as a rule, collectors acquire an artwork with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It’s my job to make sure that reselling it is as easy as possible.

fetched a record price for the artist. And finally, Richter’s Wand. If this gradual build-up misfires, however, the tension can easily go out of the auction.

Do you feel a certain responsibility for the auctioneer at moments like that?

We provide backup. He’s very involved in terms of what should happen – who is talking to which client on the phone and taking bids, or which collector might join the bidding in the room.

The sums realized during a single evening in an auction room can be astronomic. As the person who stage-manages this grand theatre of bidding, do you ever get nervous?

I get a little tense, I have to confess. On the one hand, it’s exciting to see how much money is paid for art at auction and how the prices become accepted as the status quo by the market. On the other hand, high prices force up collectors’ expectations. The next picture in the mould of Silver Car Crash probably won’t have a valuation of $60 million, but $70 million or $80 million. The price barrier is going up > all the time.

An auction is a fast-moving, tightly timed sequence of events. The few minutes in which the lot is auctioned decide the success or otherwise of your months of acquisitioning and preparatory work.

Yes, but even more important is how we orchestrate the evening’s sale. At the last London auction, we started off with more recent art. Then came a fairly minor Richter, which was already the focus of buyers’ attention in the run-up to the event. It was a great warm-up for Wand. Then there was Twombly’s Untitled (Rome), which 69

B U L L E T I N

time to get the funding together in advance of the auction. But we also support museums around the world through sponsorship and charity auctions.

In 2013, global art market sales rose to $47.7 billion – a result due in part to the increasing revenues from private sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, art deals made “behind closed doors.”

Sure, private sales have become part of the company’s regular business. We arrange a lot of private sales through our S|2 gallery, with offices in New York and London. These happen because we know where artworks are in the world – and who is looking for what. So dealing continues all year round.

Auction houses are increasingly attracting the super-rich from all over the world. Can contemporary art even continue to challenge and explore social issues when it is the object of desire of billionaires?

I think you can look at this in a number of ways.

Of course, the latest billionaires are on the lookout for internationally recognized masterpieces to surround themselves with at home and promote their lifestyle: my penthouse apartment, my yacht, my Koons. We sell these pictures and objects – and not necessarily bulky installations or video works. At the same time, however, more art – including non-commercial art – is being made, shown and talked about than ever before. The artists at the Whitney Biennial in New York, for example, were not only very young, they were also highly critical of the art market in particular.

An elite clientele with unlimited means is part of the reason why art is becoming more and more expensive and ending up in the hands of private collectors, out of sight of the general public. Museums can no longer keep pace. How do you see your role as a setter of artistic trends?

It has always been a challenge to buy for museums at auction, because there’s no way of knowing the final price. Usually they don’t have enough 70

S|2 is the name of Sotheby’s Gallery of Contemporary Art in London.

Pictured left: Asleep by the Light of Glow-worms by Ged Quinn, inspired by Caspar David Friedrich’s Eismeer.

Would it be fair to say that S|2 is an attempt to gradually move away from traditional dealing, to stop seeing art as a commodity?

At the first London exhibition, we presented drawings and sculptures by Joseph Beuys, an artist one wouldn’t immediately describe as commercial.

I curated that exhibition myself. But let’s be honest: Our business interests are clear. Sotheby’s > is about selling and buying art.

photos sotheby‘s

How do you feel about this?

Psychologically, it’s crucial to provide a valuation that reflects the importance of the picture but also generates competition.

Your involvement in private sales takes you out of the auction house and into the world of the gallerist. Does that not cause a certain amount of resentment?

Of course, our gallery and these kinds of activities tend to divide opinion. But I should stress that we don’t represent artists, we don’t build them up or try to promote them in the way the gallerists do.

We’ll get you there.

Comptez sur nous.

You've worked hard. You've earned your place. Welcome to Private Client.

Get personal, one-on-one wealth management advice specially tailored to your specific investment needs. Because it’s time to make your money work for you.

Your dedicated professional advisor is waiting for you, visit IGprivateclient.com

Vous avez travaillé dur. Vous avez mérité votre place. Bienvenue à Gestion privée. Obtenez des conseils personnalisés et directs concernant la gestion de votre patrimoine en fonction de vos besoins précis d’investissement.

Le temps est venu de faire travailler votre argent pour vous. Votre conseiller professionnel attend de vous servir. Visitez GIgestionprivee.com

s p o t l i g h t

I

magine driving a car at top speed – for dear life. Hot on your heels is an unrelenting avalanche, literally a mountain on the move. As you attempt to outrun this force of nature, it is also vitally important to stay as close to it as possible, so that the monster doesn’t simply engulf and swallow you. When Garrett McNamara talks about his life’s passion, it sounds more like a nightmare. McNamara is a surfer – one of the best in the world. The gigantic waves that he allows to chase him tower to heights of up to 40 metres and break with the unfathomable power contained in hundreds of tons of water. Such behemoths present surfers with a completely different type of challenge than run-of-the-mill waves, because they are very steep – and very, very fast. Those wishing to conquer them need not only extraordinary stamina and courage, but above all the right kind of board.

With these facts in mind, McNamara teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to hunt for a board made of the ideal materials that would ensure the best possible weight distribution. The result is the MBoard – custom crafted to suit the weight and body type of the champion wave rider. The advantages of this individualized approach are quantifiable: So far, McNamara’s top speed on the MBoard has been > clocked at 62.4 km/h.

Speedster The MBoard is the fastest surfboard Garrett McNamara has ever ridden.

72

ON THE RUN When the wave starts breaking, McNamara has to be careful not to let it engulf him.

Fearless Just off the coast of Portugal lurk the largest ocean waves in the world, towering 10 storeys high on some days. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when Garrett McNamara ventures into the water.

W O RD S N AT H A L I E C H R O B A C Z E K - P R O S P E R O P H O T O S J O A O B R A C O U R T >

73

prepare yourself for the moment and enjoy it – then there’s no fear.

The project, directed by Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener, united the technical know-how of designers and engineers with the experience the legendary surfer has gained over decades of riding gigantic waves. In essence, McNamara got the opportunity to develop the type of surfboard he has always dreamed of riding.

The MBoard was basically created in the same way as a car: first in the form of a 3D file, then as a model in a wind tunnel, and finally finished by hand.

The waves that McNamara sets out to conquer demand a very special design. For the Mercedes-Benz team, the challenge was to unite contradictory demands in a single product. To guarantee the necessary stability, the board had to be flexible and stiff at the same time, not too heavy and not too light.

The result was a unique board for a unique athlete.

In January 2013, McNamara surfed a wave off Portugal’s coast over 30 metres high, one of the biggest ever recorded. He describes himself as a goal-oriented perfectionist – but one whom the sport has also taught to take things as they come. Because above all, big-wave surfing demands one thing: patience. Cardio and strength training are givens.

The perfect “ride” begins well before the wave begins to crest: McNamara pays close attention to the winds and currents to see in which direction each is pulling, waiting patiently for just the right moment.

M I L E S T ON E S 19 67 Garrett McNamara is born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, more than 160 kilometres away from the ocean.

19 7 8 His family moves to Hawaii.

Shortly thereafter McNamara wins his first competitions.

19 9 2 “Tow-in surfing” is invented, in which surfers are towed into gigantic waves using personal watercraft.

2003 McNamara barely escapes death after wiping out in a massive wave.

20 07 He attracts media attention after surfing a wave off the coast of Alaska that was generated by a glacier calving into the ocean.

2 013 McNamara breaks his own world record by surfing a wave over 30 metres high.

74

on standby McNamara patiently waits for the moments when conditions are ideal.

The underwater high A master doesn’t fail. Getting swamped by a wave is a greater thrill than simply gliding down its face, according to McNamara. “An underwater ride like that can be a really exhilarating experience – all your senses are totally alive. It’s not so much about struggling to survive, it’s about learning to relax in order to survive. You just go with it and enjoy it.”

Fear, he says, arises only when we worry about what might happen: “Prepare yourself for the moment, stay in the moment and enjoy it – then there’s no fear.” Boundaries cease to exist in the moment when he’s riding a wave. The man who claims to maintain a “love affair with the waves” is starting to sound almost humble. “I have surfed so many giant waves – and I’m prepared. Whatever may happen, I’m > always working on trying to enjoy it.”

Perfect for aquatic life.

Perfect for city life.

>> The 2015 smart fortwo.

Fuel-efficient, traffic-friendly, and a breeze to park. All at a perfectly affordable price. It just doesn’t get any better for city living. To experience all the benefits for yourself, visit your local smart Centre for a test drive today.

www.smart.com © 2014 smart Canada, a Division of Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

smart - a Daimler brand

g e t a w a y

Rethink the Ranch

The idea of a guest ranch typically conjures up cattle rustling and trail rides, but a trip to British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin region reveals a lot more than just western culture. In fact, many of the area’s ranches look east – way east – for inspiration. w o r d s A N D R E W F I N D L AY p h o t o s H U B E R T K A N G

Asian Inspiration at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa where the centrepiece pavilion was designed by Thai architect Pinyo Suwankiri.

76

77

a rolling landscape of rivers, lakes and grasslands that’s bounded by snowy peaks and animated by a history of gold seeking and cattle ranching. This sparsely populated chunk of B.C.’s interior has a magnetic appeal, especially for a certain kind of entrepreneur with big dreams and big personality, as I’m already learning a day into my stay at Echo Valley Ranch and Spa, the first in a trio of unique guest ranches I am visiting. Pondering its colourful cultural contradictions, I realize that my preconceived ideas of the dude ranch will be forever cached in the dusty pages of a Zane Grey western.

