72 Hours in Vienna

From marginalized Prague, I hop back to the heart of Europe in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Geography is a great shaper of history and culture but Austria is a sore thumb. It leans eastward (“öst”, the German for east) but is culturally congruent with the west, unlike the Slavic nations that it borders. This similarity is rooted in the Hapsburg’s vying for cultural supremacy against its influential, rich, western relatives. For the greater part of classical Europe, Paris ruled the west and Vienna controlled the east. It is by no coincidence that the two most famous treaties of history are the Peace of Paris (1919, after WWI) and the Congress of Vienna (1815, after Napoleon). The two cities almost mirror each other with Vienna as a miniature Paris. Within the ringstraße created from torn down armaments are an unassailable selection of churches, palaces, museums and concert halls. Outside the city, Schönbrunn (do the guided tour, 15€) copies Versailles. Marie Antoinette was cast out of Schönbrunn at the tender age of 14 to wed and make peace in Versailles. All this makes Austria oddly closer to France than Germany.

​Hofburg Area

​Schönbrunn Palace

​Hofburg

Richly adorned architecture that makes Vienna a most beautiful city in Europe is directly traceable to its Golden age. Today, the buildings have been put to good use, housing museums like: Kunsthammer of Kunsthistoriches Museum, a display of glittery opulence; the Naturhistorisches Museum, where the tiny Venus of Willendorf rests near the gigantic skeleton of a Diplodocus long neck; the Leopold, Kunsthalle and Mumok art museums that occupy the former Spanish stables; Belvedere Palace, for an invigorating stroll; and the enchanting Austrian National Library, which has 200,000 books from the 16th century and onwards. Museums are not expensive but add up quickly (5-10€ for students).

​Vienna National Library

The wealth in Austria also guaranteed a strong patronage in music. Such patronage was lucky to coincide directly with the classical era of music and such renowned composers as Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, the three cornerstones of the Viennese School of Music (which is as much a school as the Keynesian School of Economics is). Strolling through Stadtpark, statues of Schubert and Strauss commemorate even more storied names of musical classicism. Concerts are ubiquitous and often sold out. Crash one early and ask for a student ticket. You may get lucky.

Opera

On one night, the opera had seven student rush tickets. I was the tenth to arrive so had to settle for a 4€ standing room spot. At the overture, the parterre is a can of sardines with dumbfounded tourists bending to see either the stage or read the captions. By the first aria, a mass exodus has returned the observatory to a normal capacity. Stingy music connoisseurs replace the half-hearted. Atop aching legs, the view is excellent.

​Urbanek

​Naschtmarkt

The food is an odd mix of German grub and French refinement. Beer, snitzel and sausage can be easily found on the mile-long Naschmarkt and are cheap, tasty and altogether formulaic. Instead, opt for the claustrophobic Urbanek, where a chatty epicure proudly shows his memorabilia of Anthony Bourdain and Wolfgang Puck and then shaves varieties of cold cuts for you to sample. With famous Austrian white wine (some say the best in the world) and cheese, it comes to 19€.

Urbanek
19€ for wine, cheese and cold cuts

For sit down: Motto am Fluss looks out to the Danube Canal; Décor (on Augartenstraße) has a 7€ lunch menu, this time a clean-tasting pan-fried fish in a buttery sauce with potatoes; Skopik und Lohn has perfectly cooked chicken and playfully lumpy gnocchi. At Gasthaus Pöschl, beets to soak up the fresh mozzarella in an innovative Caprese salad. After, mushy beef liver is served in an addictive stew-like sauce.

Décor
7€ Lunch

Cafés are an important fixture. Intellectuals like the psychoanalysts that gave Vienna the title “city of dreams” attended them. They are mostly fungible but some with a history include Café Braünerhof, Café Sperl and Café Landtmann. They generally all do cheap drinks and traditional Austrian desserts (which are well-known and overrated). For something more contemporary, Phil is a bookshop turned Café.

​View from Ferris wheel

Vienna is the last outpost of the west. From the top of the tacky Riesenrad (Ferris wheel), bear witness to the centre of the long-standing empire that shaped modern Europe and crumbled less than a hundred years ago. It held off the Ottomans (twice) and created a balance of power for the centuries prior to WWI. It was a polyglot centre of cultural expression and innovation and a destination for artists. Today, it mostly keeps out of world affairs, having been too involved with it in the past century. It was the primary aggressor of WWI and a willing participant in Anchluss. The Allies gave it to Hitler mostly because they considered it a natural addition to Germany. Odd, because you will not believe this country is German.

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48 hours in Prague

The Slavs have always held an awkward position in Europe. They have been consistently picked on, subjugated and disrespected. Vampires were invented to fuel anti-Slavic sentiment among belligerent nations. The Slavs were the primary cause of the First World War and gained widespread independence thereafter. Hitler saw them as an inferior race and pursued a policy of Lebensraum to restore the “living space” to its rightful, Aryan rulers. Afterwards, their territories became a major theatre for the Cold War.

​View coming down from Prague Castle

This history suggests the Czech Republic to be some rickety country ravaged by centuries of oppression, hanging on to life on a thread. This preconception leaves travellers in splendid awe of Prague. It is wealthy from its essential role in the Holy Roman Empire (it was the seat of Emperor Charles IV, after whom the famous bridge is named) and its importance in the wealthy Austrian empire. The city was reasonably unaffected 20th century wars (as Berlin was). The First World War made it stronger with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. A small Czechoslovak Legion lost to history held off the Germans as well as the Bolsheviks after Russia withdrew from the war in 1918 (treaty of Brest-Litovsk), a contribution that directly assisted with the Czech plea for independence, received in 1920. In the Second World War, allied nations in the name of appeasement betrayed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland is appropriate by linguistic similarity but the takeover of Czechoslovakia proper was simply aggression. But because of its early ‘surrender’ and since Hitler didn’t bomb it on the way out (apparently, the only major city with this distinction), Prague remains pristine. The city is probably best known for the “Prague Spring”, a counter-communist movement that inspired Russia and its puppets to occupy the city until liberation in 1991. Soon after, the Czechs left behind its poorer brothers in Slovakia to form the country we know today.

