#so this trip has cost three concert tickets worth of money

[mitamicah]

I think I have rediscovered this weekend why I hate travelling in trains - if you are just those few minutes late it cost 3 times as much for a new ticket and then you are not even sure there is not errors or delays that will bug you on the Journey- a bus may take longer and drive less frequently but at least the ticket is not the price of a concert ticket and there are way less delays happening 🙃

[acelucky]

NYE Post

I love a good NYE post where I summarise the ups and downs of the year and put into thoughts what I’m looking forward to next year. I try to keep it brief, I rarely succeed. I feel this is essentially like those old fashioned round robin letters people still occasionally do in Christmas cards!

Bad bits - All the World Events/cost of living and energy crisis/War and weather aside... I finally caught covid, an old friend passed away in horrible circumstances, my dear bunny Cloud died in June, a relative has fallen very ill and may not have long left to live and at the start of the year my mental health was in shocking shape. I also broke my wrist playing 5-aside football with work in September.

The Good - I completed an amazing course of therapy which has left me feeling so much more confident and happy in myself - it really has changed my outlook on life. I saw the Francis Bacon exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in March, I’ve also visited several fascinating museums and exhibitions. There’s been lots of concerts, the most amazing being seeing Placebo again at Portsmouth Guildhall, seeing Joe Jackson with my dad and after years of trying to see them live, getting to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at all points east festival with @cassandrafey  My husband and I had a long road trip up to the lake district to visit his family as well as see where he grew up and visit some of my favourite places too, it was lovely. I did a 27 and a half mile walk with work for charity (The Surrey Three Peaks challenge but we got a bit lost), it was the most physically difficult thing I’ve done in my life and I was so proud of myself. For my birthday we went to Longleat Safari and stayed overnight nearby - we fed the lorikeets and the seals, it was absolutely perfect.  In October my husband and I went abroad for the first time since June 2019, we went to Rhodes, Greece and it was beautiful, relaxing and romantic. We had a lovely wedding anniversary and went to the Theatre to see Swan Lake. And finally we had a 3 night family holiday to Bruges where we experienced all the magic of late Autumn/cold crisp winter and saw all the Christmas lights.

New Year’s Resolutions - I pretty much have one this year and that is simply. To be more mindful. More mindful about what I spend my money on, what I eat, how I take care of myself, how I react to situations, what I reveal about myself at work, how much I drink at comedy gigs, what and who I spend time and energy on. 

Looking to 2023 - On the one hand next year already has some very big plans and will be busy, but due to this my plan is to keep other times quieter than usual and focus more on me and the relationships I hold dear/my home. I’ll still be performing comedy but not doing as much or chasing it, I’ll continue to run the comedy night’s I run and will still perform once or twice a month at new gigs/the best gigs/gigs worth doing and am doing a Split show at Brighton and Ventnor fringe festivals, but that’s it. I want to focus more on the funeral industry and potential career change and my writing.

Plans for 2023 - There’s a few loose ones like my husband and I hopefully going to Ireland for a week. But set in stone the biggest adventure I have is going to New Zealand with my dad in May (and a night in Singapore) to explore, show him my favourite places and see family. We have Beltane Festival at the end of April at Butser Ancient Farm and in September I’m off to Budapest with the wonderful @cassandrafey to see IAMX. Oh and we may have bought tickets to see Def Leppard and Motley Crue in London....

So that’s my re-cap for the year, whether anyone reads it or not, it strangely makes me feel better knowing I’ve written it all down and can reflect in time to come.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very Happy New Year! 

(Photos are of: Cloud the bunny, Sunset in Rhodes, me on my birthday, The Lake District with my husband, Bruges)

[schoe1995]

My Travel Accessories

When it comes to traveling; I don’t play any games to be comfortable. So I decided to share my must have accessories when I’m traveling:

CASES

I’m one of the few people in the world that really doesn’t drop my phone. However, accidents can happen and when you don’t have equipment protection...you are playing a huge gamble. To protect from physical damage, I got the full package: screen protector, case, and equipment protection. My iPhone 11 Pro 256gb is well over $1000...soooo yeah. However if you don’t have equipment protection here are some cases you can get.

I technically have five cases but one wasn’t categorized here for a reason. But let me give you a breakdown:

Upper left corner is my Lifeproof Frē. Turns the phone into complete waterproof, dust proof, snow proof, dirt proof, etc. it’s super handy when I take underwater photos, go on water rides, or accidentally forget to take it out of my pocket. The case is sealed air tight, so if you need to take it off, use like a quarter and pop from the side

Gear 4 case upper right: this is my everyday case. I usually have it for like at home, errands, getting on the plane, etc. The case is super easy to take off.

Bottom left is my LuMee case: everybody needs good lighting and LuMee’s case does that on point. The duo case has lighting on the front and back and you can control how bright the light is.

Bottom right is my Shift cam case: perfect for high quality photos and trying out different lenses. I have this case when I go to concerts.

Headphones

When traveling sometimes you really don’t need all that extra background noise. And since I’m a huge music addict, I’d rather hear my playlist...not some child screaming or an adult who doesn’t know how to shut up. Enter headphones.

I got a few selections so I’ll break it down once again.

Powerbeats 3: super lightweight and compatible. They have I believe a 12 hour battery off one charge. There are probably my go-to just because of size, I really can’t lose them, and again how easy it is to travel with them.

The blue Samsung Level: lol so I got these after I saw them in one of Kpop’s group EXO’s music video Call Me Baby. Btw it’s a bop🤣 they are Bluetooth/ wireless and lasted me a couple of days. Then again I wasn’t really using them a whole lot. But they are really high quality, voice activation, slide up, down, left, right to control volume, skip songs, or repeat, and best part...NOISE CANCELLATION! When I took the train to Chicago and flipped the switch, my world was changed.

AirPods: I was one of those people who really didn’t feel like this was one purchase I needed. But you know that phrase, “don’t knock it till you try it?” Yeah...that was me with AirPods. If you are an iPhone user I recommend getting them. They are lightweight, alternate compatible (meaning you can use left, right, or both), and Siri is actually more useful. All I say is “Hey Siri” and boom. She takes care of it.

Regular cord: these are my everyday headphones. And the most expendable. I try not to lose any items...but things happen. If I lose them, these can be easily replaced. But I carry these around so my other expensive ones are my backup.

Portable Battery Packs

If you are like me, I’m always on my phone. Either checking on my social media, playing games, watching videos, blasting music, calling, texting, etc. your phone can get drained a lot. I was at a concert once in St. Louis when my phone almost went dead. Good thing my Dad and I had spot to meet afterwards. From that point on I decided to always carry around a portable charger. And let’s be real, nobody wants to be in a situation where you need help but your phone is dead.

I have like 5 portable chargers. But these are my go to travel ones I take with me. You can say extra, but hey; better to be prepared than sorry.

Starting from the left: I found this neat solar powered portable battery pack on amazon. The directions say if you want it fully charged; plug it into an outlet. This was super helpful when I was in Disneyland because of the sun. I just attached it using the clip to my bag.

Middle: this is your standard portable battery park. I got this when I saw Instagram model/ actor Matthew Noszka post about this charger. It’s super slick and fashionable. But with a charge of 10,000mH it’s super fast and helpful. Oh! Always look for portable batteries that are 10,000 and higher. The higher the charge, faster and longer lasting it will be. If your going to be out of your hotel all day with no time to sit and plug in your phone, get you a portable pack.

On the right: This is Apple’s smart battery case. This is probably my favorite one out of all three. When you put your iPhone in the case it starts charging. Once the case fully uses all the battery, your phone battery kicks in. What’s neat is that if you have the case on and need to charge your phone, the case also charges. I had to charge up the case twice while I was at Disneyland. But worth the investment.

Bags & Backpacks

When I was younger; talking about like elementary school to middle school my mom always told me carry around a bag. Whenever she went to Six Flags she always had a bag full of snacks, drinks, and if I got soaked on a water ride extra clothes. Now that I’m older and doing a lot of solo traveling I’ve been carrying around a backpack a lot. Especially if I’m going to concerts.

I always have two bags with me now.

See through bag: when I travel, it’s 95% of the time for concerts and amusement parks. I do occasionally do sight seeing stuff as well. However security can be a hassle if they have to check your stuff. So I have a see through pvc type bag that security can easily see all the items I’m bringing into the park or venue. Plus it’s a lot easier for both parties.

Boujee Bag: I always think it’s important to have what I call my Boujee Bag, aka Travel Bag. This is where I have like my iPad, MacBook, chargers, important documents like passport, tickets, etc. I love my Coach Backpack. It has so many different compartment that it makes traveling with tons of times a lot easier.

Water Bottle: Traveling without having a good water bottle is a receipe for disaster. I spent so much money on overpriced water at like sight seeing attractions and grab and go places🤦‍♂️ so to help cut down costs, I have this nice Lokai water bottle. It keeps cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot drinks hot for 12. But you can always find cheaper water bottles at Walmart.

Wallets!

Like cases I have a variety of wallets that I travel with. I hardly carry around cash so this is where like my ID, cards, everything is in.

On top is my everyday Fossil Wallet that I take everywhere. Including traveling as well. I love how it’s RFID protected. While I was working at Fossil, I learned from my assistant manager that criminals are adapting on how they steal credit card information. They can walk past you and use their phone to scan card information. If a wallet that has RFID protection, it blocks the scan. With safety in mind, that is a wallet I recommend. Don’t worry ladies, Fossil also has a beautiful line of collections as well.

Bottom: That is my Coach Men’s Long Zip Wallet. I got it on sale the day o purchased my backpack. I switch into this wallet when I go out to restaurants, bars, and clubs. It has a wristlet so I can hold onto and keep check. I can hold multiple cards in as well, and my phone in there. Sometimes it’s best to keep track when everything is in one place.

That pretty much is all my travel accessories. Remember not everyone is the same, so customize on what your travel neccessities are. I always recommend before any trip, plan on bringing what you need vs the wants. Once you figure that out, it makes life so much easier.

[makistar2018]

Taylor Swift is worth more than $300 million — see her bicoastal mansions, lavish vacations, and generous gifts to fans and friends

Hillary Hoffower August 19, 2018

Taylor Swift reportedly has a net worth of more than $300 million. Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Taylor Swift's net worth is currently an estimated $320 million, according to Forbes, making her one of the world's highest-paid celebrities.

Once Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour ends this fall, her net worth could climb even higher.

Swift spends her fortune growing her $84 million real estate portfolio and donating to causes and charity.

Taylor Swift never fails to impress.

At 15 years old, she was the youngest songwriter to ever sign with Sony. She now has 10 Grammys on her shelf, several tours under her belt (including one that generated a staggering quarter of a billion dollars), an endless list of chart-topping songs and albums, and a beloved fan base who dub themselves "Swifties."

Such success makes Swift one of the world's highest-paid celebrities and one of the richest female singers. According to Forbes, she has an estimated net worth of $320 million — and that's only expected to rise once her current six-month Reputation Stadium Tour wraps up later this year.

Swift has been strategic and generous with her money, investing in a sprawling $84 million real estate portfolio and often donating it to causes she supports and people in need.

Below, see how Swift earns and spends her fortune.

Taylor Swift currently has an estimated net worth of $320 million, which has grown due to her music, merchandise, and endorsements.

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Source: Forbes

Ever the superstar, Swift's endorsement deals and partnerships are with high-profile brands, including Keds, Diet Coke, CoverGirl, and Apple, which bring in a lot of income.

Charley Gallay/Getty Images

Source:Money

Swift has had a long-term partnership with Diet Coke since 2013, which has involved her chatting about her love for the drink in a "Bon Appetit" interview and holding the drink while on camera.

Anna Webber/Shutterstock

Source:Hollywood Reporter, Variety

Adele and Madonna, who have comparable fan bases to Swift, didn't put as much effort into brand partnerships and touring as Swift did in 2016 — and only made half of her paycheck, at $80.5 million and $76.5 million respectively, according to Quartz.

Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images

Source:Quartz

In fact, aside from brand partnerships and endorsements, touring is Swift's biggest money maker. Her 1989 tour grossed more than $250 million in 2015.

Graham Denholm/Shutterstock

Source: Forbes

She stands to earn even more than that during her current six-month Reputation Stadium Tour that began in May. Five shows in, Swift had already earned $54 million in sales — that's $10.8 million per show.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Source: Forbes, Refinery29

But her tours don't just bring in ticket sales. Billboard estimated that Swift sells $17 of merchandise per ticket at her shows.

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Source:Billboard

Swift was the world's top-earning musician in June 2016, bringing home a record $170 million from 2015-2016, according to Forbes' 2016 list. The same year, it was estimated that Swift makes $1 million a day.

Evan Agostini/AP Photos

Source:Forbes,Express 

Swift had a more "quiet year" in 2017, according to Forbes, bringing in $44 million and ranking ninth on Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid celebrities.

Rich Polk/Getty Images

Source:Forbes

So far in 2018, not including touring revenues, Swift has earned an estimated $5 million in record sales, $2.4 million through streaming, and $2 million in publishing royalties, according to Billboard.

Chris Pizzello/Shutterstock

Source:Billboard

A few years ago, it was estimated Swift could become a billionaire by the time she turns 30. Here's how she spends her fortune...

Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Source:Express 

Swift is a real estate mogul, with a sprawling $84 million real estate portfolio that consists of eight properties in four different states, according to property values estimated by Trulia.

Jordan Strauss/AP Photos

Source: Business Insider, Trulia 

In Nashville, she owns a 3,240-square-foot condo worth an estimated $3 million and a 5,600-square-foot Greek Revival estate worth an estimated $2.5 million. The latter is the cheapest property she owns.

Google Maps

Source: Business Insider, Trulia 

In LA, Swift currently has a Beverly Hills home on the market for $2.85 million. She also owns a 10,982 square-foot Beverly Hills mansion worth nearly $30 million. She plans to turn it into a historic landmark.

From Trulia

Source: Business Insider, Trulia

Across the coast, Swift owns an estate with seaside views in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, valued at $6.65 million. With 12,000 square feet, it has plenty of room for parties with her squad.

Zillow 

Source: Business Insider, Trulia 

But that's nothing compared to the estimated $40 million worth of property Swift owns in New York City on the same block in Tribeca. That includes a 8,309-square-foot large duplex penthouse and a four-story townhouse.

Taylor Swift bought this townhouse last year located at 153 Franklin St. It's next to a complex where she now owns three units.  Google Maps

Source: Business Insider, Trulia

Swift needs a way to travel among all these homes and she's rumored to own two Dassault private jets. There's no word on how much she paid for them, but depending on the model, they can be worth up to $58 million each.

