Gadlinks for Friday 10.9.09

by Brenda Yun on

What a week! I don’t know about you guys, but I barely survived that one. This weekend will be a relaxing one for sure: cuddle up with some good travel reads and relax.

‘Til Monday, have a great weekend!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Budget Travel: Minneapolis, Minnesota

by Josh Lew on


Minneapolis. What comes to mind? Prince’s purple jumpsuit, Francis McDormand’s accent in the movie Fargo, the Mall of America and six months of winter.

Perhaps the larger of the Twin Cities (Saint Paul being the smaller) is not on the tourist map, but it often gets props for being a nice place to live. (Forbes called it most affordable city to live well. The Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth was rated the best place to live by CNNMoney).

So it’s a fine place to live. But why visit?

First, there is the food…then the live music, the art, the coffee shops, and, of course, the fact that Minneapolis is second only the New York in number of theater seats per capita.

Bring your coat (and if your ears are delicate, a hat as well) during the winter, but don’t expect ice fishing weather from April to October. That is when the city’s lakes, trails, and outdoor events make it a budget traveler’s dream destination.


Get In
It will soon be cheaper to fly to Minneapolis. Southwest will be launching flights to and from Chicago Midway in March. From Chicago, you can get a connection to any city in the US that Southwest flies. That will drive down airfares to MSP, once a stronghold of Northwest. Names like Megabus, Greyhound and Amtrak are also players in the transit game. Minneapolis sits in the cross-hair made by Interstates 35 and 94. It is reachable by car in a day from virtually anywhere in the Midwest.

Getting Around
The bus and train system is better than average for a mid-sized city, but still far from perfect. This is a driving city, especially if you want to take advantage of outdoor activities. Summer is bicycling weather and most of the urban destinations are within pedaling distance of one another. Buses and the new light rail system both allow bikers to bring their wheels on board.

What to do
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is free every day and often holds special events and exhibits. The nationally famous Walker Art Museum has free admission on the evening of the first Thursday of every month (with plenty of events and activities on offer). The adjacent sculpture garden is open year round, but is mainly a summertime attraction. The Como Zoo (actually in Saint Paul) does not charge for entry and is known for its polar bears and penguin exhibit. It is also free to peruse the art galleries in the growing hipster hot-spot of Northeast Minneapolis (Nordeast).

Theater prices can vary greatly. The Orpheum and Guthrie put on world-class stage productions, but tickets are highly priced unless you luck out in the rush line. There are plenty of other professional theaters and live music venues. These vary in size from a few thousand to a few seats. City Pages (print version is free at pretty much every restaurant, coffee shop and bar in the city) has a complete list of weekly events plus a collection of liberal editorial rants and naughty adverts in back. There is no better source for what happening and what’s cheap each week.

What to do (summer)
An evening stroll around Lake Harriet or Lake Calhoun, capped by a stop at one of the neighborhood bars or cafés in the area, is a pleasant (and cheap) way to spend a few hours. If you are on the prowl, such a trek can easily be seen as a chance to check out some attractive joggers. If that’s too low-brow, there’s the Shakespeare in the Park series during the summer and $2 movies at the historic Riverview Theater near the Mississippi River Road.

Where to Eat
Ethnic eateries line University Ave in St. Paul (from the State Capital to Snelling). These offer a filling, good meal for under 10 dollars. There is a similar strip in Minneapolis on Nicollet Ave. Sandwich shops, bistros, and cafes offer cheap fare throughout South Minneapolis and near the University of Minnesota.

Where to Drink
Nordeast is one of those hip artsy neighborhoods. Though its desirability is growing, there are still plenty of spots catering to the “I’m hip and creative but rather poor” crowd. Lots of these have live music or events on the weekend evenings (and good people watching every night of the week). If you are looking for some fun of the beer-in-a-pitcher variety, virtually any venue on or near the U of M campus will do.

Minneapolis offers a genuinely laid back trip. Cold weather or warm, there is plenty going on. And no, not everyone talks like Francis McDormand in Fargo.

More Budget Destinations on Gadling

Photo of the Day (11-12-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

In the theme of places you gotta see before you’re twelve, here’s my suggestion. A dock. Any dock that’s perfect for jumping into a lake will do. jonrawlingson, who snapped this shot of a boy taking a leap in Gibraltar, caught the lighting and the movement at just the right time. I love the way the boy’s legs and arms are positioned–just like poetry.

About this photo–Jon posted it in 2005. It may take awhile, but one of these days, when you’ve given up, there is your artistry as a Photo of the Day. Send us your best to our Flickr photo pool.

The Largest Island in A Lake on An Island in A Lake on An Island In the World

by Willy Volk on

If reading the title of this post didn’t give you the Vulcan mind meld, and you’re still with us, then good: let’s go.

Elbruz has compiled an interesting list of islands and lakes, and various mind-boggling permutations of islands and lakes. For example, they identify the largest lake, the largest island, the largest lake on an island, the largest island in a lake, and so on, until they get to the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island.

Oh…my head!

Anyway, according to them, the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island is Vulcan Point in Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on Luzon. (Hint: don’t zoom in and out real fast, or you’re head’ll spin!) If maps aren’t your thing, and you want to see an actual image, check this out. Incidentally, the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake is the island in Mindemoya Lake on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron.

Happily, both these islands are casino-free, so if you head there, don’t be surprised to find, um, nothing.

[Via Digg]

Real Fishermen–Carpe Diem

by Iva Skoch on

Neil’s post about goulash reminded me of another controversial Czech specialty – fried carp. Don’t make that disgusted face! Carp can actually taste good, if prepared properly.

Europe has a fascinating history of fish farming, or aquaculture, dating back to the Middle Ages. Historically, monasteries were the centers of the nascent fishing “industry,” and many ponds were created to feed members of the Church.

This tradition dates back to the 11th century, and spread throughout Europe. My home country, the Czech Republic, was one of the biggest fishing centers, sporting as many as 25,000 fish ponds by the 15th century.

The primary meal fish is, and has been, carp, but eel, pike, perch, and trout are also common–and tasty–fish “crops.”

The tradition continues to this day, but you’ll have to travel a little out of the way to see it in action. You’re not going to see these events on a tour bus or just sitting around in the city. No, you’re going to have to get out to the country, to a local fish farmer.

The most common, most efficient, method is to drain the lake to one end, and just scoop up net-fulls of thrashing fish. In Czech, we call it a “vylov” (pronounced “VEE-lof”). The modern method usually goes like this: men from the village are invited to come at 4am, warmly dressed, ready to get drunk, and get wet. Waders or tall waterproof boots are required. Big, burly men catch, separate, and weigh the fish, which are quickly put into holding tanks on big trucks–essentially aquariums on wheels. Water, fish, and body-warming slivovice (90+ proof clear plum brandy–preferably homemade) are sloshed around in a frenzy until the lake is emptied. The pace slows somewhat, as the slivovice kicks in, but it’s still a blur of activity. The day is capped off by a big feast for the participants, with, of course, delicious dishes made of fish: fish soup, smoked fish, and fried fish.

Once a tanker truck is full, it’s bound for markets all over Europe, or, at Christmas time, particularly in Germany and the former Eastern block, the fish end up in big barrels for purchase by families who can’t wait to put their carp in the bathtub, where they swim briefly before being prepared in the Christmas Eve dinner.

Unfortunately, the European Union’s ridiculous, burdensome regulations are killing local agriculture and aquaculture. Better get there soon, or it will all be gone.