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Ep. 4 - Changing your plans
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 20, 2008 in Podcast
Sean and Chirs show you why going with the flow is a necessity for traveling.
High school French lives on
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 20, 2008 in Travel Tips
Enjoying chocolate chaud et un sandwich at a cafe near Notre Dame on Oct. 13, 2008.
We’re in Zurich, roughly the end of a solid week of French-speaking cities - from Brussels, Belgium to Paris and Lyon France.
Roughly a fifth of Switzerland speaks French, but here in Zurich German - the country’s largest national language - is king. A local told me we’d be better off with English than French in this city. Just fine, because, my French is limited.
See… Je parler un peu en francaise.
While in France, Paris to be more precise, We Don’t Speak the Language may be a bit of a misnomer. A little.
How to get a passport in less than a day
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 20, 2008 in Travel Tips
This book can cost you as much as $8 a page.
Your big day has finally come. With your trusty backpack and a map you prepare to leave on your journey and then you realize you may have done something stupid. You forgot your passport.
There is nothing more important to your travels than your passport - or as the United States Government says : “With Your U.S. Passport the World is Yours!” Unfortunately, a passport often takes weeks, sometimes months, to get. If you have an emirgency trip to make, or you put off applying for one, it may appear at first glance that your options are limited.
Fear not my fellow Vegabond, it is possible to get you passport in a manner of hours. Just be prepared to pay for it.
Paris, France in three minutes
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 19, 2008 in Experiences
Me and Sean in front of the famed Louvre art museum in Paris, France on Oct. 13, 2008.
Shall we review on our whirlwind of a stay in Paris?
When undertaking this blog, Sean and I promised each other we wouldn’t fall into the habit of simply sharing our travel videos. We want to give advice - maybe entertain - and help make your trips better, more efficient and complete. Still, Paris is full of some of the best known locations around the world. We couldn’t help but give you a quick taste of those places you all know that call the City of Lights home.
Check the video highlights below.
What to do when you arrive in a new city
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 19, 2008 in Travel Tips
A well balanced meal is key to a good day's travel
We are fortunate enough to have just arrived at city number six. That’s one bus, one plane, and four train rides if my count is correct. While each city has it’s own quarks and character our routine of getting oriented and finding where we are staying remains the same. Here is what we do to make sure that our travel days are smooth ones:
Two nights before:
- Research the train ride we will take using the Eurail timetable. Determine if the train needs a reservation and find the name of the train station we will be arriving at.
- Look up how long the ride is expected to take to we can maximize our time in every city.
Preconceived Notions: Budapest, Hungary
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 19, 2008 in Preconceived Notions
- Budapest used to be split into Buda and Pest. They have only existed as a single city since 1873. Hopefully, St. Paul and Minneapolis can just get it over with and do the same one day.
We arrived in Budapest yesterday.
It may be slightly unfair to write any preconceived notions on the Hungarian capital. My youngest brother was assigned to Hungary when he signed up to be an exchange student, and has been residing in the country for the past several months.
One thing I am told by everyone who has visited there is that the city is simply jaw-droppingly beautiful. Most acknowledge that the hot springs are it’s most unique characteristic. Apparently, you can sit half naked next to total strangers in naturally warm water for relaxation. According hot spring aficionado Tim Wu, they are a can’t miss.
Predictably, the residents of Hungary speak Hungarian. Hungarian, however is one of the most unique languages in the world and because of this is often heavily studied by linguists and is difficult to learn. Nouns can have up to 238 forms each.
Other than the hot springs, Budapest is just a big question mark and that’s what makes visiting it so exciting. In the States we don’t hear much about the happenings in Budapest, so keep an eye out for WDSTL’s take when we release our Budapest episode. Lord knows you wont see anything about this gem on American television.
Budapest courtesy of Flickr user zsoolt
Big location changes for WDSTL
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 18, 2008 in Plans
We introduced our expected itinerary a couple weeks ago.
Things have changed. For one, right now we’re on a train to Budapest, Hungary - earlier than expected.
We’ve gone from London to Amsterdam to Brussels, to Paris to Lyon to Strausbourg finally to Zurich, from which we left today.
Budapest, Hungary you have no idea
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 18, 2008 in Plans
The central Budapest train station on Oct. 18, 2008. Photo by Sean Blanda.
We got to Budapest, Hungary this afternoon and the Eastern Europe bloc is real. Having done nothing but taken a tram from the central station to Pest - the more modern portion of the city - my first reaction is that the Soviet-era part of this historic city is a jewel that could use some polishing.
We walked out of the train station above, which one can immediately tell was sight to be had during its 1950s height. Today, the paint is peeling, the cracks are growing and its age is showing.
WDSTL posts are out of order
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 18, 2008 in Plans
Sean and I have both gotten a number of e-mails from viewers wondering what gives with the mixed up order of our location-orientated posts.
London posts while we were in Brussels, Amsterdam videos while we were in Paris.
To answer them, please understand that our access to Internet varies a great deal. While we can usually get to e-mail almost every other day or so - at the least by paying for it at high cost - we can’t always get Internet fast enough to upload video in any timely, efficient or possible manner.
So, when we get a chance, we upload all we can and spread them through the week.
Hope there’s no confusion. Check our map page if you ever want to know exactly where we are at the moment.
Otherwise, I hope you can enjoy and look past the varying locations. We’ll try to keep posts in better order, but bear with us - podcasting on the road at minimal cost comes with challenges to be sure.
Eiffel Tower, shiney and blue
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 17, 2008 in Experiences
Me, Sean's brother Brian, and Sean watch a bright blue Eiffel Tower sparkle, Oct. 13, 2008.
We’re not in Paris anymore, but we didn’t get a chance to talk about something terribly important.
From Reuters:
PARIS (Reuters) - France will mark the start of its six-month presidency of the European Union by lighting up the Eiffel Tower in blue with yellow stars, recalling the EU flag, newspaper Le Parisien reported on Friday. [Source]
So you tell me, how does that look? It gets more ridiculous - check video below.