Yin and twang The next day I saddle up an agreeable steed named Ernie and clip-clop behind Utton, who leads us to a spectacular overlook above the Big Bar Creek, a tributary of the mighty Fraser River that cuts through this semiarid country like a northern Grand Canyon.

From here it’s easy to understand why the Echo Valley owners – Brit-born Norm Dove and his Thai wife Nan, who he met on a business trip to Thailand in 1985 – fell in love with this quarter section. That was almost 25 years ago, and since then they have seamlessly applied their own brand of Southeast Asian hospitality to the rugged realm of leather saddles, cowboy boots and Stetsons.

Feeling a little bowlegged from the ride, I amble over to the main lodge for dinner. Dining is familystyle at Echo Valley. Staff take turns serving and, on off-nights, sit at the table with guests. Chef Jason Folk starts with a tuna tataki followed by a

I

78

am midway through an epic massage in Baan Thai, a suite atop a two-storey structure ornamented with teak furnishings and bejewelled elephant figurines.

Designed by Pinyo Suwankiri – one of Thailand’s most famous architects, whose stamp marks temples and royal sites throughout his country – the space invites luxuriant relaxation. My eyes close, the scent of massage oil hanging sweet in the air.

When I reopen them 90 minutes later (I am now massaged to a supple pulp by the capable hands of Wanna Nuphan), it’s to the reality that I’m not actually in Thailand but at a nouveau dude ranch, deep in the heart of British Columbia’s cowboy country. Outside, the sun sets mauve over the Marble Range, where wrangler Mark Utton, his Cockney accent as brisk as the day he left London’s East End, leads a herd of horses out to a lush green pasture dotted with sedges and wildflower bulbs.

I’m on the trail on the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast,

East meets west Thai design outside meets Thai massage inside at Echo Valley’s Baan Thai suite. Opposite page: trail riding on the Big Bar Creek overlook.

beef roulade. The beef comes from ranch-raised, free-range cattle and the greens are harvested from the nearby greenhouse.

Norm Dove is proud of the ranch cuisine, which includes a weekly Thai night with traditional postdinner dance performed by spa director and long-time employee Yalaporn Yaemphathee. He’s also fond of the spa, where you can indulge in not only traditional Thai and western massage, but also aromatherapy and a range of esthetic treatments including enzymatic mud wraps.

“When was the last time you had a facial?” Dove prods me with a laugh. It’s a question that would make a cowboy grimace, but luckily I’m about as much a cattle rustler as John Wayne was a fan of ballet.

Horse power To fully understand the transformation of the guest ranch experience into something much more, you have

> The Doves have seamlessly applied their own brand of Southeast Asian hospitality to the rugged realm of leather saddles and Stetsons.

to visit one of the pioneers of this hospitality niche, the Hills Health Ranch. I’ve seen Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer, but I never expected to actually try my hand at it in a horse corral. Yet here at this ranch, situated on a forested knoll next to Highway 97, anything seems possible, including the spiritually energizing practice of bonding with animals.

Owner Pat Corbett leans on the fence, swatting the occasional mosquito while I follow the movements of resident horse whisperer Sherry May. She directs a restless paint horse named Trixie with an intense stare that mimics the drama of dominance and submission that characterizes horse-herd hierarchy. “It’s all about body language,” May explains.

Now it’s my turn. I follow May’s lead, maintaining eye contact with the horse as she circles the corral, then I attempt to redirect her by raising what May calls the “feeling beam,” a wand used as a > communication tool.

79

> This Sparsely populated chunk of B.C.’s interior has a magnetic appeal, especially for a certain kind of entrepreneur with big dreams and a big personality.

To my astonishment, Trixie soon starts nodding her head in a display of submission, indicating that she’s prepared to join my metaphorical herd. That was easy, I think (though I have a feeling Corbett and May set me up for success with a particularly cooperative mare).

With its horse whispering and traditional trail rides, Hills Health Ranch caters to the equine enthusiast, but it’s equally positioned to meet the needs of the fitness crowd. Zumba, aquafit, yoga, hiking and weight training are all on the daily roster of activities.

Corbett and I walk back up the hill and step inside 1871 Lodge, named to commemorate B.C.’s union with the Canadian Confederation, when the Cariboo Gold Rush had reached a feverish peak.

He, along with wife and business partner Juanita, paid careful attention to detail when they designed the building’s saloon, even researching the style of wallpaper that would have appeared in a turn-ofthe-century tavern.

As we sit down at a window table that offers a view across undulating forested country toward an

80

ashen limestone bluff, Corbett tells me he was in the business of real estate development in 1983, when economic opportunity and personal circumstance propelled him into resort ownership. “I bought 140 acres over the phone and then I heard of another adjoining 120 acres for sale,” he says as the server delivers a thick New York steak that I fear will require a week of compensational Zumba.

We’re soon joined by Juanita, who has a particularly compelling life story. Born in Tennessee, she and her sibling were former teenage country singing sensations, known as the Suttles Sisters. Together, they performed alongside the likes of Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis at the Grand Ole Opry. However, before she had even cracked her twenties, wary of

Remote control This page: Safari-style luxury tents at Siwash Lake Ranch; executive chef Derek Bendig at work in the kitchen. Opposite page: the approach to Hills Health Ranch; co-owner Juanita Corbett with spa products made from local rosehips; writer Andrew Findlay bonds with equine pal Trixie in a horse whispering session.

the boom, bust and moral decay that often accompany music stardom, Juanita turned down a contract offer from MGM and opted instead to pursue a career in cosmetology, eventually landing in B.C., where she met Pat. Around the time the Corbetts closed the property deal, Juanita was battling kidney problems that conventional healthcare proved ineffective in treating. A visit to a California holistic doctor identified a vitamin A deficiency, and a swift recovery followed the revelation. The experience cemented the couple’s determination to incorporate wellness into the guest ranch experience. Three decades on, the philosophy remains. While managing the spa, Juanita also oversees the production of essential oils pressed from the seeds of vitamin- and antioxidant-rich rosehip bushes that grow wild on the ranch. So respected is Hills Health Ranch’s approach to well-being that a stay here is even covered for Finnish nationals by their ministry of health.

The next morning I sign up for an early yoga class before joining a small group for a fitness walk, following horse and cow trails out to Tatton Lake. Trembling aspens rustle in the breeze and I spot Juanita’s rosehip bushes, alive with pink blossoms.

Siwash safari I bid farewell to the Corbetts and, mesmerized by a tangerine sunset, exit Highway 97 again. As I follow some crude directions to Siwash Lake Ranch, pavement turns to gravel, and eventually gravel turns to a rutted single lane cutting through stands of towering Douglas firs. It feels as though I am on a road to a remote homestead rather than to a resort that has, year after year, made numerous travel rating lists as one of Canada’s top luxury

properties. Just when my calm is about to give way to mild panic, I spot the beams of owner Allyson Rogers’ pickup truck piercing the darkness. As promised, Rogers has stayed up late to greet me and soon has me installed in one of the resort’s luxury tents, a five-star canvas-walled abode that would be fit for a 19th-century colonial magistrate on Kenyan safari. But rather than the sounds of the Serengeti, I fall asleep to the haunting call of a loon echoing across Siwash Lake.

The general silence and darkness of a wilderness night is rejuvenating, and it’s the lowing of cows that finally awakes me in the morning. Unzipping the tent door, I step out onto the wooden deck and > spot the glassy surface of the lake through

> real cowboys wuntur sae et voluptasped quidit facepero molupta tiumque num rerae rescius autem anis unt quamus

81

G E T A W A Y

Canoeing on the mirror-still waters of Siwash Lake.

the trees. Following a protracted rinse in an outdoor shower with heated concrete floor, I wander down to the log Ranch House for an early-morning coffee to enjoy on the dock. A thin mist hangs over the water, while mallards float peacefully among the bulrushes. By 8 a.m., the kitchen team of executive chef Derek Bendig, who two years ago ended a 12-year tenure at Toronto’s tony Pangaea Restaurant, has breakfast prepared, with eggs from the ranch’s own hens and bacon cured from last year’s pigs.

Given its remote location, Siwash’s devotion to sustainability is both impressive and necessary, with a fleet of solar panels that meets all of the resort’s electricity needs and organic food sourced from the gardens and pens surrounding the lodge.

Rogers grew up in West Vancouver, the daughter of a British immigrant father who founded Outward Bound Canada, a global outdoor education school.

Her urban sensibilities were balanced from a young age by an active life. When she was 30, she headed for the Cariboo. “I wanted adventure and to live close to nature. Other than that I didn’t have a big vision for this place,” Rogers says as she leads me to the barn to get fitted with boots in preparation for the horse orientation.

At the tack room entrance, a sign reads My Barn, My Rules, a fitting reflection of Rogers’ plucky approach. Though Siwash offers a range of adventures for guests, from stand-up paddleboarding to hiking, horseback riding remains at the core of the experience. Following Rogers’ lead, I soon find myself grooming my horse with a brush before picking and cleaning its hooves, hesitant at first to

82

be manipulating the limbs of such a powerful animal. Then I learn how to lay on the blanket and saddle, the final step in the horse orientation before hitting the trail to Bird Lake, through Indian paintbrush and a quilt of deciduous and conifer trees.

Occasionally Rogers points to where a bear has tilled the soil or left claw marks on an aspen trunk – my private Canadian safari.

