Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with explore

A day in the life of an explorer in Africa?

El Curioso — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:20:46 -0800

How can I find out what a typical day was like for a European explorer in Africa in the latter half of the 19th century? I'm interested in as much day-to-day detail as possible: cooking, breaking camp, marching with porters, surveying, setting up camp, guard duty, etc.

I know a lot of explorers' accounts are available online at places like Gutenberg.org (Stanley, Burton, Livingstone, etc). I just don't know where in those specific accounts, or elsewhere, I can find an overview like this.

Where should I go?

brynna — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:00:36 -0800

Where in the continental US should I go? So I've searched the site and asked around, but I can't find any specific suggestions/advice.

Here it is - I have a free flight, courtesy of Southwest Airlines and I'm itching to use it.

Where can I go on the Southwest route (only flies to a limited number of cities) that follows these requirements:

* has a downtown area that's fairly close to the airport (can't rent a car)
* is considered a "walkable" city, or has an area to explore that is walkable
* is friendly to a young woman (me) traveling alone
* is good for 3-4 days of exploration (at the least)

Suggestions, please! I'm open to anything. Go!

What to see in Poland and the Czech Republic?

kjs4 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:41:10 -0800

Looking for things to see and places to go in Poland and the Czech Republic. In the process of planning a trip to Poland, Czech and Germany in October this year for a few weeks. Basic plan is Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Dresden and finishing in Berlin. Any specific suggestions on what to see, do, eat and how to get between them would be appreciated, particularly in Poland and the Czech republic. History, cultural (pop and/or traditional), geographical preferred, and the more unique to the area the better. I have a general dislike of the overly touristy, and I've done enough concentration camps to not have to see Auschwitz.

Home again, home again... sort of.

FlamingBore — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 10:50:08 -0800

I want to fall in love... with my new Chicago neighborhood. Until very recently I'd been working on relocating to San Francisco. I finally heeded the signs that kept coming and called off that plan. Instead, I'll be returning to my home town of Chicago.

As a Chicago native I'm familiar with the general area, but none of the specifics. I spent all 30 of my Chicago years in and around Andersonville, but I've just signed a sublease in the West Bucktown area near Armitage & Western starting November 1. All I know of the area I'll be living in is Margie's and it's proximity to Wicker Park.

Help me fall in love with my new neighborhood the way I love Andersonville. I'll be working from home, so I'll spend the majority of my time in the area. What should I be sure to check out to give me a good feel for the place?

Are there any decent gyms for a woman to work out in?

Good loungey/cocktaily bars to grab a pint/cosmo from that aren't too smokey?

Good places for breakfast? What about grocery stores near Armitage & Western?

Any places I should flat out avoid as nasty, dangerous or just lacking in some basic way?

Details to help: Mid/late 30s, queer, woman, into photography, works too much for an Internet company, living alone. May keep my car, but am likely to sell it either before or shortly after moving.

How do I get in to offroad exploring?

b1tr0t — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:25:31 -0800

I live in California and would like to learn about how to responsibly explore the more difficult to visit parts of the west coast. How do I get into offroad exploring? I enjoy technical challenges, photography, and almost anything that is unusual. I would like to visit and photograph places that are infrequently seen and somewhat exotic.

A few hundred dollars will get my on an airplane to just about anywhere in the world within half a day or so, so international travel is not really exotic anymore. I suspect that eastern Oregon and Washington are full of interesting and infrequently visited terrain. At the moment, I live in southern california, so I would like to get started here, and then check out some of the more difficult spots once I know more about how to safely (and responsibly) explore.