Five haunted attractions for Halloween: options around the world

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Halloween is the one day a year we seek fear rather than try to avoid it. We invite the prospect of ghosts, witches and vampires, and even if we concede that they aren’t real, it’s fine to suspend disbelief for a day. To heighten the sensation, consider wrapping your next trip in the Halloween spirit. There are plenty of destinations around the world that will help the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end.

1. Melbourne’s Haunted Bookshop
Ghost-hunter and historian Drew Sinton is waiting for you at The Haunted Bookshop in Melbourne, Australia. If you’re not afraid of the written word, this starting point won’t scare you, but along the way, you’ll hit a number of spots where ghosts have been sighted. Old Melbourne Goal (jail, that is) was home to 135 hangings. One of them, Ned Kelly, is said to have resulted in a ghost that won’t leave the site of his demise. While you’re there, walk the road to the gallows. If this isn’t enough for you, look for nutty ghosts on the Beechworth Ghost Tour at what was once the Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum.

2. Under the Royal Mile
Beneath Edinburgh‘s Royal Mile, you’ll find a warren of hidden “closes” where people once lived, worked … and perished. Mary King’s Close, once abandoned and forgotten, is now open via the Supernatural History Tour. Explore one of Scotland’s most haunted locations, get the scoop on urban myths and hear about sightings that occurred as recently as 2003. A few claim to have felt ghosts brush past on this tour. Will you be one of them?

3. Follow New France’s Great Master
Old Montreal‘s cobblestone streets set the scene for any supernatural encounter. The sun goes down; the wind blows off the river. You don’t know what’s gust and what’s ghost! History is the breeding ground of the other-worldly, and the Great Master will take you through the century’s that have contributed to what is now the “New France Ghost Hunt.”

4. The Darker Side of Luxury
No, you won’t have to worry about peasant uprisings, but if you’re looking for paranormal trouble, you can find it at a handful of Fairmont hotels. At the Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa (where I suffered through a business trip from hell a decade ago), keep an eye open for Victoria, a now deceased member of one of the founding families of the Sonoma Valley. A former steward, now dead, of course, hangs out in the silver room at the Fairmont Royal York, and a hotel maid who fell to her death in 1908 has yet to leave the Fairmont Empress.

5. The Ghastly Side of Downtown Orlando
I’m sure there’s something going on at Disneyworld, but skip it in favor of downtown Orlando (my favorite part of Florida). On the Orlando Ghost Tours, you’ll get two hours to pick up the basics of parapsychology and poke around in locations confirmed to be haunted. You’ll even get to use specialized equipment to conduct your own paranormal investigation. Who you gonna call? After this, probably yourself.

Journey to the dark side of the moon

by Sean McLachlan on

On this day fifty years ago, humanity got to see something it had never seen before.

On October 7, 1959, the Soviet space probe Luna 3 orbited the moon and took photos of the “dark side”.

Of course, everyone already knew that the dark side isn’t really dark. It gets just as much light as the side we see, but since it always faces away from Earth we’ve spent the last hundred thousand years wondering what’s over there. Luna 3 gave us the answer.

Some of Luna 3’s ghostly images and those from later Soviet probes can be seen here.

If you go to Moscow, you can learn the story of the Soviet space program at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics, located in the base of the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, pictured here in this striking photo taken by AlphaTangoBravo and put in our Flickr photo pool. The museum has one of the most impressive buildings of any museum anywhere, being incorporated into the base of a 107 meter (350 ft.) depiction of a rocket and its contrail. A poem on the side of the monument declares, “And the reward for our efforts was that, having triumphed over oppression and darkness, we have forged wings of fire for our land and our century!”

Besides a bit of Soviet-style hypocrisy about “oppression and darkness” this poem is spot on. The Soviet Space program achieved a whole series of firsts–first satellite (1957), first animal in space (1957), first probes to Mars (1960) and Venus (1961), first man in space (1961), first woman in space (1963). . .the list goes on and on.

The museum has undergone three years of renovations and reopened on April 12 of this year, which happens to be Cosmonautics Day, celebrating Yuri Gagarin’s historic 1961 flight, the first time a human being ever left Earth. The Soviets put up a very cool statue to him in Moscow’s Gagarin Square, but sadly there’s no photo of it in the Gadling Flickr pool. The first person who puts one up there and tells me by leaving a comment will get a Soviet-era space program postcard as a thank you. You’ll also see the photo on Gadling, so upload your best!

