Sep 30th, 2011 at 8:30AM: A trend in the travel world that is becoming increasingly popular is the "experiential" hotel. Many travelers are no longer looking for a basic room in a premier location, but instead for an experience that will allow them to get to know an (often remote) area, or at least have their hotel be something they'll never forget. From staying in mines in the deepest hotel suite in the world to getting ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Finland posts
10 unique experiential hotels from around the world
Sep 30th, 2011 at 8:30AM: A trend in the travel world that is becoming increasingly popular is the "experiential" hotel. Many travelers are no longer looking for a basic room in a premier location, but instead for an experience that will allow them to get to know an (often remote) area, or at least have their hotel be something they'll never forget. From staying in mines in the deepest hotel suite in the world to getting ...Brand Finland, Finnair, and Blue Wings
Sep 26th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
Finland is widely recognized for having an amazing brand, which draws substance from several sources: its educational system, its technological strengths, its tradition of modern design and architecture, its physical environment (forests, water, and the extreme north), and distinctive cultural experiences like sauna.
In light of Finland's high performance across several broad categories of ...Arktikum: Finland's extraordinary Arctic museum
Sep 22nd, 2011 at 1:30PM:
Rovaniemi is one of the world's most northerly cities. Located just a few kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, it is the biggest city in Finland at its latitude, with a population of 60,000. There are bigger cities at more northerly latitudes in Norway and Russia, to be sure, but Rovaniemi is indisputably pretty far north, all things considered.
Rovaniemi lures visitors in with the ...Visa-free travel by the numbers
Aug 15th, 2011 at 11:30AM:
Visa-free travel is easy travel. Procuring visas takes time, energy, and money, and is beyond debate a pain for frequent travelers. The erection of visa barriers responds to a number of factors, though it can be said without too many qualifications that the citizens of rich countries tend to have a much easier time accessing the world visa-free than do the citizens of poor countries.
The ...European low-cost airlines fail to enforce charges and fees
Jul 7th, 2011 at 11:30AM:
Flying around Europe on low-cost airlines over the last few months has taught me a few things. Among the most useful lessons I've picked up: Baggage and check-in fees and charges are enforced quite unevenly.
European low-cost carriers present their customers with a frightening thicket of charges and fees. These charges, which serve as a revenue stream for the airlines, are less readily ...Finland in London
Jun 27th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Week before last, I traveled to Oulu to bask in the midnight sun. Dusk and dawn were indistinguishable. I needed little sleep to feel energized. At midnight I looked north and imagined landscapes bathed in even brighter sunlight.
Back in London this past week, I was faced with rain and general drenching. The clouds were low and foreboding; the gray skies interminably soul-annihilating. ...Five ways to enjoy the midnight sun in Oulu
Jun 23rd, 2011 at 10:30AM:
As the days grew longer this spring I began to fantasize about spending summer solstice under the midnight sun. I recalled with excitement that dulled buzz that comes from not getting enough sleep when it's constantly light out, a gently energizing sensation so unlike sheer exhaustion. Last week I succumbed to the urge and flew off to the city of Oulu in Finland.
Why Oulu? As is usually the ...Top 20 least sexist countries in the world
Apr 24th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Have you ever wondered which countries are the least sexist in the world?
The Global Gender Gap report calculates such a thing. The study chronicles gender disparities and progress for rights across the sexes in several countries. It essentially gauges the treatment of women using various data points including educational attainment, health, and political empowerment. The study encompasses ...Schengen and the disappearance of European passport stamps
Mar 1st, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Creative new use for border crossing posts at German/Austrian border.
In the late 1980s, an American spending a summer traveling across Europe with a Eurailpass would see his or her passport stamped possibly dozens of times. With a few exceptions, every time a border was crossed, an immigration agent would pop his or her head into a train compartment, look at everyone's passports, in most ...Gadling's favorite destinations for 2011
Dec 7th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
We travel a lot, to destinations both well-known and unfamiliar. In our defense, it is our job to travel like mad, to explore the world and then write about our discoveries.
