Destination: Europe
Lose Your Prosthetic Leg at Oktoberfest? Check With the Fundbüro.
by Michael Yessis | 10.02.09 | 11:34 AM ET
That’s the central lost and found for Munich’s Oktoberfest, and, as you might imagine, the drunken masses lose some interesting possessions. Over the years, the Fundbüro has taken temporary custody of, among other things, “a prosthetic leg, a wheelchair, a Superman costume, handwritten notes by the composer Johann Sebastian Bach and 15,000 marks in a soiled pair of lederhosen,” writes Nicholas Kulish in the New York Times.
For more Oktoberfest craziness, check out Life’s then and now slideshow.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe Worst Hotel in the World
by Frank Bures | 10.02.09 | 10:47 AM ET
Frank Bures reflects on the hotels we love to hate -- and the book celebrating one of them
Photo You Must See: Virgin Over Heathrow
by World Hum | 10.01.09 | 5:02 PM ET
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor A Virgin Atlantic plane flies low over nearby houses before landing at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Has the World’s First Novelty Restaurant Been Discovered?
by Michael Yessis | 10.01.09 | 3:08 PM ET
Looks like it. Archaeologists in Rome claim to have unearthed a circular rotating dining room used by Emperor Nero, proving, as Felicity Cloake writes in the Guardian, that “when it comes to naff eateries, anything we can do, the toga wearers did first.”
The AP has a proper news report on the discovery:
British Airways: Introducing the ‘Son of Concorde’
by Eva Holland | 09.30.09 | 4:42 PM ET
With BA’s luxury London-New York route launching this week—exactly forty years after the Concorde’s first flight—the Independent’s Simon Calder takes a closer look at the new service, and at the history of luxury and business class-only air travel.
The World’s Most Carnivorous Countries
by Michael Yessis | 09.29.09 | 12:11 PM ET
Good posted a clever interactive graphic. The most carnivorous country per capita? Denmark.
The Sleaze of ATM and Credit Card Fees
by Rick Steves | 09.29.09 | 11:50 AM ET
Exploring Europe, exploring travel as a political act
Is it a ‘Golden Age’ for British Indie Bookstores?
by Eva Holland | 09.28.09 | 3:51 PM ET
Apparently, more than 60 new stores have opened in the U.K. in the past 15 months. That’s a nice counterweight to all the closures we’ve been covering. (Via The Book Bench)
High-Speed Rail Watch: From Russia to America?
by Eva Holland | 09.28.09 | 2:43 PM ET
A new breed of locomotive-less high-speed train will launch in Russia in December, running between St. Petersburg and Moscow—and Siemens, the German company behind the new model, is hoping to bring it to America next. The New York Times has the details.
The ‘Entity Formerly Known as the British Empire’ Has Some Advice for an America in Decline
by Michael Yessis | 09.28.09 | 12:31 PM ET
More McSweeney’s hilarity from World Hum contributor Kate Hahn. Here’s one bit of advice for the U.S. from the former British Empire, delivered from a bar on the Costa del Sol:
Look, I’ve been there. Coffers empty. Troops everywhere. Economy sour. Your empire’s finished. But just because I’m retired doesn’t mean I can’t be useful. Here’s how you get through it.
First off: lean on your family. And by that I don’t mean the hearth-and-home sort, I mean royals. Make the office of the president of the United States more regal. Pomp and circumstance distracts you from the fact that you don’t matter anymore. Have guards stand outside the White House gates in some kind of regalia. Celebrate the president’s birthday—not just the dead ones, the one you have now. What’s his ... Bomama ... Obama, yes, yes, the Kenyan.
Ah, Kenya. Mine once. Moment for Kenya.
London Bridge vs. Tower Bridge: The Twitter Smackdown!
by Michael Yessis | 09.25.09 | 11:20 AM ET
It’s @ImLondonBridge vs. @towerbridge in the Tussle on the Thames! And @ImLondonBridge is kicking ass, spurred on by what the Telegraph calls the “tedium and pomposity” of its more photogenic rival’s tweets—@towerbridge only seems to tweet whenever it raises to let ships pass.
The Telegraph tells the whole amusing story, and shares some of its favorite taunts from @ImLondonBridge:
If you took a film of @towerbridge and speeded it up, it would look like the world’s least exciting pinball machine. Without any balls.
Hey @towerbridge. When are you going to do something again? You’re even more boring when you’re just sitting there. Yawn.
Coo-ee @towerbridge. When are you going to do your impersonation of the fourth guy from the Village People again? I simply can’t wait.
But @ImLondonBridge isn’t all taunt. It showed its softer side with its tribute to Patrick Swayze.
Photo You Must See: Mugging for the Camera at Oktoberfest
by World Hum | 09.24.09 | 5:04 PM ET
REUTERS/Michaela Rehle A waitress serves mugs of beer to the thirsty crowds on Saturday as Oktoberfest kicks off in Munich.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Amsterdam’ by Jacques Brel
by Jim Benning | 09.24.09 | 12:48 PM ET
The Medieval Icelandic Guide to Marauding
by Eva Holland | 09.22.09 | 12:35 PM ET
The Telegraph highlights the mostly intimidating descriptions of Scotland that pop up in a series of 13th-century Icelandic chronicles. “Icelanders who want to practise robbery are advised to go there,” reads one section. “But it may cost them their life.” The chronicles, the story explains, “were often used as route guides for raiders, traders, crusaders and explorers, effectively a road map of medieval Europe and the Middle East.” Apparently, they’ve remained accurate enough over the centuries that they’re still used by archaeologists today.
Real Madrid: The Theme Park
by Eva Holland | 09.22.09 | 11:07 AM ET
According to Reuters, the big-name Spanish football club is planning a “Disney-style” theme park near Madrid’s Barajas airport. The only hint about the park-to-be’s attractions so far? They will reflect the club’s “history, legend and values.” Bring on the carnies in Cristiano Ronaldo masks, please.