Andrew H. Walker/Getty

Source: Forbes, GOBankingRates 

Swift can also use her jet to head out of the country for vacation. She recently spent the Fourth of July in Turks and Caicos with her boyfriend Joe Alwyn and previously took a trip to an undisclosed tropical island with former boyfriend Calvin Harris.

Debbie Ann Powell/Shutterstock

Source:Elle, Travel + Leisure 

At the end of her 1989 World Tour, Swift took her 125-person band and crew on a vacation in Australia.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images 

Source: Vanity Fair 

But Swift has always been generous with her money, supporting causes and helping those in need. On her 24th birthday, she donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony.

Royce DeGrie/Getty Images 

Source: People 

She's provided supported during natural disasters, donating $1 million to the victims of Louisiana floods and $500,000 to the Nashville flood relief, and raising $750,000 through a Speak Now Help Now benefit concert for victims of tornadoes in the southern US in 2011.

Caroline McCredie/Getty Images

Source: People 

Swift is also supportive of education — she pledged $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame to fund the Taylor Swift Education Center and donated $50,000 to NYC public schools.

Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Source: People

She's also donated to various GoFundMe campaigns, including $10,000 toward a service dog for an autistic boy and $50,000 to her backup dancer's nephew, who was battling cancer.

Mark Humphrey/Getty Images

Source: People

And then there are the two famous checks she wrote for $1,989 — an ode to her best-selling album — sent to two fans to pay a student loan and to donate to a dance marathon benefit.

Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Source: People

She also helps out her friends, giving pal Kesha $250,000 to help with legal fees during her lawsuit against a music producer.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Source:People

But her thoughtfulness doesn't end there. And when she once went out to dinner with pals Ed Sheeran and Austin Mahone in Philadelphia, she reportedly left a generous $500 tip.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Source:E News

Swift often spends money dining out with her squad and boyfriends, especially when in New York City, where she's dined at The Fat Radish, The Spotted Pig, Sarabeth's, and L'Asso, where she had a glass of wine and a gluten-free pizza.

KGC-146/STAR MAX/IPx/Getty Images

Source:People

But Swift also saves money dining in. She reportedly loves to cook and bake and has hosted several elaborate dinner parties with her squad.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Source:Glamour, InStyle

Swift also has a fur squad. She has two Scottish Fold cats, Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson. The breed costs around $1,000 to $1,500. Her cats even have their own line of merchandise at her store.

Evan Agostini/Shutterstock

Source:Refinery 29, Cat Breeds List

When she's not chilling at home, Swift is usually rocking designer duds during appearances or some serious street style in New York City, often mixing high-end and fast fashion. She's been spotted wearing Saint Laurent sneakers, A Christian Louboutin backpack for $1,237, and an Elie Saab gown.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Source:Who What Wear

But Swift's also sported more affordable pieces, such as $60 Steve Madden sandals and Gen Z-obsession Brandy Melville. She seems to have an affinity for Madewell, whose clothes range around $72 for a pair of shorts or $62 for a denim crop top.

KGC-146/STAR MAX/IPx/AP Photos

Source:Who What Wear, Who What Wear, People

But for all the generous giving and strategic investments Swift has made with her money, she has reportedly used it in one rumored indulgence: $40 million to insure her famous legs.

Andreas Rentz /Getty Images

Source:New York Post

Business Insider

[piracytheorist]

Hello shipmate! Travelling flutist here! I assume tumblr decided not to show my previous asks, so boo :/ I talked about my cat so it obviously prefers dogs or what! I need to travel to Greece because I studied ancient greek and latin at my high school and I want to see what that all was about! Any non crowded places? Also I hope you are alright and I wish you 2018 full of happiness, singing and travelling (and hopefully some great Hook/KnightRook stuff) Lots of Christmas love! I love your blog!

:D :D :D :D

Nope, Tumblr didn’t eat it. I was just too lazy busy and wanted to give it some thought and then totally forgot about it, I’m so sorry!

Previous asks, though? I only have this one.

I’m just gonna answer them both now, under a cut because wow long and pics :)

Soooo most popular ancient places are crowded... I mean, Acropolis and its museum in Athens, Knossos in Crete, the Ancient Stadium of Olympia (I think?)... though the times I’ve visited Acropolis and Knossos, they weren’t terribly crowded. I waited for a few minutes in the queue to enter Knossos, but from what I remember once I went in it was okay, and I also hate too crowded places. 

Athens is a bit chaotic with population, but I think the transportation is good for central and “important” places, even though it may be a little crowded. You can even put your destination on Google maps and you’ll find suggestions on which buses and subway lines to use for almost anywhere you want to go. 

Again, I’m saying this from the perspective of someone who literally grew up visiting archaelogical museums and places and now is sick and tired of them, but I think that Acropolis and its museum, along with the whole surrounding place (Plaka) would be a great destination. The museum is brand-new, very informative, great looking inside and outside and fully air-conditioned (important!).

In Athens there are also subway stations where they have small exhibitions of ancient stuff they found while digging for the subway. One of them is Syntagma, the most central one. Reaching Acropolis and the museum is very easy if you take the subway to there.

Plus they’ll all be in Athens, the capital city, so you’ll get the most tourist info possible for any place in Greece and the most locals who speak English.

It’s so weird for me to see non-native Greek speakers know Ancient Greek! I mean, it’s a language I myself gave up after three or four years of school (when we started irregular verbs... God why must this be a thing in every damn language), and my mother tongue is Greek. So I can’t imagine how hard it must be for all of you, to get used to all these vocabulary and alphabet and grammar rules. 

However there will definitely be a lot of selfie people, mostly tourists. I’m not sure you can avoid those easily, especially if we’re talking about “important” ancient stuff. If you avoid high tourist season (mid-summer) you’ll avoid some tourists - and most of the heat! Sea-level places in Greece during summer are pretty much insufferable, especially for a city with so little green and so many cars as Athens is.

Then there’s Thessaloniki, the second biggest city in Greece. I personally like it better than Athens, it looks much more beautiful and taken care of than Athens looks like.

That’s Aristotelous square, the most central square in the city.

There’s also the famous “Arch of Galerius” (everyone just calls it Kamara, they’ll all know to guide you to it)

and an ancient church called Rotonda which I think you can visit normally? @jollysailorswan is from there, perhaps you can enlighten us? :P

Public transport in Thessaloniki though is not as “peaceful” as in Athens... the buses are convenient and can take you pretty much everywhere, but they are ridiculously crowded and there’s no subway. They’re pretty cheap, though. Any transport in Athens costs about 1.40 euro (one ticket, valid to anywhere for 90 minutes) and in Thessaloniki a single ride to anywhere costs about 1 euro.

Note that both Athens and Thessaloniki are very crowded and also full of people who want to be heard no matter what... which unfortunately means there’s a possibility you’ll get stuff like this

if not angry (and even sometimes pretty violent) marches around the city. Ermou Street in the center of Athens is one usually to fall victim to such attacks. Also strikes for local buses can be a problem. Not an everyday thing, but just a heads-up.

Now I can’t really think of places that won’t be crowded... there’s Santorini with the typical Cycladic architecture and mostly rock instead of long green fields. 

Though that’s the same in most islands of the Cyclades... Mykonos (known for being LGBTQ friendly, btw) and Ios are very loud and full of bars and nightclubs, for sure, if you want to avoid those... but Santorini would be also worth it for a trek up its volcano, if you’re up for it! It also has a museum.

That picture on the left was on the front of our history book in 4th grade :)

And of course, the windmills that are the “trademark” of Cyclades, along with the white-blue architecture.

You can reach it either by plane or by ship (about 5 hours or so) from Athens.

I’m trying to remember about places I’ve been in... Nafplio is nice too. It was the first capital city before it got changed to Athens, and it’s only about two hours by bus from Athens.

It has a beautiful old town and the Palamidi fortress that once served as a prison for one of the most renowned rebels of the Greek Revolutionary war (it’s history’s favourite subject here and I know a shit ton about it and everyone talks about it like it’s the best thing that ever happened, don’t judge). You’ll also see the whole Nafplio from above there!

The ancient theatre of Epidaurus is also close by.

Mycenae too.

Halfway from Athens to there is the Isthmus of Corinthos, I’m honestly not sure what there is to see but there’s the bridge connecting the two big parts of Greece and the opportunity to go bungee jumping, if you’re into it.

Then there’s Monemvasia, about 4 hours from Athens...

You can also visit the Meteora monasteries with a bus from the town below, Kalampaka.

Also a look of those mountains with your own eyes from Kalampaka is a pretty nice sight.

Kalampaka is the only place mentioned here you can also reach by train(highly recommended since it usually costs half the bus’s fare and it’s way more comfortable, with WC and a bar and the ability to walk and stretch your feet) from Athens (about 6 hours) or Thessaloniki (about 4 hours). We always drive by this town when I take the bus back to my hometown, but I always stare at those mountains. They never cease to catch my attention :)

Of course, there’s also Preveza.

It’s a little town with its fair share of nightclubs and quiet places, lots of souvenir shops and a beautiful old town to walk through. It has some great beaches close by (Kyani Akti is one) and an old fortress called Pantokratoras, that sometimes hosts concerts and stuff...

There’s also Nikopolis, and ancient town and theatre, but I don’t remember if there’s also a museum open nowadays.

I’m very biased with this town because I have relatives there, and I used to go every summer and they had a car so transportation wasn’t a thing. I don’t think I remember seeing public trasport buses there... But it’s a relatively quiet (and cheap, excluding the bus fare to go there from Athens or Thessaloniki) place.

I mean, I wish I had the money to visit all those places above on my own. Sometimes I think what a pity it is, that simple places like Preveza can be so nice to visit and see some of the everyday life of Greek people, but it can also be hard to reach for tourists - you have to take this bus, and it’ll cost a lot, and there’s no guarantee people will speak English.

If you’d ask me for something specific that won’t cost too much, I’d recommend you visit Athens (even for one day) for Acropolis and the museum, and then take a bus to Nafplio. Stay there for a couple of days and visit Palamidi (maybe - you’ll either need a car or walk up the almost 900 steps to there, and the entrance is 8 euros, 4 if you’re a student from the E.U.) and the Epidaurus theatre (12 euros, 6 if you’re a student outside E.U and free if you’re a student from the E.U.) and maybe Mycenae (same ticket prices with Epidaurus), then go back to Athens to catch your plane. 

On March 6th, April 18th, May 18th, on the last weekend of September, on October 28th and every first Sunday of the months November to March the entrance is free for all for both Epidaurus and Mycenae.

A two-way ticket for Athens - Nafplio is 23 euros, a two-way ticket for Nafplio - Epidaurus is 8.40 euros (the ride lasts 45 minutes), and a two-way ticket for Nafplio - Mycenae is 6.40 euros (also 45 minutes).

In Athens there are two Bus Stations (and it makes my blood boil because I don’t know why they’re different and I always mix them up), so make sure you go to the Kifisos Bus Station for Nafplio. Though tell me to check it again if you do book this trip, just to make sure it’s correct XD

Generally it’s very easy for me to find bus fare prices and info. All fares have standard prices but sadly most websites are only in Greek, so if there’s anything (even besides bus fares) you want me to search, I’d be willing to :)

And WOW I rambled :P I hope you’re getting some good ideas for your travels.

Thank you for your wishes! I also wish you great holidays and a lovely new year with your loved ones and your lovely cat (tell him I love him!) :* 

[junker-town]

WNBA nearly did All-Star weekend right. But they made the stars fly economy

The WNBA nearly did All-Star weekend right. Then 6’8 Brittney Griner was given a middle seat in coach.

Welcome to The W Is It, a weekly column about all the stuff that freakin’ rules in the WNBA. Have any tips of topics to cover? Find me @mellentuck on Twitter.

When Brittney Griner landed at McCarron International Airport in Las Vegas on the Thursday before the All-Star Game, she was greeted by a limo ready to take her to an upgraded suite at the Delano Hotel. As she walked through the doors of her new room, she witnessed something not seen at any of her previous five All-Star appearances: a room with a common room and supersized bathroom.

It’s here where the Phoenix Mercury center changed before going to a luxurious players-only dinner down the Vegas strip at the Bellagio. There were no ball-signings or media appearances to make. Just the best in the world enjoying a night together.

“It was fun,” Griner told SB Nation of the weekend. “Not that the other ones weren’t fun ... the one in Phoenix [in 2014] was fun. But it just felt like a real All-Star.”

At least it felt that way once the players arrived. The 22 All-Stars still had to fly coach to the event, which meant a middle seat for the 6’8 Griner. She had to pay her own money to upgrade and get the necessary extra leg room.

“If they would’ve listened to [Aces general manager and head coach] Bill Laimbeer on how to get us there, our travel there, to make us really feel like All-Stars, then it would’ve been great,” Griner said. “Like first-class seats, or at least exit row.”

Indeed, Las Vegas’ inaugural All-Star flashed the grandeur the stars of the league’s biggest celebratory weekend has long craved. At the same time, Griner’s flight difficulties showed the league still has a ways to go to improve the All-Star experience for those stars.

Upon arrival, everything was pristine. The biggest draw of the weekend featured a beach party performance the night before the game, with rapper Snoop Dogg and hip-hop artist Iggy Azalea performing at the Mandalay Bay casino and hotel. (Las Vegas Aces star Liz Cambage was set to open the night as a DJ, but technical difficulties scratched that segment.)

The next day, the All-Star Game player introductions were done between sets of Cirque Du Soleil stunts. For the first time ever, the game even had a halftime act, with singer Teyana Taylor owning the stage for the duration of the intermission.

Taylor was able to perform because, for the first time since 2006, the Three-Point Shootout and Skills Competition were not only paired together, but given their own night. For the past three years, the Three-Point shootout was played at halftime of the actual game, and there was no skills contest. Moving the events to Friday night gave the players a second day of spotlight on ESPN and opened the weekend to other events.

Taylor’s performance was a memorable one for the All Stars. In lieu of a halftime speech in the locker room, the players surrounded the stage to enjoy quasi-personal show. First-time All-Stars Diamond DeShield of the Chicago Sky and Odyssey Sims of the Minnesota Lynx took the mic to belt out Taylor lyrics in front of the crowd.

SING IT, @diamonddoesit1 pic.twitter.com/afZVZ3Lffk

— Chicago Sky (@wnbachicagosky) July 27, 2019

Griner also noticed all the other players from around the league in attendance to enjoy the weekend with them. With so much to enjoy around the game, it was hard for them to pass up, even if the alternative was a much-needed vacation. Luminaries included Sky forwards Gabby Williams and Stefanie Dolson, Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird and recent World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe, and NBA All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul.

