Destination: Europe
Morning Links: Roman Gladiators, Michelin Guides, Prehistoric Airports and More
by Jim Benning | 12.26.08 | 11:58 AM ET
- Air travelers will soon be able to buy carbon offsets from self-service kiosks inside San Francisco Airport.
- A British tourist volunteering at an archaeological dig in Jerusalem discovered hundreds of gold coins dating from the 7th century.
- More trouble in Venice: All that water is causing the Campanile on St. Marks Square to tilt.
- The French edition of Michelin restaurant guide gets a new editor and—gasp—she’s not French.
- Thailand’s tourism economy is enduring its worst slump in decades.
- World Hum contributor Doug Lansky put together an audio slideshow about a new hostel in Stockholm—it’s set inside a jumbo jet.
- A three part series on NPR looks at the rise of earthquake tourism in Sichuan.
- Gladiators could soon return to Rome’s Colloseum. Now that’s ultimate fighting.
- Thomas Friedman just flew from Hong Kong’s state-of-the-art airport to New York’s aging Kennedy. His conclusion: It’s time for the U.S. to reboot. Funny, I had the same feeling not long ago, only I was flying from London’s Heathrow to LAX.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe Year in Eating
by David Farley | 12.23.08 | 4:44 PM ET
Food experts are rolling out their predictions for 2009 and they’re really going out on a limb forecasting, for example, that recession specials are going to be huge. Here’s what we think about eating in 2009: there will be no food because there will be no restaurants because no one will have much money to eat anything. Which will then make things that were previously unappetizing, very edible. (Yes, we’re looking at you dog!) Really, though, rather than look forward—after all, the future of eating doesn’t look so pink in the middle right now—let’s take a breather from all this fortunetelling and glance backwards to better times. This was the year of both Greek yogurt and mixologists. It was the year that Korean cuisine pissed all over Chinese food (Chinese will make a huge comeback in 2010, we think). And it was another great year for David Chang. But here are a few things we’d like to dwell on:
Stocking Stuffers for Budget Travelers: The Christmas ‘Unlist’
by Eva Holland | 12.23.08 | 11:12 AM ET
In an unusual move at this time of year, Europestring‘s Christine Gilbert offers up the Christmas Unlist: 10 gifts not to buy for the European budget traveler in your life. There’s a lot of truth to her picks—and don’t worry, gift-list-lovers: she also offers thoughtful alternatives to her slate of no-nos.
Morning Links: Goa Beach Parties, Kim Jong Il’s Childhood Home and More
by Michael Yessis | 12.23.08 | 9:37 AM ET
- Arab women are finding new freedoms as flight attendants.
- In the U.S., a former T.W.A. flight attendant looks back on the days “when there were three dinner options on flights from Boston to Los Angeles—in coach.”
- Kim Jong Il’s childhood home in South Korea is open to travelers.
- The economic crisis hits the glass blowers of Murano.
- There will be no Goa beach parties in the coming weeks. Indian authorities are worried about security after the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
- Recce posted its Best Stories of 2008.
- Christopher Elliott offers some travel strategies for 2009.
- William Langewiesche reconstructs the collision of two planes over Brazil in 2006. Joe Sharkey has a few harsh words for the story.
- Airport security in Birmingham, England strip searched a clown. PC Konk the Clown said, “I’ve never had this problem before when I’ve been to international clown conventions abroad.” My favorite part is the groan-inducing headline: “Clown Finds Airport Security no Laughing Matter.”
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Beer in the U.S.
by David Farley | 12.22.08 | 6:52 PM ET
Hhmm…beer. It’s hard to believe now, but in 1873, there were 4,000 breweries in the United States. Brooklyn alone boasted 50. But Prohibition followed by industrialization wiped out nearly all the breweries. And by 1965 there were only a couple megalithic beer factories serving watered-down suds and just one craft beer maker in the country (Anchor Steam). This info comes to us from a recently published New Yorker piece by Burkhard Bilger on Dogfish Brewery.
Coincidentally, Czech beer buff and author of The Good Beer Guide Prague & The Czech Republic, Evan Rail, recently wrote about the numerous (and long-gone) breweries in 19th-century Prague. But let’s not start weeping in our pints of PBR just yet. According to Bilger there are now 1,500 breweries in the United States, and when I checked in with Evan Rail, he had this to say about brewing in the country that consumes more beer per capita than anywhere in the world: “When my book was published, there were about 102 (plus or minus) total breweries in the Czech Republic, counting brewpubs, micros and industrial brewers. Now it’s 122. That’s a gain of just under 20% in 18 months.”
