Expected Belgian rail strike for April 30

by Anna Brones on

A heads up if you’re on your way to Belgium: the country’s two largest rail unions announced Monday that they plan to strike on April 30, 2008 because of a dispute over pay and conditions, as reported by the International Herald Tribune. About 90% of the employees of the state rail company SNCB/NMBS will be striking, meaning that travelers can expect a 24 hour train standstill.

Not only will regional service be affected, but also international lines like the Eurostar to Britain, the Thalys to France and the Netherlands and the ICE to Germany.

In the United States, we aren’t very used to national strikes of this kind, but some European countries — France and Germany for example — deal with them frequently. But don’t let strikes discourage you; train travel is still an efficient and eco-friendly way to make your way across Europe, just plan accordingly.

Oscar nominated shorts: A world tour

by Jamie Rhein on

Every year as a member of the Columbus Academy Motion Picture Pickers (CAMPP) I embark on a movie going frenzy to see all the movies nominated in every major category. Not on the list of my obligatory must-sees were the films nominated for Short Features and Short Animation, but I saw them anyway and highly recommend them as a way to enjoy the scope of humanity and art.

For the past three years I’ve seen the nominated movies in both categories all in a row, one after another–10 in all. This is one way to travel from country to country, from sensibility to sensibility in a few hours. What strikes me is that, although there are often cultural influences and differences particular to each country from which the movies hail, there are many thematic similarities among them. What this shows to me is through the diversity, we can always relate. Terrific stories are terrific in any language.

These movies are making the rounds. Check out film festivals or independent cinemas to see if you can catch them. Here’s the list of the films and which country they are from:

Short Film (Live Action)

Short Film (Animated)

For clips of the animated shorts, head to BuzzSugar.

Beauty queen in Belgium gets a royal booing by the audience for not knowing Dutch

by Jamie Rhein on

Neil wrote a post about Miss South Carolina who hopelessly and sadly botched a geography related question in a beauty contest. Just imagine what this would have been like if she would have had to say her answer in another language spoken in the U.S.–say Spanish. That’s what happened in a beauty contest in Belgium. It wasn’t geography that created a problem, it was not knowing how to speak Dutch.

When one Miss Belgium 2008 contestant was asked a question in Dutch and couldn’t answer because she doesn’t know Dutch, the audience booed. She does know Czech, but in this case, that didn’t earn her admiration. The contestant is from the French speaking part of the country. The questioner, who seemed sorry for the audience upheavel must have gotten them to calm down since the contestant won and got the crown in the end.

The reason for the language upset is because the Belgium government hasn’t totally been pulled together after the election six months ago. The two languages mean that there are two different Belgian communities with different ideas about what should happen in the government. That’s my guess. Evidently, politics and beauty are supposed to go together. The Reuters video pf the incident with a commentary voice-over in English is on Videologist.

One for the Road: Globetrotter’s Logbook

by Kelly Amabile on

Last time I mentioned the Globetrotter’s Logbook series, I focused on their newest guide, a niche book devoted to six Flemish cities. But now that I’ve had a chance to personally use their flagship product, Counties of the World, I wanted to be sure to pay special tribute to this unique mini-book, which might just be the perfect holiday gift for that special traveler in your life. The best part about giving (or receiving) one of there tiny travel gems is the smart and crafty packaging. I opened an airmail envelope (from Belgium, where this book is published) to reveal crisp brown parcel packaging, tied in natural cord with vintage stamps, postmarks and my name personally scripted in heavy ink. Unwrapping the classy packaging reveals a stylish moleskine-type book enclosed in its own little box, perfect for protecting it from the harsh elements of constant world-travel.

This precious little travel journal is a must-have for explorers. The bulk of the book contains quarter-page listings for every country of the world, complete with important stats and mini-flag pictures for each. There are several ways to keep track of which countries have been visited, as well as registers for tracking vaccinations and 100 flights. Look closely and you’ll find other treasures hidden within the pages of this slim logbook – facts, figures and inspiring quotes decorate the pages, and there are blank spots too, for scribbles about the details of very special journeys.

“Suicide Tourism” in New York

by Abha Malpani on

Just the title gives me the chills. I believe most people travel to enrich their lives, to explore the world, to grow as people, to relax, to have fun. The word “suicide” in relation to travel or tourism is just wrong.

A recent study by the New York Academy of Medicine reveals that more than 10% of all Manhattan suicides are tourists traveling to the Big Apple to take their lives. Jumping from landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Times Square and the George Washington Bridge, is one of the main ways of doing so.

The New York Times reports that from 1990-2004, of the 7,634 suicides in the city, 407 were tourists (i.e. non-residents of NYC). Although jumping from famous sites is generally more popular in New York, the Golden Gate Bridge in California and the Eiffel Tower in Paris are also notorious for their suicide rates.

Euthanasia is a never-ending debate that I don’t want to get into, but this whole death tourism subject was last thrown around in 2003 when a few Swiss organizations created a stir as they attracted an increasing number of foreigners to Switzerland to assist their death. “We help others to die with a dignity they cannot find in their own countries,” is what one of the organizations claimed they were doing. Euthanasia is also legal in Holland and Belgium.

As for those who kill themselves without assistance by jumping from a famous site: it is not clear if these people travel specifically to take their lives, but the research says that the people who do land up doing that, do so because it “guarantees them a notoriety they may not have had otherwise.”

The complete study conducted by the New York Academy of medicine will be released on Monday.

(Via New York Times)