Beyond pins on a map: Three great physical reminders of your trips

by Aaron Hotfelder on

If you’re looking for a great way to impress a potential suitor with how well-traveled you are, you can’t go wrong with hanging a massive world map on your wall at home and sticking pins in the countries you’ve visited. “You’ve been to Croatia!” she’ll marvel. “You are so worldly and continental! Now let me slip into something a little more comfortable…”

Of course, if this approach works for you, have at it. But to me it lacks subtlety and humility, and it feels a bit too much like you’re turning the world into a checklist of countries to be “completed.”

Now, buying traditional souvenirs can be a great way to incorporate the feel of a certain country into your home. Around my house, for example, I’ve got rugs and wall hangings from Morocco, beer steins from the Czech Republic, and a neatly-framed map of Poland (with, alas, no pins.)

But I find that even these displays are a little troublesome; after all, I don’t want to be the kind of person who ostentatiously displays his wonderful trips for all his visitors to admire. When people ask why I have a map of Poland on my wall, for example, I always groan and mutter, “I got it when I was in Poland.” Then I always feel like adding, “But I didn’t hang it on my wall so you’d ask that question… Honest!”

The trick to bringing your trip back home is to try to create an effective, meaningful reminder of your trip without turning it into a showy display of your own worldliness. Here are a couple ideas beyond sticking pins in a map:

The Wine Cork Keychain

I first learned about this idea when I arrived home from a trip to Israel with ten beautiful wine corks I had collected during the course of the trip. (Yes, ten. It was a fun trip.) To make a keychain, I took a screw with a loop on one side, and then screwed the cork onto it. It’s a subtle everyday reminder of a wonderful city and a pretty good bottle of wine too. And as a bonus, it’ll make your keys float.

The Beer Coaster Collage

After spending time in the Czech Republic and a few other places known for their suds, I decided to start a little coaster collection. (That is, I started swiping coasters from bars.) I didn’t know exactly what I’d make from them, but eventually I decided on a framed collage that’s currently hanging on my wall. Check it out:

See if you can pick out the coasters from the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Israel, and my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

The Travel Journal

If you’re not keeping a journal of your travels, you’re really missing out on the best way to commemorate your trip. Not all of us can draw like this…

…but every one of us can write about the beautiful things we’ve seen on our travels and the funny things that have happened to us. Not a month goes by that I don’t break out my old travel journals for a reminder of all the bizarre, humorous, unbelievable, and amazing things I’ve been lucky enough to experience.

Any other ideas for great ways to commemorate your travels? Share them in the comments.

Gadlinks for Monday 11.2.09

by Brenda Yun on

It’s GPS day here are Gadling, so I think it’s only appropriate to offer up some GPS-themed travel reads for you today. Enjoy!

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Top 10 places to have your pocket picked

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I always get a laugh when I see people walk the streets of Manhattan with backpacks worn on their fronts. Millions of people commute into and around the city every day, yet the outnumbered visitors take extreme measures to make sure their subway maps and recently purchased Planet Hollywood t-shirts remain in their control.

Of course, pickpocketing is a concern in many tourist destinations around the world, and it does pay to be cautious. In the latest TripAdvisor list of cities where this crime is most prevalent, New York doesn’t make an appearance. In fact, no city in the United States is represented. Yet, there are plenty of places where you could be separated from your wallet quite easily, so if you’re thinking about hitting any of these spots, keep an eye on your valuables.

Eight of the top 10 pickpocketing locations in the world are in Europe, with one in South America and the other in Southeast Asia. Spain and Italy share the dubious distinction of making the list twice.

Ready to find out where this crime is most common? Take a look at the list after the jump.

1. Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain
The wide pedestrian walkway has performers and is great for people watching. Of course, there are a few purse-snatchers who have realized this, making the spot a nice big target.

2. Rome, Italy
You might want to look out for a pair of scissors, but chances are, you won’t see them coming. Crowds gathering around ancient relics are easy prey for the “alternatively employed.”

