Paris and Berlin will soon be connected by a new high-speed train service.
26.09.2024 - 10:13 / cntraveler.com
Whether you're looking to escape the winter blues or hoping to experience the ultimate snowy Christmas vacation, there are so many beautiful places in the world to pick from for your next winter vacation. Winter in general tends to be a less crowded time to travel than summer, but there are still a fair number of tourists that can fill up some of your favorite cities. If you're looking for an off-the-beaten-path trip that excels in views, vibes, and value but isn't yet so overrun with other travelers that you'll have trouble walking down the street, we've found some of the best options for you. Here are 11 underrated winter vacation spots to visit this upcoming season, with trips for beach bums who want to leave the cold weather behind, as well as wintertime-lovers who can't wait to hop on the slopes or peruse a Christmas market.
The waterfront in Vancouver
Just north of Washington state, the bustling seaport of Vancouver is a Hallmark-worthy winter destination—literally. If you find the city streets particularly familiar, it's because more than one Hallmark movie was filmed here. Skiers will rejoice in the fact that it's just under two hours away from Whistler, while city-goers will appreciate what it's like to experience winter in a vibrant metropolis. Aside from its spectacular natural beauty and lovely snowy landscapes, the city is home to some great museums, delicious food, and unique activities, like the Capilano Suspension Bridge.
Where to stay in Vancouver, Canada:
As a personal fan of the winters in Michigan's UP, I can testify that venturing up this far north in the winter is not for the faint of heart—but it is absolutely worth it. Best experienced by outdoorsy folk, this is an ideal location to engage in some winter sports, enjoy the ski hills, slog through the deep snow, and curl up by the fire while you watch the flurries come down. It's ideal for those who have no interest in leaving the country, but want to experience a Scandinavian-adjacent winter vibe. If you're lucky, you'll even get a glimpse of the northern lights while up there.
Where to stay in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan:
Christmastime in Colmar, France.
If you've ever dreamed of heading to a tiny, wintery town for a Hallmark movie Christmas, Colmar is the perfect place to go. A village brimming with beautiful canals and colorful buildings, the second you step foot in this romantic destination you'll feel like you're starring in your own personal Disney fairytale. Once there, hit the Christmas market, walk the cobblestone streets of the scenic Little Venice, take some gorgeous pictures, gape in awe at the gingerbread-house buildings, and indulge in all the fairytale vibes.
Where to stay in Colmar, France:
For those
Paris and Berlin will soon be connected by a new high-speed train service.
As a fashion industry veteran, the men’s wear designer Jesse Rowe has been to countless stores. The one he can’t stop thinking about is Marcello, a hidden shop in Fukuoka, Japan. “You walk into a nondescript building, go up a couple of flights of stairs to the rooftop, walk along a stone path, then go down a fire escape to this completely transporting clothing shop,” says Rowe. The designer has brought that spirit of discovery to Zebra Room, a boutique in Germantown, N.Y., that’s equal parts coffee shop, cabinet of curiosities and listening lounge. Housed in a converted barn, Zebra Room devotes most of its square footage to a collection of midcentury Scandinavian furniture that Rowe’s brother imports from Copenhagen (highlights include an Inca chair by Arne Norell). There are also secondhand clothes and goods, from vintage marinière shirts to handmade leather dog collars. A coffee bar (which serves everything from Mexican café de olla to cold brew tonics topped with yuzu) is set up in a cube leftover from an exhibition held by the shop’s next-door neighbors Alexander Gray Associates. Rowe and his wife, the interior designer Loren Daye, clad the plaster installation with hemlock wood to keep with the natural feel of the space, which also has a 1970s cast-iron stove and retains the barn’s bluestone dirt floors. The cube houses Rowe’s record collection and sound system, which the designer has modeled after those in Japan’s kissa cafes. He alternates between vinyl and streaming, but the shop’s soundtrack is always played through a restored vintage SunValley/Dynaco tube amplifier and Klipsch LaScala speakers; similar tube amps, turntables and speakers are also for sale. “I want it to feel like someone’s living room — you might have to yell over the music,” says Rowe.
There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.
A national park service site in northern Michigan is offering a glimpse at the future of public transit. Through early October, you can ride an autonomous electric bus to popular sites at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Adastec, a company specializing in autonomous vehicle technology for commercial purposes, is testing autonomous shuttling for park guests in a first-of-its-kind concept for the National Park Service. Guests can register in advance to take part in an experience that, if successful, could set the bar for mass transit in other crowded park service sites.
To encourage travelers to Japan to get off the beaten path, delve deeper into the country’s cultural heritage, and venture beyond the popular tourist destinations, Japan Airlines is offering complimentary domestic flights all across the archipelago.
A version of this article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveller India.
Amtrak is launching a brand-new route this fall that will run from Chicago all the way down to Miami.
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Strikes are a regular occurrence in Europe, as employees withhold their labour to fight for better pay and conditions.
Sep 23, 2024 • 6 min read
While there are countless ways to cook eggs, chefs currently seem fixated on the most hedonistic option: hard boiling and then coating them in a layer of ground meat before breading and frying them. Known as Scotch eggs, the treats are said to have been pioneered by the London epicurean shop Fortnum & Mason in 1738, after which they quickly became a fixture of British pub cuisine. The chef Ed Szymanski, 31, of Lord’s in New York recalls the Scotch eggs he encountered growing up in London as both ubiquitous and “quite bad.” His version features Madras-style spiced lamb in place of the usual pork sausage. “It’s like a supercharged croquette with an egg in the middle,” he says. In Seattle, the chef Sean Arakaki, 30, is also seeking to elevate the flavors of his childhood. Born and raised in Hawaii, he grew up eating loco moco: a hamburger patty served over gravy-drenched white rice with a sunny-side-up egg. At Itsumono, his restaurant in Seattle’s Japantown, his loco moco Scotch egg arrives atop rice and gravy with a side of macaroni salad. “You cut through the crumb to get to a runny yolk,” he says. For his Portland, Ore., food cart Tokyo Sando, the owner Taiki Nakajima, 36, makes a rendition with ajitama — soy-marinated boiled eggs — enveloped in a gyoza-inspired mix of ground pork and chicken with ginger and soy. Encrusted with panko and deep-fried, the eggs are sandwiched between slices of Japanese bread with mayo, roasted black garlic and cabbage. And in Mumbai, India, the chef Hussain Shahzad, 37, of O Pedro wraps his version in chile- and vinegar-laced ground lamb, drizzling on vindaloo sauce when the egg comes out of the fryer. “It’s not a monotonous dish,” he says. “You get crisp crust, juiciness from the meat and the runny yolk … playing on the palate at the same time. There are so many layers to it.” —