Tagged With "East Germany"
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Re: So, what’s it worth ?
No one spins a travel yarn quite like Robert Cranwell! Enjoyed this one. Podcast is worth listening to as well, everyone.
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Re: So, what’s it worth ?
A familiar story when travelling in those countries we know little of. But the eagerness of the Police to put it right was assuring to others that follow. Perhaps we're not that well advanced. An interesting story and educational too.
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Re: East Coast TGiving Travelers May Need a 'Plan B'
That is all part of Thanksgiving. Bad weather and lots of delays for Thanksgiving Eve are a long standing holiday tradition. Somehow, the flight delays always seem to happen on the way to grandma's house on Wednesday, not on the return trip on Sunday to go back to work.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Mar.4th 2014: Dubai Water Taxi
It's a great image, Islandman! I really enjoy photos of people going about their every day lives in different locations about the world, a reminder to me how much more alike we all are than different. This photo is made more interesting by their obviously ethnic diversity -- people who have come to Dubai for a good job and to improve their lot in life. The contrast of the old wooden taxi and modern skyscrapers in the background is great!
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Re: Good news, bad news on UNESCO's world heritage
I enjoy traveling to UNESCO sites because most of them are very interesting destinations. I even know of some travelers whose goal it is to see "every" UNESCO listing. Good luck to them! I really think UNESCO is doing it's job by identifying important places and encouraging their conservation. I shudder at the thought of a global UNESCO police swooping in to "defend" these sites. It's up to the countries that govern them to do so. Some do a great job; others don't. Some citizens care, others...
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Re: East Gill Falls, Swaledale, North Yorkshire
I am always impressed with your photography!!! Beautiful and creative!
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Re: Germans Reflect on Reunification
I was in Berlin on Saturday, the day of the 25th anniversary of reunification. There were tons of people in the city, as crowded as I've ever seen any major city. The main activities were in the Tiergarten, especially around the Brandenburg gate. By the time we made our way there, the police had closed down the area and were not allowing more people in because it was overcrowded. Still, everyone seemed well behaved and having a nice time. I think most Germans feel reunification was a good...
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Re: East Beach Trail, Naikoon Provincial Park, Graham Island
Wow; what a wonderful post! So interesting and your photos are creative and beautiful!!
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Re: George Eastman Museum - Rochester NY
So interesting especially for anyone who loves history, beautiful houses and photography and that's me!! Well done!!
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Re: Pesuta Shipwreck, Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida-Gwaii, British Columbia
These photos are evocative. Makes me very glad not to be a sailor back in the day. I have seen some of the many trees washed up on the beaches of the Pacific Northwest. Those are also very impressive. Did you find any glass floats ? I used to have a number of the ones used by Japanese fisherman to hold up their nets. You never know what will turn up.
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Re: Pesuta Shipwreck, Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida-Gwaii, British Columbia
The glass floats tend to wash up on the west (windward) side of the Pacific. This hike was on the leeward (eastern) side, where these floats tend not to come. But there were a gazillion trees, like these.
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Re: Pesuta Shipwreck, Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida-Gwaii, British Columbia
Like the tree pics. I picked up all of my glass floats a bit farther south - on the seaward side of Vancouver Island and on the western shore of the Olympic Peninsula. I think it was always in the summer. Maybe the tides and winds bring different material at different times of the year.
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Re: A visit to Saudi Arabia: Part I
Wow! Thanks for this fascinating contribution, Lestertheinvestor. I was exhausted just from reading the directions for applying for the visa. It is quite obvious that Saudi Arabia doesn't want infidels visiting them. A few questions you might know the answer to: 1) Is the process stream-lined for a Muslim wanting to go to Mecca, and what kind of proof do they need to have that they're a Muslim? 2) Do you have any rough idea how many hours you spent on this process? Ball-park guess would do.
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Re: A visit to Saudi Arabia: Part I
1) The process is easier for a Muslim who is going on a hajj. However, unless you are native born, you must present a document from the Imam of your mosque documenting your status as a Muslim in good standing. For a Caucasian woman who is a converted Muslim, you must still get permission from your husband or a male relative, along with the letter from the mosque to allow you to make the hajj. 2) Between my wife and I (she actually presented our documents each time to the consulate in Los...
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Re: A visit to Saudi Arabia: Part I
What a bureaucratic nightmare! I wonder if there are countries that make it harder to visit than this one?
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Re: A visit to Saudi Arabia: Part I
Originally Posted by Travel Luver: What a bureaucratic nightmare! I wonder if there are countries that make it harder to visit than this one? My wife and I have visited 119 countries, with China, Bhutan and Saudi Arabia the most challenging to enter.
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Re: A visit to Saudi Arabia: Part I
My husband and I were invited to live there for two years while he did a medical fellowship in genetics. The challenge for me was that I am a very independent traveler, and I could not imagine how I would deal with the restrictions on women. In the end, those restrictions influenced our decision to go to Germany for two years instead. However, after having seen your photos, I am curious to see more. I regret that I do not know this part of the world.
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Re: NYC-The Lower East Side
Thanks for this piece, and especially the notes on the Lower 'Eat' Side. I used to live not far away from Katz and Yonah Schimmel, although in those days I couldn't afford them as often as I might have liked...but I remember enjoying the aromas even when I couldn't eat! By the way, Russ and Daughters has just opened a small sitdown cafe where their "appetizing" can be enjoyed. The Tenement Museum is a great place for families; I've taken small school groups there. Each apartment in the...
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Re: NYC-The Lower East Side
I am embarrassed to say I've never had a knisch. But now I know where to find the best and will have to look the place up when in NYC. A fascinating bit of Americana. Thanks, Jonathan.
