travel
HMV, Virgin closures: get thee to live music festivals
Both Virgin in France and HMV in the UK going into administration is bad news for the music industry. Yet the live music industry is still going strong, with artists continuing to draw in large audiences to concerts
travel, festivals, internet, culture, music, economy, denmark
‘Now.Here’: Hobby horse journey from mid-Wales to London
In a tongue-in-cheek odyssey, Aimee Corbett and Vanessa Hammick journeyed on hobby horse from mid-Wales to London, collecting stories from everyone they encountered. In the guise of the theatre group Drawn to Stars, they later wove their adventures into a theatre piece. We chat with them and the group’s musician Ellen Jordan about isolation and collecting stories
travel, youth, culture, united kingdom, history, edinburgh, theatre
Zeitgeist number 1: Young, European, with the world on our shoulders
The quinoa-guzzling pan-European generation of today has gone through most its early adult life criss-crossing the continent without any visa or passport problems (well, most of the time). We like escape, and getting the load of the world off our heads, and living the impulses as we want them, when we want them. Male gossip magazines? Bring it on! Former couchsurfers from Hungary or Albania, who are so head-over-heels for the idea of spontaneity that they set up their own flight search engine? Whyever not? While their southern and western European peers struggle to get a real full-time job, young educated Vilniusites enjoy more stability. Yet these Lithuanians are also part of this growing trend of freelance life, self-employment and entrepreneurship. All of this is taking place in an increasingly green and ‘do-you-speak-internet’ European society which, when it does have opportunities, is rolling out unconventional job positions which didn’t exist when we werebeing asked what we wanted to do when we grew up (see photo gallery). Enjoy this special edition, which attempts to expand on who we really are, and want to be (Image: (cc) Chris JL/ Flickr)
- Read the special edition Zeitgeist number 1: Young, European, with the world on our shoulders
- ‘Why is pissing in the sink so good?’: Rise of lads magazines in France
- 'Drungli': Couchsurfers create travel business with a philosophy
- LinkedIn Lithuania: Crisis is catastrotunity for creative entrepreneurs
- Quinoa cool
Travel fragments from India: Rushdie, Tibetan refugees and precious stones
Four days to leave Nepal, to breathe in its strong odours and let the little children of the Indian sub-continent comb my hair. This travel log takes us along the unmade road going from Kathmandu to Delhi, from the sequins of Bollywood to the simplicity of Tibetan refugees. Welcome to India
Europeans are too snobby about Australia
Surfboards, beer and kangaroos; other than a few natural spectacles and some very bizarre flora and fauna, we don't give Down Under much credit. A closer look at Australia's east coast reveals how mistaken we are. Read this plea for less cultural eurocentrism
Matonge district of Brussels, home to Swahili, Hindi and Lingala
A stone's throw from the European parliament, with its suited and booted men and women, lies a kingdom of imposing African women, urban gangs, African beats, busy call centres and Western Unions. The black district of Brussels takes its name from the business centre of the Congolese capital
travel, belgium, brussels, society, culture, congo, multiculturalism
Why no pumpkin in their right mind should leave Berlin
The former deputy editor of the German weekly news magazine Stern, Tyll Schönemann, did not shed too many tears about leaving Berlin in a rant he published on his website, entitled 'I've had it up to here'. In between barmen called 'Banane' and sightings of David Bowie or Quentin Tarantino, are we really talking about the same place?
