Things to Do in Napa & Sonoma

Grutas Parks is a fascinating cultural center that exhibits Soviet era relics and statues in its museum and sculpture garden.

From 1989 to 1991, when Lithuania regained its independence, Soviet monuments were dismantled and dumped throughout the country. In an effort to preserve the monuments but with little money to do so, the government allowed Lithuanian entrepreneur Viliumas Malinauskas to open this self-funded sculpture park in 2001 near the town of Druskininkai.

Spread over 20 hectares (49 acres), Grutas Park has 86 monuments and statues set among re-creations of Soviet prison camps, guard towers and barbed-wire fences. Here you’ll find statues of the main Communist leaders and thinkers, including Lenin, Stalin and Marx, leaders of the Red Terror and the Red Army. The set-up is designed to help visitors understand the impact of Soviet ideology on the Lithuanian people.

One of Belgium’s best fine art museums, the Groeningemuseum, holds a collection that covers around 600 years of Flemish and Belgian painting, from the 14th through the 20th century. Notable pieces include the 15th-century Flemish painter Jan van Eyck’s Madonna with Canon Van der Paele. This piece was completed in 1436 and features highly sophisticated techniques such as fine detailing and the use of multiple layers of oil and varnish to achieve texture and depth. This painting is regarded as one of Van Eyck’s most ambitious works.  

Other works on display include Hans Memling’s Moreel's Triptych; Hieronymus Bosch’s The Last Judement, Gerard David’s Judgment of Cambyses, which depicts the corrupt Persian judge Sisamnes being flayed alive, and other pieces by early Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden and the surrealists Magritte and Paul Delvaux.

The museum is small but thoughtfully arranged so that the layout of its 11 rooms follow a chronological order. Unlike many European art museums, the Groeningemuseum does not suffer from large crowds, even in the peak summer tourist season. The museum is set back from a main street in a small park behind a medieval gate. When you have finished inside the building, the surrounding gardens make an attractive place to spend some time.

Located in the city of Bursa, the Green Mosque is part of a larger complex that also includes a madrassah, tomb, kitchen and bath. Commissioned by Sultan Mehmed I Celebi, it was built between 1419 and 1421 in an architectural style that would later become known as “Bursa Style.”  Based on a reverse T-plan, the mosque was made of sandstone and covered with marble panels. Two minarets that could only be accessed through the sultan’s apartments were added later.

The Green Mosque likely got its name from the blue green tiles that once adorned the exteriors of its domes. Similar tiles still embellish the interior walls and ceiling. The imposing entrance features two marble sofas on either side and a variety of inscriptions and arabesques, including a long Arabic inscription in bronze above the door. Underneath the central dome sits white marble fountain with an octagonal pool.

An earthquake damaged the mosque in 1855, after which it underwent extensive renovations. Although many of the original decorations of the mosque’s vaults and walls were not restored, the mosque remains a remarkable site to behold and is a must-see in Bursa.

One of the oldest fortresses in Germany, this medieval castle dates back to the 13th century with original owner Rudolf von Greifenstein residing here in 1226. Located in Hesse and declared a national historical landmark in 1995, the dark grey stone castle features numerous courtyards and bastions, as well as torture chambers, towers, catacombs, a baroque church, an underground chapel, herb gardens and a wine cellar. Interestingly, the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and today you’ll see sections that are in ruins while other parts are in-tact.

A major highlight of a visit to the Greifenstein Castle is its German Bell Museum, where you can view about 50 beautiful bells, some dating back to the ninth century. Bells have descriptions about how they were produced, and visitors have the chance to create their own music by chiming them. Don’t leave without also having a meal in the onsite restaurant, which is reminiscent of old times with scroll menus, knights providing entertainment and traditional meals you eat with your hands. If you have time, you can explore the hiking trails in the nearby forest.

The Green Tomb is a mausoleum of Sultan Mehmed I Celebi that forms part of the Green Mosque complex in Bursa, Turkey.  Perched high on a hill in the Yesil neighborhood, the tomb stands above the rest of the complex. Built shortly after the death of the sultan in 1421, the exterior of the tomb features blue green tiles similar to those you will see at the Green Mosque. However, most were replaced after an earthquake significantly damaged the tomb in 1855.

The interior of the Green Tomb is richly decorated, beginning with carved wooden doors and colorful Iznik tiles that adorn the entry portal.  Inside, blue green tiles cover the lower portion of the walls and floral themes are evident throughout the tomb. One niche features a mosaic depicting a garden of carnations, roses and hyacinths while the tiles on the royal catafalque form additional flower designs.

Time and tide have etched the limestone Green Grotto Caves, lined with the green algae that gives them their name. The caverns are home to bats and marine life, and over the centuries they’ve been a hideout for fugitives and runaway slaves.

Hidden away in an inner cavern is the crystal-clear Grotto Lake. Overhead, pockets in the limestone provide filtered light through the caverns’ forest of stalactites and stalagmites.