These distinctions make Prague look way back in history when other Eastern cities seem fixated in recent history. It also makes Prague the most underrated city to most undiscerning travellers. From the many viewing platforms, a panorama of slanting earthy-red roofs fit perfectly into each other. Between them, the odd clock tower or church reaches up for the skies. A gushing river spanned by the most beautiful bridges runs through this landscape.

​Lennon Wall

One hilly focal point east of the river is at the Prague Castle, centered by the St. Vitus Cathedral. Nearby, an Eiffel tower look-alike is stationed on Petrin Hill. It is 300 steps to climb with a view worth the effort. Pass the Lennon Wall (no, it is not named after Lenin) to get to picturesque Kampa island before loading onto the Charles Bridge to get back to Prague-centre.

In city centre, touristy attractions like the Astronomical Clock, Dancing House, Old Jewish Cemetery and Museum of Communism are all close-by and easy to visit. A little further away, the Zizkov Television Tower is a communist-style eye-sore with giant crawling babies as decoration, the DOX centre has offensive contemporary art, and Vysehrad castle is where the first king ruled from. All of this can conceivably be done in one day.

​View from Astronomical Clock Tower

Czech food culture revolves around beer, which is always good and cheap (average 40 CZK ~ $2 for a pint). Such staples like beef “dumplings,” schnitzel and goulash need work. But at U Medvidku, there is a perfectly cooked duck breast for 250 CZK ($13). They also have the “world’s strongest beer,” X-33, which is a sugar and malt explosion worth trying and regretting. (“33” represents the “degrees” of the beer and is equivalent to 7/4 times the ABV percentage.)  

Duck at U Medvidku

​X-33 Beer at U Medvidku

As often as Prague has been brought down it has ascended with irrevocable fervor. The interwoven history and architectural prowess make Prague an essential city in Europe. It has the distinction of naïve beauty, made more beautiful by virtue of it not realizing itself as having.

 

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The Best Exchange Rates for Exchange Students

Most exchange students are using credit card everywhere. They are prudent. Cash is the cheapest way to exchange money but good exchange rates are hard to find. A random sampling gives inferior rates than using a credit card on balance. Traveller’s cheques are better for safety reasons but cost an extra 2% for “insurance”. Credit card with a rebate of 1% will be as effective as traveller’s cheques, making it the preferred method of payment where accepted. But many countries aren’t as advanced and require cash-on-hand (like Germany, surprisingly). Withdrawing from a bank ATM gives the best rates, as long as you have an account in Canada that waives transaction fees (e.g. TD Select Service). For travellers who require a range of currencies (Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and so on), this is a must.

EURCAD as of March 1st

True Rate: 1.345

Cash: 1.353

Traveller’s Checks: 1.373

Credit card: 1.382

Withdraw using debit card: 1.382

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48 Hours in Zurich; Geneva

Switzerland, by most standards, is a completely respectable nation. It is rich yet equal, patriotic yet peaceful, diverse in culture and language yet united in most things. From Paris, a bullet train arrives in Geneva in a mere three hours. From there, the train meanders through the mountainous and picturesque towns like Lausanne, known for the post-WWI treaty with Turkey, and through the capital, Bern, before arriving in Zurich. Like Belgium, the south is French and the north is German (though of “a whole different breed” said one German-speaking commentator). And like Amsterdam to Brussels, Zurich is beautiful and exciting compared to a duller Geneva.

​Zurich

Zurich might be the prettiest small city in Europe. It is set in a magnificent nature-scape comprised of rivers, a lake and mountains in the near distance. The city itself is mountainous, providing for views of rings and rings of houses that hug the hilly contours. From city centre, the first activity should be to go south from the train station, hugging the river on its west bank until the lake is reached. More inland, Swiss and international luxuries can be found on Bahnhofstrasse: Bally clothing, Sprüngli the chocolatier; they are all there.

Löwenbräu

Art Museum near ​Palais des Nations, Geneva

The best museum is the Rietberg, where an impressive collection of ancient artefacts is on display for free. The Chinese selection spans the Neolithic Era to the Song Dynasty and is the most comprehensive selection I have seen. For art, a converted Löwenbräu brewery houses a myriad of contemporary art museums, most notably Migros Museum and Kunsthalle. Both are 8 CHF to attend and hard to appreciate. Instead, choose the Kunsthaus (18 CHF for all exhibitions) for a cross section of modern and contemporary art that is less obnoxious and frankly, better. On exhibition was a touring Chagall exhibition. Chagall is notably represented in the stain glass windows at the free Fraumünster church. You can’t take pictures in either but the semi-bilingual Fraumünster will chastise photo-snappers more critically. Other museums in Zurich to consider are: the Design Museum (free for ISIC cardholders), which currently showcases 3D printers; the Toy Museum by famed toymaker Franz Carl Weber; and the Swiss National Museum, an anti-chronological mess but impressive in size. In Geneva, the Patek Philippe museum is full of glittering watches from the past five centuries.

Markthalle
50 CHF for two

But the real gem of Zurich is in the West, in the 4th and 5th districts. Start with the Markethall Im Viadukt in the 5th, a market with an easygoing restaurant in the back. Generous portions of rustic cooking – salad, omlette, polenta and sausage – are easy to eat and come out to 50 CHF (for two). Walking northwest the unending string of shops of Im Viadukt that cohabit a railway bridge present a bougie-hipster paradise of clothes, furniture and other knick-knacks. A Nudie Jean store has denim beanbag chairs; an artisan works on exposed-wood tables in the back of a nearby shop. At the end of this walk, a towering assemblage of stacked freight containers house a recycled material-only Freitag store. Hop to the 4th to see Street-Files Mini Mart for clothing cool people wear and another cluster of innovative shops.

