Norway: Bergen & other notes

I can't wrap up my posts about Norway without mentioning Bergen, our favorite city of the trip. It was adorable, charming, vibrant, historic, and fun - everything a European city should be.


There's a small market for extremely fresh fish (and other stuff, like local knitwear and cloudberry jam) downtown.


This was a gorgeous sunset to watch, sitting outside and sipping 10-euro beers. We sipped slowly.


This area is called the Bryggen, and greedy German merchants from the Hanseatic League used to live here and make lots of money trading dried Norwegian fish (meanwhile the Norwegians were too drunk to figure out how to do this job themselves). We learned a lot about this history while in Bergen, mainly from the (free-with-admission English daily at 10:00am) tour we took of the Hanseatic Museum, which was also where we came across these creepy flying dried fish:



Bergen also had a fabulous art museum, where we say several Munchs and other works by Norwegian and international artists. Good stuff.



We traveled to Bergen from Oslo via train, making a detour to take the Flåm railway down into the Aurlandsfjord and then a boat through the Nærøyfjord. While the fjords were quite lovely, I could have skipped this part of the trip. We got enough fjord in during our Hurtigruten ride, and the Flåm railway was not as impressive as I was expecting, most likely because of all the crazy mountain railways we experienced during out two years in Switzerland. Plus I could have done without the 6:30am train departure from Oslo.


Overall we really loved our trip to Norway (if you haven't gathered that yet from the gazillions of posts I've made about it). I think I need to go back sometime during the midnight sun (or perhaps the Arctic winter - although that's probably less fun, northern lights notwithstanding). But first I need to win the lottery - Norway is expensive!

All my Norway posts:

Kick the Baby
Oslo
No bras allowed?
The Hurtigruten
The Lofoten Islands
Å i Lofoten
More Norway trip photos on Flickr

Norway: two days in Å

As soon as I read there was a place called Å, I knew I had to go there. Then I did a little research and found out it would be kind of a pain in the ass to get to, what being all the way out at the end of the Lofoten Islands and all. Was I being silly, choosing a destination solely based on its name? I did a little more research, decided it really would be worth visiting, and called to book a rorbu there for two nights. A rorbu is a traditional wooden fisherman's cottage, and the Lofoten Islands have many of them. I think they've pretty much all been converted into tourist housing, and more are being built (at least in Svolvær - I don't think we saw any new buildings in Å).



Our rorbu was right on the water, with a fabulous view. The furnishings were a bit rustic, but completely livable. The kitchen was small but manageable, and we made all of our meals there. The one restaurant in Å was closed for the season, but there were a few open restaurants in the nearby towns (a couple kilometers' walk away). Å also had a general store (open for a few hours a day), two fishing-centered museums, and two hostels (also closed for the season), in addition to many rorbuer for rent. Upon arrival I felt a wave of panic about being stranded somewhere so remote for two days (no beer and no TV make Homer something something...), but the feeling passed and I was able to relax and enjoy.



We spent our time in Å exploring the village (OK, this part took about 10 minutes, walking slowly), admiring the view (which changed hourly thanks to variable weather conditions) from our rorbu, and hiking. Our hike took us past a couple lakes and up into the mountains, offering up gorgeous ever-changing views. Definitely worth the trip!

Sidenote: in addition to being an adorable fishing village, Å is the last letter in the Norwegian alphabet.

Norway: the Lofoten Islands

The part of our trip I was looking forward to the most was the part north of the Arctic Circle, four days in the Lofoten Islands. The Lofotens form a big, mountainous wall in the middle of the ocean, and are speckled with lakes and fishing villages. These islands receive six weeks of constant sun in the summer and a month of absolute darkness ("Arctic winter") in the winter. Around this time of year, though, the days were a pleasantly normal length, and although the temperatures were lower than in Oslo, the Gulf Stream keeps it from getting unmanageably cold.