“I’d definitely call it my favorite weekend,” Griner said. “They made a lot of improvements. The aura around everything was great. I think it should be there again.”

But there’s still a ways for the league to go, through no fault of its host. One complaint was the All-Star Game’s early tip time at 12:30 p.m. PT the afternoon following the Snoop Dogg and Iggy Azalea concert. “Come on,” Griner said. “We’re all adults here. Maybe push the game back a little later.”

And then, there were the flights. All-Star Weekend is funded through a partnership between the WNBA and the host franchise, according to the league. Usually, the host franchise is responsible for travel arrangements.

Knowing that, Laimbeer, the coach and general manager of the Aces — and himself a 6’11 former NBA player — proposed setting $20,000 of his organization’s share aside to pay for first-class flights for the 22 All-Stars. But the league rejected the proposal, forcing Griner and her companions to squeeze into coach seats.

“I made a complaint at the board of governors meeting about that specific issue,” Laimbeer told The Associated Press. “They are our best assets, they are our All-Stars; treat them with respect. I apologized to them that I couldn’t get that done.”

Difficult travel accommodations have become a key point of emphasis for the league’s players and coaches. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which expires on Oct. 31, requires all players to fly commercially, which has contributed to frequent in-season delays, cancellations and uncomfortable trips across the country. Last season, 24 hours worth of plane troubles caused Laimbeer’s Aces to forfeit a late-season game with playoff implications. This season, new L.A. Sparks head coach Derek Fisher posted a picture of his team carrying their own bags through an airport terminal.

View this post on Instagram

So after a hard fought win on national television @la_sparks are right back to reality that these women are not being treated like the best athletes in the world!! #facts #hastochange #comeonnow

A post shared by Derek Fisher (@dereklfisher) on Jun 8, 2019 at 5:53pm PDT

“So after a hard fought win on national television [the L.A. Sparks] are right back to reality that these women are not being treated like the best athletes in the world!!”

Still, the league played police for All-Star in the name of fairness and parity. The fear was that Laimbeer’s first-class ticket offer would be seen as a recruiting tactic to lure top players to join Vegas’ superteam in the future. After all, Vegas acquired Cambage, last year’s league-leading scorer, when she requested a trade from a smaller-market Dallas Wings. MGM owns the Aces, and few, if any, other teams can and will match the pockets of the international powerhouse. The league OK’d the upgraded suites, but drew the line at airfare.

The league’s logic mirrors the decision to force Mystics guard Kristi Toliver to get paid a mere $10,000 for what is typically a six-figure role as an NBA assistant coach during the winter. The Wizards and Mystics are both owned by Monumental Sports, so the WNBA wanted to prevent them from using the carrot of a six-figure salary with the same organization to circumvent the salary cap and retain Tolliver as a player.

Yet this anti-tampering fear from the league is wildly misplaced. For one, the WNBA’s current CBA features the core designation, a provision similar to the NFL’s franchise tag that can be used to keep a player for up to four years. This is already one of the most team-friendly perks in all of sports, so what threat would a comped first-class flight really pose to a small-market team?

More fundamentally, the All-Stars deserve better. This isn’t the same as NBA teams offering perks outside the CBA to lure free agents like Kawhi Leonard that make tens of millions of dollars a season. These are the WNBA’s most talented athletes, who already play year-round because a maximum salary — a maximum salary — is worth just $117,500. Their bodies are pushed to limit over and over again, and their health should be the primary concern.

Consider that the All Star showcase was already missing six of the league’s biggest stars due to injury. Reigning MVP Breanna Stewart tore her Achilles in the Euroleague title game (Dynamo Kursk), while teammate and legendary point guard Sue Bird has missed the entire season to arthroscopic knee surgery. Former MVPs Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi have only played 10 games combined due to nagging ailments, and thus missed the weekend. A’ja Wilson, the league’s second-most popular player by fan vote, has been in a walking boot due to a high-ankle sprain in late July. Finally, Maya Moore, arguably the league’s most recognizable face, is taking the year off to focus on ��family” and “ministry dreams.”

Vegas’ All-Star set the pace for what the W should bring every year, and players are eager to come back. But it wasn’t perfect just yet.

Now for some fun stuff.

Speaking of ... Candace Parker is BACK!

A hamstring injury has cost Parker all but nine games this season, and she’s looked shaky for most of those. Until this week.

Check out the highlights from @Candace_Parker's season-high performance ⬇️ #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/7YbIwm31P0

— WNBA (@WNBA) August 4, 2019

CP3 was named Player of the Week after a pair of wins showed her score 16 and then 21 points. She looked like her former All-Star self, throwing behind-the-head passes in a win over the Storm. Let’s goooooo!

now candace is throwing THIS pass l.a. is getting rude af and im ready for it pic.twitter.com/vPGgXjxh9N

— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) August 4, 2019

Courtney Williams is a PROBLEM

The Sun quietly have the WNBA’s best record, despite being forced to trade top big Chimey Ogwumike to the Sparks before the season. Though forward Jonquel Jones takes a lot of the spotlight, Williams is an assassin. In a win over the Liberty, she scored 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting and also added seven rebounds, six assists and THIS BLOCK.

She’s 5’8.

courtney williams is 5'8 pic.twitter.com/L3wFJztoAc

— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) August 4, 2019

Marina Mabrey is disrespectful as hell for this lmao

The L.A. Sparks guard:

Blocked the hell out of Seattle’s Jewell Loyd

Chucked the ball at her to try and gain possession

Dapped up her teammate Tierra Ruffin-Pratt after doing it

Legend.

marina mabrey lmfaaaaoo this is the most disrespectful shit ive ever seen pic.twitter.com/Z6KUDB9lbX

— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) August 4, 2019

[brattonblogs]

#1

OUR PARIS TRIP: 2017  

As a 21st birthday present my boyfriend Scott took me to Paris for a 4 night city break. Paris has always been on my bucket-list of places to visit, so you can imagine the tears and excitement when I opened my birthday card to the surprise. 

My birthday was in January and our trip was booked for April (and its look this long to write a blog post on it) so we didn’t have too long to wait for the trip. 

We has plenty to do while in Paris: sight see the tourist attractions, celebrate my belated birthday, go to Disneyland, we seen Ed Sheeran in concert, we went to a PSG football game and me and Scott celebrated our 5 year anniversary while there too. 

SIGHT-SEEING

Of course it would not be a Paris trip if we didn’t visit the Eiffel Tower at least once. Our hotel was very central to the Eiffel tower, a short 10 min walk or a stop away on the metro;

side note: I would highly recommend getting a travel card, we used Navigo passes, for the trains and metro. We bought ours in Charles De Gaulle airport at a help desk, which cost less an 25Euros each- saving us at least 100Euros worth of travel each during our stay. Its a unlimited use card but be careful of the expiry as they can only be used during certain days, so best to Google or ask before buying, but they worked great for us. All you need is a passport style picture to use on your card or you can use the booths in the airport- very simple, almost everyone has one, so someone would know what you’re talking about if you had to ask for any help with it.

ok, back on track…

The Eiffel Tower- a beautiful sight during the day and at night. As an anniversary date me and Scott toured the tower at night-time, which I would recommend for the view alone. It cost us 14Euro each as they have an under 25 deal which got us a discount. The flashing lights come on every hour and last around 5 minutes, which gave me just enough time for the perfect Boomerang and Instagram picture #tourist. 

As the night-time tours tend to be more popular even at 10pm the queue was wrapped around itself as people waited to buy tickets and use the lifts that take you to the three levels. A cheaper ticket option is to use the stairs instead of the lift (only lets you to the first floor though) with over 1,710 stairs, for the extra one or two Euros i’d take the lift unless you’re into that kinda fitness or don’t want to visit the middle and top levels. I would highly recommend if you’re not afraid of heights or glass lifts. 

ED SHEERAN 

 It was either a lucky coincidence or a sign from Ed himself that the night we would arrive in Paris, Ed Sheeran would be playing the  Accor Hotels Arena during his Divide Tour. Two standing tickets cost us under 100Euro, so I would consider that reasonable to see one of our fav artist in a beautiful city. Scott and myself have seen Ed play before and seeing him again in Paris was an unforgettable experience. He never fails to deliver and the crowd atmosphere was amazing, if given the chance I would do it again. 

Only mistake we made is that we waited for what felt like hours in a queue to be told when we got to the doors we were standing in the seated queue and that we should have been in the standing queue that whole time- putting that one down to different procedures from back home going to gigs and everyone standing in the one queue and a slight language barrier as our ticket was in French, oops. Aside from that small mishap, an amazing night. 

DISNEYLAND PARIS

Disneyland Paris was one of my favourite things we did while in Paris. We bought our tickets online prior to going on a website called Travel Republic, which was recommended to me for buying attraction tickets from a work colleague who had used the website before. The site is legit and easy to use so would also recommend using to buy tickets.

Disneyland is definitely a whole day trip, meaning its hard to fit all of the rides, shows, sights etc into the one visit. I would recommend taking advantage of the free fast past system they offer for the bigger attractions. You simply go to the rides that are included, go to the fast pass machine and scan your ticket for a small coupon type ticket to come out with a time to return to the ride. This means you don’t have to wait in the standard queue to ride, instead come back at the allocated time frame and wait in the fast pass line- the wait is cut down from being up to 1 hour in the standard queue to 10 minutes in the fast lane. But of course there is a catch- you can only get one (or maybe two) fast pass tickets at a time, meaning you have to either ride the ride first and then collect a new one or wait for the time on the bottom of your ticket to tell you when you are eligible to collect a new fast pass. Simple enough and even with the one per person its a good way to find time to go eat in the many restaurants as you wait or a good way to explore the park to pass time.

The food offered in the park varies in prices and quality depending on what location you choose to eat in. We downloaded the official Disneyland Paris app which showed you all the restaurants with their prices points, the style of food and the operating hours (the app requires data to use so not very good as the park has no public wifi- however Scott had 3G as his data plan is covered in Europe, which was a great help, although there is paper copies of maps and you could always ask for help if needed.) The food can be expensive depending on your taste so bare that in mind when planning a trip, however anything can be done on a budget if need be. 

If you can, stay for the street parade show. At 5pm the Disney Princesses and characters paraded down the main street in their costumes and fancy floats, making for a great show. They sing, dance, act and wave to the crowd. People of all ages gather to watch the shows, so its something for everyone, not just people with younger kids. It is worth the watch and its on for no longer than 1 hour- so it doesn’t take up too much time.

We used our Navigo passes to get us to the park and back again, there is a train station within the park so that was very handy and saved us money and time as well. 

PSG GAME

Scott being a football fan wanted us to go support the PSG team and go enjoy a game of football. It’s very clear the crowd love their football team as everyone was chanting and cheering every chance they got. I’m not the biggest football fan so I was glad the stadium had free wifi to keep me occupied while Scott enjoyed the game. Overall was a good experience and it was good knowing Scott enjoyed himself, he got a PSG scarf on the way out and we made our way back to our hotel, using the train/metro and our Navigo passes. 

OVERALL 

Paris is a beautiful city and a great place to visit, it was always on my to go list for a reason so i’m very glad I got to experience it for myself with someone I love- I would go back in a heart beat. I cant thank my boyfriend enough for giving me such an amazing holiday and allowing us to experience such a great place together, making new memories #cheesy. 

If given the chance please go and experience it for yourselves and if any of my tips or experiences helped that’s a bonus! 

Shannon. xo

[tauers-go-dutch]

Concerts, Beer, and Independence

Dinant, Belgium 

Over the past couple of weeks, Mariah and I have been laying low—er , well, laying low compared to the crazy travel we’ve been doing lately—but we’ve still been doing lots of fun things around Amsterdam (and Belgium).  I thought I’d share some of our adventures.

Amsterdam has a great music scene, and we’ve been to some awesome concerts.  First, we saw Linkin Park, whose Hybrid Theory CD was the first one I purchased way back in middle school.  I have to say that though they are climbing in age, they put on a great show with an insane amount of energy.  If you haven’t been keeping up with Linkin Park’s music lately, you should. The newer songs are pretty good, and their old hits from middle school still rock today. (Edit: this blog was written before lead singer Chester Bennington’s untimely death. We are sad and feel fortunate to have seen them live before he passed away.) Another middle school band, Sum 41, opened for them, and they actually cover Queen pretty well.  Second, we saw Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats in a pretty cool outdoor theater just outside of Amsterdam. While it’s no Red Rocks, it does provide a nice backdrop to listen to some good music. I liked it so much that I bought Miranda Lambert tickets there for August.  BTW, Nathaniel Rateliff is great live and worth seeing (don’t forget to check out his concert swag—one of the few non-beer shirts I now own).  Third, we saw another country artist, American Young. While Amsterdam apparently has a respectable country following (not all of which are American expats), it has its limits. These guys didn’t pack the house, but we enjoyed the intimate concert on an otherwise sleepy Tuesday night.  

Middle-school Mariah was pleased

Linkin Park. Pretty bummed about Chester Bennington.

Nathaniel Rateliff with Brent & Christine

We’ve also been passing the time with some friends, old and new.  Our friend Tyler, who is about to return to Denver after spending two years in London, visited Amsterdam for a couple of days with his brother and a couple of friends. We had a great time checking out some of the bars around the city with these guys.  Our friends Brent and Christine, who coincidentally moved from Denver to Amsterdam, hosted a Fourth of July party.  It was great fun, especially since the majority of guests were not American, which provided a lot of opportunities for tongue-in-cheek jokes and gags. The best attire is a tie between the Dutch man, Jella, sporting the Trump shirt, and the Swedish man, Karl, in the Putin tee. (Yes, they were both worn as jokes.) We may have also introduced ‘shotgunning beers’ to all of the Europeans. Reactions ranged from ‘I gotta try this’ to a not-so-subtle eye-roll. On the actual 4th of July, I made a very American meal—steak and mac’n’cheese (Kraft, of course).  It was a delicious reminder of home—thanks for the care packages everyone!

The American gang. See Mariah inserted herself appropriately. 

Sparklers on the ‘Make America Great Again’ cake (take that as you will, given the lovely condition of the cake in the photo)

The two coolest guys at the party 

Explaining how to ‘shotgun’ a beer

As I mentioned above, taking it easy was a relative term.  While we haven’t flown anywhere for a few weeks, we did make a road trip to Belgium. Ok, ok, so it was a weekend trip, but honestly I’ve begun to just consider Belgium part of our backyard.  As an aside, if anyone who wants to visit and has Belgium on their list, Brussels is a three-hour bus trip away, and it only costs 35 euro for the round trip.  I’m always up for going!

