Matador Network's Blog, page 2167
December 6, 2014
20 epic wine countries
[Editor’s note: The expertise in this article comes from Sam Hovland, wine buyer at East End Wines in Austin, TX. I’ve been shopping East End since they opened last year; I typically pop in once a week for one of their free tastings. All quotes below are Sam’s.]
1. Mendoza, Argentina
This is where I got into wine beyond the $5 table red. They had my number, mixing biking with tastings, and prices are low enough that backpackers can get a bottle of the good stuff to take home.
The highness and dryness of Mendoza province combine with snowmelt irrigation tapped from the nearby Andes to create ideal growing conditions. Malbec — a grape originally produced (rather unsuccessfully) in France — is the signature varietal, while the lesser-known but also nationally iconic Torrontés is grown in provinces to the north.
Maipú, just southeast of the city of Mendoza, gets most of the tourists (and cyclists), but Luján de Cuyo, Valle de Uco, and Tupungato aren’t much farther out and are also major producers. Head there to avoid the crowds.
Side trip: Rent a car and drive west on Ruta 7 up to Parque Provincial Aconcagua and the highest peak outside the Himalayas.
2. Burgundy, France
Burgundy packs a high concentration of great wines into a small area, while subtle differences in the micro-climates of each vineyard allow in-depth study of how growing conditions affect output. It’s a complicated region in terms of tracing the ownership structure of the vineyards, which “makes seeing the storied vineyards in person so interesting and important to understanding them.”
Burgundy’s size means it’s possible to cover most of the region in a few days. Best to concentrate on the Cote d’Or (which includes the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits), sleeping in Dijon and going by train to the medieval town of Beaune rather than paying much more to stay onsite.
Side trip: Find out how to work the Dijon mustard fields in 5 WWOOFing Opportunities in France.
3. Willamette Valley, Oregon
Many of my favorite domestic wines come from the Willamette Valley. The people there are very passionate about their wines…and work hard to improve the output of their vineyards and find the best spot to grow the most appropriate clones — my favorites here being Pinot Noir and Riesling, though there are also great Chardonnays and Pinot Gris.
There are [many] excellent wineries within a few hours of Portland in the Northern Willamette (from Portland south to Salem), and the entire Willamette Valley is 175 miles from end to end…. Great food wines poured alongside great local meals, full of individualistic young wineries. I try to visit as often as possible.
Side trip: Here’s our Green Guide to Portland for when you’re there.
4. Wellington/Wairarapa, New Zealand
This is one of the smaller of New Zealand’s 10 primary grape growing regions, but the quality of its wine surpasses the others’.
The most important varietals are Sauvignon Blanc, which put the country on the world wine map in the 1980s, and Pinot Noir, each accounting for a little over a third of the region’s production.
The subregion of Martinborough, focused on the village of the same name, has the oldest vines and is said to make the best product.
Side trip: I’d just rent a car and tour the whole country, having been inspired recently by Photo Gallery: 22 Natural Destinations in New Zealand.
5. La Rioja, Spain
Pretty much the whole of Spain is planted with grapes, but this is the classic Spanish wine-producing region, situated in the north of the country with its capital at Logroño. Its position, sheltered by the Cantabrian Mountains, gives it a more moderate climate than the rest of northern Spain.
Winemaking here is over 1,000 years old. Today the region is best known for its blends, with the primary red varietal used being Tempranillo and Viura the white. Traditionally, Rioja wines underwent extensive aging, with several years in oak barrels. This is slowly changing to meet increased demand, but you can expect strong vanilla flavors from a typical glass of Rioja.
Side trip: Just to the north are San Sebastián and Bilbao; farther west, the mountain region of Picos de Europa is probably my favorite spot in Spain.
6. Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
Thought of more as a beer country, this seems to have made the wine production that does go on in Germany more serious, with a much higher percentage of it being quality wine. Great acidity and lower alcohols make Riesling one of the darlings of sommeliers for food pairing, and it’s often their personal mission to get patrons to appreciate the great wines and values of Germany.
Small amounts of red are produced…, but slate driven mineral whites from the Riesling grape in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer are a great place to start. Don’t neglect the off dry styles in favor of the bone dry earlier harvest wines — these are unique and characterful wines.
Branch out into the Pfalz and Nahe later for other regions of note.
Side trip: Across the border, nearby Strasbourg is a Place to Experience La Belle France.
7. Northern California, USA
Napa is probably the best-known name among American drinkers, and at just an hour north of San Francisco is worth a visit — if you have specific wineries you want to hit. When I went, I was overwhelmed by the hundreds of options and the bumper-to-bumper along much of Highway 29 (they were working to widen this to four lanes, so hopefully traffic will improve).
Regusci Winery. Via
Instead, I’d recommend driving another ~80 miles up 128 to check out the much mellower offerings of Anderson Valley, where only a dozen or so mostly newcomer operations compete for visitors and Pinot Noir is the big dog. I stopped into Foursight Wines and was invited back to watch the punchdown underway on one of their two fermenting vats. You won’t get that in Napa.
As a bonus, there’s Anderson Vally Brewing when the wine gets old, and just up the highway at Indian Creek County Park you can camp in an old-growth redwood grove for $15.
Side trip: Up the coast in Fort Bragg is one beautifully bizarre beach, covered with perfectly smooth, multicolored glass.
8. Tuscany, Italy
Home of the “dry Chianti,” Tuscany is a hilly region on Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast. The hills both moderate the summertime heat and give the elevated vineyards more exposure to the sun, something that benefits the region’s signature Sangiovese grape.
Florence makes a good base of operations for tours of the different subregions, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, and Carmignano. Make sure to try the Vin Santo, Tuscany’s world-famous dessert wine.
Side trip: Just up the coast are the five villages of Cinque Terre and the national park of the same name.
9. Maipo, Chile
On the other side of the Andes from Mendoza is Chile’s Maipo Valley, a subregion of the larger Valle Central.
Cabernet is the big thing in Maipo, and the area is widely cultivated, helping Chile earn its spot as the fifth largest wine exporter in the world. Irrigation comes from the Maipo River, which flows straight from the mountains.
For something different, head north to arid Atacama region, where the Andean-centric brandy-like wine Pisco is produced.
