Denmark reintroduces border controls

by Alex Robertson Textor on


In a move that shocked European Union officials, Denmark, citing the need to fight organized crime, unilaterally reintroduced border controls on its land borders with Germany and Sweden on Wednesday. The Danish decision chips away at one of the central principles (and privileges) at the center of the project of the European Union, namely, the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital.

This principle is put into practice by the Schengen Agreement, which applies to 22 European Union countries as well as four others: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. (De facto, it also applies to Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican.) Within this enormous territory, across many national borders, there are no border controls whatsoever.

The Danish government has argued that this decision applies only to border and customs checks and will not extend to passport control, and that it is therefore not a violation of the Schengen Agreement. This argument disingenuously ignores the fact that the border checks will be performed by border control officers who do not have the clearance to act as standard police officers. However this policy change is couched, it amounts to a disengagement with the principles of the Schengen Agreement.

There are also signs that the free movement principle is on the brink of being rethought. At a meeting of EU interior ministers yesterday, several ministers stated their growing willingness to consider rescinding elements of the Schengen Agreement. This movement, spearheaded by the Italian and French foreign ministers, is a response to expectations of a major influx of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East in the coming months.

As it currently stands, EU countries are permitted to introduce border controls in response to discrete events deemed to demand greater security measures. A number of EU countries (Spain, Germany, France, and Finland, among others) have done so at various points over the past decade, but only temporarily.

In the meantime, border control has returned to the Schengen Area. Tourists entering Denmark by land from Germany or Sweden can fairly expect some new scrutiny as long as these checks are enforced.

[Image: Flickr | celesteh]

National Geographic iPad app offers 50 Places of a Lifetime

by Kraig Becker on

There is no doubt about it, the iPad has changed the way we consume media and altered how we define what a magazine is. Those of us who use Apple’s insanely popular gadget have gotten use to the idea that our “magazine’s” now include audio, video, and interactive elements that just aren’t possible in the print versions. This is demonstrated perfectly in a new app from National Geographic, which highlights their list of the 50 Places of a Lifetime compiled by Nat Geo Traveler.

As the name implies, this new app spotlights some of the greatest destinations on the planet, which are broken down into five categories. Those categories include “Urban Spaces”, “Wild Places”, “Paradise Found”, “Country Unbound”, and “World Wonders”. Selecting any one of those items will present you with a list of 10 places, which stylishly appear on the screen complete with animation and music. From there, you simply navigate through the individual destinations by swiping left and right. Scrolling up and down presents the full article on the location, offering insights to that place, and why it deserves a spot on the list. It is all very intuitive, and easy to use, with gestures that are second nature to any iPad owner.

The individual articles that accompany the various locations are typical Nat Geo fare. That is to say, they are well written, insightful, and will likely inspire you to want to visit the places being described. The stories are penned by the likes of Bill Bryson, Jean-Michel Cousteau, and George Plimpton, amongst others, who share their personal thoughts on what makes these places so magical. Places like the Serengeti, the Seychelles, and Venice, Italy.
The trademark National Geographic photography makes an appearance as well, of course. Stunning images accompany the travel essays, bringing each destination to life and offering tantalizing glimpses of what travelers can expect at these places of a lifetime. As you would expect, the photos are one of the highlights of this app, and many of them will have you drooling all over your screen.

Other features of the app include videos, interactive “fast facts,” expanded photo galleries, and the always popular Nat Geo maps. I was particularly fond of the 360-degree panoramic images which take full advantage of the iPad touch screen, and built-in checklists that allow you to highlight the destinations that you’ve already visited, while adding others to your own personal bucket list.

The app weighs in at a whopping 464 MB in size, which means it takes awhile to download. If you intend to read it while on your next vacation, be sure to download it well ahead of time. Once installed, everything is self contained however, which means you won’t need an Internet connection to take advantage of everything it has to offer.

The best part of this great app? It costs just $1.99! Where else can you get this kind of interactive content for so little money? Even a print magazine cost more than that! You can find it on iTunes by clicking here.

[Image courtesy of Victor R. Boswell, National Geographic]

Photo of the day: Beach in Sweden

by Elizabeth Seward on


This windy day on a beach in Sweden, near Svarte, was captured by Christoph Sahle. Brooding and intense, this photo struck me as soon as I saw it and I asked Christoph to tell me about the setup behind the photo. At the time, he’d been staying in a remodeled barn in the city and decided to explore this beach, which isn’t too far from Ystad, on a cold October day. It’s not your typical beach scene, but it’s a beautiful one.

Christoph Sahle is a German physicist, musician, and traveler with an obvious knack for photography. You can check out more of his photos on Picasa.

Want one of your photos to be featured on Gadling for Photo of The Day? Just upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr pool and we’ll do the pickin’ from there.

Germany’s Queens Hotel has its own theme song

by McLean Robbins on




Need to promote your hotel? Do it with a song – or a rap. Hanover’s Queens Hotel recently launched a new viral video aimed at driving traffic to the hotel’s website and Facebook page for QGD Hotel Management.

We don’t speak German, so we have no idea what they’re saying, but we can tell you that we’d want to visit this four-star city hotel, if solely to meet the Casanova chef, the nerdy conference room guy, the park ranger, and that man at the end making a very strange face over his glass of champagne.

We’ve got to give them props – this video obviously took some time to produce!

Video of the Day – Cruise ship time-lapse

by Stephen Greenwood on

We have a lot of great cruise coverage here on Gadling, and today’s Video of the Day is a must-see for all of our cruise ship fanatics out there.

Captured onboard a series of ships such as the Splendour of the Seas & Majesty of the Seas, YouTube user radiofreebc was able to capture some incredible scenes from both inside and outside the ships along the coasts of Alaska, Uruguay, Italy, Turkey, and more. For most of the videos, radiofreebc shot with a Sony Handicam (DSR-SR12) and altered the speed while editing with Final Cut Pro. The fitting soundtrack is by a now-defunct 90’s band called Slide Five.

Do you have some amazing clips or photos from your latest cruise? Share them with our community! Upload photos to our Flickr Group or post a video link in the comments below; it could be our next Photo/Video of the Day!