Matador Network's Blog, page 979

Rare dingo found in Australia

A stray puppy found on the side of the road in Australia turned out to be a rare dingo, which may be instrumental in the preservation of the species. Discovered by residents of Wandi, a small town in the state of Victoria, the dingo was overheard crying and believed to be a stray puppy or fox. A family took him to the Alpine Animal Hospital, where veterinarian Bec Day determined that the animal wasn’t a dog, but a purebred Australian alpine dingo — a species that’s endangered and at risk of extinction.

The dingo was named Wandi, and transferred to the Australia Dingo Foundation’s sanctuary while awaiting DNA test results. Once those results came through, it was confirmed that Wandi is 100 percent Australian alpine dingo — one of three types of dingoes in Australia. The alpine dingo is endangered primarily due to eradication programs, hunting, and inbreeding, but Wandi could be helpful in furthering the proliferation of the species.

Since most dingoes are mixed with domestic dogs, it’s rare for a foundation to take in a purebred dingo. According to Lyn Warson of the Australia Dingo Foundation, Wandi has all the features the foundation looks for in its breeding program, and “depending on his eventual development and the way he continues to get along with everybody else in the sanctuary,” he could be an ideal breeding candidate.


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Woman survives being lost at sea

Kushila Stein, a 45-year-old woman from New Zealand, lived out her own unfortunate version of Survivor when she was lost at sea for nearly three days in a simple dinghy.

While helping sail a yacht from Turkey to Athens, she left the boat and rowed a dinghy to the nearby island of Folegandros, in order to “stretch her legs,” reported The Guardian. In a text message sent to her traveling companion, she claimed she was on her way back to the yacht, but then she lost control of the dinghy after an oar fell overboard and was sent adrift by strong winds.

Captain Giorgos Marietakis, the coastguard officer who headed the rescue mission, and his two-man crew were Stein’s last chance. In the last three days, seven boats, a helicopter, and a military plane had failed to find her.

Stein, an experienced sailor, and her dinghy were found 40 nautical miles (about 46 miles) south of Folegandros three days after she was reported missing.

According to Marietakis, Stein survived on boiled candies for food, of which only one was left when the coast guards found her. She had run out of freshwater.


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Switzerland ibex hunting controversy

In a controversial new measure, trophy hunters are now allowed to hunt ibex in the mountains of the Swiss regions of Valais and Graubünden. Valais, which issues a number of ibex hunting licenses, will also allow foreigners to participate in the hunting, while Graubünden only allows locals to hunt. A license to shoot a male ibex, with three-foot horns, costs $13,113, but as ibex trophies yield high profits, the permit costs haven’t deterred hunters. Each year, Valais awards up to 120 one-day ibex hunting licenses, which brings in around $655,000 to the region.

Ibex hunting is extremely popular, as the animal is viewed as a symbol of the Alps.

Allowing ibex hunting is controversial, however, as the species is rare and in need of conservation. There are an estimated 40,000 ibex in the Alps, and around 450 are shot each year in Valais, and 500 in Graubünden.

Professor Ulf Büntgen of the Swiss environmental research institute WSL said, “Switzerland’s strictly regulated hunting is conserving the population — in Graubünden they are very careful about which animals are harvested, and where.”

Jonas Schmid, a spokesperson for the conservation group WWF Switzerland, argued that, “Protection of species cannot be regarded as an argument to support trophy hunting in Switzerland,” and that hunting in Valais proves “that politically the cantons should not be given even more powers over the hunting system.”

The WWF and other conservation groups are collecting signatures on a petition with the aim of holding a referendum on the matter.


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The best restaurants in Lisbon

Príncipe Real, just behind the Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, is one of the hippest neighborhoods in the Portuguese capital. It’s home to regal 19th-century homes, the Botanical Garden, Museum of Natural History, and even a British Embassy. It’s better known for its Príncipe Real Park, which hosts markets with stalls selling food and artisanal crafts throughout the year, and its hip clothing stores, quirky shops, and happening restaurants. It has some of the most hopping restaurants in Lisbon. Here are our favorites.

Zero Zero Pizzeria

Photo: ZeroZero/Facebook

ZeroZero is great if you’re craving authentic Italian food, a family friendly atmosphere, or a lovely outdoor meal. During the day you will find a good mix of groups of professional adults and families all there to enjoy flavorful, cheesy pizza with a thin, crispy crust. The restaurant’s pastas and salads are also tasty. The pancetta and avocado salad perfectly balances the healthy feeling of eating a light salad, while also leaving you satisfied with generous amounts of pancetta and creamy, ripe avocado.

If you’re in Lisbon in fall or winter and you don’t want to brave the cooler nights, the restaurant features a warm, cozy interior. A portion of the kitchen, including the pizza oven, is in the same room where you dine — so you can watch the cooks prepare fresh pizza and pasta. If you like the outdoors, ZeroZero’s back garden is a relaxing place to enjoy either lunch or dinner alongside leafy vines and bougainvilleas, and it has heat lamps set up, too.

