Expat married life rocks (the boat)

by Iva Skoch on

Anyone who has ever decided to move abroad knows that expat life brings its challenges (I am lonely. I hate the food. I don’t understand anything.) and advantages (I just met the hottest guy/chick.) For married people who decide to move abroad, it brings a whole different set of issues as well.

In a Wall Street Journal’s column titled “The marital strain of life abroad,” Alan Paul shares his experience moving to China with his wife. He says that different schedules, extensive travel, lack of friends and pre-existent marital problem are not unusual reasons for expat marriages to fall apart.

“Furthermore,” he writes. “Some people move abroad and go a bit haywire, in light of the easy availability of prostitutes, the ability of Western men to draw young, attractive girlfriends and, some would say, a culture more open to infidelity. The same impulses and sense of freedom and adventure that lead some of us to form bands or buy motorcycles, send others reeling into darker corners.”

I have seen this happen “more than once” in Prague.

Après-ski with the best of them

by Iva Skoch on

It has been a while since “après-ski” meant simply “after skiing.” Today, après-ski is a whole philosophy. What you do after you ski often means more than how you ski, which is undoubtedly good news for people like myself.

Concierge.com has compiled a list of 13 best après-ski activities in the world. Here are the first 7 to give you an idea:

  1. Ultimate Suite — The Penthouse at the Sky Lodge, Park City, Utah (What’ll Snow You: Tickling the ivories on the baby grand piano in the 338-square-foot living room)
  2. Most Crackling Public Fireplace — The Great Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek, Colorado (What’ll Snow You: The fireplace is a full three stories tall.)
  3. Niftiest Night Light — Hotel Alyeska, Girdwood, Alaska (What’ll Snow You: Watching the Northern Lights in your pajamas-and wondering if it was all a dream in the morning)
  4. Ultimate Spa Treatment — Virgin Touch Spa, The Lodge, Verbier, Switzerland (What’ll Snow You: Sweet relief provided by Sir Richard Branson’s own massage therapist.)
  5. Hottest Private Hot Tub — Game Creek Chalet, Vail, Colorado (What’ll Snow You: The bubbly views from 10,500 feet)
  6. Most Crackling Private Fireplace — The Chalet at Twin Farms, Barnard, Vermont (What’ll Snow You: The aroma from the fireplace, matched only by the perfumes from the award-winning kitchen)
  7. Finest Place to Drink Al Fresco — Le Chamois, Squaw Valley, California (What’ll Snow You: The California sunshine)

Get the full list here.

By the way, après-snowboarders are also welcome.

Driving in Europe: Tips from Budget Travel

by Anna Brones on

Did you know that if you wear glasses you are required to have a second pair in your car when you drive in Spain? And that in France children under 10 are not allowed to ride in the front seat? Or that in Sweden you should be very cautious about moose crossing the road?

Driving when traveling in Europe can be complicated. Not only are road signs in foreign languages, but rules are often different and there may even be ones you’ve never heard of; who knew that running out of gas on the autobahn in Germany will get you fined? Although I tend to stick to public transportation when in Europe, this helpful article in Budget Travel gives tips for those driving on the European continent which might help to alleviate some of the above problems.

Any other helpful European driving tips?

Spain’s new high speed train connects Madrid and Barcelona

by Anna Brones on

Spain’s high speed link between Madrid and Barcelona is finally open, after more than two decades of construction and administrative delay. Transporting passengers at 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour), and at a price of 180 euros round-trip, the train is expected to compete with air travel.

Madrid and Seville have been connected by high speed bullet train since 1992. Motivated by the addition of the new Madrid-Barcelona line, the Spanish government says that it will have more high speed train lines than anywhere else in the world by 2010, as reported by the BBC. France recently unveiled its latest contribution to the industry of high speed trains, meaning that we can probably look forward to an even better, and certainly faster, train-connected Europe.

[Thanks, Moody75!]

Brits on traveling to the US: more hassle than it’s worth

by Iva Skoch on

Despite the weak dollar, the number of Brits visiting America is down 11% since 9/11. As this blog by The Guardian suggests, traveling to the US is just too much hassle these days.

The author, Ed Vulliamy, who travels frequently between London and the US, sounds quite angry about the whole thing: “And now here comes a new bag of tricks from Washington’s Department of Homeland Security: demanding to be informed of everything about you – by yourself and your government – before you try and buy a ticket, even if you are merely flying over America,” he writes. “Who the hell wants to apply online for permission to visit the US before even buying a ticket? Why should information on a friend or relative pushing a passenger in a wheelchair to the gate at Prestwick be dispatched to the CIA?”

One of his points especially struck me. He says that “the paranoia and war on terror, of which the new travel measures are part – have robbed and abused the emotional power and dignity of New York’s response to al-Qaeda’s murderous visit that morning: the carpets of flowers, the tributes, the missing posters and peace signs. This kind of language, this paranoia and manipulation of what happened has nothing to do with the real best of America. And godammit, that’s why it is still worth braving.”

It is hard to argue with that.