Beyond travel, we're also big music fans here at Gadling, largely because music is a great way to get to know a place.

This month happens to be Public Radio Music Month and we're teaming up with NPR to bring you exclusive interviews from NPR music specialists around the country. We'll be learning about local music culture and up and coming new regional artists, so be sure to follow along all month.

Name: Laura Shine

Member station: 91.9 WFPK Radio Louisville, Kentucky

Regular Show/Contribution Beat: Assistant Program Director, On Air Host M-F 3-6pm, Host of Live Lunch (Fridays at Noon), Local Music Liaison

1. When people think of music in Louisville, what do they think of?

My Morning Jacket and front man Jim James who have done more for the image of Louisville having a vibrant music scene than any other ambassador out there. Second to that would be Will Oldham aka Bonnie Prince Billy who has an extremely loyal following worldwide. His songs have been covered by a diverse group of artists from Johnny Cash to Deer Tick. Also, a band that is cited quite often as a major influence to many Indie rock artists is Slint, who disbanded after their second landmark album Spiderland in 1990. People think of mainstream rock to underground alternative mostly when they think of Louisville.

2. How do you help curate the Louisville musical scene?

My part in helping curate the music scene involves my role as Local Music Liaison for WFPK. I listen to all of the demos we are sent by local artists and choose what will go into rotation from there. Air-play is still a big part of a band's exposure to an audience which translates to CD or download sales of their music, being booked into local venues, local venues asking us for recommendations for opening acts for national artists in town and the connections that grow from there.

Beyond travel, we're also big music fans here at Gadling; largely because music is a great way to get to know a place. This month happens to be Public Radio Music Month and we're teaming up with NPR to bring you exclusive interviews from NPR music specialists around the country. We'll be learning about local music culture and up and coming new regional artists, so be sure to follow along all month.

Name: John Vettese

Member station: WXPN, Philadelphia

Regular Show/Contribution Beat: Philly Local Show co-host on WXPN; editor, writer, photographer at The Key

1. When people think of music in your city, what do they think of?

A lot of things; different things. Some people think of the Rocky theme, or that Elton John song; '70s Philly Soul is a big association people have with us, of course – and a good one to have. As far as artists active in present day, it's not so easy to pin down. The most successful musicians that have emerged from Philly in the past few decades range from hip-hop (The Roots, Meek Mill) to psych-rooted, classic-rock-informed bands (Dr. Dog, The War on Drugs) to wild art-rock (Man Man, Kurt Vile) and singer-songwriters (Amos Lee, Melody Gardot), which, for me, covering the scene, is great – it keeps it fresh and exciting, and doesn't make Philly music so easily reduced to a "sound." You know, grunge/Seattle, garage/Detroit, psych/SanFran, punk/DC etc. Philly has all of those things; there's no one single thing it makes people think of, musically – which I guess is the one common refrain you'll hear.

Once a month we put together an exclusive Gadling playlist – a little something to bring you sounds from around the world.

Every month we choose a theme paired with one of our #ontheroad Instagram locations and choose some of our favorite tracks, giving you a music-inspired playlist meant to inspire a little wanderlust.

Last week we hit up the island of Reunion and this week we're in Cabo, and in celebration of getting a little sun and waves in around the time of spring break, we figured a tropical inspired playlist was just what we needed. We're calling it "Tropical Beats and Rhythms Even If You're Not on Spring Break," because everyone could use a little warm weather inspired music, whether it's vacation time or not. Enjoy!

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

If you calculated how much time you look at certain things when you travel, signs would be at the top of the list. Whether it's indicating a road or a restaurant, without signs we would quite literally be lost.

In some places, there are more signs than others, and in this photo, Flickr user Luke Robinson captures a jumble of signs in Hong Kong. In fact, it's not even clear what each sign leads to. It almost begs the question whether too many signs actually just might make you feel more lost.

Want your photo featured on Photo of the Day? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr pool or mention @Gadling on Instagram and tag your photo with #gadling.

Think about how many hands the average dollar bill passes through; all jokes about "dirty money" aside, it's practically impossible for the money that you carry in your wallet to be clean. But some bills are dirtier than others.

