Destination Gettysburg - Where To Next - A Travel Podcast With Francesca

On this week's episode of Where To Next, Karl Pietrzak, President & CEO of Destination Gettysburg, tells me everything this is to know all about the historic town! Gettysburg is of course, synonymous with American history, but there is so much more to explore in Gettysburg all year round and Karl gives us the inside scoop of what can't be missed when visiting!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Whereto Next, a travel podcast with me.
Your host my name is Francesca Presty, and I am here today with
Carl peter Zach to talk all aboutGettysburg. Carl, welcome, Thank you
so much for making some time forus today. Thank you. Very happy
to be here. We cannot waitto talk about Gettysburg Destination. Gettysburg dot
Com is where you want to goonline for all the information and to start

(00:20):
planning your trip today. Carl,let's just kick it off right here.
Let's talk all about Gettysburg. Sure. Well, we learned some exciting news
recently. Gettysburg was just named themost welcoming city in the United States by
Booking dot Com. Love that,congratulate options, Thank you. Yeah.
It speaks so well to our destinationbecause we are a very welcoming destination.
We're a smaller town and we havethose small town values and we're definitely very

(00:42):
welcoming. So having a Websitelybooking dotCom, which was a major travel website,
to recognize Gettysburg, that was justvery exciting. I love that.
Congratulations again. Carl peter Zach isa president and CEO of Destination Gettysburg.
So, Carl, you really arethe ultimate expert on everything Gettysburg. So
I know Gettysburg is synonymous with Americanhistory is still being on today. Can
you tell us a little bit aboutthe history that can be explored when visiting

(01:03):
Gettysburg for all those history buffs outthere, Sure, absolutely well. We
are known as the most famous smalltown of the world, and we're located
in south central Pennsylvania, just afew miles north of the Mason Dixon line,
and certainly we're famous for that CivilWar history. The Battle of Gettysburg
took place right here in July eighteensixty three, and July fourth is the
anniversary of that battle every year,so there's lots of activities centered around the

(01:26):
fourth of July. For example,this year marked one hundred and sixtieth the
anniversary of the battle, so wehad twelve days of commemoration that started in
late June and went through the fourthof July, including reenactments and special events,
programs and tours. But great placeto start a visit in Gettysburg is
at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museumand Visitor Center. It's a museum with

(01:47):
the largest collection of Gettysburg Battle artifactsanywhere. And there's a historic cyclorama painting
that was painted in eighteen eighty fourthat depicts pickets charged the decisive battle in
Gettysburg. The painting is longer thana football field and more than four stories
high. No way, and beforewe had yeah, before we had movies

(02:07):
and things like that, this wasthe form of entertainment that people would go
out to see these types of psychloramapaintings. I really enjoy the way that
you guys over there destination Gettysburg honorthe rich history and really truly one of
the most important pivotal moments in Americanhistory. I just think that it's really
such a feather in your cap todo it so well. Well, we're
fortunate to have had such meaningful historyhappen right here. And Gettysburg still is

(02:29):
a small town. So to beable to have over three million visitors a
year coming here to learn about whathappened here, but still be able to
see the town very much in theway it appeared, you know, one
hundred and sixty years ago. It'sit's something we're very proud of. A
great way to experience the town.There's licensed town guides that can take a
group or individuals and walks through towntell them all about the battlefield, talks

(02:50):
about the actual battles, but italso raised right through the town. So
there's lots of history and a lotof great stories about the civilians and the
impact on them that you can learnon these walks. And then there's battlefield
bus guides that you can take tourson buses that tell you all about the
three days battle in about two hoursand it's very interesting. And the double
decker bus is great because if yousit up top, you get a wonderful
view of the battlefield and also townas you go through the town. Gettysburg

(03:14):
is so rich in history. Ofcourse, as you just pointed out,
lots of great activities, and Ireally, like I said, love the
way that you are able to honorthe rich history in Gettysburg. But beyond
history, Gettysburg both a laundry listof things to do. So what are
some of the most popular activities forvisitors to explore? Sure, well,
there really is something for everybody.I mean, we're definitely known for history,
and even the people that come hereto learn more about the Civil War,

(03:35):
they want to enjoy some other things. On visit as well. So
one of our most popular things thatthe Destination Gettysburg actually helped to produce is
a craft beverage trail called the PoorTour. And on this trail there's about
twenty five stops at wineries and breweriesand distilleries where people can sample all these
beverages made right here in Adams Countyfrom the fruit that's grown here, and

