Mobissimo

It would have to be Germans, but this one is kinda strange, I'll let you just read on.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm.

Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from Friday for a trial nudist day trip from the eastern German town of Erfurt to the popular Baltic Sea resort of Usedom, planned for July 5 and costing 499 euros ($735).

Sir Richard strikes again. Appealing to the blogosphere - did I just use that word? - Sir Richard now has Diggnation playing on Virgin American headrest monitors. What is Diggnation? I have no idea, but the arbiter of tech-dorks, Tech-Crunch has more here.

Proving that it truly is the airline of bloggers and the technorati, Virgin America (the airline with an electrical socket and Ethernet port at every seat) will be offering episodes of Diggnation and other Web shows produced by Revision3, including Tekzilla, The Totally Rad Show, Web Drifter, XLR8R TV, and The Digg Reel. Diggnation stars Digg (and Revision3) founder Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht, and is popular among the Digg crowd. (The GigaOm Show, which is also produced by Revision3, will not be included.)

While some currencies are going through a phase with a lower value, travelers may need to think again if international travel plans are in the future for 2008.  Or do they?  Here's a list of tips to stretch that dollar, pound, euro or whatever, and keep your travel bug alive.  More here from the Telegraph.

The pound is falling, shares are collapsing, mortgages are rising, pay increases are being capped and city bonuses deflated - while the price of fuel and food has soared. If you can afford a holiday at all this year, you'll probably be keeping a careful eye on your budget.

We have come up with 50 ways you and your family can cut costs this summer, and still have a good time.

If you had 48 hours in one of the world's greatest wine producing regions, what would you do?  Well, go visit a ton of wineries.  Here's more from a talented group of Reuter's writers.

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours to explore Bordeaux, the wine capital of the world? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge give tips on how to make the most out of a short stay.

World famous vineyards are a short drive away: 30 minutes to Medoc, 45 minutes to Saint Emilion and one hour to Sauternes. But if you stay in Bordeaux, you can drink some good wine, eat a sumptuous meal and marvel at centuries of civilization in the newly restored downtown area, which was included last year on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list.

Imagine being a taxi driver in London, or Paris, or Tokyo.  The number of streets you have to know is astounding, enough to fill ... well, a phone book.  It's easy to go home, 'take a left here, then third house on the right ...' but how about if you're new to town, don't speak the language and are looking for a good, cheap place to eat?  Your taxi driver will be your best bet.  More here via the Guardian.

They're invited to every restaurant opening, pick up at every bar and they talk to everyone. Wherever you are in the world, the person who knows best is sat upfront, behind the wheel. We asked cabbies around the globe for tips on the best venues their city has to offer.

The crappy things that happened in 2007 are perhaps the things that will be cool in 2008.  Too many flights in 2007 from NYC?  2008 will see reduced flights at LaGuardia and JFK.  Read more here for the hot trends of 2008 via ABC News.

Federal regulators have proposed reducing the number of flights at JFK as a first step in cutting delays. But that would decrease options for travel through JFK, and airfares could go up as a result.

There will be more option on flights to London, though, when the Open Skies Agreement takes effect March 28. It allows a half-dozen carriers to add direct flights to Heathrow from Atlanta, JFK, Houston, Newark, Philadelphia, Dallas and Los Angeles.

Not a great topic to think about, but in light of recent fatal air crashes, airline safety has received more attention.  Here's more from the Guardian.

After last week's near-disaster when one of the world's safest airliners, a Boeing 777 belonging to British Airways, crash landed at Heathrow, you may be worried. But consider this exchange from Rain Man. Tom Cruise says to Dustin Hoffman: "All airlines have crashed at one time or another. That doesn't mean they aren't safe." "Qantas," Hoffman replies. "Qantas never crashed."

Sometimes you just need a beer - doh, you're in Muslim country.  Sometimes you just need to smoke out, except you're in Turkey.  Anyway, we all like a bit of substance enhanced fun now and then, here's a little essay on the do's and don't's.

For example, drinking beer in a city park is fine in Japan, but would get you busted for an open-container violation in Massachusetts. Likewise, marijuana use is widely tolerated in places like Spain and California, but you would be very foolish to risk lighting up in Taiwan, where laws are much more strict and pot isn’t part of the culture.

