Roskilde Festival

by Erik Olsen on

Many of you, upon hearing the name Roskilde, will undoubtedly think of the horrible Pearl Jam tragedy that took place there during the Roskilde Festival about six years ago, when nine people died during a concert. The band almost packed it up and quit, which would have been also tragic, as they are one of my favorite bands of all time. Well, the Roskilde Festival goes on. As always it takes place in the ancient city of Roskilde in Denmark. The festival, as music fans know, is among the top music events in Europe and this year, the celebrating happens between June 29 to July 2, and includes artists like the Streets, Arctic Monkeys and Goldfrapp. Then there will be some golden oldies like Bob Dylan and Guns N’ Roses (please, oh please, let them sing Knocking on Heaven’s Door together).

Tickets for the festival run a grisly $230 and include access to the campgrounds starting on June 25. FYI: Roskilde is just over 20 miles from Copenhagen, and easily accessed by Danish Railways. Let me just say that if I was not a sad, pathetic working stiff that I would be there in a heartbeat.

Blogging New Orleans!

by Adrienne Wilson on

How sooo out of the loop I feel these days trying to get more Americans to walk and exercise! Perhaps I missed a memo that went out, but where and when did our sister site, Blogging New Orleans come around? Seriously? I was scrolling down just to see what has been happening on sister sites across the board when I discovered one I never knew existed!

Anyhow, Blogging New Orleans looks quite up-and-coming and focuses on everything you’d want to know about the city and more. After reading two pages of posts I’ve caught up on some of the latest Katrina updates, the current road conditions, places to dine, places to hang and other Nawlin’s ramblings from Heidi, Kelly, Steve, Henry, Jay and all the rest of the bloggers on deck. If you’re working up a summer time vaca to New Orleans you’ll want to check them out. I’ve already found one place I’d like to visit on my next march through the town – the Audubon Aquarium.

Thanks a mil and welcome!

Depending on the Kindness of Strangers

by Karen Walrond on

The New York Times is chronicling the travels of journalist Matt Gross, who has undertaken a trip around the world — but frugally.  This week, Gross finds himself in the isolated village of Galicia in Spain, and has been taken under the wing of a kindly man named Miguel, who has offered to show him the sights.

I found this article interesting, since Gross is traveling on a budget — as such, he’s been relying on a network of the friends of friends to find his way through the world.  As it turns out, Miguel is the cousin of a friend of a friend — and because of this connection, Gross finds himself overwhelmed by the hospitality he receives, not to mention a view of the village from a local’s perspective.

His story reminded me of a trip I made years ago to Barcelona:  when my friend Galvin learned I was going, he got me in touch with a friend of his, Fernando.  It turned out Fernando was Galvin’s students when Galvin spent a year in the region teaching English.  I couldn’t have had a better host in Fernando, who allowed me to accompany him to this tiny local bar in the heart of Barcelona, where I hung out with all his friends for about 5 or 6 hours.  A completely memorable day.

How about you?  Have you depended on the kindness of friends of friends in your travels?

Postcards from Tokyo

by Karen Walrond on

While I’ve traveled all over the world, the one area of the globe with which I’m least familiar is Asia.  For this reason, I’ve been dying to visit Japan, and really, I can’t articulate why.  For some reason, Japan intrigues me — in my mind’s eye, Tokyo is the most fashion-forward, technologically-advanced spot on the globe.  Whether I’m right, of course, remains to be experienced.

That said, I love this article in the New York Times written by Carrie Fisher — you know, author of the acclaimed novel Postcards from the Edge, but more well known as Princess Leia from Star Wars? I’m a big fan of Fisher’s writings, and she didn’t disappoint with this article, chronicling her Christmas/New Year’s Eve visit to Tokyo forthe sghts and the shopping.

Definitely worth the read.  And now I definitely have to go.

Visit a California Monastery…for the Wine

by Karen Walrond on

In Northern California, 25 Benedictine monks have opened the first Roman Catholic Cistercian winery in North America.  The brothers hope to make money selling their syrah, a full-bodied red wine, in order to support the monastary. 

“We need to work to keep going, but we don’t want or expect to get rich. But the wine has done well – better than expected,” said Father Harold Meyer, who has been at the Abbey of New Clairvaux for 33 years.  “There’s a sacredness about working with grapes.  Wine is very special.”

The brothers’ living quarters are private; however, they have opened up the monastery for retreats, tours and wine-tastings.   If you’re staying for a retreat, the rooms are very basic; however, each has a modern ensuite bathroom.  Retreats must be booked months in advance, and are donation-based.

“People will come at first because we’re monks, but we want them to come back because this is a good place and we have quality goods to offer,” Meyer said.

Sounds positively peaceful.