May News Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Past Month’s Headlines

by Paul Riegler

Believe it or not, it’s May, and time to see how up-to-date youarewith travel and aviation news from the past month. What a month it’s been!
Take our travel news quiz and you could win a piece of airline and travel history including items from Pan Am, Cunard, and TWA.
In last month’s quiz, the question asking what momentous event took place in March in ancient Olympia in Greece? (the answer the …

Here’s Where You Can and Cannot Travel to in Europe

by Kurt Stolz

As European countries begin to lift measures put into place to contain the spread of the coronavirus, what isn’t changing quite yet is bans on tourists and tourism.  Except for the United Kingdom, there are restrictions in place for every country on the map.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last month that she believes that some travel will be possible.
“I think we are going to find smart solutions …

8 Tips on How to Safely Go Grocery Shopping in the Age of the Coronavirus

by Paul Riegler

As the various lockdowns across the globe reach the two-month mark, one habit that hasn’t changed is the need to go grocery shopping.  Almost everyone except perhaps the most astute online shoppers must at some point venture into a food market in order to subsist.
Delivery services such as Amazon Prime Now, Fresh Direct, and Peapod are far safer and use touchless delivery methods, eliminating the need for any human contact, …

Great Moments in Travel History – May 2020

by Jesse Sokolow

May, the fifth month in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, has some unusual properties in the calendar.  In any given year, no month starts on and ends on the same day of the week as does May, and it is the only month with these properties.
Named after the Greek goddess Maia, May is typically the epitome of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern.
May Day, …

How a Walt Disney World Reopening Would Look

by Paul Riegler

As Florida begins to take “small, deliberate steps” towards the reopening of its economy amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic, many people have speculated what Walt Disney World will be like when it reopens.
Given that the first stage of the state’s reopening is set to begin on May 4, when restaurants will be able to offer indoor and outdoor seating, albeit with proper social distancing, and shops will open with a …

Here’s How Some States Will (Slowly) Reopen Their Economies

by Kurt Stolz

In the United States, governors are preparing plans for their states to begin to return to normal.  Here’s how some states will proceed in the near future as officials try to balance a reopening of the economy with the health and safety of residents and business leaders attempt to do the same with their workers.
Even as such plans are being promulgated, many local and regional officials, including governors and mayors …

Review: Metropolitan Opera Virtual ‘At-Home Gala,’ Live from the Stars Living Rooms

by Jonathan Spira

In opera, glitches are typically along the lines of what happened in Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin” in the early 1900s, when the boat drawn by a swan moved offstage without him, and he said, audible to the audience, “Wann fährt der nächste Schwan?” or “What time does the next swan leave?”
Back then, opera was performed in grand opera houses.  Today, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, great opera is performed from the homes …