Obituary: The Orient Express

by Sean McLachlan on

I screwed up big time.

I’ve always wanted to ride the Orient Express, the famous Paris-to-Istanbul sleeper train made famous by countless movies and novels. It’s an elegant train steeped in glamor and history. Ever since it opened in 1883 it was the way to go to the East. It’s been one of my travel goals for as long as I can remember, but I figured I could always put it off until next year because it would always be there.

Today was it’s last day.

Operators say it’s a victim of competing rail services and cheap airline carriers, but I don’t think that’s the whole story. I think it’s a victim of a corrosive effect I’ve been seeing in travel culture for twenty years now–the concept that cheaper and faster is always better. In an age when you can fly from Paris to Istanbul for less than a hundred bucks–hell, sometimes less than fifty–leaving after breakfast and arriving in time for lunch, why would you want to spend a few hundred dollars and a couple of days rattling across Eastern Europe to get to the same place?

Because the trip is more about the journey than the destination. Because you can’t see the details of the land from an airplane window. Because people talk to each other on trains.

Yes, commentators are pointing out that the route has changed many times over the years, and the train that shut down today didn’t even run the whole way anymore, but that’s like saying that the Parthenon isn’t the real thing because half of the stones are gone. Something old and wonderful has still died.

So next time you think you can leave a dream until “next year”, don’t. You might wake up and find the dream’s over.

CLARIFICATION: There have been a couple of comments saying the Orient Express is still operating. The train that shut down is, indeed, the direct heir of the original Oriental Express, although it had stopped its full service decades ago. Modern companies, such as the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, have used variants of the name but are not the original service. The original Simplon Orient Express opened in 1919, although it too has gone through permutations over the years. For a time there were three “Orient Expresses” running simultaneously, with the Simplon being the second oldest. The original, true “Orient Express” started in 1883. The Venice-Simplon Orient Express is now the closest to the original we have, with vintage carriages from the 1920s and 30s. I’ll have to ride it some day, assuming it doesn’t go out of business too!%Gallery-26075%

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Worst travel mistakes of the 2000’s : Locked in the lounge

by Scott Carmichael on

As we look back at the past ten years, and prepare ourselves for the next ten, lets take a moment to remember the dumbest mistake we ever made when traveling. For the coming week, we’ll entertain you with embarrassing stories of our dumbest travel mistakes, all for the sole purpose of your entertainment.

For me, the dumbest thing I did in the past ten years was fall asleep in the airport arrivals lounge.

It all happened when I arrived at Heathrow after a quick trip to New York. As I had a 4 hour layover, I decided to go landside for a full (free) English breakfast in the lounge followed by a quick shower. I then took “a short nap” in the serenity room.

This room was probably one of the quietest and most comfortable in the airport, because I was awoken by a security guard 17 hours later. This also happened to be a full 9 hours after the lounge had closed for the day. I either set off the alarm, or he was on his rounds checking for stupid people who fall asleep in the lounge.

A British Airways representative met me and apologized profusely for failing to notice I was still in the lounge. The airline then took care of rebooking me for a flight to Amsterdam the next morning, and provided a room at the airport Sheraton.

This is by no means the only stupid thing I’ve done during my many years of traveling, but it is the one that has stuck with the most – and the one that always brings back fond memories of the almost 325 trips I took passing through Heathrow Airport.

Tomorrow we’ll bring you another story of a dumb travel mistake, and later this week you’ll have the chance to tell us your own favorite – with a chance at winning a fantastic prize!

Lisbon airport brings some Christmas joy – flashmob style!

by Scott Carmichael on

Christmas time at the airport is usually a time of doom, gloom, pushing and waiting in line. Portuguese airline TAP and the Portuguese Airport Authority decided to spice things up at Lisbon airport with a massive dance and music show. Bonus points for spotting the dancing Santa.

Watch for yourself, and see the joy this brought to the passengers. How do you think this would go down at your local airport? Would the TSA have the happy people shot, or just tasered?

(Thanks Rita!)

Amsterdam Schiphol airport in damage control mode after terror attempt

by Scott Carmichael on

If you want a surefire way to have the international aviation community look down on your airport, all you need to do is make the news as “the airport” where a terror attempt originated.

Amsterdam Schiphol is the airport where yesterdays trouble may have started. I’m of course talking about the attempt at blowing up a Northwest Airlines/Delta Airlines plane bound for Detroit.

The Nigerian passenger started his trip in Lagos, but transited in Amsterdam, and that part of his trip is at the core of political question time in The Netherlands.

According to airport security officials, he probably arrived at Schiphol with the explosives already strapped to his legs, but current screening technology at the airport can’t detect non-metallic objects. European airports have been asking for full body scanners for several years, but the European Commission is blocking their implementation because of privacy concerns.

Assuming Schiphol acted correctly, and screened the passenger as demanded by the United States, the airport can’t be blamed for allowing the passenger to board. Part of the screening procedure is a “fly/no fly” permission system, and according to the airline, the United States greenlighted the Nigerian terrorist to fly to the States – even though he was on an international watch list.

