The worlds biggest event starts today in Munich, the 174th Oktoberfest. The celebrations will commence with the traditional tapping of the barrel by Munich’s Lord Mayor at 12 PM making way for over 6 million visitors to the festival over the following two weeks. Over six million litres of fresh German beer will be drank along with quarter of a million pairs of sausages, half a million roast chickens, plus paddocks of oxen and more pretzels than you could point a stick at. There are over 12,000 staff employed over the festival with 1600 waitresses, some can carry a dozen full litre beers at once. The huge tens seat over 100,000 people in total at any one time and with all the beer and food the site needs over 1800 toilets.
Yebisu Garden Place is the located in the suburb now more commonly known as Ebisu which is a suburb of Tokyo not far from Shibuya and Roppongi. The Yebisu beer head quarters is situated here. The huge complex features a beer museum complete with samples of their tasty products, a large shopping mall, several restaurants and of course an indoor beer hall. The highlight of the centre is the whimsical Oktoberfest clock which celebrates every hour and delights young and old. The clock features horse drawn carriages with beer barrels, lots of German inspired characters and of course plenty of Ompha music, which for a moment makes you feel like you are in Munich.
If you want to see a live performance in New York you don’t need to visit Broadway or a nightclub, all you have to do is hop on the Subway. Once banned, busking in New York’s subway system has flourished since the mid 1980’s, with the subway operators even picking out the better ones and giving them approval to perform in the top spots on the subway, via their Music Under New York program.
Even with all the hand picked licensed buskers there are still plenty of unapproved buskers that range from fantastic to just plain awful. A common occurrence is buskers that ride the trains raking in money from carriage to carriage with performances that range from barbershop quartets to break dancers, so if you are on the subway and some one breaks out into song don’t be alarmed, it’s art. Read the rest of this entry »
The Eurostar is the famous train that takes passengers from Waterloo Station in London to Paris’ Gare du Nord as well as to Brussels South. Travel time between London and Paris has been around 2 hours 35 mins in the past but recently by using a new high speed track in the UK a new record has been broken at 2 hours and 3 min. Previously once the train hit the UK the trains had to slow down to use the British rail network along side other trains. Now the new high speed track brings the trains to a new terminal at St Pancras at the same speed as the French side, proving the British can be as good as the French! If you need to get from London to Paris go the train instead of the plane, its the quickest way to get from the centre of one city to the centre of another. Read the rest of this entry »
With Oktoberfest starting in Germany in only a couple of days we thought we would start the festivities a bit earlier here at Tripandom. We found this great sausage restaurant in Nurnberg in a city which is known for the world’s biggest Christmas market and remembered it’s nasty past where it was the birthplace of the Third Reich- but probably its biggest call to fame is the home of the Bratwurst sausage. There’s probably no better place to try one of these tasty morcels than at the Bratwursthausle. The restaurant cooks their bratwursts in three different ways- you need to try all three – they have roasted ones called the Brat and poached ones in a hot vinegary wine sauce with onions which they call saure zipfel they aslo do a rauch which is a tasty smoked variety all covered with Nürnberg senf which is a delicious mustard then wash them all down with a couple of litres of Nurberg’s best beer and have you got a great dinner on your hands. Read the rest of this entry »
Geelong in Victoria Australia is home to over 100 wooden bollards painted up as historical figures from the area stretching the length of its magnificent waterfront. This one in our photograph is a favorite for the town, he celebrates the rich tradition of one of Australian Rules Football most mighty of clubs- the Geelong Cats, who incidentally finished on top of the ladder this season. There bollards were painted by renowned local artist Jan Mitchell and are a favorite for young and old. Made from century old timber from a old city pier that was removed, the iconic bollards cheerfully brighten up the waterfront precinct. Read the rest of this entry »
The Peak Tram is one of Hong Kong’s most popular and historic tourist attractions. Dating back to 1888 the 373 metres of steep track up The Peak offers spectacular views of this magnificent harbor city. The tram travels through the lush mountain through palms and other tropical growth. At the top of the peak there is a magnitude of things to do other than be dazzled by the glittering city below. There is are dining options and of course shopping, you cant seem to escape it in Hong Kong! Recently the world famous Madame Tussaunds has opened a display as well as a huge gaming centre where electronics company EA offer their latest computer games. Twilight is the best time to visit although it can be quiet busy but next to the Star Ferry it has got to be one of the cheapest treats in Hong Kong with one way trips costing only $20HK.
Check out this video of the Absolut Ice Bar at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarv Sweden. The whole complex is made out of ice like a giant igloo. Located at one of the northern most points of Sweden it not too far from the south pole (and possibly Santa’s house) you can stay at the hotel for about 200 euro a night where you sleep in a ultra warm sleeping bag on top an ice bed. With temperatures around -6 deg C there is no need for a mini bar in these rooms besides you will want to warm yourself up with a drop of vodka from their Ice Bar. Also note the glasses sitting on top of the bar, if they look a bit odd to you, it’s because they are made of ice. Read the rest of this entry »
Singapore Airlines have announced that the world’s first Airbus A380 route will be a daily flight between London -Singapore and Sydney starting on October 28th this year. The Airbus promises to revolutionize air travel with this huge double decker aircraft dwarfing all other aircraft. The Singapore Airlines configuration will seat 471 people with 399 seats available in economy class as well as business and first class seating. Tickets for first flight between Singapore and Australia were recently auctioned on the eBay website with thousands raised for charity. Singapore Airlines has so far committed to buy 19 of these huge aircraft and are the first company to receive the plane. So far Airbus has over 170 orders for the plane with Emirates having orders for 55, Qantas having orders for 20 and Singapore having ordered 19. Read the rest of this entry »
About two and a half hours drive east of Darwin in the heart of the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park you will find one of the worlds most unique hotels. A huge crocodile shaped hotel. This luxury hotel is at Jaburu in the heart of Kakadu. The hotel, created by a Darwin architect working with the local Aboriginal people, measuring over 250 metres long the head holds the foyer, reception, gift shop and restaurants. While the body is home to the 110 luxury rooms. The legs are the stairs to the rooms while the tummy of the beast is home to the pool and gardens. The whole reptile is covered in a green scale like metal cladding. Tourist coaches pull up in the jaws of the crocodile to offload and pick up the hotel guests.
