Destination: Europe
Don’t Mess with Bavarian Heritage: Cheap, Imported Lederhosen Dubbed ‘Yuppie Outfits’
by Valerie Conners | 09.24.08 | 11:23 AM ET
Better check your lederhosen and dirndls before heading to the Oktoberfest beer tents: If you’re not sporting a German-made getup you’ll likely fuel the ire of Bavarian purists.
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Yahoo! BuzzBilly Bragg’s Big Busk: Singing About London
by Michael Yessis | 09.23.08 | 12:21 PM ET
The singer will be leading a come one, come all sing- and strum-along this Saturday at the Southbank Centre in London. The crowd will be singing Bragg’s favorite London songs. He’s got a lot of great ones to choose from, as evidenced by this Wikipedia page of London songs and Time Out’s 50 best London songs.
If I could make it, I’d like “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks to make the cut:
Jeffrey Tayler’s Latest in The Atlantic
by Jim Benning | 09.19.08 | 9:15 AM ET
As the Moscow correspondent for The Atlantic, World Hum contributor Jeffrey Tayler has been filing some terrific stories lately about Russia, Georgia and U.S. foreign policy. In his latest, Russia: Back to the Future, he questions whether the U.S. should continue to back Georgia’s bid to join NATO.
The Case of the Japanese Tourists and the Graffiti at the Duomo
by Michael Yessis | 09.19.08 | 7:11 AM ET
The Financial Times has a fascinating rundown of an incident earlier this year involving Japanese tourists in Florence, Italy. The visitors, who were mostly students, added their names to a marble wall at the Duomo, which “has become an accepted, if not necessarily desired, activity in Florence,” writes Lindsay Whipp.
You Won’t Get That Kind of Room Service: Turkish Hotel Fires Promiscuous Male Staff
by Valerie Conners | 09.17.08 | 12:19 PM ET
Ladies, take pause before indulging in your next foreign fling with that sexy bellhop—all male staff members at at the Image Hotel in Marmaris, Turkey, have been fired after a series of dalliances with guests, the AP reports. “The last straw was when I saw our bartender, who was a very decent man, walk out of the bathroom with a British tourist,” the hotel’s manager explained.
‘Can You Really See Russia From Alaska?’
by Eva Holland | 09.17.08 | 9:41 AM ET
Following Sarah Palin’s recent comments about her “next-door neighbors,” inquiring minds want to know. And the answer? Yep, says Slate. Details on the where and how are in the latest Explainer.
Related on World Hum:
* How Does Sarah Palin Rank in Foreign Travel Experience?*
Photo by jomilo75 via Flickr (Creative Commons)
John le Carré and the Book That Might Have Been
by Eva Holland | 09.15.08 | 2:00 PM ET
Happy Birthday, Marco Polo
by Jim Benning | 09.15.08 | 10:42 AM ET
Polo was born on this day in 1254. As Garrison Keillor points out in today’s “Writer’s Almanac,” Polo’s book about his travels, creatively titled “The Travels of Marco Polo” in English, was “a huge sensation” when it came out in 1298. Keillor notes that Polo wrote the book while bored in prison, dictating it to a fellow writer held in his cell.
Singing the Praises of Belleville, Edith Piaf’s Paris
by Jim Benning | 09.12.08 | 11:20 AM ET
Many travelers know Belleville as the Paris neighborhood where they can find Pere Lachaise cemetery. I recall riding the metro out there more than a decade ago, like every other college kid with a Let’s Go, to check out the tombstones of Jim Morrison and Gertrude Stein. But what I didn’t appreciate at the time was that Belleville was also once the home of singer Edith Piaf.
East Germany ‘Ostalgia’ Going Strong
by Julia Ross | 09.11.08 | 2:35 PM ET
I loved the 2003 film Good Bye Lenin! for its darkly comic take on nostalgia for Cold War-era East Germany. Now it seems “ostalgia” has worked its way into Berlin’s tourism infrastructure: Time reports that the craze has spread to themed pubs, “Ostel” hostels and “Trabi safaris,” which ferry tourists around East Berlin in the much-maligned Trabant (pictured).
Dozens Evacuated in Channel Tunnel Fire
by Jim Benning | 09.11.08 | 12:36 PM ET
In what must have been a harrowing experience, more than 30 people were evacuated from a freight train today when a fire broke out in the Channel Tunnel between England and France. Officials suspect the fire started when a truck on the train overturned, CNN reports. The evacuees, some reportedly suffering from smoke inhalation, were taken into a service tunnel. Fortunately, no passenger trains were in the tunnel at the time. Tunnel train service has been temporarily suspended.
Bellisima, They’re Not: Italians Rank Ugliest English Words
by Valerie Conners | 09.10.08 | 12:00 PM ET
You won’t hear any talk of “lo stress” or “le leadership” on the streets of Italy, if the Dante Alighieri Society has its way. The proclaimed protectors of Italian culture have asked the public to vote on the most offensive English word to be adopted into the Italian language. And the winner? “Il weekend.”
Matt Gross: Looking Back on the Grand Tour
by Eva Holland | 09.10.08 | 9:29 AM ET
The New York Times Frugal Traveler columnist offers a thoughtful reflection on his just-completed European tour, and shares some lessons learned in frugality—“Redefine ‘Europe,’” for one.
U.N. Reports Seven British World Heritage Sites ‘In Danger’
by Valerie Conners | 09.08.08 | 4:30 PM ET
We’ve long known that Stonehenge, like many culturally relevant sites, has experienced the dangers of vandals and tourists. Now Unesco has given the United Kingdom a formal slap on the wrist for failing to protect seven of its world heritage sites—including Stonehenge—from building developments and other dangers.
It’s Not Easy Being Green and Crucified
by Valerie Conners | 09.05.08 | 1:00 PM ET
As if Italians didn’t have enough cultural curiosities to be concerned about these days, now they’re dealing with the fallout from a sculpture depicting a 4-foot-high frog nailed to a cross and clutching a beer mug and an egg.