We purchased a Belgrade-Ljubljana one-way JAT ticket on Sunday night, for travel in late July. We were, as the Brits say, chuffed. The ticket came to just RSD5,942 (€74; $99). The JAT search engine worked fine, and we were approaching that magic, banal moment that drives all online air travel purchases: the invitation to print » Read more
Some stuff on our minds as this week draws to close. 1. Ryanair’s new routes in and out of Stockholm’s Skavsta. Ryanair is launching another 13 routes to and from Skavsta. Starting in October, routes between Skavsta and Alicante, Basel, Berlin, Bratislava, Eindhoven, Karlsruhe Baden, Liverpool, Malta, Pisa, Porto, Trapani, and Valencia will kick off. » Read more
Ethereal truffle ravioli that melt in your mouth. Heavenly mascarpone sprinkled with bitter dark chocolate shavings. Dreams are made of such things. At Drogheria della Rosa in Bologna, jovial owner Emanuele Addone keeps you smiling all night. After all, he did take home the prestigious San Pelligrino Cooking Cup. If his contagious enthusiasm doesn’t hit » Read more
Photo by GoGap
Kecskemét, 86 kilometers from Budapest in the center of Hungary, possesses arguably the most beautiful town center in the entire country. Almost every building on the main square is art nouveau. The finest examples are the Town Hall and the new college, which houses elementary and high schools specializing in music education and named in » Read more
If you’ll be in the Louvre any time soon, don’t be confused by rather anachronistic installation pieces scattered throughout the museum. In the Puget and Marly sculpture galleries, contemporary artists have put up resin statues and fake trees next to the marble figures of greek gods. It’s all part of the Counterpoint program, which runs » Read more
In Prague, you can get your fill of apple strudel at any sidewalk cafe. However, (especially if you’re in the Czech Republic long-term) no one will blame you for craving a giant soft-baked chocolate chip cookie. And expat Anne Feeley’s Bakeshop Praha (Kozi 1, just a block down from the Kafka statue) is just the » Read more
One of the chief pleasures of visiting another country is sampling its special food and drink. If you visit Hungary you expect to taste the goulash (gulyás), which you may be surprised to find is a soup, not a stew you should also expect to have a shot of the national drink, unicum. Unicum is » Read more
Photo courtesy of Kari Hoerchler
Where would you go if you wanted to sport crazy tights and ride Critical Mass? Or don a wool blanket while dining out at the latest ‘It’ restaurant? A place where ‘sör’ means ‘beer’ and ‘bor’ means wine? Budapest, babája (baby)! During a recent to trip to the Hun capital, we noticed the city under » Read more
Photo by oliviagiovetti
If you ask the older Expat Czech-set, The Globe isn’t what it used to be since it moved seven years ago from the Holesovice to the trendier address on Pstrossova, near the National Theater. Howevery you can still find them in the corner of the bookshop-slash-café that puts Borders to shame. Browse the wide selection » Read more
Photo by Toni_Blay
A trip to Paris without at least one walk through the Luxembourg gardens is like eating a French meal without accompanying it with a glass of wine. While the gardens lie directly on Paris’s beaten path they still, somehow, reveal an authentic view of Parisian life. Despite the number of tourists here, parents still bring » Read more
Photo by Nick_Salmond
Louis XVI’s castle at Versailles is one of Europe’s most awe-inspiring monuments, not to mention one of the most visited tourist spots on the globe. If you’re joining the masses of tourists on the RER C from Paris out to the castle, be sure to visit Marie Antoinette’s estate while you’re there. Yes, this fantasy-park » Read more
Photo by Jun7000
You’ve heard of hotels for women only, now there are taxis which only serve the fairer sex. The Pink Taxi Company was launched in Moscow in August 2006, modeling the all-women drivers, women passengers-only format found on the streets of London and Tokyo. The launch followed a spate of violence against women taxi passengers in » Read more
Photo by The Sly Gentleman
Everyone has heard of Munich’s Oktoberfest, but few people know of Bratislava’s Junifest, which will celebrate its fourth year this June, from June 8 through June 17, 2007. This is a shame, because Slovak beer is excellent and the festival has a great program, and is very cheap. A ten-entry pass costs SKK550 (€16.25; $22) » Read more