Side trip: Not far from the vines, and also close to Santiago, is Cajón del Maipo.
10. Champagne, France
Chalky soils at the northern edge of where grapes can be grown give us sparkling wines that define the standards for the category but remain a mystery to too many.
Big Champagne houses do their best to make a product that varies little from year to year, defeating some of the magic of wine, so I look for the RM (Récoltant-Manipulant) code on the label for grower Champagnes that are more tied to vintage and place…. If you think that Champagne is only for celebrating, then celebrate more things.
Side trip: Paris is just an hour or so west by train.
11. Greece
Centuries of Ottoman rule did a lot to set back winemaking in a region that historically had been quite serious about it. But today, you can find wines made from indigenous Greek grapes that are unlike anything else out there.
Joining the EU was one of the best things that could have happened to the Greek wine industry, and now much more clean and zippy wines are emerging, with lots of my favorites coming from the island of Santorini.
Samos and the Peloponnese are two other spots to check out, the former focusing strongly on the Muscat grape.
Side trip: A tour of Santorini wineries is likely to be the side trip, not the other way around. Here’s some advice when visiting the island: What NOT to do in Santorini.
12. Texas Hill Country
Warning: this list was made by a Texan.
Our long, hot summers limit what Texas winemakers can produce, but there’s surprising variety coming out of the Hill Country, and a lot of it (to my tastes, at least) is damn good.
I’m a member of the wine club at Becker Vineyards and adore their Malbec; anything marked “Reserve” is also kick-ass without fail.
Most of the action happens on Highway 290 between Stonewall and the old German town of Fredericksburg. Lots of B&Bs in the latter, which make for a great weekend basecamp for wine tours.
Side trip: Check out Enchanted Rock State Natural Area for hiking/camping; Austin is about an hour and a half from Fredericksburg.
13. Sicily, Italy
Choosing a region to tour in Italy is a bit like picking a winery in Napa — the options are so numerous that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Sicily has two things going for it: being an island its land area is limited, and in the Italian wine world it’s most definitely an “up and coming” destination — get there to see it arrive.
In the past, Sicily was mainly known for its fortified Marsala wine, but recently local winemakers have had international success producing Nero d’Avola, a varietal unique to the island.
Side trip: Get tips on seeing the whole island in Roadtripping the Sicilian Coast.
14. Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grapes have been grown in this part of what’s now known as the Cape Winelands since 1679, helping Stellenbosch become the center of wine production and study in South Africa.
Red varietals are the focus here, led by Cabernet and including Merlot and Shiraz. A number of Port-style fortified wines are also produced.
For information on how to put together a trip that hits all the region’s major players, check the website of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes.
Side trip: Down on the coast, you can get Face to Face with South Africa’s Great Whites.
15. McLaren Vale, Australia
Australia is the fourth largest wine exporter in the world, but the focus in McLaren Vale is on quality over quantity. Vines were first planted here in 1838, and many wineries are still family-run.
The Shiraz grape is the region’s mainstay, while Cabernet, Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc, and others are grown as well. McLaren Vale is a short drive south of Adelaide and in close proximity to beaches and Coorong National Park.
Side trip: Drive down the coast and cross into Victoria province to find the Great Ocean Walk.
16. Douro Valley, Portugal
The Douro Valley wine country is so incredibly beautiful that it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And the wine’s not too shabby, too: the area is probably best known for its Port, but it also makes claret’s and Burgundy-style wines.
Aside from the gorgeous scenery and excellent wine, the Douro Valley has some first class restaurants and small hotels that make it a must on any trip to the Iberian peninsula.
Side Trip: Take a four-wheeler tour through the Coa Valley Archaelogical Museum and Park. The wine country is also only about an hour and a half drive from Porto, Portugal, and a three drive to Salamanca, Spain.
17. Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary
Hungary’s famous Tokaj-Hegyalja Wine Region is a little gem tucked away in Eastern Europe’s Carpathian foothills that has been making wine for at least 900 years.
The area produces Tokaji (in English, traditionally “Tokay”) sweet wines that are good enough to have earned a mention in the country’s national anthem.
Side Trip: Tokaj is about two and a half hours from Budapest – it’s actually closer to the Slovakian, Ukrainian, and Romanian borders – but instead of venturing out of the country, take a trip to Szilvasvarad an hour and a half away and see the world famous Lipizzaner stallions.
18. Bordeaux, France
Bordeaux is synonymous with good wine. The region is known for the red clarets that share its name (though about 11% of the wine produced in Bordeaux is white wine).
The area is home to the world’s largest wine fair, Vinexpo, which is only held every two years – and there’s one coming up in 2015.
Side Trip: I mean, come on, you’re in France – you can go anywhere and it’ll be pretty great. Bordeaux is in the Southwest of the country, so go to Europe’s longest beach, the Cote d’Argent, and get some surfing in.
19. Finger Lakes, New York
Upstate New York’s famous Finger Lakes are the home to the state’s largest wine-producing area, with over 100 wineries.
The area produces dozens of wines – cabernet sauvignons, malbecs, merlots, pinot noirs, and more – that usually sit on the hills overlooking the eponymous lakes.
Side Trip: It’s only two and a half hours to Niagara Falls – then a little further to Toronto – but instead of leaving, take a boat tour on the lakes.
20. Okanagan Valley, Canada
Canada’s second largest wine producer (behind the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario) is the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. The area is host to 131 wineries that specialize in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but produce dozens more.
Side Trip: This is British Columbia, so in the winter time, you want to go skiing, and in the summer time, watersports is the name of the game. 
The first version of this article was first published on May 13, 2011.
12 ways to make the most of Big Sky
Standing in line at the coffee shop in Big Sky, the gentleman behind me recommended his favorite bagel sandwich to me. While out taking pictures people constantly stopped to point out all the best places to photograph. I’ve traveled all over the world, but this community in Montana is the friendliest I’ve encountered.
People come to Big Sky for the adventure and decide to stay for the lifestyle. Even after only three days here I understand why.
Greta’s trip to Montana was sponsored in part by Visit Big Sky.
All photos by the author.