We rented a car for a quick weekend to Belgium, chiefly to acquire some really nice Belgian lambics (sour beers from the region surrounding Brussels) and to visit a few Trappist abbeys.  Our first stop, of course, was Cantillon in Brussels.  While I normally enjoy staying for a beer or two at the brewery (and by ‘a beer’ I mean a 750mL bottle), we had a lot of stops and I only bought some (ok, several) beers to go.  We stopped at a brunch/lunch spot called Peck 20 (sister café Peck 47 is in the city center if you’re visiting).  Mariah had the house special (poached eggs and waffles) and I had a surprisingly decent Cuban sandwich.  After getting some chocolate for the road, we went to 3 Fonteinen, another lambic brewery. We actually stayed to enjoy a beer (Homage 2013- a specialty lambic blend with raspberries and cherries), and bought more to go.  Mariah really enjoys the lambic beers (basically the only type of beer she will drink), so she even bought a shirt.

Favorite Brussels breakfast spot. And yes, we already stopped at our favorite chocolate shop. We needed to break a 20 for the parking meter. 

New shirt! 

Short on time, we continued our way southeast, deep into the French-speaking region of Belgium and very close to the border.  We made it to our destination about an hour before it was closed to visitors, which turned out to be just enough to marvel at the beautiful Abbaye d’Orval.  The majority of the abbey is closed to visitors (unless you schedule a spiritual retreat of two to seven days), but you can still see the amazing architecture.  The sculpture of Mary and the infant Jesus is as large as it is breathtaking, and is the first thing that you notice arriving to the abbey.  The ruins of the old abbey are open to visitors, and are very beautiful as well.  After taking in the sites, we stopped at the nearby A l’Ange Gardien café for dinner and Petite Orval, which is a lighter version of the famous Orval beer only available to the public at this café.  After dinner, we drove to our hotel just outside the town of Dinant. Dinant, as we found out, is the home of the inventor of the saxophone, and fully embraces that heritage. Several countries from around the globe painted custom saxophone statues to display in the town.  I have to say that the Dutch Delft saxophone was one of the more impressive ones!

Abbaye d’Orvale

In the morning, we decided to double back to the French border to visit yet another abbey, Abbaye de Chimay. Chimay has long been one of my favorites—especially the blue-labeled grand cru (go by color if you’re looking for it, as the label name changes but the color indicates the beer).  We bought tickets to see a short museum that explains the origins of the brewery and beers, and it included a free beer!  We also explored the abbey itself, which included a nice walk through the woods and a peek into the church (mass was in session, so we tried not to disturb the ceremony). We made our way back to the bar and enjoyed our beers.  I strongly debated buying a bike jersey, but decided I wouldn’t wear it for at least a year and I already spent an exorbitant amount of money on beer. Regardless, we left and made our way back to the Netherlands, but not without a quick stop back in Dinant for some Neuhaus Belgian chocolate!

Chimay

Crossing the border back into the Netherlands, we decided to make yet another stop at yet another abbey.  This time we visited Abdij Koningshoeven, the older and more widely known of the two Trappist abbeys in the Netherlands.  Haven’t heard of it? Ask your liquor store for ‘La Trappe,’ and I’m sure they have some. The grounds of this abbey are largely inaccessible to the public, much like Orval.  However, they have a large restaurant with a patio and a humongous lawn where you can sprawl out and enjoy some beer. The only downside is that the bartenders often over-pour and allow the beer to spill over on the glass before clearing the excess head with a bar blade (think the Stella Antois commercials).  It’s very Dutch and very annoying.  But I digress, the abbey is very much worth visiting, and I did pick up a barrel-aged quad from the shop before we made our way back to Amsterdam.  We’re still enjoying our European adventures, even when we aren’t jet setting for the weekend.  

Tot ziens for now!

[tamboradventure]

How to Spend 48 Hours in Oslo

Updated: 8/10/20 | August 10th, 2020

Most budget travelers skip Norway because it’s an expensive country to visit. The capital, Oslo, is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world owing to its high taxes, strong currency, and high percentage of imported goods.

Understandably, traveling here on a budget here is tricky. Yet I still encourage you to visit, even though it’s not a budget-friendly destination. There are unique museums, beautiful parks, and stunning nature to be enjoyed. It’s small enough that a two-day or three-day visit is usually enough to get a feel for it.

To help you plan your trip and make the most of your time, here is my suggested 48-hour itinerary for Oslo.  

Day 1

Wander Vigeland Sculpture Park Start your day wondering this 80-acre park and see its 200 statues. Located in Frogner Park, it’s the world’s largest display of sculptures created by a single artist. Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943) created the collection of bronze, iron, and granite statues that now stand in this open-air “gallery” (you’ve probably seen the famous ‘crying baby’ statue on social media).

In the summer, the park is where you’ll find locals enjoying the long days of sunshine. There are often events and concerts held here as well.

From here, head down to Bygdøy island, where you’ll find many of Oslo’s museums.

See the Viking Museum This museum is home to the best-preserved Viking ships in the world, some of which date back to the 9th century. It’s a sparse museum (the focus really is on the ships) but the burial ships (as well as the preserved tools and carts from the Middle Ages) are incredibly rare and worth seeing for yourself. The museum offers a short film and as well, though the free audio guide is the best way to make the most out of your visit.

Huk Aveny 35, +47 22 13 52 80, khm.uio.no/besok-oss/vikingskipshuset. Open daily from 9am–6pm in the summer and 10am–4pm in the winter. Admission is 120 NOK for adults and free for kids under 18.

Explore the Norwegian Folk Museum Not far from the Viking Museum is the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. It has a collection of over 150 buildings from various periods throughout Norwegian history. It’s an open-air museum, so you can explore both the interior and exterior of many of the buildings, some of which date back to the 12th century.

The most impressive of its exhibitions is Gol Stave Church, an intricately carved wooden church constructed in 1157. The museum also has a large photographic archive as well as tons of historic artifacts, documents, tools, and more.

Museumsveien 10, +47 22 12 37 00, norskfolkemuseum.no. Open daily from 11am–4pm. Admission is 160 NOK.

Visit the Fram Museum As a northern country used to frigid temperatures and harsh winters, polar exploration is a field intricately woven into Norwegian history. This museum highlights that history, focusing on Norway’s contributions to polar exploration. The centerpiece of the museum is the Fram, the world’s first ice-breaking ship. The ship was used between 1893 and 1912 and is actually made of wood. The Fram made trips to both North and South Poles and sailed farther north and south than any other wooden ship in history.

The museum is incredibly detailed; there’s a lot of photographs, artifacts, tools, and tons of information. It’s a unique look into Norwegian culture through the lens of exploration.

Bygdøynesveien 39, +47 23 28 29 50, frammuseum.no. Open daily 10am–6pm. Admission is 120 NOK.

Visit the Holocaust Center Established in 2001, this museum highlights the experiences of Norwegian Jews (as well as the persecution of other religious minorities). It’s located in the former residence of Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian fascist who headed the Norwegian government under Nazi occupation between 1942-1945. It’s a somber and sobering place to visit but incredibly insightful with various exhibitions, photos, films, artifacts, and interviews from World War II and the German occupation of Norway.

Huk Aveny 56, +47 23 10 62 00, hlsenteret.no. Open weekdays 9am–4pm. Admission is 70 NOK.

Learn About the Kon-Tiki Expedition In 1947, Norweigian historian and explorer Thor Heyerdahl used a traditional balsa raft to cross the Pacific Ocean from South America to Polynesia. This journey set out to prove that the Polynesian islands were populated from the Americas — not Asia, as had been previously thought.

He and his small crew spent 101 days at sea. They filmed much of the experience, winning an Academy Award in 1951 for Best Documentary (he also wrote a book about the trip)

To get a sense of what his journey was like, watch the 2012 historical drama Kon-Tiki (it’s a great travel movie).

Bygdøynesveien 36, +47 23 08 67 67, kon-tiki.no. Open daily from 9:30am–6pm (shorter hours in the autumn and winter). Admission is 120 NOK.

City Hall End your day at City Hall, which is open to the public and free to enter. While it might not sound like an interesting sight, tours of the hall are will give you lots of insight into the city and its history. Most noteworthy are the hall’s twenty murals and works of art. They depict everything from traditional Norwegian life to the Nazi occupation. Also highlighted here is the history of the Nobel Peace Prize. It’s awarded here annually (the other Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden).

Rådhusplassen 1, +47 23 46 12 00, oslo.kommune.no/radhuset. Open Sunday-Thursday from 9am-4pm. Admission is free.  

Day 2

Wander Akershus Fortress Originally built in 1290, Akershus Fortress is a medieval fortress that evolved into a Renaissance palace under Danish King Christian IV. Currently, it’s used as an office for the prime minister. It was built for protection and the fortress has never successfully been besieged (though it did surrender to the Nazis during World War II).

Inside the fort is a military museum as well as a museum dedicated to the Norwegian resistance during World War II. In the summer you can take a guided tour and there are also often events here as well (mostly concerts). Check the website to see if anything is occurring during your visit.

+47 23 09 39 17, forsvarsbygg.no/no/festningene/finn-din-festning/akershus-festning. Open daily in the summers 10am–4pm (winter hours vary). Admission is free.

Take a Harbor Cruise The Oslo fjord is stunning. With its towering cliffs, calm waters, and rugged green shoreline, the Oslo fjord should not be missed. You can take a hop-on-and-off boat that shuttles people from the various attractions and museums or enjoy a proper two-hour cruise through the fjord. I recommend the two-hour cruise since it goes deeper into the harbor and you see a lot more. It’s a relaxing way to spend part of your day — especially if you’ve been on your feet all day.

Tickets for the two-hour cruise cost 339 NOK per person.

Explore the Royal Palace and Park The Royal Palace is the official residence of the monarch (Yup! Norway still has a king!). Completed in the 1840s, it’s surrounded by a huge park and locals can usually be seen enjoying the long summer days here. During the summer, parts of the palace are open to visitors and tours. Tours last one hour and you’ll be able to see some of the lavish and ornately preserved rooms and learn about the country’s monarchs and how they ruled Norway.

Slottsplassen 1, +47 22 04 87 00, kongehuset.no/seksjon.html. Summer hours vary. See the website for details. Admission is 140 NOK and includes a tour.

Visit the National Gallery While small, Oslo’s National Gallery has a wide range of artists on display. Here you’ll find Impressionists, Dutch artists, works by Picasso and El Greco, and the highlight of the gallery, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch. Painted in 1893, The Scream has actually been stolen from the gallery twice over the years. Admittedly, the gallery doesn’t have the biggest collection I’ve seen but it’s nevertheless worth a visit. It’s a relaxing way to end your trip.

The National Gallery is temporarily closed and will reopen in 2021 but you can find some of its collection in the National Museum.  

Other Things to See & Do

If you have extra time in Oslo, here are a few other suggestions to help you make the most of your visit:

Explore Nordmarka – The Nordmarka Wilderness Area offers everything from biking to swimming to skiing. It spans over 430 acres and is home to huts that are available for overnight stays. You can reach the area in just 30 minutes by car or 1 hour by bus. Avoid going on Sunday, as that’s when all the locals go so it will be busier (unless you want to meet more locals!).

Go Tobogganing – If you visit during the winter, do the Korketrekkeren Toboggan Run. The track is over 2,000 meters long and sleds are available for rent (including helmets) for 150 NOK per day (so you can take as many rides as you like). It’s only available when there is snow so the schedule will vary, however, it’s incredibly fun and popular with the locals too!

Wander the Botanical Garden – Home to over 1,800 different plants, this botanical garden/arboretum has two greenhouses full of exotic plants and a “Scent Garden” designed specifically for the blind so they could have a sensory experience (it’s a really neat experience so don’t miss it). There are lots of benches so you can sit down with a book and relax, as well as works of art throughout the garden. Admission is free.

Go Swimming – Oslo is surrounded by water and has lots of places to swim. The water is clean and safe and locals can be found swimming all year round. Tjuvholmen City Beach, Sørenga Seawater Pool, and Huk are three spots worth checking out if you’re looking to take a dip when the weather is nice.

***

Since there are a lot of attractions involved, it’s best to get the Oslo Pass. Like everything in Norway, attractions are expensive. If you plan on visiting lots of museums (and using public transportation) the pass will save you a good chunk of money. The 24-hour pass is 445 NOK while a 48-hour pass is 655 NOK (they also have a 72-hour pass for 820 NOK).

While Oslo has a lot more sights and activities, two days here is manageable enough to get a feel for the city and learn its history without entirely breaking the bank (though you’ll come close!).

Book Your Trip to Oslo: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the most comprehensive inventory. If you want to stay somewhere else, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. My favorite places to stay in Oslo are:

Saga Poshtel Oslo Central

Oslo Youth Hostel

Club 27

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those 70 and up)

Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use to save money — and I think they will help you too!

Looking for more travel tips for Norway? Check out my in-depth Norway travel guide for more ways to save money, tips on what to see and do, suggested itineraries, informational reading, packing lists, and much, much more!

Photo credits: 3 – Tore Storm Halvorsen, 4 – Daderot, 5 – Claudine Lamothe

Note: Visit Oslo provided me with free accommodation and a tourist card to get into attractions for free while I was there. I paid for my own meals and flights to/from Norway.

The post How to Spend 48 Hours in Oslo appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[runawaywidow]

For the past several summers I have put my United States passport to good use and traveled around the world.  I’ve shared photos and posts about some exciting places but my most popular post is about a small town in upstate New York, 17 things to do in Ithaca.

Like many, I am hesitant about traveling this summer. We are now entering phase 3 post pandemic, so some places are opening up here in New York but I will not be going too far away. In fact, with an abundance of outdoor opportunities on Long Island, I will share my summer bucket list with my fellow islanders.

While the state parks do charge an entrance fee of $10, the Empire Pass can be purchased for the year for $80 and with this summer of limited travel, it is well worth the investment.

1.  Robert Moses, Field 5

Yesterday I drove myself over the bridge to Robert Moses ocean beach on Fire Island.  Clean, soft sand, refreshing salt water with moderate waves, qualified life guards and open bathrooms make this beach a true pleasure. If your ideal day is to sit in a chair under an umbrella and read or to take a long walk along the shore, visit the lighthouse and maybe stroll into the small beach village of Kismet, this can all be done in a day trip. Walking east along the shore I will warn you that some bathers prefer not to wear swim suits.   Just remember to wear your mask in the bathrooms at the beach.