If you want a sneak peek inside the renovated museum, this article (in Spanish) has an interesting slide show.

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McDonald’s to move in next to Louvre

by Tom Johansmeyer on

McDonald’s is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in France by opening a new location in the Carrousel du Louvre. This underground mall connects to the storied museum that is home to the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. So, if the latter had arms, she could sport the former’s smile with a Big Mac.

France is McDonald’s biggest market outside the United States, despite the vocal local minority, and planting a fast food joint next to the most visited museum in the world is a no-brainer. The chain already has more than 1,000 restaurants in the country, and the one on the Champs-Elysees is the most profitable McDonald’s in the world.

The Louvre wouldn’t say anything about its prospective neighbor. So far, no date has been set for the opening.

Leaf peeping in the northern hemisphere

by Brenda Yun on

Let’s face it: autumn is here. But why not embrace the fall by heading to the hills and enjoying the turning of the leaves from green to fiery red?

It’s no secret that New England is one of the world’s top fall foliage destinations, but I bet you didn’t know that there are several other places in the northern Hemisphere where you can see the trees in their autumn glory. An additional bonus? Fewer people travel in the fall, and prices tend to be cheaper too!

Here are a few of the world’s best places to check out fall foliage:

In the USA:
Arizona Highlands — Arizona might have deserts and canyons, but the higher elevations around Flagstaff and its White Mountains have really photo-worthy foliage.

The Great Lakes Region — The Lakes region is famous for its huge expanse of fresh water, but the trees in fall paired with the blue of the water makes fall a great time to travel north.

Maine — This whole state is ablaze with fall colors come October. Just ride the I-95 north and breathe in the New England air. It’s no wonder the state slogan is, “Maine: The Way Life Should Be.”


In Canada:
Vancouver Island — Canada’s western isle is teeming with fall colors — from the city of Victoria, British Columbia’s capital, to the wilderness of Strathcona Provincial Park.

Prince Edward Island — Leaf peepers can hike, bike or take a horseback ride through the uncrowded trails on Prince Edward Island. Additionally, Charlottetown rings in the fall with its Fall Flavours food and wine festival.

In Europe:
High Tatras, Poland — Poland’s eastern mountains are great for skiing in the winter, but the fall offers fantastic opportunities for hiking. Zakopane makes a good base for fall excursions.

Lot Valley, France — Walk, bike, or drive around Lot Valley’s orchards and vineyards, which glow with autumn colors. The region is great for active bird watching or just a quiet weekend retreat.

Bruges, Belgium — Take a stroll around Bruges’s canals or drink a Belgian beer while admiring the trees. This is one of the few places where the city offers just as many photo-worthy fall shots as the outskirts.

The Swiss Alps — While this mountain range is famous for its skiing, fall offers great opportunities for multi-day hiking or road tripping along winding mountain roads as you admire the warm colors of the hills.

Lake Bled, Slovenia — Take a boat onto Lake Bled and take in the perfect blend of the area’s clear waters and the trees’ fiery hues.

[via SkyScanner.net]

Norway world’s best place to live

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I’m not sure if everybody wants to live in Norway, but it’s certainly at the top of the global list. The United Nations Development Program determined this based on data GDP, education and life expectancy – among other metrics – to find the best of the best, as well as the other end of the spectrum. The data’s from 2007, though, so it doesn’t reflect a post-financial crisis world.

Joining Norway are Australia and Iceland, the latter of which was a hot location until a year ago, when the entire country got an International Monetary Fund package normally reserved for the third-est of third-world countries. Yet, even with the recession in mind, Iceland (a favorite destination of mine) is still far better than Niger, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, which sit at the bottom of the list. Several other sub-Saharan African states also ranked toward the bottom because of ongoing war and the proliferation of HIV/AIDS.

The spread is most evident in life expectancy, where a mailing address in Norway would add 30 years relative to Niger. In Niger, the current average life expectancy is 50. And, for every dollar that someone earns in Niger, the same person would pick up $85 in Norway. In Afghanistan, one can expect to live only 43.6 years.

Money matters, still. Lichtenstein continues to boast the world’s highest GDP per capital at $85,383. The 35,000 people who live there share the small principality with 15 banks and more than 100 wealth management companies. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the lowest income in the world: $298 per person per year.

The top climbers on the list for 2007 were China, Iran and Nepal.