ANNOUNCER: Funding for this program is provided by... [Celtic music playing] ...Tourism Ireland.

Visitors can experience a warm welcome... and a giant spirit... ...that will fill your heart with Ireland.

[guitar strumming] And Virtuoso: a global network focused on luxury and experiential travel.

This week on "The Travel Detective," It's a classic European city steeped in history, architecture, and music, and defined by a rich legacy of some of its former residents, Mozart, Beethoven, even Sigmund Freud.

So, let me share with you some of my hidden gems of Vienna.

Plus, visiting a new country is exciting, but it could also leave a big dent in your wallet.

I'll tell you which global cities are the most expensive.

And then, the Grand Hotel on Michigan's Mackinac Island.

Built in the 1800s, literally a trip back in time with a Hollywood hook.

A true hotel with a past.

I'm Peter Greenberg.

All that and more on this edition of The Travel Detective.

[segment music] [European music] Located in the northeastern part of the country along the Danube River, Vienna is the capitol of Austria.

Known for its vibrant arts culture and stunning urban environments, you can get around town using Vienna's great public transit system.

Or if you want to go old school, you could take a ride in a fiacre, a two-horse carriage.

But for my money, if you want to travel like a real local, find a bicycle.

[upbeat music] Vienna's one of my favorite biking cities in the world.

The Viennese really like their bikes.

In fact, at any given time, ten percent of the population is on a bike.

Hundreds of miles of designated bike paths.

It's a great way to see the city, whether you know where you're going or especially if you don't.

The government has been encouraging biking in order to reduce congestion and pollution.

One trial program allowed users to earn free tickets to local cultural attractions by logging bike trips in an app.

[upbeat music] There are ample places around town to rent bikes, so you can experience the same love of cycling as the Viennese.

[violin music] Another thing this city embraces, it's cafés.

The first coffee house opened here in 1683, and they've been synonymous with Viennese culture ever sense.

Serving as extended living rooms for residents to socialize.

No one here seems to be in a rush.

You can stay all day enjoying your coffee, but be warned, everything in Vienna is mit schlag, with cream, and if that's not sweet enough, no visit to a coffee house is complete without a pastry.

At the Sacher Hotel, there's always a line out the door for their world famous and dense chocolate Sacher torte.

But I prefer to skip the line and head to a real Vienna secret where Doris is ready to greet you and give you the story of Vollpension.

Doris: Oh, the whole concept is really different from other cafés.

One of the people who established the place, he went into café and the cake was so dry, and he thought, "It's better the way my grandma bakes it."

And then he went and recruited all the grandmas.

Exactly.

There are roughly 30 older staff members at Vollpension, and they each contribute a few of their personal recipes, so you can enjoy decades of baking expertise, and the grandmas get something out of it, too.

And the name "Vollpension" means, "full pension," and so, the idea is, all the people who don't get a full pension can actually supplement their income by working here part-time.

And, you know what?

The cake's not bad either.

You can ask to take a peek at what makes that cake so tasty.

All of it?

Doris: Yeah, all of it.

Peter: Oh, my god.

But shockingly, it's a lot of butter and sugar.

I can feel my arteries hardening as we speak.

[Doris chuckles] Vollpension serves thousands of local Viennese every year.

That's not just satisfied patrons, it's very proud grandmas.

[upbeat piano music] Like any major travel destination, Vienna has the usual shops full of refrigerator magnets and stickers to commemorate your trip, and then when you see that rack of snow globes, you might think they're all made in some big assembly line in China.

Instead, ditch those souvenir stands, and head to this nondescript doorway at Schumanngasse 87.

You won't find an assembly line here, but you will discover the real birthplace of snow globes, each of them individually designed, and each of them made by hand.

I'm very, very proud that my grandfather invented the snow globe by mistake.

Peter: Erwin Perzy is the grandson of this Erwin Perzy, who was a surgical instruments mechanic, attempting to build a better light bulb.

Erwin: My grandfather, he would like to improve Edison's light bulb, as a illumination for operation rooms in hospitals.

Peter: Erwin first tried using a water-filled glass bulb to magnify the illumination, but the light spot just wasn't big enough.

Erwin: One of his ideas was pouring some reflecting material, little glass flakes, but the glass flakes floated very fast to the ground.

Peter: Then inspiration struck when he saw a bag of wheat semolina flakes in his mother's kitchen.

Edwin: And he poured flakes and the flakes got soaked by the water and floated very slowly to the ground and when he saw this, it reminded him of snowfall, and this was the basic idea for the invention.

And that's how it all got started.

Yeah.

To this day.

Yeah.