Koppu Ramen

Photo: KOPPU – Ramen Concept Food/Facebook

If it’s a hearty bowl of ramen you want, Koppu Ramen has you covered. And if you’re a vegetarian, you’ll be happy to find lots of plant-based options on the menu. Off a steep side street, the compact space within dark wood walls can be hard to find — but it’s well worth the effort. It’ll be tough to choose from the loads of delicious starters, desserts, and ramen dishes. If you do want ramen, though, you might want to skip the starters as one bowl will probably be more than enough food.

Try the shoyu vegetarian ramen. Its flavorful broth is jam-packed with toppings and plenty of rich umami flavors that will satisfy even die-hard carnivores. It’s also light enough that you might actually finish your bowl. However, if you really are in the mood for some perfectly fried gyoza with thin crispy bottoms and flavorful insides, a meal of just Japanese starters is an equally appetizing option. Make sure you reserve a table in advance or arrive when it opens — this place is popular.

Sumaya — Mesa Libanesa

Photo: Sumaya/Facebook

Sumaya feels both modern and traditional. The menu offers delicious mezzes and all of the classic Lebanese dishes, served in a hip, cleanly decorated setting. If you love Middle Eastern food and want to enjoy a nice but affordable meal, this restaurant is perfect. On Sundays, Sumaya serves a brunch buffet, so you don’t have to decide what dishes to order. Also, the restaurant’s falafel salad is arguably one of the best salads in the world. The fresh lemon-dressed salad pairs perfectly with the crisply fried, warm falafel, drizzled in a silky tahini sauce.

A Cevicheria

Photo: A Cevicheria/Facebook

Lisbon has quite a few excellent Peruvian restaurants, and A Cevicheria is among the best. With a vibrant atmosphere, reasonable prices, and friendly service, this restaurant stands out. Don’t come here expecting a calm meal; the atmosphere inside is boisterous. A Cevicheria is often full, the music is thumping, and the bartender will be busy mixing up tangy Pisco Sours. The fantastic food makes up for the noise. In addition to ceviche, the restaurant serves Peruvian classics like causas, similar to a potato terrine, and quinoa plates. The restaurant’s tasting menu offers six courses so you can sample several dishes.

Esplanada Cafe

Photo: Esplanada do Príncipe Real/Facebook

Esplanada Cafe is located in a glass building in the center of Príncipe Real’s main park, Jardim do Príncipe Real, so it’s perfect for people-watching and taking in the scene. Esplanada is completely shaded by trees, so it’s a good choice if it’s hot outside but you still want to eat outdoors. The best way to enjoy Esplanada Cafe is to be there mid-afternoon. You can order a cheese menu, a dessert, and even a couple of drinks. The waiters won’t rush you out, so feel free to sip on coffee for a couple of hours in the sun.

Naked

Photo: Naked/Facebook

If you’re someone who genuinely loves superfoods, avocado toast, and açaí bowls, Naked is your spot. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you can also choose from three plant-based burgers. Naked serves all of those options, inside an adorable light-filled cafe located close to thoughtfully curated shops right on Príncipe Real’s main shopping avenue. You may not find as many locals here. This cafe seems to draw more northern European and Californian travelers hankering for a break from the tasty, but rich, Portuguese cuisine.


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The post The coolest restaurants in Lisbon’s Príncipe Real neighborhood appeared first on Matador Network.

What to eat at Japan’s Ramen Stadium

Ever since I began working at the Japanese noodle chain Ippudo many years ago, I’ve been fascinated by porky tonkotsu ramen. I regularly crave its salty twang. It’s easy to fall in love with this noodle soup. Its firm noodles, rich meaty broth, and the rush of MSG that comes with it inspire something between foodie devotion and chemical dependence. Hoping to fuel my ramen obsession even further, I began scheming a pilgrimage to Fukuoka, Japan, where the pork-bone style of ramen originated. When an old friend from my time at Ippudo told me that he was going to be in Kyushu, I decided that it was finally time to visit. I told him to meet me at Ramen Stadium.

Ramen Stadium is located on the top floor of the Canal City, a massive shopping and entertainment complex in Hakata, near the Nakasu “Entertainment District” of Fukuoka. Hakata is an amalgamation of bars and a red-light district — and it is also the spiritual home of tonkotsu ramen, a warming antidote to Hakata’s vices. World famous ramen chains Ichiran, Shin-Shin, and my former employer, Ippudo, all started in Hakata so this stadium isn’t just another food hall gimmick. It functions more as an appropriate and convenient corral for Japan’s best noodles.