Later on in the ranch house, we linger over a dinner of seafood risotto, housemade chorizo and pan-fried steelhead salmon. With darkness settling over the Cariboo landscape, I walk back to my royalready tent camp, following the narrow beam of my flashlight through the trees. Inside, the propane hearth flickers warmly. Right on cue, a loon sings its melancholy song and I surrender to the notion that my archaic concept of the dude ranch has been forever trampled like bunchgrass under horse hooves.

i

When the trail ride’s done and the horses are back in the barn, the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 4MATIC provides another exquisite way to explore B.C.’s nouveau ranch country. With a 208-hp turbocharged gasoline engine, this handsome compact SUV never lacks for giddy-up. And with 4MATIC fully variable all-wheel drive, on/off-road driving mode with the innovative Downhill Speed Regulation (DSR), and 18-inch five-twin-spoke alloy wheels, the GLA is a remarkably sure-footed companion for the rugged Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region. Of course, when civilization beckons, this sleek crossover goes from workhorse to thoroughbred in a flash. With a luxe interior with “cool-touch” metallic finish, ARTICO leather upholstery, standard heated front seats and THERMATIC Automatic Climate Control, the GLA is at home in the > city as well as on the range.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO OVER 100 OF THE WORLD’S BEST MAGAZINES FOR ONE LOW PRICE Try it FREE for* 30 days

START YOUR FREE TRIAL TODAY AT NEXTISSUE.CA *Free service starts upon account activation. Unless cancelled earlier, a monthly fee of $9.99 for an Unlimited Basic Plan or $14.99 for an Unlimited Premium Plan will apply after expiration of the free trial. For full terms and conditions, visit nextissue.ca #3081 ®2014 Rogers Publishing Ltd.

SOLAR SAILOR Swiss doctor and adventurer Bertrand Piccard

84

photos sol ar impulse

B U L L E T II N N

H IG H F LY E R Circumnavigating the earth on solar power alone seems a pipe dream, but Bertrand Piccard has no doubt that it can be done. Attempting the seemingly impossible has always driven him and his family into action.

INterview Benedik t Sarreiter

85

B U L L E T I N

Next year, from March until the end of July, your plan is to circumnavigate the Earth in several stages by solar-powered aircraft. What are your feelings about this undertaking?

I’m really looking forward to it. It will be the fulfillment of a dream I’ve harboured for 15 years. But there’s a great deal to be done before then. For example, we haven’t yet been granted all the necessary flyover rights. With this sort of venture you can never lean back and say, “Okay, everything’s ready to go and

N AT U R E b oy

Piccard in the garden of his house in Lausanne.

BASE S TAT I O N Maintenance of the fragile aircraft during its journey is carried out in a specially developed mobile hangar.

in a month’s time we’ll be able to take off.” You’re constantly having to work on all sorts of details right down to the last minute.

When you started work on the Solar Impulse project back in 1999, how far developed was solar flight?

Back then, a solar-powered aircraft could only fly around midday, when the sun’s rays were at their most intense.

But I wanted to stay in the air continuously, even at nighttime. So in 2003, I commissioned a feasibility study from the École Polytechnique de Lausanne. It turned out that we would need an aircraft with the wingspan of a jumbo jet and the weight of an automobile. All the experts I talked to said that was simply not possible. But it is challenges like these that appeal to me. André Borschberg and I don’t just want to copy something somebody has done before. We want to be real pioneers – to blaze our own trail.

Heading into new territory, attempting the impossible, seems to be your family motto.

I guess so. It certainly applied to my father, my grandfather before him and to many family friends like Wernher von Braun, as well as most of the American astronauts or somebody like Charles Lindbergh. They were all a key part of my childhood – meeting them had a deep impact on me and made me want to lead a life like theirs. It’s a life in which you believe that virtually anything is possible. A life in which you have no fear of failure, but rather are convinced that

P O R T R A I T T O M H A L L E R PH O T O S S O L A R I M P U L S E

T

he panoramic windows of Bertrand Piccard’s house in the hills above Lausanne, Switzerland, offer a view across Lake Geneva to the still snow-covered peaks of the Chablais Massif. A sailboat glides across the lake, a tiny white spot against a vast blue background. Adventurer and psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard, with his dark, well-cut jacket, bronzed features and alert blue eyes, brings us coffee. He walks past a small corner of his living room that is full of souvenirs from his expeditions – model airplanes and submarines and photos of his grandfather Auguste Piccard, who was the first person to ascend into the stratosphere in a hot-air balloon, and of his father Jacques, the first man to dive to the deepest point in the ocean, the Marianas Trench. It is a shrine to the intrepid – one to which Bertrand Piccard himself has contributed. He was the first person to fly non-stop around the Earth in a hotair balloon, and in a year’s time he aims to do the same thing, but this time in a solar-powered aircraft. Though in his mid-fifties, Piccard seems much younger than his years. He speaks in the precise, confident tones of someone who has no doubt at all about what he is doing.

THE SIZE OF A JUMBO JET Despite its wingspan of 72 metres, the solar-powered aircraft weighs just 2,300 kilograms.

AFTER THE TEST FLIGHT Pilot André Borschberg (left), Piccard and a crew member

dreams can come true. Most people don’t dare to try something new because it seems too difficult and requires too much effort. But if you can forget that and overcome your fear, if you can open yourself to the unknown, to new ways of thinking and behaving, you can have a really interesting life. I think that curiosity is a good antidote to fear.

What do you yourself fear?

As a child, I was really afraid of heights. To face up to this fear I started hang-gliding when I was 16. It was like taking therapy.

You eventually became an expert hang-glider. How do you make use of the lessons learned back then when you’re sitting in a solar-powered aircraft?

The Solar Impulse behaves like a giant kite – it is very sensitive to the wind. In my youth, I learned how to read wind conditions and use them to my advantage, which also helped me when I was circumnavigating the Earth in a balloon. I learned from that journey what it is like to spend a long period in the air – 20 days at a time. I learned that there are moments that are not easy to cope with, for example if you are hovering above the Pacific and are not sure if you’re going to have enough fuel to reach the other side.

What are some of the problems that can occur during a solar-powered flight?

The type and intensity of sunshine are very important.

YOU HAVE TO open yourself to the unknown.

Curiosity is a good antidote to fear.

We have to charge the batteries during the day so that we can continue flying at night. Every morning will be tense because I won’t know whether the charge will last until the sun comes up.

You mentioned earlier that most of the experts said continuous flying in a solar-powered aircraft was impossible. Yet you and your team managed to build an aircraft that can fly for days without interruption.

How did you manage that?

We deliberately didn’t take on anyone from the aerospace industry for the project – they may know everything about their field, but they don’t go beyond that. They would have come up with a conventional aircraft, but we wanted something revolutionary.

If you want to create something really innovative, you < have to think outside the box. For example, we

87

B U L L E T I N

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Bertrand Piccard with his father Jacques, who set a deep-sea diving record in 1960.

Far left: The hot-air balloon in which Bertrand became the first person to circle the globe non-stop in 1999.

Your aircraft only has room to accommodate the pilot. Will the day come when this technology is capable of carrying more than one person?

That will take time. But during daylight hours it will soon be possible for a solar-powered aircraft to carry small numbers of passengers. We are perhaps four or five years away from that at present.

You and your partner, former jet pilot and entrepreneur André Borschberg, will take turns flying for up to five days without leaving the tiny cockpit.

How do you cope with that sort of challenge?

We have to have a short 20-minute nap every three or four hours. But it’s important to still retain constant control of the aircraft. To do this, we apply a form of self-hypnosis that I also use as a psychiatrist in my therapy sessions. You fall into a sort of trance in which your consciousness and your body are separated. In other words, your body sleeps but

88

you can still operate the instruments. During these 20-minute naps, I open my eyes every five minutes to check that everything is okay.

TO CREATE something really innovative, you have to think outside the box.

That doesn’t sound very relaxing.

But it is. We’ve tested this technique for a period of 72 hours in a simulator. It worked extremely well.

If you spend such long periods alone in the air, does your behaviour change in any way?

When I was flying around the Earth in a hot-air balloon, I felt I was entering a new world. I became at one with nature, propelled by the wind that blows around the Earth. With Solar Impulse it is similar.

You can feel how the energy to power the propellers emanates from the cosmos, from another star. You don’t have to dig fuel out of the Earth, gradually destroying parts of it in the process. Our project is not about setting records – it’s about coming up with new ways of thinking and acting. In the 20th century, we sent expeditions to the Moon, to the North and South Poles. Or, like my father, we plumbed the depths of the ocean. But today the focus is on how we can improve life on Earth. We want to inspire people to make more use of the possibilities offered < by sustainable energy resources.

photos solar impulse; piccard family

got a shipyard to produce all the carbon parts that make the Solar Impulse so light. Experts from a wide range of different disciplines contributed their experience, which means we have the best electric motors, the best equipment and the best insulation you can get hold of.

Peace-of-mind comes standard.

Every Certified Mercedes-Benz comes with a standard Star-Certified warranty.

For a limited time, take advantage of 0.9% APR purchase financing on all 2010-2013 Certified Pre-Owned vehicles.