We split our sleeping between Svolvær and Å, and traveled back and forth by bus. The bus ride was sweepingly scenic, but the cost and infrequency of the buses makes me think we'd have been better off renting a car (even though that was also not a cheap option). Our ride back involved a 3-hour layover in Leknes, perhaps the only village on the island that was not at all scenic or interesting. We decided their tourism slogan should be "Leknes: for when you're tired of the view." At least they had a liquor store ("vinmonopolet").



Svolvær (Å will get a post of its own) is known as the capital of the Lofoten Islands, and contains such big-city features as a grocery store and more than one restaurant. It is easy to get to and from since it has an airport and also the Hurtigruten comes daily. There are also many accommodation options here. Although not quite as beautiful as the the smaller villages on the islands, Svolvær was plenty picturesque. Our favorite restaurant in town was Bacalao, a relatively affordable cafe with a variety of food on offer, plus a variety of cocktails, and coffee with free refills (this was something I started to love about Norwegian restaurants, along with the free tap water with lime).



The Lofoten Islands are known for their dried fish production, still done the old-fashioned way: fish are caught and then hung out on these large wooden structures to dry. The fish-drying racks are all over the place. While I'm sure it is quite a site to see, I think I'm happy our trip didn't coincide with fish season - I don't know that my sensitive nose could have handled that.



We arrived in the Lofoten Islands via Hurtigruten, and departed via prop plane. Both of these transportation choices offered some fabulous scenery, so I'm glad we did it this way.

Norway: the Hurtigruten

Alternate title: Watching the sun set in a hot tub on a cruise ship in a fjord



One of our many modes of transportation around Norway was the Hurtigruten coastal steamer, a big old passenger and cargo ship which runs up and down Norway's west coast in 13 days, transporting goods and tourists into every nook and cranny of the shoreline. We took the Hurtigruten from Bergen to Trøndheim and then again from Bodø to Svolvær (gotta love these new letters I get to type for Norwegian cities - and the best is yet to come!).



A Hurtigruten runs almost every day, regardless of passenger demand, since it also serves as an important method of transporting goods to and from the various ports of call. Our trip to Norway coincided with the beginning of the off-season, meaning the passenger part of the boat felt eerily deserted. Our experience on board the Hurtigruten was like a cross between Titanic (minus the iceberg) and The Shining (minus the elevator full of blood).



Which isn't to say it was unpleasant; on the contrary, we really enjoyed this part of the trip. It was relaxing and scenic. And holy crap, the sunsets! The cabin we slept in for two nights was small but clean and new and well-appointed. The rough waters the second night kept me awake for a while, but Scott slept through it like a baby. Our one full day on board was spent alternately on deck and in the big glass-windowed lounge, relaxing and admiring the striking beauty of the Geirangerfjord, which we were sailing in and out of for most of the day. In the evening we decided to hop into one of the rooftop hot tubs, which we had all to ourselves. The hot bubbly water, cool air, and stunning sunset view combined to create one of those vacation moments that will always stand out in my memory. Good times.



One tip for those planning on taking the Hurtigruten for a night or two: ask about discounted prices and special deals, and then ask again. I emailed and received a quote for our two nights aboard in advance, and then when we arrived at the boat the price was about 100 euros more. Luckily I had the email with me, and the man at the desk was suddenly able to find us a special promotional rate which was lower than even the original email quote rate. Another tip: BYOB (and food) if you are spending more than a couple hours on board. Food and drink aboard the Hurtigruten is expensive. We picnicked in the lounge for most of our meals (except breakfast - the ship's extensive breakfast buffet was included with our cabin). Although one is technically not allowed to drink alcohol not purchased on board in the public areas of the boat, I've heard it's possible to get around that.

Norway: Oslo

Our trip to Norway was 10 days long, and we split our time between its cities, fjords, and islands as we made our way up and down this comically long, skinny country. We visited Norway's three largest cities, all of which felt tiny and adorable compared to, say, Munich (which feels tiny and adorable compared to, say, Berlin or New York). Much like Swiss cities, they were all very clean and safe, and full of friendly yet reserved folks who tended to speak English better than I did.



