(CNN) — The longest passenger train has launched in Switzerland, a century-old tunnel has opened under Niagara Falls, a new cheese has been crowned the world’s best, and a Harrison Ford bread sculpture has shed tears in California.
Here’s what happened in travel news this week.
Trains and tunnels
It’s been an extraordinary few months for infrastructure fans.
A record-breaking new passenger train two kilometers long has just crept along Switzerland’s glorious UNESCO World Heritage-listed Albula line for the first time. And a huge tunnel buried for more than a century under the roaring waters of Niagara Falls is finally open to visitors. Denmark and Germany are busy building the world’s longest submersible tunnel, 40 meters (131 feet) under the Baltic Sea. And a new subway extension means passengers will have an easier route in and out of Washington, DC.
Oh baby, it’s a wild world out there
A 2021 YouGov poll found that 8% of Americans thought they could defeat a lion in unarmed combat, while 15% thought they could dispatch a king cobra. They could handle those brave souls in Sydney this week when five lions escaped from a zoo — thankfully without harming animals or people. And while cobras are shy, non-hostile creatures, would-be fighters would do well to take note of our tips on how to survive a cobra bite. Vigilance usually trumps aggression when it comes to meeting the challenges of the outdoors: A missing, injured hiker was rescued in Colorado last month when an eagle-eyed train passenger spotted her from a train car window.
The cheese stands alone
A Swiss cheese was named the best in the world by an international jury at the World Cheese Awards on Wednesday. And no, it’s not the Swiss cheese with holes – it’s a handmade gruyere. And if you think there’s no way you can make an 80s-era Harrison Ford more delicious, how about making it entirely out of bread? A California bakery created a Pan Solo sculpture for a local contest. Amazing, but it’s life-size (or bread-sized, if you prefer). Of course, the best way to serve a carb-based Han Solo to guests is dipped in olive oil. But before you send out those dinner party invitations, you need to know the right way to taste the delicious liquid fat. In this clip from Finding Italy, Stanley Tucci learns how.
Travel tips
Ultra-minimalist packer Brooke Schoenman has figured out how to travel the world with only a small shoulder bag as luggage. Here are some tips from this handy queen. These days, however, many of us are finding that our wallets, not our purses, are thinner than we’d like them to be. Here are eight cost-saving tips to help travelers get through these tough economic times.
“The Last Paradise on Earth”
Home to more than 1,600 species of fish and about 75% of the world’s known coral species, Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago is considered the richest marine biodiversity on the planet. That is why it is known as “the last paradise on Earth”.
In case you missed it
Brits love fireworks and bonfires on November 5th.
Here’s the macabre origin of Guy Fawkes’ Night of Autumn Holidays.
Japan’s hottest new theme park has no rides.
At Ghibli Park, guests are invited to “feel the wind” instead.
It was his first night in Lima and her first night working at the tourist hostel.
Collisions between a plane and a bird are so common that they have a word for the residual slime: Snarge.
Now a robotic peregrine falcon is on a mission to end the sinister scourge. This is how.
Better sleep on a long flight
My neck, my back, the long distances wear them out. Trying to get a decent rest while propped up in a pressure tube for hours on end is never easy, but there are plenty of accessories – from travel pillows to noise-canceling headphones – that can make the journey less of an ordeal.
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