Best Travel Blogs: 12/23/14

December 23, 2014

Gerbrandy Tower in Ijsselstein, Netherlands

The Gerbrandy Tower at Christmas. (Wikimedia Commons)

A combination free-standing tower and guyed mast, the Gerbrandy Tower is the tallest broadcasting tower in the Netherlands. More impressive, though, is what the tower becomes during the holiday season. Every year around Christmas, workers turn this 366.8-meter-tall tower into the world's tallest Christmas tree.

Visible from over 50 km away, the Christmas tree tower is made by stringing white lamps along the cables that support the tallest reaches of the structure. An expensive decorating procedure, it was thought that the world's tallest Christmas tree could only be installed every five years, but sponsors have allowed this seasonal lighting to continue annually.

Built in 1961, the Gerbrandy Tower was the tallest man-made object anywhere in Europe at the time, measuring 382.5 meters. But 26 years later, in 1987, its height was reduced to 375 meters, a number that fell again in 2007, when it was modified to its current height; the new digital antenna didn't require as much length as the old analog antenna it replaced. The lower section, standing 100 meters tall, is a concrete tower. The upper parts of the structure consists of a steel mast guyed to the ground. Towers of this construction are very rare; only a few dozen exist in the world, with most of them found in Hungary and Norway.

The Gerbrandy Tower is used for directional radio services and for FM and TV broadcasting. It is named after Peter Gerbrandy, prime minister of the Netherlands during World War II. Like the Netherlands throughout the war that Gerbrandy saw them through, the Gerbrandy Tower is quite resilient. In mid-2011, a small fire caused the transmitters to shut down, but the tower remained stable. A similar tower nearby caught fire only hours later and collapsed to the ground, but the Gerbrandy Tower didn't falter.

from Atlas Obscura http://atlasobscura.com.feedsportal.com/c/35387/f/665719/s/41bc146b/sc/10/l/0L0Satlasobscura0N0Cplaces0Cgerbrandy0Etower/story01.htm

Tió de Nadal in Barcelona, Spain

A smiling log friend (Flickr/malfieten)

Sure, putting a Christmas tree in your house seems pretty arbitrary considering the true religious context of the holiday. But beating a smiling, hollowed-out Christmas log until it “defecates” in your fireplace takes the celebration in Catalonia to a whole new level.

In Catalan, Tió de Nadal is roughly translated to Christmas Log and is a widespread tradition in many parts of Spain. According to Catalan mythology, the Christmas Log brings small presents on Christmas (big presents come from the Three Wise Men) in the same way presents are placed under Christmas trees in United States. Originally, the Tió de Nadal was just a piece of dead wood, but now the log is often given a face with an attached nose and two little legs, along with a little red hat similar to a barretina.

If it stopped right there, it wouldn’t be that strange. Just another present-delivering vehicle adopted by a different culture. But it doesn’t stop there, that’s only the beginning. It all starts on the Day of the Immaculate Conception, December 8. Tradition states that households begin to “feed” the log every night starting then. The log is also usually given a small blanket during this time to keep it warm during the chilly weeks before Christmas.

After weeks of feeding, it is finally Christmas Eve and the log is placed in the fireplace, little face and beret staring up from the ground. Members of the house then take turns bashing the little log person with a stick and commanding it to defecate out presents, candies and wafers and not to defecate stinky herring. This is where the tradition got its other name, Caga tió, or shit log.

The bashing continues while traditional songs about the log are sung. Christmas is then celebrated to the delight of everyone in the house as they reach below the tió’s blanket to pull out their “gifts” of defecated candy and presents.

from Atlas Obscura http://atlasobscura.com.feedsportal.com/c/35387/f/665719/s/41bc146a/sc/10/l/0L0Satlasobscura0N0Cplaces0Ccaga0Etio/story01.htm

Oymyakon in Oymyakonsky District, Russia

Positioned deep in Siberia, the village of Oymyakon holds the distinction of being the coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth.

