Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for January, 2009
Ambulance in the Sky
By Linda Tancs
The US Air incident taught us many lessons. One question to ponder is this: if you’re hospitalized as an inpatient hundreds of miles from home, do you have the resources to get transported to the hospital of your choice? Your insurance coverage may require you to choose the medical facility closest to your location–whether that’s in Toledo or Timbuktu. If it’s choice you want, then Air Ambulance card membership gives you the option to get flown from your current locale to the facility you designate. How’s that for simple?
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Chinese New Year Continues
By Linda Tancs
Here’s one New Year’s celebration that doesn’t end the morning after. Chinese New Year is a fifteen-day event (having begun this year on 26 January), culminating with the Lantern Festival, when brilliantly decorated paper lanterns are strung and parades mark the end of the New Year festivities. This year marks the Year of the Ox. Legend has it that Buddha invited all the animals to meet him on New Year’s Day. Of the twelve that arrived, Buddha named a year after each one. The other animals are rat, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. The ox is denoted as hardworking and dependable, marking a characteristic of those born every twelve years under its influence. As an English proverb says, “The old ox plows a straight furrow.” May your path be long and prosperous.
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Germans Ace Driving Survey
By Linda Tancs
Volkswagen called it Fahrvergnügen (driving pleasure). That is, the experience of handling one of its vehicles on the open road. No doubt that sentiment extends to any driver on the miles of connected highway in Germany known as the Autobahn, particularly if light traffic means you can ignore the “recommended” speed limit of 80 mph, as many often do. It should come as no surprise, then, that the German specialty of white-knuckle driving ranks them #1 amongst Europeans as the best drivers in a poll conducted by Ipsos. Best doesn’t mean safest, of course. Another survey bestows that appellation on the British, who perhaps observe the adage, “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.” That’s one rule we should all do well to remember.
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Happy 169th Birthday
By Linda Tancs
Those of us in the northern hemisphere can still celebrate the 169th birthday of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. And how did the locals mark the day? With a regatta, of course. The Auckland Anniversary Regatta takes place each year on the last Monday of January. Holding dual distinction as New Zealand’s oldest sporting event and the biggest day in the city’s sailing calendar, the festive occasion showcases a wide range of vessels from tall ships to dinghies competing for honors in their respective categories. Spectators find best views at Viaduct Harbour, Bastion Point, North Head, East Coast Bays, Tamaki Drive and Orakei Wharf. Take note for next year.
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Mozart Celebrated in Austria
By Linda Tancs
The hills are indeed alive with the sound of music as Salzburg readies for its annual Mozart Week beginning tomorrow, timed as always to coincide with the birthday of Austria’s musical genius on 27 January. The International Mozarteum Foundation organizes performances from musicians, singers and orchestras around the world. Of special note is a series of concerts to commemorate both Mozart and Haydn, Mozart’s mentor. At the Mozart Residence an exhibition highlighting their mutual admiration will continue until 31 May. Here’s a good opportunity to understand Mozart the artist and Mozart the man.
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St. Lucia Honors Laureates
By Linda Tancs
January 23 marks Nobel Laureate Day, an annual event in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia celebrating its two winners of the prestigious award, Sir Arthur Lewis (Economics) and Derek Walcott (Literature). The day tops off a current weeklong celebration of the honorees, which focuses this year on Lewis’s prize in light of the struggling financial climate. Situated north of Barbados, this relatively unspoiled bit of paradise has much to recommend itself, including its twin volcanic peaks, the Pitons, a World Heritage Site. Although nicknamed Helen of the West Indies after the literary telling of Helen of Troy, its beauty is no myth.
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Rocky Mountain Skiing
By Linda Tancs
The highland climate of the Rockies produces prodigious amounts of snow for wintertime sports like skiing. So who has the best vertical drop? Listen in and find out.
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Natural Art Underway at Grindelwald
By Linda Tancs
In central Switzerland lies a tiny glacier village guarded by the Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau mountain area prized by skiers. Thankfully, it’s accessible by car and bus, unlike other resorts in the area, so there’s no excuse not to attend the World Snow Festival in town. Beginning today and running through 24 January, the ice rink in the village’s epicenter will play host for the 27th season to a world of talent practicing their fine arts amidst a canvas of snow and ice. Past designs have ranged from a herd of elephants to the Swiss flag symbol. You can chat with the artists and maybe have a hand in creating this year’s masterpieces. Something to do après-ski. Best of all, it’s free!
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When Cars Fly
By Linda Tancs
The usual expression is “when pigs fly” (and of course they do, in some cultures) but now comes a flying car set on a course from London to Timbuktu–perhaps that journey is inspired by the metaphor “from here to Timbuktu.” The Parajet Skycar was developed by engineer and inventor Giles Cardozo, who seemingly has been inspired by Count Louis Zboroski, the maker of the Chitty Bang Bang series of flying cars in the 1920s, who in turn inspired Ian Fleming to write the children’s novel. Who knows, if they can perfect the contraption and mass market it, maybe our
childhood story will come to life.
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Rollin’ On the River
By Linda Tancs
They say the wheels of progress move slowly. The problem is when they stop moving at all. In Singapore, the city’s observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer, stranded almost 200 tourists riding in its capsules overlooking Marina Bay for six hours last month due to a fire in the control room. This isn’t the first mishap for a giant ferris wheel. The London Eye likewise stranded passengers a while back due to a mechanical fault. The good news is that the error there was fixed in an hour. The Flyer has been closed for evaluation since the incident. Hopefully, it will open again in time for New Year’s celebrations in February. The Singapore Flyer is the world’s largest observation wheel at a whopping 541 feet, followed by the London Eye at 443 feet and Australia’s Southern Star in Melbourne at 393 feet. With a little tweak here or there, let’s say good things come in tall packages.
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