Buying a Certified Pre-Owned gets you: • Reassurance: 150-point certification inspection • Warranty: standard Star Certified warranty up to 6 years or 120,000 km • Confidence: complete vehicle history report • Security: 24-hour special roadside assistance • Peace of mind: five day/500 km exchange privilege For a complete listing, visit your local Mercedes-Benz dealership or mercedes-benz.ca/certified

0.9%

*

APR financing available

Certified. Affordable. Luxury. © 2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. *0.9% financing only available through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services on approved credit for a limited time. See your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer for offer details or call the Mercedes-Benz Customer Relations Centre at 1-800-387-0100.

s p o t l i g h t

ta king w i ng A legend bids farewell: The last Gullwing left the factory this summer. Six experts and enthusiasts describe the fascination of this Mercedes-Benz supercar.

90

photo igor panitz

W

hen the SLS AMG was unveiled to the public for the first time in 2009, it caused an immediate sensation.

The supercar, with its aluminum spaceframe body, 6.2-litre front-mid V8 engine and double-wishbone sports suspension, was capable of accelerating from 0–100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and cut a figure as elegant as it was sporty. The first car developed independently by Mercedes-AMG wasted no time in racking up countless major awards, and it came out on top in numerous comparison tests. The car was duly launched in a variety of guises: Coupe, open-top Roadster, GT, Black Series, Final Edition, as well as the GT3 racing version and SLS AMG Electric Drive – the latter the world’s most powerful production car with an electric drive system. After more than four years in production, the final Gullwing rolled off the assembly line in the middle of this year. But a new supercar is already in the starting blocks at AMG in Affalterbach, Germany. The Mercedes-AMG GT, the second sports car designed from nose to tail in Affalterbach, hits Canadian shores this fall. “We’ve clearly benefited from our experience with the development of the SLS,” explains AMG head Tobias Moers. “The bar’s been set high, but we’re looking at the Mercedes-AMG GT as a stand-alone car, not a successor to the SLS.” Before the new model takes to the road, we asked six experts to put words to the mystique and allure of the SLS AMG, a car that, in its many different guises, has already become a > collector’s item.

91

SPOTLIGHT

the boss

Tobias Moers, Chief Executive of Mercedes-AMG

“A new era began for us with the unveiling of the SLS AMG in 2009. It was the first car we had developed entirely in-house.

For me as part of the development team, it was a very special experience to bring a supercar of this kind from drawing board to road. Its innovative technology and design have earned the SLS AMG iconic status – and its many variants and triumphs in motorsports have won it fans around the world. The new Mercedes-AMG GT, which we are unveiling this autumn, will give us the opportunity to position AMG even more aggressively as a dynamic sports car maker. A pure-bred sports car with AMG DNA is evidence of our ability to convert our high standards of driving dynamics, agility and sports performance into reality.”

THE G T 3 e x p e r t

T h o m a s Jä ge r, A M G C us to m e r S p o r t s D r i ve r

“The SLS AMG GT3 racing car represents AMG’s entry into the world of customer motorsports. The aim was to lay down a new benchmark for the GT3 race series in terms of safety, drivability and running costs. The biggest difference between the race-spec machine and the standard road car is that all the comfort-related equipment has been stripped to reduce weight. The car also rides very low. The suspension minimizes tire wear, which allows the car to continue setting very strong lap times over longer distances. That gives it a major advantage over its rivals on the track.

However, to win races you don’t just need speed, you need reliability as well – and the SLS AMG GT3 has proven it has that with an impressive number of victories in endurance racing.”

THE V I S I O N A R Y

“The gullwing doors are clearly the defining feature of the SLS – they make it what it is. But its proportions are also very successful. The front end doesn’t look over-the-top aggressive and, while the rear is surprising, everything fits together very well. It’s like the car has been cut from a single mould. But the SLS AMG doesn’t only look like a sports car, it drives like one. It delivers on the promise made by its design. And it references MercedesBenz history – clearly a good idea when you’ve got that kind of heritage to draw on. This kind of retro concept is one thing, but I think it’s more interesting to explore how the sports car of the future will look. That’s why I can’t wait for the Mercedes-AMG GT.” <

92

photos igor panitz; daimler ag; knoblach

Lut z Füge n e r, p r o f e s s o r o f ve hi c l e d e s ig n , P f o r z h e im Uni ve r s it y

FINAL PHASE 30%* OFF LIMITED TIME OFFER!

HIGH-DESIGN BEACHFRONT LIVING.

ATLANTIS AS YOUR PERSONAL PLAYGROUND. Originally Priced From USD$695,000 to $3.5 Million

JUNIOR SUITE

Limited studio, one and two-bedroom residences with private balconies are available and include: • Exclusive access to Cain at The Cove Adults-only Pool • Preferred seating at Atlantis LIVE events • Private Fitness and Business Centers • Curbside Check-In, a direct escort to your residence • Largest casino in the Caribbean • Complete access to the world of Atlantis and so much more

ONE BEDROOM

888.634.7695 | 242.363.6838 www.OwntheReef.com/mercedes

This commercial message does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy a unit in the condominium. No solicitation, offer or sale of a unit in the condominium will be made in any jurisdiction in which such activity would be unlawful prior to registration under the securities, condominium or land sales laws of such jurisdiction. Only representations and statements in the purchase and sale agreement and other applicable legal documents are binding and correctly state the representations of the developer. *Offer subject to change without notice and cannot be combined with any other offer. © 2014 All rights reserved - The Reef Residences at Atlantis.

SPOTLIGHT

THE R A C I N G D R I V E R

B e r n d M ay län d e r, dr i ve r o f th e M e r c e d e s - B e n z S L S A M G GT O f f i c ial F1 S a f et y C ar

t h e fan

Kazunori Yamauchi, developer of video game Gran Turismo and amateur racing driver

“Of course, the SLS AMG is one of the cars you can drive in our Gran Turismo racing game. As a motor racing fan myself, I’ve already driven the road-spec version as well as the GT3 racing car on the Nordschleife course at Nürburgring. Its wide track, long wheelbase and optimum weight distribution for a rearwheel-drive car show that the Mercedes-AMG engineers have focused their attention not only on speed but also on good drivability. The SLS is extremely fast, but also enjoyable to drive.

This type of car allows you to focus your mind 100 percent on the business of driving when you’re behind the wheel: You’re not fighting the car, so you can concentrate fully on improving your lap times. Plus, I’ve felt very safe in the SLS – and that’s not a sensation you get in many supercars.”

94

respectably among the F1 cars – even though they carry half the weight. The SLS AMG is a very direct car, i.e. it responds quickly at the front axle, which allows you to maintain a very tight line. With every evolutionary stage the car has become more modern, more comfortable, faster and more direct. The Safety Car is fitted with two monitors, a radio, GPS, a camera system – and, I’m pleased to say, air conditioning. When I’m out for a long time in the Safety Car I sometimes miss a nice sound system [smiles]. But that’s been taken out for good reason, of course.”

THE O W N E R

G ui d o H o m m e l , b u s in e s s m a n a n d c a r c o ll e c to r

“I was one of the first people to buy an SLS AMG. When I picked it up that winter, there were 15 centimetres of snow on the ground. But I didn’t care, I couldn’t wait any longer. I’ve been collecting cars for 40 years – to drive them, not watch them gathering dust in a garage.

I’m always on the lookout for special cars. That explains why I also own an old SL 300. Clearly, there’s a world of difference between the classic SL and the modern SLS, but the gullwing doors make them both a magnet for attention. My favourite aspects of the SLS AMG are its dynamic repertoire and the sound it makes. Once I was even flagged down by a group of youngsters who just wanted me to rev the engine a few times.” >

photos igor panitz; daimler ag; knoblach

“I was handed my first Safety Car in 2000, a CL 55 AMG with a 5.5-litre V8 engine developing 360 hp. Nowadays I drive an SLS AMG GT, which also has a V8 but comes with a whole lot more power – 591 hp, to be precise. So the SLS AMG GT is not that far from the standard output of Formula 1 cars, when their turbo and energy recovery systems aren’t in play. It’s a good thing I can count on a powerful engine: At the Grand Prix in Monza, for example, I’m hitting between 275 km/h and 280 km/h during a Safety Car phase. When it’s raining, in particular, the SLS can hold its own very

Purism. Sensuality. Intelligence.

To see what else bulthaup kitchens have to offer, please contact your local retail partner.

bulthaup Toronto 280 King Street East Toronto ON M5A 1K7 www.toronto.bulthaup.com

bulthaup Vancouver 93 West Cordova Street Vancouver BC V6B 1C8 www.vancouver.bulthaup.com

j e t s e t

Finding GemĂźtlichkeit in Vienna Among the Austrian capitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coziest venues, we go in search of that intangible sense of well-being that the German language so aptly captures. w o r d s N ATA S H A M E K H A I L

96

photos jessica sample (lef t ); daniel gebhart de koekkoek (right )

W What is the feeling of the colour blue? I’m contemplating this question over a frothy café latte in the tiny Blue Bar of Vienna’s Hotel Sacher, where the plush velvet booths are deep navy, the walls a silk brocade of peacock, the marble tables veined cobalt and even the 19th-century damsels in the oil paintings clothed in teal and azure.

The hotel’s long-time former owner, Anna Sacher, understood atmosphere. Blue is the calm of water, of the sky in sunlight. Perhaps because it is the predominant colour of our world, even its coolest shades produce a warm emotion.

Presiding over her elegant hotel, cigar in hand and a cluster of French bulldogs in tow, Sacher not only had exacting standards (a culture that remains firmly intact at Austria’s top hotel nearly 140 years later), she was also able to create spaces that guests could feel instantly at home in. In short, she created gemütlichkeit.

In English it takes a whole sentence to describe what in the German language can be summed up in that one succinct word. Gemütlichkeit conveys the sense of well-being that comes with an atmosphere of cheerfulness, unhurriedness, comfort and coziness. And while the meaning of the word may be abstract, you know it when you feel it, and places either have it or they don’t.

