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Posted by
Jul on 7 April 2011 |
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As with TBEX in Copenhagen, the highlight of Travel Bloggers Unite (TBU) for me was getting to hang out with a bunch of fun, travel-minded people. Manchester was a wonderful setting, too.
The TBU panels and presentations were interesting, and they gave me new things to think about regarding where I want to take this blog in the future. Below are my comments on some of the travel blogging topics that were discussed. » Read the full post
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Jul on 7 March 2011 |
2 comments
I’ve been to Prague many times, but this last visit was the first time I’d seen it decked out as a winter wonderland, probably one of the city’s best looks. » Read the full post
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Jul on 19 October 2010 |
12 comments
I’ve been booking most of my travel online for a good 10 years now. Lots of wonderful innovations have come out in that time, but for the past several years my approach has remained mostly the same: a few reliable go-to websites that get me what I want in a relatively efficient manner. They keep me from losing my mind when I feel myself being pulled into travel-planning-related information overload.
With the launch of several new travel sites this year, it looks like my standard approach might be about to change. While I’m excited to move on to the new and the better, I’m also pretty pleased with my current travel-planning routine. So before I review the new sites, I thought I’d write about my standard plan of attack up until now. » Read the full post
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Jul on 21 September 2010 |
5 comments
This blog has been getting an amusingly high number of hits this week from people googling phrases such as “where to pee Oktoberfest” (second only to those searching for “Oktoberfest sex”). Don’t let your fear of inadequate toilets keep you away, folks: there are plenty of places to pee at Oktoberfest. » Read the full post
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Posted by
Jul on 27 July 2010 |
8 comments
I’m searching for an outfit for Oktoberfest this coming September, and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. Should I even dress up? I don’t want to offend anyone. If it is cool to wear an outfit, where do you recommend I get one? Is it stupid for me to get one of those cheap Halloween ones? All my friends are going to dress up; I wanted to at least attempt to get an outfit, but legit lederhosen cost more than I want to spend. Any help would be appreciated. Also, can you recommend any tents or easier ways to get into tents?
-Brian C.
Oktoberfest without dressing up is like a Halloween party without a costume: it’s still a lot of fun, but the right outfit can make it even better. I’d say at least half of Oktoberfest attendees show up in tracht (dirdls or lederhosen) these days, locals and foreigners alike. I’d definitely encourage you to dress up if you can find a way to do it without cutting into your beer budget (and Oktoberfest beer ain’t cheap). So what are your options?
- Spring for real lederhosen, which will probably run you over €100 (more with shirt and socks). That’s definitely a lot to spend if you’re only planning to attend Oktoberfest once, but on the other hand, you’ll have a kick-ass Halloween costume for the rest of your life. You could try your luck on ebay, or pick some up in Munich. There are tracht shops all over the city center (including about a million branches of Wies’n Tracht und Mehr, which at the very least keeps me entertained with its ad campaigns).
- Go for fake lederhosen, such as those made of plastic or the Bruno variety. I really, really don’t recommend this route. Look at the guys in the second photo down on this post. You don’t want to look like that.
- Skip the lederhosen all together and go for a different look. Get a hat or an authentic checked tracht shirt for around €20 and wear it with jeans. Or a lederhosen t-shirt – cheesy, yes, but still much, much better than actual fake lederhosen.
- Wear a kilt. They have nothing to do with Oktoberfest, but our Scottish friends think it’s a great idea.
Women have it easier: an Oktoberfest-ready dirndl (such as these) can be picked up on ebay for $50 or less (but please stay away from the mini-dress catastrophes on Amazon
), and they look just fine. There are also some good deals to be found these days in the many tracht stores along Tal, in the center of Munich.
As for which tents I recommend, it depends on what you’re looking for. All the big tents have more in common than they do differences – big beers, long benches, cheesy music, buxom waitresses – but they all have slightly different personalities. I suggest showing up early on a weekday (when you can still wander into all of the tents) and checking out several of them. The Hacker tent, Ochsenbraterei, and Schützen Festzelt are all solid choices. The Hofbräu tent has a frat party vibe, and seems to have the highest foreigners-to-Germans ratio. The Weinzelt has wine and fancy food; the Käfer tent has really fancy food and low ceilings. The Hippodrom is where the celebrities hang out, perhaps because they are attracted to colorful streamers.
As far as getting into tents, my main advice is this: go early, and find yourself an unreserved table to park at for the day. On weekends you have to arrive when the tents open if you want a chance of getting a table for the day (although sometimes the tents open back up in the late evening). On weekdays you can usually walk in and out of tents freely until late afternoon, when they all fill up. Since this year is the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, it will probably be more crowded than in years past. You also might want to check out my advice for first-time Oktoberfest visitors.
Hey readers: anyone have any great tips on where to get decent-looking lederhosen on the cheap? Please share!
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Ask the Expat is an occasional feature here at This non-American Life. If you have a question for me, go to this post to find out how to submit it.
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Jul on 17 June 2010 |
7 comments
Valsabbion kept showing up in my research of restaurants in Istria. It’s the kind of place where the dishes are small and fancy, and there are a lot of courses. I love that kind of restaurant. I asked if they could accommodate a vegetarian. They could. I reserved.
Valsabbion is a hotel and restaurant located near the giant harbor in Pula, down at the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula. The immediate area was disappointingly uninteresting for wandering around, but that was fine: we were there to dine.
We settled into the outdoor table that would be our base for the afternoon and accepted an aperitif of local sparkling wine. The men chose a seven-course prix fixe menu that would set the pace for our meal. We were warned it would take several hours. That was OK, we had time. We chose a local rosé to complement our meals, and we were off.
