Gadlinks for Monday 5.8.09

by Brenda Yun on


This Monday brings some wacky travel posts around the web, as well as some practical tips for summer trips.

  • My True Slant friend, Jeff Koyen, offers up a hilarious list of the world’s worst cruises. Believe it or not, a Twilight cruise is set to sail from Seattle to Alaska in August 2010.
  • What is a sexy beach? Thomas Kohnstamm for Forbes Traveler tells us it’s a combination of sea, sand, and skin and offers up his list of the world’s sexiest beaches.
  • Just a few of Hawaii’s beaches made it onto that list of sexy beaches, but one thing on World Hum’s Pam Mendel’s mind is what value a “Made in Hawaii” label really has and what it really means.
  • Summer means seafood, and what better crustacean is there than the Maine lobster? I became a vegetarian one summer when I boiled a live lobster and heard it screaming at me, but if you don’t have a conscience and are driving up the New England coast, try one of Travel + Leisure’s best lobster shacks in Maine.
  • If you are a vegetarian, though, then you’re already a far “greener” traveler. If you want to be even more environmentally conscious as a traveler, read up on BootsNAll’s beginner’s guide to green travel for tips on the growing eco-friendly travel rage.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

For past Gadlinks, click HERE.

Need a hotdog in Madrid? Try Chicago Hot Dogs

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I know that part of traveling aborad is experiencing new cuisine. And, Madrid‘s a great place to do that. Sometimes, though, you just have a jones for the familiar. Or, you’re in the mood to dine ‘n’ dash. I get it. When you need a quick fix, a hotdog‘s the likely answer, and Chicago Hot Dog in Madrid is ready to deliver.

To be honest, Chicago Hot Dog’s fare did not measure up to Sweden‘s impressive dogs, and it lagged Iceland a bit. Had the hotdogs been a little hotter, though, the gap would have closed some. Similar to the dogs of Scandinavia, the mustard is the main event in Madrid. Maybe it’s a European thing: the mustard at Chicago Hot Dog was creamy and had a hint of cheese flavor (a la Oscar Mayer) … which works. The hotdog itself was quite large, especially compared to those of Iceland and Sweden (but smaller than those I had in France). For Americans, a good rule of thumb at Chicago Hot Dog is 2:1 – two local dogs equals one from home.

Chicago Hot Dog has several locations across the city. One is close to the Museo del Prado, and another is only a block away from Reina Sofia (which is home to Pablo Picasso‘s “Guernica“). So, if you’re short on time while running from one museum to the next, scarf down a hotdog instead of waiting forever for the check at a more authentic establishment, and you’ll maximize your time with the art.

Check out a video of the dining experience after the jump.

Negotiating the “morning after” at Balmer’s

by Catherine Bodry on

I laughed out loud at Terry Ward’s observations over at World Hum of young Americans awkwardly negotiating the “morning after” scene at Balmer’s Herberge in Interlaken, Switzerland. Laughed, because when I was a 21-year-old college student on a study abroad trip, Balmer’s was a sacred place – a destination for hordes of other kids just like me, proudly sporting university sweatshirts and perky enthusiasm for the soft-core adrenaline adventures on offer around the town. Ward’s description is a spot-on retelling of my own experience there: waiting for the liquid courage to dance, then getting wasted on beer from plastic cups, running into a new friend at breakfast the next day and having an awkward, stilted conversation about the Italian coffeemaker he’d bought his sister in Italy. I also recall waking up that morning and finding my contact lenses in shriveled corpses on the floor next to my bed; I simply stuck them in solution and popped them back in. Oh, youth.

Like Ward, I have no desire to revisit Balmer’s. On subsequent visits to Interlaken, I’ve stayed at the pleasantly peaceful HI hostel. But I also don’t (totally) regret my drunken couple of nights at Balmer’s. I’m one of those people who hates missing out on any kind of experience, and at the time, a night or two at Balmer’s was what I was after.

Anyone else have a similar experience there?

Gadlinks for Thursday 6.4.09

by Brenda Yun on

Twenty years ago today, on June 4, 1989, Chinese army troops stormed Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of people died. This video of Tank Man remains one of history’s most iconic moments.

…and today we have a good collection of Gadlinks. Check these out:

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

For past Gadlinks, click HERE.

Gadlinks for Wednesday 6.3.09

by Brenda Yun on


Welcome to Gadlinks! This is the inaugural post of what will be Gadling’s daily trip around the travel blogosphere. Aaron and I will be bringing you the newest and coolest travel news, updates, anecdotes, and insights from the world wide web. Just think of us as your very own travel link forum. You can count on us every weekday evening. Who needs the morning paper when you have Gadlinks?

Hooray for Hump Day! There’s plenty to be thankful for when it comes to our midweek travel news.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

For past Gadlinks, click HERE.