We flew in and out of Oslo, so it got to be our first and last impression of the country. We enjoyed walking around and getting a feel for the city, exploring the different neighborhoods and admiring the views. The highlight for me was definitely Vigeland Park, home of Olav the Babykicker and hundreds of other wacky sculptures of naked people in various combinations and poses. Although the park itself was free, it cost us a good 12 euros in public transport to get there and back. That was one of our first hints that Norway might not be quite so afjordable.*



Another fun activity involved walking around on the opera house, a delicious piece of interactive architecture located on the water. We found that almost everything in Norway is located on water of some sort. Take our first-night hotel, the MS Innvik, a boat parked in the harbor near the train station (location was key, since we had a 6:30am train to catch). Although the boat's cafe was fun (and featured the least-expensive beer we saw the whole trip), our room wasn't exactly fabulous. The teeny-tiny cabin featured bunk beds, a private bathroom with shower, and a porthole with a gorgeous view of the opera house. It was my least-favorite accommodation of the trip (despite the novelty factor), but given that my first choice for a hotel was rumored to have bedbugs, I think the MS Innvik was a good place to stay.

For most of our trip to Norway, we attempted to save money on food by picnicking or eating take-out. This strategy was in sharp contrast to our usual vacation eating, which tends to involve gorging ourselves on all the finest local cuisine available, not paying attention to the fact that we are never going to be able to retire because we are spending every penny we earn at restaurants. But that's because we usually vacation in places (Italy, Japan, New York) where the food is one of the main attractions. Not so with Norway, whose regional specialties include pickled fish, smurf candy, and various organs of game animals. Given that I'm a vegetarian, I was more than happy to skip the pricey restaurants serving these things in order to have more money left for black licorice and 10-euro beers.

On our very last evening, we decided to actually have a nice meal out for once, and splurged on dinner at the Grand Cafe (whose prices seemed entirely reasonable after a week in Norway). The atmosphere was a little hoity-toity, but the food and service were good.

For our last night, we stayed at the Bondenheim Hotel in Oslo. It was entirely respectable, in a good area with lots of stuff around. Good breakfast buffet, too (which on this particular day happen to be full of Americans wearing cowboy hats and speaking in funny accents between sips of their breakfast beers). It was a pretty good deal compared to our other accommodation in Norway. My only beef with them is that the hotel's website claims that the airport bus stops right outside the hotel, which is simply not true. It was a short, easy walk of several blocks. Liars.

I really wish we had had the chance to visit the Munch Museum in Oslo, but alas our time in the city was too short. I bet it would have been a scream.

Next up... fjords!

* Scott came up with this word during our trip, and was extremely proud of himself for it. Extremely proud.

Back in the land of yummy, cheap, plentiful beer

Whew, that was fun! Our trip to Norway went very well, despite my ridiculously disorganized last-minute planning. It is an insanely gorgeous country, full of more natural beauty than you can shake a stick at. We covered a whole lot of ground, sleeping in eight different beds (two of which were moving) in 10 days. We saw several adorable cities, multiple fjords, and about eleventy-billion islands. And a whole lot of blondes.

One of the biggest drawbacks of our trip to Norway was the sticker shock. This country is not cheap. Fun stuff like restaurant meals and alcohol were the most ridiculously priced items of all. And we were thinking in euros... I can't even imagine how many heart attacks we would have had along the way if we had been converting prices to dollars in our heads. I mean, I've had drinks at some of the snootiest bars in NYC, but never in my life have I paid $18 for a small beer. It cost more to buy a can (yes, a can) of decent beer in a Norwegian supermarket than it does to order a delicious Weissbier at Munich's finest restaurant. OK, I have no idea what Munich's finest restaurant is, but I can't imagine that they charge more than 4 euros for a beer there.

So despite enjoying a marvelous vacation, we are happy to be home again, curled up on the couch with a couple Augustiner Weissbiers. Now to go through the more than 1,000 photos we took in Norway...

Kick the baby

Hi there! Having a fabulous time in Norway, but spending less time with internet access than expected. All in all my last-minute trip-planning frenzy seems to be paying off splendidly, although sometimes the best moments are those that one cannot plan for. Such as the country western festival we just encountered in a remote little town in the Lofoten Islands. Norwegians wearing cowboy outfits = adorable.

