Interestingly, among the many reasons cited for the phenomenon in this International Herald Tribune story: globalization. “As immigration changes the face of Dutch cities and globalization spreads its veil of uniformity over life in the Netherlands, many among the Dutch are looking for their roots.” And according to some, those roots also happen to produce better tasting flour than newer grinding methods. No word on whether tilting at windmills is also on the rise.

Related on World Hum:
* Sex, Drugs and Changing Times in Amsterdam

Photo by Porcelaingirl via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

Remarkable: A teacher poking around his father’s antique shop in Holland discovered a postcard mailed by Anne Frank to a friend in 1937, seven years before her death. She’d written, “Good luck for the new year.”

Related on World Hum:
* Anne Frank’s Beloved Chestnut Tree to Fall

Bad news for art lovers: The museum housing the work of Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters was originally scheduled to reopen this year after closing several years ago for renovations, but conflicts with the contractor over costs have caused major delays. A limited number of pieces remain available for viewing in one wing.

Related on World Hum:
* Sex, Drugs and Changing Times in Amsterdam

Photo by Rob Lee via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

During my one visit to Amsterdam years ago, I strolled through the red-light district and into a couple of the city’s famous coffee houses, dutifully playing the part of the gawking tourist. Since then, I’ve always taken a little comfort in the fact that such a place can exist—that an extremely tolerant, live-and-let-live society can actually function, albeit with a certain number of associated problems. So it’s sad to read that, as the Los Angeles Times puts it, “it may be last call for drugs, sex and live-and-let-live in the Netherlands, one of the most famously broad-minded countries in the world.” The Times notes that a ban on hallucinogenic mushrooms taking effect this year is representative of a more conservative mood driving changes in Dutch laws and society. 

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The Guardian’s Sean Dodson picks 10 sleeping giants of rock, including the spot where John Lennon and Yoko One had their “Bed-in for Peace” (Amsterdam Hilton), the hotel where Led Zeppelin chucked TVs out windows (the now de-balconied Hyatt Riot House, pictured, on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip) and the place where David Bowie lived in Berlin while recording “Low” and “Heroes” (Hotel Ellington). One obvious clunker: The Hotel Rival in Sweden, which is owned by Benny Anderson of ABBA fame. I’ve heard “Dancing Queen.” I’ve seen “Mamma Mia.” ABBA ain’t rock.

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Their seven wonders, our seven wonders and the wonder of the Dreamliner top the minds of wide-eyed travelers this week. Here’s the Zeitgeist.

Most Read Feature
World Hum (this week)
Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet
* From “Airworld” (pictured) to Starbucks in the Forbidden City, an alternative take on the seven wonders of the world.

Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
By Popular Vote, the World’s ‘New 7 Wonders’ Named

Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph UK (current)
Where to Stay: Amsterdam

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
10 Great Places to Get in Tune, be Outdoors

World’s Best City
Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards (2007)
Florence
* Travel + Leisure’s 12th annual readers poll also ranks the world’s best hotels, islands and more.

Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
‘Man Overboard’: A Look at Cruise Ship Disappearances

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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has had a busy few weeks. Not only was it busy issuing a press release claiming no affiliation with the new seven wonders, during meetings in Christchurch, New Zealand, the group added the Galapagos and their surrounding marine reserve; Samarra, Iraq; and Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park to its list of endangered World Heritage sites. Two more sites—the Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal—were removed from the Danger List. 

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Bikes might not be the first thing most travelers think of when they think of Holland, but perhaps they should be. After all, bicycles outnumber people—20 million bikes, 16 million humans—in this flat-as-a pool-table country. A few years ago, after visiting Holland for a friend’s wedding, I detailed the ins and outs of Dutch bike etiquette. So it was fun to see this slice-of-life piece in the Washington Post, the latest installment in the paper’s intriguing Time Zones series.

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Or, in other words, travelers’ interests this week range from Hershey, Pennsylvania to the streets of Japan. Here’s the Zeitgeist. 

Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Magnificient Trees of the World
* The Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, California (pictured) makes the list.

Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
A Tour of Japanese Cuisine With Spago Chef Lee Hefter
* From the same writers: A look at kaiseki

Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Japan’s Latest Budget Accommodation: Internet Cafes
* The nation that brought us the capsule hotel has done it again.

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Hershey Honors its Past, Looks to the Future

Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
Amsterdam: Telegraph Travel Guides

Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Farecast

Most Read Feature Story
World Hum (this week)
Mark Ellingham: Rough Guides and the Ethics of Travel

“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Playa del Carmen

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In the Diary of Anne Frank, young Anne rhapsodized about looking out of the house where she was in hiding and seeing “the blue sky and the chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine.” It’s a tribute to the power of her writing that newspapers around the world are carrying news that the 150-year-old tree has been attacked by a fungus and will be felled. AnneFrank.org has posted a short video of the view of the tree from the house. Last year, actress Emma Thompson helped launch AnneFrankTree.com, billed as an “interactive monument.” The Anne Frank Museum plans to plant a sapling from the original in its place.

Photo by Ned Raggett, via flickr (Creative Commons).

The Zeitgeist has returned from a two-week hiatus spent mostly in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and it finds travelers still loving Bill Bryson, still concerned about their airfare prices and wondering whether to order a Heineken, Grolsch or Amstel in Amsterdam. Let’s go.

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
36 Hours: Philadelphia

Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (current)
How do airlines set their ticket prices?
* This Slate “explainer” unravels the mystery.

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
U.S. to Require Passports for Nearly All Air Travelers

Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
* Two Three Six weeks in a row at the top for Bryson’s memoir of growing up in 1950s Iowa.

Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
* Bryson hits the daily double with his classic about hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (current)
SideStep

Most Popular Travel Podcast
PodcastAlley (November)
808Talk: Hawaii’s Premier Podcast

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Coordinates: 51 49 N 5 32 E
Approximate elevation: 13 feet (4 meters)
A certain preoccupation with water can be expected in a country located at the mouth of three major rivers and where roughly half of the total land area is at or below sea level. And when climate scientists talk of the very real possibility of oceans rising as a result of global warming, a concerned populace tends to start looking to the future with a pragmatic eye. Having overcome its low-lying geography for centuries, the Netherlands is preparing for another spate of damp difficulties by innovating an already sophisticated system of water management. Southeast of Amsterdam, for example, a Dutch construction firm has built several dozen amphibious homes in Maasbommel on the banks of the Maas River. In the event of flooding, these lightweight structures could rise up to 18 feet above their mooring posts to avoid damage.

-- is the editor of the Oxford Atlas of the World.