Word for the Travel Wise (06/19/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Well I’ll be the first to admit that while I thought people from Scotland talked a wee-bit funny I never knew their language is as complicated as Arabic. (So it seems.) After fishing through the BBC online language programs I came across this very well-built guide for learning Scottish Gaelic. Considering I’ve probably got enough work cut out for me in learning the language of my Welsh ancestors (one of these days), I’ll be passing on the Scottish Gaelic. However, those of you wanting badly to learn, the time is now. Go for it!

Today’s phrase is a Scottish Gaelic phrase used in Scotland:

beag air bheag – little by little

Scottish Gaelic is spoken in Scotland and some parts of Canada. It falls into the Goidelic branch of Celtic language. Wikipedia can take you further if your main concern is the history of the lingo and to continue learning online your choices are many. Take a look at the links listed on the bottom of the Wiki to guide you to extra sources. I suggest starting with the BBC.

Yotel Hotel

by Erik Olsen on


A cool concept in the hotel arena. A new hotel…it bills itself as a “radical hotel” is to open at Heathrow Airport for all those poor folks with absurd layovers (and you know and I know how absurd they can sometimes be). Called Yotel, you will be able to check in for “blocks of four hours” (at 25 pounds each) or to stay over night should your layover be THAT bad.

But this is no run-of-the-mill rent-by-the-hour flophouse. No, you will bask in sybaritic luxury, with a “Techno Wall with desk” that will allow you to charge and listen to your ipod, a flat screen TV with surround sound speaker system and (of course) free Internet and Wi-fi.  There’s more to the concept, but let me not spoil it for you. Go and check it out yourself.

Ignoring the Critically Sick on Everest

by Erik Olsen on

The effort to climb Everest takes much more than physical exertion. It also requires a lot of preparation and money. Peak fees to scale the tallest mountain in the world can run you more than $50,000. So is it a surprise that for some who climb the mountain, the site of an ailing person would get no more than just a glance? The fate of a British climber who died as other climbers passed him is an interesting case of how brutal and competitive climbing Everest can be.

Take a look at this piece at the Seattle Times that examines the fate of David Sharp, a 34 year-old British climber who, says the piece, sat in a stultified state as 40 or so climbers  haled themselves past him, some of whom had to be aware how badly off he was.  Says the piece, “the few who stopped to check on him – and at least one team did give him oxygen – said he was so near death there was nothing that could be done.”

Unfathomable callousness or reasonable behavior?

Dangers of the Cheese Chase

by Erik Olsen on

Just when you thought it was safe to start eating cheese again. OK, it’s never funny when someone gets hurt. Well, maybe it is sometimes, especially when injuries are caused by great wheels of cheese. Yes, the English Cheese Chase is a major event among, well, cheese-makers, blessed-are-they-and-all-manufacturers-of dairy products, and this year saw several rather harsh injuries among twenty-five participants. The cheesefest takes place every year at Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, often before a throng of some 3,000 people. And cheer they did as monstrous cheese wheels rolled over people, slammed into them, crushed them, all to the delight of onlookers. Of the 25 people hurt, 12 were spectators, so even WATCHING cheese races can be dangerous.

European Rock Festivals

by Neil Woodburn on

Every time I travel in Europe, it seems that I hear about a really cool rock festival that I just missed, or will be missing soon.  I can never seem to find out about them far enough in advance to include them in my travel plans.

Well, this summer might be different thanks to The New York Times who has just printed a guide to the major festivals in Europe and some of the headlining bands.  For example, The Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain kicks off this Thursday (oops, too late for me again!) with over 100 bands that include Killing Joke, the Violent Femmes, Lou Reed, Motorhead, Stereolab, and many others. 

Other festivals mentioned include Rock am Ring in Nuremberg, Germany; Roskilde in Denmark; La Route du Rock in St.-Malo, France; and the Leeds and Reading festivals in England.