Vienna in wintertime is the ultimate setting in which to chase this feeling. Not only does the city of palaces, classical music and wood-panelled coffee houses provide the coziest of backdrops, but the Viennese have > the gemütlichkeit attitude to match.

Pause play Viennese coffee-shop culture dates back to the 19th century and is even listed by UNESCO as “Intangible Cultural Heritage.”

Above left: the atmospheric Blue Bar at Hotel Sacher.

97

j etset

“Compared to other German-speaking places, Vienna is slowed down,” my guide, Alexa Brauner, tells me as we stroll the cobblestones on a grey day, wrapped tightly in our coats. “Even the speech here is more relaxed.” One example: the local predilection for using the diminutive suffix “erl,” which makes everything it’s tacked onto sound that much more delightful. “So we won’t say we’re going for kaffee,” says Brauner. “We’ll say we’re going for kaffeetscherl, a little coffee. You can tell right away someone’s from Vienna when you hear that.”

And so, on cue, we head to Café Sperl, the city’s oldest coffee house. There are dozens of cafés in the city, but Sperl is so quintessentially Viennese, it’s often cast to represent the city on film (look for its cameos in Before Sunrise and A Dangerous Method, among other movies). We arrive to find a long, grand room, all double-high arched windows, heavy draperies, twinkling chandeliers and

98

> While the meaning may be abstract, you know it when you feel it and places either have it or they don’t.

Settle in, get comfy This page, clockwise: Kaffeetscherl time at 135-year-old Café Sperl; Austrian ambiance in Mayer am Pfarrplatz; hearty heuriger fare. Opposite: friendly formality in Café Central; lounging in MuseumsQuartier.

wooden chairs polished to a shine by 135 years of occupants in relaxation mode.

We settle in on a thickly upholstered bench to take in the scene. It’s midday on a weekday and the café is nearly full. From the kitchen, waitresses in starched white shirts endlessly appear with trays of milky coffees and tortes piled high with fresh cream. Elderly men read international newspapers held upright for easy reading on ingenious wooden stands. Two female friends burst into peals of laughter, rousing the sleeping schnauzer under their table. A group of university students rack up on one of the antique billiards tables. It’s a cross-section of the city under one roof.

From the office appears Rainer Staub, whose family has run the coffee house for three generations. He greets us warmly and, when I ask what gives Café Sperl its gemütlichkeit, doesn’t miss a beat: “It’s the living room of the Viennese people.

You may be on your own, but you are never alone.”

photos Philipp Hor ak/Anzenberger (café Sperl, Mayer am Pfarrpl atz); Jessica sample (Café centr al); Hertha Hurnaus (MuseumsQuartier)

sense of gemütlichkeit. Fire baskets bathe the courtyard in orange light and keep people warm as they line up at a wooden shack selling mugs of steaming glühwein and roasted chestnuts.

Inside the central hall, the heuriger’s original oak wine press dominates the low room. Large groups have crowded around communal tables and the air is filled with joyful voices and clinking glasses.

I make myself comfortable at a table opposite an accordionist who stops to take a glug of wine before launching enthusiastically into the next oompah.

On the menu: hearty plates of goose, pork and venison accompanied by fat-roasted potatoes and winter greens. But rather than ordering à la carte, I opt for the more interactive deli-style buffet, where diners select their own house-cured meats, cheeses, salads and rustic breads – the slightly greasy nature of the fare and hands-on approach is the reason why heuriger wine is often served in clear mugs, rather than stemmed glasses.

Restaurant manager Christian Kaufmann assists with the wine selection so I can try a little of each, including a lively dry Sekt, or Austrian sparkling; a Gemischter Satz, a.k.a. a mixture of grape varieties planted and pressed together in the same vineyard; and Sturm (“Storm”), a cloudy, slightly sparkling wine served at the fermentation stage. Amid this sampling and the now raucous clamour of voices, I’ve almost forgotten my earlier shyness at dining solo. As I rise on wobbly legs to meet my cab, the > accordionist gives a knowing wink.

Prostian memory I deign to test Staub’s theory that evening when I arrive – with some trepidation – alone at Mayer am Pfarrplatz, in the city’s northern Döbling district. This is the edge of Vienna’s wine-producing region. The fertile slopes of the Nussberg mountain provide the bright whites and mellow reds served at local heurigen – new-wine taverns like this one where grapes collected in the August harvest are released as wines in November and enjoyed throughout the year.

Ducking through the low arch of the front gate, I discover a collection of whitewashed outbuildings surrounding a central courtyard, a hint at Mayer am Pfarrplatz’s 300-year history as an inn – one that counts Beethoven among its past guests.

Decorated with pine boughs and fairy lights for Christmas, though it’s still autumn (I’ve been told the Viennese Christmas starts in September and lasts until February), the place exudes a palpable

99

j e t s e t

In the night gallery

Scene setting Clockwise from top: The grand gallery at the Kunsthistorisches Museum; the 28-sq-m Loos American Bar; the Vienna State Opera; original artworks by Vienna native Klimt can be found throughout the city’s museums.

A large part of Vienna’s charm lies in its art and architecture. The city’s works of beauty have been thoughtfully cultivated and shared since the time of the ruling House of Habsburg.

Vienna is the former home of great artists like Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. The latter’s Kiss, which we’re so used to seeing as prints and on greeting cards, hangs at the Belvedere, alive with his brushstrokes and gold-leaf appliqués. In the same gallery: Schiele’s touching portrait of his wife Edith, painted the year that she died from Spanish flu. His own death followed hers three days later – he was just 28.

The downtown MuseumsQuartier, meanwhile, is a pedestrian district containing more than a dozen galleries in the span of a city block. I venture just outside the complex on a chilly evening to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. It’s 6 p.m. and museum guests are filing out. But for those of us who’ve reserved our personal take on Night at the Museum, the experience is just beginning. Emperor Franz Joseph opened this museum in 1891 as a place to display the Habsburg’s extensive collection of antiquities and European masterworks. In doing so, he created a building as formidable as the objects it would house.

Before I’ve even ascended the marble steps toward the restaurant, I’m arrested by Antonio Canova’s massive sculpture Theseus Slaying the Centaur. Above the staircase, I spot paintings by Klimt. These priceless treasures are just part of the furnishings. My table is waiting and the waiter is quick to proffer a welcoming flute of Pommery. All museum viewing should be like this: a reserved table from which to visit the exhibits at leisure, guided tours with art historians and a stellar menu (oysters, gravlax, roast beef, king prawns). Best of all, no crowds. I sip the champagne and marvel at the marble columns and cherub-strewn dome lit by the pink glow of the setting sun.

Soulful spaces Adolf Loos was one of the first Modernist architects in Vienna. In the early 1900s, after sojourns in New York and Chicago, he brought a new philosophy to his contrastingly opulent native city, namely “ornamentation is a crime.” With Loos’ world view in mind, I set out for a pre-opera cocktail at a venue that serves as both a living example of the architect’s social commentary and an unlikely masterpiece: Loos American Bar. It’s less than

100

addresses

photos thomas linke/l aif (Kunsthistorisches Museum, klimt); Fatih Pinar/Anzenberger (opéra); Sandra Raccanello/SIME (Christmas market)

28 square metres (300 square feet), and my first reaction upon entering the room is to blurt out, “Is this it?” The bartender nods with a slightly exasperated expression.

I order the specialty (Loos Champagne Cocktail) and sit back on the barstool to take it all in – it doesn’t take long. The dark wood panelling, green-leather banquettes and wall panels of backlit onyx lend a comfortable sophistication, while the cigar-smoke-filled air and clatter of cocktail shakers give it life. With five customers, the bar feels full. With 10, it’s positively hopping. This is the essence of gemütlichkeit.

I leave after my cocktail, but not before another set of novices come through the door. “Is this it?” one exclaims. I cast a sidelong glance at the bartender in time to see his jaw subtly tense.

The Vienna State Opera is conveniently only a few blocks from Loos Bar and mere steps from Hotel Sacher – even the city planning has gemütlichkeit! – and so I arrive at my seat with a little time to spare. Music is as much a part of life here as the blue Danube. Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck and Lehár all made Vienna their home; Vivaldi lived in a house that once stood where the Sacher is today. Inside, the theatre is grand, but not cavernous; tall, to accommodate the many levels of private boxes, but not wide. It’s soothing to be in such a storied hall of music. And as the curtain goes up on La Traviata, it’s the scarlet I see most. It’s in the curtains, the wall coverings and the plush velvet seats. And I can’t help but > wonder, What is the feeling of red?

Vienna Heritage Brands with Gemütlichkeit Altmann & Kühne Dating back to 1928, the Viennese confiserie is famous for its tiny handmade chocolates packaged in miniature boxes and doll-size chests of drawers. altmann-kuehne.at

J. & L. Lobmeyr This manufacturer of timeless glassware was founded in 1823, when it began producing chandeliers, which later included the first electric version, in collaboration with Thomas Edison. lobmeyr . at

Demel The 200-year-old bakery in the Kohlmarkt was the official confectioner to Austria’s royal court, and it still sells the beautiful candied violets that were a favourite of Empress Sisi. demel.at

Holiday Havens At Christmastime, Vienna’s gemütlichkeit is off the charts. Take it in at these festive markets (considered the city’s most intimate) from mid-November through December 24.

