Curiosities, Quirky Tidbits, Travel Hacks

Each month, we bring you recommendations, odd notes, and useful tools to help you better navigate an interesting world.

Peek Into the Lives of the Spanish Royal Family

On June 29, the Gallery of Royal Collections opened its doors to an eager Madrid public. Nestled between the Royal Palace and La Almudena Cathedral, the sleek new building provides an understated background for the opulent collection of art and culture, accumulated over centuries by the Spanish royal families.

The Gallery offers voyeuristic insight into the exclusive lives of regal Spain. In the museum’s lower level, a multimedia exhibit called “The Cube” puts visitors in the middle of 360-degree projections of the interiors and grounds of the various Royal Palaces. These lush photographs give the effect of being inside each room. You can see the paintings, antique treasures, rich fabrics, lush tapestries, and intricate carvings as the royal families once did.

The museum’s main entrance invites visitors to stroll up and down ramps spanning three levels of exhibits. These ramps serve as an apt metaphor for Spain’s layered history. The Iberians, Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, various Catholic kingdoms, and eventually the Spanish Empire all held dominion over what is now modern-day Spain.

During the museum’s construction, a sizable chunk of a ninth-century wall was unearthed, built under Islamic rule. This artifact is now proudly displayed behind glass on the second level… an homage to the fact that Madrid was originally an Arab city, founded in 865 by Mohammad I, the emir of Córdoba.

Level one opens with the 15th-century Spanish monarchs who began the tradition of royal collecting.

Here, visitors can view paintings commissioned for Isabella I alongside relics like Emperor Charles V’s decorated suit of armor. Meanwhile, level two flaunts Spain’s Enlightenment-era flair for decorative arts with ornate furniture, clothing, embroidery, and carriages.

You can book your tickets online. A single costs €14, but it’s only €7 if you’re over 65. If you’re in Madrid on the 12th of October, you can enter for free, as Spaniards will be celebrating “National Spain Day.” —Marsha Scarbrough

CURIOSITIES

Cúpla Focal as Gaeilge (“A Few Words of Irish”)

I regularly get the train from the colorful harbor town of Galway, on Ireland’s west coast, to the bustling capital of Dublin. No trip is complete without a cohort of upbeat American tourists discussing their travel itinerary. While I appreciate the enthusiasm for my home country, there’s a few places and names that I hear U.S. tourists trip over constantly.

To be fair, Irish, or Gaelic, is a tough language to come to grips with. Just 1.7% of Ireland’s population speak Irish weekly. Even the Irish that can fluently speak the language are spread few and far between. They generally live in regions dotted around the island called gaeltachts, where Irish is the vernacular.

Gaeltachts are located mainly in the west. But these spots are sparsely populated nowadays, as the west of Ireland endured mass migration during the tragic events of the Great Famine.

Still, Ireland is dedicated to preserving its language. It’s a mandatory subject in schools. Road signs are written in English and Gaelic, and Gaelic names are everywhere.

Here’s a beginner’s pronunciation guide that’ll have you sounding like a local in no time.

Counties (Think of these as more akin to U.S. states, not the U.S. version of counties.)

• Galway – Gaul-way, not Gal-way
• Donegal – Dun-e-gaul, not Done-gal
• Offaly – Pronounced similar to “awfully,” but starting with “of” instead of “aw”
• Laois – Leesh

People

• Saoirse — Sayr-Sha (Sur-sha if you’re really struggling, it’s close enough… Here’s a compilation of renowned Irish actress, Saoirse Ronan, educating talk show hosts on how to pronounce her name.)
• Siobhan — Shuh-vaughn
• Aine — Awn-ya
• Aoife — Ee-fa
• Eoin — Owen
• Caoimhe — Qwee-va
• Oisin — Ush-een, not “O-sheen”
• Aoibheann — Ay-veen
• Naoise— Nee-sha
• Niamh — Neeve

—John Wallace

TECH TIPS

Try This Vacation App if You’re Disorganized

Today, most globetrotters spurn the use of travel agents. But keeping track of your hotel, accommodation, and excursions can become a quagmire… your information scattered to the wind, entombed in various emails and apps.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, though. If you’re unorganized (like me…) there’s plenty of apps that streamline this process.

Personally, I use an app called TripIt. When you get a booking confirmation email, simply forward that email to “plans@tripit.com” from the same account you used to set up your TripIt account, and it’ll automatically add the info to your vacation itinerary.