Parking $10 or Empire pass. https://parks.ny.gov/parks/7/

2.  Montauk

The eastern most point of Long Island has this amazingly, still quaint fishing village. The cost of hotel rooms has sky rocketed in recent years but since you save money on air fare and time and the hassle of driving through New York City, it can be worth the splurge.  More ocean beaches, fishing trips, fresh seafood, hiking trails, cliffs, surfers and a light house to climb are just some reasons people keep coming out year after year to visit. My friend has made 2 visits already this summer with her kids to watch the sunrise at what is called THE END – and breakfast spots are open for the early birds too.

Hotel rooms are available but the average price per night is around $500 with a 3 night minimum on weekends. Day trip or a little getaway;  I’ll be planning my trip out east soon.

Montauk – Budget Friendly Vacation  

Montauk Point lighthouse

3.  Sunken Meadow State Park

What I love about this park is the 2 mile boardwalk along the beach for walking and riding bikes.  This park has hiking trails through the woods, and a public golf course with a driving range.  You must reserve a tee time in advance.  In addition, I like to visit this location as it is where we got married on the beach last June and had a fun celebration with family and friends.  We’ve been back a few times this spring and always enjoy some time outside.

Parking $10 or Empire pass: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/37/

4. Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve

This scenic park is located on the North Shore in Lloyd Harbor.  The old estate and buildings are still standing on the hill above the Long Island Sound and active horse stables give the feel of being a guest at a country estate.  The three mile paved and shaded trail is available to pedestrians and bicycles only.  No dogs allowed.

Parking $10 or Empire pass: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/23/details.aspx

5. Cold Spring Harbor hiking trail

This one is Free.  Simply park by the library on Harbor Road in Cold Spring Harbor and you will see the sign to the entrance.  This is the north end of the 19 mile Nassau-Suffolk trail and does have some hills to climb.  People often bring dogs along on a leash.   I would highly recommend spraying for ticks before you head out on this trail or any trails on Long Island and be sure to check carefully when you return home as well.

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7029784/cold-spring-harbor-state-park-out-and-back

6.  Huntington Village

The restaurants in town are most creative as they set up outdoor dining tables on side walks and alleys.  Musicians on the street, music coming from the restaurants and people walking around make us forget that we have been sheltering in place for 3 months.  The waitstaff is required to wear masks and you have the option to wear a mask as well.  Walking around the town, getting an ice cream and seeing people again can make us all remember we are part of a bigger community.  And when you go out to eat, you can feel good about supporting the local economy too!

7. Planting Fields, Oyster Bay

If you prefer gardens, this former Gold Coast estate features 409 acres of gardens.  The Coe house and greenhouses are currently closed but the grounds are open for walking and enjoying the outdoor gardens and architecture from the early 1900’s.

https://plantingfields.org/plan-your-visit/

8.  Bayard Cutting Arboretum

Located on the south shore in Great River, the grounds are open everyday except on Mondays.  The trail along the river is lined with a variety of trees and plants in an informal setting.  The house is closed currently but this is a beautiful park to visit and learn more about the types of plants in this area.

https://bayardcuttingarboretum.com/

9.  Long Island Aquarium

A favorite place to visit with families is the aquarium in Riverhead.  The sea otters, penguins and sea lion exhibits are outdoors.  Sting rays and sharks are indoors and masks are required.  Due to reduced guest capacity, reservations must be made in advance.

https://www.longislandaquarium.com/purchase-tickets/pricing/

10. Fire Island by Ferry

I grew up on the south shore in Sayville, known as the “friendliest town in America”.  This is really a great little town with restaurants and small shops along a quaint Main Street that often closes for town events like car shows and summer festivals.  Following Foster Avenue south towards the Great South Bay and turning left at the end, you will see the docks for the ferries.  Two of my first jobs were cleaning houses at Fire Island Pines and making pizzas at Cherry Grove. Both awesome little beach communities that do not allow cars, homes are connected only by boardwalks and the vibes from the New York City gay community are alive and vibrant.

The ferry to Sailors Haven and Sunken Forest also leaves from the same dock area and while homes are not available to rent and only a concession stand is available for dining, this natural setting makes for a great day trip for families.

Ferries cost $16-18 round trip and you can pay to bring your dog as well.  Ferries leave approximately every 2 hours.

http://www.sayvilleferry.com/schedule-pines.php

10. ROBERT MOSES, Field 2

The western most end of Fire Island National seashore has a 3 par 9 hole golf course right there at the beach.  No reservations necessary as it is first come, first served. Perfect for beginners and beach lovers.  Pack a lunch or dinner, play golf and take a long walk around the point or hop in for a swim in the sea.

$10 parking fee or  Empire Pass.

11.  Jones Beach, Field 6

Although the concerts have been cancelled this summer, the iconic boardwalk at Jones Beach is still a treasure.  I prefer field 6 on the eastern most part of the park as it is the shortest walk to the water and right on the boardwalk.  Also a great place to walk with a stroller.  The playground may be opening soon and a there is a small 9 hole pitch and putt golf course along the boardwalk as well.  My grandmother and mom used to tell stories of going to the pool located in the building during the summer and the many evenings they spent dancing to music outside at the bandshell.

$10 parking fee or Empire Pass

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/jonesbeach/

12.  Kayak River Rentals

I have heard wonderful tales of kayaking the Nissequogue River starting in Smithtown near the bull (It’s a famous statue here on Long Island).  So you make a reservation and meet the group – sign some papers and board the kayak.  Double kayaks and canoes cost about $60 for the approximately 3 hour tour down the river toward the Long Island sound. Nature, birds, and water are the best, just prepare for the sun, bugs and hydration on your adventure.  A bus even brings you back to your car. This summer I will definitely try this.

http://www.canoerentals.com/

13. Motor Boat Rentals

Living near the beach, I have always had either a sailboat or a motor boat… except for this summer.  While I am happy to save on the expense of maintenance and repairs, I will miss going out in a boat.

Having friends with boats is always a good alternative.  But if your friends don’t have a boat, it is possible to rent boats for a day or even half a day.  I did this last winter in Florida with my sister and her family and we had a blast. So as a consolation to staying home this summer without a boat, I have been looking into day rentals and am considering two. For a boat that could accommodate 8 people, for the day it is about $1000.

In Freeport, the rental shop offers hourly rentals starting at 2 hours for about $300.

https://summerboatrental.com/

In Port Washington, Long Island Boat Rentals offers deals for small boats as well as captained boats for the day.

https://liboatrentals.com/

I am looking forward to trying out one or both of these places this summer.  Who’s in?

I am grateful to live in such a beautiful place and to have the summer off.  I can not imagine what the fall will bring for me as a teacher but I know that I have today to get out and enjoy.  Keep safe, wear a mask if you will be near people and have a great summer!

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        14 Awesome Things to do this Summer on Long Island For the past several summers I have put my United States passport to good use and traveled around the world. 

[asfeedin]

‘There are some camps that are more than prepared to do this:’ Will kids across America have to cancel camp this summer?

This summer, camps could be scrapping color wars, ditching field trips and reducing the number of kids sleeping in each bunk.

That is, if camp is even happening this summer.

The coronavirus outbreak has already shuttered this summer’s Olympics, various concerts, Fourth of July events and New York City’s public pools. Many Americans are calling off their vacation plans too. Almost half (48%) of consumers say they’re cancelling their summer plans, according to a 1,201-person survey.

So will day camps and sleep-away camps join the growing list of cancellations?

That’s something millions of cooped-up kids and parents want to know — not to mention the members of a camping industry that’s worth approximately $18 billion, according to the American Camp Association, a trade group for the nation’s camps.

“Camp, right now, is truly very much up in the air,” said Ron Hall, executive director of Maine Summer Camps, a professional organization for more than 140 camps in the state.

“ Some modifications could include fewer kids per bunk and requirements that specialists wipe down and sanitize equipment between periods. ”

As the coronavirus pandemic shuts down businesses across the country and infectious-diseases experts weigh the likelihood of a second wave in the fall, parents and camp counselors are waiting for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer guidance on when and how it will be safe to return to group activities like camp, where kids and adult staff are often in close quarters.

The federal public-health agency’s guidance is important because many state and local health authorities, which issue camps’ operating licenses, take their cues from what the CDC says, Hall explained.

In the meantime, many Maine camps are planning for three scenarios, Hall said. The first is a normal summer, the second is a shortened season and the third is closing down for the 2020 summer.

Some camps are weighing how they can incorporate social-distancing tactics into the experience, he said. Other possibilities are nixing inter-camp competitions, calling off field trips and avoiding all-camp gatherings. It could also mean fewer kids in bunks and fewer people in the dining hall at any one time, Hall said.

Don’t miss:This is what air travel could look like in a post-coronavirus world

“There are some camps that are more than prepared to do this, and other camps where it would be very difficult,” Hall said, citing maintenance costs and facilities.

Joey and Lori Waldman, the owners and directors of Camp Blue Ridge, a sleep away camp in Clayton, Ga., are also drawing up contingency plans and grappling with the same questions of what social distance camping looks like.

Some modifications this year could include fewer kids per bunk and requirements that specialists wipe down and sanitize equipment between periods, Joey Waldman said. Field trips would be off the table and staff would have to stay on-site, even when they are off duty, he added. The camp has 250 acres, so that’s a lot of space for campers and staff to spread out, he noted.

“ ‘If we don’t feel it’s safe, we have to commit to what we feel is right.’ ”

— Joey Waldman, co-owner and director of Camp Blue Ridge

Waldman’s state is in the center of the reopening-the-economy debate, as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp tries to get the state’s economy back up running soon. He is planning on creating hand-washing stations, replete with hand sanitizer and, instead of meals being buffet style, one staffer would bring over a camp group’s food.

Kemp is allowing gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys to get back to business on Friday, so long as they follow certain requirements. Movie theaters can start selling tickets and restaurants can go to limited dining as of Monday under the timetable. Some critics, however, say that’s too soon and will lead to a rise in more COVID-19 infections and fatalities.

For now, Waldman’s getting ready to open up, but prepared to close if he thinks it’s ultimately the best idea. “If we don’t feel it’s safe, we have to commit to what we feel is right,” he said. If the camp, a family business for five decades, closed for the summer, Waldman said it would be tough but, “we would make due.”

‘An endless list of things’

It’s been a tough spring for many students. There are 50.8 million public-school students and another 5.8 million private-school students, according to the Department of Education.

Almost 40 states have closed their physical schools to slow the spread of COVID-19 and that’s affected 40.7 million public students, according to Education Week, a media outlet focused on education matters. The camping industry serves approximately 20 million kids, according to the American Camp Association, a non-profit professional association offering camp accreditation.

“ ‘These kids have been isolated socially, educationally.’ ”

— Ron Hall, executive director of Maine Summer Camps, a professional organization for more than 140 camps in the state.

“These kids have been isolated socially, educationally,” Hall said. “Now, more than previous years” camp could be a valuable bridge between “where we are now and where their lives are normally in the fall.”

Furthermore, many camps have big financial pressure to make this season happen, Hall noted. “If camps can’t open, there will be Maine camps that cannot survive unless there really good financial support from the state and federal government.” Maine camps generate $220 million annually in direct and indirect support for the state’s economy, between employment, construction, restaurants and insurance fees, he noted.

Yet camps everywhere have to balance all those concerns with ensuring a place that’s safe for kids and staff, Hall emphasized.

There are all sorts of open questions now, Hall said, from the big picture to details like how often to wipe down bathrooms and water fountains. “It’s an endless list of things that need be considered.”

That list could end up costing camps more money if they have to build more bunks and hire more staff to supervise smaller groups. So will more camp expenses equal bigger costs for families?

“The camps I talked to are saying if there are additional expenses, they are not going to increase tuitions,” said Hall. Tuitions for the camps in Hall’s group range from $200 a week to $15,000 for the summer. Camps would give pro-rated refunds for shortened sessions, he said.

“The big unknown” is what testing requirements will be, and whether camps will have to foot the bill, Hall noted.

Five weeks at Camp Blue Ridge costs $5,900 and seven weeks cost $7,900. If the camp had to shorten its season, Waldman said he would either reimburse tuition on a pro-rated basis, or apply the remainder to next season. If he had to pay for more supplies and staff to meet new guidelines this summer, Waldman said he would not pass that price onto parents.

“ Camps are working on their contingency plans as they wait for more information from the CDC and other public-health authorities. ”

The CDC is still working on guidance “specific to where people live, work, learn, pray and play in order to help communities ‘reopen’ as safely as possible during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic,” a spokeswoman said.

Camps are working on their contingency plans as they wait for more information from the CDC and other public-health authorities, the American Camp Association said in a statement. “We expect to have more information to share by early May regarding the future status of camp operations,” it said.

Some camps aren’t waiting on public health officials.

Stuart Jones, the owner and director of Outpost Summer Camps, a San Diego, Calif. day camp, announced earlier this month his camp would be skipping the 2020 season.

Families could get their money back, donate the money to a fund for campers who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend or apply the money to the 2021 season. One-third chose to either donate it to the fund or apply the deposit to next summer, he said.

“ ‘We feel it’s more responsible for our camp, the way we run our camp, to close for the season.’ ”

— Stuart Jones, president of Outpost Summer Camps in San Diego, Calif.

“We feel it’s more responsible for our camp, the way we run our camp, to close for the season,” he told MarketWatch. The camp, which usually serves 1,500 kids, was “the opposite of social distancing,” Outpost Summer Camps said on its website.

Tommy Feldman, the founder and director of the 135-acre Camp Granite Lake near Boulder, Colo., announced the camp’s 2020 closure earlier this week.

He obtained a small business loan through the $2 trillion stimulus bill, and after that, he’ll skip his salary for a year and his staff will take a one-third pay cut. But the decision was “straightforward” considering the risk, Feldman said.

“I think the families that really want us to run are going to forgive us for cancelling. But the families that don’t want us to run would never forgive us,” he added.

Back in Georgia, Waldman said he understands the decisions other camps are making. “We’re not at that phase. We want to plot the course,” he said.

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Tags: America, article_normal, arts, CAMP, camps, cancel, consumer goods, hospitality, Kids, leisure, prepared, Sports, Summer

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[coreytravelogue]

Bay Roberts, NFLD - December 29, 2019

It has been awhile since I have updated this travelogue as one could tell, well at least 2 months since. The last entry was the day I was to leave Amsterdam. What has happened since then has been fairly uneventful for me, well uneventful compared to years prior.

In October me and my girlfriend went to Seattle to see Jukebox The Ghost which was a concert she wanted to see. While doing that we saw the downtown area and I got to indulge in some more German wiezen beer once again and for the last time this year. There rest of the time was spent working really, no real adventures as my trips to Europe, Yellowknife, Kelowna, Toronto and California wound up costing me more than I wanted to.

