A City on the Move. Literally.

by Iva Skoch on

Countries sometimes have to make unusual decisions to preserve their cultural heritage. Sweden’s northernmost town of Kiruna, for example, will move its city center a few miles away. It needs to save it from sinking into the ground because of some underground cracks created by iron ore mining.

Moving some buildings is harder than others. The city hall, for one thing, needs to be cut it into six pieces and then moved. The biggest problem the town is facing now is finding a new location for their downtown.

Hot Model Who Travels..and Writes

by Erik Olsen on

Something tells me we might get some significant Google hits for the title of this post, but I do not write it gratuitously. No, the article I am posting about here is by our friend David Farley, who wrote a fine piece on the travel life of former super model Paulina Porizkova, 41, who, if I might be so bold, has managed to hold her fine looks together rather well. I will also say that among all former Sports Illustrated swimsuit models I ALWAYS thought she was the hottest. Does that sound like the absurd, drooling compliment of a smitten fan? Well, I guess it is. Of course I am aware that Frau Porizkova is married to Cars front man Rik Okasek who might take umbrage at my blog-ogling his wife, but honesty is important and, well, one can dream, can they not?

No matter, the point of it all is that the Czech-born model who once caused many a magazine page to crumple and stick is now a bona-fide travel writer. Her work can be seen in the latest edition of Travelers’ Tales Prague and the Czech Republic: True Stories which Herr Farley of Jesus’ foreskin fame edited. And as Farley reveals here in this revealing interview, Ms. Porizkova is not only decidedly well read (count Jane Austin, Tolstoy, Balzac, John Updike, Ian McEwan and Mark Helprin among her favorites —what? No DeLillo?!) but rather funny too. While she sees Americans as “insular” a common complaint we’ve blabbed about here as well, she reserves the title of worst travelers to the East Germans, a description we can’t quite verify and would probably give to Israelis anyway.

The interview runs on one of our favorite sites, Worldhum. Give it a read.

Atlanta, GA: Historic Hotspot & Hometown Heroes

by Dia Draper on

I’ll be in Atlanta, GA in a couple of weeks as I prepare to head out on my round the world trip. I decided to spin through the AOL Cityguide: Atlanta, just to peek at what they recommend for kicks and giggles in my favorite southern city. If you’re in town on January 15th, check out the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations and rally at the MLK Jr. National Historic site.

There are some cities, countries, and places that you just seem to gravitate to time and again, a relationship of catch and release with those home-away-from-home locales that you know like your own backyard. My romance with Atlanta began after reading Tom Wolfe’s scathing yet entertaining geo-cultural expose’, A Man in Full, I had visions of living in the diverse, drama-filled, fast paced city of the novel. I visit the city several times each year for work and play, and if I could find a way to deal with the traffic I would consider relocating permanently.

You have to love a place nicknamed “Hotlanta“, and after a long weekend, you’ll know why. January is a great time to visit this gem with mild temperatures, southern charm, and startling cultural diversity. So after you get your holiday celebration on, hit one or all of my favorite Atlanta hotspots. And yes, all of the streets are named “Peachtree.”

6. The Sun Dial Restaurant
5. The High Museum of Art
4. The Georgia Aquarium
3. The Atlanta Botanical Garden
2. Cafe Intermezzo
1. The Flying Biscuit

Bonus: About.com’s Top Ten Books about Atlanta

Touring the Hermitage via Russian Ark

by Neil Woodburn on

I just finished watching a fascinating film about the Hermitage.

The Hermitage you ask? What is the Hermitage?

Sadly many westerners have never heard of this phenomenal St. Petersburg museum despite it being one of the very best in the world, behind only the Louvre and the British Museum.

The Hermitage disappeared from the cultural radar because it was locked behind the Iron Curtain in Leningrad for so many years. Now that communism has fallen, it is much easier to actually visit. Unfortunately, the museum still remains rather anonymous to many of us in the West.

Fortunately, Russian director Alexander Sokurov has composed a visual masterpiece, Russian Ark, which now brings the museum to your living room. The story follows the character of Astolphe-Louis-Léonor, Marquis de Custine, who seems to have passed away and is now roaming the halls of the Hermitage. Custine was a French aristocrat who visited Russia in the early 19th century and wrote a book about it entitled Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia.

His character in Russian Ark takes the viewer on a grand tour of the famous museum, passing through different galleries at different periods of time in Russian history and interacting with famous historical figures. We see Catherine the Great (back when the Hermitage was her Winter Palace), a few of the Czars, some concerned comrades during Stalinist times, and a hodgepodge of others that eventually make up a cast of over 800 people featured in the film, all in various period dress.

What’s truly amazing about the film is that entire thing was shot in one 90 minute take. Once the camera turned on, it followed Custine for the next hour and a half without a single cut or edit.

The movie is visually stunning and provides a wonderful glimpse into the treasures of the Hermitage and the opulence of the Winter Palace. Unfortunately, it’s horribly slow at times and rather esoteric as well. It is still very much worth 90 minutes of your life, however–especially if you don’t plan on visiting Russia any time soon.

The Worst Place to Be Poor

by Iva Skoch on

Not that there is a particularly good place to be poor, but there are places that just rub it in. Take Monaco, for example. The country of 32,000 people (the world’s most densely populated country) boasts more millionaires per capita than any other country.

They like backpackers there about as much as insects, and let’s face it, in Monaco there is no place to hide flip-flops and a backpack no matter how hard one tries.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful. It’s just that you would have to be a masochist to try to stay here on a budget. Even the casino in Monte Carlo charges an entrance fee. Thankfully, it’s small enough (not even one mile across) that you can see most of it, or at least the parts accessible to the public, in a couple of hours. But that’s exactly the problem with “doing” Monaco: while you can see it, you cannot “do” it.