I arrived at 11:00 AM and checked into the Grand Hyatt. Staying at the Grand Hyatt is ideal if you plan on making multiple visits to Ramen Stadium, because it’s directly connected to Canal City. The front side of the hotel leads directly to the yatai (street food BBQ) stalls of Nakasu, while the back leads into Ramen Stadium.

Photo: Maggie Rosenberg

Every hour the fountain show begins in Canal City and shoppers congregate by the arena-like Center Walk. A different song accompanies each show with a sequence of water jets programmed to dance to the music. The set list ranges from “Ride of the Valkyries” to an elevator music treatment of “Obla-Di-Obla-Da.” Every morning, the festivities kick off with “Pomp and Circumstance” at 11:00 AM. This is the song that alerts us that Canal City is now open for business.

You can easily spend a full 24 hours exploring Canal City, so that’s exactly what I decided to do. First stop: ramen, of course.

Photo: Maggie Rosenberg

Each stall of the eight stalls in Ramen Stadium has a vending machine at the entrance from which you order your meal, and a host clamoring for your attention, hoping you’ll choose their shop over the others. These good people will help you figure out how to work the vending machine if this is your first time ordering lunch from such an apparatus. Don’t forget your receipt and change. The receipt is your meal ticket.

I first spot the most famous stall here: Hide-Chan. It’s one of Hakata’s most renowned tonkotsu ramen shops. Most guidebooks point visitors to Hide-Chan above all other stalls, and the lines prove it, but I was more excited about tasting something new. Hide-Chan has great ramen, but the rest of these ramen shops are Japan-only experiences. You can get a solid bowl of miso ramen from Sapporo Daichi, for instance. This style of ramen is loaded with smoky chashu (roast pork loin) and a particularly gooey soft-boiled egg.

Photo: Maggie Rosenberg

However, Ramen Kentaro, which can be easily located by a sign that says “Umami” next to the Japanese characters, turned out to be my most memorable meal. Before the bowl arrives, you’re offered a smaller bowl filled with concentrated dashi (seaweed and anchovy stock) to taste. Save the dashi to add to the ramen when it arrives. If you really want to punch up the flavor, add some of its chili laced umami garlic paste. A little scoop of this dressing changes the bowl from subtle to sensational. The noodles here were the most delicate that we tried, and the toppings include a grating of fresh yuzu citrus to help keep this the most refreshing bowl in the complex.

Finally getting a bit sick of pork, I finished the day off at Fukuoka-based Gasnotomato Ramen Sanmi, which creates a tomato based soup for its ramen and offers a blanket of shaker Grana Padano cheese on top for a small additional charge. It’s the most divergent of the eight ramen vendors, but the flavors will be familiar for ramen lovers. The flavor resembles a tomato-shio (salt broth) stock than a hearty tomato sauce. Because the red broth stains a lot more than a classic tonkotsu, Gansotomato thoughtfully provides bibs.

Between shopping, eating, and relaxing, I stumble upon an adorable performance from local J-pop girl group Dream Mate. I put down the chopsticks to go take a look, and I wasn’t alone. Tween shoppers dropped their bags and smooshed up to the stage on the ground floor. It recalled my ‘80s childhood, when malls mattered enough to be the backdrop for MTV music videos starring the peppy Tiffany. After catching half of a set from Dream Mate, I decide to wind the evening down at the mall’s Welcome Center, which has a bar that serves flights of local shochu and craft beer.

My second morning at Canal City feels like a recurring dream. “Pomp and Circumstance” plays again and I ascend from the first floor hotel to the fifth floor, where I will recieve my morning ramen bowls. I’m meeting my old friend from Ippudo and I want to keep the ramen classic as possible. We work up an appetite with a few games drumming along to Taiko no Tatsujin at the stadium’s Taito Station arcade, then it’s ramen time once again.

Photo: Maggie Rosenberg

Locals Nagahama Number One and Ramen Jinabo are excellent examples of Hakata-style ramen, each with its own personality. The former had extra fine noodles and a richer broth than the others, while the latter contained a deep flavor of wood-ear mushrooms to help add an earthy balance to the pork broth. We split bowls, which all of the shops happily accommodate, and then we split hairs over the finer points of these Hakata classics. Jinabo had the more balanced broth, but Nagahama’s noodles gave it a boost. I insist that my friend tries the exquisite yuzu-laced ramen from Kentaro that I enjoyed so much the day before. Like any food destination, Ramen Stadium is twice as fun when you get to guide another excited eater through each vendor.

Canal City is a bubble. Even after only one day, I’m used to its comforts. I fear that the outside world will be cold, dry, and tasteless without Ramen Stadium. However, other taste temptations from one of Japan’s best food cities beckon. Melt-in-your-mouth intestine hot pot (motsunabe), fluffy omelettes stuffed with spicy cod roe, and the city’s signature one-bite gyoza are all must-try fare. Checking out from the Hyatt is bittersweet, but after six bowls in twenty-four hours, it’s time to eat something, anything, besides ramen.


