[Theme music: Hope & Inspire from Purple Planet]
[00:32] Welcome to Wandering Mind, an audio tour of some of the most amazing holiday destinations you can possibly imagine.
I’m your host, Hope Faulkner, and I’ll be bringing you all the information you need to plan the holiday of a lifetime.
I’ll tell you about all the big tourist attractions, and let you in on the secrets locals love. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it… So let’s go on holiday!
[Theme music ends]
[01:03] Today’s destination: Vesa.
[01:07] A bustling metropolis may not seem the obvious choice of destination when you’re trying to escape the daily grind, but a well-chosen city break can offer a vital change of scene without compromising your creature comforts. So, as a contrast to the more wild and outdoorsy places I’ve been recently, I’m bringing you to Vesa, City of the Winds.
[01:26] As any trivia buff could tell you, Vesa is home to the tallest skyscraper on the planet, Taergor Tower – and with it, some of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever seen. From the top observation deck, the city spreads out beneath you in every direction, giving way gradually to the suburbs and then the surrounding plains.
[01:44] The River Taere used to flow right through the city and now runs underneath it, having been channeled underground before construction began on the large buildings we see today. In the city centre, you’ll find several toughened-glass pavements where you can look down and see the water rushing beneath you. Halfway through the suburbs, the river emerges again, undaunted by its brief subterranean adventure, and carries on towards the sea.
[02:07] The whole city is quite a feat of engineering, and nowhere is this more apparent than in a tour of the hydro-electric facility that draws power from the river, acting as a calm-weather backup for the famous wind turbines atop the city’s towers. As you might expect in a place with the nickname ‘City of the Winds’, this backup is rarely needed, and as a result the city sells the energy generated back to the national grid in order to fund some of the world’s best programmes for the arts, education, sports, and social initiatives.
[02:35] The turbine towers themselves are also worth a visit, and though they’re all much the same mechanically, each tower has its own distinct personality thanks to the efforts of the team stationed there. For example, the inside of Cayorn Tower is decorated to resemble a casino, the engineers at the Bradus Turbine went all-out for a fairy palace theme, the Farbin Tower’s interior is a loving homage to the operatic works of Zaccheus Gilbarde… and so on.
[02:59] The public are welcome – and, indeed, encouraged – to visit, in exchange for a coin towards the maintenance of these ornately-decorated machines. Many of the turbine towers also let out rooms to use for events, meetings or accommodation, but sleeping directly beneath an enormous wind turbine isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
[03:17] I spent a lovely hour or so at Drullaft Tower – its decor is along nautical lines, and like many of the other towers, they’ve really taken a lot of care to make sure the machinery that makes the turbine work is on display and lovingly incorporated into the theme. Several gears and cogs have dolphins painted on them, and waves in front, which is just adorable, really.
[03:37] While I was at Drullaft Tower, I asked the resident engineers what they’d advise a tourist to do while in Vesa. A few suggested clubs or restaurants – there are plenty – but one landmark kept coming up in conversation; the large stone tablet known as the Menhir Ythar. The directions they gave me all relied on turbines – a surprisingly efficient way of navigating the city – and I soon found my way to Swoc Tower, which has a bold monochrome theme and is a favourite with photographers. It also directly faces the square where the Menhir Ythar stands, only a few streets from Vesa’s legendary Academy Hospital.
[04:13] The reason for building the hospital here becomes apparent when you discover that the tablet is a site of pilgrimage, believed to have healing powers. Being quite healthy already, I can’t vouch for the truth of that, but I do know that crowds absolutely surrounded the tablet for the three hours I spent in and around the square.
[04:30] The Mhenir Ythar itself is a granite slab, five feet tall and carved in ancient times with indecipherable writing and beautiful images. One face has been almost completely worn smooth by the hands of hopeful supplicants, to the point that the city runs an annual contest for the best attempt to recreate the image that used to be there. The winning design is printed on souvenir merchandise for the year – this year, it’s a fearsome mythical beast that doesn’t look very healing at all.
[04:55] In an attempt to minimise this sort of erosion on the other faces, the stone is now maintained by a non-profit organisation. Their staff keep order around the monument as people shuffle forward to touch the stone and whisper a prayer to whichever deity they hope is listening. Once or twice, I even saw an orderly from the hospital carry a patient out to the stone, bypassing the queue entirely.
[05:16] Whether out of true belief, or a sense of tradition, the people of the city definitely revere the Menhir Ythar, and why shouldn’t they? Regardless of its alleged healing powers, it gives the sick hope – and maybe I’m biased, but I happen to think hope is a very precious thing indeed.
