1. Kurfürstendamm Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church surrounded by shops. Photo: DPA Oxford Street meets the Champs Élysées in this huge shopping district in the west of Berlin. Kurfürstendamm is often referred to as 'Ku'damm' by those in the know, or those who don't want to waste time pronouncing its full name. It is the largest retail district in Berlin with around 200,000 square metres of shops and restaurants, making it arguably the most famous shopping street in the city. The street begins at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (next to the Zoologische Garten) and stretches 3.5 kilometres southwest to the Halensee lake. Kurfürstendamm is fairly upmarket with a number of flagship stores for international designer labels. During the Cold War it served as a kind of show window for the capitalist west as one of the leading commercial avenues in west Berlin. FOR MEMBERS: I arrived in Berlin expecting a giddy adventure. Instead I got depression … [Read more...] about 11 essential shopping spots in Berlin
Divided clothing mens
Visiting The Hague in 24 Hours: A complete Guide
As a political science major at University, a trip to The Hague has been on my to-go list for quite some time. Yet standing there in the centre of it all, it was still surreal to me to be standing where the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court reside. I had just one night in The Hague for my book signing tour in the Netherlands, so I was determined to hit the ground running and see as much as I could within 24 hours. So with that, here’s what to see and do in The Hague in 24 hours! Introducing The Hague I told many Dutchies I encountered of my plans to visit The Hague but every single one of them looked at me in confusion. “Den Haag” is how to say it in Dutch, so I would suggest you use this term as it warranted a much better reaction! Although not the capital of The Netherlands (a title that belongs to Amsterdam), The Hague is indeed the seat of Dutch parliament and as previously mentioned, the judicial capital of … [Read more...] about Visiting The Hague in 24 Hours: A complete Guide
11 New Books to Read During Winter Travel Delays (2017)
Anticipating lengthy holiday or winter-weather travel delays? Then you should have some exciting titles on hand to make long waits fly by. New Books to Read This Winter Here are some of the best new books to read this travel season, whether you’re a paperback person or e-book addict. Related: Best New Books of 2017 Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng New York Times bestseller from the author of the wildly popular Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng’s new novel Little Fires Everywhere tells the tale of a suburban family, a Chinese immigrant mother, and a custody battle that divides an entire town. What People Are Saying: “Witnessing these two families as they commingle and clash is an utterly engrossing, often heartbreaking, deeply empathetic experience, not unlike watching a neighbor’s house burn.” –The New York Times “I am loving Little Fires Everywhere. Maybe my favorite novel I’ve read this year.”—John Green … [Read more...] about 11 New Books to Read During Winter Travel Delays (2017)
Abu Dhabi Travel Guide
The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is the largest and wealthiest of the nation’s seven emirates. Covering 80 percent of the land mass of the U.A.E., the emirate of Abu Dhabi is divided into three parts: the city of Abu Dhabi, the historic Al Ain region (centered on a large oasis on an old camel caravan route) and Al Gharbia, part of the world’s largest uninterrupted sand desert with towering dunes spreading across the Arabian peninsula. The city of Abu Dhabi is a rapidly growing cosmopolitan metropolis where glittering skyscrapers pierce the sky and five-star resorts spread across natural islands where you’ll find golf courses, beaches, marinas, upscale malls, a Formula 1 race car track, amusement areas and cultural institutions. Compared with Dubai, the nation’s playground and largest city 90 minutes to the north, Abu Dhabi is more family-oriented and, with a population consisting of a higher number of native Emiratis, more traditional in its … [Read more...] about Abu Dhabi Travel Guide
Israelis Abroad
The golden age of imperialism and foreign empires may have passed but it seems that no one remembered to tell Israel. With every passing day they consolidate their strangle-hold on key strategic positions, occupying territory with no mercy or consideration for the long-suffering local populace. I am, of course, talking about the legions of Israeli travelers who make exodus every year from the holy land to the shores of S. America, India and Thailand. The golden age of imperialism and foreign empires may have passed but it seems that no one remembered to tell Israel. With every passing day they consolidate their strangle-hold on key strategic positions, occupying territory with no mercy or consideration for the long-suffering local populace. I am, of course, talking about the legions of Israeli travelers who make exodus every year from the holy land to the shores of S. America, India and Thailand. Everybody has their favorite ‘bad Israeli’ story of how they saw some young … [Read more...] about Israelis Abroad
