Destination: Europe
The Man at the Bus Stop
by Matt Villano | 10.01.07 | 1:19 PM ET
Photo by a friendly Norwegian taxi driver. In Norway, Matt Villano hitched from Korsnes to Bognes, ferried to Lodingen and hiked to the other side of town, where he waited for a bus that wouldn't come. Then he met Bilger.
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Yahoo! BuzzJohn Grisham’s New Novel ‘Playing for Pizza’ Just an Excuse to Visit Italy
by Michael Yessis | 09.26.07 | 11:52 AM ET
I guess I can’t blame John Grisham for being able to turn his vacation to an inevitable bestseller. I just wish he weren’t so smug about it. On The Today Show, Grisham straight-up admitted that Playing for Pizza, his new novel about a washed-up NFL football quarterback who moves to Parma, Italy to play for an American-style football team there, provided him an excuse to visit Italy. Matt Lauer asked:
It’s Tapped: Oktoberfest Kicks Off in Munich
by Eva Holland | 09.25.07 | 12:43 PM ET
The 174th annual Oktoberfest got under way this past weekend in Munich, Germany, and just reading the AP story about the opening keg-tapping ceremony made me thirsty. Last year, the festival attracted more than 6 million people, saw nearly 13 million pints poured and generated 1 billion euros in revenue. Similar numbers are expected this year.
Chariots of Rubble
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.21.07 | 6:34 AM ET
Photo by JOVIKA, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Antiquity trumps Art Deco, at least in Athens, where ancient glory is both identity and economy. Two buildings—a 1930s landmark and a house owned by “Chariots of Fire” theme composer Vangelis Papathanassiou—are scheduled to be razed in order to clear the view of the Parthenon for visitors at the New Acropolis Museum, says the AP. The plan has enraged Athenians who believe Greece spends too much time lingering over its antiquities instead of appreciating (and preserving) its modern treasures. Neighborhood residents and architects have begun a feverish Internet campaign to save both buildings. So far they’ve gotten a lot of attention and e-mail support from all over the world.
Where in the World Are You, David Farley?
by World Hum | 09.20.07 | 2:11 PM ET
The subject of our latest nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: David Farley, World Hum contributor and Holy Foreskin chronicler. His response landed in our inbox today.
World Hum: Where in the world are you?
In Greece, Developers Eye Scorched Peloponnese
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.20.07 | 12:25 PM ET
We mentioned in an earlier post that greedy developers of tourism resorts may have had a hand in Greece’s devastating and deadly fires last month. Alas, the reports we pointed to were right. Just days after the ruling New Democracy party eked out an election victory, its leaders gave property developers the go-ahead to build hotels and other facilities on an environmentally fragile area cleared by the fires, writes Elinda Labropoulou in The Independent.
Hotfooting Through the Landmarks, From Los Angeles to Athens
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.19.07 | 8:53 AM ET
Local guides around the U.S. are offering urban running tours that point out city landmarks while also giving devoted runners a good workout, writes Bonnie Tsui in The New York Times. New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco all have such tours, which are apparently growing in popularity. Though runners (me included) on vacation have been huffing and puffing on the back roads of new cities for years, their exploring has often been haphazard and befuddling. Who, after all, wants to run while holding a sweaty map?
‘Palin Effect’: Next Stop, Eastern Europe
by Julia Ross | 09.18.07 | 2:42 PM ET
Likeable travel host Michael Palin launched a new series on BBC over the weekend, and UK tour operators are bracing for the fallout. It seems Palin’s “New Europe” series—in which he explores the length of Eastern Europe, from Estonia to Albania—could trigger something tour companies have dubbed the “Palin Effect”: a spike in bookings to any country the Monty Python alumnus highlights. “Previous Michael Palin series including Himalaya and Sahara resulted in a surge of interest in countries such as Bangladesh that were previously not really on the tourist map,” one tour operator told the Telegraph. “We were surprised by the effect it had.” Let’s hope Palin’s fans leave a lighter footprint than the stag party weekenders lately buffeting cities like Riga and Prague.
Related on World Hum:
* British Secondary Schools Add Michael Palin’s ‘Himalaya’ to Required Reading List
* Prague Latest Magnet for Misbehaving Brits
Related on TravelChannel.com:
* Destinations: Prague
Northwest Passage Open for Business?
by Eva Holland | 09.18.07 | 12:30 PM ET
When we picked the Northwest Passage as one of our Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet, we didn’t anticipate just how apt the “shrinking” moniker would be. The AP is reporting that the Arctic ice has reached its lowest-ever recorded level, meaning that a navigable passage could be open much sooner than previously predicted.
The Eiffel Tower: A View From Underneath (Pig Fat Included)
by Terry Ward | 09.18.07 | 10:27 AM ET
Photo by rayced, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
A story from the always intriguing Time Zones series in the Washington Post gives a view of Paris few tourists see—and from the city’s most iconic landmark, no less. Molly Moore’s foray into the inner workings of the Eiffel Tower, as experienced alongside the head of services for the tower’s operations, one Fabrice Fevai, gives a ground-up view of Gustave Eiffel’s coup de grace. “People enter the Eiffel Tower as though it’s a monument with lots of iron,” Fevai tells Moore, while threading his way through a sea of milling tourists. “But the Eiffel Tower is like a factory—they don’t even realize what’s underneath.”
Vardo, Norway: Life at the Arctic Edge of Europe
by Michael Yessis | 09.17.07 | 12:13 PM ET
Boston Globe writer Tom Haines gave us a hint of what life is like in Vardo, Norway last month, when we caught up with him there for a Where in the World Are You? post. He wrote of thick fog, climate change and pizza with shrimp, green pepper and scallion. His Vardo story for the Globe has now surfaced, and it’s a detailed look at the 700-year-old village “anchored atop a treeless island just off the eastern edge of the mainland” that’s beginning to deal with the changes brought forth by global warming.
Seven Travel Rules From a Brooding Teenager
by Doug Mack | 09.17.07 | 11:36 AM ET
The American Adolescent Male can learn a lot about travel during a trip to see Scotland and its piles of rocks. Doug Mack breaks it down.
Where in the World Are You, Joanna Kakissis?
by World Hum | 09.13.07 | 5:53 PM ET
The subject of our latest nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: Joanna Kakissis, a new contributor to the World Hum blog. Her response landed in our inbox yesterday.
World Hum: Where in the world are you?
Dollar Sinks to Record Low in Europe
by Jim Benning | 09.12.07 | 6:44 PM ET
Bad news for Americans traveling in Europe: The dollar hit a record low against the euro today. It now takes about $1.39 to buy—gasp—one euro. As the AP points out, a 300-euro hotel room in Paris would have cost Americans about $351 in November 2005. Today, that same room would cost about $417. Said one analyst: “Anyone who goes to London or Paris right now is going to feel like they’re being gouged and regret booking the trip.”
Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money in Europe
* Given the Weak Dollar Overseas, Any Advice on Long-Term Travel?
* The Dollar-Euro Exchange Rate Blues
Photo by jopemoro via Flickr (Creative Commons).
New Travel Book: ‘Far Afield’
by Michael Yessis | 09.11.07 | 10:17 AM ET
Full title: “Far Afield: A Sportswriting Odyssey”
Author: S.L. Price, author of Pitching Around Fidel: A Journey into The Heart of Cuban Sports and a writer for Sports Illustrated.
Released: Sept. 1, 2007
Travel genre: Sports travel/France memoir. “Think ‘A Year in Provence’ in sweats,” says a press release.
Territory covered: Europe, Asia.