(03:55):
a great way to kind of finishthe day after you've maybe spent the day
on the Battlefiel or learning about thehistory. And then we have a lot
of great family friendly activities as well. And another tour that we provide is
the Cropop, which is an agriculturaltour, and we've got about twenty farms,
farmers markets, and rural experiences forfamilies to enjoy. And we know
a lot of our visitors come fromcities like Washington, d C. In

(04:16):
Philadelphia, New York and might notget a chance to go to farms regularly,
So that's just another way to reallyenjoy the beauty of our rural county
here. You know, I'm sucha farmers market girl. So you kind
of had met the beer Trail andthen you mentioned the Farmers Market. It's
kind of a done deal, Carl, a little bit of the best of
both worlds, really, absolutely,and then great shopping here as well.
There's lots of great antique stores inAdams County, So if you like antiquing,

(04:40):
this is a great destination for that. Right in the heart of Gettysburg
off the Historic Square, there's dozensof eclectic shops and restaurants that people can
spend a whole day just enjoying thatas well. You really do have something
for everybody, Carl Peter Zach,President and CEO of Destination Gettysburg. Destination
Gettysburg dot com is where you wantto go to start play your trip today.
Now, Carl, let's switch gearsfor a little bit and talk food.

(05:02):
Everybody loves to eat, especially whenyou're exploring a new place. So
what's the dining scene like up therein Gettysburg. Eating is a very important
part of traveling, and we havea great dining scene. Absolutely, a
lot of fun options here in Gettysburg. Almost all of our restaurants are independently
owned and featuring local cuisine made fromkind of farm to table and it appeals
to everybody's taste with a lot ofvariety, typical American cuisine, but also

(05:25):
Italian, Mexican, Irish and Frenchcuisine here in Gettysburg as well. And
our newest restaurant is called Saborhood andit's a family friendly food hall that has
ten food outlets, so if youcan't agree on what you want, everybody
can have what they like there.And they're also group friendly, so you
can pull your bus up and leteverybody enjoy. And I know that there
is so much going on all yearround in Gettysburg, So what does the

(05:46):
rest of the year look like?Some activities, some festivals, fun things
that people might be able to checkout for the rest of the year in
Gettysburg. Sure. One of thethings that I find most interesting, and
it's free, so that's also nice, is a program called one hundred Nights
a tap provided by the Lincoln Fellowshipof Pennsylvania, and again it's free.
It takes place every night and leadingup to the seven o'clock start. There's
also guided tours of the cemetery bylicensed battlefield guides that will tell you about

(06:11):
you know, what happened there.And it's also the cemetery where President Lincoln
came and gave its Gettysburg address backin eighteen sixty three. Yeah, so
with that, we do have wecelebrate the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address every
year in November nineteen. It's calledRemembrance Day weekend that we build up around
that date. So that's another greatweekend to visit. And then the fall
is really one of our busiest times, one of the best times visit Gettysburg,

(06:32):
Adams County. The fall foliage isfantastic here. And then Adams County
is the fourth largest apple producing countyin the United States. So in October
we have the apple harvest and there'sa big festival around that. We're also
very excited about some new attractions inGettysburg that have opened recently. The Gettysburg
Beyond the Battle Museum tells the storiesof firsthand experiences in Adams County before,

(06:55):
during, and after the Civil War, and their exhibits include Revolutionary War,
Civil World War two, World WarOne, and two history, as well
as presidential visits to Gettysburg. Theyhave a premier exhibit called Caught in the
Crossfire that's an immersive experience using cuttingedge technology to place visitors inside a reconstructed
farmhouse during the Battle of Gettysburg,where visitors can see here and feel what

(07:16):
it was like for a Gettysburg familyto be overrun by invading forces and trap
behind enemy lines. So that's areally outstanding experience. And then we have
another museum that opened last year calledthe World War Two American Experience that tells
stories of the battlefront and the homefront during that global conflict. It includes
thousands of World War Two artifacts andfeatures one of the largest collections of military

(07:39):
vehicles in the United States. AndGettysburg Downas County really have some very significant
connections to World War Two. Sothis new museum brings a lot of information
to our visitors that maybe love historybut didn't realize the connections to World War
Two as well. Absolutely well,Carl, there's no shortage of things to
do, things to check out,places to eat, and lots to do
up in Gettysburg, Death and AsianGettysberg dot Com is where you want to

(08:01):
go for all the information you're goingto need to start planning your trip.
Today, Carl, I want tosay thank you again for taking a few
minutes to chat with us today.Thank you