KLM Airlines has just rolled-out a new digital service called MydreamCatcher . Travelers simply enter a destination and dates and the app offers a wide range of recommendations on hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment and shopping. The information is aggregated from a dozen review and informational sites, including Yelp, TripAdvisor, Frommers, Foursquare, Facebok, Last.fm, Google, Muselia and Wikipedia. Take a spin.
Elemental Iceland is an extraordinary time-lapse video shot over a three week road-trip last month . Peripatetic Norwegian photographer Stian Rekdal created the video from more than 40,000 shots.
If you’ve ever visited Iceland, it will whisk you right back there. If you’ve never been, be prepared to start searching Kayak for airfares.
You see more of Rekdal’s awesome travel photography on flickr and Facebook.
Many thanks to Jessica Finger from noodle.org for this neat infographic (see below). Created in partnership with Betsy Bird, the New York Public Library‘s Youth Materials Collection Specialist, it covers some of the best children’s books of 2013.
If you are anything like me, you agonize over finding the right children’s books when buying gifts. This infographic may be just the ticket. Take a look:
Do you think that you know your way around London? Know the Underground like the back of your hand ? Could you name all 270 Tube stations? Well, comedian and song-writer Jay Forman has managed to squeeze it all into a three minute song tune “Every Tube Station Song”. Follow along as he takes a whirlwind ride on the Tube.
This month the legendary British street artist known as Banksy is hitting the streets of New York City with a new “show” titled “Better Out Than In”. The dodgy artist has launched a new website to accompany the show at BanksyNY.com . He’s already kicked-off the fun with two pieces in Lower Manhattan featuring two boys called “Graffiti is a Crime”.
Update: It seems that the “Graffiti” pieces were possibly vandalized already. No one knows if the paint-over was by Banksy or just a critic.
Situated in a former industrial warehouse building, Bonn Germany’s BaseCamp Young Hostel is a very clever campground with a twist. The hostel consists of a group of rehabbed, quirky, vintage camping trailers and rail cars. The units are arranged in a circle to recreate that old campground vibe and to encourage camper camaraderie. The trailers each sports a unique theme and décor, with names like Space Shuttle, Drag Queen, Safari & Flower Power.
Launched in August by Michael Schloesser, the unique hostelry offer 120 beds in 15 different units and will be open year-round. Accommodations cost from €54 to 76 per night. Check it out right here.
Like every other visitor to Barcelona, I’ve been gobsmacked by the awesome Sagrada Familia church. And like most Gaudi fans, I’ve wandered around the unfinished marvel trying to imagine what the completed project will look like. This amazing video (see below) from the Sagrada Familia Foundation combines computer animation and stunning aerial footage to show exactly what the UNESCO World Heritage Site will look like when it’s completed in 2026.
Gradually shifting and changing throughout the day, Shadow City by Netherlands-based designer Izabela Boloz, captures the movement of sunlight to cast fifty-two images based on Copenhagen’s history, culture and environment.
Located on the Østerbro district, Shadow City invites passing pedestrians to stop and reflect on the city through time. The installation will be in place for another year.
For decades I’ve documented my travels with an endless supply of pocket-sized notebooks filled with scribbled notations on nearly every museum, attraction, restaurant, bookshop or pub that I visited. These days I’m always on the look-out for new apps that do a better job organizing and saving my travel history.
So, I’m looking forward to testing a new travel app called Rove which I’m promised will automatically generate a personal travelogue for me based on GPS, a special secret algorithm, and my own notations.
Maybe I’ll even be able to track all of those great tapas bars in Spain that I can’t seem to keep track of.
Whether you called it a Kombi, Samba, Transporter or simple a Bus, the Volkswagen Transporter Van has been an iconic vehicle for travelers and wanderers for more than sixty three years. Now it’s finally happened—Volkswagen is killing off the Bus for good. On December 31, 2013 the last van will roll off the assembly line in Brazil and a golden era will end.
I’m taking the news personally because I spent a youthful summer living and traveling in a VW Bus. The ugly red and white van belonged to my brother, but evolved into a rolling home for both of us one summer long ago. It was uncomfortable, poorly appointed and prone to inopportune breakdowns, but it was fantastic.
If you share my nostalgia for the Bus or just want to understand why the homely, unprepossessing vehicles have a place in so many hearts around the world, check-out director Damon Ristau’s documentary “The Bus”. Here’s a peek:
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