As you can tell I am back in Newfoundland where I usually am at this point of the year but unlike last year I am spending three weeks here. I gave my parents only one week last year so I felt I owed them more this year. I may not be able to give them this much for a long while though however given the amount of money I spent this year 2020 may not be much of a travel year for me for many reasons. One is I can’t afford to do it at the level I have been over the past few years especially now. I do plan on going to Edmonton next month and I will more than likely do something for Easter long weekend because I have to (I dont have to but when I can get 5 straight days off from work I have to use it for something) but I don’t plan on traveling much in 2020 and want to use it more for saving and for just in case I move out of Vancouver.

I love Vancouver but it is just too expensive for me to live there while supporting my girlfriend and my addiction to travel (and beer). 2020 I do plan on lowering many other things but I am not going to bother talking about them, actions speak louder than words and I have no idea if I can accomplish them or not. All I know is 2020 will be a year of change for me once again but then every year presents a change. I feel as though this entry should be more about talking about the 2010s than anything else. I don’t want to continuously rehash old trips but I do want to use this time to reflect a decade which came to be probably the biggest, most important and most transitional decade of my life thus far.

80s I can’t remember because I was a baby becoming child at that time. The 90s I remember fondly though there were some bad points but many good. At this time in my life I try my best to think of the good times in the 90s because childhood should always be held precious. The 00s were easily the darkest times of my life where my depression basically took over my life and helped waste it as I went from job to job, heartbreak to heartbreak and etc. and I left 00s in worse shape than I came into it. The same cannot be said about the 10s I came out far greater than I did coming in to where I can barely recognize who I was back then outside of the musical triggers I left for myself in the mixes I made for myself over the years.

The start of the 10s carried over the issues I had in the 00s and it only got worst that lead to my first mental breakdown in 2011. In 2013 for the first time in my life I decided to take a trip for myself. For my adult life up to that point the only trips I would take for myself were to Edmonton and if I was to take any vacations they would be for a Christmas in Newfoundland. I never went anywhere else. However in October for 2013 I decided to travel to Seattle.

In hindsight it wasn’t a big trip at all for me, it’s a 4 hour drive from Vancouver but for me at that time it was the first time I left Canada as an adult on my own in my life. However I wanted to see Fiona Apple in concert, I missed out on her show in Vancouver previously so I did not want to miss out on this one. I am glad I didn’t miss out because she hasn’t really toured since then. I only spent two nights in Seattle but my time there reignited something I didn’t really know I had up to that point; a love for travel.

Prior to that when I was a kid I continuously took traveling for granted with my family but it was only then that I got to appreciate how lucky I was to have been able to see as much of the planet especially Canada as I did growing up on our road trips cross country many times over. Up to that point I felt like making a movie before I turned 30 was the only thing I could do at that point but my trip to Seattle provided another option which wound up being a better option.

By 2013 it had been 7 years since I ‘graduated’ from Vancouver Film School. For years I would try to get into the union and try to get work but it would almost always fall flat on my face with me. It led me to do free work here and there and sooner or later just get regular work. By 2013 I would have worked at EA for about 5 years, I practically forgotten most of what I had learned in film school, all my contacts gone and so on. By 2013 I knew full well the chances of me making a movie before I was turned 30 was slim and if I did make one it would not be what I would want it to be. I basically wasted my 20s. In hindsight I should have just flat out made a movie or made something regardless right out of film school. Would it have been any good? Probably not but it would have been something. I think now as a 35 year old looking back at my 20s I should not have listened to my friend Tyler and waited. I should have just done something, even if it would have burned a hole in my bank account that I would probably never be able to crawl out of, I would have been able to have done something.

My Seattle trip at that point gave me another option I never considered before; travel. In the three days I explored Seattle I was intrigued by the differences the city provided me, even though it was just ‘next door’ it felt like a different world to me. I began to create more experiences like that where I could just get lost, explore and further more actually have fun for once which at that point was something I didn’t really know how to do anymore.

In 2014 my 20s were nearing its end and I knew I had to make changes in my life; personal, professional and emotional because I knew I wasn’t going to live that much longer if I didn’t I knew another mental breakdown was looming, it was already building with other things going on my life at that point. I knew working at EA was a dead end, they never had any intention of keeping me as nothing more than a tester working for peanuts. I had friends in my life that i knew were not worth having in my life that I had to cut bait on as well. In April if I remember correctly I booked the ticket to go to London and leave from London 78 days later. From April till August right before my trip was all about preparing.

I am not going to get into my Europe trip (again) because honesty if you really want to know what happened then just go to the beginning of the blog and work your way up. As much as I love reliving those 78 days in my mind continuously I am also sort of sick of talking about it to others as much as I am sure they are sick of me talking about it. I made this travelogue specifically for that trip. I had no idea whether I would be continuing this or not after it because I felt if I could not find a reason to live after that trip I may as well be dead and the travelogue was to me my public testament followed by my personal journal kept. I came back home alive just in time for my last mental breakdown.

2015 began with a mental breakdown but ended with in many ways in better emotional footing than I had ever been in in my adult life. I went back to school, met new and more healthier people to be around.

2016 and 2017 was all work and then school with no travel as I tried to build a new life for myself. By the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018 when I was stranded in Toronto for a night I realized I needed to get back on the road again and explore.

In 2018 I knew I had a full time job and knowing that I spent the first 2 years of my 30s working I knew I had to make up for it by getting back on the road where I went to Toronto, Montreal, Whitehorse, Fort McMurray and Australia to spend time with my girlfriend. It was overall a great year for me in travel. One for which i feel I grew a fair bit. Toronto seemed like a great place to visit only for me to be disappointed by it but it wasn’t regretful. Montreal however was as advertised but in hindsight I feel like i should have spent my Easter in Montreal instead of Toronto but the only real reason I went to Montreal was because tickets were dirt cheap during Thanksgiving, cheap enough for me to afford to. Whitehorse was a eye opener, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy myself much up there only to go there to say I went up there but I would have no problem going back up there again. 

Fort McMurray was also an eye opening experience for me. I had not returned by to my hometown since 2007 or so so it had been 11 years and only a year before a fire nearly burnt it to a crisp. The city though was very recognizable was not entirely the same to me, I felt like a tourist there. No one outside of my former bosses at McMurray TV recognized me and even then it required a second look from them.

Australia was a trip that I feel more glad to have taken the more I think about it these days. Not just to be with my girlfriend but to also experience a whole different continent and culture not that dissimilar to my own but still its own thing. Looking back being in Andamooka was the best part of the trip followed by Haundorf and exploring Adelaide. 

My traveling in 2019 continued when I took my girlfriend to Disneyland where we spent our easter long weekend there. I had been to Disneyland so many times as a kid and teen but never as an adult where the sole purpose was not for me to go, this time it was for her but I enjoyed the trip nonetheless, more so than I expected to enjoy it.

The trip was followed by stops to Yellowknife, Kelowna, Toronto (for work) capping off with Europe once again.

Yellowknife I enjoyed but I definitely would not need to go back there ever again. Kelowna was disappointing but I think I came in with high expectations. I was hoping for it to be at least similar to the kind of place I enjoyed when I seen it last in 1992 but it was barely recognizable to me. I spent 2 nights in Toronto for work and really had no time to really get a second opinion of the place outside of trying to see more of the beer the city had but I still got disappointed in that.

Then there was my 2.5 weeks in Europe, it had been 5 years since I was in Europe and I only had a short time to enjoy it.

Ghent wasn’t that great but seeing my friend Katharina made it worth it. Luxembourg City was needlessly stressful but more so because of my naivety, it was a beautiful city that I probably could have done another day in but the city was small enough to where two nights was enough for me to get the gist of the place.

Dusseldorf was the best part of the trip where i got to hang out with my first host and her boyfriend. I was only there for 3 nights but I feel like I should have spent longer there, it was just so much fun there.

Berlin I just didn’t enjoy at all which sucked, many because it was there that I realized I couldn’t travel like I did five years ago. I no longer had the stamina or mental fortitude to be able to get up and go for 12 plus hours a day and move to a new place every three days. My time in Berlin was nearly a write off and where I was reminded that this trip needed more vacation and less work to explore.

Zeipzig and Nuremberg were just that, I did next to nothing in Leipzig but there wasn’t much to do there anyway. The same could have been said about Nuremberg which at first felt like a disappointment too given it’s history but the Altstadt festival changed all that and I spent the entire trip there shit faced on hefeweizen beer.

My 2 nights in Amsterdam were ok but I am not going to lie I was ready to go back home though I knew it would not be long before i had that travel itch.

So that is 2019 and my view of the 2010s. In 2010 I was an emotional wreck burning the candle at both ends teetering on a mental breakdown. in 2019 I am 35 years old, in a career, have someone in my life and in pretty good health considering. What does 2020 hold for me in terms of travel and life.

Edmonton is the first stop but I dont think that place counts anymore. It is possible that I may be going to California again for Easter simply because it is cheap to go there. However that is the thing I can't really afford to go anywhere unless it is cheaper. I did want to go to Fort Mac again for 2020 but I am starting to feel like that may be a waste of a trip. There isn’t much I would want to do in Fort Mac, if I go back I would only really wallow in missing living where I once lived, eat lots of Jomaa’s pizza and just explore the same old places I once took for granted. I would like to spend more time really walking through places. I would have if I would have been able to rent a bike for that trip. I was totally ready to bike through the city like I did so often as a kid but I doubt I could now like I couldn't then.

Australia is looking like it will be not he itinerary as well for 2020 as my girlfriend wants to go back home for awhile and there are still plenty of places to see on that continent. Outside of that I have no idea, I feel as though in 2020 I can’t travel hard and have to balance saving with travel. I also need to figure out what the next stage of my life is at this point this coming year. Its another adventure, 10 years ago I wasn’t looking forward to the new decade, 10 years later to tell you the truth I cannot wait.

See you in 2020, shazbot nanu nanu.

[tripstations]

Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains in Madrid

If you are a fan of Pink Floyd and happen to be in Madrid before mid-September, I’d highly recommend taking a trip out of the city centre to visit the Pink Floyd Their Mortal Remains Exhibition located in Feria de Madrid.

I first heard about the exhibition during a visit from my parents to Madrid. My dad has always been a fan of theirs. When I was younger, I generally reacted to their music as most children do to their father’s beats, with general disgust.

But as I have aged, my musical taste has expanded (my waistline is in a similar situation) and now I love a lot of their music. Some of it is still a little too weird, but on the whole, I would happily say I enjoy Pink Floyd.

On the other hand, my dad has been an avid fan of the band for over 50 years! So how would we both react to The Pink Floyd Exhibition? Is it just for the fans or can the casual observer also get a kick out of the experience?

What is the Pink Floyd Exhibition?

The exhibition is a musical journey in the form of documentary footage and personal effects from the band’s history including many rare and previously unseen items. It tells a story from the formation of the group and their weird stuff to the more melodic era and their madcap musical theatre concerts of the ’80s, right up to their reformation for the Live 8 concert in 2005.

Having seen success and received great feedback while in residence in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, it was decided to take the Pink Floyd Exhibition on tour. After leaving London, it has been to Dortmund and Rome and has now landed in Madrid. Where it heads to next is currently unknown, so you only have until 15th September 2019 to give it a visit.

The official website describes it as “an audio-visual journey through 50 years of one of the world’s most iconic rock groups, and a rare and exclusive glimpse into the world of Pink Floyd. It features many previously-unseen objects collected over the band’s eclectic history.”

It even goes a step further to include a quote from a British newspaper “almost as good as seeing the band live”.

Now, that’s some pretty lofty expectations being set right there, so how did it go?

Buying Pink Floyd Exhibition Tickets

It was a spur of the moment decision to pay a visit as my dad had seen it advertised while wandering along Gran Via the previous day. He suggested we checked it out, so I hopped online to check out the tickets.

The tickets were listed on their website at €19.90, but after the usual additional fees they throw in, the total cost ended up at €42.20.

When buying the tickets, I had to specify our arrival time that is broken down into half-hour slots. A nice touch is that the times are colour coded based on popularity, so you can try to aim for a quiet time. If you miss your slot, the website does say they will let you into the next available time, which based on how busy our visit was, shouldn’t be an issue.

Getting to the Feria de Madrid

The Feria de Madrid is a huuuuge exhibition centre, and The Pink Floyd Exhibition takes up just a tiny corner of it. While we drove there, it is also easy to reach by Metro on the pink line, number 8.

I have found this handy map that points out exactly where the exhibition is in the Feria. It would have been pretty helpful for me had noticed it before we visited, I wasted 10 minutes driving around looking for Pink Floyd Exhibition signs that didn’t exist.

If you are driving to the Feria de Madrid, there is plenty of parking (€2.25 per hour) close to the exhibition. I was able to find street side parking quite easily for free. But, it is worth noting I was visiting on a Sunday, if you are visiting mid-week, then these free spaces will probably be a lot harder to come by due to the number of offices in the area.

The Pink Floyd Exhibition

As mentioned, I am certainly not an avid fan of the band. I have a passing interest, the kind of guy that may listen to a best of album now and again. My dad, however, he has been a long time fan of the Pink Floyd, owning pretty much all of their records and also getting to see them live at their peak.

A shipping crate archway painted yellow and black like an oversized lego wasp marked the entrance. With the Madrid sun blinding us outside, we could bearly see what we were walking into.

As my eyes adjusted from the sun to the darkness of the exhibition room, I could see three staff waiting, staring at us. My eyes took just long enough to adjust to make it feel somewhat awkward.

Once my vision was restored, we handed over our tickets and the lady explained to us (in English) that we need to turn the WiFi off on our phones, which was strange, but we did as requested.

As we worked our way around the optimistically set up queue ropes, many surrealistic giant inflatables loomed over us. I later found out they were part of Pink Floyd’s The Wall tour.

As we passed into the next section, there was a small desk to pick the audio gizmo, and a different staff member to explain to us that there were no numbers, wander freely and the gizmo will connect to the correct audio as you look at a screen. Suddenly it made sense why I wasn’t allowed my WiFi on.

The exhibition began with some classic posters and press clipping before introducing us to the Pink Floyd Family tree. This graphic showed the band through their various lineups and other bands or projects that spun from group members. As my dad pointed out, it was interesting how few of them we had ever heard of.

Once we turned the corner, we were into the central part of the exhibition, which was broken down into various time frames. It has a window displays containing lots of paraphernalia relating to the band at that period.