​Nudie Jeans Store

​5th District

​Freitag Shop

Hiltl
20 CHF lunch (but weight)

In general, the food could be better. Restaurants like the fondue-serving Hôtel les Armures and the Michelin-acclaimed Bistrot du Boeuf Rouge (both in Geneva) serve overpriced and boring food. Instead, the culinary standard is that of the market. Like the style at the Marché at Brookfield Place, an original concept restaurant owned by Swiss hotelier and restaurateur Mövenpick (which also makes the best ice cream in Europe, near the Opera House), self-serve is in. In Zurich, Hiltl and its less refined offspring, Tibits, both have an unassailable selection of vegetarian food priced by weight. An average brunch might cost 20 CHF (10 CHF at Tibits), a bottom-low price by Swiss standards. Hiltl is chic and pristine; it is luxury at its fullest without the pretentious customs of old. A palette of differently coloured vegetable curries is delicious and healthful and go along well with pappadum, a lightweight value-maximizer. And in a city of expensive cocktails, the refreshing 500mL homemade ice tea is a steal at 8 CHF. If this is too exuberant, then Sterner Grill sells excellent bratwursts (7 CHF) and beer (4 CHF) while Brasserie Louis Take-out has mediocre steak sandwiches (10.50 CHF).

​Mövenpick

​4th District

Like the products it sells, Switzerland is a niche destination that will delight some travellers and tire others. But visiting will at least burst the bubble of Swiss excellence labelled on its watches and chocolates. Indeed, the Zurich transit system is timely and efficient (though the one in Geneva could be better) and there were no homeless people. But on one evening, a restaurant was closed at the time of my reservation. Stupidity is a human phenomenon and a strong pan-European propensity from which the Swiss cannot be excluded. Their opportunism in the World Wars is often misinterpreted as pacifism; they hid money for Hitler. Today, their banks are under pressure both from within and from offshore finance watchdogs. The oligopolistic structure of their industries creates exorbitant prices exacerbated by a strong currency, resulting in a loss of competitiveness. Even the Swiss can falter.

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48 Hours in Rome; Milan

Italy is the direct product of the greatest civilization in history and led the world into the modern era via the Renaissance. From these notabilities, Italy derives an unequalled history and culture that make it an international hotspot for tourism. It is easy to think of a handful of cities that the discerning traveller must visit. Venice, Milan, Florence, Verona and Rome: each has its own peculiarity and merit a visit. Milan is the economic centre and the capital of fashion and design in the world. Rome is inheritor of the wonders left behind by an ancient civilization.

Vatican Museum

Pont Sisto

In many ways, Italy resembles Spain. Buildings have similar features and are coloured and pieced together in similar ways. But although Spanish architecture is rarely adorned, the Italian equivalents have motifs and ornamentation. This can be traced to Italy’s excessive wealth in the past. Today, much has changed. Although Italy has a manageable deficit, it is losing competitiveness. Its GDP per capita has declined since its joining the Eurozone; it is extremely corrupt (comparable to Greece), and has a failing infrastructure.

Plaza Venezia

Rome is probably the most important tourist destination in the world. On the right side of the Tiber, such must-sees as the Colloseum and Trevi fountain remind visitors of Rome’s plentiful history. It is a city so rich in monuments of grandiose proportion that the principal displays of other cities lumped together would be merely a sideshow in Rome. The scale of the sights cannot be exaggerated for there is no comparison in the modern world. For travelers not yet graced by Rome’s splendours, they cannot imagine the extensiveness. The Trevi fountain is nudged between small corridors that the gargantuan structure creeps up on unsuspecting pedestrians. Hidden by rickety buildings, it can be elusive until found. The Colosseum is magnificent even after centuries of pillaging. Its awe derives directly from the sense of human achievement required to put a 75,000 seater in place two millennia ago. For a comparison, the A.C. Milan game I attended was played in a stadium that housed 80,000. Nearby, a preserved area in city-centre comprises the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. Walk over the remains of everyday Roman life.

Colloseum

Roman Forum, Palatine Hill

View from Roman Forum / Palatine Hill

Across the Tiber River sits the smallest country in the world. Inside Vatican city, rests St. Peter’s Basilica, another gargantuan structure that allows for a buffet of praying opportunities. Behind the evangelists and nuns on their knees are foreign-tongued picture snappers. Another must-see is the Vatican museum. In one corridor, an unending line of busts and sculptures so numerous that it looked like cheap inventory at an antique store until you take a closer look. In another, maps of Italy’s states and possessions. At the end of the museum, the Sistine chapel with Michael Angel’s famous fresco awaits.  It is camouflaged by the array of similar drawings on the ceiling, but it’s there.

Roma Sparita
12€ Cacio e Pepe
7€ Artichoke
6€ Anchovy Salad
Reservations necessary

Between the tiring gallivants, traditional Italian fare is readily available For cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), a simple pasta in egg yolk with cheese and pepper, consider Roma Sparita. It is in the old village of Trastevere, where young Italians congregate at night. It has a bustling line of bars and restaurants to fit any mood. For something more adventurous, leave the comfort of touristy Rome and venture to the outskirts where Betto e Mary, from an unnoticeable folk restaurant with an open-fire oven, serve a sextet of ox parts. The food is mediocre but the atmosphere is not. Betto (presumably, that is his name), wearing a sports jacket and track pants, sits down beside guests to construct a suitable menu impromptu. His sons with similar sartorial prowess serve the food.

Betto e Mary
61€ for two

The trip to the outskirts reveals the tattered country we hear from overseas. A metro train takes twenty minutes to come. A bus with 10-minute cycles comes swamped with smelly commuters 30 minutes after the fact. No wall is safe from debasement by graffiti. Cracks can be seen as soon as you leave touristy areas. Sketchiness and fear for safety is the pervasive feeling. Life is difficult for residents. The metro seems to have been built for tourists; it stops at every major attraction but walks to residential areas are lengthy. This is the most backwards city I have visited, including any that I have seen in the “3rd world”. Cell service is often weak or non-existent. Transit directions are not linked to Google Maps. Credit cards are often unaccepted. Luggage storage has lengthy lines because it is low-tech. 