Researchers at Oxford put European currencies and banknotes to the test, finding that British pounds are actually cleaner than Euros. On average European bills and coins contain 26,000 bacteria, while UK currency has around 18,200.

How dirty is that? According to Ian Thompson, Professor of Engineering Science at Oxford, 11,000 bacteria is enough to pass on an infection. Makes you want to go wash your hands after paying for your souvenirs doesn't it?

Surprisingly enough, clean and efficient Scandinavia actually tops the list of dirty cash. The dirtiest currency was the Denmark krone, at 40,266 bacteria, with the Swedish crown at 39,600 not far behind.

Maybe it's another reason to get behind the Euro?

[Photo Credit: Jixar]

Cafes are often a travelers hub, not just because you can kill your jetlag with a cup of espresso, but because they are inevitably the place where you go to sit and do some people watching and, while you're at it, take a moment to get immersed in the local coffee culture.

If you're a coffee drinker, finding the best cup in town is often an adventure in and of itself, sometimes leading to a city's most off-the-beaten-path destinations. Remember: they may speak English, and you know what that grande latte is going to taste like, but it's not at Starbucks that you'll find your bliss.

Love coffee enough to travel for it? Put these 5 cities on your list of next destinations.

Sun in the middle of Swedish winter is a sought after thing, and this photo by Flickr user mjlacey captures the seasonal beauty of sunlight on snow.

The oldest botanical garden in Sweden, Botaniska Trädgården (Botanical Gardens), located in the university town of Uppsala, was founded in 1655 and was originally used for teaching students about botany and pharmacy. Today the gardens extend over 34 acres with some 11,000 species from all over the world. Certainly worth a visit if you ever find yourself in this Swedish city.

Do you want your travel photo to be featured on Photo of the Day? Submit via our Gadling Flickr pool, or on Instagram by tagging your photo with #gadling and mentioning @gadlingtravel.

[Photo Credit: mjlacey]

This week on Instagram we're off to Sweden, and since I'm at the helm you can expect a lot of bike and food photos. And some good sun shots on ice, because this time of year, in good weather, the landscape can be simply stunning.

With family in Sweden, I have spent a lot of time in the land of pickled herring, meatballs and Abba. It's a place that I come back to in order to refuel, reconnect with family and find new inspiration. Having spent every summer in Sweden as a child, and much more time as an adult, for me, traveling to Sweden isn't a novel thing as it would be for most people. It's simply returning to a place that I know and love.

But this week I am excited to put a new eye to things, to feature all the things that I love about Scandinavian culture - the obsession with the coffee break for example - and give you a look into what life in the cold north really looks like.

Snap a photo worth sharing? Mention @GadlingTravel in your own photo AND use the hashtag #gadling, and your photo will be considered for our Photo Of The Day.

The stark realities of winter are excellently captured in this photo by Flickr user arunchs.

Taken in the Himalayas, these Pashmina Goats grazing in Changthang Plateau, Ladakh, belong to changpa people residing in the nearby village of Puga. The photo is striking when you think of all of the Pashmina scarves – which are made from this special breed of goat, which is indigenous to the high altitudes of the Himalaya – that one often comes across in Southeast Asian markets. The scarfs are colorful and lively, much the opposite of this image. A good reminder of where things come from.

Have your own captivating travel photos you want featured on Photo of the Day? Submit them to the Gadling Flickr pool, or via Instagram by tagging your photos with #gadling and mentioning @gadlingtravel.

[Photo Credit: arunchs]

Neon colored fruity cocktails consumed poolside with college students and bad house music in the background not really your thing? Spring break can be a lot of things, and it doesn't have to fit the classic stereotype of sunburned jocks taking tequila shots in Cabo.

Spring is that perfect time of year when it's not quite summer but the weather's nicer so you can take full advantage of the great outdoors while still avoiding the larger crowds of tourists. If you're willing to invest a little time in adventure planning, you can get some serious payoff. This is the time of camping and road trips after all.

So start packing your tent and down sleeping bag and get ready to explore. And although you might not be boozing at Senor Frogs, feel free to bring a flask of high-quality whiskey. It's perfect around a campfire.