Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Launching (and Hyping) the Danube Express
by Eva Holland | 10.01.08 | 10:00 AM ET
Photo by ** Maurice ** via Flickr (Creative Commons)
It seems all eyes were on the Danube Express last week as the new luxury rail route got rolling in Berlin—in fact, nearly every major British travel section devoted feature space to the story.
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzFreed Tourist: ‘At a Certain Point We Thought it Was All Over’
by Jim Benning | 09.30.08 | 3:22 PM ET
So says one of the 11 European tourists kidnapped at gunpoint in the Gilf al-Kebir region of Egypt and finally freed Monday. Remarked one of the Egyptian guides who was also kidnapped: “They told all the Egyptians to stand in one line and they cocked their weapons, and at that moment we thought we were dead.” As we noted yesterday, the Christian Science Monitor reports that the kidnapping “highlights new risks for adventure tourists in the western Egyptian desert due to the instability in neighboring Chad and Sudan.”
The Best (Almost) Fictional British Pubs
by Michael Yessis | 09.30.08 | 2:41 PM ET
Among David Barnett’s picks for great fictional pubs: George Orwell’s The Moon Under Water and Anthony Burgess’ Korova Milk Bar, from A Clockwork Orange. Though they’re products of the authors’ imaginations, it looks like they’re so good they’ve both spawned real-world pubs. In his Guardian piece, Barnett mentions a series of British pubs named The Moon Under Water. I found another in St. Petersburg, Florida.
South Pole Area Threatened by Antarctica Tourism?
by Michael Yessis | 09.30.08 | 12:01 PM ET
Science Daily looks at the issue, and points to a possible solution: “Market the visitor rights to the highest bidder.”
Hodgman: In First Class ‘They Give You Miniature People in a Cage Whom You Can Force to Dance’
by Michael Yessis | 09.30.08 | 11:51 AM ET
This story includes a funny riff from John Hodgman about what it’s like to fly first class. To bypass his riffs on his trip to Radio Shack and a grunting Justin Timberlake, go right to the bottom of page 6.
Save the British Pub Sign
by Michael Yessis | 09.30.08 | 10:57 AM ET
Hand-painted markers outside British pubs date to Roman times. Now they’re threatened, mostly by corporate consolidation of pubs. “Only the 30 independent pub chains and breweries in Britain are still ordering individually painted signs,” writes Vanessa Thorpe.
It’s a shame.
The signs, preservationists rightly argue, are full of artistic value and symbolism. See for yourself at Flickr’s cluster of British pub signs.
Happy 100th, Union Station
by Valerie Conners | 09.30.08 | 10:21 AM ET
The station—Amtrak’s headquarters and one of Washington, D.C.‘s most visited sites—will be celebrating its centennial this weekend, with exhibits that pay homage to the landmark transportation hub and the history of the rails. I have a soft spot for Union Station. I commute through it most weeks, enjoying the sight of the looming main concourse, the hum of the crowds, the smells of the food court, the anticipation of arriving in the nation’s capital. A very happy birthday, indeed.
Borat (Er, Bruno?) Busted In Italy
by Eva Holland | 09.30.08 | 9:13 AM ET
Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen was arrested in Milan this weekend after leaping onto the runway during a fashion show, the CBC reports. The actor is currently at work on a new movie, but this time, his traveling Kazakh journalist Borat will be replaced by another Cohen favorite—roving Austrian fashion reporter, Bruno. The new flick, the catchy-titled “Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt”, is due out next summer. There’s no word yet on another accompanying guidebook.
Landmark Skydive Planned for Everest
by Eva Holland | 09.29.08 | 4:00 PM ET
If all goes according to plan, at least 34 skydivers will jump out of a plane and free-fall past the summit of Mount Everest Thursday. The jumps will be the first ever attempted at Everest. Remarked the jump’s organizer, “This will be the most important event in the Himalayan adventure since 1953.”
Has Sauvignon Blanc Trumped Stout in Belfast?
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.29.08 | 3:00 PM ET
Well, not yet, but it’s getting there. In a country that relishes its working-class brew, oenophiles have often been dismissed as effete elitists. But lately foreign travel, among other things, has fueled a marked interest in wine in Northern Ireland. Peter McBride, owner of the Gapwines chain, which recently held a wine-tasting at Belfast Castle, says he’s noticed that travelers often want to re-create the tastes they’ve experienced abroad at home. “And wine is one of them,” he told the BBC.
The Alphorn: It’s Not Just for Swiss Shepherds Anymore
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.29.08 | 12:23 PM ET
In fact, one 25-year-old jazz musician from Solothurn likes to play Prince, Amy Winehouse and Miles Davis on the 12-foot folk instrument—an act that has ruffled the feathers of Swiss traditionalists used to puffing out tunes like “With the Cows” and “On the Sheep’s Meadow.”
Eliana Burki, who fell in love with the alphorn at age 6, used to practice on a piece of garden hose affixed with a mouthpiece because her parents wouldn’t buy her a horn. Now an alphorn master, she’s played at trade fairs, shopping centers and concert halls in Ecuador, India, Germany and Taiwan, The Wall Street Journal reports, and now, she will be teaming up with Queen’s former producer to put out an album.
On Using Travel Agents in the Internet Age
by Jim Benning | 09.29.08 | 10:55 AM ET
“When something goes wrong, a travel agent is your best source of help,” Ed Perkins writes. “You often have to rebook flights, accommodations and other arrangements. When you have advance notice, you could probably do your own rescheduling. But chances are an agent could do a quicker and better job than you could.”
Tourists Kidnapped in Egypt Are Freed*
by Jim Benning | 09.29.08 | 10:25 AM ET
The 11 European tourists and their guides taken hostage by bandits in the Gilf al-Kebir region of Egypt roughly a week ago are finally free, the BBC reports. A number of their kidnappers were reportedly killed in the rescue operation.
* Updated, 5:45 p.m. ET: Observes the Christian Science Monitor, “The rescue ends an ordeal that highlights new risks for adventure tourists in the western Egyptian desert due to the instability in neighboring Chad and Sudan.”
R.I.P. Paul Newman
by Eva Holland | 09.29.08 | 12:15 AM ET
Among his countless contributions to film, Newman voiced an elderly race car in one of our favorite travel race movies. For the legendary actor-philanthropist, it probably wasn’t a career highlight. But we enjoyed it.
World Hum’s Most Read: Sept. 20-26
by World Hum | 09.26.08 | 5:13 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts for the week:
1) Audio Slideshow: Promised Land Closed
2) Q&A With Rolf Potts: Revelations from a Postmodern Travel Writer
3) Man Drives From New York City to Los Angeles in 31 Hours
4) South Africa: Three Great Books (pictured)
5) Rio de Janeiro: The Little Slum Inn
