Destination: Germany

Lose Your Prosthetic Leg at Oktoberfest? Check With the Fundbüro.

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.


Photo You Must See: Mugging for the Camera at Oktoberfest

Photo You Must See: Mugging for the Camera at Oktoberfest REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

A waitress serves mugs of beer to the thirsty crowds on Saturday as Oktoberfest kicks off in Munich.


The Triumphant Return of the Trabant

The Triumphant Return of the Trabant Photo by storem via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by storem via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Yep, it’s true. The much-mocked East German vehicle of choice, which has gained a nostalgic following (or should I say ostalgic?) since the fall of the Berlin Wall, is coming back on the market—as an electric car. Wired’s Autopia bloggers, apparently immune to nostalgia, are horrified.


Reviving Brand America

Reviving Brand America REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

Exploring Europe, exploring travel as a political act

Read More »


Turn Up the Tunes, Break Out Your Phrasebooks

Elyse Franko wonders: Is the United States at the beginning of a linguistic musical revolution?

Read More »


European Flesh and the American Prude

European Flesh and the American Prude Alexandra Beier/Reuters

Exploring Europe, exploring travel as a political act

Read More »


An Aging Continent Grapples With Immigration

Exploring Europe, exploring travel as a political act

Read More »


Berlin’s Currywurst Gets the Museum Treatment

Berlin’s Currywurst Gets the Museum Treatment Photo by WordRidden via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by WordRidden via Flickr (Creative Commons)

The Berlin staple may not have set Alison Stein Wellner’s head on fire when she went looking for the world’s hottest foods, but it remains one of Germany’s favorite sausage variations. And now, currywurst—diced sausage doused in ketchup and curry powder—is getting a museum of its very own.

Some of the weirder details, from Reuters: “An array of interactive exhibits guide visitors along a ‘sauce trail’ through the history and variety of the beloved dish ... A spice chamber scents the air with curry powder as guests relax on the giant ‘sauce sofa’, shaped like a squirt of ketchup while an eco-alley assesses the environmental impact of fast food.”


Adventures in Unfortunate Place Names

Fill in the blanks: Residents in F**king, Austria, are sick of tourists flocking for lewd photo-ops with the town’s signage, but across the border the folks in W**k, Germany, think F**king should learn to embrace the crude humor—and cash in. That’s what W**k’s tourism leaders have done: Said one W**k spokesperson, “There are W**k postcards on sale although many people prefer to take their own W**k holiday snaps standing beside Welcome to W**k signs.” And understandably so. I’ll leave the DIY jokes to less refined bloggers.


Moon-Gazing Around the Globe

Full moon over London Photos by cybea via Flickr (Creative Commons)

From Puebla to Paris, 12 photos by moonstruck world travelers

See the full photo slideshow »


Six Great Summer Music Festivals in Europe

Six Great Summer Music Festivals in Europe REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Headed overseas this summer? Ben Keene surveys music festivals from Budapest to Stockholm.

Read More »


AIDS Levy for Air Travelers?

There’s a proposal in the works to add a special tax, marked for efforts to fight AIDS in developing countries, to all flight purchases in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. A similar tax has been in place in France for three years and has raised nearly $1 billion. The Financial Times has the details on what the plan might look like.


Odd Jobs: The Grill Walker

David Farley meets a guy in Berlin who sells sausages from a grill strapped to his body

Read More »


Paying for Passport Stamps

Paying for Passport Stamps Photo by lilit via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by lilit via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Over at Jaunted, blogger JetSetCD has opened up a conversation on those oh-so-tempting, oh-so-corny souvenir passport stamps.

You know, the ones from places like Checkpoint Charlie, Machu Picchu and so on. And then, beyond the stamps from major tourist sites, there are the just-so-I-can-say-I-was-here countries—Liechtenstein, San Marino and the like—that charge for their entry stamps, too. So, Jaunted asks, are novelty passport stamps worth their price? Or are they just as bad as “buying those horrific gift spoons”?

I have to admit, I’ve never actually been faced with the question before. But I love my passport stamps, and I can’t see putting a set of fake East/West Berlin markers into the mix. On the other hand, though it would irk me to pay, I’d probably want proof that I crossed Liechtenstein’s borders. What about you?


The Secret is Out on Secret Dining

The Secret is Out on Secret Dining Photo by wit via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by wit via Flickr (Creative Commons)

I met a woman at a party a few months ago who, when she witnessed my eyebrow-raising eating prowess, revealed she knows of a few secret dining spots: places only known by the covert band of dining cognoscenti, a cabal of eaters who fetishize the idea of eating in places that no one else knows of. I know, it’s exciting. I tried to extract the information from her that night with the grace of a tooth-pulling dentist, but she wouldn’t budge.

Read More »