(NB - the photo is not from the country western festival, but rather a statue in a park in Oslo. It illustrates the popular Norwegian sport of Naked Baby Wrestling. This is the sport's first national hero, Olav the Babykicker.)

Cologne: a city full of beer pansies?

While I admit that nearly 8 months in Munich has possibly skewed my perception a bit on such things... doesn't 2 dl (less than 7 oz) seem a little too small to be considered a 'beer'? (Note the fork I placed in the photo to the left, so you can appreciate just how ridiculously diminutive the beer is.)

Right, so I spent a few hours in Cologne last week. I haven't been outside of Bavaria (yet inside Germany) very many times in the past few months, so I was on the lookout for regional differences. The one that kept striking me over and over: the itty bitty beers everyone was drinking. I mean, I am the first to admit that a Maβ* of beer is excessive, but Munich's standard restaurant-sized beer, half a liter, seems to be about right.

In Cologne, these delicate little beer thimbles are transported in their own little carriers by the waiter. Each kranz ('wreath') carries 11 itty-bitty beers. If you were to pour all 11 of them all into proper beer-drinking vessels, you would have just over two Munich-sized beers. Clearly the Oktoberfest tents will not be importing waiters from Cologne.

The one benefit of such teeny-tiny beers, I suppose, is that there isn't a chance for the beer to get even a little bit warm before you are done with it. And I am a firm believer that pale-urine-colored beers should be drunk as cold as possible (if they are going to be consumed at all). Not that Kölsch is all that bad, as far as pale-urine-colored beers go. It's just that, well, it's nice to have a choice of other-colored beers, too, you know? When you walk into a Munich brewery (or basically any Munich establishment that serves beverages), you generally have four beer choices: a helles, a dunkeles, a weiβbier, and a dunkeles weiβbier. It's not an NYC beer bar, but it will do.

Not so at Früh**, Cologne's premiere brewery-restaurant. Kölsch was basically it. Two deciliters of it. To look on the bright side yet again, at least my waiter was right there with a fresh beer every time I finished mine (which occurred every two minutes or so). And when the waiter has to come around so often, that makes the service somewhat better than it is in a typical Munich joint.

* A Maβ of beer is one liter, and is the standard size available in a Munich beer garden. In many cases, nothing smaller is available (unless you are drinking weiβbier).
** Incidentally, 'früh' means 'early' in German, leading me briefly to the hypothesis that 2 dl of beer was meant to be a breakfast portion. That might make sense...

10 things to do in Munich for less than $5

Oh, that pesky dollar, more and more worthless every day (currently around $1.56 to the euro). I know, I know, I feel your pain – I have earned the wrong currency at several points in my life… most notably marks back in the late 90s. At any rate, for those Americans still hoping to enjoy a European vacation this year while exchanging their banana currency for cold, hard euros, I thought I’d offer up a couple money-saving tips for the cities I know well. First up, Munich.

Free city walking tour. The Red Shirt city tours meet at the gold statue in Marienplatz at 10:45, 11:45, and 15:00, and are completely free (although tipping the guide is expected). The tour covers a lot of sights around the city center and lasts a couple hours.

Blade night! Every Monday in summer (weather permitting), there is a free rollerblading event through the streets of Munich. The whole thing is amazingly well-organized and attracts thousands of bladers. No roller blades? You can event rent those at the venue – get this – for free! And did I mention the whole event is free? Even if you make the requested 2 euro donation (for which you get a drink), you still come out well under $5 for an evening of fun. And exercise!

One-euro museums. Several of the best museums in Munich cost only a euro on Sundays. To avoid the crowds, go as early as possible.

Drink a beer. Good beer is cheap and plentiful in this city. A half-liter of refreshing helles or foamy weissbier costs less than 3 euros in most establishments (a lot less if you buy bottles at a store – plus you can walk around with an open beer in this city without breaking the law. Fun and novel in itself for most Americans!).

