Last month we announced the launch of the “EuroCheapo Insider” program, which gives our readers the opportunity to view and comment on things we’re working on before they go live on the site. This allows our readers to get involved with EuroCheapo, and helps us make the site even more helpful to budget travelers.
In the weeks since we launched EC Insiders, we were delighted by the volume of requests we received from Cheapos in more than 10 countries. And so we thought, heck, let’s release more invites!
So if you’d like to join us, please send us an email and become a EuroCheapo Insider!
While we’re all pretty well spent after last week’s election, there is one more vote we’d like you to cast. But don’t worry - it will only take a few seconds and you won’t have to leave your computer.
EuroCheapo is trying to get on the ballot for the 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, which is an online competition presented by Mashable.com and covers innovations in web technology. One of the categories to vote for is travel, and well, we’d like to be nominated!
If you’d like to help, please add EuroCheapo.com within the Travel category on this registration form and click submit. Please note, they’ll send an email confirmation to you in order to make sure all email addresses are valid.
Nominations are open from now until November 16, 2008 and voting rounds will be held from November 19 till December 15.
NOVEMBER 4, 2008—Cheapos around the globe have been commenting on our post about tonight’s Election Night Parties in Europe. Thanks to all who have given us information about viewing parties and have taken part in the conversation.
We have updated the original post with information about tonight’s election viewing parties in many more cities. These cities include: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Florence, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, and Vienna.
Please continue to add information to the original post.
PHOTO CONTEST: Also, If you’re attending any election night party in Europe, please send us your photos! We’re looking for scenes of Americans watching the results abroad, and Europeans joining in the election night celebrations. We’ll publish these over the next few days.
Start snapping, Cheapos! And have fun tonight! Oh, and yes, if you haven’t already… VOTE!
No adventure in Bratislava is complete without experiencing (and embracing) the Slovak language itself. Slovak, a West Slavic language, is closely related to Czech and Polish and spoken by 6 million people. Why not bring some of that language home?
Bring home some Slovak
We recommend purchasing one of the local newspapers for a few SKKs or (for serious Cheapos) picking up a free used issue. You could find them on a bench by Ganymede’s Fountain, a seat on the bus, or anywhere else around town.
Sure your could pick up a copy of The Slovak Spectator, the English speaking news magazine, at the city’s central square, Hviezdoslavovo nám. That would be understandable (literally!). However, we’d suggest opting for a copy of the economic Hospodarske Noviny, the gossipy Novy Cas or Katolicke Noviny, the Catholic paper. These would serve as a more adventurous souvenir once you’ve returned to your native tongue.
While you’re at it…
While you are busy finding newspapers on park benches, pick up free brochures in Slovak at the Bratislava Castle, the Slovak National Gallery and the Primate’s Palace, or any other destination with free guides to offer.
Just as we’re putting up this post, a number of barriers are coming down across Europe.
Today, the European Union removed multiple internal borders—like those previously dividing Germany and Poland, and Slovakia from Austria. In an effort to further promote border-free travel, most intra-European borders previously guarded by patrols and border stations have been abolished, effective this morning.
With this new initiative, the free-travel area expands to 24 countries with the addition of Estonia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
400 million Europeans, with or without Smart Cars, can now drive all the way from Portugal in the west to Latvia in the east without showing a passport, visa, or other form of identification.
Berlin’s Tagesspiegel newspaper responded to the amendment by announcing, “The Iron Curtain has finally fallen.”
We think this is all fantastic news—especially during this season of tidings and joy. Which reminds us, happy holidays Cheapos!
Amsterdam’s notorious Red Light District, that central section of seedy sex shops and cinemas, is set to clean up its act.
Job Cohen, the city’s Mayor, announced on Monday that Amsterdam will soon begin requiring all red-light merchants and services to go “legit.” Since the trade’s legalization in 2000, the area has continued to be plagued with pimps and petty crime, along with unregulated prostitution.
The mayor’s new plan will enforce permits and inspections, and will require businesses to have official business telephone numbers and registered addresses.
The Associated Press reports that the city hopes to lure in luxury hotels, fashionable boutiques, squeaky-clean restaurants and other crowd-pleasers to the area. And what about the tourists who come to Amsterdam primarily to take in the city’s seedy side?
According to councilman Lodewijk Asscher, “We know that the tourists that come here now, the rowdy Britons, aren’t always the tourists that you’d like to have in the city,” he said.
Alas, we’ve returned from our patriotic turkey festivity to find, with great relief and thanks, that France’s rail strike has ended.