1
Big Sky Resort
Big Sky Resort became the largest ski resort in the USA in 2013 when it consolidated with Moonlight Basin Resort. The resort has been open for summer activities since 2005, although summer typically brings in only about 50% of the visitors that come for the winter activities. That’s a shame because there are twice as many activities to do in the summer. The resort includes many family activities: a spa, ropes course, numerous hiking and mountain biking trails, and even an archery range for starters. In September, Big Sky Resort hosts ‘The Rut’—a 50K race that features 500 runners gunning straight up Lone Peak. The resort also has six options for housing, and several restaurants.
2
Lone Peak Expedition
Lone Peak Expedition is a 2.5 hour tour that takes you to the top of the mountain. The expedition starts by taking the chairlift to the summit, then transferring to an all-terrain vehicle that drives up a short, steep road with hairline turns to the Big Sky Tram, which continues the tour to the top. As we bumped our way up the steep, rocky road in our all-terrain vehicle the guide explained that “it took 300 helicopter flights back and forth to the peak in order to get the Big Sky Tram up and running.”
3
View from the top
The summit of Lone Peak is 11,166 feet high. On a clear day you can look out at three states and two national parks, plus look down on Big Sky and the exclusive Yellowstone Club. Each unique landscape has an information board describing the mountain range you’re viewing. Our guide explained the shape of Lone Peak, which is perfect for long ski runs, as a “Christmas Tree Laccolithic Volcano.” She further explained that “Lone Peak had wanted to be a volcano, lava seeped up through half of it but never erupted, instead seeping out the sides.” You can get to the summit of Lone Peak by hiking or by taking the Lone Peak Expedition Tour, which includes a ride to the top on the Big Sky Tram.
4
Private fly fishing tours
Fly fishing is a way of life for those that live along the rivers of Montana. The Gallatin River, where Brad Pitt was filmed in “A River Runs Through It,” is roughly 115 miles long and flows into the Missouri River. Hire one of the seven fly fishing outfitters to guide you in different fly fishing techniques, like the overhead cast or the roll cast. They also teach you how to read the water to find where the fish are hiding, from depth, to ripples, to temperature. For example, water temperature is a good indicator of when a fish will bite the fly nymph -- too cold or too warm and they become lethargic, which makes for a long day of fishing. My guide was a patient teacher and a cheerleader. When my casting left a lot to be desired he said, “The fish doesn’t care what the cast looks like, they only care about the drift.”
5
Horseback riding
Gallatin National Forest has 1,500 miles of trail systems for horseback riding, starting at the entrance of Gallatin Canyon, where Big Sky is located, to West Yellowstone. A 2.5 hour ride will take you up into the mountains for breathtaking views. Riding experience of all levels is welcome, although a shorter ride is recommended for beginners, as you’ll be feeling the burn the next day! Six horseback outfitter options exist, and all have all with access to unique trails and tours, including one by Jake's Horses, which includes a steak fry dinner in the middle of a 4-hour ride.
6
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, America’s first national park, is well known for its Old Faithful Geyser, which erupts approximately every 88 minutes. It also includes the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super-volcano in North America. Nearby the Yellowstone Grand Canyon is a spiritual ground for the Shoshone Indians; in the rocks of the canyon they see the faces of their ancestors. As our guide drove us through Firehole Canyon Drive I was struck by the diversity of the park’s scenery, from mountains, to grasslands, to waterfalls and steaming geysers, every turn in the road led to new wonders.
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Yellowstone Old Faithful Inn
The Old Faithful Inn is the largest log structure in the world. Rooms that are located in the ‘Old House’ section of the inn maintain the log character and charm, and while they do have in-room sinks, you’ll need to share the marble and tiled bathroom facilities with other guests. There are even private bathtub rooms where you can relax after a hard day of hiking.
8
Private tours
Yellowstone Luxury Tours will customize a trip into Yellowstone National Park that will match your interests. Your tour includes a day-long trip with up to eight passengers, a picnic lunch, plus pick up and drop off at the your hotel for $799. Our tour guide, Randy, was a walking encyclopedia. He is a naturalist who worked for the national park service and who spent several winters living in Yellowstone in almost complete isolation. His unique perspective and knowledge was so vast that many other Yellowstone guests stopped to listen to his stories as we went along.
9
Wildlife
“People don’t realize how dangerous buffalo can be. They can jump 6-ft. in height from a single stance and reach 35 mph in just three strides (10-ft. long strides),” our naturalist guide explained when discussing the dangers of approaching a wild animal. From bald eagles to elk, from bears to coyotes, from moose to mouse, the opportunities to see wildlife in Big Sky are endless. While the rain kept most of the wildlife in hiding during my stay, I was fortunate enough to see bald eagles fly overhead, buffalo, and even a mother moose with her calf.
10
Dining
In the cooler months, restaurants like Lotus Pad Asian Cuisine are cozy places to retreat after a long day on the slopes. In the summer they offer outdoor seating and seasonal menus using fresh ingredients and a variety of flavors. Bucks T-4 Restaurant is recognized as one of the finest dining experiences in Montana. Excelling at wild game, they have plates ranging from red deer to a vegetarian cauliflower “steak." My entrée was duck “fixed seven ways,” including a confit and a yolk cured in sea salt, served on top of duck bacon.
11
Late night entertainment
Choppers Grub and Pub is an upscale sports bar with a penchant for fancy bikes, an extensive wine list, plus 100 types of beer. There is usually music or some form of entertainment. It is also a favorite hangout for locals. “A guy will walk in and yell ‘I just got an elk!’ grab a beer, and get a group together to help bring it down the mountain,” a patron told me as I sat next to her at the bar.
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Lodging
An array of options for lodging—from hotels and condos to dude ranches to personal homes and luxury stays—are available in Big Sky.
River Rock Lodge is located in town center, with easy access to restaurants and shopping. Bring along your room key as you enjoy the town- River Rock Lodge has paired with many of them to get you deals and discounts. If you happen to be traveling with your dog, they have a few dog-friendly rooms for an additional $50/night. Book early as they go fast!
www.riverrocklodging.com
Lone Mountain Ranch or 320 Ranch are the rustic, guest dude ranches that offer the complete experience, from horseback riding to rustic BBQ meals to log cabin sleeping that you’d expect from a trip ‘Out West’. www.lonemountainranch.com or < a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Matado...