Though most travel writers find something or other of interest in most places we visit, there are always those personal favorites that rise above the rest. This year, we decided to scribble our favorites down for you. ...Two blogs that inspire travel: l'antipodeuse & Sarah Goldschadt
Aug 3rd, 2010 at 1:00PM:
Information, to risk stating the baldly obvious, is essential to travel. Timetables, schedules, iPhone apps, hotel review sites and Foursquare check-in updates all deliver very specific information of immediate and inarguable value to travelers. Travel blogs that pursue listings- and information-based missions provide the nitty-gritty details that travelers need, the basic and essential ...Four lesser-known Eurozone islands
Jun 10th, 2010 at 8:30AM: With the euro continuing its crash against the US dollar, Europe is shaping us this summer and fall to be relatively inexpensive for Americans on the ground. Here are four islands that get little media or guidebook coverage yet offer volumes of quaint, picturesque charm. All use the euro as official currency, and are thus all markedly cheaper for Americans than they were last summer.
To entice ...Ten Finnish festivals to finish the year
Sep 26th, 2009 at 2:00PM: We're into the home stretch on 2009, with only three months left to enjoy. Then, the calendar page flips over, and we take on 2010. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways left to make the rest of this year memorable. In Finland, home to some of the strangest celebrations on the planet, you can find a few interesting distractions – and they'll make for great stories when you get home. Of ...Seven vintage fashion stores at the Helsinki Vintage Fair
Sep 22nd, 2009 at 8:00AM: The Helsinki Vintage Fair happens twice a year in Finland, and the next one is right around the corner. On September 27, 2009, nearly 50 vintage and second-hand clothing and décor stores will get together at Kaapelitehdas to sell there goods, and visitors will get to watch a fashion show, live retro music and an exhibition of vintage arcade games. So, whether you're looking for furniture, ...For Helsinki, Design Week 50% longer
Jul 22nd, 2009 at 3:00PM: Seven days just won't work for those crazy Finns. These design-savvy northern Europeans thus had to stretch its design celebration to 10 days. From September 4, 2009 to September 13, 2009, Helsinki will host the Fifth Helsinki Design Week: Do Touch! With workshops, seminars and shopping, you can turn this into a hands-on experience. Don't worry, the usual exhibitions, fashion shows and studio ...Finnish trash cans talk back
Jul 10th, 2009 at 3:00PM: digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Finnish_Trash_Cans_Thank_You_in_6_Languages_For_Using_Them'; This summer, the garbage cans of Helsinki will have something to say ... to you ... in six languages. The strange people who brought you wife-carrying contests and team berry-picking (you just can't make this stuff up) are happy to present the talking trash receptacle – which comes with a ...Sit on an ant hill in Finland, win a prize
Apr 22nd, 2009 at 4:00PM: What can't you do in Finland? If traditional activities don't scratch your bizarre itch, try to endure sweltering heat or hurling electronic devices. This country is home to the strangest "sporting events" you can imagine ... and it's enough to make me consider going back.
Throughout the year, you'll find more than 40 weird contests, some titillating and others just plain freakish. I'll pass on ...Sauna, rinse, repeat in a Finnish mokki
Mar 16th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Finland isn't as cold as you'd expect, according to Trevor Corson in The Atlantic Monthly. It's far enough north that, on this side of the ocean, you'd freeze your ass off on the best of days. But, thanks to the magic of the European climate, it feels a lot like Maine. It's in this part of the country that the locals find the perfect vacation spot. Nudity abounds, though of course behind closed ...7 steps for surviving a destination wedding
Mar 3rd, 2009 at 9:00AM: It always sounds like it's going to be fun. Your friend is getting married somewhere exotic and has invited you to come along. What's not to love? Really, everything. Destination weddings are recipes for disaster. They are even worse when it's your spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend or family member who has the connection. Quickly, you find yourself surrounded by people who don't interest you in an ...Travel sans visa coming for European, Caribbean, Mauritius, and Seychelles nationals
Feb 13th, 2009 at 2:00PM: A mutual agreement allowing Europeans, nationals from four Caribbean countries, and citizens of two island nations in the Indian Ocean is expected to be passed and approved by the end of March, which will allow for hassle-free and smoother travel. If you hold a passport from any of the following countries, it means you're that much more free to travel between those listed sans visa: Austria, ...
