This month’s desktop calendar preview at left.
As usual, the image and download instructions can be found under the “For Your Desktop” tab.
Enjoy!
Posted in Europe, Free Stuff, Photos, Spain, Travel on 2 June 2009 | 2 Comments »
This month’s desktop calendar preview at left.
As usual, the image and download instructions can be found under the “For Your Desktop” tab.
Enjoy!
Posted in Architecture, Europe, Free Stuff, Spain, Travel, tagged desktop calendar, free download, Granada on 6 May 2009 | 3 Comments »
This month’s image comes from Granada, Spain. Preview here:
If you’d like to download, grab the image and follow the instructions in the “For Your Desktop” tab.
Enjoy!
Posted in Asia, Belgium, Canada, Caribbean, Cheap Activities, Europe, Finland, Food, France, Free Stuff, Germany, Malta, Middle East, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA, Web Tips, tagged Ben and Jerry's, Free Cone Day, ice cream on 21 April 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Once a year, Ben and Jerry’s gives away ice cream at its scoop shops free.
TODAY’S THE DAY!
In the U.S. and Canada, find your nearest scoop shop here.
Overseas, give one of these two links a try: 1, 2. (You’ve got a chance if you’re in Aruba, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, or the UK.)
Enjoy!
Posted in Airports, Europe, Germany, Information, Public Transport, Travel, Web Tips, tagged Berlin, Schönefeld, SXF on 27 January 2009 | 2 Comments »
A new “express” bus service now links Südkreuz train station in Berlin with Schönefeld Airport. Price: 6 euros, 4 euros with any BVG ticket, 3 euros with a weekly or monthly ticket. For those flying into Berlin, the ticket remains valid for further transit on public transportation in Berlin ABC.
This bus represents no monetary savings to Shoestring travelers.
I’m posting about the service nevertheless, as you may find that it will save you transit time, depending on where you are staying/living. For less than 2 euros more (with my monthly ticket), I may cut up to 30 minutes off my route to the airport — and that’s something worth writing about!
Related Posts
Posted in Architecture, Cheap Activities, Europe, Free Stuff, Germany, Photos, Travel, tagged Berlin, Photo Friday, Reichstag on 20 January 2009 | 8 Comments »
I love capitols – can’t get enough of their marble halls, gilded domes, dark wood paneling and hundreds of tiny desks (at least they always *look* tiny from the viewing gallery) with multicolored voting buttons. They capture a regal era removed from our own with a permanence found rarely in modern architecture.
While in DC at the beginning of January, my destination of choice was the new visitors’ center at the U.S. Capitol. On the way, I passed the inauguration grounds with stage building in progress, pictured on Tuesday. (Where did you spend your inauguration day? Share your stories in the comments.)
In sheer contrast to the classical American dome is that of the German Reichstag, whose glass dome by Sir Norman Foster was added to the building after reunification. The overarching theme of Germany’s new governmental architecture is transparency, with buildings and offices as visible as possible. From the visitors’ area of the dome, it is possible to look down into the plenary room below, as pictured here.

A visit to the Reichstag is fun and free — check all the details for making yours a smooth one in this previous post.
Follow other Photo Friday participants here.
Posted in Airlines, Airports, Drink, Europe, Information, Packing, Shopping, Travel, USA, Web Tips, tagged duty-free, TSA on 12 January 2009 | 2 Comments »
Some friends of mine made an unhappy discovery when departing the Czech Republic with a long-sought bottle of wine (or two): their duty-free purchase was confiscated when making a connection in another EU airport.
As much as I complain about the security theater
Americans abbreviate TSA, there is one upside to the system: once you’re in (and don’t connect in a stupid airport [ahem, JFK] where you have to exit and reenter secured areas when changing flights), you and your liquids are in. Put that chapstick back in your pocket, enjoy a long swig from your refilled water bottle — no one will bug you about those items again.
Unfortunately, if you are connecting onward through a European airport, you will be subject to repeated searches – necessitating the return of your chapstick to your 1L ziploc, the dumping of your secure-area beverages and, for the unlucky, the confisciation of your duty-free liquids, creams and gels.
How do you avoid this expensive dilemma? Find out after the jump.
Posted in Airports, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Information, Luggage, Travel, USA, tagged ESTA, Euro, Mexico, passport, Slovakia on 7 January 2009 | 2 Comments »
With the focus on staycations and naycations, there’s little reporting on important nuts-and-bolts issues affecting thousands still on the road. Expect to hear about these only when they start causing major snarls for casual tourists unaware of the changes.
Posted in Airports, Architecture, Cheap Activities, Europe, Free Stuff, Germany, Photos, Shopping, Travel, tagged Frankfurt/Hahn airport, Koblenz, Photo Friday on 4 December 2008 | 9 Comments »
At the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers in the lovely city of Koblenz, Germany, stands a large
monument called Deutsches Eck (German Corner). Originally dedicated to the empire of Kaiser Wilhelm I, its partial destruction in WWII led the remnants to serve as a memorial to German unity until 1989. It was rebuilt by Koblenz in 1993.
Climbing inside the central structure (below the statue) affords views along both river banks and of the town itself. Koblenz is a well-maintained city with abundant plantings and whimsical fountains and figures sprinkled throughout. The center of town is dominated by pedestrian shopping areas, though it’s easy to find refuge from inclement
weather in the indoor (and partially underground) Löhr Center mall at the edge of this area. The monument is at most a 15-minute walk from the central bus or train stations.
Given its location, the area is popular with river-cruising tourists. You don’t need to commit a week, however — one- or three-hour boat trips are readily available at standard rates. In the summer, it is possible to make a leisurely daytrip all the way from Cologne or Bonn by boat.
The monument (admission: free) has many details to be discovered by visitors. Each of the German states are represented by a plaque in the rounded area while their flags grace the waterfront. I’m a sucker for reliefs like these giant carved stone snakes above the benches at the base of the monument. For younger visitors, there is plenty of open space for running, climbing and jumping.
Koblenz can be reached by bus from Frankfurt/Hahn airport and, if the timing is right, is an enjoyable day out for any passengers connecting on low-cost carriers with a long layover.
Find (and join!) other Photo Friday participants here.