Warm and nice weather on Saturday. We were picked up shortly after 8 am for our first stop: the FDR Presidential Library. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, short "FDR", was the 32nd U.S. President (1933-1945) and the first one who introduced the custom of "Presidential Libraries" when he was still in office. Besides having been re-elected three times, he was a real character, an energetic "doer" and a people's man.
Most remarkable is, that he was paralyzed from the waist down because of polio, which he got when he was 39 years old, before his presidency. Since in the old times a physical handicap was considered a no-no in such a position, he sort of pretended to have overcome polio and with the help of heavy metal braces on his legs, a cane and an aide, he always walked a couple of steps at public appearances and hid his inability perfectly. Most people in America didn't know that he was paralyzed and that his legs were completely useless. In the house he used a wooden wheelchair and a dump elevator to hoist himself up to the upper floors pulling ropes.
The promenade, FDR used to exercise with his crutches, and his modestt gravesite in the rosegarden:
His wife, Eleanor, a distinct relative from another branch of the Roosevelt family, was a highly intelligent and personable First Lady, involved in human and civil rights, a writer and fighter for justice and FDR's best adviser.
Besides the Presidential Library and the Visitor Center there is the FDR House (pic), called "Springwood", owned and reigned by FDR's mother, Sara, open for tours. The mansion is surrounded by a huge park, plus a Rose Garden with the family grave sites. The exhibitions in the Library tell the story of the Roosevelt presidency beginning in the Great Depression and continuing through the New Deal and World War II. The Oval Office Desk and FDR's Ford Phaeton are to be seen and besides his merits during the presidency, topics like the deal with the "Japanese American Internment," the Holocaust, his Health, the Fireside Chats on radio, which he introduced, are dealt with.
Across the street from the FDR's estate: Hyde Park Brewing Company - our lunch stop after the highly interesting FDR Library. Sitting outside, on the patio in the sun, we enjoyed samplers of their German style beer, for which they are known, going well with Bratwurst and Knockwurst with Sauerkraut and "German Potato Salad".
It's been a little drive through the woods - beautiful in the sun - and, thankfully we didn't have to drive ourselves (without GPS a challenge!), to the Madava Farms/Crown Maple Estate in Dover Plains. They are famous for their gourmet maple syrup, using state-of-the-art production technology and extremely high purity standards. The sap (tree juice) used for the syrup comes from around 50,000 sugar and red maple trees on the grounds, which is, considering that it takes 40-50 gallons of sap to make a gallon of pure maple syrup, not too surprising. The method used is highly technical, with Reverse Osmosis to remove water and produce a concentrate, which is pumped into an „Evaporator“ and only quickly heated there before filtered twice and pumped into barrels for storage until bottling. Much different from the small sugarhouses we have seen in New Hampshire and Vermont in the past!
Millbrook Winery - horribly busy, city dwellers from NYC all over, visiting this apparently very popular winery with two large tasting rooms, wine and cheese room and a new balcony with great Catskill Mountain views. The winery is housed in a former dairy barn on a hilltop, surrounded by lakes. We got a regular tour and tasting there - after some waiting time - and got to know that besides wines (partly with grapes from California), the company also owns olive groves in Italy and produce their own olive oil.
Another highlight of the day: the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, the possibly most prestigious cooking school in the world. They have branches in San Antonio/TX and Napa/California which we have both visited before, plus a new one in Singapore. The campus alone, directly on the bench of the Hudson River (pic), all green and nicely manicured, and the main building, a former Jesuit college/monastery, are worth a visit! We got a tour through the different kitchens and halls by a very young student who wants to open a croissant bakery in NYC once he has accomplished his bachelor's degree (4 years). A year in this highly reputed college costs around $ 40,000, all included, especially gourmet meals, and most probably also a job after studies.
Not quite a CIA meal, but great prime rib, that's what we had afterwards in the "Shadows on the Hudson". The great views towards the river came for free, in addition. Back to the hotel a little after 8 pm, it's been a busy and interesting day in the Hudson Valley.
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