Pizzarium

Gelateria Dei Gracchi

I Porchettoni der Pigneto
10€ antipasto
4.5€ pint of beer
2€ per 100g of porchetta

The most impressive food in Rome are the small quick-serve places that put a fresh spin on Italian classics. Gelateria Dei Gracchi is the city’s most acclaimed Gelateria and has no less than five variations on dark chocolate alone. One dubbed as Cuban was flavoured with rum and went well with the almond variety (€2.5). For flawless porchetta, I Porchettoni der Pigneto has a suckling pig in the window and indoor picnic tables to eat from. The owner can only speak Italian, but it isn’t difficult to order when you can just point at the pig. It is a delightful treat to go with perky antipasto (zucchini, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes) and a pint of beer. Walls are decorated with photographs of the allied bombing of that exact street (1943, Italian Campaign). Best is Pizzarium, run by a bumbling celebrity chef called Bonci, affectionately caricaturized at the front of the store as a big-bellied epicure. His pizzas speak for themselves. The crust is no doubt thin but has volume reminiscent of well-baked bread. The result is an explosion in the mouth where ever taste bud and nerve is touched. The bread is so fluid that it is as if a dry soup were being slurped. The pizzas are topped with first-class, fresh ingredients like prosciutto or buffalo mozzarella.  This is quite simply the best pizza I’ve ever had.

HangarBicocca

Spazio Rossana Orlandi

Milan is a bore against Rome. But sights like Duomo and the canal are worth seeing. We particularly enjoyed the Triennale Design Museum, which had an odd mélange of exhibits about Italian Design, Dracula and Sex. Pirelli HangarBicocca, a converted warehouse has seven futuristic leaning towers in a converted factory and is free. Spazio Rossana Orlandi is a beautiful furniture shop with contributions from the artsy fartsy and is free.  For lunch, an acclaimed restaurant called Giulio Pane e Ojo, a bit out of the way, serves a two-course meal and wine for 10€ a person. For dinner, some roadside paninis and roasted chestnuts before seeing an AC Milan game.

Giulio Pane e Ojo
10€ lunch

 

The most important sight in Milan is also the most difficult to come by. Don’t be fooled by the names: three of tripadvisor’s Top 10 in Milan concern the same object. L'Ultima Cena, Chiesa di San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore and Santa Maria delle Grazie all refer to Da Vinci’s last supper, the romanticized fresco from Renaissance Italy pumped up by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. It is many magnitudes more impressive than Mona Lisa at the Louvre because of its size. Advanced booking is essential. I went at 8 AM and found tickets for one person at 11:15 AM. For groups, a week should be sufficient.

Italy is the most important destination for travellers to Europe. Domiciled in Paris, I relinquish that title begrudgingly. Rome is beautiful like Paris, but Rome is more grandiose. But it is also more problematic. The worst of Paris (20th Arr.) is to the Bronx as the slums of Rome are to Washington Heights. The underlying toil of Italians is irrefutable evidence of Italy’s economic malaise and of its being the greatest threat to the continuation of the common currency. Unlike the lively Spanish, Italians seem on average jaded, disgruntled, and unsympathetic. In front of the Duomo, sellers put braided bracelets on you then force you to buy it. At the stadium, hooligans shout racist remarks and unsportsmanlike rants. It seems like the populous has given up. The few who seem to care about politics insist on denigrating Monti, a reformist, and vindicating Berlusconi, who created the current Italy. Italy is a pleasure to visit, but tourism can only take the country so far.

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48 Hours in Barcelona and Madrid

Barcelona is the subject of some exceptionally scenic panoramas. Its expansive reach, from the coastal beaches to the mountainous outskirts, is decorated with a mélange of earth-tones, most conspicuously the Valencia orange roofs. Neighbourhoods look like jigsaw puzzles where disparate buildings fit together at awkward angles and look at risk of tipping over into the narrow streets. Unfortunately, the panoramas, such as the spectacular one from Parc Guell, end up being much more inspiring than the zoomed-in picture proper. A close inspection reveals the tattered, nondescript, ramshackle product of a miserable history and chronic subsistence. Indeed, Spain lost its power early and has never recovered. It suffered the horrific Civil War (1936-1938), the first war to involve civilians (dubbed “Total War”, like its successor, WWII). Then it was stunted by a fascist dictator until 1975, when it joined the European Union and recovered miraculously. Many trace Barcelona’s success to the 1992 Olympics whose remnants are still on proud display on Montjuic.

View from Parc Guell

Barcelona is the capital of the economic powerhouse that is Catalonia. It speaks a different language and claims to have different tasting food. The region persistently vies for independence; indeed it fought against Franco in the Civil War for this reason. And because it is the shining star of Spain, it gets at least some autonomy. The Catalonian Historical Museum tries to showcase these histories, but is probably not worth seeing.

Casa Batlló

On the other hand the Picasso Museum (5€) the Museum of Contemporary Art (2€) and the MNAC (7€) probably are. The Museum of Contemporary Art, in particular, unapologetically displays the object of choice for contemporary artists: the female form. It presents a rare opportunity to satisfy prurient desires in a societally acceptable manner. Better yet is the Gaudi museum. One of his works on La Rambla is converted to an exhibition with an informative audio guide. It is expensive at 17€ but is worth it, and the money goes to support restoration projects. The styles, methods and motivations of the famed avant-garde architect of the Sagrada Familia (which is a towering monstrosity, and deserves a quick look) are rigorously explained.