Close to each exhibit were TV screens running various documentaries with band members and associates talking about what they were doing at the time and other stories. While I found it interesting, I did find it difficult to digest as I jumped from one screen to the other. I also found the audio sometimes struggled to connect or tuned into the wrong thing, which led to confusion, but on the whole, they were well-presented displays.

As we slowly made our way through the ’60s and ’70s, we entered a room where there was a floor to ceiling display of the band equipment with a documentary talking about how the ideas and experiments they were performing with music. Also, to the side of the room and my one of my favourite things, a mixer set to the band’s song Money where you can play around with the different instrument levels, fading and get a little experimental myself.

When I finally dragged myself away from destroying one of the band’s iconic hits, I turned the corner to see a replica of the giant wall used on one of their tours and more of the stunning inflatables. This section talks about the bands desire to do more than just concerts and how they came up with the concept of musical theatre. The Wall was the concert my dad attended, so for him; it was a trip down memory lane. For me, it was interesting to learn about how the band nearly brought Heathrow to a standstill with a giant inflatable pig! A little different to these days where it is drones you have to worry about.

Finally, there are a few more displays from their more modern work before building up to the highlight of the exhibition, the immersive experience which is “almost as good as seeing the band live”.

So was it? No, I mean I haven’t seen them live so I cannot compare, but having been introduced to the concept of musical theatre about 15 minutes earlier, this was a massive let down.

My expectation was some clips from the iconic The Wall concert, maybe a medley of there tops songs, but all it is is Comfortably Numb from Live 8 and a video of one of their early hits, Arnold Layne, about a man who pinches underwear off clotheslines.

While the volume was nice and rib vibratingly loud, and the guitar solo is pretty epic, I was expecting better for the grand finale.

Finally, as always at these kinds of things, we had to exit through the gift shop. Both my dad and I were feeling good and felt like we would buy something. He wanted a t-shirt for sure while I can always spend money. However, the prices were something else. While I understand, there is always a premium when buying souvenirs at an event, charging €30-40 for a t-shirt and €40 for the event souvenir book, needless to say, we both left empty-handed.

So did it live up to the expectations?

Well, I’m writing this one week after going, and I’m still unsure. The exhibits and information there are fantastic and look stunning, and any Pink Floyd fan or even those with a passing interest in the band will enjoy the exhibition. However, in my opinion, the way it was presented with the auto-connecting audio didn’t work as well as I think they hoped. While it is old technology now, I still feel that the old audio guide style of tapping in a number would have been a better way.

The audio presentation also means that you end up with your headphones on all the way around, taking away the feeling that it is a group activity. Again, numbered audio guides negate this as rather than a continual stream of information, you can do it in your own time.

The videos just felt like a chopped up documentary, and by the time we were halfway through, I’d given up on them thinking if I care enough, I’ll watch a full documentary about the group on another day.

However, that said, the displays were fantastic, I loved seeing all the concert inflatables, and I learnt a lot about the band. The whole of the past week I have found myself listening to Pink Floyd, the stuff I know I like and trying some of their other stuff too.

I came away with a new appreciation of the group that defied definitions while my dad certainly enjoyed his trip down memory lane. But would I say it was value for money? Not really, I think for what it is, €10 – €15 would have been a fair price, but if you have a love for the band or a dad that loves them, then you will undoubtedly enjoy it, but don’t think about the price.

Final Words

As he features quite strongly in this post, I thought I’d leave the final thoughts to the old man I call dad:

When sitting in a mates house after school in 1967 listening to Pink Floyd’s debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn, you wouldn’t have thought that 52 years later these masters of psychedelic music would still feature in my life. But Floyd like many other bands from the period are still played regularly in my household. So when visiting my son in Madrid recently and seeing the “Experience “ advertised I had to drag my little boy along!

It’s a fascinating insight into the band covering each of the band’s albums chronologically from Piper at the Gates of Dawn to the final tribute to Richard Wight, The Endless River. You get the story of the album told by the band, producers even the album cover artists.

There’s plenty of guitars, drums, keyboards and amps to drool over as well as the larger than life recreation of LP covers. I also found the story behind the staging of The Wall fascinating as I saw the show at London’s Earls Court.

There probably isn’t anything new to learn for a Floyd devotee but having it all under one roof does mean you can indulge yourself and I hadn’t heard the story of the flying pig. The one that crash-landed in Kent after breaking away from its tether over Battersea Power Station during the photo shoot for the Animals cover.

However, one question still remains unanswered, and we’ll never know, would albums like Dark Side of The Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall have been made if Dave Gilmour hadn’t replaced Syd Barrett?

I also feel I must throw in that I was also disappointed with the finale if you are going to create a large screen experience let’s have more than two tracks!

The post Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains in Madrid appeared first on Tripstations.

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[travelsewhere]

When it comes to the types of destinations you come across in Europe, I think the port cities there are some of the continent’s most curious. Rather than being loaded with history or grand beauty, these places always seem to ooze character. I rarely know what to expect going in and usually leave still processing what I’ve seen. That’s how I feel after visiting Hamburg this March.

There was never any doubt that Hamburg would be on my Germany itinerary. People who had been told me how much they enjoyed the city, but never in ways that made it clear what was so special about the city.  I needed to see this city for myself. Having spent 3 days in Hamburg sightseeing around this city in northern Germany, I can clearly see just how complex and unique Hamburg is. Only looking back on it now can I see the similarities between it and other port cities I’ve been to in Europe.

Anyway, to help you along with your trip, here are my tips for visiting Hamburg based on my recent thought-provoking visit.

  Don’t Just See Speicherstadt

When I was planning my Hamburg visit, there was one particular part of the city that I was really excited to see. Called Speicherstadt, this warehouse district had firmly settled in my brain thanks to all the photos I’ve seen of it on Instagram. In my head the image of red brick warehouses looming over narrow waterways was what I expected from Hamburg. While exploring Speicherstadt definitely delivered on that front, standing out as a place unlike any other I’ve seen in Europe, don’t let that be all you see of Hamburg.

What I naively didn’t realise before my first time in Hamburg was that this massive city has loads to see and do. I had no problem filling three days with sightseeing here, bouncing around from one part of the city to the next. What’s great is that these attractions come in many forms. Take for instance the Old Elbe Tunnel which you can descend down into to walk or cycle across under the river. Built in 1911, it’s the oldest river tunnel in Europe and the old lifts that take you down are something else!

Another sight that blew me away was the interior of the St Michael’s Church. I’ve seen loads of European churches at this point, and yet this church still showed me something new. With a lavish baroque design and rings of balconies, it felt more like a theatre than church. I didn’t even climb up its 132-meter-high tower to see the city views and I still left impressed. I’ll get to some of the other major sights in a bit, but that should definitely give you some ideas to start with.

  Start Your Visit with Rathausmarkt

Rather than just heading straight for Speicherstadt, instead begin your Hamburg trip with the Rathausmarkt. This square at the very heart of Hamburg sits wedged between a number of the city’s compelling sights, not least the Hamburg City Hall. There’s a lot to like about the neo-Renaissance look of the City Hall, especially with its central towering spire. You can also duck inside to take a look at its grand halls and continue through to its ornate courtyard.

A short distance from the square lies the Binnenalster, a scenic lake that boasts a great view of the Hamburg cityscape. To get there, I recommend crossing the Kleine Alster canal and walking through the charming Alster Arcade. Circling out further from the main square, you’ll come across several churches like the St. Peter’s Church. You’ll also see one of my favourite historic buildings of Hamburg, the Hulbe Haus. With its patterned brickwork and bay windows, its design seems like a rare sight in Hamburg.

By starting with Rathausmarkt, you quickly get to see several Hamburg attractions straight away. You’re then in a prime position to easily move through the city to wherever your next stop may be.

  Don’t Stress, Stay at Superbude

A daunting part of visiting Hamburg is understanding where you should stay in the city. As soon as a map of hotels and hostels shows up in front of you, confusion is bound to follow. Because of Hamburg’s layout, your accommodation options can be spread out in all directions. The only place there doesn’t seem to be much is right in the city centre. This might all be disheartening at first but don’t fret, it’s perfectly normal.

Because of Hamburg’s decentralised nature and excellent public transport, chances are you won’t be staying right in the middle of the city. This means you need to prioritise other things in your search like cost, quality and public transport access. That’s where the Superbude Hotel Hostel St Georg comes in.

Actually located just beyond the edge of the St Georg district, this hotel hostel has a fantastic energy as soon as you walk in the door. Colourful and fun, every effort is made to make you feel welcome and a stay here feel a joy. Seeing families with kids, young couples and older couples all in the same space immediately told me all I needed to know.

Passing the internet station smothered in stickers and the photo-booth outside you have access to the hotel rooms. Upstairs in my room, the wall shelves are skateboards, a drink crate has been converted into a nice stool and there’s a singing fish in my bathroom! Throw in warm heating in winter, blackout curtains and good Wi-Fi and I couldn’t have asked for more.

To help with your Hamburg stay, Superbude are offering Travelsewhere readers 5€ off their stay per room and per night with the promo code “superstay“. There’s also another Superbude located in St Pauli if that side of the city seems more your speed. Accommodation in Germany isn’t the cheapest so don’t miss this opportunity to save money on somewhere that’s worth it!

  Enjoy Free Views from the Elbphilharmonie

Only opened in 2017, the Elbphilharmonie has quickly become a star attraction in Hamburg. That’s because this concert hall down by the waterfront of HafenCity is mesmerizing to look at. The lower half of the hall is simply a restored warehouse building typical of the area, but the upper glass section is something else entirely. While to me it looked somewhat like an iceberg, others have said it mirrors the shape of waves or sails on a ship. Whatever it reminds you of, it sure is beautiful.

Even if you’re content with just staring up at this beautiful piece of architecture, there’s more to see. You’ll need a concert ticket to actually go inside the main hall, but that’s not the only way to see inside. The venue actually offers free tickets to the plaza level, where you can see the inside of the building and walk around its observation deck. Plaza tickets have set time slots so may have to wait a little if it’s busy, but it’s worth it. Doing a lap of the deck, one side shows you the waterfront along the Norderelbe, another across the river to the industrial districts, the next nearby HafenCity and the last shows you the city skyline. Couldn’t ask more from a free viewpoint in my opinion!

  Make the Most of Public Transport

Hamburg isn’t the kind of city where every sight, attraction and thing to do is found in single district. As you go about sightseeing in Hamburg, you have to move from one district to the next and that’s plain exhausting on foot. You can walk everywhere if you feel like it, but a better use of your time is to make use of the city’s public transport. To help you cover the sprawling footprint of Hamburg, you have the U-Bahn metro, S-Bahn metro, buses and even ferries at your disposal. Between the two metro networks you can reach most places in Hamburg, but buses are another option. The HVV harbour ferries are also nice as they let you mix things up and see the city from the water.

With the Hamburg Card you get free use of the city’s public transport for its duration. You also get discounts on attractions and museums which is handy. These kinds of cards take the stress out of navigating public transport and used right can save you money too.

  Explore Hamburg’s Neighbourhoods

There are some cities in Europe where you have no need to leave the city centre or old town. Hamburg is not one of those cities. The layout of the city means that to see the sights you need to move around. But the major sights aren’t the only reason to explore the different districts of Hamburg. The look and feel of each district can be quite different from the last, making each neighbourhood fresh and interesting.

You only need to compare the warehouse district of Speicherstadt with the outer parts of Hamburg-Neustadt to see this. While both are centred on waterways, Hamburg-Neustadt feels like a trendy inner city neighbourhood and not a maze of brick. Venture into Hamburg’s Portuguese Quarter down by the riverfront and you find something new altogether. Full of mediterranean restaurants, tiled buildings and luxury cars, it feels like a totally different city.

Sometimes that change happens within a single neighbourhood, as it does in St Pauli. Some streets there feel rough and tumble, covered in graffiti, while others feel gentrified and quite pleasant or benign. It’s only by feeling your way around the city that you come to understand just how dissonant Hamburg is.

  Understand the Red Light Districts

For some travellers, especially stag parties, the reason why they travel to Hamburg is the city’s infamous nightlife. If that’s what you’re after with your Hamburg visit, then the Reeperbahn Red Light District is where you want to go.  Found along the Reeperbahn is a seemingly endless run of bars, restaurants and clubs, and yes, strip clubs and brothels. Rather than a seedy back corner of the city, the Reeperbahn is quite an open area. It even feels kind of tame if you pass through during the day. To some this nightlife district is just another part of Hamburg’s culture, similar in a sense to Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

The important thing to understand is that this is one of two red light district’s in Hamburg. The Reeperbahn is thoroughly policed with an active presence of patrolling police officers. Much like any area with drunk people and sex tourism, it still pays to be careful if you visit, but the Reeperbahn is safe for the most part. The same can’t be said for the city’s other red light district in the heart of the St George District.

With warnings from locals about the problems and dangers of the area, the streets around Steindamm and Hansaplatz are best avoided altogether. The areas along Kirchenallee, Lange Reihe and south of Beim Strohhause seemed mostly fine, so maybe use those as boundaries when navigating St George.

  But Seriously, Go Visit Speicherstadt

I could say that I glossed over Speicherstadt and wanted to tell you more about it. The truth though is that I simply wanted to share more photos from the area. It’s strange to think that a warehouse district could be considered beautiful but Speicherstadt certainly is. With block after block of red brick buildings, it can get quite repetitive, but looking along the harbour canals it somehow becomes quite transfixing. No wonder it’s exceptionally popular with tourists.

  Don’t Forget!

Use the promo code “superstay” to get 5€ off your stay per room and per night with Superbude Hotel Hostel St Georg.

  Have you ever visited this curiously complex German city? What else do you think travellers need to know about visiting Hamburg? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I may make a small commission. Of course, this will come at no extra cost to you. 

*Disclosure: My stay at the Superbude Hotel Hostel St. Georg was as a complimentary guest. I also received a complimentary Hamburg Card from Hamburg Tourism to help me with my sightseeing. As always, opinions are completely and genuinely my own.

Now, if you’re looking for a guide to this part of Germany, then you should really look at this Lonely Planet guide. I’ve often travelled with Lonely Planet guides and they can really make life easier.

Why Not Pin It for Later

8 Super Useful Tips for Visiting Hamburg, Germany When it comes to the types of destinations you come across in Europe, I think the port cities there are some of the continent's most curious.