[05:33] As tourists, of course, we don’t have to ponder the big questions. Simply spending time in unfamiliar surroundings can be healing in itself. There are plenty of ways to enjoy yourself in Vesa; for one thing, I spent almost a week here, and ate every meal at a different restaurant.
[05:48] The options here range from top-class establishments, such as celebrity chef Roland Baxter’s flagship location, Parlour, all the way down through family restaurants and commuter cafés to street food stalls, and each has something unique to offer.
[06:02] I developed a fondness for Querell, a sort of sticky, sweet pastry filled with a creamy herb-based custard. It sounds bizarre, but trust me – just the smell from the cart is enough to make my mouth water. For a main course, I recommend the Season’s Surprise, a local specialty dish comprising eighteen different vegetables – which vary from season to season – a dash of spice, and optional chicken. It’s both filling and surprisingly flavoursome – the family at the next table told me their children never eat vegetables, unless it’s this particular dish, which is a sentiment I heard several times during my stay.
[06:38] In terms of entertainment, there are no fewer than twelve different theatres in the city, as well as several cinemas. The Vesa City Zoo is world-famous, and deservedly so. You can even make a special ‘experience’ booking on entry, if you want to come face-to-face with some of nature’s more elusive creatures. For example, a slight hiccup in the zoo’s breeding programme led to the hand-raising of two female Longnosed Saltlicks, Ani and Ina, who are now three years old and very tame.
[07:04] These creatures are more than happy to sit on your shoulder, wrap their tails around your arm, and snuffle in your ear as if they’re telling you a secret. If startled, they do roll up in their shells and scuttle back to their keepers, but curiosity soon wins out – and there’s a photographer on hand specifically to capture all those adorable moments.
[07:22] You’ll have to leave your own cameras, bags, and other loose possessions in the lockers provided, however, as anything taken into the enclosure is considered fair game by the Saltlicks. The keepers have an ‘unclaimed loot’ box full of items the girls have stolen, including sunglasses, wallets, cameras, watches, and even a shoe. It’s hard to stay mad at the Saltlicks, though, because they’re so impossibly cute. I’d definitely recommend stopping by.
[07:48] One of Vesa’s biggest attractions is the shopping, however. I’m not much for retail therapy, but even I thoroughly enjoyed exploring all the little boutiques and antique bookshops the city has to offer. Whatever you need, while you’re here, you can buy it – and plenty of curiosities lurk in the side streets. One shop I passed seemed to sell nothing but crystal chandeliers in varying sizes – some looked as if they might belong in a hamster cage, rather than a house! I suppose, if you have particularly pampered pets, you might like to get them a little chandelier as a souvenir…?
[08:19] More traditional souvenir items are also available from various places around town, of course. There are a few little galleries, too, showcasing the work of local artists, and one or two also offer you the chance to try your hand at creating a masterpiece yourself! My attempt ended up looking something like a squashed potato, rather than the majestic Soaring Weasel I’d hoped to create, but I’ll be taking it home with pride all the same.
[08:42] Hotels in the city tend towards the upper end of the scale in both quality and price – most fall somewhere between a four-star and six-star rating, with a handful of hostels covering the lower price bands. If you’re travelling on a budget, you may want to look into the short-term rental market instead – many people offer their spare rooms to tourists for anything from a couple of nights to a couple of months.
[09:03] Renting a room is a great way to get a resident’s-eye view of the city and make some new friends into the bargain, although if you’d rather not live in someone’s home there are also a few more self-contained apartments available for stays over a fortnight – including flats in some of the turbine towers! I opted to split my stay between a couple of nights in a hotel and a couple of nights with a host family, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Thanks to Asea, Seth and Tarji for having me – I’ll definitely keep in touch!
[09:30] Vesa is often described as the jewel in Ofren’s crown – although, of course, Ofren is a democratic republic and has no monarch to wear one – and from what I’ve seen of the city, that’s true. It’s a rare combination of magnificent engineering and architectural elegance, with attractions to suit any taste.
[09:49] I feel as though I’d need at least two more weeks to explore everything there is to do here, and I recommend you either book a longer stay, or make a plan before you go, in order to get the most out of your visit. Of course, if you live nearby and know what you want to see, it’d be a great place for a day trip, too.
[10:04] This city has so much to offer that you could just stay here and keep exploring forever. It’s a wrench to leave, but there’s a whole lot more world to see!
[10:13] Thanks for joining me today. I’m Hope Faulkner, for Wandering Mind, and it’s time for another adventure. Safe travels!
[Theme music]
[10:51] Wandering Mind is written and performed by Eleanor Musgrove, with music from purple-planet.com. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe – and maybe consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/wanderingpodcast to get access to extra episodes just for patrons. Or visit wanderingmindpodcast.wordpress.com for more information. Thanks for listening!
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