Cerveseria Catalana
Dishes 4-8€, 2-3 dishes per person

The definitive style of cuisine is tapas, the sharing of small plates of traditional Spanish food. There is a welcomed focus on seafood and cold-cuts. For a bustling, inexpensive, group-oriented evening, go to Cerveseria Catalana if you can stand the hour-long wait. It serves an impressive list of beers and wines and an extensive menu of guilt-inducing tapas like Huevos Rotos, a Spanish poutine with eggs in place of gravy, or deep-fried artichokes and Patatas Bravas (potatoes with a spicy and garlic sauce). My favourites were the healthier options, like the goat cheese on eggplant and red peppers. Unfortunately, dishes like the traditional Spanish peppers lacked flavour and excitement.

Tapas, 24
Dishes 8-12€, 2-3 dishes per person

For a less sensationalized tapas bar, Tapas, 24 is a subterranean hole-in-the-wall that has a platoon (they were dressed in some uniform) of amicable waiters that translate menus patiently, charge your phone, and even speak to nasty, monolingual telecom companies for you. From the bar, a curious eye wonders past the pyramids of fresh, local ingredients to the chefs who meticulously tinker with bite-sized portions. The seared tuna, a traditional Japanese dish, was reinvigorated Spanish-style with a bed of tomatoes that neutralize the tuna in perfect proportion. The pork was adventurously raw and sported a savoury mix of almost-spicy flavours. Finally, a platter of Iberian ham on tomato, bread and olive oil relies on top-notch ingredients and bold simplicity and delivers inspiring results.

Cinc Sentits
59€ Menu, "4 courses" but many more in actuality

For some Michelin stars, Cinc Sentits presents an unending parade of food for a decent price. It also relies on the traditions of Catalan: the ham, peppers, tomato bread and pork, but treats them with imaginative transformation. Take, for example, the Spanish poutine. Instead, a sweet potato is cut in half, its centre holed out, and replaced with perfectly boiled eggs and accompanied by a richly sweet sauce. Another highlight was the thinly sliced octopus with pillars of cylindrical cuts of potatoes that melted in your mouth. And although the major dishes were not enlightening (the mackerel with paellas and hardened honey was over-flavoured; the Iberian pork tenderloin under-flavoured) the little knickknacks made the meal. A row of four bite-size snacks started and ended the meal. To start, an olive that actually tasted good, a tomato-bread worthy of molecular gastronomy, salted fish with a muted cream cheese and a crunchy fortune cookie beneath a tangy sauce. This went with eggnog of sorts with Canadian maple syrup (I couldn’t resist asking). To finish, a similar assortment of complementary, amuse-bouches that gave the meal many extra dimensions. Perhaps the most spectacular of all though, was the dessert: warm chocolate ganache laden with crunchy tidbits and a bed of olive oil, seasoned by salt to contrast a cold egg-shaped ice cream. Wonderful.

Hot Chocolate at Cocoa Sampaka

The hot chocolate at Cocoa Sampaka is unadulterated melted chocolate. It allows for a focused appreciation of the delicacy that originated from the Spanish colonization of the cocao producing regions of America. The drink was inconceivably rich and better than the Brussel’s equivalent many times over.

La Rambla

A sense of vivacity pervades the city. Carefree children roam the streets, oblivious to the dire state of their country’s woes. The homeless serenade commuters on metro cars with folk songs sung to accordions and drums. At night, tourists on lively La Rambla are replaced with an energetic youth who pre-drink at establishments that resemble beer halls and then in the darkness of the night trek to their final (or penultimate, in some cases) destination. Many return home only when the metro reopens in the morning.

Madrid is a better behaving cousin of Barcelona. If separatist Barcelona were Montreal, Madrid would be Toronto. The architecture in Madrid is cleaner, more grandiose, less risky, and more sympathetic compared with the awkward but charming pastiche of Barcelona. It is desperately Spanish, as Paris is French; English becomes a novelty. Madrid is also less vibrant, less animated and more mature. Some might indeed consider it boring, as discouraged travellers consider Toronto, but the muted splendours will enchant an unsuspecting tourist.

Take, for example, the loveliest market near the Plaza Mayor called the Mercado de San Miguel. Some businessmen saved it from going under and converted it into the Mecca of Spanish food. It is definitively modern looking and sports rows upon rows of food purveyors selling Spanish pancakes, paella, oysters, sangria and other Spanish goodies. There are no paper cups or plates to be found; it is a fine dining experience on foot. From the Museo de San Isidro to the San Francisco el Grande Basilica, this area is the most picturesque in all of Madrid.

Mercado San Miguel

Many of the delicacies of Catalonia disappear in Madrid. Potatoes are filled inside the eggs instead of the eggs being filled between the potatoes. At Arzábal, sit at the bar for some crispy Iberian ham croquettes and a nippy cold onion soup. Or pilgrimage to the working class district that houses Asturianos, where grandma cooks homey meals in a comfortable setting.

A troika of art museums are cheap and worth going to. Most spectacular is the Reina Sofia, which is worth seeing just for Picasso’s Guernica. Prado and Thyssen are nearby and merit a visit too. Nearby is a cute shopping district with no designer brand to be seen. Shops range from the environmental conscious to those for locography connoisseurs. But the must-see is Regalos Originales, which does postcards from a bygone era of every major sight imaginable. For 20€, I picked up some of Toronto before the skyscrapers went up, of Niagara Falls and one for Valentines Day. 

Nightlife is buzzing, but of a different nature than Barcelona. There are just as many people but they seem less innocent. The pack of beer and cigarette sellers on the streets detracts from the atmosphere. Activities are more mature. For 20€, you can watch almost amateur dancers practicing Flamenco, a traditional Spanish dance at Cardamomo. A line of bars, cafés and pubs near Puerto del Sol come in all ranges and sizes but most serve cheap wine, vermouth and fruity sangria or the similar-enough Tinto de Verano. Night food aficionados go to Chocolatería de San Ginés and get oily churros dipped in pure chocolate.

