Photo by peter2403

Both finalists in France’s presidential race, Nicholas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, have insisted on the urgent need to improve the work ethic as a way to boost growth and jobs. Yet when the month of May arrives, the question on most people’s lips is: “What are you doing for the ‘ponts de mai’?”

The “ponts” or bridges of May are regarded as an inalienable right. They arise from the fact that the calendar contains four public holidays which French workers have artfully transformed into a series of long weekends. For example, next Tuesday, May 1, is Labor Day. So in order to make a four-day weekend, you take Monday off.

Thanks to the 35-hour working week ushered in by the Socialist government in 1998, many French employees are obliged to take off a couple of days of RTT (reduction du temps de travail) every month to comply with the shortened work week. As an article in Le Parisien advised yesterday, “by taking three RTT’s you can straddle the bridges to arrive, fresh as a carp, in the month of June.”

So be warned that work dwindles to a trickle in May, and it is often hard to find public services around these weekends. Here are the dates: Tuesday, May 1 (Labor Day); Tuesday, May 8 (Victory Day 1945); Thursday, May 17 (Ascension Day); Monday, May 28 (Pentecost.)

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Photo by Briggate.com

Geoff Dyer seems to write his way out of his obsessions. Whether it’s jazz, the Battle of the Somme, or John Berger, Dyer is unconcerned with standard exposition. He appears to type until he’s figured out why he can’t help writing on his chosen subject matter. For the reader, the journey is sometimes manic, but always coherent and engaging.

Here are three by Dyer worth stashing in your rucksack.

Paris Trance: A Romance. Luke and Nicole. Alex and Sahra. Paris movie houses, football, Ecstasy-saturated discotheques, and sex. In the only novel on our short list, Dyer manages to craft a languid, Lost Generation-style narrative.

Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D.H. Lawrence. Geoff Dyer is writing a sober, academic paper on D.H. Lawrence. Or is he? In this globetrotting narrative, Dyer captures the prosaic spirit of Lawrence through languorously avoiding him.

Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It. Geoff Dyer invites the reader into his “homes”—all of them. From Asia to Europe, Europe to America, and back and forth a few times, Dyer heads inexorably towards a breakdown at an international techno festival.

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Photo by Elen Farkas

In literal translation, Burgenland means “land of castles.” Annexed to post-Imperial Austria in the early 1920s after the monarchy’s defeat in World War I, the once-Hungarian province is home to a number of palaces and chateaux still maintained today by their owners.

One fascinating castle is Halbturn in the northern part of Burgenland. It is very close to Vienna—just over 30 minutes by car—and is a favored cultural hangout for tourists following a dip in nearby Lake Neusiedl.

The history of Halbturn is very rich. Built in 1711, the castle’s late baroque architecture was designed by Lucas von Hildebrandt and formerly served as the summer residence of the Habsburgs during the reign of Charles VI. Later, Empress Maria Theresia gave the castle to her favorite daughter Archduchess Marie Christine and her husband Duke Albert-Casimir von Sachsen-Teschen, who in turn founded the Albertina Museum’s graphic art collection.

The castle was destroyed during the World War II and the late 1940s. It was rebuilt by its present owners with the help of the Austrian government. Today, it is in the possession of the family of Baron Paul Waldbott-Bassenheim, a direct descendant of the Habsburg family. The castle is open to the public with various exhibitions and concerts for culture lovers. One part of the castle has become a museum.

From tomorrow April 27 through October, the museum will feature an exhibit on the secrets of Tibet. It will be open from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. The entrance fee is €8.

Aside from the castle’s park, which is free to visit, one can experience culinary delights from the on-site restaurant and sample the wines from their cellar. We recommend their Backhendl (chicken in breadcrumbs) with Vogerlsalat (a type of field lettuce) in pumpkin oil and vinegar for less than €10.

Halbturn Castle is located at Parkstrasse 4. Telephone: +43 (0)2 172 8594. Email: office@schlosshalbturn.com.

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To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Leipzig airport, TUIfly is selling off 8000 tickets for travel between Leipzig-Halle and Klagenfurt, Milan Orio al Serio, Munich, Naples, Rijeka, Salzburg, and Venice for just €8 per one-way ticket. Rather shockingly, these special fares include taxes and other charges.

