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.

Battles over Budweiser

by Iva Skoch on

Yesterday was a good day for beer lovers. After almost a century of disagreements between Anheuser-Busch and the Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar (BBNP) over the name for their beers, the two brewers have formed an historic alliance in which Anheuser-Busch will become the U.S. importer of Czechvar Premium Czech Lager. Now that both parties have figured out a way to make money, pride suddenly went aside.

The new alliance does not stop any existing legal proceedings, but it is a step towards a reasonable agreement. Budvar cannot legally use the name “Bud”, “Budvar” or “Budweiser” (which they use throughout Europe) so they use the brand “Czechvar” in the US market. Czechs are claiming that Americans “stole the name” from the centuries-old brewery in Budweis (town in southern Bohemia). Americans, however, have invested too much into the brand to give it up. Maybe it is time that Anheuser-Busch started investing in the taste of their beer, not the name.

Literary Gadling: Goethe’s Spa Romance

by Iva Skoch on

As another tip in my irregular series of literary travel destinations, I suggest visiting Marianske Lazne (aka Marienbad, in German), a spa town in Western Bohemia (Czech Republic), which Johann Wolfgang Goethe used to frequent in the 1820’s.

Goethe, a German poet and novelist, most famous for “Faust”, used to come here to relax …although some sources say that he actually came here to get treated for syphilis. It is peculiar to imagine how a hot mineral bath would cure venereal disease, but even more peculiar is that people actually came to this disease-laden place to seek romance. It was here where the 73-year old Goethe fell in love with the 18-year old baroness, Ulrike von Levetzow. He wanted to marry her but , shockingly enough, she rejected him. Instead, he wrote the “Trilogy of Passion” for her.

Marianske Lazne, smaller and more authentic than Karlovy Vary, still has the feel of a town frequented by the royalty, although nowadays you are more likely to see a busload of German pensioners than beautiful baronesses. The town and its numerous spas have been restored and it is still a great place to sip mineral waters, take baths and, of course, munch on the famous spa wafers. Thankfully, more effective medication for STDs have been discovered.

Three Little Towns

by Erik Olsen on

One of the joys of going anywhere outside your borders is leaving behind the big city and experiencing places off the beaten track. This is the case whether you are strolling through villages in Armenia, as I was fortunate enough to do recently, or if you’re heading out of a big city like Prague. In this entertaining piece in the International Herald Tribune, writer Ruth Ellen Gruber check out three little-known towns in the Czech Republic: Telc, Kutna Hora, and Mikulov, and finds the sights and sounds of these obscure places the kind of superb little surprises that make traveling worthwhile.

2007 New Years Panoramas

by Erik Olsen on

I said I would post a link to those New Years Eve panos when they went live and I am not one to fail to deliver on my promise. Here it is, the Times Square New Years Eve shot from the second that it turned 2007 (in New York anyway). There are also a series of other lovely panos from around the world uploaded and ready for you to mouse around. Shot in Prague, Dubai, Copenhagen and on and on, these are actually very well done and capture, I think, the spirit of a moment with exceptional dynamism. Wish I’d done one myself.