Month: April 2007

Vienna’s Naschmarkt

There are lots of things about Vienna which make me think it would be a nice place to live. One of my favorite parts of the city is the daily outdoor market called the Naschmarkt. It’s just one of those sumptuous sensory-overload type markets, bursting not only with fresh fruit and veggies, but also olives, … Read more

Kaffee und Kuchen in Vienna

The Viennese have a lovely tradition of dropping everything at around 4 PM and indulging in some Kaffee und Kuchen. In the interest of getting the most out of our vacation, we of course also adopted this practice while we were in Vienna. We are nothing if not cultural adventurers. To get the true Austrian … Read more

Nudity season

[Warning: this post may not be suitable for Americans.] Spring has sprung here in Old Europe, and that means the naked people have come out to play. Old and young alike are sunbathing naked in the parks, enjoying a nice naked sauna, or looking forward to that first trip to the beach where the can … Read more

Will the real Mr. Switzerland please stand up

It’s official, there’s a new Mr. Switzerland (and much to my surprise, it’s not this guy). I learned this from watching the local news yesterday. It was the second story, following close on the heels of a very important piece about Paris Hilton’s first trip to Basel (or Zurich, or somewhere… how am I supposed … Read more

Lollygagging about in Vicenza

After filling up on the artsy type of culture in Padua, Ali and I hopped on a train and headed to Vicenza for an afternoon of passegiate, aperitivi, and shopping, all of which also clearly qualify as cultural activities in Italy. Vicenza is a small city whose center is a large walking district of narrow … Read more

I get cultured in Padua

OK, so where was I? A couple weeks ago I spent a few days in Italy, staying at my favorite hotel and spa in the whole world (which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the manager is a good friend of mine, I swear), which is in a small town just outside of Padua (Padova). I can’t go to Padua without feeling an intense urge to move back to Italy, and this trip was no different. It’s just so…. Italian. The cobblestones, the cathedrals, the art, the public humiliation of graduates… and of course the food. Why am I not there right now?

Read moreI get cultured in Padua

me on slate.com

For the next month I will be contributing to the TravelBox Blog over at Slate.com. My posts there cover some of my favorite European travel destinations. They even did a fancy-schmancy caricature of me for the site. Can you pick me out of the three? Quick, go look now!

Buona Pasqua

Easter in Italy is always marked by the omnipresent giant chocolate eggs. No bunnies, no peeps, just big chocolate eggs. If you’re lucky, there’s an exciting surprise awaiting you inside your giant chocolate egg. These surprises can range from cheap plastic toys to fine jewelry, depending on where your egg came from. They’re kind of like giant Kinder Surprise eggs.*

Read moreBuona Pasqua

As seen on the streets of Vienna

Back signs seem to be the preferred method of advertising in this city. They were all over the pedestrian zone. This guy wanted us to say rosaries to have our sins forgiven… …while this one wanted us to go drink beer. Hmmm, which one do you think we listened to? And, everywhere you turn in … Read more

To show you how early we had to get up this morning…

The 20 Minuten* bin was still overflowing with fresh papers… …and the Bahnhof** was deserted. It was ass early. * 20 Minuten is a free commuter newspaper that comes out early each morning. The bins are usually empty by the time I leave the house. ** Bahnhof = train station. I spend a lot of … Read more