Climb to the top of the Peterskirche. For €2.50 you can climb to the top of the tower for a beautiful view. (Come on, you know you love going to the top of things.)

Eat a cheesy pretzel. A delicious taste of Bavaria for less than 2 euros. They can be found at bakeries all over the city.

Check out a church or two. It’s not Italy, but Munich still has a couple of beautiful churches full of art and dead saint bits (bonus: churches are usually quite cool inside on hot days, too). Try the Frauenkirche, Peterskirche, and Theatinerkirche to get you started (find them on any map of the city center).

Picnic in a beer garden. Don’t want to spend money on overpriced beer garden grub? Raid a local supermarket for picnic supplies on your way there. In Munich, you can bring your own food to beer gardens as long as you purchase your beverages on the premises.

Get lost in the Viktualienmarkt. I love the sights and sounds of the Viktualienmarkt, the large daily outdoor market in the center of town. Even if you don’t buy a thing, a stroll through the stalls can be extremely entertaining.

Get your fest on. Seriously, there is some sort of festival going on in Munich at pretty much all times (as Headbang8 recently pointed out), and admission doesn't cost a thing. There’s the annual Starkbierfest; Tollwood is twice a year; the Auer Dult is three times a year. This summer is packed with 850^th anniversary parties for the city. And there’s another fest of some sort in the fall… I don’t know much about it, but I hear it involves beer.

So there you have it! Ten things to do in Munich for less than $5. And I didn't even mention the nude sunbathing...

Travel writers born, not made?

If ever you were in doubt that nepotism is alive and well, you'd need look no further than the travel writing industry to see that it is. Who knew guidebooks were the stuff of travel royalty?

Take Arthur Frommer's daughter, Pauline, for example. She has her own line of guidebooks. Incidentally, I learned about her writing through Arthur Frommer's delightfully insightful and curmudgeonly travel blog, of which I am an avid reader. With marketing like that, she's bound to succeed.

And then there was the big scandal a while back about Max Gogarty, son of The Guardian's travel writer Paul Gogarty. Guardian readers were none too happy to hear that 18-year-old Max had scored a travel blog on the Guardian site to document his privileged international partying. Comments were so harsh that they seem to have actually prevented the blog from going past the first entry.

The latest edition to the travel writing offspring pack is Rick Steve's daughter Jackie, who has a blog on her father's website to document her summer romp around Europe. The reception she has received has been vastly different to poor Max's, with most of her commenters sounding like concerned mothers, wringing their hands as they read about the 18-year-old's encounters with Italian boys and red-light districts. I wonder if the comments are heavily moderated, or if 'concerned mother' types are just the kind of folks who read Rick Steves's site. I suppose the latter is pretty plausible.

(As an aside, I am so insanely impressed with Rick Steve's recent trip to Iran. I have never been a particular fan of his, but this self-funded adventure in cultural understanding has earned him huge amounts of respect from me. I really hope I get a chance to see the show that comes out of it.)

So my question is, why oh why couldn't I have been born into travel-writing royalty?

Much love for San Diego

This trip to San Diego was for a family wedding. I really didn't want to go. Having spent six weeks in the US at the end of 2007, I felt no desire to return to the States again so soon. Especially to somewhere as far away as California - 15 hours of flying each way. I hate long flights. But in the end, I couldn't justify missing out on this celebration and the opportunity to see so many family members in one place at one time (some of whom I hadn't seen for many years).

And I'm very glad we went. Not only was it great to hang out with folks, but we also ended up liking San Diego itself, much to our surprise. It's a very cute city, and the beautiful beaches are plentiful. The weather managed to be warm enough for swimming in the sea yet cool enough for me sit on the beach in the sun (and we all know how much I hate the sun). And Tower23, the hotel with the cool fire pit, made a great backdrop for the first half of our stay. I even started imagining how fun it would be to live so close to the ocean for a year or so, eating Mexican food and shopping at Trader Joe's to our hearts' content. Wouldn't that be awesome?

