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Robbed tourists in Barcelona to get justice via webcam

by Abha Malpani on

I generally find Spain very laid back and relatively lagging in the world of technology — it’s what I often enjoy about being here.

It’s somehow possible to stay away from the high-tech hysteria everywhere else, be it use of technology in your personal life (I don’t know anyone here who cares about the iPhone), or in the professional sector (when I went to pick up my resident card in Madrid, my appointment had been noted on 3 different hand-written(!) lists.

So when I read that a group of tourists who were robbed in Barcelona about a year ago are finally going to get justice by testifying via webcam(!) from their respective country, I almost fell off my chair!

According to the Guardian, 24 British, Belgian, German, Danish, Portuguese, American and Australian alleged victims of a Romanian gang who posed as police to rob tourists in Barcelona last year, will see the culprits punished, assuming the case is revolved. Time differences between the countries are being coordinated, webcam identification of the criminals, and stories of the victims, are being heard. Apparently, all this “tech-justice” process was devised to quicken clearing the backlog of nearly 270,000 such pending cases in the country.

Tourists often get robbed when traveling and can never do much about it because they are leaving the country shortly, this webcam justice initiative by Barcelona has taken things to a new level — I would never have expected such a thing to come out of Spain. Bravo!

From the New Europe: Transylvania art in the streets of Budapest

by Iva Skoch on

If Hungary is on your travel list this spring, make sure to check out the open air art exhibit in the streets of Budapest.

According to the Budapest Sun Online, sculptures, paintings and photographs by Hungarian contemporary artists have broken out of galleries to enjoy the spring scenery.

Szabadság tér, the green area in front of the television building in Budapest, brings together the work of some of the best Hungarian and Romanian photographers who captured the daily life of in Transylvania, Romania, as reflected in the variety of its people, customs, landscapes and architecture. I like the way they describe it: “The 100 images depicting in positive light the Romanians, Hungarians, Roma and Jewish people, as well as the architectural remains of a once vibrant Saxon culture, are celebrated for their peaceful co-habitation within the frame of Transylvania’s magnificent landscape.”

Funny that they have to stress that these photographs depict the life in a “positive way.” Hmm, there is a new, fresh way to look at Transylvania!

Europe’s top 10 motorcycling roads

by Iva Skoch on

I am the first to admit that I find Europe’s quaintness annoying sometimes. All the picturesque towns and medieval city centers can get old, figuratively speaking.

However, I will probably never get tired of Europe’s winding roads. You’ll hardly find a better place to motorcycle. If I could define the best globalization has done for me, it would have to involve a Harley Davidson on a European road in Italy somewhere, drinking French wine and eating Thai food. Shallow, but very satisfying.

I was happy to see that The Guardian has come up with a list of best motorcycling roads in Europe.

Top 10 motorcycling roads of Europe:

  1. The Cat and Fiddle run – A537, Buxton-Macclesfield, England
  2. The Amalfi Coast Road – Naples to Salerno, Italy
  3. The Transfagarasan Highway – Sibiu to Curtea de Arges, Transylvania, Romania
  4. Bergen to Geiranger, Norway
  5. Trabzon to Savsat, Eastern Turkey
  6. Furka Pass, between Gletsch and Andermatt, Switzerland
  7. A2, the Antrim coast road, Northern Ireland
  8. Bar in Montenegro to Sarajevo in Bosnia
  9. Saranda to Vlora, Albania
  10. Cabo de Gata to Granada, Spain

I want to go now.

Vitamin beer, aka responsible drinking Filipino-style

by Iva Skoch on

You have to hand it to the Filipino inventor Virgilio “Billy” L. Malang for creating an invention that has a widespread appeal. He has created a type of beer, which is Vitamin B complex-fortified and makes a promise to “take some of the guilt out of drinking” by replacing the essential Vitamin B which is lost when excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed. Mind you, this is the same guy who has published a book, called “Sex Every Minute.” I don’t think he’s got a patent on that, though.

Malang says that he believes the invention will be popular because beer is the national weakness of the Philippines. A Kirin Research Institute study ranked the Philippines as the 5th highest beer consumer in Asia, after China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, with an average of nearly 20 liters (45 pints) of beer per person per year.

It has not been marketed yet, but Vitamin Beer already won a gold medal at the European Union-sponsored Genius-Europe competition at the Budapest Fair Center in Hungary in May 2004 and bagged the Romanian Ministry Education and Research Cup among 1,000 inventions by 540 inventors from 46 countries, Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

This is interesting because I have lived under the impression that there is a lot of Vitamin B in every beer, that is why beer is supposed to be good for you. Or it could just be something my dad tells my my mom to make her feel better.

Looking for danger? Head to Canada

by Aaron Hotfelder on

If I were to make a list of the safest countries on Earth, I’d probably put Canada right at the top. The Australian government, however, doesn’t agree.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is now advising Australian citizens, via its “Smart Traveller” website, to “exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in Canada because of the risk of terrorist attack.” Australian officials are also warning travelers to Canada of the risks of earthquakes, tornados, avalanches, and even tsunamis.

The site puts countries into five categories, from “Be alert to own security,” the lowest, to “Do not travel,” which speaks for itself, I think. Despite the warnings of possible terrorist attacks, Canada falls into the second safest category, “Exercise caution,” along with its neighbor to the south. (That’s the US, geography whizzes.)

Countries such as China, Belarus, Latvia, South Korea, and Romania fall into the safest category, while Afghanistan, Burundi, and (no surprise) Iraq are some of those deemed to be the least safe.

All this talk about government-issued travel warnings reminds me of what travel writer Cynthia Barnes once wrote about the U.S. State Department:

“[I]t’s my belief that the State Department is comprised of well-meaning ninnies. Like the father of a luscious 16-year-old, the State Department is happiest when we’re at home.”