Peter: Erwin developed his own formula for the imitation snow, and two generations later, it's a family business as this Erwin continues the work with his wife and daughter.

Erwin: Many people think you put all the parts on one side and the machine on the other side, the finished snow globe comes out, but that's not true.

Peter: The sculptures themselves can now be made with a 3D printer, but they are still assembled by hand.

I just put it right there?

Yeah.

Then painted.

And then sealed into the globe.

Ah, okay.

And, you see the magnification now.

I see it.

My question is, we know that's not snow, so what is it?

My personal secret.

Peter: I couldn't get the exact recipe, but Erwin gave me some idea of the secret of the snow.

It's kind of plastic with a mixture of paraffin.

-It's wax.

-Yeah, wax.

Peter: Huh.

And it stays forever.

Yeah.

Peter: Every year Erwin and his company produce 200,000 snow globes, handcrafted with care, displaying a never-ending winter.

[majestic music] Peter: Today, Austria is a relatively small country of nine million citizens.

[majestic music] But at one time it was part of a massive empire, and the seat of that power was at Schönbrunn Palace.

This is a must stop for most tourists, and it happens to be the most visited attraction in all of Austria, but most visitors miss the biggest secret of the palace.

Of course, there's the incredible and rich history.

Most people have no idea about the importance of the former Hapsburg Empire that stretched over vast parts of central and eastern Europe.

The Hapsburg dynasty by rulers of Austria and the Austrian Empire for 640 years, meaning the longest reigning imperial family in European history.

Peter: Martin Mutschlechner is the curator at Schönbrunn which translates to "beautiful spring."

And yes, people view the original spring that inspired the name.

The palace's endless grandeur... and it's hidden passageways and compartments, all very impressive.

[somber violin music] Schönbrunn is a major part of Vienna's history, but to really connect to the city's past, head to the cemetery.

On any given day between ten and fifteen thousand people come to the Central Cemetery.

Why?

Well, you got the relatives, you got the friends, and you've got the tourists, about five million a year.

Why are they here?

They're going to go visit Beethoven and some of the other celebrities who are buried here.

But as they walk through these grounds, more than three million people buried here, that's more than the number of people who actually live in Vienna, they miss something.

There are the obvious things to see.

The Central Cemetery is most famous for its honorary graves, bestowed upon residents for notable achievements in science, art, or politics.

The big attraction here, the composers like Schubert, Strauss, and Brahms.

Beethoven was exhumed from another cemetery and moved here, and the legend is that when they dug him up, his head was missing.

And Mozart's not doing much better.

No one knows where in Vienna he's buried, but he still gets a monument.

This installation honors actress and inventor, Hedy Lamarr.

And if you look from just the right angle, you can see a steel version of her face, well, kind of.

[somber violin music] Past all those famous graves is a building.

From the outside it might look like a large mausoleum, and that might be intentional, but what most people don't know who visit the cemetery, it's actually a special, almost hidden museum dedicated to funerals.

Funerals have always been really important for Viennese people, and back in the times, it was really important to show your wealth.

So, people used to save all their money just to have a special coffin made to show, okay, I was someone important.

So, the ego was for the afterlife.

It really was.

Barbara Dewey is one of the keepers of Vienna's funeral history.

In the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was thriving, and so was the desire for lavish funerals.

Barbara: That was a horse carriage, so, for the coffins and people who could afford it, they chose the horse carriage, for instance.

So, if you were rich, and you were dead, you rode in style.

You did.

Peter: If you weren't rich and couldn't afford a coffin, well, you could still get one for a brief moment.

It was a reusable coffin developed by Emperor Joseph II.

He thought it was an efficient approach to burial, but not exactly humane.

When the coffin arrived at the grave... [coffin wood banging] Oh, come on.

Wow.

One stop dropping, and then, the next person came in.

-Yep.

-And the next.

Lots of people got angry about this.

They didn't like this kind of funeral because it was important to have a decent funeral, and that's not what they call decent, so it only lasted for like half a year and then they got rid of this.

[upbeat violin music] Peter: To have one of the best experiences in Vienna, be a contrarian traveler.

Avoid the summer crowds, and head there in the fall, and one piece of additional advice, pack your dancing shoes because Vienna is all about the balls.

And if you want to dance in Vienna, you'd better know and understand the waltz.

The waltz has a long history.

In fact, it dates back to the 13th century.

It became the most loved and favorable and the easiest to learn or dance in Vienna.

Peter: Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer runs the Elmayer Dance School, the preeminent waltz school in Austria, where each week hundreds of young students attend to prepare for the city's ball season.

So, the right foot goes first.

Right foot forward.

-Like this.

-Forward.

Thomas: Side.

Closed.

Left.

Side, closed.