1 old viennese market on freyung The Viennese have been holding Christmas markets here since 1772. In the small, beautifully lit square, shop for one-of-a-kind ornaments and handmade gifts to the soundtrack of live carollers.

2 christmas market in the ehrenhof The regal Schönbrunn Palace sets the backdrop for this Christmas market that takes visitors back to a time before plastic, when holiday ornaments were made of materials like blown glass, wood and wax.

3 christmas market on karlsplatz This market features an extensive children’s program (think puppetry, crafts, games and visits from St. Nick) designed to keep kids busy while parents shop and relax over mulled wine and a sausage bun.

Mühlbauer This millinery began making its highquality hats in 1903. Today, followers of its contemporary offerings (including ball caps, visors and fascinators) include Brad Pitt and Madonna. muehlbauer.at Original Sacher Torte Many have imitated but none have quite duplicated the decadent chocolate cake made according to Franz Sacher’s 1832 recipe. For the full experience, taste it at the source: Hotel Sacher. sacher.com 101

B U L L E T I N

Life’s a Beach

s y d n e y “When I look at beaches and swimming pools from the air, I see the world as a work of art,” says American photographer Gray Malin, explaining his penchant for bird’s-eye views. For his series “À la plage, à la piscine” he visited six continents, snapping beaches and swimming pools from an open helicopter – as in this picture of Bondi Beach in Australia. Unlike English photographer Martin Parr, who prefers close-up, almost sociological portrayals of beach life, Malin opts for a broader perspective. Even so, every sun-worshipper has a role to play: “Each place has its own particular pattern of beach towels, surfboards and parasols. And as soon as you home in on the details, you find yourself looking at a study of human interaction.” maisongray.com

I n novat ion 102

Diego Masciaga Diego Masciaga is the manager of the three-Michelin-star Waterside Inn restaurant near London. Here the Italian explains what it takes – apart from excellent food – to retain this rating for 30 years.

t r a v e l What is good service?

It’s a bit like a good suit: What’s important is the details. How the chair is put in place, for example – lifted by hand, not shoved into position by foot.

photos gr ay malin; pl ainpicture; vik tor & rolf ILlustration brian Taylor

How do you do small talk?

You talk about the weather, or things that are in the news. Our guests are stars, politicians and people from the world of business.

But I would never ask a soccer player about his latest game.

People don’t go to a restaurant to talk about their work.

And what if someone behaves badly?

If one person at a table of 10 becomes abusive, there’s no point confronting them in front of the group – that just makes things worse. I would wait till he goes to the bathroom and then speak to him politely. That works 99.9 percent of the time.

How have guests changed over the years?

In the past our guests tended to be over 60, but today we have 25-yearolds coming here. People’s tastes have also become more adventurous.

And they take photographs of everything. Ten years ago photography was forbidden – today they take pictures and post them on Facebook.

For the Adventurous S t u t t g a r t Discovering Europe and having out-of-the-

ordinary experiences – that is the concept underlying the new Mercedes–Benz Travel premium brand. The organized holidays appeal to a broad range of different interests. For example, they can involve a trip to a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week or to the Jazz Festival in Montreux. Options currently available range from sport and technology to fashion and culture. The trips are initially only on offer to Chinese customers, but will later be extended to other countries as well. daimler.com

Digitable

b e i j i n g This “Digital Tornado” table, which comes in a limited edition of 12, was recently exhibited at Beijing Design Week by artist Zhang Zhoujie. Instead of designing the shape in advance, Zhang relied on computer simulations. The result is a table made of gleaming steel that displays the beauty of digital logic in threedimensional form. w w w. z h a n g z h o u j i e . c o m

103

B U L L E T I N

beijing Tianmen Zhangjiajie Tianmen

Shanghai

Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie Tianmen

from up

N a m e Road to Heaven d i sta n c e 11 kilometres HI G HE S T POI N T 1,300 metres

t h e c l i f f s of Wulingyuan in the eastern Chinese province of Hunan rise precipitously into the sky. Nearby is Tianmen Mountain (1,518 metres), which offers many splendid attractions: one of the world’s most spectacular cable cars, a glass viewing platform at 1,430 meters and Tongtian Dadao, the Road to Heaven. From the foot of the mountain the road runs 11 kilometres up to a height of 1,300 metres, with 99 hairpin bends in all. After the first third of the journey, you board a shuttle bus which takes you to the next attraction: Tianti, a staircase with 999 steps leading to the Heavenly Gate – a 30-metre-wide hole in the rock that small aircraft have been known to fly through. ch i natr av el . com

29°

A u t o m o t i v e d i ct i o nary

NVH rating: a term that refers to Noise, Vibration and Harshness, and sums up all the perceived sounds and vibrations that can affect the comfort of a vehicle’s interior.

104

3'

N,

11 0 °

28'

E

Supersonic T h e S p i k e S - 512 is a new

high-speed passenger jet that, from 2018 on, will whisk you from London to New York in three hours. A special feature is that, instead of windows, cameras will present panoramic views on display screens embedded in the walls. You will be able to change the images at the flick of a switch. spi k ea erospace . com

y o u

a r e

r e a d i n g . . .

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Haruki Murakami tells the story of Tsukuru Tazaki, who as a young man is rejected by his circle of friends. Sixteen years later, Tsukuru sets out to finally understand what was going on all those years ago.

Another masterpiece, published in August, by the Japanese author. randomhouse . com

p h o t o s g e t t y i m a g e s ; D a i m l e r a g ; o lw e n e va n s ; s p i k e a e r o s pa c e/s p i k e S - 512 s u p e r s o n i c j e t

1,000,000,000 D o l l a r s have so far been donated to projects on the Kickstarter website. This crowdfunding platform offers the opportunity to access funding for any project – from paper decorations to cat calendars, from robots to entire movies. The developers behind each project set a deadline and offer incentives to contributors that can range from the end product itself to a weekend visit with the creators, depending on the sum donated. The website was launched five years ago with a mere seven projects, but has now helped 5.7 million people in 224 countries to realize no fewer than 135,309 projects. Kickstarter now has many imitators, and crowdfunding has become a billion-dollar business.

o n c e

i n

a

“INSIGHT is not a light bulb that goes off inside our heads. It is a flickering candle that can easily be snuffed out.” malcolm gladwell, author

l i f e t i m e . . .

1

2

3

… Hover Above the Savannah

HOW IS IT DONE?

Forget jeep safaris, now you can explore Africa’s landscapes from a hot-air balloon. With a bit of luck you will see lions, zebras and gnus in the wild. what are the requirements?

You should be an early riser – the balloon usually takes off at sunrise. Open to children above the age of six or over 1.3 metres tall.

WHERE CAN YOU DO IT? Various companies such as wilderness-safaris.com offer balloon flights as part of their green safari trips in Zambia and Namibia.

105

B U L L E T I N

Stargazers F r a n kf u r t The exhibition Paparazzi!: Photographers, Stars and Artists features over 600 images ranging from a carefully staged shot of Jacqueline Onassis via publicity-shy Marlon Brando to the work of self-publicists like Paris Hilton. sch i r n.de

“my ­ brand is intended to represent my values: A woman can have a man’s life and still remain a woman – celebrate this freedom!” diane von fürstenberg, designer

D e s i g n

Have a Ball

Fully extended, the Feel Seating Deluxe covers almost 4 square metres.

T E L A V I V The Feel

Seating Deluxe system can be adapted to suit the mood of the user. It consists of 120 foam balls that can be spread out to form a lounging area or easily converted into a sofa or bean-bag chair. a n i m icausa .com

Woofer H o n g K o n g He may not bite, but he sure

can make noise: This AeroBull loudspeaker for iPods and MP3 players has Bluetooth, NFC and AUX interfaces and is available in five different colours. j a r r e . c o m /a e r o b u l l

r e s t a u r a n t

Pipe Dream

M el b o u r n e The Prahran Hotel is not actually a hotel but a gastro-pub. Concrete pipes provide individual intimacy, with seating comfort ensured by leather benches and wood panelling. The porterhouse steaks are highly recommended. p r a h r a n h o t e l . c o m

106

Drive with confidence.

Now you can choose a maintenance plan that’s right for you, whether you buy or lease. Pre-paying for maintenance offers significant savings compared to a pay-as-you-go approach.

Prepaid Maintenance is available at the time of purchase or any time before the first scheduled maintenance service.* For full details, visit mercedes-benz.ca/ppm.

A Daimler Brand

Features of Prepaid Maintenance† include: > As low as $14 per month on lease plans > 3-year plans starting from as low as $749 > Savings of up to 30% compared to pay-as-you-go > Fully-transferable from person to person > Honoured by authorized dealerships across Canada

©2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. *Prepaid Maintenance is available for most 2013 and newer models. †Certain terms and conditions apply.

See your dealer or visit the website for complete details.

B U L L E T I N

All Aboard!

R o v i nj , C r o at i a

Curved lines, gleaming white facades and stunning sea views: Seen from afar, the Lone Hotel looks like a cruise ship. Some of the rooms at this designer hotel offer maritime flair, with their own private jacuzzi on the balcony.

There is also a vast outdoor 108

bathing area as well as an indoor pool – and the beach itself is only about 150 metres away. The foyer boasts a sculpture specially designed

by Croatian artist Ivana Franke and made of criss-crossing metal bars that – despite their length of nine metres – seem to almost hover in the air.

