Denver, CO: Finding Home in a Castle at a Very High Altitude
While growing up, Memorial Day Weekend was always filled with events and ceremonies dedicated to honoring the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and its freedoms. It was a weekend of singing patriotic songs with my high school Chamber Singers Ensemble, reciting historic speeches, and marching in the annual parade with my high school band. Coming from a small town, these traditions felt even more powerful and meaningful, because I knew the families and descendants of these brave service people. Their lives and service were remembered in a deeply personal and intimate way, and I was proud to be part of a community that honored them.
During my years working as the North American Officer for University College Cork, Memorial Day, and the week that followed, looked and felt different. In those years, the Sunday before Memorial Day always marked the beginning of the annual NAFSA Conference. This event brings international educators from all around the world together for learning and networking events. NAFSA is a marathon of an event comprised of meetings, information sessions, plenary speakers (my favorite part, as I got to meet Shirin Ebadi, Bill Nye, and Doris Kearns Goodwin!), and evening socials. Events tended to be non-stop —7am to 10pm— and I always found myself leaving the week-long event equal parts inspired and exhausted.
Generally speaking, I enjoyed the conference. I loved meeting up with colleagues from all over the world, I was captivated and energized by the incredible plenary speakers; I felt like I was truly a part of something “bigger than myself” while I was attending the event. That said, it was always difficult being away from loved ones on a weekend that was always so special for my community, but (as I’m sure you may have guessed) I managed to “find home” on the road once again...this time during an international conference. This story centers around one particular NAFSA event in Denver, Colorado: NAFSA Conference 2016 - Building Capacity for Global Learning.
My trip to Colorado in 2016 was memorable for many reasons: I hiked Pikes Peak, visited Garden of the Gods, caught up with some dear friends, discovered my favorite beer of all-time (the Denver Beer Co. brew “Princess Yum Yum Raspberry Kolsch”) , and stayed in a castle...Castle Marne in Denver. Any one of these events could be a stand-out part of the trip, but the day I felt most at home was Memorial Day: Monday, May 30th, 2016.
As I continue to add more stories to this blog, you’ll certainly start to notice a trend in places I stay while travelling; I tend to steer clear of chain hotels and, instead, choose inns, family-run businesses, and bed and breakfasts. Castle Marne was one such place: historic, warm, one-of-a-kind, and welcoming. (Note: I only say it was because they sadly made the difficult choice to close the inn during the pandemic.) The rooms were beautiful, the breakfast (and tea-time cookies!) superb, and the family in charge made each and every guest feel welcomed. This said, they went above and beyond when it came making me feel at home, even across the country from my hometown.
Memorial Day doesn’t typically have many conference events on the docket; generally speaking, it was always a conference day that I had to attend due to one or two important meetings, but other than that my day was frequently spent alone...which was always rather lonely. However, in 2016, I found myself in for a pleasant surprise: a NAFSA Conference Memorial Day that was anything but lonely. Upon arriving back at the castle following my conference obligations, I had every intention of finding a place to eat with bar seating for one. The Feher-Peiker Family, Louie in particular, had other plans for me.
As I walked through the front door, the family insisted that I join them for their holiday barbeque complete with burgers, hot dogs, salads, and homemade ice cream. I met incredible people from four generations of the Feher-Peiker clan, all of whom made me feel like I was a part of the crew. It was a perfect day...with amazing food, great conversations, gorgeous weather, and (as a bonus) unreal-out-of-this-world-wicked-good root beer floats. (I have to brag about these root beer floats because I loved them even though I don’t drink or like soda...so that’s saying something.)
I was lucky enough to stay at Castle Marne for a second time in 2019 for the Forum on Education Abroad Conference, and it was (again) a lovely experience. But, I must say, nothing will ever come close to topping that Memorial Day 5 years ago...the day I thought I would spend alone, turned into the day I became an honorary member of the Feher-Peiker Family for a few hours. So, yes, I found “home” —in a castle— in the Mile-High City, and learned that, when it comes to the royal treatment, I’ll take dinner over a diadem any day.
