First ever Shopping on the Rails event will take place aboard the Orient-Express’ British Pullman train this holiday

by Jessica Festa on

Instead of fighting your way through crowded department stores and chaotic shopping centers this holiday, why not do your shopping aboard a luxurious, festively decorated train? On December 1, 2011, the first ever Shopping on the Rails event will take place on board the Orient-Express’ British Pullman train.

A few of the fine British retailers that have been invited to participate in the event include:

  • Harrods– iconic British landmark store with 330 departments of top quality merchandise
  • Brora– fine Scottish cashmere and beautiful clothing
  • Ettinger– handcrafted luxury leather goods and accessories
  • Holland and Holland– known for their artistic and well-crafted guns, they offer clothing, accessories, and technical products
  • Elemis– the leading luxury British spa and skincare brand since 1989

The price for the Shopping on the Rails holiday event is $470 and includes round trip transfer to and from Victoria Station in London, a 4-course lunch with Champagne and half a bottle of wine per person, and the chance to peruse and purchase luxury goods from top retailers. The dress code is “smart daywear” and passengers are asked not to wear jeans and sneakers.

For more information or to make a reservation, click here.

Want to walk up a giant, looping roller coaster?

by Jessica Festa on

On November 13, 2011, the “Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain” sculpture in Duisburg, Germany, opened to the public. This isn’t your average piece of public art, however, as it is designed like a giant roller coaster with stairs and slopes that people can actually walk on.

Traversing over the sculpture, visitors will be put 148 feet above the surrounding countryside, gaining access to great views of the famous Rhine. While trekkers will reach great heights, they unfortunately will not get to go upside down, as the intimidating-looking loop actually contains stairs that keep you standing straight up.

The piece, which took one year to build, was created by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, who describe the sculpture like this:

“The curved flight of stairs inscribes like a signature on the landscape and recruits the nimbus of the classical roller coaster. Having a closer look, the public is disappointed in a disarming way. The visitor climbs on foot via differently steep steps the roller-coaster-sculpture. So the sculpture subtly and ironically plays with the dialectic of promise and disappointment, mobility and standstill. Visitors happen to briefly meet with oncoming visitors on the steep and about 1m | 1yd wide corridors. Led-lights are integrated in the handrails and highlight the flight of stairs so the sculpture is accessible at night, too.”

Make sure to visit during the day, as well as at night, when the LED lights are on.

Enjoy nudist hiking? Rethink that holiday in Switzerland

by Sean McLachlan on

Last year we reported on a major victory for nudist hiking in Switzerland. A hiker in the conservative Swiss canton of Appenzell got fined for baring all, appealed, and won.

Now that victory has turned into defeat. The BBC reports that Switzerland’s highest court has ruled that local authorities can fine people for hiking in the buff. Naked hiking isn’t illegal per se, but but public indecency is, and if the local authorities decide naked hiking is indecent, well, then you can’t do it. And since this came from the nation’s highest court, it applies to all of Switzerland.

The court stated its ruling was only a “marginal” infringement on personal liberty. Much more marginal than, say, forbidding women to vote, which is what Appenzell did until 1990. This makes me the local authorities aren’t so much concerned with individual rights as they are with a buttoned-up conservatism.

But individual rights are an issue here. In a truly free country, shouldn’t a person have the right to get an all-body tan while hiking? In a truly free country, shouldn’t people who are offended by the sight of naked strangers be able to have a picnic in peace?

Tricky.

Photo courtesy Alain Tanguy.

London’s Temple of Mithras is moving back to its original location

by Sean McLachlan on


London got its start as the Roman city of Londinium in the first century AD. Back then the so-called “mystery religions” were very popular in the Roman Empire. These cults, with their personal connections to the divine and secret rites, gave believers a more personal experience than the giant temples to Jupiter, Mars, and the rest of the standard pantheon. One of the most popular mystery religions was that of Mithras, an eastern deity whose worship appears to have been open only to men, mainly soldiers.

Since Mithraic rites were secret, not much is known about their beliefs, but there are many similarities between Mithraism and Christianity, such as Mithras being born on December 25 to a virgin, and having died and been resurrected for the salvation of mankind. Both faiths practiced baptism and communal meals. The similarities were so numerous that early Christian writers claimed the older religion was invented by the Devil as a cheap imitation of Christianity before Jesus was even born!

