Top 10 of the Worst Culture-in-Travel 2009
Culture in Travel - almost nowhere else does it seem more relevant than in our wonderful world of touring - where the very purpose is to mediate, educate, entertain and bring a culture, language, way of being, thinking, feeling closer to the Other.
Sadly, it is precisely in this very same environment that we also encounter the greatest stumbling blocks to such a new fresh way of seeing life, i.e., places and their management that could care less about culture in travel and that thrive on the profit-making machinery of mass-tourism.
Some of these places routinely make us cringe - some more than others - and they are usually the ones totally spoilt by success and overrun with visitors 24/7.
Like a top model basking in the glow of unceasing attention, success and demand, they turn arrogant, inhuman, unaccomodating and downgrade the entire travel experience to a hodgepodge of bland stereotypical experiences.
In my most common area of travel- Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe- there are several such places - none of them overly conducive to culture-in-travel and all of them prone to reducing the contact with the cultural Other to cheap cliches, bureaucracy, arrogance and a "Look at me-I'm beautiful"-type air of self-importance.
This list is by far not complete but includes my very own Top 10 of the Worst of 2009:
10. Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
From the moment one gets off the bus to walk over the main square to the entrance, past bathrooms and coat checks to the turnstiles at the very entrance, this is one mass-touristy experience of the worst variety. And choc-a-bloc with tour groups most times of the year means that personal intimate bonding with art, history or even the ambience of the palace is virtually impossible.
I cringe every time I come here - except during the christmas period when there is a pretty christmas market on the main square.
9. Liechtenstein
If this tiny German-speaking principality were not so conveniently located half-way between Lucerne and Innsbruck, nobody in their right mind would bother to stop here. I usually hold my breath for the 20-30 minutes we must break here for bathrooms, passport stamps and chocolate, then move on and never look back. A tourist trap of the most hideous variety.
8. Sultanahmed Area, Istanbul
This is usually my least favorite day of touring the great Constantinople - such a mass-touristy experience from the famous Hagia Sophia to the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Jam-packed with tour groups, annoying salesmen all over the place like poisonous mushrooms and pickpockets make this one of the least care-free areas in all of Istanbul. Best to sit under a tree at an outdoor cafe and let the sightseeing mess go by.
7. Heidelberg Castle & Castle Authority, Germany
This has always been one of the bureaucratic headaches with reserving and paying for "parking" to lack of proper (and free) bathrooms to paying just to see a mouldy old wine barrel - this is by far one of the most overrated visits in all of Germany.
Making it yet worse for 2010 is that authorities decided to raise the price to 5 Euros per visitor, supposedly including the funicular. The catch is the funicular is only one-way - so the bus trip up with all the bureaucratic hassle still remains.
I am always glad when it is time to leave.
6. Heurigen Evening, Grinzing, Vienna, Austria
Bad food, off-tune Austrian gypsie music and 80-year old retirees from Germany drunk on cheap white wine make this one of the worst evenings of any visit to the Austrian capital. It is so bad I usually insist doing the chicken dance to complete the tacky mass-tourist experience.
5. Hofbraeuhaus, Munich, Germany
The mere arrogance of the brewery administration, the lack of attention to group leaders coupled with busloads of drunk tourist make this the ultimate cringe for any visit to Bavaria. It only gets even worse during Oktoberfest.
4. Old Town Square, Stare Mesto, Prague
This has ceased to be charming and quaint many many years ago - a total victim of its own popularity.
You can be lucky not to get pickpocketed gawking at the Astronomical Clock for its brief 20 second display at the full hour.
The only thing missing is Marek Mouse dancing around the square in this ultimate Bohemian Disneyland.
3. Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Rude and unaccomodating administration coupled with tough logistics regarding castle visit and busloads of tour groups trying to squeeze into what many feel is an underwhelming interior make this one of the least enjoyable visitor experiences in Bavaria.
Only lunch at HELGA KAINZ makes up for what otherwise is a headache of a day.
2. Stadtkeller Lucerne, Switzerland
Talking about Stereotypes and rude arrogant management - there are few places that can top this one and their hideous "Swiss Folklore Evening".
Visitors are usually squeezed together like cattle in a container, the stage can mostly be seen on a screen only and extra drinks come at a premium.
One must be on drugs to properly survive this type of evening more than once - including Japanese tourists trying to jodle or blow the alphorn.
Earplugs and a tough drink are the least one will need....and close your eyes when the plastic cow runs through the restaurant.
1. Melk Monastery, Austria
BY FAR the number one in rude, unaccomodating, profit-oriented management with total disregard for visitor experience.
Last I went there I was ordered to pay 40 Euro Late Charge for arriving 3 minutes later than the reserved time slot. And that was during total snow traffic chaos on the road ways.
Didn't St. Benedict write in his rule (Chapter 56 on Hospitality) that "All Guests should be treated like Christ"? We know that Christ wasn't always treated nicely, but no doubt the founding Benedictine Monks of Melk would throw up in their vaults if they knew.
And this completes the Worst for Culture in Travel for 2009...next we shall focus on the BEST.