3. Prague, Czech Republic
Wandering the statues around the Charles Bridge? You’re not alone! Stay aware of your surroundings, because those looking for your wallet and watch certainly are.

4. Madrid, Spain
When I was in Madrid earlier this year, I didn’t have a problem at all. But, jam-packed metro cars and the El Rastro fleamarket are said to be high-risk spots. Also, be careful in museums. While you’re gazing at “Guernica,” nefarious plans may be in the works. When you’re distracted … you’re easy.

5. Paris, France
Instead of having your money taken, just cave and give it to the “Bosnian” beggars at every tourist attraction in the city.

6. Florence, Italy
If you’re wrapped up in the amazing sights – things you’ve waited your entire life to see – you can easily fall victim. Michelangelo’s “David” won’t grab your goods, but one of his neighbors may.

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina
The common scam is to pour “bird droppings” (usually mustard) on you and offer to help you clean it up. It’s not the good deed you may think it is.

8. Amsterdam, Netherlands
The laid-back vibe of this city is likely to let your guard down. There are plenty of people counting on this.

9. Athens, Greece
Big attractions that draw plenty of people ensure that pickpockets can choose who to go after. Your level of diligence will determine whether it’s you.

10. Hanoi, Vietnam
There is plenty to see in the Old Quarter, and it’s easy to lose sight of the pickpocketing threat when you’ve spent more than a day traveling to reach Hanoi. Make sure you’re awake when you leave the hotel.

Walking among the dead at Sedlec Ossuary, Bohemia’s morbidly fascinating “Bone Church”

by Aaron Hotfelder on

I’ll admit that when I’m not traveling, the closest I get to going to church is accidentally stumbling across a rerun of 7th Heaven. Yet when I’m on the road, there’s nothing more relaxing than hopping into a church for a brief respite or to check out some of the local art and architecture.

But while it’s definitely worth a visit, it’s also hard to relax at the creepy Sedlec Ossuary, known to most travelers as the “Bone Church,” located in the Czech Republic about sixty miles east of Prague.

Containing the skeletons of approximately 50,000 people, many of whom were victims of the Black Death during the late Middle Ages, this Roman Catholic chapel is as haunting as it is beautiful. According to one legend, in the early 1500s a half-blind monk began digging up the bones of the recently departed and stacking them inside the ossuary in Sedlec, a suburb of the picturesque town of Kutna Hora in southern Bohemia.

It wasn’t until the 1870s that a woodcarver named František Rint had the bright, if rather morbid, idea to meticulously arrange the bones into decorations like chalices, vases, and even a chandelier made out of every bone in the human body. Rint also used the bones to construct a coat of arms for his employer’s family, the Schwarzenbergs (see below). Pay special attention to (and try to avoid nightmares as a result of) the bottom right of the shield, in which a long-beaked bird pecks away at a skull.

One of the other highlights of the “Bone Church” is the Sedlec Chandelier below, reportedly made out of every bone in the human body:

Kutna Hora, the typical idyllic Czech town, is about an hour by train from Prague. Head to the metro stop Hlavní Nádraží (the train station) in Prague and buy a train ticket for Kutna Hora. Once you arrive, it’s a short walk to the church itself– look for signs for the ossuary. Entrance is cheap, around two or three US dollars.

For more great photos of the church’s interior, go here.

Photo of the Day (7.17.09)

by Aaron Hotfelder on


Gadling favorite StrudelMonkey posted this great photo of Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge, two Prague landmarks that help make the Czech capital one of the most beautiful cities in the world. As a one-time Prague resident, I can attest that the fairy-tale look of the city never fades, no matter how long you’ve called the city home. Almost every time I’d wander around Old Town Square or walk along the Vltava River, I’d think to myself, “I can’t believe I live here.”

Want your photo considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Upload your best shots here.