Mar 25th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
As a connoisseur of risk, I have seen my fair share of glory and agony within the walls of lady luck. In Latin America, the casinos feel seedy and desperate, and a shower always seems to be good idea after leaving these smoky dens. Singapore casinos feel simple and clean, as though an army of robots lurks just beyond the curtain, meticulously tending to the unseen cogs that keep the ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
germany posts
Coolest international gambling destinations
Mar 25th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
As a connoisseur of risk, I have seen my fair share of glory and agony within the walls of lady luck. In Latin America, the casinos feel seedy and desperate, and a shower always seems to be good idea after leaving these smoky dens. Singapore casinos feel simple and clean, as though an army of robots lurks just beyond the curtain, meticulously tending to the unseen cogs that keep the ...The ten best castles in Europe
Mar 16th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Castles originated in Europe over a thousand years ago. These fortresses were one of the original defense systems, and erecting the structures on hills or just beyond moats was a functional choice. Castles were built to house rulers, impose power, and above all, spurn would be attackers. Conforming to these basic principles of utilitarian design, the strongholds now appear solitary, majestic, ...Cockpit Chronicles: It's official. I'm moving to Germany
Mar 16th, 2011 at 8:00AM: Apparently I've run out of things to complain about, aside from the occasional gripe about the glossiness of the paint on the office walls which was supposed to be flat. There is little in my life that I can truly complain about, especially in light of the current events unfolding after the earthquake in Japan this week.
Let's live a little, shall we?
Both my wife and I have discussed ...Travel then and now: Travel to the USSR and GDR
Mar 1st, 2011 at 3:30PM: This year is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union and 21 years since the reunification of Germany. While citizens of the USSR and GDR were unable to travel abroad and restricted in domestic travel, foreign travelers were permitted under a controlled environment. In the early nineties, if you were a foreigner looking to go abroad to the Eastern Europe or Central Asia, you called ...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 ...Video: Topless German sledders cheered on by 14,000 spectators
Feb 23rd, 2011 at 12:30PM:
Sledding doesn't get much colder than this - 26 Germans took to the hills of Braunlange to participate in the yearly topless sledding competition. The 26 men and women were competing for a EUR1000 cash prize.
The rules are simple - participants are only allowed to wear underpants, shoes and protective winter gear.
26-year-old Christian Schmidt won the contest, but the spectators appeared ...
Lufthansa contest offers free tickets on the world's largest plane
Feb 16th, 2011 at 3:00PM: Who wants to take a free flight across the Atlantic on a super-jumbo? Lufthansa is offering such an opportunity to travelers to commemorate the launch of their sixth A380. The new jet will begin flying between New York and Frankfurt on February 28, just in time to whisk you away for a much needed European vacation. The contest winners will clamber aboard the world's largest plane, for free, and be ...5 German drinking destinations other than Oktoberfest
Feb 2nd, 2011 at 10:30PM: As the towering, stumbling behemoth of German drinking destinations, Oktoberfest overshadows the many rich traditions of beverage consumption throughout the rest of the country.
While Oktoberfest resembles an overpriced frat party to my discerning eyes, these destinations promise beautiful settings, affordable prices and plenty of friendly locals ready to raise a glass and say Prost!
1. ...Germany and Egypt fight over bust of Nefertiti: will Zahi Hawass's crusade ever end?
Jan 26th, 2011 at 9:00AM: You win some, you lose some.
Zahi Hawass is a man who is used to getting his way. The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has been fighting to repatriate stolen Egyptian artifacts for years, and more often than not he wins.
This time, though, he's suffered a setback. He's trying to get the Neues Museum in Berlin to return the famous bust of Nefertiti. He claims it was stolen by a ...Berlin's latest attraction: The Computer Game Museum
Jan 23rd, 2011 at 10:00AM: If you're under thirty, computer games have always been a part of your life, but for us old farts wise elders, we remember the first time we took hold of a joystick and moved a spaceship through an asteroid field, or ran a ravenous little yellow circle around a maze while being chased by ghosts. If you're under twenty, you probably don't even know what games I'm talking about.