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Kyoto bans geisha photography

Travelers to Kyoto who were hoping to make their Insta feed pop with photos of geisha are now out of luck. After an influx of complaints about harassment and bad behavior from tourists, Kyoto has banned photography in the private alleys of the city’s historic Gion district. Violating the ban will earn you a fine of up of about $90.

The yearly number of international travelers to Japan has been soaring since 2012 (from 8,358,105 visitors in 2012, a year after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, to 31,191,856 visitors in 2018). According to The Guardian, the Japanese government is hoping those numbers will continue to rise to 40 million visitors for next summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

The ancient city of Kyoto, with its canals, temples, and traditional architecture is picture-postcard perfect for visitors, and the city pays the price of its appeal in the form of crowds of poorly behaved tourists. The historic Gion district, especially, has seen its fair share of foreign visitors trespassing for a good photo op and pulling on the kimonos of geishas and maiko apprentices for a selfie. Many of the restaurants and teahouses in the neighborhood have also complained about tourists littering, smoking, and blocking traffic.

There are existing signs reminding visitors about proper etiquette, but new ones are being posted specifically warning visitors against taking pictures in the private alleys near Hanamikoji street. Leaflets will be handed to visitors to remind them of the photography ban and a pilot project starting in December will target tourists via a smartphone app. The app messages tourists in both Chinese and English when entering the Gion district, asking them to refrain from taking photos of geishas without permission.


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The post Kyoto bans taking photos of geishas appeared first on Matador Network.

Best cities for Jewish culture

The easy way to learn about Judaic culture and dig deep into the beliefs, customs, and history of the Jewish people is to go to Israel. But it’s certainly not the only option. The Jewish diaspora is such that many places around the world, from Australia to South America, have rich Jewish heritage and plenty of opportunities to dive right into the culture. Whether it’s the many kosher restaurants of Barcelona, or the Parisian Marais Jewish district, there are some truly unique ways to know what past and modern Judaism is all about. Here are the cities you should keep on your radar.

1. Barcelona, Spain

Photo: Sinagoga Mayor de Barcelona

While Barcelona’s Jewish population isn’t huge (estimates vary between 5,000 and 10,000 people since there is no official data), Judaism has a firm foothold and rich history in the city.

Located in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, “El Call,” the Jewish Quarter, comes from the Hebrew word qahal, meaning “meeting place.” You can find proof of the past strong presence of jews in this part of the city, including a tiny basement synagogue: Sinagoga Mayor de Barcelona. After the savage attacks on Jews in 1391 and their official expulsion from Spain in 1492, the medieval synagogue took on a variety of other uses — including a jail and apartment building — and was reopened to the public as a synagogue and a museum in 2002.

Although you can’t attend regular services, it does occasionally host special ceremonies. And if you’re wondering why it’s so tiny — there was a law at the time prohibiting synagogues from being taller than churches, so Barcelona’s old synagogues shrink even beside the smallest church. While in El Call, make sure to also check out the remains of the ancient female Jewish ritual bath in the basement of Cafe Caelum, and of the men’s baths in the back of the furniture store S’Oliver.

On the south side of Barcelona, you can take a cable car to ascend the hill of Montjuïc, Catalonian for the “Mountain of the Jews.” Here, the remains of a Jewish cemetery dating back to the ninth century have been declared a landmark site. The site also includes a Holocaust Memorial composed of stones bearing the names of all the concentration camps that were liberated.

The Jewish population of Barcelona has been revived for about 100 years and today, the oldest house in the city, 12th-century Casa Adret, is home to the Jewish cultural center and functions as the headquarters of Mozaika, a nonprofit organization that promotes Jewish culture in Barcelona. There are currently four active synagogues in the city.

For an expert-lead tour of Barcelona, book Dominique Tomasov Blinder as your guide and enjoy a two-and-a-half-hour or half-day visit of the Jewish Quarter and the Jewish sites of the city.

2. Sydney, Australia

Photo: demamiel62/Shutterstock

Sydney has a vibrant Jewish community, with over 50,000 Jews currently living in the city. There is a wide range of Jewish affiliations present in Sydney, including Orthodox, Reform, Masorti, and Chabad, and even an organization called the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, which is dedicated to setting up events and volunteer experiences for the city’s Jewish population.

The first major influx of Jews to Sydney occurred when refugees fled Nazi Europe in the late 1930s, and it swelled even larger when Holocaust survivors immigrated after the war. Further migration during the latter half of the 20th century — mainly from Hungary, Russia, Israel, and South Africa — resulted in Sydney’s sizeable Jewish population and rich Jewish cultural tradition.

