Europe String

Have you seen this? The tourism boards for Amsterdam, Antwerp, Valencia, Vienna and Zurich got together and hired a marketing team to promote their cities. Instead of producing some glossy video with voice overs by William Shatner, they decided to go the other way. Way the other way. Instead they came up with this… a mockumentary about a “the first female polygamist” who has 5 husbands, in 5 cities (guess which ones).

My favorite part? The guy on the bear skin rug.
Seriously though, if I didn’t tell you this was done by a tourism board, …read more

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Last week I offered a free copy of Europe on a Shoestring for one lucky commenter.  I thought it would be a fun way to kick things off, and it was great to see everyone’s comments (38 total for a first post, not bad!).
Today I’m very pleased to announce that Ruthe won the book, and will getting it in mail shortly.  Let’s all congratulation Ruthe, and wish her the best of luck on her European travels!
Congrats Ruthe!
What do you guys think?  Should we do more of these types of contests on EuropeString.com?

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This Just In is a new weekly column at EuropeString.com featuring the week’s best European travel deals.  Have something to share?  Leave a comment or Twitter @europestring.

What’s the most expensive part of getting to Europe? Plunking down a cool grand to fly there. That is, until this week, when prices started hovering in the $400-$600 range.
That bears repeating. You can now fly roundtrip to Europe for under $600 from most major US hubs.  (Can I get a woo hoo?)
That’s enough savings to pay for a hostel for a month. Or it’s enough to cover flying to 3-6 …read more

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This summer, I spent a week in Lisbon, Portugal looking for the perfect Pastel de Nata. The creamy custard tart is the official dessert of Lisboa, both sweet and creamy, with a crispy pastry shell and a hint of caramel. When done well, it is divine. This summer it became an emblem of everything wonderful about Europe—the little delights you find on your travels that cost you practically nothing. You find them everywhere when you travel. Whether it’s walking the gardens of the Louvre in Paris, or eating gelato on the shore in Croatia or …read more

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A round-up of some interesting, informative and entertaining things I’ve come across lately…
Budget Monkey Travel (how fun a name is that?!?) has added to their Cheapest Countries to Travel list with Cheapest Countries in Western Europe to Travel. I was excited to see that my current number 1 “I want to go there” destination (Portugal) is number 2 on the list. Number 1 is Andorra, and where will be not be visiting anytime soon? Iceland.
Airline fees. Who can keep up with them and who even knows what the heck you are paying for anymore?!? The kind people at Kayak have …read more

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As you may or may not know, Europe String is part of B5 Media, one of the biggest blog networks in the world. We belong to the company’s Travel & Culture Channel, and the Channel has just released its brand new spiffy website.
It’s pretty slick looking, if I do say so myself, and puts all the fab Travel & Culture blogs right at your fingertips. Did you look at the Channel’s demographics? 85% of you plan to travel in the US. I’m happy you are traveling, but I’m hurt you aren’t planning a European jaunt! But that’s okay; …read more

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Well, no one is going to sing to you or give you gifts, but September 27th is designated as World Tourism Day. Sponsored by the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization, this day is set aside to recognize and raise awareness of the important social role of tourism. This year’s theme is “Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change” and organizers hope to build on the tourism sector’s relationship with the climate and its related global social and economic value. It also hopes to address the role of tourism in regards to sustainable development.
These ideas pose interesting questions for budget …read more

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No, we aren’t talking about the Emmy’s today, but the World Airline Awards. Yep, there seems to be an award for everything these days, and why should the airlines be left out? The Awards are presented by Skytrax, who conducts the World Airline Survey. This survey measures over 35 different aspects of passenger satisfaction with an airline and is supposed to evaluate a ‘typical’ travel experience. More than 15 million people were polled worldwide – 95 different nationalities, in fact.
While there are a number of categories (Best Cabin Staff; Best Airline Catering) we are going to focus on the …read more

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Lonely Planet is the go-to guide for many budget and independent travelers. They’ve now teamed up with oneworld alliance (an multi-airline partnership) to offer travel information in select airports.
This concept is new, so can currently only be accessed in the Amsterdam, Milan and Brussels airports. Since it is still their implementation period, they’ll be there for a trial three months. The Travel Stations plan to offer up-to-date, information on cities that the oneworld group airlines fly to. Tips on accommodation, restaurants and sightseeing, language guides and audio content can all be accessed, and then downloaded to your phone, laptop or …read more

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Some recent travel news of note:
You may have heard about the collapse of transatlantic budget airline Zoom. People were stranded on both sides of the Atlantic, with little or no assistance from the airline. About two dozen airlines have shutdown so far this year; and no airline is promoting a rosy outlook. In expectation of more collapses, International Passenger Protection is a UK insurance company that provides protection for its policyholders in case their travel company goes under. Policies start at 5 GBP for 30 days of coverage, which would provide you with replacement flights should your airline go bust …read more

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