Get weird at Obscura Day this weekend

by Jeremy Kressmann on

We spend our travel lives hunting down the world’s most famous sights like the Eiffel Tower and Machu Picchu. But did you ever consider the amazing sights right in your own backyard? That’s the idea behind Obscura Day, an international event taking place in 80 cities worldwide on March 20th.

Obscura Day is dedicated to celebrating the strange and interesting sights found in our hometowns. In San Francisco, a tour will be visiting the Musee Mecanique, a museum devoted to antique coin operated carnival games. In Detroit, the tour will bring visitors to the Heidelberg Project, and “outsider art” project made from found objects. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the tour will bring visitors inside the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, a 170-year-old subway tunnel Gadling visited last year. Those living outside the U.S. will find plenty to do as well, with events taking place from Canada to Iceland to Japan.

Want to investigate the weirder side of your own home town? Head over to the Obscura Day event page and see if there’s a tour near you. Hurry though, tours are filling up quick!%Gallery-72634%

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Be sure to check out Episode 5 of Travel Talk TV, which features a Santa Cruz beach adventure; explains why Scottish money is no good; shows how to cook brats the German way; and offers international dating tips!

Flea Market Finds: Brooklyn

by Amy Chen on

Finding unique souvenirs these days can be tough. Instead of picking up yet another mug, try scoping out a local flea market.

In New York, for example, the Brooklyn Flea Market has moved indoors for the winter so you can take your time sifting through another person’s junk in search of your treasure.

I recently spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at the old Williamsburgh Savings Bank combing through the racks and tables. Presentation is everything–items that would otherwise look drab seemed more appealing when neatly organized and labeled. Among the vintage jewelry and clothing, I spotted some retro travel bags ($15), including this blue tote from the posh Fontainebleau resort in Miami.

Days later, I’m kicking myself for not buying that bag. I contacted the hotel to see if they might sell any similar totes. A spokesperson tells me that while the hotel only has newer versions right now, they’re looking into bringing back the design of this bag, estimated to date back to the 1950s. Until then, I guess I’ll have to look on eBay.

Details: One Hanson Place at Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays now through March 28.

Tip: After browsing in the main hall, head downstairs into the vault to sample the food: Asia Dogs sells beef, chicken, or veggie hot dogs with unexpected toppings like kimchi, Japanese curry, or barbecue pork belly (from $4).

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Lifelong New Yorkers are unreliable for directions

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Don’t ask New Yorkers for directions. Don’t get me wrong, we’re more than willing to help. But, you could wind up with some bad information. A recent poll of lifelong New Yorkers conducted by New York Pass, an attraction discount card, shows that most of us don’t have the city’s basics nailed down.

[Photo by James Trosh via Flickr]

Photo of the Day (10.30.09)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

I love how this shot from flickr user cmvoelkel is split into thirds by the tower of the Manhattan Bridge and the apparently happy couple. It also appears to be in black and white until you look outside the puddle and see the color on the couple’s shoes. Taken in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, this is an interesting, really well-composed shot.

Want your pics considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Upload your photos right here.

A tour inside Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Gadling’s Undiscovered New York series first told you about Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue Tunnel earlier this year. This past weekend, we headed down inside for a first-hand look. This subterranean tunnel, first constructed in the 1840’s, is perhaps the world’s first subway, pre-dating the system in London by more than 20 years. Each month, the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association runs tours of this forgotten wonder, taking visitors into the depths of a pitch-black tunnel that runs over 2,000 feet beneath busy Atlantic Avenue.

After paying $15 dollars, visitors are escorted to the middle of a busy Brooklyn intersection, where they descend through an open manhole. You creep under a support beam and through a concrete wall and suddenly you’re standing inside a huge underground cave, with ceilings 14 feet high and running the length of eight football fields. Bob Diamond, the explorer who re-discovered the tunnel back in the 80’s, regales you with the amazing story of its construction and use. Along the way you’ll learn about WWI German spies, Cornelius Vanderbilt and the notorious Murder, Inc. gangsters. Bob is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about his subject, and you’ll find yourself taken in by his vivid descriptions of the tunnel’s construction and the strange history of Brooklyn that created it.

Like so many the world’s great stories, the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel spent many years hidden in plain view, neglected and forgotten until a dedicated individual brought it to light. If you have a chance, make sure to stop by for one of Bob’s monthly tours: it’s a one-of-a-kind New York experience.