"All joking aside, don't move back." The sternly-delivered unsolicited advice came from our friends we met for dinner on the second night, American friends who moved from Zurich to San Diego around the same time that we moved from Zurich to Munich. It seems that the temptations of southern California aren't quite enough to make up for the downsides of living in Bush's America.



We had a secondary goal of abusing the exchange rate and using the American banana currency to stock up on clothes and electronics on this trip. We were only partially successful at this, since we ended up spending more time at the beach and less time at the mall. The mild food poisoning we were suffering on our last free day there didn't exactly put us in the mood to shop, either. Sign of a bad wedding caterer: guests all have mysterious stomach problems the next day.

At least the wedding itself was a blast. Especially the photo booth! Note to Italian wedding vendors: start offering more photo booths, fewer balloon bouquets.

The fire pit

To answer the questions about the last photo in my San Diego post, I give you... a video:



This was the fire pit at the fancy beach-front hotel where we stayed for the first part of our trip. The sand was configured differently each night, but this one was definitely my favorite. I could have watched it for hours.

Home again

We arrived back in Germany early this morning. My main priority for the day is to stay awake. I am particularly bad at traveling east, but I know my best chance to beat jet lag quick is to suffer through today without a nap. I'll be entertaining myself by tending to the garden, doing a week's worth of German homework, and catching up on the blog (including answering all the questions in the comments of my last post!). More soon....

Not much to do in California at 6 am...

...except walk on the beach, or sit on the sofa on the balcony drinking coffee and staring at the ocean. Which really aren't such bad options, once you get out of the must-make-the-most-of-time-in-US mode.



Although it's been a mere six months since our last trip to the US, we're still having waves of bewilderment about this strange country and its strip malls full of cheap nail salons and Trader Joe's. The jetlag is adding to that, I'm sure. Some of my brilliant observations over the past 24 hours:

• Everybody here is speaking English!
  
  
• You're refilling my coffee?
  
  
• I can't drink a beer on the beach? Why the hell not?
  
  
• What is this? We didn't ask for the check...
  
  
• Turn off that air conditioner! Do you want me to get sick????

Alright, I'm TOTALLY kidding on that last one. I'm still an American, you know.



After 23 hours of traveling, my weary brain was confused to end up speaking German with the guy checking us into the hotel (who happened to be from Munich). Fortunately he was the perfect person to tell us where we could watch the German-Turkey game* the next morning (see photo above). And I thought I'd never have a use for a big American sports bar. I'm sure the 10-person crowd of mostly German expats at the bar was a far cry from the scene in Munich, and I'm quite sad to be missing out on all the excitement at home. It's going to take a lot of Mexican food, dirty martinis, and free coffee refills to console me. And perhaps another walk on the beach before breakfast.



* WTF was up with those feed outages during the second half of the game? And what's worse, we were forced to watch inane American commentator banter in the gaps. Switzerland, I am deeply disappointed with you. Hang your head in shame.

Italy trip highlights: Sleeping in Tuscany

Scott was responsible for finding us places to sleep in Tuscany, and he did a fabulous job.
For two nights we stayed at Hotel Il Rondo', a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Montepulciano. Rarely have I stayed in a room so beautifully done. The ceilings had large square wooden beams as is typical in Tuscany, and many of the furnishings were antiques. Plus since the building is quite new, the facilities are modern, and there was even wireless internet access (which allowed me to easily do some blogging from the road).



In Siena we spent one night at the Chiostro del Carmine. The reception desk faces a gorgeous, secluded, quiet courtyard where I enjoyed relaxing for a few minutes. Our room was inside the old palazzo up a comically large staircase. From our room we had a sweeping view of the countryside around Sienna.



Neither of the hotels was super-luxurious, but both were clean, safe, and well-appointed. What I liked best, though, was how both of them felt like uniquely Italian accommodations. Such charming sleeping arrangements add to the overall trip experience in a lovely way. Sure beats the Holiday Inn.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Tuscany

After Rome, we rented a car and headed north to Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden (a definite highlight) and then continued on to Tuscany. While I'd been to Siena and Florence before, this was actually my first time out into the small hill towns of Tuscany. Now that I've had a taste, I can't wait to go back.