Just a few hundred miles from the Arctic Circle and reaching record lows of -96.16 degrees, one is forced to ponder not only why, but also how the villagers of this remotest of remote locations survive.

With a day that varies from 3 hours in the winter to 21 hours in the summer and permanently frozen ground due to the extreme subarctic climate, the roughly 500 residents of Oymyakon are mostly unable to grow crops, therefore their diet basically consists of reindeer and horse meat. While spoiled kids to the south get out of school for snow days, the children of Oymyakon are stuck in class unless the temperature falls below –52C. If you were to go outside naked on an average day, it would take approximately one minute for you to freeze to death.

Besides the obvious issues of remoteness, the cold itself forces this village to be a simple place with few conveniences. Cars are hard to start with frozen axle grease and fuel tanks, unused pipes can freeze within 5 hours, batteries lose life at an alarming speed. Pen ink freezes, anything less than fur fails at keeping the chill off, and electronics are all but useless.

Perhaps one of the most difficult challenges facing these rugged people existing within "Stalin's Death Ring" is the burial of their dead. With the ground in a state of permafrost, it takes several days to dig a grave, a strenuous task of lighting a bonfire for a few hours, then pushing the coals aside to dig a few inches, then starting another fire, and so on and so forth, until the hole is big enough to hold a coffin.

While its appeal may be mostly due to the novelty of being in such a bizarre climate as there is very little to do in Oymyakon, it has a relatively successful tourism market. Area-specific activities such as reindeer hunts, ice fishing and the juxtaposition of enjoying the hot springs when the temperatures are in the minus-fiftes are available to those who would like to experience this opposite of a tropical vacation spot.

from Atlas Obscura http://atlasobscura.com.feedsportal.com/c/35387/f/665719/s/41bc1465/sc/10/l/0L0Satlasobscura0N0Cplaces0Coymyakon0Earctic0Ecircle/story01.htm

Free Lightroom Presets and a New Last Minute Christmas Deal!

Holiday Sale! 35% off all kinds of Stuff! Go see our new Newsletter! It has all the details you need, just in case you need that last minute gift for a photography lover, or even better, a gift for yourself! Free Lightroom Presets – A Starter Pack! Go grab them in the store now! There’s […]

from Stuck in Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2014/12/24/free-lightroom-presets-and-a-new-last-minute-christmas-deal/

Cuba’s Zeal for Tight Control Clashes With Need for Growth

Raúl Castro’s decision to normalize relations was driven by economic interests, but his government seems intent on opening markets only a crack.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/41bbbd61/sc/1/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C240Cworld0Ccubas0Ezeal0Efor0Etight0Econtrol0Eclashes0Ewith0Eneed0Efor0Egrowth0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

How Can You Use Chase Points to Travel to Alaska?

Reader l.C asks, I need to fly 3 people to Alaska using those Chase points. What is the best and most efficient way to do this. I have Alaska, but not Korean airlines, account. Certainly Alaska Airlines has the most flights. And Korean’s award chart for travel on Alasks is very reasonable. To say whether […]

The post How Can You Use Chase Points to Travel to Alaska? appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/23/can-use-chase-points-travel-alaska/

Korean Air SkyPass Ultimate Rewards Transfers Returning January 2015

In late November, points transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Korean Air SkyPass suddenly became unavailable. There was no advance notice or explanation, which suggested to me that it was temporary, and not a permanent change. Usually when partnerships like this are discontinued, at least some advance notice is given.

A few days after the transfer functionality was discontinued I wrote a post about how it looked like the change was temporary, given that Chase customer service was saying the Ultimate Rewards website would be updated when (not if) the functionality returns.