If you are flying from Amsterdam to the United States, you’ll need to be prepared for long delays, as all US bound planes are undergoing enhanced screening procedures.

Copenhagen at Christmas–or at any time of the year is splendid

by Jamie Rhein on

In Denmark in December, darkness settles in around 3:30 p.m. Spend a few days where there is such an early sunset and late sunrise, and you’ll know exactly why a festival of lights is a grand idea. Danes embrace the Christmas season with candles, evergreens and warm mulled wine.

The result of the cheer is a feeling that the world is drenched in pools of warm, soft glows. The candles and evergreens promise that the darkness will eventually lighten is enough to carry one towards spring.

The mulled wine called glugg, help seal the deal. The best glugg is served with the almonds, raisins and spices still in it.

Toss in a city of stunning architecture that artfully blends the old with the new, cobblestone walking streets, and centuries old canals and there you have it: winter magic. Copenhagen in December is a visual treat.

Last December, I traveled back to Denmark where I had spent a semester in college living with a family about twenty miles outside of Copenhagen. The trip brought back memories of my first Christmas away from home and reestablished the thought that I must have been Danish at one time. Denmark and me? A hand to a glove.

Here are my must see suggestions if you head to Copenhagen at any time of the year. On this visit, I was with my 16 year-old daughter so I picked out the places that I thought she would enjoy, plus those that would offer her a wide overview of Copenhagen’s cultural history and delight. We were also interested in spending as little money as possible.

We traveled twice by train into Copenhagen from our friend’s house where we stayed.

Day 1: In the early afternoon, we started out at Nationalmuseet, the Danish Resistance Museum. Denmark’s resistance movement against the Nazis during World War II is impressive. The museum tells the story of how the movement started, the important players and what occurred in Denmark between 1940-1945.

Since the time I visited when I was in college, the museum has a new building and the exhibits have been updated. Most of the information is also provided in English. Take time out to watch the videos of interviews that are scattered throughout the museum. They have also been translated. This museum is marvelous and it’s FREE. I repeat. FREE!

From here we walked to Amalienborg Palace to see where Queen Margrethe II lives with her family. Depending upon when you arrive, you can see the changing of the guard. We missed this, but we enjoyed watching the guards anyway.

As you go to the palace you’ll also see the gorgeous Fredriks Church, also called The Marble Church. We didn’t go inside the church or tour the Amalienborg Museum in the palace complex as we were in a hurry to get to Nyhavn and the canal boat ride. Besides, the day before, we had toured Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, a town in the northern part of Sealand, the island where Copenhagen is located. Of all Denmark’s castle’s, it’s my favorite.

At Nyhavn, the oldest part of Copenhagen’s original harbor, we took in the Christmas market where I found glugg and we ate pølser, the Danish version of a hot dog. Pølser is better. Each cost about $3. Nyhavn is also where you can catch a harbor canal tour. There is more than one company but DFDS Canal Tours is the only company to offer winter excursions. The boat tour takes visitors along the canals that were dug out by prisoners in the 17th century. This is one of the best ways to find out about Copenhagen’s history while seeing important landmarks–both modern and historic.

The statue of the Little Mermaid is one of the tour’s points of interest. If you go on the 50 minute tour in winter, bundle up. The $12 per person fee we paid seemed like a bargain.

After our tour that started before dusk and ended in the dark, we browsed the Christmas market once more and watched the ice skaters at the area’s outdoor rink before walking back to the train station.The market is an excellent place to buy Danish-style Christmas ornaments and fur hats. We bought a nativity set and a rabbit fur for my son. He used to be Daniel Boone in a past life. The $10 fur was the best present ever.

Day 2: (Between the two days, we took a ferry from Helsingør, Denmark to Helsingborg, Sweden to go to the Christmas festival at Fredriksdal Open-air Museum. Helsingør is where Kronberg Castle of Hamlet fame is located. Shakespeare set the play here. Remember? “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

We started out at Rosenberg Castle to see the Crowned Jewels. The castle was closed on that day. Oops. Next stop, shopping along Strøget, the pedestrian shopping street. Here I discovered I had been pick pocketed. Credit card? Gone. Money? Gone. Someone snagged my wallet right out of my day pack. Next came the detour to the police station to file a report and call VISA.

Without any money or a credit card, there wasn’t any reason to go to Royal Copenhagen, as we had planned. Sure, it would have been a gorgeous store to visit since it was decked out in its holiday finest, but how depressing would that have been? Why go to a place to shop when you can’t shop?

Instead, we headed to Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli, an amusement park that opened in 1843, served as inspiration for Walt Disney when he was designing Disneyland. During the Christmas season, Tivoli is a twinkling fairyland. Glugg and apple fritters are plentiful and the amusement park rides are in full operation. Every building and tree seems to be awash in holiday lights. We were content to walk around the park enjoying the ambiance and displays.

We left Tivoli for home around 9 p.m feeling satisfied, despite a day of being robbed. On a return trip, we’ll see the Crown Jewels and Royal Copenhagen. They’ll still be around.