Worldcrunch
PAPEETE – Regardless of what geographers might say, there is a certain proximity between Tahiti and Iceland… The lush green rock dropped in the middle of the southeast Pacific Ocean might be a hundred times smaller than the chunk of windswept ice in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, but insularity is not about surface or latitude. […]
Americans started eating out a lot more over the past thirty years, a trend that likely caused obesity rates to skyrocket, according to a new USDA report. The study tracked caloric and nutrient consumption at home versus restaurants, fast food establishments and schools between 1978 and 2008. Their results: Over the past 30 years, food […]
The end of the world is slated for this Friday, December 21, and Chinese restaurants are fully booked. They are promising a wonderful atmosphere and are dubbing the special evening the “Last Supper.” We can already imagine the hordes of young people who will spend the evening in a bar – downing alcohol to help […]
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch Located some 1,800 kilometers off the coast of South America, South Georgia Island has no permanent human residents – but millions of rats. The rodents first made their way to this south Atlantic island on whaling boats in the 18th century and, feeding on sea birds, proliferated quickly. No one can […]
-Essay- BEIJING – “Eat, drink, man and woman – the greatest human desires reside in them…” It is an ancient Confucian proverb, meaning that food and love are basic to human nature. Were the public invited to vote on what they’d like most to know about their nations’ leaders I’m convinced it wouldn’t be their […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – Lufthansa is planning to launch a fourth class on long distance flights: Premium Economy Class. The entire long-haul fleet would be equipped with the new cabin, according to Die Welt. The company released a statement saying that its supervisory board had agreed to invest in an “introductory project” that […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – By 2016 Deutsche Post wants to have its own national online food retail operation up and running. A spokeswoman said the company has been planning the move for some time and that the challenge was setting up a system of outlets around Germany that would stock a wide selection […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch As one of 34 countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel, the United Arab Emirates does not even allow Israeli citizens entry. But now the UAE’s state-owned airline Etihad has taken a new route in denying recognition: erasing Israel from the world map, Germany’s daily Die Welt reports On the touchscreen […]
MEXICO CITY – There are a lot of good restaurants in Ciudad de México – Mexico’s capital city (its name sounds a lot more dashing in Spanish than the English Mexico City used by most). Authentic Mexican cuisine is excellent, and Mexicans like to eat well – with little room to spare. So forget everything […]
NAPLES – Great news for all connoisseurs of French fries – that is, practically everyone: if it’s done correctly, frying is not bad for your health. Researchers at the Federico II University of Naples and from the nearby “Dolce & Salato” professional cooking school, have conducted a study that shows that frying isn’t bad, if […]
BUENOS AIRES – When television was in black and white, women took care of the home, which included buying wine for the family dinner. By the time TV was in color, the reds and whites were typically selected by the men of the house — and the restaurants. But lately, more and more women have […]
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) Worldcrunch When you see red water on an Australian beach… you immediately think “shark attack!” Sydney’s most famous beach, Bondi beach, and neighboring Clovelly beach were closed on Tuesday after the water turned bright red. On Wednesday, 10 other Sydney beaches were closed according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Photo: Bondi […]
PARIS – “An exceptional year for Bollinger champagne…” Considering the current economic situation, Jérôme Philipon’s comment is refreshing indeed. Even as the overall champagne market was down by 5% at the end of September, the family-run Bollinger producers predict record sales for 2013, says Philipon, the CEO of the champagne house. He expects a growth […]
KAMCHATKA PENINSULA – “The Kamchatka? Why?” was the response I got from everyone who heard I was going there, even though I think they all knew how beautiful the region is. It’s true; the Kamchatka is far away and expensive (although no further than Japan or Cuba). And for some reason, it’s a little scary. […]
BERLIN – The Tannhof, a wellness hotel in Germany’s Black Forest, is for adults only. So is the Ringhotel Dolce Vita in the Bavarian Forest. According to the Adults-Only-Holidays website, there are five hotels in Germany where children are not welcome. There are five such establishments in Austria, the UK and Turkey; four each in […]
BELGRADE – “Go to Republic Square first, and then walk along Knez Mihailova Street, that’s Belgrade at its most beautiful…” With the counsel of the young woman at Reception, a rickety Dacia taxi gets me from the residential neighborhood of Senjak – pretty, but with some parts in urgent need of a facelift – past […]
On October 18, water started flowing along a 20 kilometer (12.4 mile) aqueduct from the Yellow River into a gigantic pit in Zhengzhou City. In two months this pit will turn into an artificial lake with a surface of 5.6 square kilometers (3.5 square miles). It has taken two years of digging and has cost […]
THE WARSAW VOICE (Poland), JTA (USA) Worldcrunch WARSAW – Squeeze inside, what is being dubbed the “narrowest house in the world” has officialy been opened in Poland’s capital, reports the Warsaw Voice. The two-story aluminum and plastic buiilding has a floor area of 14 square meters (150.70 sq feet) and measures 92 centimeters (3.02 ft) […]
FEZ – Everyone should go to the Moroccan city of Fez at least once, if only to get lost in the medina, around the mosque of al-Karaouine, the oldest university in the world. You could choose to spend the hot hours of the day in the Bou Inania Madrasa, the religious school built in the […]