Big Sky Luxury Rentals will set you up in a high-end property based on your needs, pricing beginning at $199/night and going as high as $2,999/night.
www.bigskyluxuryrentals.com
Big Sky Resort has an extensive list of options for lodging; ranging from condos to cabins to hotel rooms.
www.bigskyresort.com
Holland's black face problem
Photo: Suzanna Koster/Global Post
The Dutch holiday season has one very weird — and to some people, racist — tradition. His name is Black Pete, and, love him or hate him, you’ll see him everywhere you go right now in the Netherlands.
Black Pete, or “Zwarte Piet” in Dutch, is the star of the annual feast of St. Nicholas (“Sinterklaas”). Every year in the weeks leading up to St. Nicholas Eve (“Sinterklaasavond”) on Dec. 5, Black Petes — thought of as St. Nick’s sidekicks, played most often by white Dutch people in blackface — parade through towns across the Netherlands, spreading merriment, giving presents, and unintentionally reenacting a history of racism, colonialism, and slavery. It’s, ya know, a tradition.
Similar legacies gave the United States its own performative traditions: blackface minstrelsy, characters like Sambo and Zip Coon, and a collection of black stereotypes still very much alive in America (see recent events in Ferguson, Mo., and reaction to them).
Americans, still struggling with blindness to structural racism and racist discourse, have more or less agreed that blackface is one tradition, like slavery, that’s not worth preserving.
But that’s not what you hear in the Netherlands when you ask people about the tradition of Black Pete. Dutch polls found that as much as 91% of the population thinks he’s worth preserving.
So what gives?
Suzanna Koster, from the Netherlands herself, explored the story for GlobalPost in Amsterdam. Her video shows how debates over Black Pete are bringing up race and identity issues many Dutch people didn’t think they had:
Debates over Black Pete are debates about tradition — what it is, how it evolves or should evolve, what it means. One thing is for sure: it’s hard to change something somebody else calls a tradition.
As far as actual history goes, Black Pete joined a much older tradition — Europeans have been celebrating St. Nicholas since the middle ages — sometime after 1850, when he first appeared in a children’s book by Jan Schenkman called St. Nicholas and His Servant (St. Nikolaas en Zijn Knecht). As you can probably guess, the servant was Black Pete.
And what was happening in 1850?
The Netherlands was still in the business of colonizing and enslaving brown and black people, even though its global empire had been eclipsed by Britain and France. The Dutch wouldn’t abolish slavery in its colonies of Surinam and the Antilles until 1863, and it held onto the Gold Coast of Africa, the seat of the Dutch slave trade in the 18th century, until 1870. Surinam didn’t achieve full independence until 1975, and while the Netherlands technically dissolved the Dutch Antilles in 2010, several islands remain part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
And yet there are those who insist the tradition of Black Pete has nothing to do with race.
GlobalPost’s Koster spoke to Alex Rüter, spokesperson for Pro Zwarte Pete, a group that advocates for keeping the blackface tradition.
“He’s black because he came through the chimney,” he said, a widely-made claim that doesn’t account for Pete’s stereotypically large red lips, his Afro, the total lack of soot on his clothing, and the fact that Black Pete performers once spoke with a Surinamese accent.
“Black Pete is black and that’s a tradition. We’ve always celebrated it like this and it should stay this way. … If I look at the history, Sinterklaas bought the slaves and set them free. He offered them work and they voluntarily accepted it. [Opponents] just connect it to racism. They make it personal.”
But it’s getting harder to make this argument as opponents speak out and organize into groups like Zwarte Piet is Racism, founded in 2011.
Of the nearly 17 million people in the Netherlands, about 79 percent are ethnically Dutch, according to national data. Ten percent of the population has a “non-Western foreign background,” says the Dutch bureau of statistics. Many ethnic minorities in the Netherlands are migrants from elsewhere in Europe as well as North Africa and Asia.
Most opponents aren’t saying Black Pete needs to disappear from Sinterklaas festivities. They just want to give Pete a makeover and the Dutch people a history lesson. People have in recent years showed up to parades dressed as a yellow-faced “Cheese Pete” and multicolored “Rainbow Petes.” There have been blue “Flower Petes” and even “Stroopwafel Petes,” after the national “syrup waffle” cookie.
“We are in favor of a character who has been stripped of all its racial added characteristics,” said Roelof Jan Minneboo, historian and founder of Zwarte Piet is Racism. “So no more wig, no more full black face and no red lips, but just someone whose face looks like [it’s covered in] chimney soot.”
It’s going to be hard to convince 91% of the population that Black Pete is racist and need to change. Protests this year suggest that progress is being made but there’s a lot left to do, and education is the key.
“We still do not acknowledge the fact that we share a history of colonialism and slavery,” Minneboo said. He explains:
“Factually [school teachings on the Dutch colonial past] are not wrong, but there’s more emphasis on the abolition than there is on the fact of slavery. If you ask an average Dutch person to tell you one detail about lives of slaves in the Dutch colony they won’t be able to give an answer. They will say there was slavery but we abolished this in 1863. But no one knows anything else about that. We tend to shy away from the darker pages of history. We still call a colonial war which we fought in Indonesia ‘police actions.'”
Debates over Black Pete are forcing Dutch people to reckon with their history, and that’s good news, because Dutch racism isn’t confined to the past.
There’s blatant racism among some of the fiercest defenders of Black Pete, like the right-wing, anti-immigrant Freedom Party, which has tried to pass a law that would make it illegal to change Black Pete’s appearance.
There are also systemic inequalities that Dutch people, accustomed to imagining themselves as progressive and tolerant, are less likely to perceive. Black Pete helps sustain that form of de-personalized racism, said one anti-Black Pete organizer, Anousha Nzume, who noted racial disparities in employment, education, and opportunity.
“My dream is that people make the connection,” she told GlobalPost. “That they realize there is a connection between how we view people and how we perpetuate the stereotype yearly.”
Suzanna Koster contributed reporting for this story from Amsterdam.
By Timothy McGrath, Global Post
This article is syndicated from Global Post.
December 5, 2014
Rural Russian lip-syncing video
TONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS are shot in New York City. Not too many are shot in Russia’s rural Ural Mountains. Canadian pop artist Kiesza’s “Hideaway” music video, a single-take dance routine set on the streets of Brooklyn, came out earlier this year, and it took off. It has everything you want from a music video: hipsters in ridiculous clothes, minor acrobatics, and vaguely confused onlookers. Kiesza’s video has 162 million views, so it’s only natural that it got parodied.
