What we Loved This Week: Ricardo Arjona, Sylvia Poggioli and Beer

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  01.25.08 | 4:03 PM ET

imageWorld Hum contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Jim Benning
I’ve been listening to a lot of Ricardo Arjona, a Guatemalan-born singer-songwriter who puts out smart narrative pop songs with a good dose of social commentary. I got turned on to him in Central America. Listening to his stuff helps me keep my Spanish skills fresh.

Even better, it help me see the U.S. and the world through very different eyes. His song “Si el Norte Fuera el Sur,” for example —“If the North Were the South”—imagines a world in which Fidel Castro works on Wall Street and Disneyland is in Guatemala. It’s a great form of armchair travel. Here’s a clip:

David Farley
New York is surprisingly devoid of outdoor drinking spots. Which is maybe one of the reasons everyone flocks to the massive Czech beer hall in Astoria, Queens, Bohemian Hall. But now there’s competition. Enter Radegast Hall, a brand-new Czech-owned beer hall in hipster-mecca Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Though Radesgast is the name of a popular Czech beer, the theme is meant to evoke the Austro-Hungarian Empire (which, of course, included what is now the Czech Republic). The retractable roof, long wooden tables, hearty goulash, and, of course, Czech beer on tap make it my new favorite place to put away the pints in New York. After all, I am “The Walking Party.” 

Joanna Kakissis
I’m a huge fan of NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli, an excellent reporter and cinematic storyteller who has illuminated Europe for me over the years. Her series this week on Muslim women in Europe took me on a nuanced, troubling journey through a story that is changing the face and culture of Europe.

Frank Bures
This zeek ze qre trqveling in frqnce; qnd I love! the french keyboqrd. We also have had some fantastic chocolate pastries, wine, sausage. I didn’t know you could get so fat so fast.

Michael Yessis
Jason Jones went to Iceland for a segment on The “A Daily Show” to try to persuade the one troop the country pulled out of Iraq to return to fight with U.S. troops. The press conference he stages is priceless, with the Canadian comedian landing blows at the expense of Icelandic and American culture. Here’s the clip:

 

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