ThereArePlaces

Strikes In France And Germany

France was hit by a 24-hour rail strike that has influenced system wide capacity, although the strike has not affected international traffic. See this source for more information if you will be travelling by train in France today.

On another front, unionized janitors in Germany have gone on strike for higher wages and airports are one of the targets. See this report for more details.

Hurricane Headed For Los Cabos

Hurricane Rick appears to be headed in the direction of Los Cabos, a popular winter resort area on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Rick may become one of the most powerful Pacific Ocean hurricanes in decades and is currently packing 175 MPH winds, although there is some hope that the hurricane will slow when it hits cooler waters in the next day or so. Whether Rick will actually veer towards Los Cabos is speculation, but the early plots of the hurricane’s trajectory take it over the popular resort.

See this article from the AP/Yahoo for more details.

If you are planning a Los Cabos in the next week, consider delaying your vacation. Check with local sources for more accurate information and keep your eye on the weather. If you are planning a cruise, consider cancelling it, as the seas in the area are high and rough.

New Searchable Google Maps at ThereArePlaces

We have added a search bar to the maps on www.ThereArePlaces.com. As you may know, we overlay these detailed maps from Google with the locations of our recommended best places to visit around the world to help you plan your intinerary when traveling abroad. Recently, Google let us know that they had developed code that would allow us to embed a Google Search Box on our maps.

We thought this might be an interesting idea and played with the code until we got it to work just the way we wanted and were stunned by how useful this feature is for travel. Below is a figure showing the search box at the bottom of our map of Edinburgh, Scotland.

When you enter a search term in the box, the results show up in a list that is linked to symbols showing the location of the results on the map. For example, we decided to see where we could find shops offering kilts in Edinburgh - after all what better memento of Scotland?

We think you will find the map search boxes fascinating. We’ve spent hours looking for patisseries in Paris, chocolates in Brussels, Weinerschnitzel in Munich.

We think you will like this feature, but the best way to find is to try it. The search box is particularly useful for finding stores, bars, cafes, restaurants, hotels and other items of interest - or maybe even just looking for fun stuff to do when you are traveling (or to dream about when you are armchair traveling).

Demonstration in Athens Today

A demonstration is scheduled to take place at the Serbian Embassy in Athens this evening at 6PM. The Serbian Embassy is located in the Ambelokipi neighborhood, near the United States Embassy.

The demonstration is in response to the arrest of five political activists in Belgrade on September 4, 2009. Those arrested were activists in or associates of the Anarcho-Syndicalist initiative. Several organizations believe that the arrests were on “trumped up charges”. Based on quick research, which may not be definitive, we believe the organization to which the arrested belong, or are reported to belong, is an international anarchist-communist association.

While most demonstration are peaceful, there is always the possibility that they may turn violent. If you willl be traveling in Athens today, avoid the area for your own peace of mind.

Troubles in Turkey

Over the last two days torrential rains have plagued Istanbul and north-west Turkey. Over 20 people have died and there has been significant damage as a result of flash flooding. Read more about the problem at the BBC.

In addition, the flooding has made it difficult to reach Istanbul’s airport, as the main road accessing it has been closed by the flooding. Travelers are unable to reach the airport and those who have arrived at the airport from other destinations are unable to reach the city. If you are planning air-travel to Istanbul, you should consider postpoing your travels until later in the week, or perhaps longer.

Hurricane Jimena Continues to Batter Baja

Today, the U.S. Department of State issued a travel advisory for the Baja Peninsula related to Hurricane Jimena, a storm that just keeps on going. The advice provided by State should be read by anyone considering travel to Baja in the next week.

“September 04, 2009

The Department of State urges American citizens to consider carefully the risks of travel to areas in Mexico that remain affected by Hurricane Jimena and its aftermath. U.S. citizens located in areas impacted by Hurricane Jimena who do not have access to adequate and safe shelter should consider departing as soon as possible. This Travel Alert expires September 11, 2009.

Reduced to a tropical storm, Jimena continues to hover over the Baja Peninsula, centering approximately 35 miles north of Santa Rosalia. The National Hurricane center predicts the storm will begin a slow westward path back over the peninsula, remaining near or over central Baja California through Saturday, September 5, 2009. The northern half of Baja California Sur (from Bahia Magdalena north to San Juanico on the west coast and Loreto north to Santa Rosalia on the east coast) is experiencing heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding with a potential for mudslides. Severe to heavy damage has occurred to buildings and infrastructure throughout the area. Most roads remain impassable and the area is without power and water. The airports in Mulege and Loreto and seaports throughout the affected region remain closed.

