Brussels - Munich - Salzburg

So, I am all over the map with this blog.  Literally and figuratively.  I’ve only written about 3 out of the 15+ trips I’ve taken this year; food stuff & adventures from my past outnumber the things I am currently doing.  I’m making a shift - time to discuss 2010-2011 travels before the year is over!  

all over the iPhoto map

Recently I headed to Brussels, Munich, and Salzburg to see friends, explore the cities, and drink delicious beer.  Brussels is a small city, and like it, this will be short and sweet.  Belgium is known for a few things: Chocolate, Beer, Frites, & Wafffles.  Oh, also hosting the HQ of the European Union, and NATO - no big deal.  

Belgian chocolate is creamy and decadent and i’ve been devouring my stash since I got back.  The waffles were good, but honestly, you can get a good belgian waffle anywhere in the world.  Now the hard things to replicate: the fries & the beer.  There’s something about fries served in a paper cone you hold in your hand and eat with a toothpick fork that can not be copied elsewhere.  Best toppings on the frites were mayo & yellow curry - together - and it was absolutely delicious (and probably 1000 calories).  If you’re disgusted by this - go to a different restaurant.  

On to the beer.  As good as Blue Moon is here in the states, no matter how many times they say its a Belgian style white beer, its just not the same.  I spent some time in the Delirium Cafe in Brussels with my friend Brittany.  This place holds the Guinness world record for most beers on a menu with over 2,500!! Favorite beers out of the few (dozen) I tried: Gulden Draak, Hoegaarden Grand Cru, and St. Bernardus ABT12.  Wanna know more? http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/155

Quick flight down to Munich to meet up with my friend Svenja and we were off to explore the city & take it all in.  Englischer Garten (you can SURF in part of the river - how cool is that!), Marienplatz, Olympic Village, BMW welt museum und werk, Oktoberfest... oh, wait, I had to leave the day before it began =( 

Regardless, I explored the wheat based beverage scene of Munich as well - Belgian witbier and Bavarian hefeweissbier are my two favorite types, so I was really in all my glory for this trip.  Franziskaner & Paulaner stand out as frontrunners for me - though they are widely distributed, even the local or craft brews don’t compare in my opinion.  

The Olympic Village was something I didn’t get to see the first time I was in Munich, so I’m glad I made it there this time - still intact from the 1972 Olympic games, the architecture of the olympic housing now turned student housing is so interesting.  As a blank canvas to the students who live there, see the photos of what they turn their residence into!

We also took a day drive down to Salzburg, Austria.  What a great little city to just walk around and take in the sights.  A quick climb up to the top of the hill reveals a city scape with a river separating the old & the new.  And our drive home to Munich included a lakeside, sunset dining experience offering me the two dishes I wanted most while there: Schnitzel and Spätzle.  Veal cutlet breaded and pan fried in butter with a side of egg and flour noodles pressed through a colander into boiling water to achieve the mini-dumpling or “little sparrow” (the exact translation of spätzle) look.  Polished off with a delicious wheat beer, happy and full, we completed the trip back to Munich.  

Flights on this trip: JFK-BRU-MUC-FRA-JFK

Alaska... The Last Frontier

Did you know that tourist season in Alaska ends about mid-way through September?  Well it does.  Apparently it gets cold, quick.  If you go there planning on taking a short cruise to see the glacial cliffs, or a float plane to soar above the tops of the glaciers and swing around the peaks of the snow capped mountains, don't fly into Anchorage on a whim at the end of the month - because those things aren't available to you any longer.

However, what you will experience is pristine wilderness, crisp air, clean water, wildlife on city streets, breathtaking views, and the sounds of silence.  I have never felt so small in such a large place before.  There are more people in 1/8th of the island of Manhattan than there are in the entire state of Alaska which, in area, is nearly as large as the continental United States.  There are more float planes than cars, and more pilots than in any other state.  We explored Anchorage, took the Seward highway down the Kenai peninsula to Homer, Seward, and Whittier, stayed in a nice hotel in the city & car-camped off the beaten track.

my travel buddy, Melissa

We ate scallops and halibut and salmon that were caught within a few miles of the restaurant.  Captain Patties fish house in Homer was yummy, but the not-to-miss foodie spot is Snow City Cafe in Anchorage.  It was there that (PETA, close your eyes), I ate reindeer - and it was delicious.  I'll let the rest of the story be told visually.

Flights on this trip: LGA-MSP-ANC-MSP-LGA