Russian comedy duo Julia “Bonya” Starostina and Michail “Kuzmich” Kuzminykh put together this send-up of Kiesza’s music video shot their own version of “Hideaway,” a single-take dance routine set in a small Russian village. It has everything you want from a music video: tractor rides, minor acrobatics, and chicken dunking.
Check out the parody video above. The original Kiesza video is below.
Humans of Couchsurfing [pics]
My wife and I came up with the concept for the couchsurfer portrait project a couple of years ago. The first portrait for the project was taken in 2013. The ultimate goal for the project is to capture a couchsurfer in every state and to put together a book to encourage others to become part of the couchsurfing community.
The main reason I continue to shoot portraits for the project is because my best travel memories are because I decided to couchsurf instead of staying in a hotel or hostel. I’m astonished by how many interesting people there are in the world and how many similarities I have in common with all of the people I’ve met through the couchsurfing website.
1
Lauren Roche, Brooklyn, NY
What’s the one thing you intend to accomplish before you die?
"Publish a photo book, volunteer at an orphanage, bike across Nova Scotia and Puerto Rico and give birth to a cowboy."
2
Chris LaPointe, Brooklyn, NY
Have you ever traveled alone? What did you learn about yourself?
"Yes, I learned I am fully capable and adaptable. Traveling alone is difficult, dangerous, lonely, stressful, and totally worth it."
3
Donald, New York, NY
"For me life is worth living only if we are engaged with people.. I think the secret to happiness is always sharing whatever you have in life...the only way we can become complete human is to be connected to each other so relationship is the key....the Scripture seem to teach the same lesson "love one another as you love yourself"... I summarize my religious life in the writing of St. John's first letter "No one has ever seen God...whoever loves is born of God and knows God...whoever does not love does not know God because God is love".....so for me the secret to happiness is to share love."
4
Jocelyn Voo, New York, NY
"In the last few years I've almost exclusively traveled by myself. You're pretty much forced to reach out to strangers, and you'll meet so many kind and fascinating people, you never really feel alone."
5
Matthew Gnat, Cloverdale, CA
"I traveled solo for five weeks in New Zealand. I had planned on using Couchsurfing to only get situated in each area with the hopes of spending most of my time backpack camping alone. I was completely surprised as to how much that I would enjoy spending time with local hosts that repeatedly welcomed me into their homes, and making friends with other Couchsurfers. I changed the focus of my vacation because of these great experiences Couchsurfing."
6
Amy and Steve, Bandon, OR
What we have learned from couchsurfing community?
"We love being part of the couchsurfing community because of the unexpected and unique experiences that can only come from being open and trusting with complete strangers. Each time offers a rare opportunity to share ourselves, food, shelter and ideas with people that we would never have met except through couchsurfing. We love meeting the diverse and interesting people who are willing to share in this human experience, and feel that each encounter is a gift of new ideas, perspective and friendship. Sharing through couchsurfing is way cool and very rewarding."
7
Don and Kathe Miller, Chelan, WA
What’s one of your favorite travel stories?
"We went to Mazatlan in the early eighties. At the end of our trip, we took a cab to the airport. The driver drove way too fast on the freeway, dodging around cars at a scary speed. Suddenly, we heard a thump and the driver slammed on his breaks, then went at nearly the same speed backwards... on the fast lane of the freeway! We thought we were going to die! Finally, the taxi driver slammed again to a stop, jumped out of the car and ran around to the back of the car.... on the fast lane of the freeway! Then he jumped back in the car and tossed a dead bird on the seat beside him and started the car again, resuming his breakneck pace toward the airport. With dead bird feathers floating all over inside the car, he turned around, gave us a wide grin, and said, "Good to eat!" We dissolved into laughter. It was a wonderful end to our time there."
8
Danger Charles, Oakland, CA
What’s one of your favorite travel stories?
"My favorite travel stories are the ones where everyone was miserable but can look back and laugh. Type two fun. One I tell a lot is the time my family and a friend’s family decided to climb Mt. Ritter, and I got to be the guide. Ritter isn’t a mountain to underestimate, so naturally the trip turned into a 24-hour epic disaster that ended with me running some 12 miles of so, completely dehydrated back to camp to let our mothers know that we weren’t dead. It was the only time I vomited from sheer exhaustion. Miserable and absurd, but hilarious looking back on it."
9
Jessica "Superball" Kristine, Sebastopol, California
What have you learned from being part of the couch-surfing community?
"The world isn't as dangerous as "they" let on. Of all the people I've encountered in my extensive travels as a lone young woman, I've felt in real, immediate danger only twice--and those two times were well worth everything else I gained. Those experiences make good stories now! I would say that 99.9% of the people out there are either good or neutral, at worst inclined to rip you off. True maliciousness is very rare."
10
Ilana S., Santa Rosa, CA
What have you learned from being part of the couch surfing community?
"There are so many generous, friendly, loving people from all different walks of life that we don't necessarily get to come across in our every day lives, but the CS community increases the chances of those connections. I also have learned that giving and sharing to yet unmet friends, brings invaluable gifts that I could have never imagined on my own."
11
Jill Turner, Oakland, CA
What’s one of your favorite travel stories?
"My first couchsurfing experience ever. My friend Kelsey and I arrived in Istanbul, and our male host clearly had not had a lot of contact with females in his life. In his efforts to constantly make us comfortable, he failed to realize that his anxious energy was making us UNcomfortable. In addition to normal and appreciated chivalrous gestures such as holding doors open and carrying our heavy luggage and offering us tea and snacks, some of his attempts at making us comfortable included: helping us take our shoes off (to our embarrassment); controlling our schedule so as to give us a very rushed and whirlwind tour of the sights, when we were sweaty and tired in the Istanbul heat; and later, filling a tub of scalding water and setting it at our feet in order to give us a foot bath and massage, which I endured so as not to humiliate him by refusing, and to protect Kelsey from this very unwanted physical contact. We laughed it off and were not deterred from the couchsurfing community, but damn, that guy was a piece of work."