There are many synagogues in Sydney for worshipers of any Jewish denomination. The Great Synagogue, consecrated in 1878, was restored in 1988 and is a beautiful part of Sydney’s landscape. For a comprehensive understanding of the history of Jews in Sydney, check out the Sydney Jewish Museum in the Darlinghurst neighborhood. The museum not only covers the history of Jews in Australia, but it also houses an impressive collection of Holocaust documents and hosts special events with Holocaust survivors with the aim of educating visitors about human rights issues.

If you’d prefer a more structured experience, you can take a guided tour of Sydney’s important Jewish sites. In addition to the Jewish Museum, you’ll visit a Jewish butcher, baker, bookstore, listen to local stories from a rabbi, and explore the Eastern Suburbs Waterfront Bay where many Jews currently reside.

3. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Photo: Alexandr Vorobev/Shutterstock

With the largest Jewish population in South America, Buenos Aires is perhaps one of the most surprising places to find deeply rooted Jewish culture. Eight percent of the city’s inhabitants are Jewish (approximately 200,000 people). As Buenos Aires became an important administrative and commercial center in the 18th century, the number of Portuguese Jews in the city rose dramatically. In the mid-1800s, this number increased with an influx of Jews from Western Europe and Morocco, and the first Jewish organization (Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina) was even founded there as early as 1862. Jewish quotas established by other countries, like the US, led to more Jews migrating to Argentina in the early 1900s, with the last major influx taking place after World War II.

Now, there are substantial Hillel and Chabad communities in Buenos Aires, as well as a Moishe House where young Jews from all over the world can meet. While there may not be an official Jewish Quarter, the Once and Abasto garment districts are home to the city’s largest population of Jews, and to Yesod Hadath, a nearly 100-year-old synagogue.

The Jewish Museum, located in the neighborhood of Centro, has a mission to “tell the story of our immigrants, of the Jewish colonies, of our ancient tradition.” There are also tours available through the museum that weave together the history of Buenos Aires with the arrival of the Jewish people, and their subsequent impact on the city’s culture. The tour includes a visit to a Holocaust memorial, a synagogue, and kosher butchers, delis, and bakeries.

And in case you needed any more persuasion, the city is home to one of the very few kosher McDonald’s outside of Israel.

4. Paris, France

Photo: vvoe/Shutterstock

France’s Jewish community numbers around 500,000 people (the world’s largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States) and Jews represent six to eight percent of the entire population of Paris, so there are plenty of Jewish shops, restaurants, grocery stores, and museums to check out in the French capital. The fourth arrondissement is the city’s de facto Jewish Quarter, with Jewish businesses lining the Rue Rue des Rosiers, including falafel shops and plenty of synagogues. Known as the Pletzl (Yiddish for “Little Place”), the Marais neighborhood has been home to Jews for centuries and is the perfect place to start for a Parisian Jewish experience.

Your first stop in the Pletzl should be the Agudath Hakehillot, an orthodox synagogue in the Art Nouveau style, and the largest in the district. It was designed in 1914 by architect Hector Guimard, who is also known for his work on the Paris metro stations. Although the synagogue was destroyed by the Germans in 1940, it has since been restored and now stands as a monument to the resilience of the Jewish people of Paris.

Along the rue des Rosiers, you will find Jewish bookshops, prayer rooms, kosher bread and cheese chops, and just around the corner on rue des Hospitalières-St.-Gervais is a Jewish boys school with ties to World War II. A plaque on the school’s wall commemorates the students and teachers who were sent to internment camps, and then to Auschwitz.

Before you leave the Pletzl, visit the Museum of Jewish Art and History on the rue du Temple. The museum uses religious art objects, textiles, manuscripts, and picture exhibits to trace the development of Jewish communities in France and throughout the world.

Two of the most poignant Jewish monuments in Paris, however, aren’t in the Pletzl. Right behind the Notre Dame Cathedral, you can find the Memorial to the Deported, bearing the names of all the German death camps, where French citizens were murdered. Nearby, on the rue Geoffrey l’Asnier, you can see the Memorial of the Unknown Jewish Martyr, which serves as a memorial to the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust.

5. Casablanca, Morocco

Photo: DanKe/Shutterstock

Jews have lived in Morocco for over 2,000 years, and the country was once the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world with 275,000 jews living in the North African country. Today, the Jewish population of Morocco is relatively small, but about 2,000 make their home in Casablanca. The city is home to the Arab world’s only Jewish museum, over 30 ornate synagogues, kosher markets, and several Jewish-owned establishments. The Museum of Moroccan Judaism educates visitors on the 2,000-year history of Jews in Morocco, through the exhibition of Jewish art, clothing, religious relics, a photo and video library, and rooms with reproductions of synagogues.