We spent our days exploring a series of little Tuscan hill towns, each more adorable than the last. And naturally, we ate very, very well. The regional specialties of note included pici, a thick home-made spaghetti-like pasta, and local pecorino, a cheese made from sheep's milk which seemed to be absolutely everywhere we looked (including at breakfast). It is milder than pecorino romano, and is sometimes enhanced with truffle or other flavors. I think every single thing I ate in Tuscany was delicious. The restaurant highlights:



Borgobuio (Montepulciano) - the google-translatored English menu outside had us in stitches, but since it came on a good recommendation, we decided to go inside anyway. Borgobuio's decor is fabulously over-the-top, as is its owner Pier, who provided the dinner-time entertainment. He spent time with each and every table, chatting, joking, boasting about his food and lamenting the lack of guests. I was called on from across the room to help interpret for a couple from California who spoke no Italian. Pier has every right to be proud of his food, which was just fabulous. I forgot to take notes this evening, but I remember starting with a scrumptious chick pea and broccoli appetizer and then some sort of pici. And a side of baked radicchio, I think it was. All scrumptious.

Trattoria Diva e Maceo (Montepulciano) - highlights included the tortellone con fonduta di pecorino e pepe (melted pecorino and pepper) and the pici with porcini mushrooms. Even the side dish of beet greens was delicious!

La Porta (Montecchiello) - small, cute locale serving heavenly food. Friendly staff. Polenta with melted pecorino and mushrooms, sformato di zucca (kind of like a souffle with squash and cheese), canellini al fiasco (beans with olive oil). Sooooo good.



Antica Osteria da Divo (Siena) - this place was our second choice for dinner in Siena, but unfortunately our first choice was closed for a private party that evening. Osteria da Divo was an interesting little place. Very elegant, inside a very old, grotto-like room. The food was the high-concept small-portion (a little pricey) type. It was slightly disappointing, but only because other restaurants had set the bar so high.

Man, I'm hungry.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Rome

We had no specific goals for our 1.5 days in Rome, except to eat well and relax. My last several trips to Rome were on business, so it was nice to reestablish this city as a place of leisure. There wasn't any advanced planning involved beyond the hotel. It was nice. Especially the food.

All three restaurants we ate at this time came via an old copy of Fodor's Italy. I'm usually not one to rely exclusively on guidebooks, but Fodor's did us quite well on this particular trip.

Ditirambo - near Campo dei Fiori, we were a little skeptical of this cavernous locale when we arrived to find the only other patrons were a large group of old German men. Skepticism soon gave way to marvel; my appetizer of burratina (a soft cheese sort of like mozzarella) millefoglie with sundried tomato pesto was insanely amazing. I will remember that dish for a long, long time.

Arancia Blu - the first thing that struck me was the gorgeous, cozy interior; the second was the elaborate vegetarian menu. From our experience, the tasting menu is the way to go. So many delicious flavors. It was a bit of a hike from Termini, but the neighborhood was quite vibrant with nightlife.

Margutta Vegetariano - Italian vegetarian restaurants two nights in a row! Could life get any better? Margutta seemed to be having some service problems the evening we were there, given that we overheard complaints from the tables on either side of us. Although a couple of our (many) courses took a little too long to arrive, we otherwise found the meal itself to be fabulous. Each dish on the extensive tasting menus we ordered was delicate, artful, and yummy. The chic modern decor was also quite impressive. But what I really want to know is, who spends so much time and effort on a restaurant's food and presentation, but then can't be bothered to put a seat on the freakin' toilet? Seriously, people. Despite the menacing unseated peeing arrangements and slightly slow service, our overall experience at Margutta was quite stellar.

In contrast to the guidebook-recommended restaurants, the gelato we ate was chosen purely based on my gelatodar (like gaydar, but for gelato), a skill I have honed through much practice, and which almost never fails. Subtle cues such as the colors, the signage, and the number of locals in line are all part of my elaborate system for sussing out the best gelato around.