The strike that derailed commutes and clogged highways ended on Friday, after nine days of severely limited national, regional, and local public transportation services. The Herald Tribune reported Friday that only 2 percent of workers were still out, and that trains were running close to or on schedule.
High level (read: presidential) negotiations helped get the workers back on board, but negotiations between the unions and rail official continue today (Monday).
Thus, dear reader, ends our daily rail strike update. Indeed, another reason for giving thanks.
The BBC reported Monday that the city of Barcelona is coughing up € 1,000,000 to Woody Allen, covering 10% of the budget of his upcoming film, which is set in the city and currently filming around town. In addition, the regional Catalonian government is chipping in another € 500,000.
Residents are annoyed with the amount of public funds going to the project (75% polled found the contribution “excessive”). Locals and tourists are annoyed by some shut-downs around town: the Ramblas was recently closed for filming. And Barcelona filmmakers are annoyed that the government isn’t willing to donate the same amount to cash to local directors.
But there’s an upside: Who wouldn’t want to sneak a peak at the lovely Scarlett Johansson, and Spanish stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. And the film is likely to be good for the city’s tourism industry, as Allen promises the movie to be a “love letter to Barcelona.” Barcelona Mayor Jordi Hereu insists, “It’s a huge advertisement for the city that will be seen all over the world.”
Meanwhile, we can’t get enough of the city-sponsored bike program movement sweeping through Europe. We’ve posted about Paris (a couple of times). Barcelona launched their own modest program back in March and has been steadily increasing the number of bikes accessible to would-be riders. Earlier this month, the city increased the number of cycles to 1,500 available at 100 stations throughout the city.
Now, Barcelona plans to double both those numbers–aiming to get 3,000 public bikes available at 200 pick-up stations by the end of 2007. So far, 80,000 eager cyclists have signed up for the program, far exceeding the 15,000 riders projected by city planners.
The bike program costs € 24 a year to join, but allows for an unlimited number of free 30-minute rides (and 30 cents per half hour thereafter).
There’s been a lot of buzz about Paris’ new city-wide bike push that put over 10,000 bikes on the street for rent (read our earlier post). According to the plan, anyone with a credit card can join the program, which lends bikes for 30-minute treks for almost nothing (membership in the program costs as low as $44 a year).
Budget Travel’s blog on Wednesday pointed out a serious problem for Americans ready to hop on a bike: The rental kiosks, it turns out, only take European micro-chipped enhanced credit cards.
As US tourists in France usually find out early in their trip, American credit cards are not equipped with the little microchip that makes French cards tick. This sometimes, but not always, causes trouble when swiping at a restaurant, in a store, or even (our personal favorite) in a Metro station. Now it’s at it again, jamming the bike rental process. ARGH!
We are hopeful that Mayor Delanoë will remedy this “chip” issue as soon as possible, so our people can get pedaling! (Or, perhaps, we should be begging our American banks to equip our cards with the chips?) While he’s at it, fix those pesky Metro machines, which accept only bechipped cards or coins! (Many stations don’t have live agents selling tickets and passes, either, leading to some very confusing and maddening situations.)
Some bright news, however:
For those with chips on their cards, the bike plan seems to be a smashing success. The LA Times’ Marjorie Miller wrote Monday that it’s almost a victim of its own success, as potential riders often show up at bike stations only to find all the bikes already rented. Some taxi drivers also seem to be “over” the new onslaught of bikers, driving close to our 3-speed pioneers.
Meanwhile, Serge Schmemann writes in yesterday’s New York Times that Paris is wonderful by bus, bike, train… about anything other than a car. He thinks other big city mayors should study the way Paris made city driving hard, while introducing easier, cheaper, and faster public transportation.
We agree. Other big cities could learn some things from Paris — and New York is getting serious about making life more difficult (and expensive) for drivers. Just Paris, take our cards, please!
It’s possible to get almost anywhere in Amsterdam by foot, tram, bus, and, of course, the trusty Dutch bicycle. Since 2003, the city, recognizing a need for speedier transit, has been digging for a subway. In a city lined with canals and soggy earth, a dig of this sort presents some unique challenges.
Yesterday’s Boston Globe had an interesting look at the logistics. Let’s just say that Amsterdam is a “city in motion”…
Most of Amsterdam is supported by a system of underground wooden poles and pilings, and the land itself tends to shift and sink a couple millimeters a year. And if digging wasn’t a big enough problem, large, rumbling trains could affect this delicate balancing act once the subway’s up and running.
Best of luck with your dig, Amsterdam. We wish you stability.