Blues Travel Guide
Got rambling, rambling on my mind, Hate to leave you, pretty baby, but you treats me so unkind.. The USA was less built upon the shoulders of brave pioneers than on the backs of the millions of slaves imported from Africa. In the 18th century the famous ‘Triangle Trade’ between West Africa, The Southern US States and England planted the seeds of geo-political power as we now know it. Puppet kings in Africa hunted nearby populations and dragged them into slavery. They were then exported by the British to America and conditions aboard were so miserable that most never died before they even saw the New World. Slaves were exchanged with Southern landowners for cotton and this was taken to England to be made into clothes in the mills of Liverpool and Manchester. These same clothes were then sold in Africa (and the rest of the Empire) for more slaves. Every effort was made to stamp out any trace of African culture in the slaves that reached America alive. Slaves of the same … [Read more...] about Blues Travel Guide
Magical Morocco
Author: soliteyahDate of Trip: March 2007 My boyfriend and I decided to visit Morocco in a rather haphazard way — we were trolling for our next vacation destination by browsing online image galleries, hoping to be inspired. We were open to pretty much anything, but nothing was jumping out at us. Croatia? “Pretty…” Peru? “Intriguing…” The Faroe Islands? “The who? Hmm, kinda cool, but way too remote…” And then we clicked on some images of Morocco, and we both had the same reaction — this was it. The exotic kasbahs, medinas and desert landscapes were unlike anything we’d seen in our previous travels, so we immediately started researching. We decided on a springtime visit to avoid the heat and crowds of the summer, and we found pretty good airfares in March (prices made a definite jump in April). We wanted to visit at least one imperial city — we picked Fes — and spend some time in the desert in the … [Read more...] about Magical Morocco
Alaska Land Tour
Author: caneableDate of Trip: September 2007 We’re back recently from a trip to Alaska. The first week was on a Princess cruise and was carried on www.cruisecritic.com. This is the section pertaining to the land section of the trip. It’s pretty much a log of the trip but I have summarized my views at the end. Hope it’s useful! Saturday, September 1 Disembarkation is always rather weird and this time even more so as it seemed that most of the passengers were gone by the time we got off, though I don’t think that was so. After breakfast and a swift walk round the deck, we spent a few minutes playing table tennis before we decided to take a lounger down by the “inside” pool. I went off to get some coffee and ran into Sabin the former National Geographic guy who had been our commentator the day before. I took the opportunity to thank him for his work and for bringing the names of Harriman, Muir and others to my attention. We spoke about Bentley, the … [Read more...] about Alaska Land Tour
3 days in Novosibirsk, Siberia – AND a total solar eclipse!
Author: RichardNikaDate of Trip: August 2008 I’d wanted to visit Russia since my teenage years; after the Soviet Union collapsed in ’91, I sometimes joked that I had missed my chance to go there when it was still “dark and evil.” I didn’t know if I’d ever get there, but the laws of planetary motion finally dictated a trip this past July and August. You might say that it was “in the stars.” I’d wanted to see a total eclipse of the sun ever since I was into astronomy and science fiction as a kid. My dad wasn’t about to allow my then-adolescent self to travel alone from Buffalo to Minneapolis for the 1954 eclipse, and I missed the 1963 spectacle because I was too busy courting my wife-to-be. But when I realized, early in 1970, that a total would be crossing Mexico and the southeastern US on March 7, I checked the weather forecasts carefully, flew to Virginia Beach (I was then living in southern Michigan) and saw a beautiful … [Read more...] about 3 days in Novosibirsk, Siberia – AND a total solar eclipse!
Belize in January
Author: PaulDate of Trip: January 2008 Belize January 2008 This will be our second trip to Belize. For such a tiny country there are many activities for outdoor type people to do. We would be going back to do some specific things we missed on our first trip two years ago. Again, we would fly into Cancun Mexico, rent a car, drive down to Belize, spend most of our time wandering around then drive back to Mexico. We would also be spending a few days in the Tulum area of the Mayan Riviera on the return trip. It is our favourite beach area and we planned to relax before heading back to the cold north. Over the past couple of weeks we had finalized our list of what we wanted to do and see, with a rough idea of the route we would take; it was all very fluid. Since we did not have any specific plans on where we would be staying or what accommodations we would find, some of our canoe camping gear ended up in the luggage. Some was never used but it was still nice to have — just in case. … [Read more...] about Belize in January