Gelateria San Crispino - if a gelateria is so cocky as to not even pile its gelato up for display, there's a good chance that the flavor speaks for itself. The shiny covered containers at Gelateria San Crispino drew us in, and the exotic flavors got us pushing to the front of the line. Flavors like honey whisky, ginger cinnamon, and pear sorbet. Mmmmm.

Fior di Luna - here I went for my old standby gelato order: chocolate and pistachio. Pistachio is a very hit-or-miss flavor. Done well, it's heavenly; done poorly, it's not even worth my time. This is why gelatodar is so important. Fior di Luna passed the pistachio test.

name unknown - on the Isola Tiberia in the middle of the Tiber river, this gelateria looked unassuming, but offered up a solid version of my all-time favorite flavor: dark chocolate chili. Mmmm again.


Did we do anything in Rome besides eat? Yes, a little. Mostly we wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere. The Pantheon was a treat as always. And given that La Dolce Vita is one of my all-time favorite movies, a swing by the (insanely tourist-overrun) Trevi Fountain was practically predestined. We considered going into St. Peter's, but given the long line we opted for people-watching in the piazza instead (easy to do when you've been inside multiple times before). I love vacations with no obligations!

Italy trip highlights: First impressions

I better get blogging about the details of our Italy trip before I start to forget them...



Let me preface this post by saying that I know Italy well. I've spent approximately two and a half years in the country. Since moving away in 2005, I've gone back many times. But still, my perspective is ever-changing. My brain constantly compares places to each other, and the reference point keeps shifting as I move about. Things that used to be normal parts of life now strike me as odd. Take my first impressions from this most recent trip...

We flew into Rome. The airport was run-down, hot, and dirty, and it took what felt like an eternity to get our luggage. It seemed like we had arrived in a 3rd-world country. Well, 2nd world, at least. The impression did not improve as we made our way through dirty corridors with broken glass where advertisements would normally be, nor when we arrived at the airport's train station and found an abandoned, graffiti-covered old train parked on one of the two functioning tracks. Having a few minutes to kill before a real train showed up, we wandered into the bar for a coffee.

The second the dark, thick espresso touched my lips, all was forgiven. So what if Swiss airports are modern and spotless? Who cares how efficient the Munich S-Bahns are? When has any other country produced anything so delicious in the history of the world? My mood was suddenly elated, and my mouth watered as I anticipated all the other flavors to come on this trip...

Let's hear it for the queen

Just got back from a quick trip to Amsterdam to celebrate Queen's Day, an annual day of revelry, commerce, and orange-wearing all over the Netherlands. On the evening before Queen's Day, DJs and bands play on stages set up all over the city until late in the night. Then the next morning, folks get up super early to buy and sell a whole bunch of junk. Anyone is allowed to set up shop, and people reserve their selling spots (with tape or chalk) days in advance. The city looks like one big festive garage sale. The selling and the partying continue throughout the day.

Shunning sleep, my friends and I were on board for the late-night Queen's Day Eve partying as well as the crack-of-dawn crap selling. Check out our fabulous stand:


We hawked stuff from 6 AM to about noon, with all items priced to move. Our stand was set up on a main route very close to my friends' apartment. J provided us with fresh-made grilled cheese sandwiches and copious amounts of coffee to get us through the early hours. Overall our stand brought in well over 100 euros, but mostly we were in it for the fun. I contributed the decorated sleep masks, which made a cool 10 euros, as well as a particularly hideous wedding present (which will remain anonymous).

After we closed up shop, it was time to walk around and soak up some atmosphere. The whole city felt pretty crowded, although I hear it was much less so than last year. The canals were full of boats which were full of people wearing orange. I'm not sure why orange and Queen's Day go together, but I'm guessing it's the queen's favorite color. Makes sense, no?



The weather was changeable, going from sunny to windy to cloudy to sprinkles for most of the day, ending with a gloriously dramatic sunset. The photos don't begin to do it justice.

A taste of Italy

Whee, what a fabulous week in Italy we had. Where to begin with the stories? Every mea