Try the All-New Hot Flash Lager

by Erik Olsen on

Leave it to the Czechs to mix two things that might
seem to most of us unmixable: beer and menopause. Yes, you heard that right. The miserable woes of no longer producing
eggs, the hot flashes, the sleeping troubles, the moodiness, that funny smell (jk!)…all might possibly be relived if
some Czech food scientists have their way. They are developing a new
low-kilojoule, low-alcohol beer that contains heightened levels of phytoestrogen, a form of the hormone estrogen
that is found in plants. Estrogen, remember, is what declines in menopausal women, leading to the afore-mentioned hot
flashes et al.

The beer is being developed by the wonderfully named Research Institute of Brewing and
Malting, and while there is no word on when the first bottle of this fine new brew will be on the store shelves, I am
very eager to know what they plan on calling it. Estro-Ale? Hot-flash Lager? Moodibrew? Inquiring minds want to know.

Intergenerational Travel

by Adrienne Wilson on

MSN went digging when they found this piece which originally appeared in Travel Leisure’s April 2003 issue and I can’t think of a better travel related topic to revive than traveling with grandparents. While we may have mentioned family travel directed towards parents and their children we never touch on intergenerational travel. The article points out 35 percent of grandparents traveled with a grandchild in 2001, up from 29 percent the previous year. Not sure what the stats look like for the more recent years, but if you’ve got a granny and a grandpa why not surprise them with a specially created vacation without your parents this summer? There are several outfitters that cater to grandparents looking to travel with grandkids and trips include bike rides through Holland from Elderhostel.org, river rafting in Alaska provided by Grandtravel, and summer retreats at Great Camp Sagamore to name only a few.

If my grandparents were still around I’d most certainly take to the streets or explore the off-the-beaten-track just hear stories of the golden yesteryears. Think – a little bit adventure, history, and family packaged together for one grand ole’ time. Talk about an experience!

A Scholar on the Road

by Erik Olsen on

There’s a company that sends me a new catalog every few months which I do NOT throw out immediately. No, I’m not
talking about the (several) Victoria Secret catalogs that (oddly) come my way. I’m talking about catalogs for a company
called Road Scholar.

The company plans extensive
trips abroad where you can truly engage yourself, learning about another culture, another religion, taking a foreign
language. They head to places like New Zealand, Patagonia, Angkor Wat and Varanasi, India. Here’s the description of
the latter trip:  

You’ll trace the footsteps of Krishna, Buddha and the Mughal emperors on
this journey into the heart of India’s spiritual heritage. Hindu holy men, Buddhist monks and Islamic scholars will
be your guides into the Eastern mind and soul.

OK, a bit flowery, but these trips seem
bona-fide in their depth and a trip where you are actually learning from someone who knows what they’re talking about
can be a good trip indeed. I mean, how many tourists do you see just meandering about with their guide books? But
seriously, I actually spend some time turning the pages of these catalogs when they come and I am reeally impressed by
the number of fascinating trips they offer.

Manu Bertin to Kiteboard Atlantic

by Erik Olsen on

Of all the new hip happening sports out there, the
one I most want to pick up is kite boarding. I’ve windsurfed, snow-boarded, surfed and sailed, but never have I
done a sport that is a mixture of all of them.

But even if/when I do learn, I doubt I will ever try
something as audacious as Manu Bertin is attempting.
Bertin is considered kiteboarding’s founding father, and at 43, he is undertaking a mammoth adventure. This month
he will attempt to kite-sail across the Atlantic Ocean. You read
that right. Call him the new Columbus, as yes, he will be using three different boards (not named the Nina, Pinta or
Santa Maria…he is also using a boat apparently) with obvious boat assistance. I believe a catamaran will follow
with a crew.

This is true ballsyness and very cool. We’ll be checking in on the effort.

(vai Stellar)

Germans Say Nein to Brits

by Erik Olsen on

The invasion of Germany begins later this year
with the start of the World Cup, and who are the Germans most afraid of? The
Brits.

Ah, what a delightful turn of history that reflects the shift in perceptions. At the root of the
story here is the desire of some to build housing for visiting soccer, um, football, fans in Germany for the world’s biggest sports event. That makes
sense, right? Lots of lots of people are coming, after all, to cheer on their favorite teams. But it turns out that
residents in various small German villages in the countryside are saying NIMBY (not in my back yard) to the idea of
having fans come to their peaceful places and have expressed specific fear of hordes of hooligans who they say…I
kid you not…might damage their pine tree through singing and chanting.

The oddest part to me is that
the British fans were to be housed in what is being termed a “fenced encampment” near the local race track
in the village of Iffezheim.