Everything in the hotel, from the architecture right down to the design of the menu, was created by local artists and craftsmen. The 236 generously proportioned rooms and 12 suites, together with a wellness and spa centre, three restaurants and two meeting rooms, are spread over six floors. The Lone may not be

If the beach is too far away, you can opt to stay on your own jacuzzi terrace.

an intimate boutique hotel, but it doesn’t seem excessively impersonal either. What certainly helps is its location in the charming town of Rovinj, with its narrow lanes, Venetian-style architecture and the imposing tower of St. Euphemia’s Basilica. Here, too, with a view of nearby islands, you almost have the feeling of being on the bridge of a ship. l o n e h o t e l . c o m

phOTOS ron galell a; ltd; PR

the lone Design Hotel on the coast of Istria resembles a ship.

Guests enjoy the sensation of being on the high seas.

REGISTER NOW AT THECONCORD.CA

BUI LDI NG C AN ADA’S L ARGEST COM M UNITI ES

B U L L E T I N

Xiaolin Zheng The 35-year-old Stanford University professor develops flexible solar cells that can be attached to a range of different surfaces.

Sharp Thinking LI K E A M ASSI V E N E E D L E , this lookout tower and

radio mast are set to rise above the forest near the Turkish city of Çanakkale in 2015. To reduce the impact on the natural surroundings, architectural consultants IND and Powerhouse Company are building the access to the tower on stilts. Visitors will be able to walk through the forest to a lookout point, gaze across the city from there and then walk on to the visitor centre, which will hover above the trees. The tower itself is set to reach a height of 100 metres. internationaldesign.nl

How did you first hit on the idea?

In my home country, China, you see many solar panels on roofs that are used for heating water. Years ago my father said to me, “Wouldn’t it be great if solar cells could be made lighter and more flexible?

Then you could put them up anywhere, not just on roofs!” From that point onward, I somehow couldn’t get the idea out of my head.

110

A u c t i o n

Up for Grabs L a s t J u ly , auctioneers

Bonhams sold some 40 privately owned Mercedes, Benz and Mercedes-Benz automobiles.

Among the models coming under the hammer at the MercedesBenz Museum was a 540K Cabriolet A from 1936 (pictured), which fetched upwards of $3.2 million. bonhams.com

i l l u s t r at i o n b r i a n Tay l o r

What are the possible uses for your solar cells?

Solar stickers enable virtually any surface to be used to generate energy. Since they are light, flexible and transparent, you can stick them on walls, cellphones, helmets, convex windows, portable electronics, bicycles or curved automobile roofs.

Their output remains the same, but the costs are potentially lower.

p h o t o s i m o n c l ay f o r b o n h a m s

What makes your flexible solar cells different from conventional ones?

Normally, thin-layer photovoltaic (PV) cells are mounted on silicon or glass wafers, which are heavy, inflexible materials but can withstand heat. That is why we still use them, but we add a metal layer between the solar cell and the backing material. If you put this structure in warm water, the solar cell can be peeled off the wafer and glued to any surface you like.

We’ll get you there.

Comptez sur nous.

You've worked hard. You've earned your place. Welcome to Private Client.

Get personal, one-on-one wealth management advice specially tailored to your specific investment needs. Because it’s time to make your money work for you.

Your dedicated professional advisor is waiting for you, visit IGprivateclient.com

Vous avez travaillé dur. Vous avez mérité votre place. Bienvenue à Gestion privée. Obtenez des conseils personnalisés et directs concernant la gestion de votre patrimoine en fonction de vos besoins précis d’investissement.

Le temps est venu de faire travailler votre argent pour vous. Votre conseiller professionnel attend de vous servir. Visitez GIgestionprivee.com

B U L L E T I N

f u e l

c e l l

Oasis on Wheels

photos Daimler AG

H O L LY W O O D S TA R S Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson spent two days at 50°C in Death Valley, California – without taking any water with them. Their only ally was the Mercedes-Benz F-CELL B-Class, which uses a fuel cell to generate electricity from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, producing emissions of pure water. The film Defying Death Valley shows their journey through the desert, how they waited apprehensively for the first taste of water from the reservoir on the rear of the vehicle – and how they realized that their car could produce drinkable water. The two stars were, in fact, proponents of fuel-cell technology before their journey.

“Filling up in three minutes, driving some 400 kilometres and generating zero emissions – it doesn’t get much better than that,” said Jackson. mb4.me/drive4water

112

Sign up for the Winter Driving Academy.

Gain absolute control.

Register at mercedes-benz.ca/winterdriving.

Space is limited.

A Daimler Brand

X

Š 2014 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

B U L L E T I N

c o n c e p t ca r

Good Reference S t u t t g a r t The Coupe

360 fly. com

Marine Luxury

Zone 1 Apartments and hotels are being built here. Wind turbines and solar cells generate green electricity.

Zone 5 Below water level are technical rooms with research centres and recycling plants.

G r a n d C a n c Ú n is a vision of a green offshore tourist resort near the popular Mexican seaside town of Cancún. It consists of a marine platform with luxury hotels and apartments, as well as cinemas, conference centres and shopping malls. Sustainability is the name of the game, the idea being that the platform is carbon-neutral and even produces enough energy and drinking water to supply some of the mainland as well. The main aim is to use state-of-the-art water purification techniques to clean seawater. The resort is planned for completion by 2020 – the 50th anniversary of the creation of Cancún. gr andcancunintl .wix . com /international

114

Zones 2-4 Here there’s room for restaurants, offices, shopping malls and conference centres. p h o t o s d aiml e r A G ; a r ch . r icha r d m o r e ta castill o r a+ D

fly on the wall With its all-round vision, the 360Fly camera misses nothing. Weighing in at a mere 120 grams, it can be mounted virtually anywhere.

SUV concept car represents a further step toward the fusion of sportiness and robustness already hinted at by the GLA compact SUV. The automobile simultaneously incorporates features of a coupe and an off-road vehicle. Thanks to what Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener calls its “extreme proportions,” the concept car offers a glimpse of what an entirely new class of vehicle might look like. m ercedes - benz . ca

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got you covered.

The Mercedes-Benz Extended Limited Warranty.

Enjoy even more worry-free driving with the Mercedes-Benz Extended Limited Warranty, an affordable way to help retain the value of your vehicle.

Best of all, you can purchase extended coverage at any point during your new vehicle warranty period.

Extended Limited Warranty

Your coverage can be extended to a total of 7 years and a maximum of 160,000 km (double the basic warranty distance). Benefits include a zero deductible, Roadside Assistance, and it can be transferred to a new owner.*

Ask your Service Advisor for more information, or visit mercedes-benz.ca.

A Daimler Brand

*Certain terms, conditions and an administration fee apply.

See your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer for details.

B U L L E T I N

ICONS PA R K I N G

N A S A G e ts a T i c k e t After landing a probe on the asteroid Eros (433) in 2001, NASA received a bill for $20 from one Gregory Nemitz for parking fees. The American had filed a claim for ownership of the asteroid shortly beforehand.

P ar k in g b y N um b e rs In 2009, British researcher Simon Blackburn came up with a formula for parallel parking.

Unfortunately, the calculations required are so complicated that it would be faster just to find a bigger parking space.

The parking brake on a car ensures that it comes to a complete standstill. Parking as a concept, however, frequently moves people into action, as these six unusual facts reveal.

Ent e r th e P ar k in g M e t e r The first coin-operated parking meter was installed in Oklahoma in 1935. Invented by publisher and attorney Carl Magee, it was designed to combat traffic snarls in downtown areas. Just 16 years later, the number of parking meters in the USA had ballooned to one million.

I nt e rnational P A R K ( in g ) Day From Buenos Aires to Berlin and Bucharest, last year’s PARK(ing) Day – during which metered parking spaces were transformed into artworks, parks or mini-beaches for a few hours – was a bona fide global event. PARK(ing) Day has become an annual happening, taking place each September.

F e d E x - p e nsi v e Doing business in New York City can be a pricey proposition for commercial delivery companies. In 2006, they collectively racked up a whopping $102 million in parking tickets. UPS alone shelled out $18.7 million in parking fines that year.

116

ILLUSTRATION LEANDRO CASTELAO/DUTCHUNCLE PHOTOS JAMES THEW/FOTOLI; GETTY IMAGES; PRISMA

T h e P ar k in g L ot M o v i e 2010’s The Parking Lot Movie is a documentary about – surprise! – a parking lot and how its attendants perceive the world. The men relate tales of spoiled college students and drivers who haggle bitterly over a cent or two, but at its heart the film is concerned with no less than the meaning of life.

(r 2

Mercedes-Benz Genuine Accessories

A Daimler Brand

Distinctive style for you and yours.

www.mercedes-benz.ca

s t a y s

Town & Country Five of our favourite getaways around the globe, from rainforest resorts to ultramodern chalets.

118

P u e r to R i co

Berlin, Germany

stregisbahiabeach . com

kempinski . com / en / berlin

St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort

Hotel Adlon Kempinski

The only AAA Five Diamond property in Puerto Rico, this lush, remote resort offers golf, tennis and fine dining, but always with an eye for conservation – since opening in 2010, 60 percent of its 195 hectares have remained undeveloped.

D E S I G N Plantation-style bungalows feature enormous open showers, soaker tubs, beamed ceilings and Frette throws.

AMENI T IE S Remède Spa offers a water circuit (steam room, sauna and plunge pool) under a rainforest canopy, as well as oceanside massages in a private beach cabana.

D RE S S C O D E Resort chic, but pack a good pair of shoes for cycling and a hike through nearby El Yunque rainforest.

D RIN K A glass of bubbly at the daily champagne sabring ritual.

D I S H Blackened octopus care of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Fern restaurant.