As I explained at the time, losing Korean Air SkyPass as a transfer partner would be a huge loss for Ultimate Rewards, given what a useful program SkyPass is. Some of the best things about SkyPass miles include:

The post Korean Air SkyPass Ultimate Rewards Transfers Returning January 2015 appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/23/korean-air-skypass-ultimate-rewards-transfers-returning-january-2015/

The Return of Eastern Airlines

My first flight was to Orlando with Eastern Air Lines as a 2-year-old. I have no memories of it. I never had the chance to fly with Eastern again. By the time I began flying at least once or twice a year, Eastern was gone, officially shutting down on January 18, 1991. Now, 24 years […]

from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/12/the-return-of-eastern-airlines.html

AMAZING DEAL: Redeem American Miles For Etihad A380 First Class

Later this week Etihad will finally begin service with their cutting edge new A380s. The inaugural flight will be from Abu Dhabi to London on December 27, and I can’t wait to be on it in the First Class Apartment.

As is often the norm when airlines take delivery of an aircraft with a new type of “product,” Etihad has up until now heavily restricted premium cabin award space on the plane.

Up until now they haven't consistently been releasing any first or business class saver award space on the A380, and certainly haven’t released any saver award space in The Residence (I don't expect that last part to change).

The post AMAZING DEAL: Redeem American Miles For Etihad A380 First Class appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/23/amazing-deal-redeem-american-miles-for-etihad-a380-first-class/

CityPASS San Francisco: A Must for SF Travelers

I am not a huge fan of multi-attraction entrance passes. While these will certainly save you money if you would have otherwise purchased individual tickets to the attractions covered, often when I purchase multi-attraction entrance passes I find myself going to an attraction only to justify the purchase of my pass. However, the CityPASS San […]

from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/12/citypass-san-francisco-a-must-for-sf-travelers.html

The West Coast Flight That Has Plenty of First Class Award Space to Europe Using American or British Airways Miles

British Airways dropped first class from a handful of routes, but they’ve changed their mind and first is coming back. And that creates an opportunity for award travel. Here’s what prompted my realizing it: MileCards wrote that British Airways award availability was wide open in first class for next summer between Los Angeles and London […]

The post The West Coast Flight That Has Plenty of First Class Award Space to Europe Using American or British Airways Miles appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/23/west-coast-flight-plenty-first-class-award-space-europe-using-american-british-airways-miles/

Video: Bali’s Enduring Spirit

Whenever a traveler returns to a beloved place after a long hiatus, the trip is inevitably attended by some combination of anticipation and dread. Will it be as great as you remember it? Has time treated it well?

from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/23/video-balis-enduring-spirit/

In Transit Blog: A Paris Museum at Play

Musée des Art Forains in Paris showcases roving fairs of the past with gondolas, marionettes and carousels.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/41ba2ecb/sc/10/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C120C230Ca0Eparis0Emuseum0Eat0Eplay0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Hyatt Diamond Challenge To Return In 2015

For a long time Hyatt offered one of the most generous status challenges in the world, with their Hyatt Diamond Challenge.

Basically if you could prove any status with another hotel chain you'd immediately receive Diamond status, along with four confirmed Diamond Suite Upgrade Awards.

If you stayed 12 nights within 60 days you'd get to keep Diamond status for the rest of the program year. Plus they'd give you 1,000 bonus points for each of the first six nights you stayed during the promotion period.

Not surprisingly, the opportunity was ripe for abuse, whereby people just used it for the confirmed suite upgrades. So in November Hyatt discontinued the Diamond Challenge.

The post Hyatt Diamond Challenge To Return In 2015 appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/23/hyatt-diamond-challenge-to-return-in-2015/

Chase Points Transfers to Korean Air To Return in January!

Korean Air has been one of my favorite uses of Chase points. First class awards have been so darned easy to get. There are real sweet spots in their Skyteam award chart They offer cheap awards to Hawaii Although they are of course very Korean and their processes for redeeming awards are unique. Korean went […]

The post Chase Points Transfers to Korean Air To Return in January! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/23/chase-points-transfers-korean-air-return-january/