The Luxemburg-based European Court of Justice ruled this week a product the Czechs call butter is not butter, which means that the beloved spread known as “pomazankove maslo” (“spreadable butter”) can no longer be labeled as such. Non-Czechs would never have called it butter, which it bears no resemblance to – it doesn’t even really […]
BAROLO – One of the wine labels is of Veuve widow Clicquot champagne — when the widow still had a husband. The label bears the name of her now-unknown husband Eugene. Another label comes from one of the oldest vineyards in Burgundy, Labaume l’Ainé. It bears no date but is dated before 1798, the year […]
FOLHA DE S. PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch SÃO VICENTE – With his twin five-year-old sons in tow, South Korean university professor Kim Haeng-Chang has been to Thailand, India, Turkey, Croatia, Germany and Senegal. Part of the months-long journey is done on a bike that tows a small wooden wagon adorned with a sign that reads: “Your […]
AMSTERDAM – A filthy hotel room and food poisoning are definitely up there on the list of things that can ruin a trip. But for the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel in Amsterdam, they are part of the sales pitch — proud to be dubbed the “worst hotel in the world.” The low-cost establishment has enjoyed […]
GRANMA (Cuba), AP Worldcrunch HAVANA – Cuba’s Foreign Ministry has announced that it will no longer require its citizens to apply for an exit permit before travelling abroad. Starting January 14 next year, Cubans will no longer have to go through a lengthy and expensive process – citizens have to pay between $150 and $200 […]
Cruise lovers come in all shapes, sizes and inclinations. Some climb aboard for the pleasure of getting decked out in their sharpest evening wear. Others like to keep it as casual as they can. Dress codes, indeed, vary from ship to ship. UK-owned Cunard Cruises may still require tuxedos and evening gowns on its ocean […]
A Tel Aviv Tale Of Manners
Viruses have become world travelers, thanks mainly to the growing mobility of humankind – and of insects. Climate change is also a source of the exotic infections currently spreading in Europe. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German government institution responsible for disease control and prevention, we will increasingly have to deal with […]
KUNYANG – Li Jinsui is an ambitious man. He invested 250,000 euros of his own money in this insect factory, sitting amidst the hills of Kunyang, on the outskirts of Kunming, the capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan. With seven patents, production officially kicked off in 2009. Since then, no visitor comes by without […]
ISTANBUL – Mornings around nine, when shop owners on Galip Dede Street open their doors, dozens of cats appear out of nowhere. They know it’s breakfast time. Not right away: the men first have to unpack new merchandise, stock the shelves, and check the till. But then they put out bowls of water for the […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch MUNICH – Some seven million people are expected to turn up for Oktoberfest in the southern German city of Munich. What has been the world’s biggest popular fete since 1810 kicked off Saturday in the Schottenhamel beer tent, the oldest party tent on the Theresienwiese fairgrounds. Die Welt asked Christian Schottenhamel, […]
Worldcrunch It’s the launch of iPhone 5! As the entire world stands in line and tweets live updates of their quest for iPhone glory, we’d like to provide a little reality check. It’s just a phone, guys. Just think of all these things you could be doing instead: 1. USA – Go to the SPAM […]
LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL, LA PRESSE (Canada) Worldcrunch A sushi restaurant in Montreal has been forced to change its name after “Fukyu” was deemed too “risqué” by neighboring residents. La Presse reported the lawyer of the building’s owner, David Gavitian, said that many in the neighborhood saw the restaurant as a nuisance, with many business […]
SHANGHAI – The Shanghai hairy crab, also known as the Chinese mitten crab, is considered a great delicacy in China. But, not so much in Germany where each year from late summer to early autumn mature Chinese mitten crabs begin their migration up the Elbe River. As they travel to the North Sea to get […]
BUENOS AIRES – The train works. And almost every time it leaves from Constitution Station in Buenos Aires, it reaches its destination, Mar del Plata, 410 Kilometers to the south. It works, which means that it functions in the most basic sense of the word: it moves. It repeats the trip every day of the […]
A shockwave, an explosion, a fire. The boat lets in water and topples over, passengers hang on to life boats or jump into the waves. Few circumstances have the tragic intensity of a shipwreck, which takes mere seconds to throw human beings into life-threatening situations, where the cruelest of decisions have to be made: who […]
MEXICO CITY – Alfredo, an Argentine in his 30s who lives in Madrid, swears he will never drink tequila again. His Mexican friends tell him that what he had was not the real tequila, their homeland’s national drink. Still, he insists, with the look of someone who has stared the devil straight in the eyes, […]
LE FIGARO (France), LA REPUBBLICA (Italy) Worldcrunch PARIS – World famous elite French chef Alain Ducasse has his own response to the economic crisis, which sounds oddly similar to a Burger King back-to-school offer. “Buy one, get one free…” is the offer available to food lovers in the world’s gastronomic powerhouse. From September 17 to […]
Wandering around Scottish putting greens — this is how Pascal Bonvin, a 52-year old Credit Suisse executive, chose to improve his English language skills. He flew to Edinburgh early this summer to learn English with a private professor. Once his daily language class was over, Pascal Bovin swapped textbooks for golf clubs. Language lessons in […]
DUTCH NEWS (Netherlands), BBC NEWS (UK), DER SPIEGEL (Germany) Worldcrunch Terminal C of Amsterdam’s Schipol airport in the Netherlands was closed on Wednesday after building work uncovered a suspected World War II unexploded bomb, barely a day after authorities in Germany had to detonate a war-era bomb in the heart of Munich. A bomb disposal […]