O U T IN G Spend the day exploring the forts, shops and cobblestoned streets of Old San Juan, about a 30-minute drive away.

D O N ’ T MI S S The Boathouse offers tons of kid-friendly activities, including a touch tank, kayaking and sailing, as well as catch-and-release fishing from the dock.

If these walls could talk… Built in 1907, razed during WWII, run as a single wing throughout the city’s division, resuscitated for reunification and expanded throughout the 2000s: This is the place in which to capture the Berlin experience.

AMENI T IE S The Brandenburg Gate may be right outside, but you’ll find comfortable respite from the tourist throng in the Adlon’s four dining concepts, including Tim Raue’s Asian-inspired Sra Bua and the classically European (and Michelin two-starred) Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer.

D RE S S C O D E Smart casual, with an edge.

D RIN K A flute of the house-label sekt.

D I S H The famous Adlon Currywurst, a Havel-pork sausage (from an apple-fed pig) in spicy sauce.

O U T IN G Museum Island and its five state galleries are five minutes away, but the hotel’s neighbour hides a secret masterpiece: Behind the modest facade of the DZ Bank, find a Frank Gehrydesigned interior. Ask the concierge to arrange a viewing.

D O N ’ T MI S S The Adlon Spa by Resense. Try the Signature Ritual, a full-body treatment using ingredients such as black grape, sunflower and geranium, or join a yoga and meditation class with in-house master Vijay Kumar Vyas.

Wild nights

BACH

wildlife

Kraftwerk

B aie - S aint - P au l , Q uebec

Hôtel La Ferme lemassif . com / hotel

M ontrea l , Q uebec

The Liberty Hotel

Ritz-Carlton Montreal

libertyhotel . com

Tucked between land and sea in the Quebec countryside, this terroir-obsessed hotel promises an experience for the senses and access to some of the best skiing in the province.

D E S I G N Find an ultramodern take on chalet chic celebrating the work of Charlevoix artisans in every design detail, from the lighting to the bedspreads.

A M E N I T I E S Relax in the Nordic baths at the Spa du Verger (“orchard spa”), then book a Nebula body treatment with your choice of locally inspired scrub, including Maple Sugar and Boreal Forest.

D R E S S C O D E Equal parts gentleman farmer and urban athlete.

D R I N K Get your apple a day in the Bercail lounge with a Verger Sour, a mix of Belle de Brillet pear liqueur, ice cider, cinnamon and lemon.

D I S H The Labours restaurant showcases the best of the region with every ingredient, including cheeses from Maurice Dufour and Galloway beef from Ferme l’Oiseau Bleu.

O U T I N G Le Massif ski hill is a mere 40 minutes away on the complimentary train shuttle.

D O N ’ T M I S S Known for its impressive acoustics, the hotel’s Multi room regularly hosts emerging and established musicians, both local and international.

Ski school

B oston , U S A

Art School

ritzmontreal . com

This hip hotel doesn’t shy away from its former life as the Charles Street Jail (which housed some of Boston’s most notorious criminals, including the Boston Strangler). Quite the contrary: It celebrates its past at every turn.

D E S I G N Built in 1851, the jail was hailed as one of the best examples of the Boston Granite Style. A 2007 refurbishment dramatically updated the catwalks, ocular windows and stunning 27-metre atrium.

A M E N I T I E S The Yard hosts daily events, including Fashionably Late Thursdays, featuring local designers’ fashion shows.

D R E S S C O D E New England casual: Think Tod’s loafers and a tweed blazer.

D R I N K Sip on a brandy-based Boy Named Belle cocktail at Alibi, the former drunk tank (of course).

D I S H The Port Clyde lobster rolls with truffle salt, mayo citrus butter, bacon and fennel, served from the jail-cell kitchen at Clink.

O U T I N G Rain, shine or snow, train for the Boston Marathon on the sycamore-lined Esplanade along the nearby Charles River.

D O N ’ T M I S S The Bloody Mary DIY cocktail bar during weekend brunch in the lobby.

Montreal rejoiced when the pride of Sherbrooke Street reopened in 2012 after a four-year break for renovations. Now the 100-year-old hotel is in full stride, its classic good looks firmly intact and its mojo in overdrive.

A M E N I T I E S Superstar chef Daniel Boulud brought his French-inspired takes on hyper-local cuisine to Maison Boulud, the city’s de facto meeting place for a business lunch or special occasion.

Conceived by Tokyo-based Super Potato, the restaurant’s textured design is as much a visual delight as Boulud’s innovative dishes.

D R E S S C O D E Effortless French-inspired style – Hermès scarf recommended.

D R I N K Afternoon Tea in the Palm Court topped off with bubbly from the new Dom Pérignon bar.

D I S H Cocoa-marbled foie gras with gingerbread.

O U T I N G Step outside to Montreal’s Golden Square Mile, the city’s most concentrated collection of luxury shopping. Tiffany & Co. shares ground-level space with the Ritz, and Holt Renfrew is right next door.

D O N ’ T M I S S The little touches in the beautifully appointed rooms, from lavender pillow spray delivered at turndown to the Ritz lion frescoed on the shower basin, to heated seats on the luxurious Toto-brand WCs.

Striped pyjamas

BAGEL

plaid Pyjamas

CRUMPET

119

s o c i e t y s o c i e t y

People & Places Step out with Mercedes-Benz at the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hottest events, from fashion weeks to boat shows.

mercedes -benz vancouver Grand Opening Mercedes-Benz Canada hosted over 1,000 guests in April 2014 to celebrate the grand opening of its new 6,320-square-metre flagship facility. Tim A. Reuss, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, and Ola Källenius, Head of Global Sales and Marketing of the Mercedes-Benz Car Group, welcomed guests to the event, which was catered by Hawksworth restaurant and Chez Christophe. The evening featured entertainment from acclaimed singer Divine Brown and a special parting gift designed by Mercedes-Benz Start Up alumnus Christopher Bates: a pair of branded boxer shorts created to benefit Prostate Cancer Canada.

120

antique and classic Boat Show Mercedes-Benz was the exclusive automotive partner of the Antique and Classic Boat Society of Toronto’s 34th Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show. The theme of this year’s show, held at Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst, ON, was “Every Boat Has a Story.” MercedesBenz Canada was on hand to showcase a fleet of vehicles and to announce the winner of the “Best Presented Boat” award.

join the pact campaign Johnnie Walker partnered with two-time F1 world champion Mika Häkkinen to launch Join the Pact, a global campaign aimed at preventing drinking and driving. Events included a stunt by Häkkinen in a C 63 AMG Coupe provided by Mercedes-Benz which had him producing his signature on the tarmac with tire marks, and the distribution of taxi vouchers to Torontonians who made the pact. Pictured, top: Mika Häkkinen performs a driving spectacular; Below, left to right: Jakob Ripshtein, President, Diageo Canada; Bob Peter, CEO & President, LCBO; Mika Häkkinen; Steve Petsinis, General Manager, LCBO

Sid Neigum, 2014 Start Up Awarded Designer

Eliza Faulkner, Victoria finalist mercedes -benz start up program In August, the fourth edition of the nationwide search for emerging Canadian fashion designers heated up with semi-finals in Victoria, BC, Gatineau, QC, and Burlington, ON. Six designers were selected to participate in the national finale at World MasterCard Fashion Week this October. There, Toronto talent Sid Neigum took the grand prize: a $30,000 bursary to help further his fashion career.

Valérie Tolila, Gatineau finalist

121

Next Level

A C-Class for the Ages The 2015 C 400 4MATIC is the result of an astounding evolution of form and function. w o r d s c h ristop h er korc h in eu ro pe an v ehi c le m o del sh ow n

T h e M e r c e d e s - B e n z c o m p a c t e x e c u t i v e c l a s s can trace its roots all the way back to the 1980s and the 190-Class, the precursor to the C-Class. The following decades saw a superb assortment of C-Class models that continued to innovate. But that 30-year span also marks our rapid evolution, as a society, from the mechanical age to the information age.

Now, for 2015, the C-Class is a showcase of both brilliant mechanics and cutting-edge IT. Step into the luxury interior of the C 400 4MATIC and one of the first things youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll notice is the elegant centre head unit, which displays vital navigation information. Its many functions are easily and intuitively controlled by a touchpad on the handrest in the central console. Explore further and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll discover that the vehicle boasts many of the standard and optional Intelligent Drive innovations that debuted only recently on its larger E-Class and S-Class siblings.

Of course, the carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical traits are just as sophisticated as its computerized ones. Slightly larger and yet significantly lighter than its predecessor, the 2015 C 400 4MATIC features sweeping, sensuous bodylines and AMG styling. And, with a powertrain that features the potent trio of a 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission, permanent all-wheel drive and a mighty 329-hp 24-valve turbocharged V6 engine, the C 400 4MATIC has performance to match its good looks.

Equal parts mechanical marvel and information-age leader, it is definitely a model for our times.

Visit mercedes-benz.ca to learn more about the all-new C 400 4MATIC. 122

THE NEW DE BEERS

C O L L E C T I O N C E L E B R AT E S A D A N C E O F L I G H T

VA N C O U V E R • 1 0 8 8 A L B E R N I S T R E E T • 6 0 4 2 3 5 5 5 5 5

DEBEERS.COM

D E B E E R S ® , A D I A M O N D I S F O R E V E R ® , J E W E L L E R O F L I G H T ™ A R E T R A D E M A R K S O F T H E D E B E E R S G R O U P O F C O M PA N I E S .