We’ll most certainly toast to that.
R.I.P. Cafe Royal
by Eva Holland | 12.22.08 | 4:19 PM ET
The iconic London cafe closed this weekend after 143 years. Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill and Graham Greene were among its many fans. (Via The Book Bench)
Goodbye ‘White Christmas’?
by Joanna Kakissis | 12.22.08 | 3:56 PM ET
Do you want to spend the winter holidays in an idyllic, snow-fringed place just like the one Irving Berlin used to know? Berlin wrote “White Christmas” 68 years ago, when the concept still made sense in the German city of Berlin as well as the rest of the northern hemisphere. In what has become an annual reality check during the increasingly warm winter holidays, climate scientists and meteorologists are again warning that global warming is the Grinch that’s stealing snowy landscapes around the world. Reuters reports that the odds of Berlin seeing snow in 2100 will decrease to 5 percent from 20 percent a century ago. Even frigid Oslo, Norway, will see a precipitous decline in snow days, scientists told Reuters.
The Three Literary Capitals of the World?
by Eva Holland | 12.22.08 | 12:00 PM ET
Conde Nast Traveler has chosen Berlin, Dublin and Boston as its three best cities for bookworms. They’re all worthy choices, but still, I have to ask: Was this list originally titled, “Three Best Cities for Bookworms, Not Counting Paris and London”?
What We Loved This Week: Christmas in Germany, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and More
by World Hum | 12.19.08 | 4:33 PM ET
Photo by Terry Ward The Golden Globes: Is it the Year of the Funny Travel Movie?
by Eva Holland | 12.16.08 | 1:24 PM ET
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has released the list of nominees for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards—and to my very pleased surprise, a few travel movies have made the cut.
Scroll right past all those dramas: the action is in the “Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy” category, where In Bruges, Mamma Mia and Vicky Cristina Barcelona have all gotten the nod. “In Bruges” also landed a pair of acting nominations for Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and Meryl Streep took her umpteenth nomination for “Mamma Mia,” while Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz represented “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” in three of the four acting categories.
So what does all this mean? Is it the year of the travel movie?
Morning Links: Taj to Reopen, ‘The Pervert’s Grand Tour’ and More
by Michael Yessis | 12.16.08 | 9:38 AM ET
- The Taj Hotel, one of the Mumbai sites stormed by terrorists last month, plans to reopen some of its rooms Sunday night.
- Joe Brancatelli writes: “Like it or not, acts of terror aimed at travelers and the places they frequent are very good business tactics indeed.”
- Rome and Milan are now connected by the high-speed Red Arrow train.
- Tony Perrottet continues his Pervert’s Grand Tour at Slate. “Sex,” he writes, “Sex has always been the unspoken inspiration for travel.”
- Delta adds WiFi to some East Coast shuttle flights. The airline says it will make its entire fleet wireless by the middle of next year.
- Robbie Knievel will jump the volcano at the Mirage in Las Vegas on his motorcycle on New Year’s Eve. I’ve been to Vegas on New Year’s Eve. This will not be the craziest thing that happens that night.
Morning Links: Jellyfish Gone Wild, Sedaris and More
by Michael Yessis | 12.15.08 | 8:35 AM ET
Catch up on links from our redesign break:
- Brave New Traveler lists The 6 Characters You’ll Meet At Every Expat Bar.
- Recession travel: Trade depressed stock for Caribbean resort stays.
- TSA critic Jeffrey Goldberg sat for an interview with Stephen Colbert.
Eight Best Cities for Street Food
by Terry Ward | 12.15.08 | 12:16 AM ET
iStockphoto Terry Ward lifts the lid on a few of the world's tastiest places to eat the people's cuisine
Plato Was a Backpacker
by Frank Bures | 12.15.08 | 12:10 AM ET
Frank Bures looks a long way back to fellow traveler Plato and the seeds of wisdom
Venice, Italy: St. Marks Square
by World Hum | 12.14.08 | 4:38 PM ET
REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri This month's floods are the worst Venice has experienced in 20 years. But travelers were urged to see St. Marks via walkway, or buy high water packages -- room and rubber boots for 190 euros.