Having the right tech on board - or on the road - makes everything easier. In the words of Mama Cass, things are getting better every day - today's tech is lighter, more powerful and useful than ever before. Here are some of the best gifts for a mother who likes to be on the move.
From tailgating to boating or bringing some sound to a rental kitchen, the new Bolt speaker ($79.95) from Outdoor Tech has a powerful magnet meaning you can attach it to any metal surface whether a car, fridge or golf buggy. Using bluetooth (no surprise there), it’s also waterproof (handy for jet skiing) and can charge your tech in its spare time.
Not opting for the smallest, lightest Kindle might sound counterintuitive in a travel tech guide, but the ability of the Kindle Scribe (from $339) to multitask makes it an inflight winner. It has up to 64gb to play with, weighs a delightful 433g and - at the end of the day - does more than any other Kindle. You can take notes, the conversion to text even works for my doctor-bad hand-writing. Lots of people will use it to annotate text in a work tool but for those of us who are born doodlers, we get to decorate the margins of the books in a completely guilt-free way.
For when you need some air-conditioning alongside getting into nature, the Torras Coolify Cyber ($279) allows you to add serious chill when exercising or sightseeing. An instant temperature reduction of 10 degrees cools the face, neck and back, thanks to three thermoelectric semiconductors and four high-speed motors but it’s lightweight and almost silent.
When it’s important that your mother’s speaker is very stylish indeed. The cult Danish audio company Bang & Olufsen has launched a limited-edition collaboration with the Seoul-based fashion brand. A fusion of fashion and music, the company’s Beosound A1 portable speaker (from £450) has been allied with Ader Error’s signature Z-blue color, accompanied by a bespoke leather speaker bag and speaker stand.
Seeing red can be a good thing on Mother’s Day, when they give power packed facials at home. While a full face LED mask can look a little full-on (and is not ideal if you’re feeling claustrophobic), these MZ Skin Lightmax Minipro Eyeconic LED eye patches (£300) won’t scare the grandchildren. Harnessing Red 630nm and Near Infrared 830nm wavelengths to silicone LED pads that are conducted through Hydrocolloid patches, there’s a travel pouch to make transporting them easy.
One of the very best stealth audio brands, these Denon earbuds ($349) - equipped with Qualcomm aptX Lossless technology - automatically measure your hearing and create a unique profile while spacial audio from Dirac Virtuo puts you in the center of your audio. Easy to switch between powerful noise
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On my twenty-plus trips to Seoul, I generally steered clear of Gangnam, the district south of the Han River immortalized by the South Korean rapper PSY’s 2012 smash hit “Gangnam Style.” Something, however, shifted in me while planning my recent spring jaunt. Gangbuk, the district north of the Han River—where I’d typically plant myself—started feeling a touch too familiar. Plus: how could I judge a place I hadn’t actually spent quality time in?
Irrespective of rain or sunshine, the Danes are always ready to embrace hygge, a concept that involves enjoying the good things in life – and that definitely includes enjoying the excellent cuisine the country has on offer. Dive into Denmark’s gastronomy at these top-notch eateries which carefully source and celebrate every ingredient.
OK, we’ll admit it. Danish isn’t the easiest language to learn – pronouncing certain words involves some invigorating tongue gymnastics and a talent for gulping down glottal stops. With just 6 million native speakers, Danish hardly matches widely spoken Mandarin (941 million speakers) or Spanish (486 million speakers) either.
Stargazing, seals and sandbanks in MandøDenmark’s wilderness zones and sparsely populated isles have long been havens for nature lovers and stargazers. Mandø, on the south-west coast of Jutland, is the most recent addition to the country’s four Dark Sky Parks. A small island in the Wadden Sea National Park, Mandø is most easily accessed at low tide via tractor bus over the causeway from the mainland – adding to the adventure and reducing the chances of latecomers’ annoying car headlights ruining your night vision. By day, you’ll likely want to visit the lovingly preserved, thatched and white-walled Mandø House museum (an early 19th-century shipmaster’s home), not to mention the island’s landmark windmill and church. Observe thriving seal and migratory bird species on a bike ride around the marshes and sandbanks.
Denmark is a haven for cyclists of all abilities, with 11,000km of marked cycle routes to ride. From adventurous cycling on multi-day trips that take in the country’s most varied scenery, to day trips and wine tours, these are the country’s best bike routes for everyone, from hobbyists to expert-level athletes. To make it extra easy, accommodation options line the routes, including simple campsites and shelters, run by the Danish Nature Agency and offered for free or almost free, as well as B&Bs and hotels especially set up for cyclists, with bike rooms, e-bike charging stations and rooms made available for fixing your bike as you go. Aktiv Danmark has a list of bike-friendly accommodation and there is also a group of Danish Bike Hotels that have bike facilities. Bike rental is available in major cities and towns all over the country.
The U.S. Department of State has just raised its travel advisory for Germany to Level 2: Exercise Increase Caution due to the risk of terrorism. “Terrorist groups keep planning attacks in Germany,” says the State Department’s advisory. “Terrorists may attack with little or no warning. They target tourist locations and transportation hubs.”
Launched in London more than 20 years ago, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards has become one of the most important ratings in the rarefied world of top tier fine dining (though not without some criticism and controversy). But regardless what people think of the process behind selection, there’s no doubt that some of the big winners over the years have in fact been some of the world’s very best, places like Spain’s El Bulli, England’s The Fate Duck, Italy’s Osteria Francescana, Denmark’s Noma and in the U.S. notables have included Napa Valley’s French Laundry and New York City’s Eleven Madison Park.
You've likely heard that Copenhagen is an expensive city to visit. And while there's no way around this fact, there are many ways to make your krone go further as you prepare for the trip.
The culturally rich city of Copenhagen has plenty to keep visitors busy for many days, but it’s also ideally situated for day trips to a variety of other interesting and scenic destinations in Denmark and beyond, bringing to mind knitted wool sweaters, colorful snow-topped houses and warm hygge vibes.