Plaza Mayor

Some Spanish structural problems are easily noticed. Conrad Black noted that the primary problem of Europe is that barely 30% of people work. On a Monday afternoon, the streets were deserted; it felt like prolonged siesta in the dead of winter (in Madrid, it snowed briefly). The rule-of-thumb in Spain is closed until proven open, especially on Mondays.

Spain is Europe’s third-largest economy and essential to the Union’s survival. But it has suffered housing and banking crises that required an unprecedented bailout and it singlehandedly reinvigorated the Euro Crisis last year. Now, the politics are a mess, with new scandals that the President denies. It is such a shame that such a vibrant country with at least two world-class cities should be subject to such economic malaise. The poor kids who run through them on balance will be unemployed. 

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48 Hours in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Venice of north. Built on marshland, it resembles concert hall of sorts. Streets alternate with canals shaped in semi-circles with the train station, Amsterdam Centraal at its centre. It is one of the few cities that is so magnificently beautiful that the same things look afresh with each visit.

A Canal of Amsterdam

After a titillating evening with Beethoven (who is German, but has a name that fits the Dutch standard) I took a straight shot tram to the Red Light district. The result was an excellent juxtaposition between different expositions aimed at satisfying the same human desire for distraction. The Red Light district, where prostitutes sell themselves behind windows like they do in Les Misérables, is an unfettered market for illicit activities. It commoditizes sex so effectively that buyers can expect to pay standard rates for any particular product, with value-added pricing for the extras. It employs dynamic pricing too, such as increasing prices during peak hours. The district is a must-see. But go when it’s busy; otherwise it can quickly become sketchy.

Concertgebouw

Red Light District

A fries cart parody of The Potato Eaters

Museums are numerous and range vastly in quality but little in price. The best ones are: Anne Frank House, the eerie hiding place for some eight Dutch Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands; Van Gogh Museum, which illustrates Van Gogh’s life through his noteworthy paintings; The Amsterdam Historic Museum, which tells the history of the Netherlands from its mercantile beginnings to the golden ages to its place as a ‘free-city’ today in an effective multi-lingual way. Unfortunately, these all cost dearly, even for students.

While visiting European nations, I intend to experience the food of their former colonies. London has excellent Indian food and the Dutch apparently has the best Indonesian food in the world. In Amsterdam, most notable is Temple Doeloe. It serves spicy food and charges for water, a vicious cycle for the wallet but deliciously satisfying. A lamb chop is covered in a potent and course sauce that is delectably sweet. This is followed with six tapas-style dishes in butter-bowls. Each of the meats, the chicken, beef and lamb, were interesting on their own accord and did not fall into the Asian trap of redundancy. The vegetables were a bit soggy but were a decent complement to the main attraction.

Temple Doeloe
35€ menu, 3 courses
Closed Sunday
Charges for water

For breakfast, consider Pannenkoekenhuis "Upstairs", a Dutch take on crepes. Up a creaky, steep and narrow staircase, a 10-seater pancake house serves proper crepes that are a bit plump but still worth a visit (if only for the scenery). I struck up a conversation with an elderly Jewish Australian on the topic of whether education should be private or public. But beware, like most things in Amsterdam, this place opens only at noon. Another late starter is Frens Haringhandel, which serves raw haring under a bed of onions and pickles, a traditional Dutch delight.

Frens Haringhandel

Frens Haringhandel

Pannenkoekenhuis "Upstairs"

Amsterdam also has some excellent beer spots. Café Gollem is a dingy affair with much character, `t Arendsnest serves only Dutch beers and is knowledgeable about its selection, Brouwerij t'IJ is beside one of the few remaining windmills and Café Hoppe is a comfortable bar near Spui station with a limited but good beer selection. Most also do some sorts of sausage and cheese that go along well with the beer.

De gooyer windmill

Café Hoppe, liver saussage

Cross cultural dissemination is ripe in this international city. References to Paris come often, from bridges made in the image of the Alexander III bridge or the science museum by the same architect as the Pompidou centre. Brussels sprouts and Belgian beer are everywhere, like at Gebr. Hartering. This secluded restaurant was a homey affair run by one chef and a waiter half-serving as a plating chef. To start was a colourful fan of vegetables on a fine liver pâté. Veal followed with kale, some steamy, some crispy. The crispy kale was wonderfully delicate and well-seasoned but the softer kale reminded of an Anne Frank quotation: “It's incredible how kale that is probably a few years old can stink!”  But overall, an excellent fine dining experience.

Restaurant Gebr. Hartering
37€ menu, 4 courses
Closed Monday

Amsterdam chooses to be fresh when other cities cling to the past. The Netherlands was the first country to legalize gay marriage and only recent have other countries and states caught on. It has a refreshingly liberal view on what others might consider unthinkable, but does it in a considerate way. It legalizes soft drugs but sets up harsh penalties for hard drugs. It seems to be the way other developed countries like Canada are going as well. But even with these gusts of modernity, the city does not lose its historical charm and its intrinsically kind populace. All this makes Amsterdam an essential city of Europe.

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48 Hours in Brussels

The drinking scene is exceptional. Delirium pub has thousands of beers, and an extensive list of domestic and international ones on tap. They aren’t as affordable as expected but cheap nonetheless. For something more provocative, there is a converted Bohemian Brothel called Goupil le Fol, where they serve a delicious fruit wine. Behold posters of naked women and a Sylvia Plath room. It is filled with friendly international students who speak enough languages to make you feel illiterate.