Sandeman’s New Europe, the travel company whose free walking tours have already taken Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, and London by storm, has come to Paris. Every day, rain or shine, tours start at 11 a.m. in front of the St. Michel fountain (metro St. Michel, line 4). No sign-ups are necessary. Prospective tourers just need to » Read more
Travelers to Bulgaria short on time will be pleased to know that Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, is often referred to concentrated in Plovdiv’s Old Town—can be seen in a single day. Built around three hills under Roman rule in the 1st century A.D., Old Plovdiv (known in Roman times as Trimontium) a very walkable » Read more
Karpatia restaurant in Budapest. Photo: Gillian
After perusing the Kárpátia Restaurant website, we were half expecting a tourist trap. Between the beautifully decorated vaulted ceilings and the shameless plugs for Sarközi and his Gipsy Band (the in-house band) the restaurant appeared to be a traditional Hungarian cliché. Thankfully, it was all that and more. Our meal took off with a small » Read more
Artists have always flocked to Paris for inspiration, and Polish-American sculptor Kasia Ozga is no exception. She’s been in Paris for the last year under the auspices of the prestigious Harriet Hale Woolley Grant, and this week the Foundation of the United States is hosting a free exhibit of her sculpture. Entitled “Body|Metaphor,” the exhibit » Read more
Photo courtesy by Melanie Clatanoff
The 11th arrondissement is an unpretentious yet trendy Parisian district. Its heart is rue Oberkampf. Drinks and food along this street run about half what they do in more touristy areas like Saint Michel and the Latin Quarter. Happy Hour in most bars runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with cocktails going for around » Read more
Photo by lookaloopy
Locals refer to Italy’s Santa Margherita Ligure as “Santa.” You can travel the winding streets and hills between between Santa, Rapallo, and Portofino (or Porto) by car or motorcycle, though these streets become congested during the summer months. If you want to avoid the traffic in high season, you can travel from town to town » Read more
Friends playing picigin. Photo: Ivana
We first read about picigin, Hrvatska’s national sport, while planning our trip to Split. At first exposure, the beach ball game seemed kind of silly. Once we saw it played on a shore at Bavice, however, we quickly became fans. A handball game often compared to volleyball, some claim that Ba?vice is the only spot » Read more
Photo by Martin Baran
Košice, Slovakia’s second city, ranks high on our short list of underexplored European gems. Set in a valley, with the Ore mountains to the west and the Salt Hills to the east, Košice remains a delightfully unspoilt place. Slovakia’s budget airline SkyEurope flies between Košice and Bratislava, making the city both easy and cheap to » Read more
Photo by acastellano
The rumors regarding Plitvice Lakes National Park match the velocity of its waterfalls. Guidebooks and even on-site hotel staff are full of misinformation. Even the park Web site is secretive, encouraging potential guests to refrain from contacting hotels directly. During a recent expedition within the park grounds, we were able to make some eye-opening discoveries. » Read more
Photo by sgoralnick
When you’re done meandering through the narrow streets and climbing the old walls of Old Dubrovnik, retreat from the crowds to the island of Lokrum. A peaceful island of less than one square km, Lokrum is a nature preserve with no cars or human inhabitants. Save for an old fortress and a Benedictine monastery converted » Read more
Photo by ldandersen
Every week should end with a list. The following things are causing tremors in our world: 1. This fellow’s daily photographs on Flickr. Why? Because we’re suckers for stark landscapes, found objects, and Nordic cityscapes. And we like to be able to depend on regularly scheduled aesthetic replenishments. 2. Eurostar’s green turn. 3. Czech Tourism’s » Read more
Photo by Caracolacolacola
Summer’s almost here in southern Spain, which means Feria season is upon us once again. From Malaga to Cadiz, every town along the Costa del Sol will take their turn hosting civic celebrations that turn every plaza, street, and alley into a bar, dance floor, or both. From now until October, the coast will supply » Read more
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