Always right forward, left backwards.

Okay.

One more time.

It seems easy to do the six steps on your own, and slowly, but waltzing is not a solo activity.

Please be gentle.

I will try.

Now, the gentleman, you will extend your left hand.

She will put her right hand into your left hand.

Right.

That good?

The close, physical contact of the waltz generated some scandal in its day, as most folk dances of the era avoided any touching.

Okay, you ready now?

And, forward, side, close.

Back, side, close.

Forward, side-- Excellent.

Back... Ready, and-- Right shoulder back.

Left back, and right, side, close, back, side.

Peter: I did okay.

Thomas: Excellent.

Am I ready?

Well, you're ready to watch.

[slow waltz music] These are the school's students, some of whom will go on to perform in the opening ceremonies that Thomas choreographs for 50 of the most important glamorous balls of the 400 that happen in Vienna every year.

[slow waltz music] These students were impressive, but they're also being kind.

This was slow-motion waltz.

At most of the balls, it's more like the Indy 500.

[fast waltz music] [slow waltz music] Peter: Beautiful.

But I think I've got some work to do.

Yeah, of course, they trained since years.

I trained minutes.

[chuckles] So, I did the smart move.

Leave the dancing to the professionals, then saved my steps for one more, but less challenging waltz.

I mean, walk, through Vienna.

[upbeat electronic music] The Economist Magazine has just released its annual ranking for the most expensive cities in the world.

Their global cost of living survey has some surprises, especially for folks in the U.S. who are thinking of moving overseas.

The fifth most expensive city to live is actually a tie, Osaka, Japan and Tel Aviv, Israel.

The fourth most expensive city is Singapore.

And then there's a three-way tie for first place.

Paris, Hong Kong, and Zurich.

No U.S. city ranked in the top-five most expensive cities.

The closest we came was number eight, New York City, followed by number ten, Los Angeles.

So, if you're thinking of moving to any of these cities during the pandemic, you better budget accordingly.

[segment music] [lively piano music] Peter: On a small island in the middle of Lake Huron in Michigan, sits one of the last of the grand dame hotels in America.

It's drawn visitors here for over a century, and part of the experience of staying there is the effort it takes to get there.

[upbeat tuba music] It starts with a ferry ride from the Michigan mainland.

The ride can take up to 30 minutes, depending upon wind and current, and then you'll pass by the massive bridge that connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, and then spot the houses dotting the cliffsides as you approach the island.

And then, as you round the bend in the channel, you can see it on the hill.

It's the Grand Hotel, a place intentionally stuck in time, a true hotel with a past.

[upbeat piano music] Welcome to Mackinac Island.

You get here by boat, but once on the island, there are no cars.

You travel by horse and carriage, the same mode of transportation on the island since an official carriage license was first issued in 1869.

This area once ran on the fur trade, but as animal populations declined, the island's economy shifted to travel and tourism in the late 1800s, and that's still the main industry today.

[upbeat piano music] Many people come to the island to see historic Fort Mackinac, part of America's second national park.

Ready.

Fire.

[cannon fire] Peter: Then they head to the island's small downtown where the Victorian architecture gives the city a timeless feel helped by the fact that there's not a car in sight.

Cars were banned on the island over a hundred years ago.

So, everything here moves by foot... by bicycle, or by horse.

In fact, while the total permanent population of Mackinac is just 500, in any given year, there'll be roughly 85,000 bicycles ridden on the island.

There are 600 horses.

But a small warning, no matter how you're getting around, like in my case a bicycle, you can't go 40 feet without bumping into fudge.

So, this is a lot of fudge.

Yeah, this is about 35 pounds of fudge.

We'll get around 55 to 60 half-pound slices out of it.

It's about two-thirds sugar, around 20 pounds.

Wow.

So, this is basically a conspiracy of dentists.

Correct.

They give me their cards all the time.

[Peter chuckles] Peter: Eric Bates is the head confectioner at Joann's Fudge.

One of 13 fudge shops currently operating on Mackinac.

On any given day we will do right in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 of these 30-35 pound batches.

And that's just here.

That's just in this shop.

Peter: Right.

Eric: And it's been said that on any given day during our main season that 10,000 pounds of fudge leaves the island between all of the shops.

Peter: Fudge was introduced to the island by the Murdick family who opened a shop in 1887 and wanted to sell a treat that wouldn't easily melt in the summer heat.

Visitors embraced it, and fudge is now synonymous with Mackinac.

This should be called "Fudge Island."

Eric: You can't throw a rock without hitting a fudge shop.

[Peter chuckles] So, let me try to put it in perspective for you.

If you're on Mackinac Island, and you love fudge, ha, you have hit the motherload.