Here's your ...First gay museum in the U.S. opens in San Francisco
Jan 14th, 2011 at 8:30AM: Less than a month after President Obama repealed the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the U.S. has gotten its first gay museum. The GLBT History Museum is located in the Castro District of San Francisco. Run by the GLBT Historical Society, it features 1,600 sq. ft. of exhibition and activity space.
Yesterday was its grand opening and visitors got to see two exhibitions: Our Vast Queer ...Daily Pampering: Mandarin Oriental's ultimate car package in Munich
Jan 10th, 2011 at 4:00PM: Feel the need for speed? Mandarin Oriental, Munich, has a package just for you.
The luxury hotel group put together this ultimate dream package for car enthusiasts which includes four days' use of a sleek Mercedes Benz to tour the scenic areas of Southern Germany, plus visits to some of the world's most important car museums and factories: Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Porsche. The world famous ...British tour company criticized for offering 'Hitler tour' around Germany
Jan 10th, 2011 at 2:00PM: Would you spend $3100 to tour sites only associated with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler? One British tour group put together a trip that does just that, and is under fire by critics over the distasteful offering.
The tour takes 30 tourists on a luxury $3100 trip through Germany to visit sites associated with Hitler, according to a report in The Australian. The articles says the eight-day trip in June ...Legoland California announces Star Wars attraction
Jan 7th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
Legoland California will be the first Legoland theme park to launch a Star Wars Miniland area. The Star Wars Miniland, which will have models of favorite Star Wars scenes constructed entirely of Legos, is set to open March 31.
Eight famous Star Wars scenes will be built in a 1:20 scale. The project will take more than 1.5 million Legos and, we're guessing, a dash of The Force.
The scenes ...Winter weather still causing travel delays in Germany
Jan 7th, 2011 at 9:15AM: Two weeks ago we reported how winter weather had caused travel delays in Europe. One of the worst-hit areas was Germany, with thick ice on the roads, canceled flights, an an overworked rail system.
Now it appears Germany's bad winter isn't over. Cold temperatures and thick ice on the roads has prompted Berlin's fire brigade to declare a weather state of emergency. Yesterday about 180 people ...Stasi Museum in Leipzig: 40 Years of Spying and Terror
Five great European budget-friendly travel sites
Dec 3rd, 2010 at 9:30AM: Practical, how-to budget travel advice is indispensible. There's something particularly valuable about travel advice that opposes the emphasis on expensive hotels and other forms of high-end consumption that characterizes the contemporary travel media, perhaps especially in regions like Europe where costs are generally quite high.
Budget-friendly travel in Europe is no impossible dream, and the ...Top ten cheap local fast food items worldwide
Dec 2nd, 2010 at 10:30AM: Food is usually a major cost on the road, a significant component of any careful travel budget. Very good, inexpensive food is on offer in most of the world's destinations, no matter how expensive average meals may be. Here are ten delicious fast food items from ten different destinations around the world.
1. Burritos, San Francisco. San Franciscans are passionate about their burritos. It's ...Local budget travel secrets
Nov 30th, 2010 at 9:45AM:
Most countries and territories have their own local domestic budget secrets that don't get a lot of press beyond their borders. To call these local travel habits secrets is to miss the point just slightly, as they're actually widely appreciated and utilized, though by locals. In this sense, they're the opposite of secrets, even as they remain more or less unknown to foreigners.
This post is ...Ten budget-friendly destinations in Europe
Nov 23rd, 2010 at 10:00AM:
For Americans, Europe can be very expensive. Let's take a moment to acknowledge this fact. Tourist costs are high, and currently the euro is doing well against the dollar, even if the pound is down somewhat from its stratospheric performance a few years ago. So yes, Europe is expensive. But its high costs are merely a marker, not a prisonhouse. There are always ways to cut costs and forge an ...