12
Jordan Murphy, San Francisco, CA
"I’ve traveled alone before, more than once, and it was pleasant as there was no one that I had to fight with about where to go or what to do, or how I’m not doing something correctly. Having said that, two heads, when working together, are better than one. I definitely got lost a lot on my own. But getting lost is how one finds themselves."
13
Kimi Levoe, Ukiah, CA
Why do you have a couch surfing profile?
"I have a couchsurfing profile because I want to have faith in people. There is so much good in this world and in its citizens and often times I feel like people have a tendency to get scared and forget that."
14
Martina Steinmann, Oakland, CA
What do you believe is the secret to happiness?
"Compassion, chocolate and mastering the art of appreciation."
15
Bruce Schmidt, Occidental, CA
"I do not know the secret of happiness; that is why it is a secret."
16
Sumit Kohli, San Francisco, CA
Who has inspired you to be who you are?
"Actually a very relevant question. In 2000, I quit a corporate job as I didn't find fulfillment there. Shortly after, I travelled for two and a half months, about half the time on my own. During those two and a half months, I was awakened to other possibilities of lifestyle choices which have helped shaped the decisions I have made since."
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Trevor Thompson, Santa Rosa, CA
Who has inspired you to be who you are?
"Henry Rollins, my hero. His books and spoken word albums convinced me to set out on my own and choose for myself what my version of success and happiness would be."
18
John Bachir, New York, NY
What do you believe is the secret to happiness?
"Freedom. Being brave enough to choose freedom over almost all other things in each life choice is something I am always working on. But it's easy to compare my life to those of others and be glad that I usually choose freedom. Of course, perhaps one day I will find I have too much freedom and not enough connections. They can't coexist at their extremes."
5 strange places I've written in
Photo: Jesse Wagstaff
“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”
E.B. White was right. There are no ideal writing conditions, and even if there are, they exist in our heads only, where thoughts grow, waiting to be cracked and explored. Without the stability of a familiar desk and comfortable chair, travel forces me to “be happy with whatever comes,” and has resulted in writing from some unusual places, namely:
1. Himalayan mud hut
Context: The muse doesn’t care if you’re on death’s doorstep with food poisoning, suffering third-degree frostbite, or living on a thin-aired moonscape. She will not worry about your feverish whines or irksome complaints over stomach parasites and the locomotive whistle of the tempest outside will soon silence the last of them.
Productivity rating: ☆☆☆
Altitude: 4,800 meters above sea level
Tools: Green Mitshubishi roller ball, trembly hands, bloodshot eyes, devil-may-care demeanor
Morale: Queen Latifah
Snack of choice: Thin air
Seating: Picnic table
Time: 4am
Mood lighting: A lone lightbulb hanging from the mud ceiling
2. Curbside at the Monkey House, Kathmandu
Context: I sat on the steps of the Monkey House in Kathmandu and waited for the Shaman to show up, the one who promised to bring us to his village for a Pooja (spiritual channeling ceremony).
Productivity rating: ☆☆☆
Background noise: Street-sweeping old ladies & dogs howling at the moon
Demeanor: On edge, yet hopeful
Snack of choice: Nothing
Seating: Concrete steps in an old courtyard in Kathmandu
Time: 4am
Mood lighting: The moon
3. Smelly cabin on the Caspian Sea
Context: The most challenging, from an olfactory point of view. Also, the slight sway of the boat left me light-headed and I spent a half-day experimenting with Mark Twain’s time-honored practice of writing while laying horizontally.
Productivity rating: ☆☆☆☆
Altitude: (Mostly) sea level
Background noise: Thirty eager teenage Azerbaijani seaman trainees frisking on the rooftop manmade geyser and splashing water over my window
Demeanor: Feeble
Snack of choice: Not really by choice, since I’m on a ship with one cafe. Spaghetti, without the sauce.
Seating: Musky bed with sheets of questionable cleanliness and mild cigarette burnage
Time: Too long
Mood lighting: Sparks and ash from the chimney up top
4. No-man’s land on the Kazakh-Uzbek border
Context: Fortune smiled on me, when Kazakhstan suddenly decided to remove its visa requirement, but only starting July 15. And guess what? My visa in Uzbekistan expired July 14th. This transformed an otherwise commonplace border crossing operation into a midsummer midnight jamboree, like staying up to watch the New Year’s ball drop, only better, because I was entering Kazakhstan. I got to savor a few sweet hours resting among a slumberland of truck drivers in the fenced Uzbek-Kazakh no-man’s land nestled between the two economic giants.
Productivity rating: ☆☆
Tools: Black pilot V-ball, black Moleskine hardback knockoff (India)
Demeanor: Tired but excited (Kazakhstan!)
Background noise: Lots of snoring, some Polish small-talkers, & flicks of lighters (the guards smoke a lot)
Seating: Co-pilot seat in the car
Time: 9pm to midnight
Mood lighting: The romantic orange fluorescents hovering over the barbed wire
5. Soviet-era honeymooner’s suite (with doilies and lace)
Context: Fortune smirked some more, in the form of an offer in Dushanbe to sleep in a Soviet-era apartment, complete with a white-chiffoned kingsize bed fit for a honeymoon.
Productivity rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Demeanor: Cold war (within)
Snack of choice: Snickers bars, Russian vodka
Seating: Temporally and situationally-displaced wedding bed
Time: Before the Curtain fell
Mood lighting: Enough is enough
6. Moto-rickshaw ride through New Delhi
Context: I sometimes tried to get a few words in between the joltings and heehawings on my daily commute through the southern Delhi burbs.
Productivity rating: -☆
Background noise: A sea of honks, groans, grunts, haws, moos, and screams
Demeanor: Sharp-elbowed vigilance
Seating: A knee or toe
This post originally appeared on Continental Driftings and is republished here with permission.
The world's 18 most bikable cities
Europe
Amsterdam
The “bicycling capital of Europe” tops many lists—including this one, it seems—as the most bike friendly city anywhere. Safe and extensive route networks, serious governmental promotion, and a bike culture that transcends class boundaries are all reasons why 40% of the city’s traffic moves on two wheels.
Barcelona
Barcelona’s Bicing program, one of many mass bike rental systems that have popped up recently in Europe and beyond, debuted in 2007 in the Catalonian capital. An annual Bike Week is held in late May to spread the word.