But the real thing is always better than a replication. Temple Beth-El is the most impressive synagogue in the city, with stained-glass windows, elaborate chandeliers, and ceilings carved with intricate detail. And Jews looking for a religious culture experience aren’t just limited to synagogues. In Casablanca, Jews are allowed the rare opportunity to visit the Hassan II Mosque, one of the few mosques that permits non-Muslims to enter.

The temple is located in the heart of Casablanca’s mellah, or Jewish Quarter. Although relatively new by history’s standards — established less than a century ago — it is an important part of Jewish life in Casablanca and, indeed, all of Morocco. In addition to Temple Beth-El and the museum, the Jewish Quarter has a street food market that sells kosher products, a Jewish cemetery, and plenty of Jewish-owned shops, restaurants, and bakeries. The Casablanca Jewish Heritage Tour is a great way to see this side of Casablanca. It will bring you through the temple, museum and other sacred sites in both the mellah and around the city.


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The post 5 underrated places to experience Jewish culture outside Israel appeared first on Matador Network.

What are the Everyman’s Rights

With over 20 million hectares of forest, nearly 190,000 lakes, and 40 national parks, Finland is an outstanding destination to enjoy the great outdoors. What’s even better is that nearly all of it can be explored freely and free of charge. Sleeping in a tent under the Nordic lights? Sure. Picking your own berries for breakfast? No problem. This extraordinary freedom is based on a unique Nordic custom called Everyman’s Rights, or jokamiehenoikeudet.

What are Everyman’s Rights?

Photo: Ina Sofie/Shutterstock

Everyman’s rights, also known as the right to roam, are a set of rules that grant public access to the outdoors in certain European countries, such as Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Scotland. Lucky for you, in Finland, the rights are more extensive than anywhere else. In short, they allow you to roam, camp, and enjoy nature more or less without fear of consequence or trespassing.

The rights belong to everyone, no matter their nationality or their length of stay. What’s especially unique about them is that they also apply to private land. Only the government can exempt an area from Everyman’s Rights, and it’s not necessarily an easy thing to do. Just because you bought a chunk of land in the hills in no way means you can restrict others from enjoying the natural splendor of the area. Any exempted area will be signed or fenced off, so you’ll know where you’re not supposed to go.

As always, with great freedom comes great responsibility. In exchange for using Everyman’s Rights, visitors must respect nature, other people, and the landowner’s domestic privacy. It is expected of all users to keep enough distance from private residences and cultivated land, cause no damage to nature or animals, and leave no litter behind. To make sure you’re doing it right, published by the country’s Ministry of Environment.

As long as you are respectful and use the common sense expected of backcountry users the world over, you’re free to explore nearly all of the beautiful nature Finland has to offer. Here are a few ideas on how to do it.

Hike, cycle, or ski through the forests.

Photo: Adam Major/Shutterstock

Finland provides the perfect opportunity to step out of the beaten path as hiking, cycling, skiing, and even horse riding is allowed everywhere in the forests and fields, as well as on roads and beaches. Make your own adventure, or if you’re unsure about your orientation skills, make use of the extensive network of roads, paths, and routes across the country. Among the most popular hikes are:

In southern Finland, closer to Helsinki:

Juustopolku, Heinola — This 10-mile hike takes several hours and winds you through a forest and along the Kymijoki River.
Valkeisjärvi — This is a quick three-mile hike around Lake Valkeinen, about a four-hour drive north of the city.
Nuuksio National Park — This park is only an hour away from the capital Helsinki and can easily be accessed by public transport.
Visit the country’s national parks homepage for extensive information on each of the 40 national parks of Finland.

Further afield:

Urho-Kekkonen National Park — This park is home to many walks, including the four-mile Circular Hike, which takes you through moor and offers a taste of Lapland in about two hours.
Ylläs Nature Trails — This trail system offers a glimpse of Siberian forest in the far north of the country.

Set up your tent or swim (pretty much) anywhere you want.

Photo: Smit/Shutterstock

After hiking all day in the forest, it’s time to get a good night’s rest. You’ll be happy to find out that it is completely fine to set up your tent and spend the night on the spot. Just stay out of private backyards and farming lands where crops are grown, and pick a spot where you won’t significantly harm the surrounding nature. In national parks, there will be designated camping areas.

While at the campsite, feel free to take a dip. Swimming is not restricted to just public beaches. Dip your toes in any lake or pond — there are nearly 190,000 of them in Finland, so you’ll be spoiled with choice. Do note that swimming might be restricted in national parks and nature reserves. If that is the case, there will be signage to that effect.

Go berry picking, mushroom hunting, and fishing.

Photo: Travelmaid/Shutterstock

During late summer and throughout autumn, Finland’s forests are full of delicious berries and mushrooms just waiting to be picked. Many of them — such as cloudberries, lingonberries, and bilberries — aren’t commonly available outside of Northern European countries, so it’s a good idea to stock up on them while you have the chance. With Everyman’s Rights, you’re allowed to pick as much as you want. Although many of the berries and mushrooms are delicious and perfectly safe to eat, there are also some poisonous ones, so make sure you know what you’re putting in your mouth.