[mrjohnhthompson]

K-Pop Fans Reveal How Much They Spend On Concerts

K-Pop fans go full force for their idols, it’s never done half-heartedly. When they love and follow a band, they try their very best to attend all the concerts, fan-signings, and buy all the merchandise. It might sound like something most fans would do, but it’s not. Merchandising is a huge aspect of K-Pop; and bands are known to release different versions of their albums for die-hard fans to collect. Some of these only differ in that they are packaged with different cards and photos of the band members; making them highly sought after collectibles. Fan meets are also a gamble. You have to buy albums to qualify for the fan meeting, and each album come with a unique code that will be chosen at random. Some fans have no qualms about buying 50 copies of the same album - so long as they get to meet their idols! We were fascinated by this and wanted to learn more about how much K-Pop fans are willing to spend for their favourite artists and bands. We spoke to three fans from different countries - and here’s what they have to say.

Jessica, Indonesia

25-year-old Jessica Tjoa started listening to K-Pop back in 2000. “I was only 7 then. I mostly listened to K-Pop, J-Pop, and Canto-Pop the radio; but for some reason, I was always more inclined towards K-Pop. I would also buy a lot magazines related to K-Pop. One day, my mom decided to install the internet - and that was it. I totally stopped hanging out with my friends and watched K-Pop videos all day,” Jessica confessed. “Shortly after that, I bought my first ever K-Pop album. It was Genie by Girls’ Generation. It was my most prized possession. I bought photobooks and all that too,”. “In 2011, I attended my first ever concert in Singapore. It was Girls’ Generation on their Asian Tour. My mom didn’t allow me to go at first, for financial reasons and because I had exams. At that time, I had just bought a Japanese version of the Girls’ Generation album, so I really had no more money. The album was about RM 300. In the end, I convinced my mom to let me go and she funded that entire trip. The tickets alone already costed $220 (RM540 – based on exchange rate in 2011). “I usually don’t use my parents money for K-Pop related things. But there was this one time I was short of cash and desperately needed to get a plane ticket - so I needed an extra cash boost. This was in 2013. Girls’ Generation was about to lose a member, and it was my favourite member of the band. So I attended all three concerts to get a glimpse of her - in Indonesia, Singapore, and Bangkok. I took up a job in Chatime just to be able to afford the concerts," she added. [table id=1130 /] [table id=1131 /] [table id=1132 /] "The Singapore trip was a jackpot, because not only did I manage to get super-cheap flight tickets - I also met them at the airport!" Jessica sequaled. Jessica also went to Sepang to catch Girls’ Generation perform at the F1 after-party in April 2015. She paid RM70 for that. “In August 2015, I went to South Korea. They were performing on multiple TV channels, and I attended most of it,” she said. [table id=1133 /] “Once, I bought 10 albums to get a fan-sign (autograph), and it was the best decision ever because I got to talk to them. Fan-sign albums are usually a bit more expensive than the usual albums,” [table id=1141 /] In May 2017, Jessica attended her first solo concert of Girls’ Generation member Taeyeon in Bangkok. [table id=1134 /] Taeyeon came to Malaysia early in 2018 for a joint concert with other Korean artists. Jessica, naturally, paid RM500 for the concert ticket without much hesitation. “After that, I went to see Tiffany - another Girls’ Generation member - in Bangkok for a fan meeting in September,” [table id=1135 /] Finally, in December 2018, she made another trip to Bangkok to catch Taeyeon in Bangkok for a two day concert, and of course, she attended both. [table id=1136 /] Jessica also noted that she has no plans to slow things down this year. In February 2019, she is already planning to see Yuri in a fan meeting in Bangkok. Ticket price for that is already a staggering RM700. [table id=1142 /] And that's not even including all the miscellaneous costs that comes with traveling...

Wanyee, Malaysia

Wanyee has been following K-Pop for about 10 years now. She started out with TVXQ, Super Junior, and EXO -  but currently obsessed with BTOB (Born To Beat). “They’re dorky, they sing very well, very talented. And they have real friendship among each other - it’s not just for the sake of business,” Wanyee said. “They’re not as big as all the other bands, but they stole everyone’s hearts with “It’s Okay”,” When asked if she travels a lot for BTOB, she explained that while they do have concerts every year, she was not in favour of flying to another country just for a concert. If she’s going to invest money, she has to make sure it’s going to be worth it. “My most memorable travel was when I attended a fan meeting in Taipei. I was there to meet Sungjae - my favourite member from BTOB. My friends in Taiwan told me he’s going to be there. I was calculating the costs and all. In the end, when they unveiled the price, it was about RM400. So I thought it was a good deal,” “He sang about 4-5 songs, did some activities with the fans, and there was a guaranteed high-five. I was lucky enough that I was also chosen to take a picture with him,” [table id=1137 /] “In 2017, I went to Singapore for ION Orchard’s anniversary concert because Sungjae was invited to perform. The mall approached a fan site and asked them to attend as guests. Since I have a friend in the fan site, I was invited to join along,” Wanyee said. “I was seated in the front and had a pretty good view of the stage - so I think it was worth the money,” she added. [table id=1138 /] Although she didn’t attend that many concerts, she spent thousands of ringgit on merchandise to compensate for it. “Wow, now that I think about it, I bought so many things. I bought photobooks, polaroids, photocards, official lightsticks - all of which came up to about RM1000. For albums alone, I must have spent about RM400,” Wanyee also went on a trip to South Korea to indulge in her favourite K-Pop fueled love for the country and culture. Even though that trip was not meant for any concerts, she made sure to visit the record labels, Cube and SM Entertainment. The entire trip came up to about RM3700. “I also spent about RM135 on beauty products from Tony Moly just to get the free BTOB posters - since they were appointed official ambassadors,” she said. [table id=1143 /]

Phoebe, Singapore

Phoebe, a sales manager from Singapore is a die-hard Super Junior and Infinite fan. She, like most other fans, is no stranger to traveling and buying a tonne of merchandise of her K-Pop idols. She’s been a fan of Super Junior since their early days in 2005. “I don’t attend too many concerts, I’m quite picky. When I do go, I make sure I get good seats or some other perks. But I’ve attended many concerts in Singapore,”

Concerts attended in Singapore

[table id=1140 /] “These are only the major ones, I’ve attended other K-Pop concerts too. Overall, I think I have spent close to RM6000 on concerts alone,” she said. Aside from Singapore, Phoebe also loves traveling to Japan for concerts. She loves the place, the food, and the culture there. And also because K-Pop concert tickets are cheaper in Japan. “I always go to Japan for concerts - mostly because I love Japan! I went to Japan in September 2018 to catch the sub-unit of Super Junior in action,” Phoebe said. [table id=1139 /] “Concerts in Japan are generally cheaper and it’s the same price for the entire stadium,” she added. [table id=1144 /]

'No regrets'

When all three of them were asked if they regretted spending that much of money, all of them said no. “I don’t spend spending the money because I love them and they have somehow become a part of my life. Definitely no regrets, and I’ll continue to spend for concerts and merch. Do what makes you happy!,” Jessica said. Both Phoebe and Wanyee agree that they have no regrets either, mostly because they pick which concerts they want to attend and make sure they get the most out of it. “I’m a working adult, and I have a lot of self-control. I also make sure I spend within my means – both financial and time-wise,” Phoebe noted.

The post K-Pop Fans Reveal How Much They Spend On Concerts appeared first on iMoney Malaysia.

[joshuamshea84]

Explore Sydney on a Budget: 13 Cheap or Free Things to Do

Updated: 11/06/2018 | Novemebr 6th, 2018

As my friends and I drank wine in the shadow of the Opera House, I couldn’t help but be happy – I was back in Sydney for the first time in five years and I was here for over two weeks!

“Shall we go somewhere else?” my friends asked.

“Sure, let’s get the bill!” I replied.

When our check came, I was reminded of something about Sydney I had forgotten: its high prices. Even with a currently weak Australian dollar, Sydney was more expensive than I remembered.

With its 10 AUD sandwiches, 10 AUD beers, 19 AUD cocktails, 30 AUD hostels (sometimes up to 40 AUD!!!), and outrageous restaurant prices, Sydney can burn a hole in your wallet quicker than actual fire. It was going to be an expensive two weeks if I didn’t figure out how to enjoy the best this city had to offer on a budget. Leaving no stone unturned (OK, probably one or two), I found several ways to save big here – while still filling your days and having a lot of fun.

While Syndey is never going to be the cheapest destination to travel to in the world, there are plenty of ways to save money in Syndey thanks to all the free and cheap things to do there. Between museums, markets, beaches, nature walks, and some local deals, there are plenty of ways to lower your costs on your next visit!

I’ve divided this blog posts into two sections:

Part 1: Free things to do in Sydney Part 2: Cheap things to do in Sydney

Just click on the link above and get to the section you want!

Free Things to Do in Sydney

1. Get an Opal card This metro card is free — you just need to load it with money — and worth using for three reasons: it offers discounted fare compared to purchasing one-use tickets (this varies by distance); there’s a maximum fare charge of 15 AUD per day; and on Sundays, the maximum is 2.50 AUD. That means you can go anywhere on the transportation system – whether by metro, ferry, or light rail – and you’ll never pay more than 2.50 AUD! It’s an amazing deal.

2. Explore the free museums Australia has a lot of expensive museums, but tons of free ones too. Some worth considering are:

The Mint (a small exhibit on how they used to make money)

The Australia Center for Photography

The White Rabbit Gallery (beautiful art)

The Manly Art Museum

The Sydney Observatory

The Rocks Discovery Museum!

3. The Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of NSW is one of my favorite museums in the city. There are so many exquisite landscape paintings, portraits, and statues in its collection by Australian and European artists (and even a few by Monet). It’s a really substantial collection. Some of my favorites were Albert Hanson’s “Pacific Beaches,” Guerard’s “Jebel Cherib” and “Milford Sound,” Peter Paul Rubens’ “Self-Portrait,” and Batten’s “Snowdrop and the Seven Little Men.”

4. The Museum of Contemporary Art The contemporary art museum also is free and features Australian artists, including many Aboriginals. While I’m not a huge fan of this type of art (bottles on the floor is NOT art), the Aboriginal collection was breathtaking. You can really feel the artists’ connections to their land and culture as well as the pain of past attempts to take it away from them.

5. Visit the beaches Sydney is a city famous for its (free) beaches, and there’s no better way to spend one of the city’s many sunny days than by enjoying one of them. Try to avoid going on the weekends, when they fill up and you have to fight for space. While Bondi is the most famous, be sure to check out some of these other great beaches:

Manly

Watson’s Bay

Coogee

Bronte (my favorite)

6. Take a nature walk There are a number of stunning public coastal walks that allow you to take in the breathtaking natural beauty of Sydney’s harbor and coastal cliffs. While tons of people do the two-hour Coogee-to-Bondi walk (avoid it on the weekends), I found Watson’s Bay and the Split-to-Manly walks quieter, more relaxing, and beautiful. Some other walks worth checking out are:

Rose Bay to Watson’s Bay

Watson’s Bay to Dover Heights

Chowder Bay to Balmoral Beach

Jibbon Beach Loop Track

7. Free walking tours One of the best ways to explore a new city is by taking a free walking tour. These will introduce you to all the major sites and give you a solid introduction to the city’s history and culture. Best of all, these tours are free (just make sure to tip!). Two suggested companies for walking tours in Sydney are:

I’m Free Walking Tours: Daily tours of the city center and The Rocks (Sydney’s original settlement).

Sydney Greeters: This is a free service that connects you with locals who will show you their neighborhood (advanced booking required).

Cheap Things to Do in Sydney

8. Take the Town Hall tour Built in 1889, Sydney’s beautiful town hall is a picturesque Victorian building. On Tuesday mornings, there’s a detailed two-hour tour that you can take for only 5 AUD. It’s a great way to learn some extra history about the building as well as the city.

9. Visit the markets Sydney has a ton of amazing markets to walk through. No matter what you’re looking for, from antiques to food to local crafts, you’ll likely be able to find it at a market. I love the Paddington Market and the farmers market the best. They draw an eclectic crowd, and the farmers market makes me want to cook nonstop. Here are some other great markets worth checking out:

Glebe Market

Rozelle Collectors Market

Orange Grove Organic Market

Bondi Farmer’s Market

Manly Market Place

Chinatown Night Market

10. Attend one of Sydney’s many events Since Sydney has a complex about Melbourne being called the culture capital of Australia, it tries to outdo its rival by hosting over dozens of events each year. It has art gallery nights, concerts, festivals, and much more. Most of them are free and can be found on the Sydney tourism website. Some of the more noteworthy events are:

New Year’s Eve (Sydney is one of the biggest New Year’s Eve destinations in the world)

Lost Paradise (a 3-day music festival)

City2Surf (an annual race and fun run)

Vivid Sydney (an annual light, music, and idea festival)

Twilight at Taronga (summer music series)

11. Eat cheap! Need a cheap meal? The sushi trains around the city offer a filling meal for 10-20 AUD, the noodle and dumpling shops in Chinatown offer tasty and authentic meals for less than 10 AUD, and Lentil as Anything (a vegetarian restaurant in Newtown) offers meals on a “pay as you feel” system. Another cheap place to eat is the food court in the MLC Centre, a big office building in the heart of the business district and popular with office workers. From Mexican to sushi to salads to sandwiches, you can find big-portion meals for 10 AUD or less. For more cheap eats, check out:

El Jannah (chicken sandwiches)

Chinese Noodle Restaurant (homemade noodles)

Spicy Joint (spicy Chinese food)

Spice I Am (Thai food)

Wish Bone (fried chicken and poutine)

12. Avoid the expensive stuff In many parts of the world, the high end offers some value and you can walk away from an expensive meal and say “that was worth every penny!” However, that’s not often the case in Sydney. I was always disappointed. From cocktail bars to upscale steak and sushi dinners, I always left hungry, unhappy, and thinking about the lack of value I got. Stick to beer, wine, and the low-end restaurants when you’re in town. You’ll get more bang for your buck!

13. Visit backpacker bars for cheap drinks Drinking in Sydney is expensive – with beers costing up to 10 AUD each – but the backpacker bars are where to go for a cheap pint. World Bar and Ivy Hotel have backpacker specials for 4-7 AUD, and the Peter Pan Travel Agency in Kings Cross has free drinks on Tuesdays!

***Sydney is a vibrant, laid-back beach city with an incredible array of activities. If you don’t watch out, it will bust your budget really fast! Sydney may not be one of the cheapest cities in the world, but there are plenty of free and cheap events to keep you busy during your visit. I found myself with plenty of full days that ended with an even fuller wallet!

Book Your Trip to Sydney: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. My favorite places to stay in Sydney are:

Wake Up!

YHA Rocks

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Note: All prices are in Australian dollars.

Photo Credit: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14

The post Explore Sydney on a Budget: 13 Cheap or Free Things to Do appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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