Berlin
Commuting Berliners are never lonely—400,000 of them pedal to work each day. City leaders still aren’t satisfied with this figure, and millions of euros have been allocated to encourage more cyclists to get on the streets. One result is a mapping website that helps you plot bike-specific routes.
Copenhagen
In the Danish capital, around a third of the workforce gets to the office by bike. By some estimates, that’s more than a million kilometers pedaled every day.
Cyclists in Copenhagen. Via
For an alternative and truly bike-friendly urban experience, check out Christiania, a neighborhood of 850 that, in addition to setting up a semi-independent government and decriminalizing trade in cannabis, has banned cars.
Utrecht
Amsterdam unfairly gets all of the credit for being the best cyclist city in the Netherlands. In terms of the percentage of journeys made on bike, that honor actually goes to Utrecht at a sound 50%. The city is also in the process of building the world’s largest bicycle parking facility. That mixed with the incredibly relaxed bike culture make Utrecht worthy of a spot on this list.
Paris
Paris gets a nod here for its creation of Vélib’, one of the world’s largest public bicycle rental programs. Twenty thousand stylish three-speeds are distributed among 1,450 rental stations throughout the city, available to subscribers at variable rates (rides under 30 minutes are free).
North America
Boulder
Denver’s little hippy neighbor to the north dedicates 15% of its transportation budget to improving and promoting bicycle travel. Nearly every major roadway has a designated cycling area, and they’ve even instituted a pilot program to get kids biking to school. This guy has created a very cool color-coded route map, complete with local attractions.
Chicago
Late during his 22-year tenure, Mayor Richard Daley became set on turning Chicago into “the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States.” It doesn’t appear to be all talk, either, as more bike lanes pop up all the time, and more laws that protect cyclists’ safety are passed.
The City of Chicago website has all you could ever want to know about the city’s bicycle initiatives.
Davis
It’s said there are more bikes than cars in this small, northern California city of 65,000. Not only that, but its official motto is “Most bicycle friendly town in the world.” The entire month of May is dedicated to Cyclebration…and the list goes on.
Washington, D.C.
The U.S. capital is also one of the most bike-friendly cities in America. With its wide avenues, its ubiquitous bike lanes, its bike share program, and traffic congestion that makes biking a much quicker transportation option, it was probably inevitable that D.C. would eventually become a cyclist’s city. And because it’s a city of political types, there’s a super active advocacy group, the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, fighting for cyclists (and, of course, helping them network).
Ottawa
Canada’s capital claims the highest percentage of bike commuters in the country, if not the continent. Its 170km of paths make it easy to get from point A to B, though two-wheeled traffic is sure to drop between December and March. Visit the City of Ottawa website for more.
Portland
You were worried there for a second, weren’t you? No, I haven’t forgotten what most people consider the bike capital of the U.S. The only thing as impressive as Portland’s bicycle infrastructure (including a 260-mile network) and commuter stats (almost 10%, the highest in the country) is the camaraderie of its cyclist community.
San Francisco
The founding city of Critical Mass can’t be overlooked. Over the past decade, bicycle collisions have declined while the number of bike commuters has nearly doubled.
Add city initiatives like removing car parking to make room for bike parking, distributing “Watch for Bikes” stickers (to be placed on driver’s side rearview mirrors), and its fledgling bike share program, and you get one of the world’s bike-friendliest cities.
Elsewhere
Beijing
Debatable? Sure. But I wouldn’t call the city with probably the most bicycles of any in the world to be bike unfriendly.
The sheer number of cyclists necessitates some pretty sophisticated infrastructure for the travel, storage, and repair of two-wheeled vehicles.
Cape Town
African cities aren’t the first I think of for bike friendliness, but Cape Town is doing its best to change that.
The South African hub is dedicated to creating cycling lanes, dedicated bike parking, and public commuter showers.
Bogotá
Bogotá’s transportation initiatives have been a model for change throughout Latin America, and its treatment of bicycles is no exception. Miles of safe, segregated bike paths and Sunday Ciclovía events (where main thoroughfares are closed to cars) make Colombian cyclists very happy.
Tokyo
The world’s largest city has been making some strides lately towards becoming one of the world’s great bike cities. It helps that driving has become prohibitively expensive in the Japanese metropolis, so biking is often a much more practical option for residents. Practical to the point where a staggering 14% of all trips made in Tokyo are made on a bike.
Perth
With more than 700km of bike routes and plenty to see along them, Australia’s fourth largest city takes it for Down Under. Find maps, recommended rides, and other cycling resources on the Perth Bike Maps webpage.
This article was first published on April 30, 2009.
8 idioms only Arabs understand
Photo: Hossam el-Hamalawy حسام الحملاوي
Traveling to Jordan or Palestine? Don’t be confused by these idiomatic expressions!
1. على عيني وراسي (‘ala ‘aini wa raasi) — On my head and my eyes.
This is a hugely popular saying in the Arab world, so if you ask an Arab friend for a favor don’t be surprised when they start talking about putting things on their heads and eyes. This means that they will absolutely do what you asked.
2. أكل إسفين (Aakala Isfeen) — He ate a wooden wedge.
This literally means that someone slandered or talked badly about him.
3. باعه بقشرة بصلة (baa’hu beqishra basala) — He sold him for an onion peel.
This is often used when someone throws away a relationship with somebody else, whether for a good reason or not.
4. حطه في دوّامة (hattathu fii dawwaama ) — It put him in a whirlpool.
This means something along the lines of “it totally shocked him.” It actually makes perfect sense when you stop to think about it.
5. حفف دمه (haffaffa damhu) — He lightened his blood.
This phrase means that somebody stopped clowning around or acting like an idiot. Conversely, saying that someone has “heavy blood” means that they are boring or otherwise annoying.
6. – كس يبلعك (kis Yibla’ak) — May a vagina swallow you.
Unsurprisingly, this is something that you say to people you are not pleased with.
7. عمل أبو علي عليه (‘amela abu Ali ‘aleehu) — To do a ‘Father of Ali’ on him.
To do an “Abu Ali” or “Father of Ali,” on someone means to boss them around. I have never met anyone who knows who or what Abu Ali may actually be, but if you know, please comment!
