Really? Albert Einstein Had a Police Record?

Albert Einstein. Woodrow Wilson. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Brooke Shields.

These were just some of the many names Princeton Tour Company owner Mimi Omiecinski dropped during a recent walking tour around town. 

“We hope our tours make people see that [Princeton] might be one of the most special places to not only visit, but also to live in,” Omiecinski said. “We are not the voice of history; we’re more like the love story.”

This tour began on the Princeton University’s campus.

Guide Dan Linke described the Ivy League school as one of the most diverse in the country, noting that The Great Gatsby author Fitzgerald called the university “the pleasantest country club in America.”

Linke and Omiecinski led visitors past two of Einstein’s former homes on Library Place and Mercer Street  and told stories about the physicist’s life in Princeton, including how he frequently got lost on nearby Edgehill Street while trying to find his way home.

“He had a police record because his neighbors would call them each time he got lost,” Omiecinski said. “It is rumored that he would congratulate the police after they led him home with a hard boiled egg and a glass of orange juice.”

Omiecinski founded Princeton Tour Company four years ago after becoming a tour junkie during her travels with her family. When she moved to Princeton in 2006, she decided to start her own tour group.

The company offers year-round, small group walking tours that explore Princeton’s history and folklore.

The tours are family-friendly, but generally do not attract families with strollers or young children, 

“It is a two hour tour that covers three miles,” Omiecinski said. “It’s for people who really want to understand the history of Princeton. Our typical clients are couples on a date.”

Robert and Veronica McGowan of Montgomery County, Pa. attended a recent tour to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.

“It was really interesting,” Veronica McGowan said. “We always go on a tour to celebrate our anniversary. We came to Princeton many, many years ago and we thought, ‘Why not walk around?’”

The walk included stops to see the homes of former presidents Woodrow Wilson and Grover Cleveland, as well as tidbits of Princeton’s literary and architectural gems.

Those who want to learn more about Princeton are welcome to return for more specialized tours, including the Albert Einstein walking tour, the architectural walking tour, the literary greats walking tour and the Princeton University campus and genius neighborhood walking tour.

Princeton Tour Company offers walking tours every week, Friday-Monday, departing from Starbucks on Nassau Street at 4:30 p.m. and ending in Palmer Square at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available online atwww.princetontourcompany.com or may be purchased at the kiosk in Palmer Square.