Photo of the Day (2-20-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

A couple days ago, Catherine snagged one of Larixk’s photos for a Photo of the Day selection. Now, I’ve picked this one, but it’s just by chance. The message on this building captures the mood I’m in. Time, for me, comes in fits and starts. Rarely is there a smooth transition from the beginning of the day until the end. Right now, I’m wondering how long I have to finish this sentence before I have to pick my son up from the school bus. The answer? Two seconds.

How long from the time I left to pick him up and come back? 15 minutes. On a larger thematic scale, this shot has a mysterious quality. This is in Berlin, but where? What are those white tents? How long will they stay up?

If you have a shot that evokes questions about the meaning of life send it along at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. We love to ponder.

Surfing in Munich, Germany

by Justin Glow on


When I was in Munich, Germany this past October, I heard about a place on the Isar River where you could surf outdoors any time of the year. “Long ago an urban designer placed three rows of rocks in the streambed to create some aesthetic roil,” wrote Scott Ostler for the San Francisco Chronicle, “and, voila, Surf City.”

The bridge overlooking the wave is on Prinzregentenstrasse at the south end of Englischer Garten. Here’s a map.

Be sure and check out the video above, and the gallery below. Fun!

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Fare wars to Germany

by Grant Martin on

Usually around this time of the year trans oceanic ticket prices start to fall. And winter and spring is a great time to travel if you’re a northerner (see pictured: my car yesterday), so if you can take advantage of some of the good fares it’s often pretty easy to bang out a quick vacation at minimal cost.

The first slew of good prices this year seem to be to destinations in Germany. Searching from a variety of departure points, I’m finding prices around the 400$ range to anywhere from Munich to Dusseldorf to Hamburg to Frankfurt, leaving over various times in the next few months.

Sure, it’s not the warmest part of the year in Germany, but if you’ve got friends, family or an adventurous streak you can always slip out for a few days and enjoy some authentic German food and beer. Or, if you’re willing to make a couple of connections you can always leave immediately from Frankfurt or Dusseldorf on a low-cost-carrier and be in the Mediterranean in a heartbeat.

Happy travels!

The longest bar in the world: Dusseldorf’s Altstadt

by Grant Martin on

In traveling to Eastern Europe last week, I had a fairly substantial layover in Düsseldorf, Germany. Figuring I could make it into the city and back during those nine hours, I checked a few of my favorite internet resources and discovered that Düsseldorf is home to the self-proclaimed longest bar in the world. Thus being the studious Gadling researcher that I am, I decided to investigate.

Altstadt can be reached with a few train transfers (unless the union is striking) from the airport in about 45 minutes. Once you exit the subway you’ll see a swarm of people walking in one general direction. Follow them — they’re headed towards the beer. “The longest bar in the world” is a series of several blocks of brick pedestrian walkways, connected and curving through the old city. Scattered among them you’ll find your typical food joints, although most of the bars serve standard German fare; I was able to get “barbecued meats” and a huge wheat beer for about 12E (tip: that small fillet of meat that looks like a liver cut in half actually is liver).

Make sure you stop by the Barrique Düsseldorf Altstadt, where you can purchase liquor by the liter out of giant glass globes and peruse the limoncello and grappa collection.

To get to Altstadt from the airport, take a commuter train to the Dusseldorf HBF, then transfer to the Heinrich-Heine-Allee metro stop. You’ll know where to go once you reach the surface.

Berlin: A Bargain City with Bargain Hotels

by Neil Woodburn on

With a plummeting US dollar, there remains very few places in Europe that are a bargain for visiting Americans. Fortunately, Berlin is one of them.

Berlin is my favorite German city because history has raised and dropped it so many times that it is practically bipolar in nature. These days, the city is neither at is nadir or zenith. It is somewhere in between, suffering financially and economically.

Berlin’s woes, however, are travelers’ good fortune, according to a recent AP article, Berlin Hotels offer high style at budget prices.

Apparently, a troubled economy coupled with Berlin’s quirky, artsy character has resulted in a number of very cool, very chic hotels popping up around the city that are cheap and exceptional for their value.

Budget chic. I love it.

Take, for example, Ostel. This great pun on the word Hostel and Ost (German for East) is a communist themed retro hotel with rooms going for just $53 (above photo). Or, there’s the $65 a night Arte Luise Kunsthotel in which every room has been personalized and designed by a local artist.

If you’ve ever dreamed of going to Berlin, now is the time; because if you don’t act soon, it will soon be as expensive as the rest of Germany.