8. لعب الحديد- (l’aba elhadeed) — He played iron.
Possibly evidence that fitness culture isn’t taken very seriously in the Middle East, this expression is used to mean “he lifted weights” or worked out.
6 portraits of German travelers
Photo: Neil Hester
The secret is out: German citizens are allotted an unparalleled amount of paid vacation. You can spot them in Gran Canaria’s more-German-than-Spanish supermarkets, buying dense bread, or hiking Split’s too-sunny coast, slathering sunscreen onto white legs. But let’s take a look beyond the Birkenstock sandals and obsessive recycling.
1. The Planner
Enter Magda: plans every aspect of her vacation in Istanbul, including transportation maps, city walking tours, restaurants reviews, and lodging. Pencils in some ‘free-time activities’ for Tuesday afternoon, explaining why spontaneity is better when planned. Overwhelmed by deviations to the plan or the inherent uncertainty of the local lifestyle. Aghast at the lack of bus timetables. Can have fun only in the form of structured achievement. Most likely to ask: “Isn’t there an app for the transit system?” or “What do you mean you don’t know when the bus will arrive?” Approach this German with a complete lack of agenda and watch chaos ensue.
2. The ‘Gadgeteer’
Enter Manfred: brings a portable espresso machine and milk frother to eastern Italy’s waterfalls. Hikes with a solar-powered, self-generating Wi-Fi hotspot and a 21-function wristwatch. Tours the Lamborghini factory and discusses fringe technical concepts on end regardless of idyllic mountain town surroundings. Most likely to offer you a multitool at the perfect moment. Approach this German with an appreciation for a heartwarmingly nerdy — and utterly emotionless — passion.
3. The Old-Timers
Enter Heinz and Dagmar: book their annual retirement-life getaway to Ibiza expecting a reenactment of their restorative Mediterranean holiday of the 1980s, a time when West Germans were doing well, and the Spanish islands hadn’t yet been discovered by thousands of college students now partying there every spring break. Quietly shocked at the display of tasteless youthful fun, they persevere through the drugs and debauchery in awkward discomfort. Most likely to listen to the 8 o’clock news with the volume cranked up all the way. Approach this opa and oma during obligatory state-holiday visits and be prepared to look through endless old photo albums and warm up to daily adult naptime.
4. The Preconceived Experiencer
Enter Christoph: landing at O’Hare with his father, Christoph embarks on his post-bachelor, fatherly bonding eastern-US road trip merely to confirm his pre-formed conceptions of ‘America.’ Missing the rugged beauty of the American West whilst trapped on the interstate, these Germans instead tour the Motel 6s and drive-through windows of the Midwest. Upon their return, they dryly conclude what everyone already expected: Americans are overweight, blissfully ignorant, and entirely too friendly. Most likely to falsely affirm that all German women own dirndls. Approach with a wide berth or headphones in.
5. The Perfectionist
Enter Leopold: expects everything to live up to flawless standards, including at crumbling youth hostels, haunted dive bars, and Albuquerque’s rowdy party street. This German is deeply shaken by discrepancies within the system and dismisses New Mexico’s ‘land of manaña’ sense of time to matter-of-factly interrogate the information-desk attendant for the precise schedule of the Breaking Bad tour. Soothed by a fine cigar, Leopold easily lapses into lengthy conversations about how best to pack a suitcase. Most likely to respond defensively to a harmless question. Approach with decent foreign beers and a mockingly severe demeanor.
6. The Taste-Tester
Enter Ann-Katrin: crosses the Strait of Gibraltar to try on another life without relinquishing her own. Wearing a khaki sunhat, this German arrives at the Port of Tangier for a well-prepared, three-week trek. Inhabits the role of the carefree traveler but just can’t shake the feeling that her sensible lifestyle is missing. As the ‘voyeur’ of adventuring, Ann-Katrin may get dusty but never dirty, just as she might taste the Moroccan couscous while privately hankering for the rye and dinkel of her home. Most likely to pack a sandwich (or five). Approach with caution: the Taste-Test Traveler might soon make you miss home.
Free college degree, passport needed
Photo: Ken Colwell
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, tell your parents: it’s financially irresponsible to not study abroad. At a time when the average debt load of the American college student is $29,400 and when the country has $1.2 trillion of student loan debt as a whole, one country has decided to go the complete opposite route by offering free education not only to their own citizens, but to foreign students as well.
The catch? You’ve got to learn German. And live in a country known for its insanely good beer. So basically, there’s no catch.
Germany has offered incredibly affordable university education for quite some time now — before the tuition became free, the average cost was around $630. Germany had already banned tuition fees until the ban was lifted in 2006, a move that was so unpopular that many states banned tuition and fees on their own. The last state to fall in line was Lower Saxony, which announced it would no longer charge tuition earlier this year. Dorothee Stapelfeldt, a German senator, explained that they struck down the tuition fees because they “discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study.”
Naturally, for foreign students, a big issue is not knowing the language: most courses are taught in German, so fluency in this relatively difficult language is essential if you want to attend school there. There are some programs that are taught in English, but many students prefer to attend German language programs before attending school.
Germany is not the only place where Americans can study for a significantly smaller amount of money than they can in their own country. Finland doesn’t have tuition fees, and many of their courses are in English. Public universities in France only cost around $200, and Sweden offers PhDs for free. Norway also covers tuition of foreigners, as does Slovenia. And Brazil only charges small registration fees, though it has fewer programs in English.
American students who not only want to get an affordable education but also want to immerse themselves in another culture, then, maybe ought to think less about expensive study abroad programs and more about studying in a country that offers affordable tuition.
Free education, however, isn’t totally free. Germany, like many of the other countries listed above, has much higher tax rates than countries like the United States do. But if the education of the populace is seen as an investment rather than a product to be sold, this makes sense, and the United States model of driving an entire generation into crippling debt is probably not the best one.
For travelers, the expansion of the ideal of free education is a dream come true. I for one may well have been interested in studying German in high school if I knew it could save me the amount I had to pay in US tuition, and I would have been able to itch that wanderlust a little bit better. Hopefully at some point the US follows suit, but in the meantime, young American travelers who want to see the world can now do so — while getting a degree under their belt at the same time.
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