Destination: Europe
Ken Livingstone’s London: An Ex-Mayor’s Tour
by Eva Holland | 07.10.08 | 4:53 PM ET
Ken Livingstone, the colorful ex-mayor who handed over power in London this past May, shares his favorite London spots in the Guardian. The list is a good one; it’s varied and thoughtful, and shows his decades-long relationship with the city. We’ve talked a lot lately about the future of guidebooks and who, exactly, is most qualified to write them—if Livingstone’s list is anything to go by, could retired local politicians be the secret sauce the industry is looking for?
Related on World Hum:
* ‘Where on Earth is a Casual Public-Transport Drinker To Go?’
* TripAdvisor to Athens: Dirty Isn’t Sexy or Cool, Unless You’re London
Photo by 13bobby via Flickr (Creative Commons)
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Yahoo! BuzzThe New Acropolis Museum: Ready to Take on the British Museum?
by Eva Holland | 07.10.08 | 10:15 AM ET
There’s a new museum opening in Athens this year, but as the Times of London’s Mark Hodson writes, it’s not just another tourist attraction: It’s also “the latest gambit in a 200-year campaign for the return of the Elgin Marbles,” currently housed in the British Museum.
Does Creme Brulee Qualify as a Global Treasure? UNESCO Says No.
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.09.08 | 3:50 PM ET
UNESCO just inscribed 27 new sites to its World Heritage List— the usual mix of archaeological, architectural, ecclesiastical and ecological places. French cuisine didn’t make the cut, despite a campaign led by President Nicolas Sarkozy to enshrine it. Did the coq au vin fail to inspire?
A Danish Isle Weans Itself From Fossil Fuels—and Flourishes
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.09.08 | 9:33 AM ET
World’s Worst Tourists?
by Julia Ross | 07.07.08 | 1:55 PM ET
Once again, it’s the French, Indians and Chinese, according to an annual survey of hoteliers by the French version of Expedia. The latest poll of 4,000 hotel employees in Europe and North America calls the French out for being impolite and unwilling to communicate in foreign languages, deems the Japanese most liked and declares the Italians best dressed.
Berlin Embassy: Critics Not Impressed
by Julia Ross | 07.07.08 | 11:27 AM ET
German architectural critics are having a field day with the new U.S. embassy in Berlin (pictured), skewering the design as “banal” and “monstrous.” It’s an unfair rap, says University of Maryland architectural historian Jane Loeffler.
Manslaughter Charges Filed in 2000 Concorde Crash
by Jim Benning | 07.03.08 | 11:01 AM ET
Five people and Continental Airlines face involuntary manslaughter charges in France stemming from the 2000 Air France Concorde crash in Paris that killed 113 people. According to Reuters, investigators believe a “narrow strip of metal had fallen onto the runway from a previous Continental flight,” which led to a ruptured tire on the Concorde and the ensuing crash. Not surprisingly, Continental denies responsibility for the accident.
Photo by alex-s via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Italy Resists Diversity, Despite Massive Wave of Foreigners
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.27.08 | 12:17 PM ET
European attitudes toward immigrants are hardening, especially in Italy, where the government has just proposed the most restrictive anti-immigrant law in Europe. There’s plenty of scaremongering—Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has suggested that Italians will end up like Native Americans on reservations if immigrants have their way—and the tactic seems to working, writes Michael Kimmelman in The New York Times.
Euro 2008: Germany, Turkey and a Conflict of Loyalties
by Elyse Franko | 06.26.08 | 4:41 PM ET
I spent the latter half of yesterday afternoon watching the Germany-Turkey Euro 2008 match in a Washington, D.C., bar with a bunch of Turks while maintaining a text message conversation with a German friend. It was an odd situation for me. I’m neither Turkish nor German, but I’m a self-proclaimed Turkophile with deep-seated connections to Germany. Being that I’ve spent two years out of the last five living in Germany and only five months in Istanbul, it would seem my loyalties should be painted black, red and gold. But it wasn’t so clear cut.
England to World: We’re Funny!
by Michael Yessis | 06.25.08 | 12:22 PM ET
It’s true. Even the country’s latest motto is funny (“No Motto Please, We’re British.”). So it makes sense the country is turning to its most comedic citizens and “funny spots” to promote travel.
Russians Express Their Fondness for Colon Cleansing
by Elyse Franko | 06.20.08 | 11:13 AM ET
A spa in southern Russia has unveiled a monument to enemas. Apparently based on Botticelli’s Venus and Mars, the bronze statue features three cherubs carrying an enema bulb. According to Svetlana Avakova, the sculpture’s artist, “An enema is an unpleasant procedure as many of us may know. But when cherubs do it, it’s all right.” Agreed, Ms. Avakova. Agreed.
How to Break Bread and Brie in France
by Terry Ward | 06.20.08 | 9:21 AM ET
Great cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation's famed fromage with savoir faire.
Is China Boycotting Travel to France?
by Michael Yessis | 06.18.08 | 12:27 PM ET
The AP reports a plunge in Chinese travelers to France, apparently in retaliation for, among other things, support for Tibet among the French and demonstrations against the Olympic torch relay in Paris. The French Foreign Ministry said Chinese officials have told travel agents to stop selling trips to France. China’s Tourism Bureau apparently wouldn’t comment, but several travel agents reportedly told AP they “had heard about—if not received—the verbal order” to not sell trips to France.
Related on World Hum:
* Travel to China Down in 2008
* China Blocks Travel to Ethnic Tibetan Regions
In Britain, Foreign Currency ATMs on the Rise
by Eva Holland | 06.17.08 | 10:41 AM ET
Interesting pilot program: Britain’s Post Office will be rolling out foreign currency ATMS that dispense U.S. dollars or euros on a trial basis at 13 locations in an effort to reduce the wait times at its foreign exchange counters. According to the Times Online, 21 Marks and Spencer locations have been offering similar machines since January, and HSBC is set to install still more of them in train stations and shopping malls.
Photo by bradipo via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Meet the New Moscow*
by Jim Benning | 06.16.08 | 5:22 PM ET
It’s changing fast, to be sure, but in some ways, it’s the same as the old Moscow. World Hum contributor Peter Delevett recently paid the city a visit and stopped by the Kremlin. As he writes in the San Jose Mercury News: “Customer service, to put it mildly, is an embryonic concept.”
* Update, June 17, 5 p.m. ET: Peter just finished an online chat with readers about his trip. Transcript here.
Related on World Hum:
* The Rise of the Russian Traveler
Photo by Argenberg via Flickr, (Creative Commons).