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Re: NYC-The Lower East Side
Thanks Jonathan! I'll follow your excellent itinerary next time I visit. I was fascinated by the history lesson you gave us!
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Re: NYC-The Lower East Side
Excellent article, Jonathan, thank you. Such an amazing and colorful history and you've made it tempting to visit (again). We were there in 2007 and I had a pastrami sandwich at Katz's. It was so big I couldn't get my mouth around it!
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Look east! Gallery re-examines East German interior decor
A glittering new gallery in Berlin, just off Karl-Marx-Allee, is taking a new look at mid-century design in the former German Democratic Republic, along with contemporary design from elsewhere in the East bloc and the west. East German (and...
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So, what’s it worth ?
Bob Cranwell shares a discussion and thoughts on the value of things using a memorable experience in Yemen.
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Nov. 3, 2019: Economy Candy, Lower East Side, New York
Jonathan L takes a walking tour of the Lower Eat Side's storefronts.
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East Jesus, Slab City, California
Travel Rob shows an interesting art installation in a unique squatter city.
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East Beach Trail, Naikoon Provincial Park, Graham Island
An 89 km long beach trail on Haida Gwaii, B.C. forms the basis of this adventure.
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, November 7, 2015: The World Timeclock, Alexanderplatz
One of the more unusual clocks I've seen in some time (pun intended) is the World Time Clock (Weltzeituhr) in Berlin's Alexanderplatz . It was constructed in former Communist East Berlin in 1969 (and restored in 1997, after...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, October 22, 2015: Ampelmann, the East German Pedestrian Crossing Light Symbol, Berlin, Germany
You may be asking yourself "Why is Ottoman doing a Picture of the Day featuring pedestrian crossing lights?" Well ladies and gentlemen, these are not just ordinary pedestrian crossing lights...this is Ampelmann. So...
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Greece hopes for tourist boom on Mideast fears
Greece, which a year ago was losing tourist business because of fears of economic crisis, lack of cash in ATMs and possible disorder, is hoping to have a better time this year as crises in the Middle East kill tourism business there. Greece is...
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Hi-speed rail to connect Miami, Orlando
With stations already under construction, a new rail service connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando is on track for a 2017 launch, with trains that will provide airline-style amenities without the airport hassle. The new...
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East Gill Falls, Swaledale, North Yorkshire
Ian Cook shares a visit to a beautiful waterfall, this one East Gill Falls in North Yorkshire.
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Museum at Eldridge Street (Where Gumbo Was #251)
A visit to one of New York's most historic and beautiful synagogues with Jonathan L, who share its history with us.
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Historic Battery Park, Lower Manhattan, NY
A visit with Samantha to a park with a history as long as New York's, and a large variety of things to see.
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A Park Grows in Brooklyn
Nearly 200 years ago, New York and Brooklyn, then separate cities and the greatest shipping centers on the East Coast, saw the land along the rivers—Hudson and East—begin to fill with docks, piers, warehouses and freight traffic....
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Pesuta Shipwreck, Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida-Gwaii, British Columbia
There are few things that liven up a hiking day more than stumbling on a shipwreck. At least that’s my life’s experience (based on this one wreck)! One of my most interesting back-country backpacking experiences was...
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NYC-The Lower East Side
The Lower East Side ( see map ) has been the home to immigrants for over 100 years. In the late 1800's its population was primarily Jewish, In the 1950's the population shifted to mostly Puerto Rican and then Dominican. Then in the 80's and...
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East End London: Around the world in food
In a neighborhood populated by waves of immigrants for centuries, the food is varied...and wonderful.
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East End Street Art, London
London's East End has quite a bit of unusual street art, with all kinds of viewpoints. Here's a selection for you!
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Where Gumbo Was #2: Kaliningrad Cathedral
Most people seeing this picture of the Old Cathedral in Kaliningrad, Russia, assume they’re looking at the 19th-century because of the red-brick construction. But they’re wrong! The cathedral was begun in 1333 and nearly finished by 1380,...
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East Coast TGiving Travelers May Need a 'Plan B'
Weather forecasts for next week show a strong possibility that the weather systems that have plagued the midwest and southwest and are now headed east may cause major East Coast transportation delays just in time for Thanksgiving travel. MORE
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Lake Havasu Lighthouse Replicas - Part 1 of 3
Lake Havasu, Arizona has become “the city with most lighthouses in America,” thanks to its collection of 1/3 scale lighthouses from everywhere.
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March 10, 2016: Memorial to Berlin Wall victims, Berlin, Germany
This Memorial to Berlin Wall victims serves as a solemn reminder of the Berlin Wall legacy.
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Berlin's 'New Year Baby' is an elephant!
Every city has a "first baby" of the New Year, but Berlin's buzz this year is about a New Year baby who's an elephant!
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Flooding in Britain after heavy winter rains
Heavy rainfalls have led to flooding in many towns in England over the Christmas holidays, especially in the South East and mid Wales. As of this morning, the number of flood warnings and floods was still increasing. The rains have been extremely heavy for days; Brighton has had more than three times the average monthly rainfall in only 11 days. While the rains in the south are expected to drop off today, they are on the increase in the north and into Scotland. In many areas, army units have...
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George Eastman Museum - Rochester NY
History, photography, history of photography, all rolled in to one.
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Lost in transition? Tokyo station app can help
Tokyo's giant rail and subway stations, Shinjuko and Tokyo Station can be a puzzle even for locals who need to switch among many different lines...and for visitors it's even worse. But a new app is designed to save the day for both. Released last year for Tokyo station, it now covers Shinjuku as well, and works in either English or Japanese. It uses positioning beacons inside the stations to help the app show you where you are and where you have to go. You are represented by a bright blue...