Temples to Mithras, called mithraea, have been found all over the Roman Empire, including one in the heart of London. The mithraeum in Roman London was discovered in 1952 and moved 90 meters away and set up on Queen Victoria St. The restoration wasn’t a completely accurate one. One major problem was that it was put on a podium when mithraea were generally underground.

Now the site has been bought by Bloomberg LP, which plans to build its European headquarters there. Bloomberg LP is going to dismantle the temple and put it back in its original location, according to a press release from the Museum of London Archaeology. The temple will be dismantled starting on November 21 and the corporation says the new reconstruction will be much more accurate. There’s no word yet on when this whole project will be completed. Such a large and delicate process will probably take several years.

Vintage aircraft collection to feature Legends and Legacies Series

by Chris Owen on

For aviation fans, visiting a vintage aircraft collection is about as good as it gets. Scattered around the United States from Richmond, Virginia to Galveston, Texas, aircraft of yesteryear are available to view and some even still fly. One collection, Fantasy of Flight in Florida, takes it all a step further with its Fourth Annual Legends & Legacies Symposium Series, which features new and seldom explored stories of World War II and the Vietnam War, told by some of the aviators who were actually there themselves.

“Each year, the Legends & Legacies experience is different from the last, with new guest speakers, new stories, new interactions with guests, and new topics to explore, including three all-new events this year,” said Kim Long, General Manager of Fantasy of Flight. “The opportunity to hear firsthand from military veterans, especially those who fought in World War II and Vietnam, is a precious gift that we hope to share with as many guests as possible throughout the 2012 series.”It’s a forum for the public to hear firsthand about the experiences of some of America’s most courageous aviators and military heroes through exhibits, real aircraft, and most importantly, their own personal stories, recollections from their family members, and interactions with guests. The multi-day events feature open-forum, question-and-answer sessions as well as meet and greet autograph signings with the guest speakers.

The 2012 Legends & Legacies Symposium Series includes:

They Dared to Fly: Tuskegee Airmen, Feb. 9-11 – In honor of Black History Month, several of the nation’s first African-American military aviators will share their personal stories of what it was like to serve as a World War II pilot in the military during segregated America. Fantasy of Flight has a permanent multi-media Tuskegee Airmen exhibit and vintage aircraft collection, including the P-51C Mustang, provide the perfect backdrop to meet the men who fought America’s enemies abroad while enduring racism at home.

Breaking All Barriers: Amazing Women in American History, March 2-3 – In honor of National Women’s History Month, Fantasy of Flight celebrates the barrier breaking women who took on non-traditional roles during WWII, including the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), the first women to fly military aircraft, and all those entered the workforce for the first time in the spirit of “Rosie the Riveter.”

Unspoken Valor: The Bomber Crews of World War II, April 13-14 – New to the Legends & Legacies line up this year, the event promises harrowing tales from actual crewmen of WWII bomber planes such as the B-25 Mitchell, B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator, all incredible planes with amazing strengths but potentially catastrophic weaknesses.

D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, May 11-12 – Guests will relive the most complex military initiative in world history as the men who were there recount their experiences as part of this massive air, land, and sea attack. Months in the making, it required the coordination of thousands of Allied forces, who once set in motion, could not be called back.

Reflections of Vietnam, June 8-9 – Fantasy of Flight’s Legends & Legacies series will explore the Vietnam War, America’s longest conflict and first military failure on foreign soil. Here, those who served will share their personal experiences about this complicated and emotional time in U.S. history.

Letters Home: Love, Courage & Survival, Oct. 12-13 -The final event of the 2012 series is based on the personal handwritten correspondence exchanged between the men who fought abroad and the women and loved ones they left behind. Whether they were high school sweethearts separated by the war or soldiers who met the love of their lives while serving overseas, their letters portray a wartime experience that can’t be found in history books.

Symposium events are included in the price of Fantasy of Flight general admission and are free for annual pass holders. For more information about Fantasy of Flight, call 863-984-3500 or visit FantasyOfFlight.com.