If you’re looking for a more substantial meal, get your fishing rod ready. Fishing is allowed everywhere with a simple rod with hook and line. Other types of fishing and any kind of hunting require you carry a special license.

What about campfires?

Photo: Jarno Holappa/Shutterstock

Bad news for lovers of toasted marshmallows — setting up an open fire is only allowed with the landowner’s permission. There are plenty of other options to cook your own meal though. National parks have designated campfire spots and covered areas for cooking. Often even the firewood is provided, so you’ll only need to bring along some matches. It’s also allowed to cook using a portable camping stove.

Now that you’re geared up with all the necessary information, it’s time to plan your next escape to Finnish nature, the perfect reason for a good old road trip from Helsinki. Finland is a vast country with endless opportunities for road trips. Thanks to Everyman’s Rights, accommodation and activities are already sorted.


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Most historic cities in Bosnia

Much of what the average American knows about Bosnia and Herzegovina comes from history books, not travel blogs. Its capital, Sarajevo, has been immortalized as the city in which World War I began. Textbooks trace centuries of East-West trade through Ottoman Bosnia and chronicle the country’s century under Austro-Hungarian rule. Modern editions cover the Bosnian War, considered by many to be the worst European atrocity since World War II.

As history lessons go, however, no amount of thumbing through books can compete with watching Bosnian life unfold below craggy mountain peaks. Of all its Balkan neighbors, which have historically been united under different empires and governments, Bosnia provides visitors one of the most open, honest, at times challenging, and rewarding glimpses into what life is, and was, like in the Western Balkans.

Bosnia wears its history on its sleeve

Photo: Tupungato/Shutterstock

Chugging rosé astride a giant rubber ducky off the Dalmatian Coast during Croatia’s Yacht Week, you might forget that, not long ago, the Western Balkans belonged to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Graffiti in Dubrovnik’s old town may recall revolutionary dates, but today’s travelers see King’s Landing when they arrive, not a city besieged by the Yugoslav People’s Army during the Croatian War of Independence.

Across the border in Bosnia, which has a mere 12-mile coastline and no association to a hit HBO series, there’s less to distract from the region’s recent past. Major cities like Sarajevo and Mostar, the capital of the Herzegovina region, remain pockmarked with bullet holes, and the country lacks the tourist infrastructure that Croatia’s incredible popularity has invited.

It’s not only Bosnia’s socialist scars that show off its history, however. Across the country, architecture strings together different centuries, from madrasas and clock towers built during the Ottoman Empire to grand, balconied buildings from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In Sarajevo, mosques, churches, and synagogues share space on the same city block.

Bosnian buildings say a lot, but so do Bosnian people. Locals are quick to ask you what you know about their country, or the war, and fill you in on any gaps. Men will share that they, or their fathers, fought against the Bosnian Serb nationalists who besieged Sarajevo in 1992. Wherever you are, English-speaking locals will likely jump at the chance to teach you a bit about Bosnian history, meaning travelers never need to look far to find a good tour guide.

A tale of one city, divided

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For centuries, storybook Mostar was a model for the peaceful coexistence of Bosnia’s Croats, Muslims, and Serbs. During the war, friends and neighbors took up arms against one another: Bosnians and Croats fought Serbian forces together, then fought each other. In the city center, the 16th-century Stari Most Bridge, Bosnia’s most-recognized landmark, was destroyed by Croat shelling. Reconstructed in the early 2000s, it now draws an invisible line between the Croat west bank and the Bosniak east bank.

Straddling the Neretva River as speedo-clad young men hang over the side of the bridge, preparing to plunge into the swift, icy waters below as is customary for local boys, travelers may not immediately recognize Mostar as a city divided. Upon closer inspection, though, visitors will see not only churches in one direction and mosques in the other but also segregated schools, separate bus systems, different hospitals.

Travelers generally hover around the bridge and narrow, labyrinthine bazaar on either side, where they shop for Turkish rugs and glass light fixtures or taste cevapcici, a type of sausage. Dig a little deeper into the city’s history at the 17th-century Koski Mehmed Pasa Mosque, which also offers an excellent view over the river; the Kajtaz House, built for a 16th-century Turkish judge; and the 18th-century Muslibegović House, now a museum and hotel.

To truly experience the magic of Mostar, wake up early with morning’s first call to prayer and start every day with a coffee, arguably the country’s most important Turkish influence. Before you go, take a moment of silence at the “Don’t Forget” stone near the bridge, a stone on which those words are written to commemorate the war and its impact on the city.