What EU young citizens would take on Noah's Ark post 2012-apocalypse
The world ends on 21 December 2012 (as the Mayan calendar decided) and we're left with only a few places on the biblical boat, a chance to create a new society two by two. So what are the objects and who are the companions we'd most take on board with us after doomsday? Members of cafebabel.com's pan-European network share all
travel, europe, society, youth, culture, consumption society, philosophy
Gypsies, yoga and corruption: tales from the Bucharest-Chisinau express
When travelling to eastern Europe prepare to step out of your comfort zone, unless luxury hotels for sleazy businessmen and escort girls are your cup of tea. Only by mixing with the ordinary can we grasp the not-so-ordinary reality. Romania and Moldova are no exception. One Belgian traveller tells the story of his journey by night train
travel, bucarest, romania, lifestyle, nicolae ceausescu, moldova republic of, revolution
Kusturica's Balkan Disneyland vs world's biggest Jesus in Croatia
When Victor Hugo declared 'Let the nation be inspired by a love of national architecture', he implied a clear link between national pride and construction with which some would still have sympathy. This has certainly been the case for the last twenty years in the countries which have emerged from the former Yugoslavia
Travel: the nature of long distance love in Norway
I have been in a two-year relationship with my girfriend, which takes me often between Italy and Scandinavia. It’s been a constant sensation of escape and curiosity. My ties to Norway and its nature are more and more intense, full of exchanges and discoveries which have enriched my experiences and transformed my perspective. Images
travel, photogallery, norway, tourism, lifestyle, beach, oslo
Glamorous construction boom: Baku’s sinister foundations
Baku has spent more money on the eurovision than any host in history. The corny music is only incidental; this was the country’s chance to wake up from its post-Silk Road sleep, construct gleaming edifices like modern day pharaohs and open the doors to prying eyes from all over Europe to show off the consequences of floating on top of black gold. Azerbaijan’s capital is now an eclectic mix of architecture, but at what cost? Part two: construction
travel, money, society, construction, economy, azerbaijan, baku
Glamorous oil fields: Baku’s crude reality
A global PR behemoth initiated by the Azerbaijan government in the run up to eurovision 2012 should not mask the desire for most normal Azeris to be better understood. There was never any danger of the Eurovision being underreported, so I leave that to the more qualified and set out to meet the unsung characters of Baku. Part one: oil sponsors
travel, eurovision, best of cafebabel.com, society, poverty, economy, azerbaijan
Brussels, Balkans, same difference
Sometimes Brussels reminds me of Croatia. Not the European quarter, which streams into the world via the media and defines the image of the Belgian capital, nor the intricate political situation, the constant conflicts between two ethnic groups and the fact that Belgium recently took the world record for time without a governmen, says Patricia Fridrich
travel, belgium, best of cafebabel.com, brussels, croatia, lifestyle
Hip hop producer Onra: ‘Difference is not very well accepted in France’
Arnaud Bernard, aka Onra, is famed for sampling Chinese beats in his records, enabling him to tour the world and even reach Olympic heights in Beijing. In his adopted home of Paris, we speak about actually liking your own music, being half-Vietnamese and handling ‘brands of bullshit’ from different countries
Euro 2012 Warsaw stadium: once a bazaar hosting pop star popes
With its roof looking like a waving Polish flag, the national stadium became the newest addition to the Polish capital's fantastic skyline on 29 January. It opened seven months later than planned on the historic banks of the Vistula river but still in time for the 2012 European football championships this summer
travel, football, best of cafebabel.com, solidarnosc, poland, society, city planning
Documentary Italy: love it or leave it in a Fiat 500
When the lease on their flat in Rome was up, film critic Luca Ragazzi convinced television journalist Gustav Hofer to spend a last six months touring their country and understand why they were moving abroad. Little did they know that those were the six months that changed Italy
travel, italy, cinema, germany, documentary, best of cafebabel.com, berlin
cafebabel.com boys speak: what makes Europe’s twentysomething men happy
We girls probably think that macho attitudes, making money and succeeding are what make boys happy. After all, why is it so hard to get them to share on ‘happiness’? Apparently not. Winning a game, doing nothing, a tipple, the latest gadget, friends, girls - a pan-European select number of lads share what makes them smile – and why we girls are different. Vox-pop
travel, health, men and women, alcohol, vox-pop, friendship, society
How an Italian boy became a ‘happiness coach’
Born in the land of ‘la dolce vita’, Bergamo-born Frank Ra, 32, travelled Europe before publishing a book on happiness. He offers his thoughts on spiritual scepticism, being a former erasmus student or ex-pat and how ‘no place is perfect unless we accept it with all its features’
travel, italy, depression, psychology, health, men and women, expatriates
