Jerusalem as Destination

by Erik Olsen on

I sometimes puzzle friends when I tell them that I did my honeymoon in Israel. Are you Jewish? they immediately ask, wondering if my WASPY appearance belies a history of Yom Kippurs and Saturday morning services. I am not Jewish, not that I know of anyway, but I am intensely curious about Jewish history and culture, and in my mind there was no better place to get a sense of this, let alone a sense of our common history over all, than Israel. Of course, Israel is more than just the cradle of Western culture. It is more than one of the most historically rich places on the planet. It is also a lovely, friendly, adventuresome place that I believe everyone should visit in heir lifetime.

I could go one about all the great things you can do in Israel. Floating the Dead Sea, grabbing dinner and drinks in Tel Aviv, scuba diving the Red Sea at Eilat, hiking the hills of Bethlehem. But probably the most interesting place in the country is its capital city: Jerusalem. The city is a marvel of sights and sounds, of history and heritage, of tastes and smells. I have not thought about Jerusalem lately other than what I read in the news. I have not thought of it as a tourist destination. But this piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer reminded me how much I love Jerusalem, and how much I’d like to return. The piece does a fine job laying out many of the allures of the city, its well-known historical sites, the thriving markets, the taste of history and culture that hangs in the air. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back and spend a few weeks.

Get Lost in Bermuda

by Adrienne Wilson on

When you’re talking the ABC’s of the Caribbean islands the ‘B’ usually stands for Bonaire or some might say Barbados or the Bahamas, but today it stands for Bermuda. Why Bermuda and why today? Well I recently found this story from the Baltimore Sun online on one man’s journey to the island dominated by shades of pink and super nice sandy beaches that seems very much worth your attention whether you are an island lover or not. The author, Robert Cross, warns us almost immediately that he is not fond of beaches with a lot of hype and despite all of what he’d heard he decided to go anyway. Turned out it was his luck and in his story he points other perspective travelers beyond the beach to nice places to eat, sleep and peep the local history scene. I never gave Bermuda a whole lot of thought, but after reading through his tale it is safe to say I wouldn’t mind going maybe. I like beaches with tons of hype or none at all. Isn’t it time you got lost in Bermuda too?

Assassination Vacation

by Neil Woodburn on

Obsession can be a very strange hobby. When one becomes so enamored over a person, place, or thing that they pursue it to absurd lengths, certain questions inevitably arise about their state of mind.

Sarah Vowell is one such fanatic. I’ve just finished reading her book, Assassination Vacation in which she admits to harboring a bizarre fascination with presidential assassinations. In fact, her book is somewhat of a travelogue covering her pilgrimage to every historical location that has to do with the assassination of three American presidents; Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley.

And, believe it or not, it makes for a great read.

The most fascinating section is the one which deals with Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was, after all, the most famous of the three assassinated presidents and today there remains many historic sights that morbidly curious tourists such as Vowell can visit; the theater where he was shot, the place where he died, the museum where fragments of his skull are exhibited, the house where his assassin sought medical aid (now a museum), the prison where the doctor who helped him was eventually sent after being (wrongly?) convicted as an accomplice, the Lincoln Memorial (of course), as well as many obscure locations with seemingly tenuous, yet as we learn, legitimate connections with the assassination.

I’ve always found American history to be rather boring but Vowell has a way of really spicing it up with her entertaining, sarcastic, and often quirky approach. She throws in numerous, little-known historical oddities (Lincoln’s son, Todd was present at all three assassinations) and often takes off on random tangents that keep the reader amused.

Most importantly from a Gadling perspective, this history nerd provides a blueprint for historical travel where one can easily trace the important events that transpire when a president is assassinated and the locations where they took place. I don’t plan on replicating her macabre pilgrimage any time soon, but I sure enjoyed reading about it!

Two Years Post Tsunami

by Adrienne Wilson on

This morning when I watched the news it was called to my attention that today marks the two-year anniversary of one the biggest natural disasters to occur in Southeast Asia. Footage of massive waves, bulldozing tiny tropical beach resorts in Thailand and water carrying the remnants of homes, vehicles, and those trying desperately to escape; glowed on my television screen. I cut the news off and retreated to my room. I wasn’t in much of a mood to see the sorrow mounted in the eyes of an orphan whose parents had been washed away in the ocean. I just couldn’t bear it so early.

Now as I sit hanging out on the web I see several stories remembering those who lost a great deal and how much progress still needs to be made. The International Herald Tribune has an excellent photo gallery displaying images of smiles from young girls like the two above whirling around in a playground (a donation by a relief agency), people playing volleyball on Thailand’s Patong beach, and then sad images as well. Most of Thailand’s beaches have been able to rebuild quickly, but other areas in Sri Lanka & Indonesia have been left to slowly pick up the pieces due to misuse of money (millions) and government corruption.

A drill system is being practiced across to Southeast Asia for future disasters and to commemorate the 9.3 earthquake two years back.

Mental Floss Geo Challenge

by Erik Olsen on

So you think you know the world pretty well, do ya? You can say all the state capitols and you bedazzle your friends during bouts of Trivial Pursuit? Well, a little bit ago, Adrienne posted a link to the San Francisco Chronicle Geography Quiz. That was fine and dandy and some of the questions were quite tough, but it was just a list of questions followed by answers. You had to scroll way down to find out if you were right.

Pretty lame. You’d of thunk that Silicon Valley’s paper of record would have come up with something more interactive than that. Well, the good folks at the magazine Mental Floss have done just that. It’s not as deep and involved a quiz as the CF Chron one, but you’re going to have a tough time I think getting a perfect score on this one. I scored 70 percent. Not bad, I think. I confess I wasn’t sure where Benin was. Yes, I knew Africa, but I wasn’t sure where. Anyway, see how you fare.