But what if you don't love fudge?

No problem because you're going to send it back to friends and family when you go back home.

Aha!

But I have a Plan B.

[soft piano music] Veteran travelers to Mackinac know the fudge is just the appetizer.

You need to grab a carriage and head up the hill, and as you round the corner, it comes into sight.

The Grand Hotel.

Opened in 1887 as a joint venture between railroad and steamship companies.

It operates seasonally, usually from around late April to early November.

Some have come to call it "America's Summer Place," and the Grand Hotel has so much history, it even has its own resident historian, Bob Tagatz.

Peter, we've never closed our doors in 135 years to the traveling public through wars, depressions, now our second pandemic.

Peter: And throughout all that time, the hotel has had one defining characteristic.

Who we really are is this front porch.

When you see a photograph of the hotel, you know exactly what hotel it is.

Peter: It spans 660 feet making it then, and possibly still today, the largest front porch in the world.

Bob: This used to be the social center of the hotel when you came to a place to see and be seen.

And because of all the chairs.

Oh, my gosh.

A hundred rocking chairs out here at any one time.

Peter: And in the season, they're full.

Bob: They are full, let me tell you because people find all these fun things to do on Mackinac Island, but few things can compare with just sitting on the front porch, maybe having a cocktail and watching that sunset.

[upbeat violin music] The Grand Hotel's continual existence is thanks in no small part to Hollywood.

Back in World War II, Hollywood helped to save the hotel when the number of visitors plummeted, reaching a low one night when the hotel had 400 staff members on hand to serve just 11 guests.

We had no idea the power of the Hollywood, and I mean that.

We barely survived World War II.

We lost 90 percent of our business.

This film they shot in '46 and '47, and the impact of this film put us into profitability because people saw us in this movie, they wanted to stay in the hotel and swim in the water and see if that was the same water that maybe Esther Williams swam in.

Peter: And was it?

Bob: well, we tell them it was, of course.

Yeah.

Peter: "This Time for Keeps," starring Jimmy Durante and Esther Williams, made such a splash for the hotel that the pool was later named for Williams, and she returned for the hotel's 100th anniversary celebration in 1987.

The pool still bears the actress's name, even as it recently received a $10 million renovation.

[upbeat piano music] Hollywood came calling again with the 1980 movie, "Somewhere in Time," featuring Christopher Reeve as a modern man who travels back to 1912 to find love with Jane Seymour.

The Grand Hotel's "frozen in time" quality made it the perfect backdrop for a time-travel story.

The dining room, today, looks identical to when Christopher Reeve sat there, but if you want to eat, you'll need to dress the part.

The hotel still has an evening dress code just as it did ever since it opened.

There's the golf course built in 1901.

And then, there's live music always a constant at the Grand, accompanying dinner at the hotel's 14 restaurants.

This is a massive operation, close to 700 staff members, to accommodate the 150,000 overnight guests the hotel receives in an average season.

The Grand currently has 388 guest rooms and no two are decorated alike.

Everything around the hotel, the upkeep required, is substantial.

Twenty groundskeepers, gardeners, and caretakers.

On the front porch alone, 2500 geraniums planted in seven tons of potting soil.

[upbeat violin music] When the hotel first opened, rooms went for three to five dollars a night with many families staying the whole summer.

Room rates are just a little higher than that now, but as you walk through the guest rooms, you'll see that even through 17 major expansions, the hotel has maintained its sense of history.

It's intentional, and it's what keeps fifth generations of some families returning every year.

[upbeat piano music] The signature architecture and design extends to the signature menu.

Remember my Plan B?

We're making the Grand Pecan Fudge Ball.

I'm shocked.

Fudge?

On Mackinac Island?

Oh, man.

Okay.

Let's do it.

Executive chef, Jason Siles, helped me construct this simple but high-calorie recipe.

Yes, it involves fudge, but this time there's a generous amount of ice cream rolled in.

Just drop them right in?

-Yeah.

They're ready to roll.

-Like this?

That's it.

Grand Pecan Ball.

Peter: Over a normal year-- Here we go.

--the hotel will serve roughly 75,000 of these treats.

And you'll then find yourself right back on that porch, walking off that dessert, enjoying the lake breeze, making new friends, and experiencing this very special hotel's past through its present.

That'll do it for this week.

I'll see you next time on another edition of The Travel Detective.

ANNOUNCER: Funding for this program is provided by... [Celtic music playing] ...Tourism Ireland.

Visitors can experience a warm welcome... ...and a giant spirit... ...that will fill your heart with Ireland.

[guitar strumming] ...And Virtuoso: A global network focused on luxury and experiential travel.

[theme song playing]