Titanic footage, treasures in train tunnels and a 16-hour flight to nowhere

02.18.23

Just-revealed Titanic footage, a medieval treasure trove under the streets of Amsterdam, and a 16-hour Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Auckland.

Here's the latest in travel.

By Maureen O'Hare

🦑 What lies beneath

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Reuters)

Video footage showing the wreck of the Titanic just months after its discovery in 1985 has been released for the first time. The 80-minute movie, unveiled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of James Cameron's blockbuster movie about the disaster, was captured two miles (3.2 kilometers) below the ocean's surface and shows the ship's famous bow section, deck and equipment as well as images of the interior.

Elsewhere in the deep, a photo of a river dolphin popping its beak above the water at dusk has just been named the winning image in the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition.

From ocean depths to sunken tunnels: Amsterdam's Rokin station contains an impressive, underground archaeological museum showcasing the subterranean discoveries made during the 15-year construction of the city's North-South line. The train tunnels revealed a medieval treasure trove.

Finally, sewer repair workers in Italy recently uncovered an ancient Roman statue of an emperor dressed as Hercules, thought to date back to the third century AD. See video of the big lad here.

✈️ Trouble in the skies

The US Federal Aviation Administration is set to conduct a sweeping safety review after a string of recent incidents, including technical meltdowns and near-collisions.

News emerged this week that a United Airlines Boeing 777 made a scary plunge toward the ocean shortly after takeoff in Hawaii in December. The incident is set to be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Federal safety investigators are also investigating a runway near-miss at Honolulu's airport on January 23, the third runway close call at US airports in less than a month, which also includes a near-collision at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 13.

JFK was the scene of more disruption on February 16, when the international terminal was forced to close because of a power outage. Passengers on a New York-bound flight from New Zealand spent more than 16 hours in flight and ended up right back in Auckland, after their flight was turned away from JFK.

🚄 Railway romance

An abandoned train station in the Spanish Pyrenees, with a wartime past including arrests, espionage and gold trafficking, has opened as a spectacular new hotel neighboring one of Spain's oldest ski resorts. Take a look inside Canfranc Station.

And in Thailand, a new resort designed by hotel virtuoso Bill Bensley celebrates the country's railway history. The InterContinental Khao Yai is made up of more than 65 suites and villas, including a series of upcycled Thai train carriages.

If you're thinking of doing your next vacation by rail, our guide to Europe's most underrated scenic railways might be of assistance. And if you're setting your sights even further, take inspiration from Rick Turner and Adam Longbottom, who traveled all the way from Europe to Brazil without ever taking a flight.

💖 Three couples who found love in unusual places

(Courtesy Jocelyne Harding)

Fate brought these couples together on a Pan Am flight above the Atlantic, in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal and on a Greyhound bus in California. Watch the video to hear their stories of incredible real-life chance encounters and read more from the series here.

⛷️ Keeping our slopes snowy white

The climate crisis is hitting winter leisure activities hard. The world's largest outdoor ice rink is facing the possibility of a season fully closed because there's not enough ice, and some ski resorts have also found their season narrowing.

Most resorts are now trying to lessen their environmental impact with a host of green initiatives. Here's our pick of the best resorts for eco-conscious skiers, from Finland to France to Canada and the United States.

And if you need some ski gear for a trip to the slopes, our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have put together this guide to all you'll need, including warming layers, goggles, helmets and more.

👀 In case you missed it

How the pandemic killed off 64 airlines.

Dozens of airlines have gone bankrupt since 2020 -- some more than once.

A photographic exploration of New Mexico's abandoned places.

From empty churches to deserted mansions.

This small Japanese town is a vintage vending machine paradise.

Sagamihara has around 70 working food vending machines from the Showa era (1926 -1989).