My delight started with the appetizers, presented in a series of little glasses and spoons which contained tasty spreads of local veggies, cubes of local cheeses, and interesting little fried creations.
My next course was a sort of vegetable lasagna with an abundance of fresh truffles.
Next came a layered cup of local wild asparagus, a poached egg, and a wild asparagus puree. » Read the full post
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Posted by
Jul on 14 June 2010 |
Comments OffMe in other places
Resources for Expats and Wanna-be Expats
Travel Resources
- Kayak - what I use for airfare searches
- TripAdvisor – never book a hotel without checking its reviews first!
- TripIt - forward all your travel bookings and TripIt will organize them into a nice little itinerary for you. Also, share trip info with friends.
- Booking.com – good coverage of European hotels
- Fodor’s – one of the many sites I consult for trip ideas and restaurant recommendations
- Budget Travel – another good source of trip ideas
Blogs by Expats in Germany
Blogs by Expats in Italy
Blogs by Expats in Switzerland
Blogs by Expats in the Netherlands
Blogs by Expats and Travelers in other fun places
This list is a work in progress, and it is neither definitive nor thorough. Please let me know if you find a problem with one of these links – a blog that no longer exists, one that has moved from one country to another… that kind of thing. Danke schön.
Please note that I am not responsible for the content of external websites.
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Posted by
Jul on 11 May 2010 |
12 commentsMaybe it’s all the Mexican food we ate on our recent trip to the US, but I’ve had enough of the crappy salsa offerings in Germany. Standard German grocery stores tend to stock one brand of salsa, usually Old El Paso. My attempts to find alternatives have not been good. I once joyfully bought up several types of salsa from a small Mexican store near Pariser Platz, only to discover at home that every single one of the jars had expired. A long time ago. (I ate them anyway.) And then this, the last straw:
Don't buy this.
» Read the full post
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Posted by
Jul on 23 March 2010 |
8 commentsQuick question that I can’t seem to uncover on your blog…. we’re in Munich Wednesday overnight and want to have a superlicious vegan meal. I’ve got a happycow guide to the city but if you had to recommend a veg place, where would you go? Thanks!
Usually I am lazy and wait months, at least, before answering questions, but since Wednesday is right around the corner I didn’t want to miss the chance to help a fellow vegetarian out. Munich has a good handful of vegetarian places, all of which are vegan-friendly, but two restaurants pop into mind for a great evening. Actually a third pops into mind, too, an amazing vegan place called Saf, but tragically it closed down last year. I’m still bitter about that.
First up I’ll mention Prinz Myshkin, Munich’s most well-known vegetarian restaurant. I’m a fan of the high-ceilinged-white-grotto decor as well as of the extensive menu, which ranges from sushi and Indian to pasta and pizza. For a vegan I’d recommend the mixed antipasto platter (ask for a vegan version) and the mixed sushi plate, if you’re into that kind of thing. Reservations are generally a good idea but on a Wednesday you should be able to get a table without them.
My second recommendation is Vegelangelo. This is a quirky little place, but the food is outstanding. It’s a small, interestingly-decorated restaurant run entirely by one woman. The service can be slow at times, since she is the host, cook, waiter, and cleaning staff, but if you’re not in a hurry then the cuisine is definitely worth the wait. The menu here is also eclectic; the Linseneintopf is amazing. Even though the restaurant usually doesn’t fill up (and often feels a little too empty), reservations are recommended so she can plan for you.
And as a third suggestion I’ll toss out another idea – picnic in a beer garden. In all of Munich’s beer gardens you can bring your own food as long as you buy your beverages there. Get some creative takeout or groceries and throw your own vegan feast in the most Bavarian of settings.
Both restaurants are within a 10-minute walk from Marienplatz, and there are beer gardens all over the place. Hope you find a great meal.
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Ask the Expat is an occasional feature here at This non-American Life. If you have a question for me, go to this post to find out how to submit it.
8 comments
Posted by
Jul on 6 March 2010 |
10 comments
Oberammergau will return to its once-every-10-year spotlight as they perform the Passion Play for several months during 2010. In my mind this has always been one of those uninteresting overhyped bits of must-see tourism that I am sure I could live without. I lived in Germany 10 years ago, too, and felt not the least bit of interest in attending. Now that I’m living even closer to the big event, I’m still not feeling it.
Take the facts: it’s a play about Jesus, but without the jazzy superstar show tunes. It is performed by non-actors, people whose only qualifications for the stage seem to be that 1) they were born in a particular tiny Bavarian town and 2) they’re willing to forgo regular haircuts for a while. And from what I can tell it’s a massively commercialized event designed to draw in hordes of tourists and fleece them of as much money as possible.* In which part lies the appeal of this event?
But then again, I often shy away from big hyped-up touristy things, especially ones which are likely to leave me feeling like a head of cattle. I hated carnival in Venice. When living in New York I meticulously avoided Christmas Tree lightings, Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and all the rest. The running of the bulls sounds dreadful on many levels. If I never got near Oktoberfest again I’d be one happy mädchen. I get bored and antsy in big crowds. But obviously lots of other people love this kind of thing, otherwise no one would go. Right?
What about you? Have you been to the Oberammergau Passion Play, or are you planning to attend this year? (If so, you may want to follow it on Twitter.)
* Note how according to the official website, there are plenty of packages available which involve play tickets, meals, and hotels stays, but if all you want is a play ticket, you’re SOL. It’s the way Jesus would have wanted it.
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