The Western World may be losing it's dominance in the neverending skyline wars, but that might not be such a bad thing for American and European city-dwellers. German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reports that as the credit crisis is halting ambitious real estate projects in the States, emerging powers such as China, Dubai and Russia are building bigger and crazier skyscrapers than ever.
This skyline boom may be providing these nouveau riche nations with status symbols, but much of the construction is being criticized by architecture experts as environmentally and aesthetically harmful.
Come back and visit us again soon: This weekend's New York Times reported on "insta-cities" that are more dynamic than the Delta-Northwest merger. Dubai went from desert stopover to high-rise paradise in 10 years, while Shenzen, China has grown by 8 million people in 30 years, with all the unplanned, even haphazard growth patterns rapid development brings.
The coolest thing about these new cities is also their peril: That all things are, architecturally, possible. The Gray Lady discusses new projects by Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas which, rather than adding to the existing cityscape, will foster the growth of neighborhoods in places where there were none.
For a cleverly named European LCC, Smartwings doesn't get a lot of air time. That's because it's not as smart as it sounds ... or is it?
Smartwings is based largely out of Prague and if you want to fly from the Czech capital to anywhere in southern Europe (read: anywhere warmer and sunnier), you've got lots of choices. They also have a few routes out of two other Czech cities, Brno and Ostrava.
The most curious route is a new addition. Smartwings added flights from Prague and Budapest to Dubai last month. This is definitely one of the first low-cost long-haul flights to come out of central and eastern Europe, and it opens up interesting possibilities for flying from Europe to Australasia for a lot less. So maybe Smartwings really is smart.
The developers of the Trump Ocean Club in Panama City just obtained a protective order against Dubai's Jumeirah Group from a Panamanian court. The Ocean Clubbers say they've faced "veiled threats of legal action" from the Middle Eastern luxury hotel chain because Jumeirah feels that Trump's new $220 million tower copies the design of their flagship Burj Al Arab in Dubai.
The Trump Ocean Club, pictured at right, does look a lot like the Burj, at left, but you'd think Jumeirah would be flattered. The Burj Al Arab's sail-style construction has been described by critics as the "pinnacle of tackiness," so it's no surprise that Trump would admire the design. Besides, it's not like the Trump folks copied the Burj's amazing rooftop tennis court.
Jumeirah hasn't tried to sue yet, and we doubt they actually will: This whole thing smells like a Trump publicity stunt. Selling your place as a Burj knockoff is probably a lot easier than getting mega-rich tourists excited about Panama City.
Oh, hell yes. Legoland is coming to Dubai. Now we finally have a reason to go!
Given that recent developments include bridges and a replica of a French city, it's about time for something more appealing to the kids--and those of us who act like kids. The new park, scheduled to open by 2011, will have just about everything you want:
Similar to the existing four Legoland Parks at Billund, Denmark; Germany; Windsor and California, Legoland Dubailand [will feature] more than 40 interactive...kid-powered rides, cool building challenges, spectacular Lego models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows.
Now the only drama is figuring out how you'll get your kids to behave on the long-haul to Dubai. Lucikly, mom-travel expert Wendy Perrin has some tips on that.
Even though the Middle East already has five low cost carriers in operation, the UAE has decided that it needs another one. In a slightly complicated-sounding business arrangement, Emirates is going to help the government set up a Dubai-based budget airline--which doesn't yet have a name--and one of Emirates' current VPs will then resign from Emirates to run the new, independent-from-Emirates airline.
The new airline will use some single-aisle aircraft (currently rare in the Gulf) and will fly to various destinations less than five hours away from Dubai. Exactly how low cost it'll be is also a bit unclear. All they've said is that "services should be priced on the living and economic conditions to suit their income."
It's all supposed to be up and running within the next year, so watch this space for more info. We're curious about a name: Dub-Air, perhaps, although that makes it sound like a Dubious Airline. We're guessing they'll choose something else.
The Langerado Music Festival starts tomorrow in the Florida Everglades, with all your favorite jam bands--from Beastie Boys to Gov't Mule--making appearances. So what's the Ferris wheel connection? There'll be one on the festival grounds, giving bird's-eye views of the bands.
If you prefer your music a bit more proper, maybe a trip to Haydn's hometown would suit you better. Vienna, Austria's opera capital, also claims one of the world's first Ferris wheels, the Riesenrad. (That's German for "giant wheel.")
The ride, above, towers 200 feet into the air, and even showed up in the film noir classic "The Third Man." If you can't snag a seat on one of the Riesenrad's 15 gondolas, there's a smaller wheel on the outskirts of town at the Böhmischer Prater.
Work is underway in Dubai to build the world's second largest Ferris wheel. Now, normally we'd expect the emirate to be number one in the giant-tourist-attractions department, but Singapore swooped in with its massive Flyer before Dubai could get its wheel up.
Second place or not, this thing is still gonna be huge. At more than 400 feet high, it'll allow views of more than 30 miles, far enough to see all the other ridiculous structures in town.
If that's not ostentatious enough for you, get ready for this winter in New Jersey where a soda company has bought up the rights to a 287-foot wheel at the Meadowlands. The Pepsi Globe will feature 26 cars holding 20 riders each and will give panoramic views of the New York City skyline and the Hudson River from a new entertainment complex called Xanadu, above.