Les Brassins

Rabbit in cherry beer sauce (1 leg)            € 13,00
No credit cards

Hot Chocolate at Zaabar

Fritland

The waffles were terrible, the fries were mediocre and the chocolate was good. The best place to go for chocolate is Zaabar, especially on Wednesdays and Saturdays for a hands-on session. But if not, then at least get a rich chaud chocolate. For traditional Belgian fare, try Les Brassins. The slow cooked rabbit is ever so tender in a gravy that is thick but never heavy. For something fancier, Bouchery is often noted as Brussels's best restaurant. It is, at its core, a French restaurant. To start, a playful amuse-bouche of pulverized cauliflower. Next, seared mackerel still mostly raw accentuated by a curiously sweet stalk of salsify. Another fish and a dessert, both decent but nothing to write home about, finish the meal. But it is a restaurant worth going to, if only to escape the tourists for a bit. It is half-an-hour away from city centre and has a cozy cottage feel and its own garden.

Bouchery
29€ Lunch, 4 courses

Hallepoort

For a good view, go to the Hallepoort. It was the most important gateway into the city before the walls came down (a fragment of those in Paris). For something more hipster, try Nova-Cinema. It shows small-scale productions that are small probably because they’re so bad. But it’s about pretending to be a pseudo-intellectual for a bit and eating 6€ grub and drinking 2€ beer in a communal setting before settling into an run-down theatre.

The European motto "United in Diversity" in 23 different languages

Belgium has a dual-language system delineated by Brussels; anything south is effectively French and anything north is Dutch. My train sped through a fantastical snowstorm that stopped as soon as it started as the capricious weather is in these parts. As the sun arose, there was not any French to be found. I was on a train with clogged toilets and worn seats. At Roosendaal, a small picturesque city right across the border in the Netherlands, I changed to a comfortable and modern Dutch train. The phones worked better (for less), the food tasted better and even the beer was comparable.

The capital of the Europe suffers similar problems as the Union. It adopts the language of the French with mannerisms of the Dutch. The two do not mix well. Avid maître d’s of the Rue des Bouchers degrade themselves to flee-market salesmen as they try to convince tired tourists that their pot of moules is the best. It is reminiscent of Little Italy, New York, a former Dutch colony. That Belgium is an insignificant country with a diverse language set made it a perfect location for the European Parliament, which is headed by an equally unknown Belgian to whom Nigel Farage chastised as having the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low grade bank clerk. He then added that "Belgium is a non-country". 

Although the English, French and Dutch each had their golden ages in history, the Belgians have been relegated to a supporting role. This makes Brussels uneventful. No amount of waffles, beer, frites or mussels can change that. On a two-night stay one cannot but return back to the Grand Place and the various pedestrian streets that wrap around the square time and time again. 

Grand Place

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London vs. Paris, England vs. France

London is only a two-hour train ride from Paris and shares a common history that begins with the Norman Invasion of 1066. From this spawned the English language that is German at its core but predominantly Romantic in vocabulary. This diversity in language is convenient for chefs who want to charge ridiculous prices for canard or filet and is hopelessly taken advantaged of by English students studying French.

Trafalgar Square

But the two countries have diverged. It was this English Channel that proved unassailable to Rome, to Napoleon and later to Hitler. This narrow channel, under which my train makes a brief pass divides the superpowers of Europe responsible for keeping the balance of power for centuries. Before Paris became the gastronomical centre of the world, London held the title. The powers were in conflict in the 100 and 7 Years Wars, the latter ending in Canada on the Plains of Abraham, and indeed defines the two-state system we know well in Canada.

Britain is the greatest empire that has ever come into existence. It is the father of the Anglosphere, which unites billions of people around the world in the largest network of goodwill, trade and peace. This Anglosphere is responsible or most of the victories in World War I and II, including all five beaches of Normandy:  two by Americans, two by Brits and one by Canadians.

Unfortunately, Britain is losing its way, with London resuscitating the rest of the country and itself on the verge of losing its financial centre status in Europe. It has resorted to the same money printing of the US and fiscal profligacy as the Europeans. It has the largest primary deficit of the continent and youth unemployment of 20%. It is a crumbling empire (since the Germans and US came to the foreground) and is at the end of its glorious thousand-year history.

Hyde Park

However, it has many redemptive qualities that may secure its place in the future. It is the only truly international city of Europe. It has a convenient timezone and a fluency in the most important language. London is particularly welcoming to foreigners. In Paris, everyone has a French accent; in London, most people have an exotic (non-British) accent: Chinese, Indian, Eastern European. It is briskly modern. Crossing the Channel felt like crossing into the 21st century. It took me 15 minutes (and 10£) at King’s Cross to set up a perfectly functioning phone that worked better than my French one. Paris is perennially stuck in the past (see Midnight in Paris); London is unapologetically modern. Despite its being only 2 hours away from Paris, London forever reminds me of Toronto. And that is the indisputable power of the Anglosphere. 

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Food in Paris

Paris is as much a city of food as a city of lights. It seems like in every corner exists a café, a boulangerie, a brasserie or a bistro. That is to say there is no shortage of gastronomic temptations to deal with. There is a running joke that asks why French women are so skinny despite eating much bread and butter (and foie gras). The answer is because they drink a lot of red wine and smoke.  If smoking is not for you, you’ll simply have to control yourself.

Food is not overly expensive. The bill is called “l’addition” perhaps because prices include tax and tip so the calculation is a simple sum of menu prices. This standard effectively nullifies the EURCAD conversion. Parisian prices can then simply be read as though they were Canadian for comparability. The overwhelming standard in Paris is the multi-course meal. It is odd that prix-fixe, a French word, is never used. Instead, a menu is a full course meal, generally ranging between 3 to 5 courses for a fixed price. They are about 20€ for lunch and 30€ for dinner. This is indeed rather cheap, considering similar offers are only seen in Toronto during summerlicious and winterlicious. A formule, on the other hand, is a lighter prix-fixe, and only includes two courses. This tradition is replicated in notable American-French restaurants like Café Boulud or Jean George Nougatine. Again, formules are generally inexpensive. Some (but not all) restaurants also have à la carte.

My first dabble into French restaurants was unsuccessful. An undirected surveying of the thousands of holes-in-the-walls is sure not to achieve pleasant results. As in any city, there is a range of culinary quality suited for a range of tastes. Not all Frenchmen are foodies, contrary to popular belief.