These tickets went on sale within the last hour. We just checked and most dates are still wide open, though we don’t imagine that they’ll be around for long.

Technically, the sale will continue through midnight in Germany on Sunday, April 29.

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Photo by komjatha

Planning to be in France in May? Save your museum outings for Saturday night, May 19. Entrance fees will be waived and visitors will be encouraged to linger at exhibitions past midnight. It’s all part of a European initiative called “La Nuit des Musees” aimed at attracting a younger museum-going audience.

This is the initiative’s third year. A total of 940 museums in France have signed on. Details of special programs at participating venues will be available shortly at the Web site. Last year the operation attracted 1.5 million visitors and many of the museums staged plays, readings, and concerts as part of the initiative’s charm offensive.

Other European countries participating in the initiative include Armenia, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

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Photo by F. Valenti

In grand Roman tradition, the first of May is national holiday—Festa del Lavoro (or Labor Day)—and the city basically shuts down to party.

Starting around 3 p.m. in front of Saint John’s Basilica (Metro A - San Giovanni) a massive outdoor concert, featuring Italian and international musicians (past year’s concert above) will take over the piazza until midnight. Notable crooners this year include Khaled and Chuck Berry.

Bring a picnic and don’t forget the wine!

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Photo by jver64

Ryanair announced today seven new routes in and out of Bremen, bringing the number of destinations to be served from Bremen to 18. The new destinations include Alghero, Bratislava, Malta, Milan Bergamo, Paris Beauvais, Stockholm Skavsta, and Trapani.

Bremen-Skavsta will kick off on June 5. All other routes will launch at the end of September.

Unlike Ryanair’s two most recent new route expansions, this one will not also involve the suspension of any existing routes.

And um, Bremen is quite pretty. See above for proof.

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Photo by rationalise_this

Now that the weather is warming up, it’s time to start eating outside again. Paris is full of outdoor dining possibilities, but the best to-go sandwich—in our humble opinion—is to be found in Montparnasse, at a small take-away stall on Place Edgar-Quinet (see above) located between the Montparnasse tower and the cemetery.

The stall is run by a guy named Joe. His sandwiches are giant and delicious and cost only €5. They’re made with fresh ingredients on fresh bread. Just as cheap as boulangerie food, they’re considerably hardier and tastier.

The sandwich and crepe stand is attached to Café de la Place on Place Edgar-Quinet (line 6, 14th arrondissement).

Our favorite sandwich? The tomato, grilled chicken, and avocado.

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Photo by StephenT

Though Riga may be catching up, Tallinn still reigns supreme as Stag Party Capital o’ the Baltics. Since EasyJet opened its Stansted–Ülemiste route in 2004, British bachelor parties have been descending upon the Old Town by the airplaneful, crowding the streets with drunken song and leaving pools of vomit in their wake. (Although it’s been on the table for some time now, Ryanair has yet to open routes to Tallinn due to the airport’s high taxes.)

While many tourists are drawn to Tallinn to gaze over the medieval red-roofed Old Town, ascend the narrow towers’ spiraling stone steps, wander the warped little streets, and feast on Estonian pancakes, droves of young men come solely to party, slum in strip clubs, and drink like animals.

Think we’re exaggerating? Check out this sampling of websites that have cropped up to cater to this very phenomenon: www.tallinnpissup.com, www.partyintallinn.com, www.tallinnstag.com, and, lastly, www.ultimatebaltic.com.

But don’t let these sordid impressions of Estonia’s capital dissuade you from visiting. Tallinn is an aesthetically and culturally fascinating city, and it’s relatively cheap. And if you plan accordingly, it’s possible to avoid the besotted swarms.

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Photo by Thomas Thiemann

Yesterday it was announced that Norwegian Air Shuttle would purchase FlyNordic. We’ve been fans of FlyNordic since our intra-Scandinavian night flight adventure in the summer of 2005, replete as it was with friendly flight attendants and a truly low one-way fare.

FlyNordic, which is currently owned by Finnair, flies to seven destinations within Sweden and an additional eight destinations across Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Norwegian Air Shuttle flies to nine destinations within Norway and a further 42 across the rest of Europe.

Flycheapo reports that FlyNordic will be maintained as a separate brand. We’re relieved. We don’t want that branded flower motif and cool font to disappear.

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