Steve Ricks: Euro-nerd video

Rick Steves recently posted to his blog this amusing spoof video:

Globe Trekker TV

Globe Trekker TV is the first main stream travel show I have seen where they really capture the back packer lifestyle. The show's host stays in hostels, meets the locals, and travels the world. The host is Australian, an appropriate choice since they are known for taking long trips around the world. The show is shown in Boston on the PBS channel, WGBH (44). This episode chronicles the hosts trip around Australia, and includes a visit to an Opal mine, herding camels in the desert, and a visit to the Indian Ocean. Upcoming shows next month include Tibet and New Zealand, two places I would love to visit. The Pilot Guides channel on Youtube also has some great videos.

Website Review: Travelzoo Top 20

If you are not on the Travelzoo Top 20 email list, you are missing out on some of the best travel deals on the Internet. You could scour Kayak, Expedia, Frommer's, airline websites, travel discounters, and the blogosphere for the cheapest flights, hotels, and cruises on the internet, or you could have them delivered weekly in your email in-box. Travelzoo has been the leader in cheap travel deals for ten years, and they continue to provide timely discounts that are unbelievable. I have booked over half a dozen flights to Europe from the US East Coast and none have cost me more than $350 roundtrip.

Travelzoo has an interesting history, whereby it offered 5,155,874 shares to "netsurfer stockholders" to initially promote their business. These shares went to those who signed up themselves and their friends as the business was starting. The stock (TZOO) spiked in 2004, taking these investors on a wild ride up and down.

Today 12 million users receive the Travelzoo Top 20 email list, well above the 5 million users who frequent the Travelzoo website each month. The Top 20 list has expanded outside of the US, and Travelzoo is bringing travel deals to all corners of the globe.

Here is a cool video about the making of the Top 20 list:



Interestingly, the NJ to Cologne deal mentioned in the video is one I jumped on last year.

HostelWorld Travel Videos: What is a Hostel?

HostelWorld recently released a series of travel videos from their around the world traveler, Colm Hanratty. Here is a great introductory video to hostelling:

What is a hostel?

A hostel is simply a hotel with shared dorm-style rooms sometimes with an available kitchen, but really it is so much more. The best hostels nurture a friendly atmosphere of camaraderie between travelers where they share information about their travels, themselves, or life in general.

HostelBookers Hostel Videos

HostelBookers has uploaded an impressive set of hostel videos to the TripAdvisor site, including a number of hostels I have visited: Camping Village Alba d'Oro (Venice), Four Courts Hostel (Dublin), The Bulldog (Amsterdam).

Check them out here.

Hostel Review: The Circus Hostel [Berlin, Germany]

I arrived at The Circus Hostel late in the evening after missing my earlier flight from Madrid. I like to arrive at a hostel during the day due to some having lock-out periods and it just makes it easier to find. I wouldn't suggest wandering around a new city at night. Check-in was easy, and I grabbed some food from the chatty vendor across the street. He asked me about the Red Sox, but I had to admit I didn't pay attention to that. I bought an awesome gyro for a few euros, and ate it in the downstairs bar of the hostel. Much to my surprise the bar was dedicated to David Hasselhof. I remember it having some sort of shrine, and they were playing old episodes of Night Rider on a projector. The hostel offered a free drink at the bar (awesome!), and I headed to bed shortly after.

The hostel was very modern and clean with large rooms. There is a small lounge in the entrance with an attached cafe that offers a breakfast for a few Euros. The hostel advertised cheap (bus?) rides between cities that seemed like a great deal. I met an interesting girl at breakfast who mentioned how difficult it is to navigate in China due to the signs and maps not being in a language with recognizable characters. It sounded like quite a challenge. Another girl had a Sony UMPC that looked really handy for going online while traveling. I have since bought a Nokia N800 and iPhone, both of which have been useful companions on my travels. I can't imagine lugging around a full-size notebook.

I only had about a day before I needed to catch a train back to Cologne, so all I remember doing was having some tasty hot dogs and beers before I went to see the piece of the Berlin wall that was still intact.

I didn't take any pictures of the hostel, but this video has a great review. (albeit in german)

Video: AT&T Commercial, The Techno Twins: Vlad and Dieter

I always crack up when I see this commercial about being stuck in a crummy hostel.