Finally, remember that your travel insurance policy probably has a clause about alcohol and drugs in the fine-print – if you do something stupid and get hurt while under the influence, they might not cover the bill.

Sir Richard Branson has yet another trick up his sleeve.  Question, do you have to call him Sir Richard?  If you call him Richard or Mister, would you get caned or something?  I digress.  Always a pioneer, or maverick as he likes to fashion himself, his airline Virgin Atlantic will a 747 laden with biofuel, more here via Seattle Times.

LONDON — Virgin Atlantic will fly one of its Boeing 747 planes on biofuel during a demonstration flight from London to Amsterdam next month.

The test flight, which Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson on Monday called the first of its kind, would yield crucial information on how to reduce aviation's carbon footprint.

The reliance of newer jets on computers for everything, from entertainment to advanced avionics may be vulnerable to the system upon which they rely.  While that gaming system on your seat front might be pretty fun on a long haul flight, the interface may be the in for a computer hacker, more here via Wired.

Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may have a serious security vulnerability in its onboard computer networks that could allow passengers to access the plane's control systems, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.

I don't really sleep much, 4 hours a night, that's good enough for me.  I like to think I'm a super honed machine.  I also fly a lot, red-eye is my preferred choice of flight as I sleep like a baby on the plane.  Jetlag?  Are you kidding me?  The remedy for jetlag is 4 vodka sodas (soda hydrates) and a can of tomato juice.  Anyway, here's a little more about jetlag via the Washington Post.

I must admit, when I called one of the nation's leading authorities on sleep and its many enemies, Cornell professor James B. Maas, I didn't expect to hear some breaking news from the world of jet lag. And it's not as if the best-selling author of the 1998 book "Power Sleep" retracted any of his previous tips on avoiding travel's greatest malady. It's still important to "limit the alcohol, make sure you don't get dehydrated, wear loose clothing, walk up and down the aisle several times during the flight and avoid red-eye flights," Maas reiterated.

Yes, it's true, travel to visit a bookstore.  Not just any Barnes and Noble, these are very well stocked and well known bookstores that are a great place to spend a few hours, or better yet, a couple of days while you're already visiting that city.  More here via USAToday.

A destination bookstore can make you feel like you're part of the community, whether you're grooving on the laid-back vibe at Powell's in Portland, or tuning into the Beltway buzz at Washington's Politics and Prose.

JetAirways, which we search here on Mobissimo, has started service from India to the Gulf area.  Imagine the masses from India descending on the hapless duty-free in Dubai.  Oh my.

New Delhi (PTI): Jet Airways on Saturday became India's first private airline to begin services to the Gulf with the launch of its direct daily flight to Kuwait and Bahrain.

The profitable Gulf sector was, till date, served only by the national carriers -- the erstwhile Air India, Indian and Air India Express. Their only competition being Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air and Qatar Airlines.

I never understood why luxury always implied you need to be feminine. I'm a guy, I like luxury as much as anyone else. Adventure travel is now moving towards luxury, geared to the female gender. More here via GoGirlfriend.

I'm often asked to talk about some my favorite places to travel. So, just for my friends at GoGirlfriend, I'm giving up the inside scoop on luxury adventure travel in Patagonia, Argentina.

San Carlos de Bariloche is my "Switzerland" in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, South America.

It's a luxury playground for the rich and famous, but it's also my home. This region of Patagonia lays claim virgin green forests set against snow-capped mountains and deep blue lakes.

Let the lists begin.  Here's a list of Hot Hotels for 2008 via the Times.  What does hot mean?  Read more here to find out, here's number one, albeit in France.

Le Couvent d’Hérépian, Languedoc Roussillon, France
Elegantly chic, wonderfully quiet, but not bank-breaking – it’s not often that you get that combination. But that’s what’s on offer at this converted convent with 13 suites in Languedoc Roussillon. Rooms are from £78 a night, yet they look as if they’d cost double that. The hotel, which has just completed its soft opening, has a laid-back atmosphere, with a small bar serving local wines and tapas.