Sadly, it is precisely in this very same environment that we also encounter the greatest stumbling blocks to such a new fresh way of seeing life, i.e., places and their management that could care less about culture in travel and that thrive on the profit-making machinery of mass-tourism.
Some of these places routinely make us cringe - some more than others - and they are usually the ones totally spoilt by success and overrun with visitors 24/7.
Like a top model basking in the glow of unceasing attention, success and demand, they turn arrogant, inhuman, unaccomodating and downgrade the entire travel experience to a hodgepodge of bland stereotypical experiences.
In my most common area of travel- Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe- there are several such places - none of them overly conducive to culture-in-travel and all of them prone to reducing the contact with the cultural Other to cheap cliches, bureaucracy, arrogance and a "Look at me-I'm beautiful"-type air of self-importance.
This list is by far not complete but includes my very own Top 10 of the Worst of 2009:
10. Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
From the moment one gets off the bus to walk over the main square to the entrance, past bathrooms and coat checks to the turnstiles at the very entrance, this is one mass-touristy experience of the worst variety. And choc-a-bloc with tour groups most times of the year means that personal intimate bonding with art, history or even the ambience of the palace is virtually impossible.
I cringe every time I come here - except during the christmas period when there is a pretty christmas market on the main square.
9. Liechtenstein
If this tiny German-speaking principality were not so conveniently located half-way between Lucerne and Innsbruck, nobody in their right mind would bother to stop here. I usually hold my breath for the 20-30 minutes we must break here for bathrooms, passport stamps and chocolate, then move on and never look back. A tourist trap of the most hideous variety.
8. Sultanahmed Area, Istanbul
This is usually my least favorite day of touring the great Constantinople - such a mass-touristy experience from the famous Hagia Sophia to the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Jam-packed with tour groups, annoying salesmen all over the place like poisonous mushrooms and pickpockets make this one of the least care-free areas in all of Istanbul. Best to sit under a tree at an outdoor cafe and let the sightseeing mess go by.
7. Heidelberg Castle & Castle Authority, Germany
This has always been one of the bureaucratic headaches with reserving and paying for "parking" to lack of proper (and free) bathrooms to paying just to see a mouldy old wine barrel - this is by far one of the most overrated visits in all of Germany.
Making it yet worse for 2010 is that authorities decided to raise the price to 5 Euros per visitor, supposedly including the funicular. The catch is the funicular is only one-way - so the bus trip up with all the bureaucratic hassle still remains.
I am always glad when it is time to leave.
6. Heurigen Evening, Grinzing, Vienna, Austria
Bad food, off-tune Austrian gypsie music and 80-year old retirees from Germany drunk on cheap white wine make this one of the worst evenings of any visit to the Austrian capital. It is so bad I usually insist doing the chicken dance to complete the tacky mass-tourist experience.
5. Hofbraeuhaus, Munich, Germany
The mere arrogance of the brewery administration, the lack of attention to group leaders coupled with busloads of drunk tourist make this the ultimate cringe for any visit to Bavaria. It only gets even worse during Oktoberfest.
4. Old Town Square, Stare Mesto, Prague
This has ceased to be charming and quaint many many years ago - a total victim of its own popularity.
You can be lucky not to get pickpocketed gawking at the Astronomical Clock for its brief 20 second display at the full hour.
The only thing missing is Marek Mouse dancing around the square in this ultimate Bohemian Disneyland.
3. Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Rude and unaccomodating administration coupled with tough logistics regarding castle visit and busloads of tour groups trying to squeeze into what many feel is an underwhelming interior make this one of the least enjoyable visitor experiences in Bavaria.
Only lunch at HELGA KAINZ makes up for what otherwise is a headache of a day.
2. Stadtkeller Lucerne, Switzerland
Talking about Stereotypes and rude arrogant management - there are few places that can top this one and their hideous "Swiss Folklore Evening".
Visitors are usually squeezed together like cattle in a container, the stage can mostly be seen on a screen only and extra drinks come at a premium.
One must be on drugs to properly survive this type of evening more than once - including Japanese tourists trying to jodle or blow the alphorn.
Earplugs and a tough drink are the least one will need....and close your eyes when the plastic cow runs through the restaurant.
1. Melk Monastery, Austria
BY FAR the number one in rude, unaccomodating, profit-oriented management with total disregard for visitor experience.
Last I went there I was ordered to pay 40 Euro Late Charge for arriving 3 minutes later than the reserved time slot. And that was during total snow traffic chaos on the road ways.
Didn't St. Benedict write in his rule (Chapter 56 on Hospitality) that "All Guests should be treated like Christ"? We know that Christ wasn't always treated nicely, but no doubt the founding Benedictine Monks of Melk would throw up in their vaults if they knew.
And this completes the Worst for Culture in Travel for 2009...next we shall focus on the BEST.
Thank you Euroquest for your wonderful, thoughtful, and well-written Sidetracks. Reading this was truly a trip down Memory Lane for me. I recalled so many "so bad they were good" moments, that I found myself laughing. Of course, I have only had to endure most of these places ONCE and you have visted countless times. I admire your endurance and tenacity. Thanks for creating the intelligent travel and culture blog. I can't wait to read more!
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