The resort areas near Cabo San Lucas and San Jose de los Cabos have resumed normal business activities and their airport has reopened. Travelers are cautioned however, that rough seas and rogue waves continue to be a danger on the beach.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports are posted at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_ep3.shtml?5-daynl#contents.”

Hurricane Headed For Cabo

Hurricane Jimena, packing 150 mph winds, is headed towards Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. See this article from Bloomberg for more details.

Many speculate that the storm will lose strength as it moves over the cold waters surrounding Cabo, but if it does not, it could be one of the strongest storms ever to hit the region. It is possible that air traffic to this region will be banned over the next day or two and cruises to this area and the Mexican Riviera will be rerouted. If you are getting ready to depart for the area, you should consider postpoing your trip. If you are booked for a cruise, see if they will accommodate a change in schedule, unless you are interested in spending your shore time in Catalina Island or Ensenada instead of the ports listed on the original itinerary.

By the way, settlements in the Cabo San Lucas area were flattened in the 1930s by a major hurricane. Let’s hope Baja fares better this time.

Amsterdam - A Popular Place

Amsterdam attracts a lot of visitors and its popularity is reflected at ThereArePlaces by the incredible traffic that we have on our Amsterdam pages. Amsterdam is known to many as a party-town and one which caters to having fun, but if you are going there for tourism, you have to scratch below the surface to find the character of the city.

On our first visit, we thought the city was gray, dismal and continually rainy. Its canals, we thought, were not especially scenic, its numerous bike riders would just as soon run you over as to slow for you, and some of its food high-priced and tourist-bland. Well, on our second trip, we confirmed that it does rain a lot in Amsterdam, so go with the flow. Yes, the city is fairly bland in a visual sense, but very functional. No, the canals are not scenic, but they are a convenient and novel way to get around the city. The food - well you have to search for the places the locals eat, so ask a few and you will find some wonderful places for food, drink and fun.

The crown jewels of Amsterdam’s attractions are the Anne Frank Huis and the Van Gogh Museum. Just these two attractions make a trip the city worthwhile and when you throw in the Rijksmuseum, the Heineken Experience, the floating Flower Market and several other of the city’s attractions you will find Amsterdam growing on you. Of course, if you are looking for a youth oriented town to party in - this is the one to visit!

We have updated our Amsterdam Guide with some new attractions and created a second section on touring tactics, including shopping, advice on hotels, dining tips and more. Why not take a look? Even if you are not planning on a trip to the Netherlands, Schiphol Airport is one of the major hubs in Europe and you can often arrange your flights to give you enough time for a quick trip into town for some fun sightseeing. In fact, if you are interested in doing this, see our section titled “Just a Day” for information on how to maximize you time.

Just one final thing - those bike riders will run you over! In most streets there is a specific lane reserved for bike traffic - don’t step into it when they are moving or you could become huburger (human hamburger). Before you complain you should know that bikes have the right-of-way over pedestrians in the Netherlands.

Bats and Bat Caves

As many of you know, ThereArePlaces recently added a new section to its website on the Best National Parks in the American Southwest. One of the parks mentioned is Carlsbad Caverns National Park. In our coverage we noted that there is a Bat Program at Carlsbad Caverns as over a million bats make the caverns their home.

Today we were cruising the news and saw an excellent piece from CNN (video) on the Bracken Bat Cave in Texas. Approximately 20 million Mexican fre-tailed bats make this cave their home and when they exit the cave for their nightly hunting it is an astounding sight. Take a look at the CNN Video of Bracken Bat Cave.

Best National Parks in the American Southwest

This evening we published the latest addition to our ThereArePlaces website. We have always enjoyed traveling the National Parks in the American Southwest and decided to share our wanderings and recommendations on the best parks to visit in this unique area. We cover Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park in Utah. We recommend the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest in Arizona and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. We think that everyone who has a chance should visit Death Valley National Park on the California-Nevada border. In Colorado, we have always been inspired by the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park and, more recently, by the incredible dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

If you think you might like to know more about these parks, we suggest you start here. Our guide includes a one-page overview describing each park and why you might want to visit. In addition, we provide detail pages for each park we cover and these pages include some great photography and handy advice for planning a visit.