Furthermore, consulting solely the Michelin Guide is insufficient. The Michelin guide rewards a particular type of food that might be described as antiquated and boring. The Michelin standard is that of haute-cuisine, of formality and rigorous adherence to the culinary standards of the past. In many ways, Paris thrives on the vestiges of the past. It is behind in almost everything except subways and healthcare. But antiquated cuisine still has its place to play. Many restaurants from the Michelin guide have been delightful.

Le Cantine du Troquet

14th
01 45 40 04 98
32€ Lunch/Dinner Menu, 5 courses

Le Cantine du Troquet, for example, is tucked away in the outer ring of Paris and serves simple food from its blackboard menu in a relaxed atmosphere. There is no website and no reservations; even its telephone number is hard to find. The waiters speak only French. The appetizer came with five small plates, which I thought were the five courses of the menu. I was about to pay when the second course came. Most memorable of the five was a cauliflower soup that had little specks of chorizo scattered around. They had mostly sunk to the bottom, and ended up as a delicious scraping from the bottom of the barrel. The traditional five-course meal has fish thereafter, then meat, then salad and finally dessert. Unfortunately, primed by the American system, the salad just makes you want to start over. None of the dishes were extraordinary but worked well in an ensemble, further supported by the affordable price tag. Since it was a carte-blanche (i.e. the menu is a surprise), every visit is novel and since they describe the food in French, every bite might be surprising.

Septime

11th
01 43 67 38 29
www.septime-charonne.fr
Closed Monday lunch, Saturday and Sunday
Reservation required
55€ Dinner, 5 courses, carte blanche

There is a bit of a gastronomical revolution in Paris. Bistros and restaurants are replaced by ateliers (workshops) and comptoirs (counters). There is a modernization of food that is at odds with the traditional definition of haute-cuisine. This makes guides like Michelin less relevant; it implores you to go online to find some innovative options. Septime, for example, is solidly booked by a youthful clientele. They are ever so stingy about bookings that my spot was cancelled after they could not reach me on my phone (I had given them my Canadian number). They also had my email, but did not think of using that avenue; the French always surprise me with their listless nonchalance. I was stuffed into a claustrophobic corner, where I ate in silence beside an unsmiling Frenchman (it is decidedly French not to smile). Notwithstanding this, the five course meal (55€) was rather good, punctuated by a dessert as memorable as any. A luscious orange ice cream in the centre was surrounded by almost-frozen citrus fruits, crunchy candied sugar, buttery crème fraiche and other mouthwatering egg-shaped concoctions. That the chef was an artist by profession shows.

Les Cocottes

7th
http://www.maisonconstant.com/les-cocottes
No reservations, always open

Confit de foie gras de canard, pain de campagne 14€
Velouté de champignons de saison légèrement crémé   7€
Pommes de terre caramélisées farcies au pied de porc 15€

For some guilt-inducing richness, try Les Cocottes, by famed French chef Christian Constant; for some inexpensive haute-cuisine, walk down a dodgy 11th arrondissement path to behold the friendly and simple Au Passage.

Au Passage

11th
01 43 55 07 52
Dinner only Saturday; Closed Sunday
20€ Lunch, 3 courses + cheese plate

The average food in Paris is certainly good. But an affinity for the past and an aversion to risk-taking has made the culinary scene a bit dull. Integration and uniformity pervades the food but it is artistry and experimentation that I am looking for. The cuisine in Toronto is affordable, varied and thoughtful. I have been spoiled by that culinary wonderland. Paris might very well show its cards, but the Michelin guide is not it. We will see how the food turns as I explore further. I still have some high hopes.

Les Cailloux

13th
01 45 80 15 08
20€ lamb chops

L’auberge Aveyronnaise

12th
01 43 40 12 24
24€ Dinner, 3 courses

Le Soufflé

1st
01 42 60 27 19
10€ for a soufflé

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A Day in Paris

Paris was made for biking. The picturesque streets are hardly witnessed by chronic subway communters. By bike, every backend street can be reached and absorbed. Paris has the second largest “Bixi” system in the world called the vélib (the French require the word liberté everywhere). It is extremely practical. Check-in and check-out stations exist on essentially every block.

Biking on Sunday, however, was impossible. The overnight snowfall had covered Parisian streets with a beautiful but dangerously slippery blanket. Happy youngsters affectionately lobbed snowballs at each other, excited by the peculiarity Canadians know all too well. Paris is accentuated by snow. It becomes ever more romantic.

Jardin du Luxembourg

A typical travel day might begin with a breakfast of croissant, freshly squeezed orange juice and espresso, then a loosely planned bike ride that veers to your heart’s desires. On one day, I peered into the idyllic Jardin du Luxembourg, where Cosette and Marius first met eyes. Cafés with espresso machines and on-tap beer are useful when it gets too cold or for a bathroom break. I also might consult my Michelin guide for a good lunch spot. By the end, I probably have reached the outskirts of the city so I subway back to headquarters (1st Arr., my home). Repeat for afternoon/dinner.

After almost a week of this, I have travelled to most arrondissements. Paris is like an onion that grew layers through the ages. There are more or less three layers, each its own circle to resemble the walls built to protect the city from barbarian invasions. The walls are now down and replaced with boulevards, though apparently a mental wall still exists. The outer circles have not been affected as much by tourists. English becomes useless and you become surrounded by French. The shops and restaurants are more authentic. The cultural pockets are charming: the Italians in the 13th, for example.

There are more than enough sights in the city to preoccupy tourists. My best advice is to pick a few and not to try to do too much. The results of my efforts: voilà! 

Arc de Triomphe

Louvre

Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

View from Montmartre

Champs-Élysées

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Europe '13: Travel Plans

Hopefully commies in these cities will be there when I visit. If you want to travel, let me know if there's anything on this list that is interesting to you.

Travel Plans

Travel Plans

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