TripIt also syncs with your calendar, displays neighborhood safety scores, offers nearby transportation options and airport maps, and allows you to upload up to three documents (like your boarding pass) per trip.

Best part is, it’s free. There is a “Pro” version for $49 a year, which allows you access to additional features such as price updates on flights, check-in reminders, and the ability to upload 25 documents to the app. But the vanilla version should be more than enough to keep you on track and on time.

You can download the app from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. — John Wallace

PACK LIKE A PRO

The art of travel extends beyond selecting a destination; it starts with the skill of efficient packing. In this list, I share a few insights into how and how I pack

1. Packing cubes are a traveler’s best friend. Multifunctional, they act as compression cubes, organizers, laundry, and toiletry bags. Look for a set of packing cubes with various sizes, light and flexible material, and sturdy zippers. Read the reviews to check cubes’ durability.
2. I’ve found that rolling clothes saves more space than regular folding or using the Marie Kondo method. With standard folding, your clothes can get wrinkled, while Kondo’s approach is better for stacking clothes in drawers rather than saving space in your luggage. To achieve the “army roll,” fold up the bottom of your clothes first by about 2-3 inches. Then fold in half before rolling.
3. Bid farewell to tangled messes of cords with dedicated cable organizers. Among my favorite travel gadgets, these compact companions corral adapters, USB cables, chargers, and spare headphones, ensuring that your essential tech accessories are tangle-free and readily accessible. I use leather organizers for wired earbuds and elastic organizers for large or bulky cables. You can also use Velcro cable wraps or plain old rubber bands.— Kristin Wilson.

TRAVEL HACKS

Embark on an Odyssey: Greek Island Hopping Made Easy

The blue-domed churches of Santorini are iconic—and swarming with tourists.. To find all the Mediterranean charm of Santorini without the crowds, ferry over to places like Hydra, Samos, and Ithaka…

Eurail, the Netherlands-based company best known for its Eurorail Pass, is trading railroads for ferries with the “Greek Island Pass.” It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to explore the lesser-known Greek archipelagos, as the pass gives you an unlimited number of voyages for four to six days within a given month.

The six-day ($205) pass offers the option of domestic journeys… plus international ferry services to Italy, calling at ports in Venice, Bari, or Ancona. The six-day pass also gives you a free bus trip from the Patras airport to the port of Piraeus in Athens.

The ferry journeys generally range from 45 minutes to two hours. You can splurge for the first-class option ($231), which gives you a bed, while the second-class ticket offers an experience closer to sitting on a plane.

All ferries depart from Piraeus, and you’ll need to reserve your seats prior to boarding. Before your first trip, you’ll be provided with a “travel calendar.” It’s crucial to write your ferries in the travel calendar in the same order you’re booking them, as you may not be allowed to board otherwise. You can check out this guide for more details and a full list of routes. —John Wallace

CURIOSITIES

Paradise Lost: The Hidden History of Jerejak Island

At first glance, the Malaysian state of Penang is a veritable paradise. A warm tropical climate, white sand beaches, welcoming locals, and mouthwatering food.

But off the southeastern coast of Penang, fishermen trawling the crocodile-infested waters speak in hushed tones of the Jerejak Island’s terrifying history…

These ghostly stories seem at odds with Jerejak’s rich waters and lush forests. But the island’s beauty is the reason it was first chosen as the spot for a leper colony and asylum in 1867, with the thought that patients could live free from persecution and interference from outsiders.

But as more patients were admitted, housing became crowded, the food sparser, and conditions rapidly deteriorated.

In 1969, Jerejak Island was transformed into a high-security prison for some of Malaysia’s most hardcore criminals. That’s when the prison gained its infamous moniker of “Malaysia’s Alcatraz.”

To keep control in the, er, tumultuous prison, the security staff convinced the prisoners that like San Francisco’s Alcatraz, the surrounding waters were teeming with man-eating sharks. (There were no sharks. Crocodiles, on the other hand…)

The prison finally shut its doors in 1993. Now, Jerejak is a serene place to hike and picnic with numerous bird species, monkeys, exotic plants, and plenty of tree-lined beaches to enjoy. While the “prison” have been largely demolished or reclaimed by the jungle, the church remains. Picturesque cemeteries are scattered across the island, too.

Fishermen from the village across the waterway will take you across and pick you up when you’re ready to leave. The cost of a round trip is $20. Here’s a tip: don’t pay until they take you back to the mainland. Jerejak is a pretty island, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be left there overnight… —Keith Hockton