See holy sites, old and new, outside Mostar

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About 15 miles southwest of Mostar, Medjugorje is in its early days as a historic place. It came to prominence in 1981 when a group of local Croat children claimed to have apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Today, pilgrims descend on the site’s shrine en masse, some still claiming to see the Blessed Mother, known locally as Our Lady of Medjugorje, while others have reported mystical or supernatural happenings.

According to the Medjugorje website, the shrine has welcomed more than 40 million pilgrims to date, though it has yet to be authenticated by the Catholic Church. While Pope Francis has expressed personal concerns over today’s alleged apparitions, the Vatican has committed to a formal investigation into the original claims.

To see a holy site that’s older than a millennial, visit the 600-year-old Blagaj Tekija monastery at the base of a cliff in roughly 15 miles southeast of Mostar. Here, you can admire more Ottoman architecture and the blue-green Buna River. The Dervish monastery also hosts traditional zikr praise-chanting three nights a week. Plan an afternoon visit and lunch at a riverside restaurant.

A microcosm of Bosnia throughout the ages

Photo: Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock

An Austrian traveler I met in Mostar who had just come from Sarajevo described the two cities like this: Mostar, a fabulous old town in an average city, and Sarajevo, a fabulous city with an average old town. Though pat, it’s not entirely wrong.

Sarajevo’s old town revolves around Baščaršija, more an open-air mall than a city center, albeit with a better food court stocked with coffee, baklava, cheesy burek pastries, and döner kebabs. At its core is the wooden, Ottoman-style Sebilj fountain, which opens to antique shops, restaurants, and hookah bars patronized by locals and tourists alike. It’s a nicer old town than Martin let on, but even the night-shift concierge at my hotel admitted that Sarajevo’s old town was not the city’s biggest draw, personally advocating for the indie film and music scenes.

Sarajevo’s old Turkish quarter may not stand out like other European old towns, but it does contribute to the city’s rich, historic tapestry. Also contributing are sites like the 16th-century Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, the Latin Bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914, and the Sarajevo Tunnel, now a museum, which was built during the Bosnian War to allow supplies, aid, and passage to and from the besieged capital.

Better still, Sarajevo keeps excellent records. Make time for the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Svrzo’s House, the former residence of a wealthy, 18th-century Islamic family; and the Jewish Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the end of the day, though, if one landmark sums up Sarajevo’s past, it’s Vijećnica, or City Hall. An unmistakable orange-and-yellow-striped building dating to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it once served as the national library, was destroyed in the siege of Sarajevo, and has since been painstakingly restored in its original image, though sadly the library was negligibly salvageable.

Touring the Republika Srpska’s capital city

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Bosnia’s largest city after Sarajevo, and the de facto capital of its Serb-major entity, Banja Luka saw many of its historic structures destroyed during the war, though both its 16th century Ferhat Pasha Mosque and Christ the Savior Orthodox Cathedral have been reconstructed. The city’s oldest monument, the medieval Kastel Fortress, still stands along the Vrbas River. Check out the Museum of the Republika Srpska, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Ljubačke Doline ethnographic museum while in town for a quick introduction to Banja Luka.

History meets mystery at the Bosnian Pyramids

Photo: Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock

Not for the humorless historian, the Bosnian Pyramids are either ancient relics, as pseudo-archaeologist and amateur excavator Semir Osmanagić claims, or simply unusually pointed hills, as many experts believe. Osmanagić maintains that the site’s central pyramid, coined the Pyramid of the Moon, is both the largest and oldest step pyramid in the world. Though it’s yet to be verified, the Bosnian Pyramids have nonetheless become a cult attraction in Bosnia, worth seeing whether for their historical, pop cultural, or simply scenic value.


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Board game cafe opening in Chicago

If you like your entrees with a side of Scrabble, there will soon be more options than Friday night dinner at grandma’s. The team behind Cards Against Humanity, the notoriously offensive card game, is opening the Chicago Board Game Cafe, the first full-service board game cafe in Chicago.

The cafe will offer a full dinner menu inspired by Mexican, Spanish, and Vietnamese sidewalk cafes and markets, with entrees priced between $14 and $60. There will also be craft cocktails, beer, and wine. Cocktails start at $10.

Photo: Chicago Board Game Cafe

Guests will be able to reserve tables for two hours, which should give them enough time to play several rounds of their favorite game. Reservations include access to the board game library, in a former bank vault, where 300 games are kept. The cafe will also have staff available to explain new games to guests and make sure they understand the rules while playing.

And if board games are a bit too tame for you, the cafe will also have two escape rooms — The Last Defender, a room set during the Cold War at the peak of US-USSR nuclear tension, and Nova to Lodestar, a futuristic sci-fi room.

Photo: Chicago Board Game Cafe

Reservations aren’t available until January 10, but that just gives you plenty of time to hone your dice-rolling skills.


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